5 Leagues Above ➸ Larry Stylinson

Chapter 16

[Harry POV]

It was a warm day and Gemma and I were taking a walk in the park back in England. Both of us were quite young; Gemma was only one year older than me, and I was in first grade at the time.

Mom and Dad were both at work. Mom was a hostess at a fancy restaurant whose French name I could never remember. Dad worked as a lawyer and often claimed to have late nights at the office.

Little did we know that was his cover for the affair he was having behind Mom's back.

Gemma and I were completely oblivious, and spent much of our time on long walks like this one. Sometimes we would stop to climb a tree, or to play on the playground.

Clouds littered the blue sky, and I longed to touch one some day. The air was brisk and cool as we walked, and as I breathed it in, the air seemed to rush through my body like a cold breeze.

I was wearing simple black skinnies, trainers, and a nice baby blue sweater that my mom had picked out for me at the store.

Gemma had on some dark blue leggings, a pair of boots, and a puffy purple vest with a long sleeve shirt underneath.

The school day was over and the park was on the way home, since there wasn't a bus for us to take at the end of the day. A few kids were walking in the park nearby, but most of them had rides from their parents after school.

I had known I was gay for about a year. All the boys in my class always talked about cute girls they saw on the playground at recess, and how fun it was to go on playdates with them on the weekends, and how they were 'falling in love'.

I never felt that.

I always looked at them the way they must have looked at those girls. Their faces were so perfect and beautiful and their smiles could all light up a room.

It wasn't really a choice of who I liked, it was natural and there was no fighting it.

I had accepted that I was gay, but it was scary letting other people in and coming out to them, especially at such a young age. But I wanted someone to know, and that someone was Gemma.

We were extremely close and I trusted her more than both my mom and my dad; it wasn't their fault, it was just that Gemma and I had that close of a connection.

We strolled for a bit longer, passing large oak trees whose leaves were turning beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow. I could feel my breathing picking up, trying to prepare myself to tell her who I really was.

"Gemma?"

She turned to me with a smile. She never seemed to be in a bad mood, which is something I absolutely loved about her. There was never a time that I couldn't talk to her because of a 'bad day' or anything like that.

"What's up, Harry?"

"Gemma, I- I..." My voice trailed off and I suddenly felt hot in the face.

I wasn't embarrassed about my sexuality, but that didn't make coming out any less intimidating.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, her tone turning into worry.

I nodded quickly in reassurance, and she smiled and looked at me, waiting for me to go on.

"Is it bad to be different?"

"Of course not! What makes you think that, silly," She laughter lightly, ruffling my curls.

"Gemma, I'm gay." I looked down at my shoes, not wanting to see her reaction.