New Generation

Slowly

I woke up to a rustling beside me. My eyes widened, as I didn't realize my surroundings at first. I turned my head and was faced with Eli sitting up in bed, his bare back turned at me.

"Good morning," he said, his morning voice raspy. I was surprised he noticed me, he hadn't even turned to look at me.

I gulped, "good morning." He never failed to impress me. He twisted around, smirking at me, then got up and faced me.

"Get up, it's time for school," he cooed jokingly. He offered me his hand and I took it, sitting up. I leaned back to crack my spine and stretch my arms, yawning. I hadn't realized he had been staring at me until I looked at him, just to find his eyes piercing into me. I quickly turned my head, getting out of bed and picking up the clothes I had tossed onto the floor last night.

I put on my white t-shirt and when I had only gotten my blue jeans to my knees, he made his way over. I looked at him curiously, but didn't break the silence. He bit his lip, still looking into my eyes, but grabbed the waistband of my pants, pulling them up for me as he leaned in for a short kiss.

Once they were up, I hurriedly buttoned and zipped them up myself, earning a slap on the butt from Eli, followed by a wink.

I gasped at the impact, not being used to the dominant behaviour, but ended up smiling as he turned away from me to put on his own clothes. I guess he likes to play by his rules.

He chose a light pink button-up shirt and khakis. I guess I was the one staring at him this time. "You're lookin' preppy today," I teased.

He turned around, smiling. "Just trying to impress my baby boy," he replied. I blushed at the nickname, and before I could think of a response, the door opened, revealing a middle-aged looking woman in a dark purple blouse and white pants. Her hair was a dark brown like Eli's.

"Oh," she said, surprised. "I didn't realize you had a guest over," she said, smiling up at me.

"This is Ken," he piped up, glancing at me, "and Ken, this is mom." She smiled and held out her hand, so I shook it. Very formal. I took note of that.

"I'll be downstairs, I just wanted to remind you that it's Lisa's dance recital tonight. You're coming to support your big sister, aren't you?" She asked. I just stood their awkwardly as Eli rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Like she's ever come to one of my shows," he scoffed.

Eli's mom shook her head, "you know she's busy. She would come if she had time," she turned to me, "you can come, too. It would be great to have more friendly faces in the audience."

I smiled, "I'd love to." With that, she smiled happily and made her way out of the room and down the stairs.

Eli let out a breathy sigh. "Come on," he said, clearly annoyed. He went down the stairs two steps at a time, making it impossible for me to keep up. He put on his shoes and walked right out of the door, not caring if I was actually following him. I made a quick stop at the bathroom down the hall on my left, rinsing out my mouth. The asshole didn't even let me borrow a toothbrush, he was in such a rush.

I ran out, finally catch up to him. "What the fuck?" I said angrily.

He didn't even turn around, just looked straight ahead of him. "Sorry, my sister's just been getting on my nerves for the past...15 years or so," he explained, stopping in front of a bus stop.

I looked up, knitting my eyebrow together. No one gets along with their siblings, why did he have to have such a huge outburst? He felt my gaze on him, letting his eyes meet mine. He slipped his hand into mine, lacing our fingers. "She's the reason I moved schools this year. Why I came to our school. I used to go to this Catholic one that she's still at. I came out to her, and the first thing she did was tell all her friends. Everyone there was homophobic, and so was she. I guess it didn't help when you'd get 'faggot' yelled in your face and have your sister just laugh, encouraging it. Sorry," he said again. I squeezed his hand in mine, letting him know it was okay. I felt my stomach twist into a tight knot, I haven't dealt with much homophobia in my life, as I hadn't known until now, and everyone in my life is pretty open-minded anyway.

The bus came and we boarded, sitting down in silence. He let go of my hand. I pouted in protest, but he just jerked his head, indicating something behind me. I turned around, seeing a couple guys from our school. I didn't care, but since Eli didn't want people to know, I kept quiet. He doesn't seem like he wants me as a boyfriend, anyway. More of a toy. I feel like I should've been more upset about it, but I just liked being around him. I didn't care.

Once the bus arrived at our stop just a block away from our school, we got off, along with the group of guys Eli was so worried about earlier. I know he was bullied at his old school, but he seemed really closeted, even here. No one really cares about stuff like that at our school, it's rare to find someone that would actually put up a fuss over someone else's sexuality. I guess Eli was just trying to lay low, he is new, after all.

We walked side by side without much conversation. His eyes were fixed on the guys in front of us. For some reason, I felt a twinge of jealousy. I know it's irrational and clingy, but I wanted Eli's attention on me. I took a step closer and put my hand in his. He didn't look at me, but he intertwined our fingers and smiled.

"You like the attention, don't you?" He teased, getting me to feel defensive. I couldn't muster a response, though. We both know it's true.

He looked down at me, raising his eyebrows, waiting for a response. I smiled shyly and looked at our hands. "I just like...feeling needed," I said before thinking. I bit my lip, still not looking up at him out of embarrassment.

He let out a soft chuckle and squeezed my hand as we continued walking, finally in front of the school doors. He took a step in front of me, opening the door for me, "Here you go, princess," he said, smirking. I smiled, swatting his shoulder playfully, getting inside.