Unlikeable You

Chapter One

It was a sleepover with Tyler’s childhood (and best) friend, Daniel; a normal occurrence. The two had been friends for twelve years—now seniors in high school—and stuck together like glue. Ever since Tyler was little, he had always admired his friend. Daniel was the first and only person he could confide in, and for the former, it was the same way.

“Ty, I think it’s time,” Daniel stated from across the bed. Tyler looked at him in confusion but egged him on to continue. “It’s time for me to make the first move on my crush.”

The statement brought a sickening feeling to Tyler’s stomach. At first, he thought his emotions for Daniel were normal: who wouldn’t care so much for the person they grew up with? Except, that was the problem. Tyler didn’t just care for Daniel—he wanted him all to himself. But, of course, Tyler couldn’t tell him that. What if Daniel thought he was disgusting? What if he never talked to him again? Tyler covered his love for Daniel in a blanket of fear, keeping his crush a secret for what only could be explained as an eternity.  Plus, Daniel was his best friend—it was Tyler’s responsibility to be happy for him.

“Oh, really?” Tyler replied. He pushed the sickening feeling to the side, doing his best not to sound disappointed. “And you’re telling me this because…?”

“Because I don’t know what to do! What if I mess up and look stupid?” Daniel flailed his arms up in the air. The smaller boy chuckled. Daniel had always been the funny type, one of the many things that were adored about him.

Tyler pursed his lips. “You don’t know how to kiss—”

“No, you i***t!” Daniel quickly interjected with a sigh. He laid himself on Tyler’s bed and placed his hands behind his head. “I don’t know how to tell them and stuff. Like—” he paused to find the right words—“how do I approach them? I want to look cool.”

Tyler let out a scoff. “I’m sure anything you’ll do is fine,” he stated honestly. “You’re a charmer. Anything you do, any girl will find attractive.” Daniel sat up following the response and furrowed his eyebrows.

“You’re useless.” He pouted and Tyler shrugged. “I’m serious this time, dude. I really like them,” he confessed in a more serious tone. Tyler felt it prick at his heart.

“Then what do you want me to do?” he asked. The taller boy blanked, causing Tyler to chuckle. “Exactly—”

“What would you do with the person you like?” he asked and Tyler felt himself become tense. I don’t know, Daniel. What would I do with you? His mouth was void of response and Daniel waved his hand in front of him. “Hello? Earth to Tyler?”

“I don’t know. I don’t really like anyone, anyway,” he lied.

Daniel furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “No way I believe that. You have to like someone—at least a little.”

Tyler shook his head.

“No girl you find really cute? Nobody you’d wanna go out with?” Daniel tried egging him on, receiving a ‘tsk’ in response.

“The person I like isn’t a—” Tyler stopped himself. They aren’t a girl. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “They wouldn’t like me, anyway.” He sighed. “Don’t try using my advice for stuff like this.”

“Lame.” Daniel yawned then got out of the bed. He motioned a hand towards himself. “Come here.”

“What now?” Tyler asked, remaining in his spot. Daniel let out a sigh.

“Tyler,” Daniel said more seriously, and the aforementioned couldn’t help but laugh. When he looked up at him, though, Daniel’s face was void of emotion.

Tyler sobered quickly. “Oh, you’re serious.” Daniel nodded, eyebrows raised. Tyler rubbed his face and got out of the bed, standing across from Daniel. “What do you want?”

“Just listen and give me your thoughts,” he said. Tyler rolled his eyes. If this was another one of his stupid antics...

“I need to tell you something,” Daniel continued with a serious tone. Tyler did his best to suppress his emotions as he looked up at him. When their eyes locked, he could tell Daniel was doing this with a hundred percent sincerity. Tyler felt something like butterflies releasing in his stomach, but he did his best to ignore it.

“Yes, Daniel?”

“I like you,” Daniel stated. Tyler’s heart felt as if it had skipped a beat—if not two. So he’s using me to practice? Saying so beforehand would’ve helped Tyler prepare his heart a little more, but he still had no complaints. Although he was playing as Daniel’s future girlfriend, he couldn’t help but feel a little happy inside. This was something he had been hoping to hear from Daniel for years. Even though those words weren’t really meant for him, some part of Tyler made it feel like it was. 

There was a brief silence. “I think that was good eno—”

“And your response?” Daniel said, his eyes burning into his questionee. The fact that Tyler was playing a girl—the one that Daniel liked, at that—made him sick to his stomach; but if it was for Daniel, if it was for his best friend, it was okay. 

“Oh,” he paused, “I like you too, Daniel.” 

Tyler felt a small bit of relief, his interpretation of the confession being a real one of his own. In a different setting, this confession wouldn’t be possible. Here, all feelings were on the table. While a part of him was happy, the other part felt disgusted with himself and his jealousy. Why couldn’t he just like me? Why couldn’t I just be a girl?

Tyler looked away from Daniel’s serious gaze and let out a sigh, breaking his so-called ‘character’. If he continued this any longer he’d get too attached, just for Daniel to say this same thing to the girl that he’d end up dating. Tyler began to look back at him. “Okay, Daniel, I think that’s—”

By the time Tyler’s eyes had met Daniel’s, the latter’s lips had already met his. Daniel’s hand gently caressed the side of Tyler’s face and his eyes closed. A part of Tyler told him to stop, but the most selfish part of him knew this was the only chance he could get—even if it was just the heat of the moment.

He kissed him back.

