Crush (boy x boy)

Part V: Daniel

 Part V: Daniel

I stopped before Michael's front door, looking up at the house. It was a two-story house with an excessive number of windows and a well-kept front lawn. It probably had a large backyard too, since Michael had told me they had a swimming pool.

My mother and I lived in a small apartment, and sometimes I wished I could live in a big house like this one. Minus the pool, of course. I would not need that.

Michael had suggested that we met at his house since it was close enough to the beach so we could walk there. I had agreed but now, with my hand already raised to ring the bell, I felt my stomach flutter in mild nervousness.

I'm not sure when my feelings for Michael turned from simply enjoying the company of a nice and – I must admit it – handsome person into a crush in full swing. Maybe it began when he was so nice to me about my fear of water, but if I had to point a specific moment, I would say it was when he walked into the store and said hi to me.

 Yes, that was it. Seems stupid, I know. I guess I was just bottling it up until that point and when he showed up all of a sudden, with that wide smile of his, without me expecting it, it was like a cork of champagne popping out. My heart danced, my stomach levitated and my legs weakened all at the same time.

Fortunately, I already knew how to deal with that. Pretend nothing's happening inside you, smile, behave normally and it will go away eventually. That was what I used to do every time a crush threatened to take over. I don't have that option most people have, the one in which you go and woo the person you like. That's because I tend to like guys, and most guys are not very pleased when other guys woo them. So, I cured my crushes as I would do with a mild cold: even with no treatment, both end up going away if I take precautions not to get worse.

It actually works. And if this time was being different, I was the only one to blame. I had indulged in asking Michael for company in my break. With his 'friend' appearance, that had led me to indulge in sending him a text later which, in turn, had led us to spend the next three days texting each other during pretty much all of our free time. Now, I was addicted to him and that couldn't end well for me.

Even knowing all of this, here I was, in front of his house, ready to spend a whole morning, maybe even a whole day together with him. I'm hopeless.

I took a deep breath and pushed the round button by the door. After a couple heartbeats, the door opened and I smiled at Michael.

Then I realized he wasn't Michael. "Hi!" Luke said.

"Hey... hum... is Michael there?"

Luke raised his brows and gestured towards himself. "Duh! Right here," he said. He almost fooled me. They were identical, after all. But Michael still had that little something in his eyes, in the way he looked, that was different from his brother.

I rolled my eyes. "You're not Michael. Is he there or not?"

"He's upstairs having a shower," he grunted, chaffed by the easy way I avoided his hoax, before gesturing me to go inside. "That traitor told you about the scar, didn't he? I'll teach him..." Luke grumbled, leading me to their living room. "Go ahead, sit down," he said, dropping himself onto one of the cream colored couches.

"He didn't tell me anything," I said. I had never heard of, or seen, any scar on either of them, so I had no idea what Luke was talking about.

"Then how did you know?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me in playful accusation.

"Well, I..." Damn, I couldn't tell him that they had a different way to look, that would sound awkward in so many ways. "...I found out by myself," I risked.