Song for Broken Hearts (malexmale)

Chapter Sixteen

Well, needless to say, after Christmas and New Years, things got interesting and pretty awkward. For one, I finally made a move and kissed Rowan on the cheek — which was kinda inappropriate cause it made me feel slightly ashamed for doing it without asking — and it confirmed for me that I did have it hard for him. Like goddamn it, after that had happened, my legs turned into jelly, my insides burned with all the butterflies flying around in them, and I literally could have had a heart-attack with how fast my heart was beating. I barely managed to keep my calm during Natalia's New Years party because I wanted to tell everyone what happened, but I knew I was making a big deal out of something small like that. I knew I liked Rowan now, but he definitely didn't like me. I had doomed myself to harbor feelings towards a guy I was still technically just an acquaintance to, and probably dropping in favor because Rowan had been avoiding me ever since.

That was disappointing because I wanted to know how he felt about that. Maybe he didn't hate me like I assumed he did. Maybe he does like me just a bit, but we clash so much with our personalities that it probably wouldn't work out unless we finally reached some common ground, enough to at least start as friends. However, there's some better news. I finally called my family after two years of avoiding video-calling or face-to-face and only sending half-hearted letters.

"William! Oh, my sweet, baby boy!" my mother cried a lot when I FaceTimed her.

"Hey, mo—" my dad jumped in right away, the screen thrashed around and lagged while he scared my mom trying to snatch up the tablet so he could see me.

"William! What the fuck son!?" I laughed a bit, forgetting my nervousness in calling them, as my mom yelled at my dad to watch his language.

When they calmed down, I finally managed to get out, "Hi, dad. Good to see you guys."

They had me on FaceTime for like three hours explaining what I'd been doing, what I'd been up to, how I was, and the regular stuff that parents worried about. I actually left out a lot of stuff regarding Carter and some... other things, but I did at least I finally explained to them why I had avoided FaceTiming them for so long. Well, nonetheless, I had given them my new address so they could come see me and promised to do more FaceTime because they wanted to see my face and make sure I was alive and well. It had been nerve-racking to talk to them again after so long, but I was glad to have talked to them. Knowing your parents still cared and worried over your wellbeing was a very comforting feeling. It was a load off my shoulders to hear them again.

So, besides that I guess things were sort of going my way.

"You kissed him."

Well, nah, just kidding, I still had some problems.

"It was on the cheek!" I yelled for the hundredth time. Apparently, Rowan had off-handedly spilled the beans about my extremely G-rated kiss on his cheek to Sebastian the other day, and now he was confronting me about it.

"Dude," Sebastian exclaimed, almost fake falling back to show how over-the-top he was with being done with me, "you know how he is with touching. I cannot believe you caved into your desires."

"Well, excuse me for being moved by what he got me for Christmas, I needed a way to express my thanks!" I huffed, crossing my arms as I tried to come up with an excuse to not blow my cover for being in love with Rowan. I mean Sebastian knew I liked him, knowing I was in love with him would probably blow his mind more so than just a petty crush. "You surface dwellers today assume all kisses mean the desire for romance or sexual shit, and, yeah, I do like him and want to be friends and all, but not all kisses have to imply anything more than friendship! It was a friend kiss! One of gratitude, if I wanted to I would kiss you because you're my friend!"