Heart Strings <3 ~Complete

Heart Strings Chapter Twenty Two - Adam

'Sorry,' I muttered. It was some kind of Taboo to be touched by a gay for some guys, and by David's reaction, I was sure he held that belief.

'It's okay,' David replied finally, his voice strained, 'I just, Sephy didn't tell me to say this... She told me about what happened with your dad and that restaurant-'

'She had no right,' I spat, anger gripping me.

David shrugged, but this time his eyes held mine, 'maybe, but Sephy's an amazing person, and she told me because she thought she could help you. She

thought I could help you.'

'How can you help me?!' I asked scornfully.

David's eyes filled with pain and dropped once again to the grass. I felt bad but I couldn't bring myself to apologise. I didn't know the guy; I seriously didn't

understand how he was supposed to help me. So he knew my problem now, he had no idea what it felt like to be gay and to be treated as an outcast by the

majority of the people in your school and by your own father. He had no idea.

When David looked back up, he had crystal clear tears in his brown eyes. 'I'm sorry for what you are going through, I really am. I can't change it, I can't pretend

your father will suddenly approve of your sexuality someday, because he most probably won't, but my advice is to let him say what he will and not react,

because that's all he wants.'

For a moment I was speechless; a lump had risen in my throat. When I recovered, I whispered, 'how do you know all this?'

'I have an abusive father,' he murmured bitterly. I could see he was struggling to keep eye contact with me.

'I'm sorry-'

'Don't,' David interrupted me, his eyes cold, 'he's not worth it.'

There was silence for a moment. I couldn't believe I was in this position.

'Look, what I mean to say is,' he began, 'when one door closes, another one opens. That's what my mum used to tell me years ago before she died.

'You are worth more than you allow yourself to think, Adam, you are incredible. Anyone would be lucky to have you, it just so happens that,' David grinned

weakly, 'Sephy and Nathan have found something special in each other.'

I bit my lip as tears overflowed my own eyes, I was overcome by how open he was being and the situation I was in myself.

'Yeah,' I agreed, 'that's true, I just wish, for once, I could find someone for me...'

David averted his eyes for a moment, 'you will, I promise.'

'You can't promise that!' I cried out, tears flowing harder and harder, 'I'm gay, and that's always going to be my label. That's what I am, I'm not a person, I'm a

gay!'

Suddenly David grabbed my arm aggressively, tugging it towards him.

I turned to face him, my vision was blurry and it was embarrassing. The only person who had seen me cry like this was Tabby.

'But you are brave enough to be gay!' David rumbled darkly, his eyes reaching right into my own.

'What... What do you mean?'

David shook his head and withdrew his hand from my arm.

'David, are...are you...'

David's eyes sank to the ground again, 'I couldn't say anything, to anyone. My dad hates homosexuals with a passion. No one in this world knows, except

from Sephy and now you...'

Sephy knew? Was she just trying to set us up so that she wouldn't feel bad for what was happening with Nathan? I wasn't sure whether to be happy that she

thought of me, or upset that she needed some way of sorting me out to push her out of her life...

'My mum did, and she supported me, but we both knew that telling my dad would be suicide on my part... Even though she told me to be proud of it unless it

concerned my father, I can't, I've never been able to tell anyone... But I've always respected you for being able to, and then last year, when we had to work on

that Sea Life Art Project together, I,' David lowered his head, his brown hair covering his eyes, 'I fell in love with you, your strength, your courage, you were

always trying to hide how upset you were, always trying to shy away from me because you thought I'd be like other guys, you thought I'd avoid talking to you,

touching you... But I couldn't do anything about it, because I wasn't brave enough to just come out with it and admit what I am. I've hated myself for so long, but

knowing that-'

His voice broke off. My heart beat unevenly as my hand brushed his hair away from his eyes and then reached for his hand.

David looked up. His lost expression sent my heart pounding. Uncertainly, I moved towards him, draping my other hand around his neck. I paused just before

our lips touched, only to have David lean in and kiss me.

My hands fell to his knees and slowly made their way higher as the kiss deepened, quickening my heart beat.

I don't know how long we were kissed but when we stopped, it was too soon.

In the end we went to the toilet, holding hands the whole way there. On the way back we didn't touch at all because David still wanted to keep his sexuality a

secret, but David asked me if I didn't mind being his boyfriend, and I said no, I wouldn't mind at all, a titanic smile on my face, but this time it didn't sink when

I saw Sephy smiling at Nathan.

When Sephy turned over to us, her face brightened considerably.

Everyone began complaining that we'd been gone for ages so I started spinning a story about how there was some guy who needed tissue in one of the

stalls and then how we'd realised we were in each other's Art classes and had started talking about Mrs. Normandy as David stayed quiet, a Mona Lisa smile on his face.

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