It Meant Nothing

Nine

  Maxx

  Cody kicked me out of his car after we finished. Honestly, I didn't expect anything less. I just grabbed my camera and limped through the snow to my front door. I hated myself.
  Marching up to the bathroom, I stripped and inspected the cuts and bruises on my body. My ankle was
sore and bruised, but I managed to be able to put some weight on it. I climbed into the shower after the water heated up, and flinched as it cleaned the wounds. Washing my hair and face, I felt the tears start to come and I tried and failed to stop them. Why did Cody have to be so fucking stupid? Out of pure frustration, I reeled my arm back and punched the wall, immediately regretting it. I cleaned the blood off my knuckles before getting out of the shower, drying off, and wrapping a bandage around them. Once I was in my room, I changed into some clean clothes and climbed into bed.

  Taking a nap didn't work. I was still angry and frustrated. Eventually, I just took some ibuprofen to ease my headache and soreness before I pulled on my shoes and coat. I was going to get it out of him. I needed him to just figure out that he wasn't after girls or at least not completely. Walking out into the cold, I began the walk to his house. I really needed to get my license. This was hell.

  When I finally got there, there was an unfamiliar car in the driveway, and I frowned but shrugged it off. Fuck it. I barged into the house, walking straight to the living room and seeing Cody, Alex, Jack, and Kevin lounging on the couch with ps4 controllers in their hands. Kevin sat on the far end closest to me, Cody between him and Jack. Alex was taking advantage of the extra space on his end and was curled up on his side, his head on Jack's leg as he focused on the TV in front of them.
  "Cody." The four juniors looked up at me, and I was suddenly filled with anxiety. I swallowed before continuing, "We need to talk."
"What the hell is he doing here?" Kevin asked, directing a look of disgust at me.
"Maxx-" I interrupted Cody.
"No. Shut up. I need you to make up your fucking mind. You either need to admit it to yourself or just completely forget I exist and lose my fucking number."
"What's he talking about?" Alex asked, sitting up.
"Maxx, sto-"
"No, I don't care if your dumbass friends are here! Fuck them! I don't care what they think and neither should you! Whether you're gay, bi, or pan is up to you to figure out, but I'm done letting you do whatever the fuck you want. You either accept it or you don't, Cody. What's it gonna be?"

  By now, everyone was staring at him, looks of confusion on their faces as they waited for him to say something. This was it. He either lost me or his friends.
"Well?" I crossed my arms, becoming increasingly impatient.
"Dude, it's not really hard to answer. You like guys or not?" Kevin pushed.
"I don't fucking know, okay?! Could you all just fuck off?!" Cody shouted, gripping clumps of his hair and hiding his face behind his arms. It looked like he was about to cry.
"Get out." I ordered, referring to Alex, Kevin, and Jack.
"What?" They looked up at me, seemingly appalled at the fact that I was telling them what to do.
"Leave. Now."
"Listen, you little-" Kevin started to get up, fists clenched.
  "Fucking go!" Cody screamed, his face now buried in his sleeve-covered hands. Alex and Jack lifted themselves from their seats, following Kevin outside.
"Cody..." I said softly, walking towards the black-haired boy and grabbing his hands gently. I pulled them away from his face, and he looked down. Tears were dripping down his cheeks, his face red.
"I'm sorry..." I leaned down to hug him, pecking his cheek. "It's okay. It's alright if you don't know." I pulled away slightly, giving him a sympathetic smile before wiping his tears away with my sleeve. I leaned down, pressing my lips against his.
"It'll be okay."