Nothing's Fair in Life and Lies ~A BoyxBoy Story~

Chapter 1

There it was.  The door to all that is evil. 

I eyed it, as if staring it down might make it go away and leave me alone.  But it just sat there, unimpressed.  I could practically see the sneer on it’s non-existent face, that ooh-I’m-so-scared glint in its eyes.  I shifted the weight of the basket in my arms, not daring to take the next step.

“Liam, are you going to do your laundry or just stare at the basement door all night?” 

Stupid mom, always ruining my moments.

“I hate laundry. And the basement is creepy as hell,” I whined, giving her a pleading look.  My mother met my gaze with a stern one, and I almost gulped.

“Stop complaining and watch your mouth. I don’t want Evelynn picking up that kind of language from you.”

I would’ve back-sassed her and brought up the fact that my darling little sister had chewed me out using more curses than the freaking Navy knew on multiple occasions, but I didn’t have the guts to question that look.  When my mom put on her I-mean-it face, she meant business.  So I sucked it up and descended into the basement.

I wrinkled my nose at the musty smell of mold (and probably other unspeakably horrifying things) and shivered at the cold air in the pitch-black room.  The place was built like a World War II bunker with concrete walls at least five feet thick and no windows.  My bare feet touched the floor, and it felt as if I walked on ice. 

“Note to self,” I murmured, “buy a space heater for this dump.”

Amazingly, I managed to cross the room without bumping into something or falling down.  (Trust me, that’s a real feat for a person who could trip over air.  Especially since I was carrying that huge laundry basket.  I mean, the thing is awkward as hell to hold, let alone maneuver down stairs and through the maze of shit in our basement.)  Once I got to the cluttered laundry room, I set it down and started the washer.  A few minutes later, the soap was in and I was dumping my clothes into the bubbly water.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz!

“Sweet mother of Gaga!” I squeaked, throwing a shirt into the washer and hitting the deck.  Literally a second later, I realized that the buzzing sound was emitted from my pocket.  I pulled out my vibrating cell phone.

A blush crept up my neck and onto my cheeks.  I thanked my lucky stars no one had been around to see that.

Checking the caller I.D., I picked up.

“Hey Ariel, what’s up?” I asked.

“Space, the never-ending universe; the usual,” came a musical voice on the other end. 

“Silly goose, that’s what’s out,” I corrected her.

“You’re out,” she retorted.  I chuckled.  Her gay jokes always amused me.

“And proud of it. But seriously, what’s going on? Your call scared the bejesus out of me, so it better be good.”

“I was just wondering where you are. Zeke and I are waiting for you at the coffee shop.”

“Shit!” I knew I’d forgotten something.

“You forgot about our date, didn’t you?”  That’s my Ari.  She could always read my mind; we’re way too in sync for our own good.  After all, we had been best friends since… forever.  I can’t remember not knowing her.  Some people think it’s sad, but I think it’s pretty cool.

“I’m soooo sorry, Ari,” I said sincerely, and rushed to dump the rest of my laundry into the washer.  “I’ll be there in, like, two minutes. Honest.”