Part 20
1708 Words
"Is it here?" I ask for direction.
"Yes. The house with red roof is mine. Pull over there."
I find his house is kind of interesting. Not only the roof, even the door frame and windowsills are all painted in red. That makes them look bold on the gray wall. And although the building is rather small, it sends a warmer homey feeling than my house does. Is it because the parents are still around? Or maybe something else?
"Come on. Let's get inside." Louis gets out of the car. I follow soon.
"Louis." Someone calls Louis as we walk to the front door. I see a tall guy jogging closer from behind. He is Tim.
"Hey, Tim." Louis smiles at him.
"Where have you been? I thought you went home right after I texted you to take a bus since I can't drive you home." Tim asks. He glances at me with an undefinable expression.
Tch. What kind of question is that? Louis is better not answering. I mean, who is he? He is not his boyfriend. I bet he never even kissed Louis the way I did! So, what is his problem?
"Yeah... But then I asked William to take me home. And he didn't mind. So, here we are now. Home."
"At this hour?" Tim frowns at Louis' answer.
What is he doing pushing my baby like that? Oh, come on. If Louis isn't here, I would have punched him right in the face. Since when does this freaking nerd become so nosy? Or is it how he truly is?
"Truth to be told, Tim. We had a nice private cake time together before I take him home." I jump into the conversation nonchalantly. Louis widens his eyes from surprise. "Right, Baby?"
"William-" Louis is trying to find words for his sentence, but he seems failed.
"Where?" Tim asks again.
"My house. Or should I say my bedroom, Lou?" I send a wicked grin to Louis. I know he must be a little confused by my attitude right now. He is probably wondering what my true intention is, why I should talk to Tim that way. Like some jealous boyfriend trying to build borders just to make sure that other boys will always keep their hands away from his property. Property? Yes, I like how that sounds.
"William, stop joking. You're making him confused." Louis gestures towards his best friend. I respond him with a chuckle. "Tim, don't listen to that." He adds.
"Alright." Tim nods but his gaze is still fixed on me for a short seconds before he shifts it to Louis. "I guess I have to go home now that I know you are safe and home."
With that, he bids us 'good bye' and 'see you later'. Although he is trying to be civil with me, his eyes are enough to tell me that he has a trust issue and somewhat suspicion towards me. Am I really that suspicious? Or that obvious perhaps? Whatever. I don't care even the slightest.
"What was that for, William?" Louis asks as Tim has gone.
"I was just teasing him, Baby. Did you see his reaction?" I grin and continue. "He was surprised and confused. As if I was trying to steal his boyfriend."
Louis rolls his eyes. "I'm not his boyfriend."
"Yes, we know that. But the question is, does he know that?"
Louis starts whining to make me stop joking about his best friend. "Stop that, William. Tim isn't gay, for God sake."
"Okay, okay, Lou." Still grinning, I lift both of my hands as a sign of surrender. "Why don't we go inside?"
"Whatever." Louis presses the bell since the door is locked.
Not a minute after, the door is opened. I take in a skinny figure of a woman standing in the door way. Her age is somewhere around late thirties. Her skin tone is lighter than Louis', but when I see her shoulder-length straight black hair and those beautiful bright blue eyes, I can easily assure myself that she is Louis' mother.
"Hey, welcome home." She says cheerfully until her eyes are stopped at me. "And who is this handsome boy over here?"
"Mom!" Louis can't fight the blush that is furiously intruding his face. "This is William." I can see his awkwardness as he is trying to introduce me. Well, you can't blame him. It's not everyday people gets the chance to introduce a gorgeous boy to their parents. Haha. Alright, I'm kidding. I mean, who knows if Louis never have a habit of bringing friends home before.
"Good evening, Mrs. Nye." I greet her politely. "I'm here just to take your son home. Pardon me if it is too late. We were sort of wound up in a little chat this afternoon."
A knowing smile spreads on her face. "It's alright. I know a little chat can somehow make everything else forgotten." Then she glances at Louis. "Especially when your chat friend is this gorgeous. Right, Louis?"
