the trip that started it all

chap.14

I watched him till I saw his door close and then I went back to check up on Troye. He had just gotten done brushing his teeth and I ordered him to go back to bed because I didn't want him making his hangover worse. I placed the trash can beside his bed and started leaving the room before Troye stopped me.

" I thought we could cuddle?" He stated, more as a question.

" I need to run around town for a bit. I'm sorry." I said sullenly.

" It's ok. I can just rest. I've started to develop a headache anyways." he said with a faint smile.

I walked back across the hall to grab him the bottle of pills. I grabbed a water bottle from the kitchen and handed them both to Troye who all ready looked groggy.

I said my finally goodbye and grabbed my keys from the hook by the door. I brushed through my bed head with my fingers since I haven't properly done it with a brush today even though it was 11. I looked at my reflection in the round mirror by the door then headed out to my car.

Troye's birthday is less than a month than a month away and I need to find the perfect gift. He never really talks about what he wants. He's more of a giver then a getter which is both a blessing and a curse in one.
It's like I'm suppose to read his mind on what he wants, but that's kind of my job. To know what he wants by facial expressions and body language so I just need to get use to it.

I went to the one place I knew the only problem with picking out his gift was which should I pick. the vinyl record shop. I knew he loved this place and I knew exactly why when I walked in. the atmosphere was warm and inviting to whoever pushed open the door, making the bell at the top of it ring. the room was filled with music from an old record on the counter beside the cash register. The way the music sounded with the noise from the record moving from underneath the arm of the record player made it sound, somehow, better.

I looked around for a while before an employee walked over to me. She looked around my age and she smiled up at me as I was a few inches taller.

" Hey, Can I help you with anything?" She said, her eyes glistening as she talked and she held her hand in a resting position on my arm.

I wasn't sure if she was flirting or not, but I didn't want to be rude or hurt her feeling if she was so I decided to be forward with it while being subtle.

" Yes please. My boyfriend's birthday is next month and he loves music so much. He especially loves vinyl records, but I don't know what would be right for him. He loves most types of music but his style changes so much it's hard to keep up with it." I said with a soft smile.

I expected her smile to drop, but it only grew until it looked like it hurt her.

" That's so cute! How long has it been?" She asked, more cheerful than ever.

" Oh let's see. He asked me out on April 17 so a month next Thursday." I said, having to think since it's felt so long.

"That's great! What does he do?" She asked.

" He makes videos, but he also sings." I said blushing.

" He sings? It's good he's doing what he loves." She said smiling at the ground.

" Yeah. I'm so proud of him." I stated.

" That's so cute. You said he made videos. For YouTube I presume?" She asked caringly.

" Yeah." I said still looking for an album.

" Can I check out his YouTube channel? What's his channel name?" She asked.

" Troye Sivan." I stated, still blushing.

" I'm Jasmine." She said sticking out her hand.

" Connor." I said shaking her hand.

"Well, I would recommend a classic record if his style changes a lot. These are my personal favorites that are classics." She said as she pulled out 3 albums out of the bin.

I looked at each of them, but I've never heard of any of the album names or the artist that sang them before in my life. I picked an album souly on it's album cover. It started with splatter paints, small and in the middle, which soon formed the shapes of music notes of different colors that drifted mindlessly in the air.

I followed Jasmine to the counter and she moved the arm off the record to continue the conversation. While she scanned the item, I looked around behind the desk to see the record players in the window display. Then, I read a sign in the window that made my heart sink.

' We do NOT serve anyone of the LGBTQ community'

My heart raced and my eyes widened. Jasmine noticed my wide eyes and followed them over to the sign. She flipped it down and turned back to me.

" I'm sorry about that. My father, the owner of this place, is strictly religious and a homophobic asshole even though his brother has a husband. It makes me sick." she said with annoyance in her voice.

" It's ok." I said because I knew I would have to deal with this my whole life.

" The only people I don't serve here are the people that say ' I like your sign." she smiled as she handed me the record that she had wrapped in brown paper.

" Thank you. For everything you do." I said as I grabbed the record from her. I wrote on the back of my receipt she handed to me.
" Here's my number. You seem like a really good friend. Your the first person I've told that Troye's my boyfriend and I think that's something special that I can't get back from anybody else. I was going to tell one of my friends tonight, but I guess I'll tell you how it went?" I said handing it to her.

" I'll text you after my shifts over." She smiled.

" ok." I said walking out of the door.

_____________________________________ authors note______________________

Hey guys! How is the book so far? I'd love to know.

On a more serious note, what I wrote about happens to people all over the world. people are declined service because of their sexuality or sexual orientation. People in Mississippi, my home state unfortunately, can not adopt a family together if their partner is the same gender as them self. States like Indiana have started allowing businesses to deny service legally to the LGBTQIA community. I'm not sure California has this law or not , but I wrote this so I could bring this to you attention if you weren't currently aware.

It sickens me. people are punished for the people they love. All I have to say is that we will know which businesses these are by seeing the ' going out of business' signs in the window.

I love you all so bad.

Xx Morgan