Hey, Mr. In Denial (LBGT)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

If there's one thing I just hate about Aunt Delilah, it's that her bringing her kids here. They are going to stay for God knows how long, which means Melody, the cousin of mine who likes to bury her nose into someone else's business, is going to be staying with us.

Melody is really a great cousin of mine, and I'm not complaining about that. It's just that, sometimes she's too nosy, and she'll do anything to make you spill your deepest, darkest secrets to her by force. She's evil most of the time.

As the morning rises, the beam of the sun seeping past through the curtained windows, I turn around, looking at the clock with disdain. It's already 6:45 in the morning. I just woke up fifteen minutes ago. I'm not really exactly a morning person, it's just that I hate to get up early in the morning. I prefer to wake up at 8 or 9, but because of the stupid classes that I have, I need to wake up earlier than my preferred time.

Derek is sleeping soundly in the other room, and I can practically hear his snoring, which is quite loudly. Rolling over the bed, I stare at the ceiling for a few minutes (since it's part of my morning routine) and sooner or later, I will get up and prepare myself for school. Knowing that Derek is a heavy sleeper, I'll make it a requirement for today to wake him up. Shaking him just to wake him up will not do any good. If I have to splash him a cold water just to wake him up fully, I would totally do so without hesitations, but my mother would definitely scold me.

Groaning and tossing over the sheets, I hoist myself up and grumpily walk towards the bathroom's direction, starting the real morning routine I prefer.

Once I'm prepared, dressed as a good student of Sky International School I am, I immediately head into Derek's room, and I see him still sprawled on the bed, mouth open as a drool escapes at the edge of his lips. Upon seeing it, I make a face at him and shake him rather violently and my best friend lets out a groan, but rolls anyway, his head diving into the pillows.

"Derek, we're going to be late if you're not going to wake up now!" I whisper-yell, since I don't want to wake up my father by my voice. Trust me, my father is a beast when someone ruins his beauty sleep. He's not a morning person, so you really have to be careful about the tone of your voice in the morning if you don't want your day to be ruined by him. "Why are you so lazy?"

My best friend speaks, his voice muffled and I hit him on his bare back, which makes him turn around and glare at me. "Later," he murmurs, hugging a pillow, which I immediately grab to prevent him from snuggling with it. Derek sighs, hoisting himself up and sitting cross-legged as he looks at me. He begins to rub his eyes, trying to wipe the sleepiness off. "Fine, fine. I'm awake now."

Watching him and tapping my foot impatiently on the ground, he reluctantly gets out of the bed, trudging his way to the bathroom and he shuts the door close with a loud thud. I glare at the door and look around, trying to hear if my father has gotten awake just because of the stunt my best friend pulled. I don't hear any footsteps at all, so that's a hint that I'm safe. I get out of my best friend's room, deciding that I should wait for him downstairs in the kitchen once he's ready. Knowing him, he'll spend a few minutes in the bathroom doing nothing and then he'll act like a lightning bolt later on once he realizes that we're about to be late.

When I reach the kitchen, my day has almost been ruined when I see my cousin Melody tapping her pink-painted nails on the table, waiting patiently for the bacons and eggs my mother is preparing. Since it's my father's day off, my mother hasn't made any chocolate drinks at all. She's only making it whenever my father has a work.

Melody sees me making my way towards the fridge, and I do all my best to ignore her, to keep her from prying into my business. "Good morning, Beau." Her sweet voice resonates in my ears, and I want to snap at her that there's nothing good in mornings, but that would be quite rude, especially both Aunt Delilah and mother are here.

So being the best cousin I am, I smile at her sheepishly, giving her a nod of acknowledgement and picking up a mango drink inside the fridge, putting it on the table. "Good morning, Melody." I greet back, taking a seat on one of the stools and waiting patiently for the breakfast both Aunt Delilah and mother are preparing. Now that I've noticed, Melody is wearing a school uniform just like mine, and I tilt my head in confusion.

Aunt Delilah must have seen my reaction as she smiles at us sweetly. "Beau, give your cousin a tour at the school since she's new," Aunt Delilah says as my mouth agapes. My evil of a cousin smiles at me wickedly, giving me a wink and she flips her brown hair at me, studying her fingers like nothing just happened. Knowing my sister, she'll flirt with any hot guy she sees across the school, and I'm pretty sure that she'll flirt with Dale once she sees him roaming around. "Oh, just want to let you know, we're moving. Two blocks away from here, so that's why Melody enrolled at Sky International School. I have also heard that your friends with the owner of the school, is that right?"

