"So to sum it all, Pierre asked you out for a date and you, of course, you played hard to get but eventually, you accepted his date offer just to see what he was going to plan. Though, what Pierre seemed to have forgot was that he was grounded for the month so this date thing is actually not going to happen so soon. Did I get it right?" Joshua asked me with a thoughtful expression and I nodded enthusiastically.
"Yep, you got it just right," I said before I took a spoonful of my yogurt. "You know me, when I used to plan something for us to do, I always made sure that all the right elements were present before even bringing up the idea to him. Sadly, it seems like he can't do the same."
"He is just a little newbie. Give him some time, I'm sure that he will stop deceiving you one day or another," my friend said with a laugh and a smile came on my face. "He will learn the right ways to win your heart back soon enough."
"To be honest with you, I doubt it. He can't do it. He doesn't have what it takes."
"Hmm, maybe you are right."
"Guys, I am right here," Pierre reminded us of his presence as he waved his hands in front of our faces. Joshua and I finally looked at him, really amused by the situation, and he pouted, "If you want to talk badly of me, you could at least do it when I am not present."
"I don't know," I replied to him maliciously, "Maybe I want you to hear how much you suck at being the slightest bit romantic."
"I don't suck!" he protested like a little kid, "I just forgot that I was grounded. I'm trying my best here."
"If that's your best, you really have some big improvements to make."
"You are so mean to me, Declan."
"If I was really mean, trust me, I would have never allowed you to be here with us right now. True, your friends dumped you but Joshua and I are not forced to keep you company to prevent you from being alone."
"My friends did not dump me," Pierre corrected me with a firm voice but then he added more quietly, "I am the one who decided to stop hanging out with them. I had enough of them stepping on me and telling me what I can and cannot do. This needed to stop...besides, it's best for me to not be around Veronica for the time being."
"Wow, you are becoming a little rebel," Joshua laughed and Pierre frowned, "I never thought that you would rebel against the people who toyed with you all this time. Let's be honest, your friends have always treated you like crap. You gave them the power to crush you and it never occurred to me that one day you would fight back."
"I agree with you, Joshua," I said with a nod of approval, "I always thought that I would be the one to defend Pierre against the people who mistreat him. I mean, he is always defending the bad guys and accepting to be the carpet for everyone to step on."
"Stop it, guys!" he exclaimed, childishly, "I-I-I can defend myself and not everyone mistreat me."
"If you say so."
"You are just so mean! Both of you!" he pouted and Joshua and I laughed again. It was just so easy to tease him, "I will prove you wrong. I promise you."
I smirked. That was really interesting to see; Pierre was finally taking the initiative to live his life like he wanted. Okay, so far, he did not do much, there was actually more talking than acting but if he has enough determination, maybe he would be able to reach his goals. Though, for him to be really free and happy, he still needed to fight against his strongest enemies.
His parents.
"I want to pee," Joshua said suddenly as he stood up from the ground, "I will be right back."
He quickly walked away, leaving Pierre and I alone on the rooftop. It was currently lunch time and instead of going to the cafeteria, Joshua and I decided to go on the rooftop to have our lunch but Pierre decided to tag along. It was yesterday that he broke up with Veronica and as he also told his friends that they were done, he had no one else but us.
Like I said, if I was really mean, I would have told him to f!ck off and I would have left him alone without any worries but I didn't. I just couldn't. Though, even if Joshua and I allowed him to stay with us, my friend and I both agreed to annoy the hell out of him.
"Hey, you didn't tell me," I started and Pierre looked at me, waiting for me to finish my sentence, "How did your parents react to the breakup?"
"Oh, well," he rubbed the back of his neck, hesitant to answer, "It was pretty bad actually. They want me to go back with Veronica."
My eyebrows furrowed, "And what are you going to do about it?"
"I am not really sure," was his reply, "But, no matter what, I am not changing my mind. Veronica and I are over. End of the story."
I hummed, looking down at the yogurt in my hand, "Well, she doesn't seem ready to give up on you."
"I know," he sighed, "But she will come to understand and accept how things are eventually...I truly hope so."
"Don't you think that you were kind of rough with her?" I asked him quietly and he blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"She loves you," I replied and I started to play with my little plastic spoon, "You made her dream come true when you asked her to be your girlfriend and now you broke up with her like if she was nothing to you. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like her but honestly, I didn't expect you to end things the way you did. It surprisingly affected me and when I think of it now, it seemed like you were simply using her. You used her feelings for you to your advantage. Am I right, Pierre?"
I thought of it a lot last night. I couldn't care less about Veronica but I was in the same situation as her a few weeks ago. I felt what she felt and strangely that made me sympathize with her. Pierre really used her, didn't he? All she did was love him and because of her feelings, he brought her into this mess and now her heart was broken.
That girl did not know what she was getting herself into.
"You're right, I used her," Pierre replied, staring at the ground, "I shouldn't have asked her out, I shouldn't have been a coward, maybe then she wouldn't be suffering right now but I can't do anything to make her situation better. If I could, I would tell her the truth, I would tell her that I actually used her to convince myself that I did not love you but I can't, at least not now. Maybe she will end up hating me, maybe she won't want to see me ever again but it will be for the best, I guess. I caused her enough pain. For now, I can only hope that she will get better and forget about me."
