"You wanna go out?" Travis asked me once school ended.
"Whoa, what?" I asked, completely baffled.
"Do...you...want...to...go...out?" he repeated himself slowly.
"I know what you said, I just mean...do you mean like, a date?" I said, whispering the end of it.
"Yeah if you want it to be."
I thought about it for a moment. I supose I could use a date, considering I had never been on one before.
"I'd love to."
"Ok then. So where do you wanna go?" he asked me with a sly smile. I hadn't thought about that.
"Oh. Um...a movie? We could see Quantum of Solace?"
"Sounds good. I'll see ya later tonight, at 7:30, ok?"
"Yeah."
When I got home later, I just kind of hung out on the computer & then went downstairs to watch tv until my brother came in. I heard the door open & close & then turned my head to see him walk through the door.
"Hey kiddo."
"Hi" he said.
"So what's up?" he asked once he hung his coat up.
"Well...I have a date tonight" I beamed.
"Cool. Where you going?"
"Travis & I are going to see Quantum of Solace. Do you have my iPod? I wanna bring it while we wait for the movie to start" I said, standing up & going into he kitchen where he was.
He reached into his pocket & gave me my iPod. I let him borrow it when he asked.
"Is it just gonna be just the two of you?" he questioned.
"Yeah."
"Cool. So you're really into Travis, aren't you?"
"Yeah I am."
He smiled. So did I.
"I'm glad you support me Chris, I really am. You're my favorite brother" I said, walking over to him & giving him a.
"Psh, I'm your only brother" he chuckled, trying to get out of my grip.
I let him go after a moment.
"Let me ask you something" I said, hoisting myself up onto the counter.
"If mom & dad were to ever flatly ask you if I was gay...what would you say?"
He walked over to me & climbed up onto the counter, sitting next to me & leaning on me.
"I don't know. I mean, I don't think I'd wanna rat you out, but I also don't wanna lie to them."
"I guess I can get that. So what would you say?"
He thought for a moment.
"Would you be upset if I told them yes?" he asked, looking up at me.
"Maybe a little bit."
Chris was quiet for a few moments. He was trying to think of something to say to me.
"Are a lot of people scared to tell their parents?"
"Yeah."
"So then why are you trying to be like them? You've always done your own thing."
I didn't say anything.
"Be yourself, Connor. Everybody else is already taken" he said giving me a kiss on the cheek. With that, he jumped down & headed for his room.
I sat there for some time. Maybe he was right. Maybe.
Later that night, Travis showed up at my house. I could tell he had just showered by his wet hair & sweet scent of fruit.
"Hey" he said smoothly. I smiled at it.
"Hi" I responded.
"I just gotta tell my parents I'm going" I told him. I went back in, told my parents & headed for the door. I picked up my iPod on the small table by the entrance.
When I was outside with him a minute later, we walked side by side towards a bus stop to take us into the city. While we waited for a bus, we chatted. I was listening to my iPod at the same time.
"So...?" he said. That, & his special little smile, were his thing.
"Now what?" I smiled.
"You excited? It's kind of like, our first date."
"I know" I said, smiling bashfully.
"Is this your first date ever?" I asked him.
He smiled at me but then averted his eyes.
"Not really. When I still lived in Oklahoma, I went out with a few people now & then."
"Boys?"
"Naw. This was after I told my parents, but before the general public knew. They were usually just the same each time. A movie at their house or coffee somewhere. It was boring."
"Sounds like it was."
He turned to me.
"How 'bout you Connor? You been on dates before?"
I hadn't expected that.
"No."
"How come? I mean, you're pretty cute, I don't see why no one would ask you out" he complimented me.
"Eh, I've never been that popular. You've probably noticed at school, I don't have many friends."
"As long as you have one good friend..." said Travis, moving closer to me.
"Yeah I guess. But it'd still be nice to have a group of friends, like you do" I said, avoiding his gaze.
He didn't speak for a little while. Neither of us did.
"Connor, I didn't ask to be popular when I moved here. I didn't try anything to be popular either. It just happened. Plus, sometimes lots of people don't take a certain person as friend because they do stuff nobody else does. You do what you feel like, you stand out."
My brother's speech all came back to me.
"Look," he said putting his arm around me, "like I said, it's better to have one good friend then a bunch of not-so-good friends. So don't worry 'bout it. You have me now" he said warmly.
"Thanks."
After that, we just talked about different stuff until there was nothing else left to talk about. We arrived near the theater shortly after the bus picked us up.
As it turned out, we both liked sitting in the backs of theaters during a movie. Throughout the whole thing, we held hands & watched the movie. At one point, he nudged me & I looked at him. He leaned in & kissed me warmly on the lips. It was a very passionate, but clean kiss. Our open mouths moved against one another. It felt nice. Nobody saw us, in case you were wondering.
When it was over, we left & got a ride back on the bus. We got off after a little while.
"Remember what I said, ok?" he said to me.
"I will" I answered.
We walked our different directions home. That's when I looked at my iPod.
Stevie Wonder.
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