incoming call
from: troyemellet
[accept call]
For a solid moment or two, Connor regretted clicking accept. He had been wracked with nerves ever since Troye had messaged him earlier, suggesting they Skype in half an hour.
He had never really had internet friends before, so he had obviously never had to have the awkward parent meeting. Connor would have been perfectly fine not ever meeting Troye's parents, but since he and his friends would be spending almost every minute with him, it was kind of the only option.
The screen was blurry for a second, and then bits of sound came through Connor's laptop speakers.
"Hello? Troye?"
All of a sudden the picture came into focus, and Connor saw Troye sitting cross legged on his bed, smile on his adorable baby face, and two kind-looking adults sitting with him.
"Hi, Con! So this is my mum, Laurelle and dad, Shaun. Mum and Dad, this is Connor."
Troye's mum spoke up first. "Hello, Connor. I couldn't help but notice you have an accent. Can I ask where you're from?" She said gently, an easy smile on her face.
Connor blushes slightly. "Well, I was born in Minnesota, um, but currently I live in Los Angeles with a few of my best friends. Did...uh, Troye tell you about our plans?" He stuttered a bit, still nervous as he had absolutely no idea how much Troye had told them about Connor and their friendship.
Laurelle looked at Troye pointedly, but you could tell she was teasing. "No he didn't, Troye, is there something you should tell us?"
"Um, well Con and his friends are gonna fly down next month, s-so he can meet me." Troye stammered, looking down at his lap.
Shaun raised an eyebrow. "And how, may I ask, did you two meet?"
Connor smiled politely. "On a chat site, sir. We found each other through mutual interests."
Troye's father nodded, seemingly satisfied with Connor's answer.
"Alright, well we have to go pick up Troye's younger brother from his friend's. It was nice meeting you, Connor. I look forward to seeing you in person." Laurelle got up from the bed, flashing a bright smile towards Connor. Shaun joined her, patting his son on the back before walking out.
Troye licked his lip, realizing he was now alone with Connor. The older boy looked back at him, a playful smile on his face. "What?"
Connor just shook his head. "Nothing. So um, your parents are really nice."
"Yeah, they're pretty chill." Troye agreed. And it was true. His parents had never been the type to get angry at their four children, instead always talking out problems and teaching lessons instead of handing out punishments. Even now, at 21 Troye lived at home, with no job, he didn't go to college, but they never tried to make him do anything. They had always wanted their kids to be happy before anything else.
Troye supposed that made coming out to them a lot easier. He hadn't been that nervous since he was pretty sure they would totally accept him, but there was always still the lingering fears of revealing one of your best-kept secrets.
"Tro? You there?" Connor's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was zoned out. What did you say?" Troye apologized. He did that frequently, much to the annoyance of his mum.
Connor smiled. "It's okay. I just said that I'm going to go get lunch with my friend Tyler. I'll message you later, okay, bub?"
Troye nodded, biting his lip as he waved goodbye to his best friend.
How was he supposed to wait 19 more days? He was starting to feel this would be more difficult than anticipated.
