I'm Clumsy But I Love You So Much (Rolleigns)

3. You Make My Heart Pound

Seth slept till 5 pm. As he found Roman's head buried in his chest, he gave Roman's head a gentle stroke. He felt Roman's warm breath on his chest and looked down at Roman's face. Roman had a scratch beside his lip, a bruised cheek and a deep cut below his left eyebrow. Seth kept staring at his friend, now partner's injuries and decided not to wake him up and let him get some more rest. Various thoughts came to his mind. Roman is the kindest person he has met in the school but how comes the whole school knows him as the Samoan Badass? That was obviously because he was friends with AJ but Seth couldn't even imagine someone as kind as Roman behave like a rude, problematic hormonal teenager.

Seth wanted to stay huddled with Roman in bed until he would wake up so that he could greet him with another kiss, but unfortunately he had to leave. He hadn't been home since the previous day so he knew his parents must be worried. When he tried to move from his position, he felt the warm grip of Roman's arm over his waist. The thought that Roman would not let Seth go even if he's sleeping, made Seth blush. He really wanted to stay in bed with Roman till he wakes up and then have a long talk with him while having coffee but then, he was scared as his parents would be worried about him.

Seth then rolled over onto the edge of the bed slowly, making himself free from Roman's grip. He was glad he didn't wake Roman up. He climbed down the bed and tiptoed out of the house, fastening the buttons of his shirt and taking his bag along with him.

It took Seth 15 minutes to ride home by a bus. As soon as he knocked at the door, his mother walked out the door with an intense glare on her face. But the look on her face turned mild as soon as she saw the bruises over Seth's face. "What happened, Seth? Where have you been all that while? And how did you get these bruises over your face?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

"A lot of things happened, mum. Just you listen to me, okay?" said Seth.

Seth's mom soon took Seth into his bedroom and examined his bruises sitting on the bed. Seth told his mom everything, starting from him getting beaten by AJ. However, he never told her about him being committed to Roman. "Oh yes! I remember the Samoan family that used to stay with us in the same apartment! Are you serious? You met him and are you speaking to each other?" asked Seth's mom enthusiastically.

"Yeah," smiled Seth. "We are as close as we were 11 years ago. He's really good to me. I was at his house all that while and I've never felt so safe before."

"Those bullies in your school are bastards! I'm glad you have Roman with you now. Why don't you ask him to visit us? And how did you recognize him though?" asked his mom.

Seth stared at the floor silently. "He was the one to recognize me first. It's been a week since I've been admitted in this school but yesterday was the day when I came to know who he is. I really feel guilty for that, mum. Roro and I used to be best friends when we were 7. But I treated him like a stranger for the past week, and even yesterday until he explained me who he was."

"That's not your fault, sonny. Don't be upset," said Seth's mom soothingly while she rubbed Seth's back. "Its been 11 years since you both haven't seen each other. You used to be kids back then but now you're all grown up. So, not being able to recognize him is understandable. Had you treated him like a stranger even after he explained you everything, he wouldn't have been happy with it. I'm sure he's happy when you told him that you remember him well."

"Mum, you're the best!" said Seth happily, as he clung to his mother. Seth's mom was confused why Seth was so happy all of a sudden, she continued to stroke her son's back.

Seth's mom left the room after a minute leaving Seth alone in there. Seth released a sigh. He had a big smile on his face. He then took a booklet out of his bag and began to read it silently. It was the one that he had got from Dean in the drama club.
The first page of the book read: This musical has been written and produced by Jack Gallagher, that has its story inspired from the famous Shakespeare comedy, As You Like It. Its about how the daughter of the abandoned duke disguises herself as a man and goes into exile where she tests her lover how true his love for her is.