Music is a part of life, a part of who we are. You can go anywhere in the world and music will follow you. You can't escape it. Whenever you hear a song, it makes you wonder, is this song meant for me? Is this the song that represents who I am, shar...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The door to my room opened, Kyle walking through. Even with his dark skin, I could tell that he was slightly flushed, as if embarrassed. With a groan, he flops face down onto my bed, hiding his face in my duvet. I knew from experience not to say anything; Kyle would let it all come flooding out eventually. I just continued typing away on my laptop, letting him stew things over in his head.
Kyle let out another groan, turning onto his back with his hands laced over his stomach before releasing a disheartened sigh. "Why does he have to be so damn gorgeous?"
Ah. It was all about a boy. I probably should have been able to guess that from his flushed face earlier. It has been a couple of years since Kyle confessed that he was gay, wanting to be able to tell someone that he could trust to keep it a secret. I was a bit surprised, but was overall happy that he trusted me with this. "Who is it?"
"It's a new kid on the team. In the year below us. He was trying out today."
"And his name is..." I pushed, knowing he was trying to skirt around the main point of my question.
He hesitated slightly before letting out a defeated sigh. "It's Azura's brother, Hisashi."
I just nod my head in conformation that I had heard him, unsure of what to say. I finally settle on the most generic question I could ever ask: "What happened?"
Kyle huffs out a laugh, sitting up on the bed and leans against the headboard. "I made an absolute fool of myself. I kept messing up passes, especially when they were to him, and I wasn't focussed at all. I was too busy looking at him to look at what was happening around me." He lets out a defeated sigh, his head dropping back against the headboard. "How can I be expected to lead a team when the moment an extremely attractive guy shows up I'm a complete mess?"
I hum slightly in response, thinking over my words carefully. "I think you just need to go for it."
Kyle bolts upright in shock. "What?"
"Try talking to him, you know? Flirt a little maybe. Just hang out with him and get to know him a bit. What's the harm in that?
"What's the harm?" Kyle nearly shouts at me. "Nobody knows I'm gay for starters. And there's the fact that Hisashi probably isn't! What's he going to think if I start flirting with him?"
"Come on Kyle! You can't just hide away the rest of your life. No one is going to judge you badly for being gay, your family especially."
Kyle just sends me a withering look. I sigh before telling him "I just want you to be happy, OK?"
He falls back against the headboard once again, his head down. "I know."
Silence stretches between us for a few minutes, Kyle deep in thought while I was on my laptop doing research on the film we had been given to study in media.
"Do you really think I should do it?" Kyle asks suddenly, breaking the silence.
"Do what?" I ask, turning in my chair to face him.
"Tell my family. Or at least tell my mum. I mean, Amelia probably won't understand what I'm talking about and my dad will probably just brush it off like it doesn't matter like everything else. But do you really think I should say something?"
I nod my head, my answer coming easily. "I think you should go for it. With your family anyway. Your mum is the most understanding person I have ever met. She won't have a problem with you being gay."
He closes his eyes for a moment, contemplating what I had said. "OK. Let's do it."
My eyes widen in surprise. "Now?"
He shrugs his shoulders as if it was no big deal, but I could see his hands shaking, a giveaway sign that he was nervous. "Why not. It's now or never, and I think my mum deserves to know after I've kept it from her for this long."
I walk over to my bed and sit next to him, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You're doing the right thing."
His dark skin was slightly pale, as if he was about to be sick. We both stood up and walked of the door, Kyle leading the way down the stairs and into the kitchen where we knew we would find Annika, finishing up dinner slightly later than normal due to her work hours.
"Ah, boys! I was about to call you down for dinner. Amelia is at a friends so it will just be us three today, regso?"
Kyle nervously clears his throat, eyes darting around the kitchen. "Yeah mum, that sounds fine. Um... There's actually something I wanted to tell you, but I guess it can wait until another time."
Kyle turned around and tried to bolt out the kitchen, but not before I caught him by the wrist and pulled him back, turning him to face his mum again who now sported a worried expression, taking in her son's panicking state.
"You have to do this now Kyle. You said it yourself. You can do this," I whisper to him before giving him a small push forward.
"What's wrong? Are you ill? Injured? Are you in trouble? What's happened?" Annika quickly walked forwards and grabbed her son's hands. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
Kyle gave me one last anxious look before turning to his mum and blurting out "I'm gay."
Annika just stared at him for a moment, then pulled him into a tight hug. I could tell Kyle was shocked by her actions when he did nothing but stand there, as if frozen in place. "That is it? I thought you were in serious trouble or something really bad had happened. You were worried about telling me you are gay?"
Kyle nods his head, his face flushing. "I haven't said anything before because I wasn't sure how you were going to take it. You always go on about how you want us to have a big family and how you want lots of grandchildren and I- I just can't give you that. I thought you would be disappointed in me." It was evident by the tremor in his voice that Kyle was about to cry, a rarity for the usually bright, funny guy.
Annika was already in tears. What Kyle said had obviously affected her. "I am so sorry you thought you could not tell me this. I just want you to be happy. I do not care if you have no kids. I could never be disappointed in you Kyle, never." She tightens her hold on him and Kyle finally puts his arms around her, hugging her back.
I quietly walk out of the kitchen, leaving the two of them together. This was something personal and I didn't need to be there and ruin it.
Walking into the living room, I fall back onto the couch, fishing my phone out of my pocket. I keep myself busy by looking at potential songs that the band could perform, nothing really standing out.
My mind soon drifts off to my own parents. My mum was an amazing woman, always helping everyone and involving herself in multiple charity events. Being raised in a poor household didn't stop her from perusing her dream of becoming a Nurse.
My dad worked as a Customs and Excise Officer. That was before everything went to shit. Seeing Annika be so accepting of Kyle made me wonder where I went wrong with my dad. Even with everything he did to me, I still wanted him to accept me and be proud of me. I guess that was too much to ask for.
