The Neighbor (boyxboy) [On Hold indefinitely]

Chapter Eleven

The room grew more silent than it was before. We were looking at each other still. As soon as Joey said it, he looked like he regretted it. He turned his face away from me, staring at the ground.

 The silence was deafening. "Joey," I started, "it's okay." That's all I could come up with. I didn't know else to say.

"I-I shouldn't have told you. You probably think of me differently." Joey's face turned from hard to soft. He seemed embarrassed about coming out to me. "I had no other way to explain Friday night to you. Sure I was drunk, but a drunken mind speaks sober thoughts." He turned back to look at me, but didn't say anything else.

"Is that why you asked me...what you asked me?" That question. The question that I didn't have an answer to.

"Yeah." He paused for a moment. "I still didn't get an answer either." His gaze only intensified on me.

"Joey, don't." I didn't want to go through this again. "I have a girlfriend."

"You're using that as an excuse Isaiah." Joey said in a scolding voice.

I felt my body starting to heat up from irritation. "What is up with you and Jasmine?  I have a girlfriend. I've had girlfriends in the past. I've never looked at guys in that way. Just because I failed to go all the way with Jasmine twice and I felt all those weird feelings when you did almost kiss me and didn't feel them with Corinne doesn't mean I'm gay!" I let out a long sigh and it wasn't until then that I realized what I said during my short rant. "Fuck."

A smug smile, the same one from Saturday, came across Joey's face. "Weird feelings, huh?"

"Look, Joey, I didn't mean what I just said, I was just rambling, I've just been stressed out and-"

"No Isaiah. What you're doing right now is rambling. What you were doing before was speaking your mind." His face turned serious. "You're in denial Isaiah. Whether you like it or not. I was like you when I was a freshman-"

"I'm not you Joey! Don't even compare me to you! I'm not like you! I have a girlfriend. I'm not gay! I'm not struggling with anything! I know my sexuality and it's not gay!" In a furious rage, I grabbed my Spanish book and started for the door.  "I'm leaving." I announced to him.

Before I could open the door, I felt Joey's hands get a hold of my arm. I tried pulling away but he was too strong. He took me and spun me around, our faces barely inches away from each other. Without warning his lips crushed into mine. The feelings I felt on Friday came back tenfold. Electricity shot throughout my whole body. I couldn't fight it. His hands went from my arms to caressing my face. The kiss grew less intense and eventually stopped. Joey drew his face back and looked into my eyes. "Did you feel anything?"

I just looked at him. Multiple emotions were running through me. Anger was coming out on top. I pushed Joey with so much force that he stumbled across to the other side of the room. "Yes! Yes, Joey I felt something! Is that what you want me to say? Is that what you were wanting to hear me say?! Fuck, why are you doing this?! Why do you fucking care if I felt anything or not?!" I felt my face burning. Why did he care what I felt? Why was he so adamant about knowing?

"Because I care about you, alright?!" Joey shouted back answering my thoughts. The room grew quiet again. Joey started to walk towards me again, this time keeping a reasonable distance. "I like you Isaiah. I have feelings for you." He sighed. "There. I said it."

I looked at him, dumbfounded. He has feelings for me? "Joey, don't. Don't say that, please."

All he did was chuckle. "Right."