We'll Never Fall In Love [Garrance AU] {Prequel To If We Fall In Love}

Chapter 30: Not All That He Seems To Be

*Laurance's POV*

"Bye, guys! See you later!" Aphmau waved goodbye to Garroth and I, as her and Katelyn jogged up to her house, after Prom.

"Bye, Aph! Love you!" Garroth yelled back to her, blowing her a kiss.

"Love you too, Gar'!" Aphmau blew a kiss back to him, before shutting the door behind her.

"So..." I began, as we started the rest of our walk down the street. "...how many people know that you're...y'know?"

"You can just say 'gay'. You're not going to be damned to Hell for just uttering the word." Garroth rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "And how many people? Literally everybody. It's honestly not that big of a secret anymore. You can't have a private life ever, nowadays."

"Wait...everybody knows?" Crap. That makes me feel less special, being the last person to know and everything. I mean, it's not like he was obvious about it or anything!

"Pretty much. And if they don't know for sure, they definitely assumed so. The only people I ever actually came out to, were my brothers, Aphmau, Dante, Travis, my parents, Katelyn, Teony, Kawaii~Chan, you, and...a few other people..."

"Huh..." I put my hands in my pockets, staring down at the sidewalk. "Well, just so you know, I never assumed you were gay."

"Sure, but you certainly assumed I was straight. You actually believed that I was dating Ivy that one time."

"To tell you the truth, I knew you were lying about you two being together," I chuckled a little. "You were so uncomfortable around her... Besides, whenever you lie, your pitch goes up a few notches. So, I could tell."

"Damn. You just got me figured out, don'tcha?"

"Well, I'm sure there's plenty I don't know about you. I mean, heck, everyday it seems like I discover something new about you."

"Crazy, right?" Garroth smiled a little. "It's almost like I'm not the two-dimensional character that people take for at face-value. It's almost like I have some depth and actual characteristics, and am a round character with complex feelings and personality." He glanced up at me, his smile wavering. "...Sorry."

"For what? What did you do?"

"For bothering you with all of this. You're not a two-dimensional character in some cliché romance, either. I feel like this entire night— no— my entirety of knowing you, I never stopped to learn more about your personality and stories. Where you came from, what you're like, how you think. It's just my selfish, rich-boy personality coming through, and making everyone's personal story about me... See? I'm doing it again just by monologuing!"

"Garroth, buddy," I stopped walking, and put my hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't be ashamed to talk about yourself. It's actually a really good coping mechanism, to help deal with emotional and mental issues. That's why therapy can be nice for people. I mean, I don't know from experience or anything, so I can't say for sure, but I can tell that it can help... But, if it'll make you feel less selfish, do you want to know more about my life?"

"If you want... I'll listen."

"Um, well, there's not much to tell about what goes on in my head. I kind of say whatever's on my mind. That's probably why I have a lot of angry outbursts. That, and, I have some emotional past trauma that I've been dealing with for years, and every minor inconvenience bothers me to the point of outbursts. That's why I reacted so rashly when Lucinda and I broke up. Not only was it my fluctuating hormones that tipped me off, but also my head is already filled with so much nearly-unresolved, and probably untreatable, trauma that caused such an emotional outburst. Because..." I took a breather, as Garroth nodded at me to continue. "...There's a lot from my past that I have to deal with... My parents died when I was little."