The Nerd and The Frog

Stop and Stare

For the first time in years, Alan was trying to fix his hair in the bathroom mirror. Typically, he would just wash it, blow dry, lay it flat and run out the door. But this morning, he had taken a bit of his father's pomade and attempted to style his hair. He had picked out an outfit from the clothes that Daniel had gifted him with already, the outfit resting on his bed. He ran his fingers through his hair slightly, trying to recall how Daniel did it previously.

"What... are you doing?" a voice stated from outside, catching Alan's attention. He looked over to see his father staring at him in a surprised fashion.

"Hey dad... can you help me with this?" Alan asked, pointing to his now incredibly sleek hair. "I... have no idea how to use this stuff..."

"I can see that..." his father teased, watching a frown come to his son's face in annoyance. Walking over, he placed a hand onto Alan's hair, then immediately removed it. "Did you use half of my jar?"

"No! I used enough to fill my palm." Alan replied, confused.

"That's too much, Allie... rinse it out first." his father stated with a small laugh, as he watched Alan turn on the sink and begin to rinse his hair. "What's gotten into you? You typically don't style your hair."

"Well... I made a bet, so to speak..." Alan muttered, trying to figure out a way to not bring up the fact that Daniel was the reason for this whole ordeal.

"...There's a boy, isn't there?" his father bluntly stated with a smirk.

"DAD." Alan groaned, his head shooting up from the sink, a look of frustration on his face.

"It's fine, Allie. If it is, it's not a big deal." his father spoke with a smile, getting a towel to dry Alan's hair. He looked down at his son, seeing a look of bashfulness on his face. "Do you like him?" he asked, ruffling the towel against Alan's head.

Alan kept his gaze to the floor, a twisted frown on his face. "I do... but he doesn't know that I do..."

"Ah, unrequited love..." his father lightly joked, only to see Alan roll his eyes. Throwing the towel in a nearby hamper, he grabbed a blow dryer and began to dry Alan's hair. "Why don't you tell him?"

"I... can't. It's not that simple." Alan answered, his face exhibiting internal conflict. "Thomas screwed shit up."

"Alan, words." his father quickly stated, a bit firm.

"I'm sorry." Alan apologized just as fast. "We haven't... reconciled."

"You certainly don't have to if you don't want to do so. What Thomas did was... unnecessary." his father stated, turning off the dryer.

"Fucked up, is what you mean." Alan muttered, only to catch himself again. "Sorry."

"No, in that instance, you're right. It was pretty fucked up." his father stated with a laugh. He reached over to grab the jar of pomade and took a rather small amount into his hands, rubbing them together. "But, it's up to you to forgive him or not. I'm not going to judge you either way." He carefully began to run his hands through Alan's hair, styling it carefully along the way.

"Thanks dad..." Alan spoke softly, a small smile coming to his face.

"All done." his father stated, moving back to let Alan look in the mirror. He watched his son carefully examine his hair in the mirror, a bright smile coming to his face as he saw Alan nod happily. "Next time, just call me instead of sticking your whole hand into my jar." he teased, only to hear Alan laugh.

"Will do." Alan replied with a grin, reaching over to hug his dad quickly. "I'll see you at dinner..."

"Have a good day, Allie." his father spoke, watching his son quickly exit the bathroom.