Nodding my head, I'm still looking at my cousin, not really believing what my aunt said to me just a few seconds ago. Finally my best friend shows up, and my cousin gives her a flirty look. But Derek just ignores it, since he's not really into girls, which means I have one less man to spare. My family may not know it, but I'm a bit protective of Melody even though she's a pain in the ass most of the times. Especially Brody. Brody is her little brother, a 5-year-old little kid, who I assume is still sleeping.

Derek takes a seat beside me, resting his elbow on the table and putting his chin on his palm as he waits for the breakfast to be served in front of us. My mother doesn't really like us moving in the morning, and it's a good thing sometimes. I can handle my own, but if my mother will insist to do things on her own.

Once ready, she puts a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs on the table, serving in front of us and Derek stands up, getting two glasses for us and I thank him for doing so. He pours a mango juice, filling up a glass and I take a gulp, placing it on the table and grabbing two forks.

We're not really a fan of breads and cereals in the morning. I like to eat cereals in the afternoon, or when I get home after school, or in the evening. It's a weird thing for me, I guess, but I like it that way. Also, I don't like plain white milk on my cereals. I want a chocolate milk on my cereals. It makes the cereals taste better, and believe me, it's heavenly.

"Hey, why aren't you joining the squad to go to a theme park?" Derek asks me as he stabs a bacon and shoves into his mouth, chewing and I make a face at him, shaking my head. He ignores me. Being used to me, Derek just ignores my bad habits and such, and it doesn't really bothered him when I do so. But when it comes to him, I can't hide my disdain. But like I've said, he's used to it. "Seriously, though."

"I'm going to spend time with my cousins and my Aunt," I say, saying the same reason I sent to Gloss after he texted me, asking me to join them. Although I'm not really lying, the main reason I don't want to go is because both Lilith and Dale will be there. I don't want to be forced at watching them flirt, and it's just going to ruin my day. So why not drown myself in irritation by my cousins and spare myself from getting hurt?

But since Derek is a little b***h of a best friend of mine, he immediately turns his head to Aunt Delilah and asks her, "Aunt Delilah, do you have plans this week? Beau and I are planning on joining our friends to a theme park,"

Aunt Delilah just shakes her head, smiling at us. "Nope, you kids can go."

"Settled," Derek says, shoving a piece of scrambled eggs into his mouth and I roll my eyes at him. "You and I are going to join them." I really don't want to. I have been in a theme park for so many times and the adrenaline rush isn't there. Before, I used to go by myself at a theme park, and Derek knows that, but after a few times I went there, the adrenaline rush was slowly fading until I'm not really attracted to rides. When I ride a rollercoaster, the thrill isn't there anymore. Perhaps because I'm so over it.

"When this will be?" I ask him, shoving a bacon inside my mouth.

"This coming Thursday," he responds.

Think, think, think. I need to make a plan, an event, in order for me to not go with them. Just like a bulb flashing brightly above my head, I look at my best friend and pull out the down and sad face I mastered. Pouting at him, I shake my head. "I can't, Derek. I have a plan on that day."

He narrows his eyes at me, "What plan?"

"I have a date," I simply respond.

Everyone stops moving around, and they all look at me with furrowed eyebrows. We all know that my last date has been a nightmare for me. Last night I had a date, I got dumped, and I got weepy about it. Of course that was like four or five years ago.

I was supposed to meet a guy I have known on the internet, and it started really good. But what started really good had become an illusion at the end. When he asked me to meet me, I was ecstatic about it that I told everyone in the house, including my own father, and when I went to the supposed place that he's going to meet me, he never really came.

When I got home, everyone in the house noticed my dismay and I cried about it. It was supposed to be my first date, and it was supposed to be romantic, but hey, s**t happens all the time, so I always expect it to happen. And I swear, I'm not going to let that s**t ruin me.

So when I say that I'm going on a date, everyone just stops moving like they have been frozen or something. My mother is the first one to ask a question regarding this matter. She knows how I've been hurt at that stunt my mysterious date pulled. I guess you shouldn't really trust the guys on the internet. Sometimes internet ruins your life more than a person, and I believe that.

