Array
(
[text] =>

(Kellin's POV)

I smile over at the small boy in the front seat and drop my hand from his knee. "Ready?" I ask. He purses his lips and shrugs, so I look at Mike and ask the same thing. "Sure." He says with a small grin. He gets out and Vic and I are left in the car alone. "Vic, it'll be fine. You'll do great."

"What if I'm weird around them?"

"Apparently I failed to mention how weird Alan and Jack are. C'mon, I wouldn't do something to purposefully embarrass you. Trust me." I smile warmly and pat his thigh. With that he lets out a long breath, seeming more relaxed afterwards, and then opens his door. "Fine, let's get this over with."

I grin and follow him up the cement walkway to Jaime's house, reaching for Vic's hand. He doesn't pull away this time and my heart flutters when he bony fingers link with mine. I felt nerves arise inside me as well, realizing the guys still didn't know my neighbor was a guy. I was hoping for the best reaction from them, seeing as they were my friends.

I knock and call out, "Open up you miserable freaks!"

Not a second passes before someone yanks the door open and I'm shoved and Jaime and I stumble back, ripping my hand from Vic's. "You freaking ass!" He chuckles. "Whatever." I mutter with a grin, then push him off of me, hearing the house getting noisy with our arrival. Mike was already inside, I could see him in the kitchen, joking with Alan. Me and Jaime start towards the house again and grab Vic's hand again, noticing he was chewing his nails.

"This is, uh, this my neighbor, Vic. His brother is the tall guy in there, Mike." I say, my face heating up as I see Jaime eyeing him. Then he smiles and pats Vic's back, "Good luck in there." We laugh a little and I feel tension let go of my insides, my chest relieved from the pain pulsating in it. I see Vic smile a little from the corner of my eye and can't help but feel my own lips tug upwards.

We enter the house and jokes start up, Alan running up to me and hugging me, punching my shoulder. "Hey, dummy. So this is the famous neighbor, huh?"

"Shut up." I mutter feverishly. Vic snickers and moves so he's half hidden behind me, clinging to my arm. I pull him back beside me and wrap an arm comfortingly around his narrow shoulders. Vic clears his throat, "H-He talks about me?" I look away, face unable to get any redder, and frown. I knew they were going to do this. Jaime pipes up and sits on the couch.

"All the fucking time!"

"Jaime Alberto Preciado, watch your mouth!" I hear in another room. We all start laughing and the spike-haired Hispanic shrugs, rolling his eyes. I sit on the couch next to him and keep my arm around Vic, kissing his temple mindlessly. He smiles subtly at me and I ignore the coos from all around. They were so stupid.

At least this was going well.

_____

It was late when we got back, late enough for Vic to be clinging to me sleepily on the couch. "Well, dudes, thanks for inviting us but I think I sould get them home." I shrug, standing with my arm around Vic's middle. He was so adorable all the damn time. Alan started complaining but Jaime shut him up with a glare.

I thank them again and lead Vic out as Mike follows us, grumbling. I buckle the sleepy brother while chatting with the other. "Fun?" I ask. He nods and gives me a faint smile. "Very. It's been a while, so thanks, uh, Kellin."

"Sure." I grin, then get in myself. After driving them home, I try poking Vic awake but he won't budge. "It's fine, Kellin. He probably would want to stay with you anyways." He mutters quietly. Starting to form words, he cuts me off again. "Go, dude, I'll cover." I smile a little and thank him.

After he's on the porch, we wave, then I drive Vic and I across the street. When I park, I look over at him and sigh, smiling a little. How did I get so lucky? Jesus, I wish he knew how wonderful he was. I shake my thoughts away and get out, heading over to the passenger side. After unbuckling him, I lift him and grunt, holding his back up with one arm and legs with the other. His head falls back due to the lack of support and I laugh a little, kicking the door shut.

When I reach the door, I turn the knob with my elbow and kick it shut when we're far enough in.

"What are you doing?" Mom says from the kitchen. I roll my eyes, "He's sleeping. Hold on, I'll be back." I mutter, taking him to my room. I lay him on the bed gently and remove his shoes and socks and jacket, placing them beside the bed neatly. After kissing his forehead and tucking him in gingerly, I walk back to talk to my mom. She's such a jackass. Before, she did nearly everything for me. Cleaned my room and clothes and everything, now my room was a mess, and I wasn't sure if I should say something or not.

I patter down to the kitchen, feeling aggitated with her already.