"Mom, stop it!" Louis gets more embarrassed. And his mother seems very much satisfied teasing her son. So, does it mean his mother is aware about Louis' sexuality and accept it? "Can't we just get inside? Please?" He eyes his mother with an annoyed face and strides in to the house.
"I guess I'll take my leave now." I say calmly.
"Oh, please don't. Louis has never brought any friends from high school before. You don't know how happy I am. Let's have dinner together. I'm actually cooking dinner right now." She looks genuinely happy.
My coming here has probably ceased her worry about her son being a loner and a school outcast. I bet she doesn't even know if her son gets bullied all the time. And this is one of the reasons why I don't have the heart to decline her invitation. Anyway, even though she isn't as beautiful as my mother, she does cook for her family as well, just like my mother. And that is good enough for me.
"Thank you very much, Mrs. Nye. Only if it doesn't bother you."
"Oh, come on." She chuckles. "Call me Sarah. And how could adding one portion of meals be a bother?"
Once we both enter the house, I ask. "Is your husband home?"
"Not yet. But he will be, in no more than half an hour." She replies. "You can go upstairs to Louis' room and I'll call you when the dinner is ready."
"But, Mrs. N-"
"Sarah." She cuts. "Call me Sarah. It sounds younger." She grins.
"Okay. Sarah." I test it with my tongue. "May I just accompany you in the kitchen? You may need a little chat while cooking." I ask her politely.
"Why not? How nice of you. I guess Louis will be fine. Come on."
She leads me to the kitchen. After serving myself a glass of water, I take a seat on one of chairs around the dinner table while she resumes her paused cooking.
"What will we have for dinner?" I ask.
"Well, I've baked ravioli and garlic breads. And the grilled fish is almost done. I hope you don't mind fish."
"No. Not at all." I can't tell how nice it feels to watch someone when they are cooking for you. Well, not precisely for me, I know. But right now, I just want to think it that way. And it would be even better if Louis being the one who is cooking.
"So, why hasn't Louis ever mentioned about you before? I heard many Tims and Ethans. But never William." She asks with her back still facing me.
Ethan? Does that mean she knows anything about the bullying? I don't think so. "Actually, I was just transferred here two days ago. And Louis is my first friend here."
"I see, I hope he doesn't put you at any trouble."
"Sorry? I'm not sure if I follow you." What does she mean?
She pauses her doing and turns around. "How is my kid at school?"
I frown at her. But I do not answer. I doubt that Louis has ever told his family about the bullying thing.
"Louis is kind of a loner. He has difficulties in making friends." She explains with a sad tone. "Usually, kids like that are very potential to get picked on by other kids at school. And sometimes I think my Louis is probably a victim too."
"Well, for that, I can assure you that he will be safe whenever I'm around him because I really hate bullying and I will never let that happen in front of my eyes." I guess this is the best answer. At least better than revealing one had been thrown at the dumpster to his mother.
"You are a good kid, William. I don't want you to get any troubles by doing that."
"I believe there will be no trouble for me." I speak sternly but still politely. "You just have to trust me."
She goes silent for a while before finally nods. "Alright. Thank you. I think I can count on you."
"Of course, Sarah."
She turns around then and resumes her work. "Louis must be happy to have a friend like you."
"Well, it will be so much better for me if he sees me as somewhat closer than friend."
"Wait, do you like him? I mean, are you gay?"
"Yes, I'm gay and I really like him. I hope you don't mind."
"Of course, I don't. I'm happy to hear that. You should ask him out, William. You'll make a good couple together." She encourages me while preparing the table.
"I did but he rejected me. He thought I was being too fast forward."
"Oh, Dear." Sarah shows me her sympathetic face.
"It's okay."
It really is okay. I know, sooner or later, he will be mine eventually. But the point of this conversation is to make sure that his family will not be an obstacle in the future. I don't realize that my smile has gone unconsciously too wide until I hear the front door bell ringing.
"I'll get it. It must be my husband. You go tell Louis; dinner is about to start."
***
- Writer