"Are you sure about that, Beau?" She asks me, her tone laced with worried as she stares at me with wide eyes that just looks like mine. Of course I'm sure with this. I only have an imaginary date, and I just said that I'm going on a date so Derek will not push me into coming with them.

Nodding happily, I get back on my food and begin eating again. When I take a look at the clock that is on the wall just near the doorway that leads to the kitchen, it's already 7:30 and we only have thirty minutes just before the first class starts.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait a minute!" Derek says, putting his fork beside his plate and crossing his arms across his chest, glaring daggers at me. He points an index finger at me, and arches a brow. "When were you planning to tell your best friend about that? How come I didn't know that?"

"It's perhaps because he doesn't want you to know?" Melody suggests, stabbing a bacon. She's supposed to be a vegetarian in the first place since she wants to have the perfect bod according to her, and seeing her eating a bacon, which is about to ruin her diet plan, it's not going to help her obtain the perfect bod she desires most.

Derek shoots Melody a glare, which my cousin just ignores. She stands up and says she's done eating, and puts her plate in the sink as she makes her way to the living room, probably to wait for us, which means she'll be joining us when we get to the school. Training his eyes back at me, he waits for my answer, but I'm not really going to give him one.

I just told him that I have an imaginary (and he doesn't really need to know about this) date this Thursday, and it's just a bluff. I don't really have plan to be on a date at all, not at this time. The last date had been an awful and tearful day for me, and it's not going to happen again. I'm only going to date a man I know, one that will surely appear on a date that has been agreed on.

Once I'm done, I gladly stand up, putting my plate in the sink and going into the living room where my cousin went. I see her on a couch, sliding her thumb across her phone's screen with so much haste. I take a seat beside her and see what she's doing.

My eyes go wide once I see the app she's using. "Why are you on Grindr?" It's supposed to be for gays and bisexual men, so it's really confusing me why my cousin, who is in fact a girl and a straight girl for that matter, is using an application for gay men?

"I'm hunting," she says, her tone lacks of interest. She opens up a profile of a half-naked man, face not really visible, and Melody reads her profile status out loud. "I just need a discreet gay man in my life who can satisfy my s****l needs. Sounds like a maniac. I have this app for hunting, which means I'm going to drop bombs in school when I see them here on the app. Great, right?"

Shaking my head, I tell her, "You're crazy."

And she responds with, "I know, right?"

Taking a look at the clock once more, it's already 7:40 and we only have twenty minutes until the first class starts, so we better be ready. Derek pops out of the kitchen, striding his way towards me and picking up his backpack that is on the couch just beside Melody. He motions for us to follow him, so we do.

Upon seeing the Toyota Vios Derek has, Melody immediately runs and climbs into the passenger seat, and I can practically sense that it's her plan to seat beside Derek. And I let her. There's no point of being overprotective of her since Derek is totally gay and will always be gay, so Derek is safe and vice versa. Getting into the backseat, I fish out my phone inside my pocket and my headsets and put them on. I scroll on my Music app, choosing a perfect song to spend while on a road to school. Without thinking of it, I choose Venus as the starting song of my day.

When you touch me I die just a little inside; I wonder if this could be love, this could be love, Lady Gaga sings beautifully in my voice, the lyrics going straight to my heart. I'm not really a big fan of hers, but her songs are really great. Especially when Perfect Illusion has been released. Of course, I'm not letting my best friend Derek know that fact. Knowing Derek, he's going to torture me. 'Coz you're out of this world; Galaxy, space and time, I wonder if this could be love, this could be love. Goddess of love.

Once we reach the school grounds, I quickly place the headphones and my phone inside my pocket and climb out of the car. My mother does not want me to drive at all, because, according to her, it's dangerous. Though she drives, and when I try to point that out, she'll get pissed at me for bringing up the topic.

The school is being swarmed up by the students as they go inside the school, running with their hands full with books and other school stuff. As we walk across the Senior Hallway, everybody is looking at Melody, who is loving the attention she's getting and I roll my eyes at her. I see Gloss, whose back is perched on his locker and talking on the phone with, I assume, his boyfriend, and my assumptions are confirmed when he smiles that lovingly smile of his.

"He's definitely gay," whispers Melody in my ear and she points out at her index finger at one senior facing his locker. "I chat him up on Grindr. Sending picture is a requirement there, so he sent one and I never replied."

