H2OVanoss: My One and Only

Chapter One: "Trust"

Delirious hadn't been his usual self lately. We all noticed it, but he always shrugged it off like it was nothing. Sometimes he'd disappear only a few minutes into the recording session with no explanation. I would text him asking if everything was okay and I'd always get the same response: Yeah, just not feeling well.

This had been going on for well over a month now, and it was worrying me. I know next to nothing about his personal life, but that didn't really bother me. Jonathan was my best friend regardless.

I got a call from him late at night on a Tuesday. "Hey man!" I said.

"Evan... I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, what's up?"

I could hear him take a deep breath. "I've been wanting to tell you and the guys about this for a really long time, but I kept it a secret because I didn't want y'all to make a big fuss about it or treat me differently because of it." Everything fell silent as he spoke. "I'm gay."

"That's it?"

"Yes. Please don't tell the others... Not yet."

I let out a little laugh. "I won't say a thing, I promise. Is that what has been bothering you all this time? Jon, we don't care if you're straight, gay, or bisexual. Heck, we all think you're a psychopathic clown wearing a Jason mask and we still play with you all the time!"

Jonathan's laugher filled my ears. "Thanks, Evan. Hey, do you want to play some GTA in a few minutes?"

"Is that even a question?"

The next few hours was the best time I've had in a long while. Delirious seemed to have a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders and he was finally back to his crazy self. I could tell he was fine by his excessive use of the phrase: "You're a bitch, Vanoss!" I never realized how much I missed him until now.

March rolled around and Jon finally told the others about his sexuality. I already knew that they wouldn't mind, but it was nice to hear all the support coming from them.

We didn't game that night. Instead, we all shared stories with one another since Delirious decided to open up. Most of the stories were funny. Nogla told us a story about his kindergarten year. Apparently he had three stink bombs that exploded in his backpack and they had to evacuate the class for a week. He wasn't invited back.

Marcel, David, Brock, and Craig left the Skype call and it was just Delirious and I left. I enjoyed talking to all of the guys, but there was something different when it was just him and I there. There was something that had been bothering me for a while. I felt different around him, but in a good way.

"Are you going to bed soon too?" He asked as I was pulled back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to go, sorry. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Sure. Goodnight!"

"Night."

I shut off my computer and I rubbed my face hard. I didn't want to leave him, but I knew I'd regret it in the morning if I didn't.

As I brushed my teeth, I got a text from him on our group message.

Thanks for the support tonight, guys. I love y'all.

Brock replied, We love you too, Delirious. Goodnight everyone.

I woke up early in the morning because I had some errands to run before I got online to play some GMod Sandbox with them. I was half asleep while playing but I still had a ton of fun. We took a break halfway through to get some food and relax for a bit.

Lui spoke up as I munched on my Doritos. "So who's able to go to PAX East this year? I just bought my tickets yesterday."

"I'm going!" said Marcel and Brock with excitement.

"Me too," said Nogla.

"I believe I can go, too," I said as I swallowed my chips.

"Do you guys have a hotel booked yet?" Lui replied. "I was hoping we could all stay at the same one."

Delirious finally said something through all the commotion. "Do you guys want me to come this year?"

Everything went silent. I was the first to answer. "Are you being serious?"

"Yeah... I think it's about time, don't you think?"

"Well, duh! We've been wanting to meet you for years, dude!" Brock replied, basically screaming.

Jon let out a genuine laugh. "I'll talk to CaRtOoNz and see if he's going. I'll let you know if I get the tickets. I've been wanting to meet you all for a long time as well. Anyways, I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

After he left, I realized that my mouth was wide open. "That just happened, didn't it?"

I could hardly contain my excitement when he called me later and said he was going to go with Luke. They had just bought their tickets. I let everyone else know and it made Brian, Tyler, Scott, and Craig cancel their plans and buy their tickets as soon as possible.

Six weeks later, I was on the plane to Boston. My heart was in my throat as I tried to wrap my head around what was about to happen. In less than seven hours, I would finally see my best friend.