he's my neighbour | ✔️

11.

The date went well and Zac sent me back home soon after. I opened my front door and heard something crash in the kitchen. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Mum?" I asked.

Then a figure came out of the kitchen. Since I turned off the lights before leaving the house, I couldn't see anything. I squinted as I tried to make out the figure. 

"Ken?" 

I turned on the lights and gasped as I saw Ken. His hair was dishevelled, his clothes were dirty and he was holding a bottle of vodka.

"Ken, what happened to you?"

"Sis, I'm a mess," he cried out and took a swig of vodka.

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock."

He put down the bottle of vodka and walked over to me. He enveloped me in a bear hug and I hugged him back although he smelled like trash. Well, he is trash but I'm not gonna tell him in this current situation. He pulled back from the hug and started sobbing. 

"Ken? You're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Paige, please don't hate me after this since I don't know how you or mum or dad or Maybel is gong to take this but, I'm gay."

I stood there in shock. I wasn't embarrassed that my brother was gay. I was more happy for him that he told me. He took my silence as a negative answer.

"I knew it," he sobbed loudly, "nobody would love me again."

I hugged him tightly. "Ken, you can't expect me to respond so quickly after telling me something like that. I still love you for who you are Ken. Gay or not, you're still my brother and that'll never change. I will support you throughout the way. I love you."

He kissed my cheek. "Thank you so much. Please don't tell anyone else. I'm not ready."

"I won't. Please take a shower. You reek. And, what did you break in the kitchen?"

He looked down, embarrassed. "I was trying to reach for the cookie jar on the top shelf but being the clumsy person I am, I knocked it down."

"Go bath and I'll take care of it."

He nodded and went to his room. I sighed and threw the vodka away. I cleaned the entire kitchen, leaving no evidence that my brother had been drinking. 

--

I was sitting in class when Zac walked in with his arm around a girl. I felt a sharp pain in my heart as just yesterday, he told me we were a couple although we haven't told anyone yet. I looked down to ignore them as they walked past. 

--

I was sitting on my desk in my room working on my homework when my mum and dad came home at the same time. I ran down to greet them. I missed them although they haven't been gone for very long. I hugged them both and then helped my mum prepare dinner. 

During dinner, Ken was fidgeting in his seat the whole time. He wasn't the type to have many secrets so keeping this was making him uncomfortable. Mum must have noticed it because she asked him what's wrong. He barely looked up and said nothing. Mum dropped the subject and we continued to eat dinner quietly. It wasn't until Ken decided to break the silence.

"Mum, dad?"

Mum and dad both looked up and simultaneously asked, "yes?"

"I have... I have an announcement sort of thing." 

He was now playing with his fingers, a thing he does when he's very nervous. 

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Well, spit it out."

"I'm..." he took a deep breath, "I'm gay," he exhaled loudly. 

Mum dropped her fork and knife and dad looked at Ken like he grew another head. Ken kept his head down the whole time and waited for a response. I sat there looking back and forth between my parents and Ken, also waiting for a response. 

"Oh honey, I'm so proud of you for speaking up," mum said with tears in her eyes as she got up to hug Ken. 

"I'll need a moment," dad said and walked into his office. 

As soon as his door slammed shut, Ken started sobbing. 

"Mum," his voice shaking, "do you think dad hates me now?"

"Oh sweetie, he wouldn't. He just needs some time to think about what you said."

Ken looked at me and I gave him an encouraging smile. I was proud of his confidence. 

--

Maybel finally came back the next day and Ken and I told her about the news. She hugged him and told him she will definitely support him no matter what. This has made me feel so much better about my family. 

The next few days, I rarely saw Zac. He would always either not be at home, or hanging out with some new girl toy in school. He was confusing me so much that I didn't know what emotions I was even going through. Does he even remember saying I was his girlfriend and he was my boyfriend? 

I carried on without thinking about Zac or at least tried to. 

--

I walked to my favourite cafe, Shanna's. I sat in a booth furthest away from the entrance as I like to observe people. Call me creepy but it's what I do. I was sipping on my mint chocolate when someone came into the cafe. He was tall, muscular and his eyes were a light shade of grey. Damn, I thought. 

He looked around the cafe like he was trying to find for someone and smirked when his pair of eyes landed on me. He walked towards me and I found myself fidgeting, playing with my nails and tried to focus my gaze on something other than him. 

"Hey," his voice was husky and deep.

I looked up and met his eyes. I gulped visibly. I suddenly heard a faint gunshot and freaked out for a moment. 

"Shit," he muttered under his breath and looked around before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the cafe. 

"What are you doing?!" I shouted as I couldn't keep up with his running and constantly tripped over. 

--

*mysterious P.O.V* 

He ran off with a girl. She looked familiar. I couldn't let him go though. He was probably going to hold her hostage. I dialled my one and only trusted, professional shooter, Zac Ryders.

--

Ooh, who do you think the mysterious guy is? Do you think she knows him? K, byeeee!

-J