I sit across from her at the counter as she scrubs the stove. "Mom, I know you don't believe me, but they're really nice people. I'm not going to be rude to someone because you told me to be. I befriended him and I'm glad I did, alright?"

She sighs and looks up at me. "I know you did, Kellin. I know I look like a bitch for acting that way, and I apologize, but try to see it this way. We've competed for years and now my son is saying how their son is his best damn friend--"

"It's more than that, okay?" I say loudly.

There's a silence around us and I feel my chest tighten with remorse. Should have held it in, I think immediately. God, I'm so dumb. She opens her mouth to speak and I expect yelling, shouting, and cursing, shunning me from the family forever. But she doesn't, her voice is hardly loud enough for me to hear. Her eyes fill with tears and she drops the sponge onto the stove.

"What?" She croaks.

I gulp and look at the counter, knotting my hands together. "I-I said it's more than that," my stomach lurched and burned and my head started pounding. "I love Vic. Very much." My eyes are trained on the counter, my breaths fanning out in pants. I was relieved in a way, something was off of my chest, it was out there. I loved Vic Fuentes, the boy my mother hated for no real reason.

Jesus, did I love him.

"W-What?" She says again, weaker this time. Tears run down her cheeks and I feel my eyes watering as well. What have I done? I frown and clear my throat, looking up at her, searching her face for some sort of message. She was hurt. Did that mean she hated me? "I-I love him. I like holding his hand and hugging him tight and making him smile and--" Despite my nerves, I could feel myself smiling.

"You're serious?"

"Very. Sorry for uh, not being what you wanted, I guess." I shrug like it's nothing but I feel pain flooding my mind. "No, n-no, don't apologize."

I stand and mess with my shirt mindlessly. "I'm going to bed. Sorry. Goodnight, Mom."

I rush up the stairs and slam my door shut, tears leaking down my cheeks. Maybe she hadn't directly rejected me and what I was saying, but I felt like she was. I strip down to my boxers quickly and slide into bed, and Vic shifts so his head and hand are resting on my chest. My tears fall harder at the sight of him, but I make sure to be silent. What would say if he knew I'd just said all that to my mother? Would he be happy, proud, sad? I cough and, just my luck, he awakes.

"K-Kellin?"

I don't answer until I can gain my voice. "Y-Yes, I'm here, Vic."

"Do you want to finish now? Y-You said--" he mumbles sleepily, nuding his little nose against my chest. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to stop the tears; it works. They line my cheeks but no fresh ones fall. His hand flies to my cheek, rubbing gently. "Wait," he sits up, pressing his chest to mine. "Why are you crying?"

"Nothing, baby. L-Let's get some sleep." I smile weakly and kiss him gently. He pulls away shortly after and I'm left unsatisfied. Even though I was trying to distract him, I still loved kissing him. "Tell me in the morning?" He asks timidly, tracing his hand over my chest. "Sure, sunshine." I say with a sigh. He smiles a little and lays his head on my shoulder, pressing his lips there momentarily.

I rub his back and play with the hem of his shirt. "Wait," he pulls away and sits up, quickly yanking his shirt off and kicking his jeans away from him. Raising my eyebrows, I laugh a little at him. Then he lays against me again, making my heart swell and feel whole again, nudging around until his head was resting on my neck and nose tickled under my chin. His arms were tightly wrapped around me and I tangled our legs together, holding him closer than I ever had. He knew something was wrong and he always knew just how to make me feel better. He had to know that I loved him. Rubbing his back and sides, I could feel sleep lulling me soothingly.

"Kellin," he says quietly.

I blink a couple times. "Yes, sunshine?" I had grown quite fond of the new pet name and he seemed to like it as well, so as far as I was concerned, it would be staying.

"I sure am glad I have you."

I smile and kiss his nose and cheeks and back to his nose, and he giggles cutely. "Stop, Kellin," he mumbles, lips brushing over mine. I do it again, placing kisses all over his face. "S-Stop, idiot!" He laughs, and again, his lip swipes over mine lightly. I couldn't take it, so I placed my lips over his, not even moving, just kissing him. That's all I wanted. "You're precious," I coo. "I don't know what I would do without you, sunshine."

We kiss again, and then return to our previous position; I feel asleep smiling, dry tears marking my face.

_____

(hey guys!! this is the last update for a couple of days

i am about to leave wifi so i wanted to update one last time!

thank you for reading darlings....x

// comment what you want you would like to see in the next chappie! // ✌

[text_hash] => c1141110
)