Begin Again

Chapter 5

The next few visits to the museum were lonely, as Kevin was never to be seen. Jacob was becoming frustrated, and after each time he visited the museum, he would come home to an angry boyfriend. He got called out left and right about every little thing Jacob seemed to do wrong in the other's eyes. It all began to break away at the boy, sending him into a spiraling depression. Nothing he seemed to do felt right anymore. He was a disappointment. His dad even thought that he was, after Jacob left to live with his boyfriend. He thought by moving out of that household would help the situation with his home life, not turn into something he regretted.

"Jacob, I'm leaving for work. We should have a sit down dinner when I get home. You have to make it this time. You need to bring some contributions to this relationship." His boyfriend announces as he's leaving.

Jacob only nodded his head in silence as the other walked out the door for the day. A small amount of relief settled over him, but was quickly gone as he thought about making dinner. He was awful at that and his boyfriend knew. So why was he putting that pressure on him? Jacob hated cooking because he could never get it right, but he was also worried with the other getting mad at him for cooking something terrible.

He finally decided, after some planning, to make his way to the grocery store to pick some food up for his dinner attempt. It didn't take long to get to the market near his house, but he had hoped it would take longer so it meant he didn't have to get to cooking right away. His reluctance made him drag his feet and stall as long as possible, glancing at every product and deciding if he needed to add something to his cart.

The ideas for dinner were limited as his cooking skill was very small. He could always just risk it and find a frozen pizza. No, his boyfriend would definitely be upset by that. Maybe there was something easy on YouTube he could follow. Except, they always go too fast and have way more experience in making food taste good than he did. His frustration was blooming since his mind couldn't think creatively at the moment. Nothing was going right for him.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by him almost running someone over with his shopping cart. "Oh! I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I— Kevin?"

The two boys looked at each other with looks of surprise. After being caught off guard, Kevin shakes away the surprise and sends the older a soft smile. "How have you been, Jacob?"

Jacob could feel the nervousness flutter inside him, but he was also happy to see the other finally after so long. "Oh, um, I've been good, I guess."

"You guess?" Kevin lets out an amused chuckle.

"I looked for you." This statement throws the younger off. He tilts his head in confusion.

"At the museum, I mean. I guess I never found out when you work so I didn't know when you would be there." Jacob blushed from embarrassment and felt himself slide back into his shy shell.

"Oh," Kevin chuckles and smiles slightly. "I had a family emergency. I wasn't at work for a couple of weeks."

"Oh," is all Jacob responded. It kind of relieved him to know the younger wasn't avoiding him, but at the same time, he still really missed seeing him. The awkward tension was thick. Neither of the two were sure of what to say until Kevin finally spoke up.

"I know you have a boyfriend, but we should go get some coffee again. Just to talk, I promise," he sends an awkward chuckle afterwards. Kevin took any chance he could to see the other, his soulmate.

A smile grew on Jacob's face. Something inside him felt as if he needed this. It was relieving to know that he wasn't on the other's bad side.