Breaking Down the Wall

Confidence Boost

A few months later:

Joss's POV

I was standing outside the mall waiting for Yo. Please don't be too late today! I've already waited for him for 15 minutes. I would continue to wait, no matter how long it took. I just wanted a few more hours with him before I had to leave for London, but his tardiness was whittling away at my time.

I should have told him how I felt a few months ago. When he'd been walking around the park, looking like a lost puppy with his big, brown eyes framed by long dark lashes and his pouting, pink lips, I had wanted nothing more than to make him smile. I didn't even know his name, but I knew I wanted to meet him. I had walked right over to him and offered him a warm smile.

His answering smile had been slow and unsure, but I'd never seen anything so beautiful. He wasn't what most people would call good looking. He was awkward, had glasses and braces and acne. But there was something about him that just took my breath away. I asked for his number, and wonder of all wonders, he gave it to me.

After that first day, I spent every day with him for the next week. We met in the mall, we walked at the park, we went to the movies, we ate all kinds of food, and I learned everything I could about my little angel named Yo. Before I even understood what was happening, I was already in love.

He told me all about his crush on stupid Phana. The first time I walked into his room to be greeted by a bunch of pictures of some guy, I had been interested enough to ask and Yo told me the whole story. I hated Phana for being the guy that my Yo wanted. But Yo had entrusted me with all his tender feelings, his fears, and his doubts. I would not break his trust. I loved Yo with all my heart, and even if he never felt the same, I could be happy just knowing that he was happy.

To be perfectly honest, Phana didn't seem all that great to me. He was just a good looking guy who happened to be good at sports and popular. There were a lot of guys like him, but my Yo was one in a million.

Yo was really smart, he had an adorable face, and he was kind in all the ways that counted. Yes, he had a temper and if you got on his bad side, he really knew how to tell you off. And yes, he was stubborn. But he was thoughtful of other people's feelings. He was loyal. He always looked for the good in people, and he was very forgiving. In spite of his obvious wealth, Yo was also very generous and he was as unspoiled as a person could be. The servants in his house were treated like family and so was every guest who had the pleasure of an invitation.

In my mind, Yo was more than worthy of that guy. In fact, he was way too good for stupid Phana. I had told him more than once that he needed to take down those ridiculous photos. I called it his Wall of Shame. I knew it hurt his feelings, but it made me angry and sad to think that he thought he wasn't worthy of love just because one jerk didn't love him back.

I'm leaving for London tomorrow, my family needs me. I had fought with them to stay, but in the end, I knew they needed me with them. If I had been able to stay, I would have tried to keep Yo by my side forever. But I have to leave and I know I won't be coming back except to visit. It wouldn't be right to ask him to wait for me, Yo's heart was fragile and I wouldn't be there to protect it. I loved him too much to want him to be alone. So I'm planning to do what I can to make it easier for him to find someone who will really value him.

"P'Joss," Yo said, running up to stand in front of me, "I'm so sorry that I'm late. We got a flat tire."

"It's fine, N'Yo. I'm just glad that I get to see you before I have to go," I said as I ruffled his brown hair.

"What do you want to do today? Do you want to go to a movie? I want to stop at the bookstore and pick up the new One Piece as well," Yo said, looking at me with a bright smile.

"Actually I have a surprise for you. I've made a couple of appointments for today, for you," I said with a smile. Please don't be hurt, don't be angry.

"What kind of appointments?" Yo asked me with a slightly suspicious look on his face.

"Yo, I need you to listen to me for a minute, what I have to say right now is really serious," I said. I need to make sure he understood my reasons. Yo has always thought of himself as ugly and I want to make sure he realizes that he isn't. "You know how important you are to me, right?"

"Yes."

"And you know that I think you're perfect just the way you are?"

"P'Joss," Yo said, his cheeks blushing pink, making him even more adorable.

"I've made appointments for you to get your hair cut and styled, we're going to pick up some new clothes for you — workout clothes and every day clothes, we're going to see a dermatologist, and we're going to order you some contact lenses," I said. Please don't be upset.

"But P'," Yo looked a little confused, "I thought you said I was perfect?"

"You are perfect, you don't need any of those things, so if you don't want to do them, we'll buy your new One Piece and go watch a movie," I said, leaning over to look into his eyes. "I just want you to be able to look at yourself and feel confident. You are smart, you are good looking, and I don't think you need to change a thing. But if doing those small things will help you to feel good about yourself, then I want you to do them."

Thankfully, Yo smiled and hugged me. We spent our day doing all those things, while laughing and talking and genuinely enjoying each other's company. Leaving him to go to my family in London is going to be the hardest thing I will ever have to do. But at least I could leave knowing that I had shown him unconditional love and friendship.