Give & Take (boyxboy)

Chapter 5

That weekend, Ashad spent his free time trying to focus on a watercolour painting. He wanted to prepare a piece for his portfolio, so he put on a Bonobo album and started to sketch a vague pencil outline of a scene. Just as he was about to start adding pigment to the paper, his phone beeped.

11:37am

Hey, you busy?

It was Jeremy. Not really, he tapped out, then pressed send.

11:39am

Then do you wanna get coffee?

Coffee. Ashad was pretty sure that meant 'I need someone to talk to.' Sure, he responded. I'll meet you at Bella's.

Bella's Café was a small, hidden away shop that was a perfect midway point between their houses. It took Ashad barely 15 minutes on the bus to get there, and by that time Jeremy was already sitting at a table with a glass of water. "I love this place," Ashad said, reacquainting himself with the rustic wooden chairs and the scratched tables. The walls were almost covered in artworks, mostly little framed paintings, and small plants dotted the windowsills and counter.

"Me too," said Jeremy. Ashad noticed that he seemed more anxious than usual.

"What's up?"

Jeremy glanced upwards, looking surprised. "Uh, well, a lot of things have happened this week."

At that moment, a staff member came to the table for their order. Ashad ordered a flat white and Jeremy asked for an iced coffee. Ashad didn't know how he could order a cold drink when it was practically winter.

"So, some shit happened, huh?" Ashad resumed the conversation.

"Yeah... You know how I told you my cousin came to stay last week?"

"Daina, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Well it turns out that Daina actually wants to be called Darcy. She is a they, and they is transgender."

"Oh." Ashad was surprised. "So she's not a girl?"

"Yeah, they is agender. It's a bit to wrap your head around, I don't really get it yet either."

"How did her—I mean, their parents react?"

Jeremy grimaced. "They kicked them out. That's why they're living with us."

Ashad sucked in a breath. "Jeez. At least Darcy has you guys."

"Yeah, Mum and Dad are good. Oh, and Darcy's starting at our school on Monday."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and they're in our year too."

Ashad's eyes went wide. "So we'll have three people from your family in our year. That's unfair, we'll be outnumbered."

Jeremy snorted. "You'll get used to it." He took a sip of his drink and his gaze wandered to stare out the dusty window. Ashad wondered what he was thinking, wishing Jeremy would tell him everything, share every part of himself.

He'd freak out if he could hear all of my weird thoughts, Ashad thought, sighing wearily. I don't understand them myself.

He took in the features of Jeremy's face, so similar to Ella's: his wavy chestnut brown hair was growing long again, crawling down his forehead to meet his gentle eyes with their long, dark lashes. And yet he looked different from his sister in a few subtle ways — the line of his jaw was stronger, his cheekbones were sharper, and the slightest shade of stubble was visible on his chin. Somehow these features didn't make him any less attractive to Ashad, which made him uncomfortable. He knew his family wouldn't approve if he were interested in a guy. No question of that. And the fact that the guy was his best friend made it even worse.

It was hard to imagine how Jeremy would react if Ashad told him that he liked him. Sure, he seemed accepting of Ella being gay, but that didn't mean he was same-sex attracted himself. He could totally flip out and cut Ashad out of his life forever. That was the worst case scenario, for sure. But maybe, just maybe, Jeremy would understand — or even reciprocate — his feelings.

. . .

"I told you, Tom. They aren't willing to do anything for Darcy. I didn't know my sister could be so selfish."

"Maybe we should try calling your parents. They might be able to help bring Julia and Jin-ho around."

Jeremy heard this back and forth between his mum and dad, slumped in the hall where they couldn't see him. It didn't sound like good news. Jeremy and Ella rarely saw their maternal grandparents and Jeremy assumed it was because his mother didn't approve of the ideas they tried to put into their grandchildren's heads. They certainly were conservative people, practically treating Ella like a second class citizen since she'd come out as a lesbian. Jeremy didn't want to know what they would think of Darcy.

Ella came thumping down the stairs and yelled, "I'm going to Cassidy's, see ya!"

"Wait, Ella," said their dad. He spotted Jeremy, who jumped up guiltily from where he'd been sitting. Jeremy couldn't read his expression before he turned back to Ella. "You promised to stay for dinner tonight. We were going to celebrate having Darcy come to live with us."

Ella rolled her eyes. Jeremy couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Didn't she care about their cousin?

"I really want to see Cassidy, we're going to go see a movie and then I'll sleep over."

Their dad frowned. "You promised, Ella. And besides, I don't like the idea of you staying over at Cassidy's place."

"Why not?" asked Ella defensively. "You let Jeremy stay over with his friends."

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. He hadn't stayed over at a friend's place since he was thirteen due to having an unfortunate lack of them to choose from. "Don't bring me into this."

"Jeremy's right. And I'm fully aware that Cassidy is your girlfriend," reasoned their dad. "I wouldn't let Jeremy have a sleepover if he had a girlfriend, either."

Ella's face scrunched into a frown. Shit, Jeremy thought. She's gonna blow.

"Fine," she sulked, to Jeremy's surprise. "I'll stay here. Cassidy's gonna be angry at me."

Jeremy didn't believe that, and it appeared that his dad didn't either.

"Thanks, Ella. I'm sure Darcy will appreciate it."

"Whatever, Dad." Ella clomped back up the stairs and disappeared into her room.

Jeremy and his dad shared a look. "What's up with her lately?" his dad asked.

Jeremy shrugged. "Having a girlfriend, I suppose."