I never really noticed that guy until Melody points him out with her index finger. The guy, who is very cute and muscle-y, looks at us and we pretend that we're looking for someone else. The man has a pair of pale blue eyes, and a dirty blonde hair, cut just above his ears. He's quite tall, and he has a tattoo on his left arm, and it looks good on him. It gives him a bad boy look. His arms are lean and strong, and his body is to die for. He's very sexy. When he cranes his neck to the side, I catch a glimpse of a tattoo on his neck, and that's a sexy thing for me. Apparently Melody notices my expression, so she throws me a smirk, and in return, I flip her off.

As I think my nightmare will never happen, my demon of a cousin walks up to the guy and introduce herself. I sigh loudly, rolling my eyes at her and getting into my locker. It's only ten minutes before the first class starts, so I better prepare my books and such, putting the other books in my bag in my locker. Someone taps my shoulder, and when I turn around, my eyes meet the pale blue eyed guy that I was looking at just seconds ago. The guy smiles at me, his pearly white teeth showing.

"Hi, my name is Dustin," he introduces himself at me, smiling brightly and it's contagious, so I smile, too. Looking over past his shoulder, I see my devil of a cousin giving us a thumbs up with a huge grin plastered on her lips and I nearly curse at her. He offers his hand at me, which I gladly take and his hand is warm. "Your cousin back there told me about you wanting to meet me?"

I oh so gladly want to yell at my devil of a cousin: Curse you, Perry the Platypus, but prevent myself from saying so because that will be weird. I can almost see what reaction Dustin will have once I say that. Despite my annoyance for my cousin, I just simply nod at what he's saying to me and he grins widely.

"Well, you haven't told me your name yet," he says, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh," I say lamely, chuckling awkwardly. "Yeah, my name is Beau."

We shake hands, and I'll be lying if I don't say that his hand is not warm. It is warm, and I like the feel of it against mine. He tips his imaginary hat, telling me nice to meet me and that he'll see me in my lunch time, and I suddenly get excited about it. Dustin turns on his heels, moving forward, leaving me dreamy-eyed and my devil of a cousin nudges me on my stomach, breaking me out of my trance.

Melody just gives me her infamous smirk, studying her pink-painted nails, and this is her way of telling me that I should thank her, which I do. She flips her brown hair, and makes her way, disappearing into the sea of crown. I take a look at my watch only to read the time: 7:58. I'm so going to be late because of my mini encountered at Dustin.

Suddenly, I'm being yanked at by the only person who likes to yank me every time that we're going to be late. When I look up, Dale is looking at me sheepishly, and his eyes have become more colorful than the last time I've seen him, and that was when I was going home.

Dale grins up at me, basically dragging me as we run towards the direction of our classroom. We take a left turn, then a right, then we burst right through the door just as the bell rings. Our classmates look at us like we have just killed someone in escape, like our uniforms are full of blood and we have a knife in our hands. Of course, Dale being Dale, he just shrugs off the stares and sits at the back of the class while I take a seat in the middle.

Even though we're classmates, we always take seats few seats away from each other. Though there's only one time he took a seat next to me – that just happened one time, when a teacher was asking us to do something in pair. Basically forced to be paired up with me, that was the only time we sat next to each other, and I have this feeling that that will never happen again.

It's a one-time courtesy thing for me.

At least I got to sit with him one time.

My phone vibrates inside my pocket. Fishing it out of my pocket with care like a stealth I am, I open up the message and see that it's from an unknown number. I open the message and it reads: Hey, it's Dustin. Your cousin gave me your number and I was just going to ask if you would like to meet up with me later? I send a quick reply to him, telling him: Sure.

The professor, Ms. Cruz, begins her teaching and my mind drifts to Dustin. He must be interested on me to ask me to meet him up later, right? I mean, I'm not exactly dreaming or so. Now I'm guessing if he's going to the party and if he does, maybe I can be paired up with him. Perhaps he can be my date on that party. Sending him another text message, asking him if he'd come to the party Jerick's going to throw, he responds immediately with a big yes.

I can't stop the grin that works its way across my lips. I really don't know if Dustin is gay or not, but I have a feeling that I'm going to be enjoying myself around him. Gay or not, I'm going to make him as my friend. Derek will be slightly jealous, but he will get over it.