Lights like Stars [BoyxBoy]

Chapter 6

After two weeks without replying to Garrett's messages and actively avoiding him, he finally had enough and caught me at work. It was Tuesday so nobody was in the liquor store. I loved working there because I got paid to sit around for six hours and actually work one hour. He came in and walked up to the counter. "I forgot you worked here," he said.

"Looks like you remembered," I replied.

"Valid."

"What do you want?"

"I came to see you."

"I'm obviously avoiding you Garrett." I closed my laptop and went to the wine section to front some bottles, making the shelves look nice and organized.

He walked over with me. "I have an idea," he said.

"I don't care."

"I think it'll help."

"No," I insisted. "I don't want to do anything with you. Why do you want to help me? Other people deserve more help." I moved around the corner to change the song playing.

"I want to help because I don't want you to feel bad hanging out with - heaven forbid - a gay person," he said, leaning against the wall and looking at me.

I put my hands on my hips and looked at him. "It's not that I feel bad hanging out with just any old gay person. I just don't want to hang out with you Garrett. I don't like you. I know that's hard for you to believe because you're just so loved by everyone in the fucking world."

"What the hell are you talking about? Where is this coming from?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed and his jaw clenched.

"I don't want to be around you anymore Garrett." He wasn't that much taller than me, but at that moment he was a head taller than me, looking down into my eyes.

"Then why bother with me in the first place? You didn't have to come to me in Colombia. You could've stayed in bed and none of this would've ever happened." He was angry, and I was shaking.

"It's not my fault Garrett. Don't put that on me."

"It is your fault though. I didn't persuade you or manipulate your or anything like that."

"Just leave me alone. I don't like you."

"Then why does it look like you want to cry?"

"Because you won't leave me alone. I don't want you here and I want you to respect that."

He moved back from me, keeping eye contact that I could hardly hold. "Fine. I'll respect that." He started to walk away. As he passed the counter he stopped and threw something on top of my laptop. When he was out of the store I walked over to see what it was. It was crumbled up, but once I unfolded it, it was note. It read, "Your eyes are like a waterfall that I want to wash over me and drown in." I forgot. I used to read him poems when we were friends. It kind of used to be our thing, sharing poems. I sucked on my lips, swallowing the lump in my throat, choking on it.

Even though I regretted everything I didn't talk to him. Not until Saturday. We had a home football game that day and he managed to ignore me the whole time, with ease. He put up with me ignoring him for a few days, I could hardly handle it for a few hours. After the game, there was a party at ten. The usual crowd was pregaming at my apartment again. I took two shots before the party and drank a half of bottle of wine. I was drunk when we got to the party, but I kept drinking. Three cups of punch later, I was stumbling in the backyard over towards Garrett who was talking to Cassie and a few saxes.

"How much have you had to drink?" Cassie asked.

I shook my head and said, "A lot." I focused on Garrett. "I just...I am just so...so sad." I was slurring, but he could still understand what I was saying. He understood me so well he knew I was probably going to say something I was going to regret.