A Little Story About Love

Part 5

Max

"I'm gay." My heart pounded in my chest. It was so loud it seemed to fill the silent room.

Chance sat. He didn't react. Which was almost worse. I looked down at my hands again. I knew this wouldn't go well; it was a horrible idea. I stood up, abandoning the Nando's, which was causing my mouth to water like crazy. I made to walk out of my room.

"Wait." Chance stood up. My heart sank. This was where the anger and disgust came, then the horror, and the abandonment. But when Chance opened his mouth to speak, a smile spread across his face, "so... what's the problem?" He looked me in the eyes with nothing but respect.

"What?" This was the last thing I had expected, I had no idea how to react.

"You're gay. What's wrong with that?"

"Oh... I just... Most people..." I stuttered, not knowing how to explain.

"Well I'm not most people," he smiled. "You can tell me anything. You know that right?"

The fist gripping my chest eased away, and I found I could breathe again. "Thank you." I said, meaning it more than I could ever put into words.

"Come here!" Chance laughed and enveloped me in a rib-crushing bear hug. I tensed at the sudden contact but smiled into his chest and hugged him back. I couldn't believe someone other than Elle had finally accepted me as who I am. Chance retrieved the Nando's bag and handed it to me; I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

I glanced around my room, hoping to spot a pair of trousers, but saw none. It seemed like I never could, I was always losing my pants somehow. I spent most my time in my underwear. At least I had nice underwear. I gave up hope on finding pants and gave into the delicious smell of chicken wafting up at me from the Nando's bag. I pulled a piece of chicken out of the bag, suddenly famished.

*~*~*

By some miracle, Chance and I grew even closer over the next week. I told him about my family; about how my dad died when I was six, and my step-father took over the family. I told him about how conservative my family- especially my stepdad- was, and how they kicked me out when I told them I was gay. I told him about the bullies and fake girlfriends. I told him about Elle and how she had been there for me through everything, and how she knew everything about me. I told him about my insomnia and ADHD. The one thing I didn't tell him about was the abuse I received from my stepdad. By the beginning of February, Chance knew almost as much about me as Elle did.

Chance told me about himself as well. He was indeed straight. Chance never knew his dad, he had run off when Chance's mum got pregnant with his sister. Chance had come to Australia alone a few days before I met him on the roof. He told me about how hard he had had to work to get here, and how his family wasn't very well off, and how he probably had no way home until he finished school and saved up the money for a plane ticket. When it came time for me to talk about money, I uncomfortably told Chance about the millions of dollars my family had laying around. I explained how much I hated money. I hated how people with a lot of money bought tons of things they didn't need. I still had access to my family's money, but I only used it when I had to. However, when it came to money and mates, I had rules. I paid for all meals, transportation, and trips. My money use made absolutely no difference to my family. I despised the money we had; other people deserved it much more than we did.

Chance and I became completely comfortable around each other. I stopped worrying about my appearance and took my shirt off in dance, no longer caring about my body or the awkwardly personal piercing on my chest. I explained my unfortunate habit of losing my pants, and proceeded to do so on a regular basis. We spent all of our free time doing schoolwork, playing music, and dancing. Chance began to learn tumbling with me, catching on quickly. He would be doing back flips in no time. Chance and I sang several duets together, our voices perfectly complementing each other's. We both played guitar, and I tried to teach Chance a bit of cello, but strings were not his specialty.

February 2, 2010

It was a warm evening and I was up on the roof alone painting and listening to music. I didn't hear Chance come up behind me until he sat down on the ground next to me. I greeted him and continued painting. Chance watched me paint in silence and when I put down my brushes and stepped back to look at the finished sunset, a smile lit up his face.

"That's incredible," he said.

I looked at him and smiled, "thank you." I walked to the edge of the roof and sat down on the wall to look out across Sydney as people headed home after a long workday. The warm air filled my lungs and a smile settled on my lips. It had been a long time, and I finally felt content. Chance and I sat in silence for a long time, just watching the city below us.

I suppose I nodded off, because I was suddenly in the air. For a moment I panicked, but then I realized I wasn't falling to the distant ground. I felt strong arms around me, pulling me up over the wall and onto the floor of the roof. I was lost, and couldn't figure out what was going on. I looked around and saw that I was on Chance's lap, my face centimeters from his.