For Real? ✅

Chapter 20

GREG

I told Tess that I will be going to see my parents.
Guess what? I actually did.

My mom's birthday was a blast.
However, the focus was on me, since I'd returned home after a long time. My mom busied herself in the kitchen, cooking all of my favourite dishes.

"Eat more, Gregory", she'd say, refilling my plate every five minutes. "You look like a stick."

My younger brother puts his tongue out at me, thinking that he's mocking me.

Foolish child, he doesn't understand that he's the one who looks stupid.

"How is college, Greg?" My dad asks. "How are your grades?"

"My grades are fine dad," I say shortly.

My dad nods. He's a very silent man. Its no wonder how my mom does all the talking.
And I totally get that chatty, fun side from her.

"How's Tess?" My mom chirps in. "You are still dating her right?"

I choke on the water, and cough violently.

My mom pats my back until I stop coughing.

My brother mimics my cough, but my dad's glare is enough to make him stop.

I hope my mom's forgotten about Tess. I mean, I didn't do all that fake coughing for nothing...

My mom had been elated to discover that I was dating Tess. I'd never had a girlfriend in high school, so my mom had been kind of worried, that I wasn't like the other boys.

My dad, on the other hand, didn't care. He was happy I'd focused on my schoolwork.

"So, how's Tess?" My mom repeats.

She's not leaving me without an answer, is she?

"Tess is fine. She's not depressed like she was before." I say, looking levelly into my mom's eyes.

"Oh, that's good to know," she says briefly.
But I have a feeling she knows that it's not everything.

After a hearty dinner, I head back to my old room. Nostalgia engulfs me as I see my photos on the wall, arranged artfully by my mom.

I watch myself laughing away with my high-school friends, at my cousin's wedding, the day I had won at the science fair. Such good memories.

I sigh sadly. I could never be that Greg again, even if I wanted to.

That night flashed before my eyes, the party where everything had changed.

Changed ME forever.

It had all started when Tess had passed out.

I left Tess on the couch, unconscious and drunk. That's when I noticed someone looking at me.

Leah had walked away by then, saying something that I was too busy to hear.

I knew this guy, who was still staring at me. He was Leah's ex, with whom she'd broken up on the very same day.

His name was Will Keery.

I don't remember him being handsome.

I avert my gaze, but then he calls out my name, voicing every syllable "Gregory Park".

I turn to look at him, to see him already heading up the stairs.

"Wait!" I follow him up the frat house. He doesn't turn to see if I'm following him.

He heads into a room. I follow him inside and realise that the room was dark.

Once I'm inside, I hear the clicking of a lock.

"Hey! Let me out!" I yell, clueless of where he was.

He answers by pressing his lips over mine.

I pulled myself away, feeling vulnerable. What was he doing?
I swear loudly at him.

He lights a match, an amber shadow over his pale face, looking just as scared as me.

"I just wanted to know what it would feel like." He says softly.

"I'm not your lab rat", I scoff at him. "Find someone else."

The match burns his finger. He lights another.
Why me? Out of all the people at the party, why was it me?

"Okay. Sorry." He opens the door partially, the light from outside spilling in. He motions for me to leave, looking embarrassed.

The match was about to burn his finger again. I leaned closer and blew over it, extinguishing the flame.

He watches me, looking stunned.
I give him a look and close the door.

"What's your story?" I ask, sitting down on a bed. The window was open, and the full moon could be seen hovering in the sky.
Lights from the party were diffused, but enough for me to see his face.

He looks surprised but nevertheless gives me an answer.

"It's simple. I kissed a girl and didn't find the magic in it. A kiss is supposed to make you crave another." He explains, sitting near me.

"Maybe she was bad at it." I shrug.
I've only kissed Tess, so I had no idea of what he was saying.

"I don't think so. Literally every guy wants to date Leah Sanders." Will sighs. "And it wasn't only her. It was just about every girl." He looks depressed.

Would he be happy if I confirmed if he was gay?
If I kissed him this once?

I press my lips against his's, putting all my efforts into that one kiss.

A kiss that changed my life.

Five minutes later, we're making out like crazy. I try to stop myself, but it feels so good, like fresh water to a parched throat.

He's amazing, he really is. I wanted more of whatever all this was.

He's removing his shirt and so am I. I'm gasping for breaths, but craving more.
It's happening so fast, that it's hard for me to process what's happening.

That's when the doors slams open, revealing a girl at the door.
"Lock it, People!" She yells hoarsely, then stops at the sight of us.

Greyes gawps at me and Will.

The sudden realisation hits me like a train.
What was I even doing?

I grab my shirt and wear it quickly, before running away from the place.

The next two hours pass in a blur, spent by crying and contemplating in the washroom.

I was gay. No, I am gay.

And I was never the same since.