All I Ever Wanted

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Nothing is more satisfying than mi’ama’ssoft-shell tacos. Homemade tortillas, deliciously spiced ground beef, fresh lettuce and cheese. It’s enough to make my mouth water. Sadly, I couldn’t focus on the fact that I was going to be eating lots and lots of tacos. Instead, I had to focus on the fact that tonight was the night that I introduce Harry Styles to my family. This is no small task; if they didn’t like him, all they’d let him do would be writing his will before making sure I’d never see him again. So of course I’ve got to take matters into my own hands and make sure they don’t consider him a threat.

“Mija, when is your friend coming over?”

“Oh…I don’t know, he may still be at his boyfriend’s.”

That’s right. I went so far as to tell my family that Harry Styles is gay. Why not? I mean, my parents don’t know that much about One Direction, and let’s face it, it’s pretty easy to believe. But I couldn’t focus on the flimsiness of my lie because the doorbell rang. It was time to introduce my family to my new “gay” friend.

-*-

“Hello. I’m Harry.”

He smiled, reaching out to shake my father’s hand. Alex shot daggers, luckily only the metaphorical kind, at him. Mom was all smiles.

“So, Harry, how is your boyfriend?”

There was silence. He turned to me, looking so confused that I was sure that my cover’d be blown. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach until my father spoke.

“Oh, Maria, don’t ask him that straight off. He isn’t used to telling strangers about his love life, unlike you.”

I let out a sigh; my cover was intact. Alex was still suspicious though, so I’d need to work harder at this façade.

“Why don’t you guys go ahead, I’ll show Harry where to put his…things?”

Yeah, you know, like the lint in his pocket. But my parents left, worrying about the food going cold as they walked. Alex gave me one last suspicious glance and followed them. I dragged Harry into the shoe closet, forgetting how small it was. We were once again chest-to-chest.

For some reason, my heart was beating incredibly fast. It was probably because of the excitement at eating tacos. Yeah, that was it.

“Why did your mum ask about a boyfriend?”

I let out a nervous laugh.

“Well…it’s a funny story, really.”

“You told them I was gay?!” He’d caught on. His eyes were wide, mouth half open at my audacity. It was funny, really.

“Yes. Wow, you catch on quick. But it’s just so you can stay my friend. Please pretend to be gay?”

He let out a sigh, looking quite pissed off. I didn’t blame him—the fact that I was asking him this made me feel beyond guilty. The only reason I was was because I knew it would work. They let me hang out with Eric because he was gay, and therefore no threat to my wellbeing.

“Fine. But only because you said that I was the only person to know about what you’re going to tell me. And you said your mom’s tacos were amazing.” He smiled now, showing me that he wasn’t completely mad at me.

So I’d taken him up on it and decided to tell him everything. By everything, I mean the things that I haven’t even told Kara. Sometimes talking about Jesse is painful. But maybe he’ll know how to make me happy again. So I think I will trust him, even if it’ll be hard. From now on, I’ll treat him as one of my best friends.