I'm Not Gay, I Swear! | McPriceley

Chapter Three

On their way back to the house, Kevin felt his pocket vibrate, only to see a message from Arnold.

Hey, didn't that hetero guy come to your house today?

Kevin sighed but answered back.

Straight Companion. But yes. He's actually here with me now.

Cool! What's he like? Is he nice? Will I get to meet him? Is he like, totally your stereotypical straight dude?

That's a lot of questions. I could probably introduce you to him sometime soon. He's... alright. Definitely not what I imagined.

How so?

He definitely isn't a super straight person. He's also really bubbly and lively. Kind of draining, not gonna lie.

But aren't I super lively too?

Yeah, but you're different, bud. I can handle your kind of energy.

Yeah, I'm pretty cool like that. But tell me when I can meet him! I want to know this guy who's going to spend pretty much all day and night with you. And hey! Don't let him take over my position as your best friend!

Kevin chuckled at that. Will do.

He finally put his phone away, only to see Connor giving him a side glance. He was obviously curious as to what Kevin had been doing, but Kevin wasn't going to tell him. It wasn't his business to know everything that he did. Instead, he folded his arms and kept on walking in the silence.

They were both instantly greeted by Kevin's parents when they both walked inside. "Hello boys! Have a nice walk?"

"Yep," Kevin bluntly said, hanging his jacket up again before heading off towards his room without another word.

Kevin's mother sighed. "Sorry about him," she said to Connor. "He's never been one to talk much. It was a miracle that he eventually got a friend to hang out with."

"Oh, no worries about it, Mrs. Price. I'm sure I'll be able to come through to him soon enough. I'll just have to work harder to do so," Connor said determinedly.

"Thank you for being so patient with him," she smiled. "We know he can be quite a lot of work."

"Oh, of course! And he's not that bad, really. He just seems to have a lot of barriers built up around him. Has he always been hard to get through to?"

"It's definitely been more prominent in the last few years. He used to be a good boy, always determined to do his best. Lately he's changed, though. Gotten quite more rebellious and has drifted apart from us. I just hope that we get to have a connection with him again, like we used to."

"Do you think it has anything to do with this... er, problem?" Connor asked, trying to get as much information as he could about his new patient.

"Possibly. We're not entirely sure. But if it is, we certainly want to fix it."

"Would that mean that'd you'd be okay with him being gay if that wasn't the problem?"

"Maybe. I don't know..." she definitely seemed to be conflicted on the matter. "I've been taught my whole life that being gay is a sin, and that it should be looked down upon. But he's still my son, and I'll always love him no matter what."

Connor stared down at the floor as he took that information in, before nodding softly. "Right. Okay, I'll go see if I can figure out exactly what's happening. I really want to help you guys all out."

"Thank you again, Connor. This means so much to me. To us," she told him with a kind smile.

"I always want to be able to help people who are in need. And I will always be here to aid you." He returned the gesture. "Now, let me go talk to him. Maybe I'll at least get something out of him."

Connor faced the stairs and quietly made his way up them, before knocking softly on Kevin's door, where he was laying on his bed inside. The brunet barely lifted his head, before groaning at the sight of Connor. "Can't you just leave me alone?"

"That is the complete opposite of what I am supposed to be doing," Connor told him. "Can I come inside?"

Kevin sighed before sitting up. "I guess."

Connor walked over to Kevin's bed and sat on the edge of it, careful to give some space between the two. "Kevin, all I want to do is help you sort everything going on in your mind. I can tell there's a lot going on inside of you, and you just want some answers. But if you just keep everything bottled up, it's not going to fix everything. Trust me, I've learned that the hard way. So if you just tell me what's bothering you, I promise I will try my best to help you."

There was silence as Kevin took in everything Connor said. He wanted to trust him. He wanted to believe him. But still a tiny voice inside him told him that he shouldn't get so close to someone he only met today. He awkwardly tried to avoid eye contact with Connor, turning to face the other way. His conscience was right. There was no way he'd entrust this guy with his whole life story. Who's to say that he wouldn't just tell his parents everything, leaving him a broken mess?

Connor took this silence as a bad sign, that Kevin still wasn't comfortable with him. "Alright. Fine, keep everything to yourself. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll always be here to listen." And with that, he walked out of the room.

Kevin glared after him before collapsing onto his bed once again. He hated how judgemental he was of others. But it was always his first instinct. He didn't trust others so easily. He never truly had. You never knew who people truly were behind the personas they gave off. Just because Connor appeared like a very sweet and kind person didn't mean that he was. So that was why he couldn't tell him anything.

But he had to admit, he had been wanting to have someone to talk to. Sure, he could talk to Arnold about everything going on, but he didn't seem like the type that could help him sort out all of his problems. No, Arnold was definitely more the type that you hung out with to release stress and have fun with.

Connor, on the other hand, definitely seemed like the kind mom friend you'd have, that'd do whatever they could to help you. He at least seemed interested in Kevin's problems, rather than just telling him to fix it on his own. He couldn't deny the fact that something about the red head was a bit charming, though of course he'd never admit it. He was meant to dislike him, and that's it. Nothing more.

But then why was he so invested in him?