One Crazy Rollercoaster

Chapter 5: Dinner

   "So? What's been going on with you two?" Mom asked.
   I shrugged. I guess I do that a lot. "I dunno, not really anything. Well, me and Velvet did make some friends."
   "I wouldn't really call, dropping a friend off at their house and stopping to say hi to their sisters, making some friends." Velvet corrected me. Or at least tried to.
   I shrugged, (again) "Well, I consider them friends." I tell her.
   "Well, who are these 'friends' ?" Mom asked.
   It was Vels turn to shrug. "Oh, Veneer befriended an interviewer, then his sisters, Orchid and Lenny." Velvet explained, taking another bite of her soup.
   "Well that's nice." Mom told us.
   "How old are this guys sisters?" Dad then asked.
   "23 and 24." I say.
   "Oh." Dad said, and I knew what he was thinking.
   "Victor!" Mom scolded.
   "What?" Dad asked.
   "You and I were friends for an entire year before we started dating!" She hissed.
   "Well I'm just saying, Velvet and Veneer should really start making some more connections. Maybe even up to a serious relationship like that. I'm not saying that they have to, not everyone is interested in a romantic relationship, I just want them to at least have some friends. I don't want my kids to be alone forever." Dad said.
   "We're not alone! We have you guys, we have Victoria and Vivian, we have Vincent, we have each other for Christ's sake!" Vels exclaimed.
   "Well sometimes, you guys get tired of each other and want to hang out or talk to someone else, if you don't have any friends, who are you going to talk to? And don't go saying us," He said when Velvet opened her mouth to speak. "Because we won't always be here, and your sister's are going to be doing things with their friends and family's. And Vincent said he has a girlfriend. So if the only other person you have is your twin, who the hell are you going to associate yourself with?" He gave her one of his "You know I'm right" faces.
   "You know," I say, trying to resolve the tension. "Vels is the one who encouraged me to make a friend."
   "Oh, you did? That's good! Now you need to do the same!" Dad told her.
   Velvet looked down at her food. "I'm not good at making friends though." She whispered.
   "Just be nice." I tell her. "It goes a long way."
   She snorted, but didn't disagree, instead, she scooped another spoonful of soup into her mouth.
   "So, anything going on with you?" I ask.
   "Well, Victoria and Vivian are taking there families down here. And Vincent wants to introduce us to his new girlfriend. So that's kind of why we invited you two, a family dinner sounds really nice, doesn't it?" Mom explained happily.
   "That sounds fantastic!" I grin. It was going to be nice to see my brother and other sisters again. It feels like it's been a lifetime since I've last talked to them, I haven't been able to because I've been so busy with helping Vels schedule shows and other things that it's been two entire months since I last called them to tell them that me and Vels made it big with our song Watch Me Work.
   "Well, you two can stay in Veneer's old room with everyone coming over." Mom said.
   Velvet smiled. "It's gonna be nice to see everyone!" She said.
   "It really is." Dad said.

Valencia's perspective.

   I looked across the table at Victor, and gave him a "We need to talk" look and he nodded. There's always a look for everything. And there's always one for me and Victor, and one for my kids. It's how it's always been.

   Victor shuts the door to our room and sits down on our bed. "So what are we talking about?" He asks me.
I turned my phone off. "Have you noticed anything regarding your son?" When he shakes his head I continue, "You haven't noticed anything?" I ask again and he shakes his head. "So you haven't noticed that Veneer clearly likes this boy?"
   Victor just looks at me like I'm insane.
   "What are you talking about?" He asked.
   "You didn't realize?" I asked.
   "Veneer isn't gay though." Victor seemed confused.
   I couldn't believe my ears. How had he not realized? I had figured out Veneer was gay a long time ago. "Victor, yes he is! How did you not know?!" I asked.
   "What do you mean?" He asked.
   "YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED?!!"
   "Val, you know how I feel about that stuff." He said, a serious look on his face.
   "I know that, but you never saw the signs?" I ask. He shakes his head.
   "Should we talk to him about it?" He asked. I nod.
   "When? Now?" He asked. I nod again. "I'll go get him."

Victor's perspective.

   As I walked down the hall, my mind was realing, I just, I didn't understand it. If Veneer was gay, how has I not seen the signs? He's my son for goodness sake! I'm not really against it, but I'm not exactly welcoming about it either, I've just always found it a little weird. I'm not saying that it's wrong, I'm not gonna tell someone how to feel, that's just straight up wrong. It's just always made me uncomfortable.
   I knock on their door, and I hear Velvet call: "Come in!"
   I opened the door. Velvet was scrolling on her phone, and Veneer had out his sketchbook. Their both wearing pajamas.
   "Veneer, me and your mother need to talk to you." I say.
   He looks up and glances at Velvet, who seems to give him a "good luck" look and seems to say something to him. He nods, gets up, and follows me back down the hall.

Veneer's perspective.

   Dad opened the door to his room and we stepped inside it.
   He shut the door and he sat down. Silence.

   It seemed like forever went bye before Mom finally said: "We know your gay Veneer."
   My head jolt's up. I knew my mom wouldn't care wether I was gay or straight, but my dad...
   My heart pounds and it feels like my chest is going to explode as I look over at my father. I expect to see a disappointed face, but instead, his face is soft, and as if to say: "It's fine".
   My shoulders relax and my heart slows down to it's normal pace, and I look at my mom. "What'd you mean?" I asked.
   She laughed. "You didn't realize you huh?"
   "I-" It hit me right then. Maybe I was in denial because I was afraid of losing my dad's respect. That he'd turn me down. But now...
   I looked at my father, my eyes pleading for him to say something.
   He sat up a little straighter. Then. "I know you probably think that I'm against you right now, but kid, I'm your dad. And as your dad, all I want to do is support you in what makes you happy. And if you being gay makes you happy. Then so be it."
   For a minute. I was speechless. What was there to say? I sat there, thinking about what he had just said.
   So. I got up. Walked over to him. And gave him a hug. It was nice.
   Afterwards we all kinda just sat on the bed. Silent with our own thoughts. But again, what was there to say? We didn't need words to know that we all cared about each other. We didn't need words to express that we accepted each other. We didn't need words to say "I love you".
   So, we sat in silence. Until Mom finally said: "You should get to bed."
   I nodded. "Yeah. I should." I stood up and stopped at the door. "Good night guys. I love you."
   "Night." Dad said.
   "Good night baby. We love you!" Mom says.
   I stepped out and saw Velvet out side the door just like she said she'd be. She'd told me that she'd be eavesdropping on the conversation.
   "Did I really hear what I just heard?!" She asked.
   "Ummm... Yes?..." I say. Or more like ask.
   She hugged me. "Sorry I didn't realize."
   "It's fine." I say, hugging her back.
   "C'mon, let's go to bed." She patted my shoulder.

   I pulled the covers over my head and flipped onto my stomach and closed my eyes. Velvet laid down next to me.
   "Night bro." She said.
   "Night." I say.

Hi! So I just released the first part of my How To Train Your Dragon fanfic! Please give it a read! Thanks 😊