The Beauty Of Will

22

Will's point of view
        I woke up early in the morning and got dressed with a spring in my step that I hadn't had until I met Taylor.
        I quietly picked out a white plaid button up shirt to go with my worn out jeans. I didn't really bother combing my hair as I grabbed my bag and darted out of the house. It was Taylor's turn to pick me up and take me to and from school.
         As I opened the passenger side door to Taylor's black truck, I saw his face smiling at me. Despite the cuts and bruises, he looked incredibly happy. I imagined I looked the same.
        Taylor winced slightly every time he made a turn, but besides that, his happy expression didn't falter. He didn't looked at all like the Taylor I had met on the first day of school.
        He was wearing his usual jeans, but no hoodie. Instead, he was wearing a blue t-shirt that matched his eyes and fit loosely on his arms.
        "You look nice today." I told him.
        "I'm wearing the same clothes I Normally wear." He said.
         "Well, you're usually wearing a hoodie. It's kind of nice being able to really see your arms."
        "You've seen my arms before."
         "But not at school."
        "Yes sir. I have gym with you. You've basically seen me naked." He didn't blush when he said this. I thought he would. I was disappointed.
        "Wow. Take away your hoodie and all of a sudden you're confident."
        "That's why I wear it. It's a duty to my country really. People can't handle this much awesomeness. I have to keep it contained." I chuckled and Taylor smiled wider, then winced as he opened his door.
        The day went as normally as you could expect. A few people asked me what happened to my face and I would give them answers that were obviously fake. It was things like walking into a brick wall, my diamond chandelier fell on top of me, I got beat up by a tree, I had an encounter with a werewolf, and I battled a giant squid at the bottom of the ocean. Of course, people didn't believe any of these stories, but I continued to insist that my stories were true.
       
        As time passed, people quit asking, Taylor and I's faces healed as did our other bruises. Taylor and I, of course, got into more fights with a variety of different people, but none were as big or as memorible as the day I finally turned 18.
        I woke up that morning and rolled on my side. I got a blurry look at Taylor and smiled blissfully. He was propped on mis elbow and was smiling at me. The sunlight that blasted through my window that Sunday morning made him look absolutely magnificent.
        "Happy birthday." Taylor said gently and attractively.
        "Don't remind me." I replied. Taylor sat up and I followed his lead.
        Taylor hugged me and gave me a kiss. Us kissing wasn't as magical as it used to be, but I still wouldn't trade the feeling for the world.
        "I've got a present for you." Taylor told me while he and I were sitting on the couch watching tv.
        "I told you I didn't want anything." I told him.
        "Well I got you something anyway." He excitedly got up and ran into my room.
        Taylor had basically moved into our house. He even has his own drawer in my dresser where he keeps his stuff. I liked him being at my house all the time.
        I smiled as he bounded back over to me. He excitedly handed me a small box. I opened in carefully, not wanting to do any damage to the small silver box. Inside, was a blue, heart shaped, jewel with silver angle wings coming out of it. I smiled as I put the necklace on around my neck and tucked it into my shirt.
        "Thank you." I said to Taylor.
        "Of course." Taylor replied. He and I leaned towards each other and kissed.
        Right at that moment, almost as if it was timed, Dad walked in through the front door. Taylor and I quickly broke apart but it was too late. Dad, as you may have guessed, was pissed. He stomped over to me and grabbed me by the ear and lifted me to my feet. I'm taller than him, but that didn't make me any less threatening.
        "What the hell are you doing boy?" Dad asked me angrily.
        "Dad. We've talked about this." I angrily pulled away from Dad and he was forced to release his hold on my ear. Taylor was standing now too.
        Mom walked into the house, rolled her eyes and stood nearby Manny who was woken by the small amount of commotion.
         "Yes we have, and I thought we agreed that no son of mine is going to be running around making out with a bunch of boys." Dad said.
        "I need to clear some things up real quick," I said. It was a personal goal of mine to piss Dad off as much as I could. "We never agreed to that, and you can't run and make out at the same time. It just wouldn't work. Plus it's not a bunch of guys. It's just Taylor, my boyfriend. And we weren't making out. It was one kiss because Taylor gave me a birthday present."
         "I don't care about your technicalities I-"
         "They're not technicalities. They're facts."
         "Don't get smart with me boy."
         "I've been smart for a while. It doesn't happen over night you know."
        "Shut up." Dad whacked me upside the head, but it didn't hurt.
        "That's enough." Mom stated firmly. She hated Dad and I fighting, and she hated knowing that Dad started the fights even more.
       "Aspen, William needs to be taught discipline." Dad told her.
        "No, you need to learn to accept me as I am." I told Dad.
        Dad and I continued to argue for hours after that. Taylor, Manny, and Mom left the house to give Dad and I some privacy.
        Dad and I fought relentlessly. I continued to anger him as much as possible and he continued to slap me upside the head.
        "Dad! You need to understand that I like boys. I don't like girls and I probably never will. You just need to accept that." I told him. I was getting annoyed.
        "You need to understand that I can't allow that. You and Taylor can no longer see each other." Dad told me.
       "Yes we can, and we will. You can't stop us."
        "Oh yes I can."
        "Oh no you can't."
        "Try and stop me."
        "I don't have to. I'm legally an adult now. I can get married if I want. I can move out now. I've even been looking at apartments."
       "Well I hope you find one soon. It'll be easier to pretend I only had one kid instead of two."
        "Dad! You wanna take that back?"
        "No. I mean it. Your mother and I only wanted a daughter. You were a mistake." Dad said the last part directly in my face.
        I spat onto his face before shoving him out of my way as I left the house. I started walking towards the park, but I was overpowered by the uncontrollable need to just run.
        I ran around the block a few times before losing count of how many laps I made.
        My legs began to hurt, I started getting cramps, and I was running out of breath when I car horn sounded behind me.
        I turned around and saw that my mom had pulled up behind me in her car. I walked over to it and climbed into the back seat. I was sitting next to Manny.
        I pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her forehead.
        "Happy birthday." I whispered.
        "Same to you." Manny replied gently.
        I was happy to be sitting next my sister at that moment. I loved Taylor and normally would have wanted to be sitting next to him instead, but I needed my sister right then.