Tyler couldn’t tell if the initial kiss lasted for seconds or for hours. It felt as if time itself had stopped. Whatever tenseness he had left his body as his arms snaked around Daniel’s neck to pull him closer. Every passing second filled Tyler with fear and euphoria all at once. He was afraid of Daniel pulling away and them having to deal with the aftermath, but he was too happy that the moment continued. As Tyler parted his mouth, Daniel took the invitation gladly, and their tongues began to dance. Daniel’s tongue twirled with Tyler’s, the foreign heat bringing him to an all-new high. To say the least, Daniel proved that his kissing technique needed no work, Tyler was sure of that now.

Daniel’s hands made their way under Tyler’s shirt. He gasped from the touch, their lips parting. Tyler thought the moment had ended then, but Daniel’s thumbs continued to stroke his sides, the skin burning at the touch. Tyler looked down as he watched Daniel’s hands, taking his time to catch his breath. It was all too real… wasn’t Daniel done toying with his emotions? Was he really the one Daniel wanted right now? Expecting the moment to end, Tyler looked up at the taller boy. Although he expected Daniel to look scared, the only emotion pouring from his eyes was pure lust. For me? Tyler wasn’t sure. Regardless, the feeling in his stomach swelled. 

Daniel’s eyes turned their attention towards the smaller boy’s lips, a sure sign of his impatience. Tyler let out a sheepish grin and Daniel looked back up to his eyes, the desire seeming even more than before. I just got a chance to breathe, and he’s being this greedy? Was he really this pent-up from not having another girlfriend? While the thought made Tyler laugh, he did his best to suppress it. Daniel’s impatience seemed to peak as it brought him to pull Tyler closer, and their lips connected with each other again. After a moment of another heated kiss, Daniel parted their lips.

In between heavy breaths, Daniel made eye contact. “Tyler, I—”

A door slammed, interrupting his sentence. While the sound made Tyler jolt, the view behind him scared him more. At his bedroom door was Tyler’s father, his fists clenched at his sides.

“What the f**k are you two doing?”

Tyler hadn’t even noticed his father was there, much less that he had opened the door. How long had he been watching?

Tyler pushed Daniel away from him and stared at the ground. “Dad, I—”

“You think you can just come in here and do whatever you like? Come into my house and do such… disgusting things?” his father asked, his question addressed to Daniel. Tyler looked up in a panic. It was clear this wasn’t going to a good place. He needed to do something, he needed to at least get Daniel out of it.

Daniel looked at Tyler’s dad with a stoic expression. “Mr. Whitley, it was—”

“I forced myself on him,” Tyler blurted out, almost as shocked at his own cover-up as Daniel was.

Daniel turned to him. “Tyler…” Tyler looked at him and gave a small smile.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to lie to him,” he replied, turning back to his father. “You can punish me however you want, but Daniel has nothing to do with it. It’s not his fault that I have these disgusting desires—”

“Tyler,” Daniel’s voice was more assertive this time. Either way, the aforementioned refused to look at him—he couldn’t.

“Daniel, it’s okay, you can leave. I’m sorry for doing that to you, you won’t have to worry about it ever happening again,” Tyler said in a nearly monotone voice. His father was getting visibly restless, and he didn’t need him to take out his anger on the both of them.

“You heard him, boy,” Tyler’s dad seethed. His eyes were dark, and he shoved his fists in his pockets. “Get your bag and get out.”

Daniel stayed still for a moment but eventually gave in. He knew the consequences of showing his stubbornness toward Tyler’s father. He grabbed his bag and turned to Tyler with gentle eyes.

“I’ll see you on Monday, okay?” he whispered and Tyler nodded. “If anything happens, you need to call me.”

“Mhm,” he replied and Daniel turned away. When he made it to the door, he slowed his pace as he walked past Tyler’s dad, seeming to mutter something that made him clench his fists even tighter. 

When the bedroom door closed, the room filled with an eerie silence.

Tyler attempted to break the newly-found barrier. “Dad—”

“Stay in this room and don’t come out. I’ll… deal with you later,” his father muttered, turning on his heel. Before Tyler could make up a response, the door slammed shut, his body flinching in the process.

What exactly did Daniel tell him?

(Text Format: Daniel Tyler)

A few hours later, Tyler received a text from Daniel.

Hey. Is everything okay? You’ve been quiet.

His concern made Tyler happy and brought a giddy feeling to his stomach. At the same time, though, it made Tyler wonder if Daniel would just ignore what happened before they had gotten caught.

Yeah, everything is fine. I haven’t left my room and he hasn’t come in.

That’s good. Did he leave? It may be safer for you to hide out here while he calms down.

Maybe he did. I don’t want to risk running into him, though.

Just check out the situation mb? 

Sure.

Tyler set down his phone and crawled out of bed. As he made his way to the door, his phone rang.

He picked it up and pressed ‘ANSWER’. “Yes, Daniel?”

“Just keep me on the line with you. If you bump into him and something happens, I’ll run over.”

“Okay, but you have to be quiet. Go on mute or something,” Tyler said and Daniel hummed in response. 

When the other side went quiet, Tyler stuck his phone in his pocket and opened the door. Although the house was silent, Tyler checked the rooms to see if his father had fallen asleep. Bedroom? Nothing. Living Room? Empty. Kitchen? Not there, either.

“He’s not home,” he told Daniel. “Maybe he went to a bar or something.” A part of Tyler was relieved, the other scared shitless of being caught at the front door. The more time that passed, the faster his heart raced. “Daniel, are you there? Just say something real quick.” He needed reassurance.

“Yes, Tyler. I’m here.”

Tyler let out a deep breath, and soon enough he found himself at the front door. Please don’t be on the other side, he pleaded, his hand on the knob. Why was he so scared? He wasn’t sure. Maybe his father would beat him, maybe he’d get kicked out. Hell, maybe he’d even get forced to transfer schools. The outcomes were endless—Tyler wasn’t entirely prepared for which one may come true.

He turned the knob, opening it with a deep breath.

“Where do you think you’re going?"