But will she ever let go of you?
I wanted to ask him the question but I did not say anything. Instead, I looked up at the sky. A small breeze blew and it caressed my cheek. I hummed softly, closing my eyes. Slowly, I let my body fall back and laid down. It was quiet for a moment but soon, Pierre spoke again.
"Declan, I wanted to discuss something with you," he said and I felt him touch my cheek. I shivered briefly at the unexpected contact but I did not push him away nor did I say anything to him, "I wanted to let you know about a few things actually." He moved his hand to my hair. "I know that we are not dating or anything but if we were to be together in the future, know that I am okay with doing the things that boyfriends normally do."
I looked at him with a frown, "What are you trying to say?"
"What I mean is that I'm okay with kissing," he replied, quickly avoiding my eyes, "I'm okay with holding hands and I'm okay to be intimated with you."
"Well, I'm guessing that none of that will happen in public though?" I asked him, not expecting much, and he closed his eyes briefly before reopening them.
"Give me one year," he replied and he just lost me there but he quickly explained himself, "Give me one year to be with you in secret. I know that it's long, maybe too long for you to wait but I will do it after one year; I will come out to my parents and I will tell them about everything, about the fact that I love you. I know that you don't want any promises but still, I promise you that I will do it. Just give one year."
I simply stared at him. I was not expecting that. He continued to pass his fingers through my hair as I thought of what he just said. Indeed, one year was long but at the same time, I did tell him that I would not force him to come out to anyone. It was up to him to decide. Though, some part of me hoped that he would do it sooner and how could I know for sure that in one year, he would not retract himself and keep his promise?
"If you want to come out in one year, I don't really care," I told him at last and I turned on the side, my back now facing him, "Now or never, it doesn't matter. Take all the time you want."
I was being a little bit sarcastic and I guessed that he felt it. He pulled his hand away from my hair, sighing, "I know that this is demanding a lot from you but this is how I want to do it."
"Why one year though?"
"Because this is the minimum time that I need to try to change my parents' mind," was his unexpected reply and the shock actually prevented me from laughing out loud, "I know that you think that it's impossible. No matter what I say, it won't do much and I will probably just waste my time even trying to reason with my parents but I need to at least try. I'm their son and I love them and I hope that they will love me enough to understand."
Talk about some perfect little dream, Pierre, I thought.
"And," he continued, "One year will be enough for me to mentally and physically prepare myself for a possible rejection. I will also get one more year by your side which is not much but it's something."
"But what if I tell you that one year is too much?" I asked him, "What if I want you to face your parents next week? What will you do?"
"That will be forcing me which will go against what you told me at your house."
"Still, what if I want you to do it next week? Will you do it?"
"No."
"No...?" I repeated in surprise. "I thought that you were willing to fight for me."
"I will fight for you but I'm being honest with you. I won't do it next week because I can't."
"But in one year, you will be able to do it?"
"Yes, I believe so."
This time, I did laugh out loud.
"You're being delusional," I told him and one little idea suddenly crossed my mind, it was an idea that seemed just perfect to me, "Pierre, you know what? I will give you your year."
"Really?!" he exclaimed in surprise, his voice also full of hope and I nodded.
"There is one condition though."
"What is it?"
"One month," I replied, a smirk coming to my face and before he could ask any question, I added, "You have one month to make me your boyfriend, one month to make me forgive you, to make me trust you and if you fail, we're over. How about that?"
"Huh..." I succeeded to take him by surprise it seemed and I chuckled, "Sure, I can do it, I guess. Just, can it start the next month as then-"
"No, this month itself."
"But I am grounded," he reminded me, "I can only leave my house for school and church and any other events that my parents will assist."
"I don't care. You will see me at school, right? You will make your move then."
"But Declan, I don't even have my phone and I don't always see you at school. The only time we will be able to really talk is during lunch time."
"Lunch will suddenly be really interesting."
"But it's nearly impossible!" he exclaimed but I did not care.
"Oh, and another thing, I also won't tutor you."
"But-"
"No, it will be too easy. The tutoring will start at the end of the month...well if you succeed to win my heart that is."
"But that's not fair!" he said, "How do you expect me to do this if I barely get the chance to see you or talk to you?"
"I fall in love with you without even speaking to you. Think and I'm sure that you will find a way to make things right. So, do you accept my challenge? Or maybe you would prefer us to not be together? I will only accept the one year thing if you do what I demanded," I informed him and he did not say anything.
Actually a few minutes passed and there was still no reply. I ended up thinking that he was not going to do it, I thought that it was too much for him and that he would just give up but then, I felt him grab my shoulder. It was such a firm grip and he turned me around so that I was laying on my back and he unexpectedly got on top of me, placing his hands at both side of my head.
"Alright, Declan White, your challenge is accepted. Before the month ends, you will be mine again," he said, his eyes piercing right through me. There was so much seriousness in his voice and I could not stop myself from laughing.
"I can't wait to see what you will do, Pierre Lois," I told him honestly with a smile on my face.
"Hey guys, what are you two doing?" Joshua exclaimed as he finally returned back on the rooftop. Both Pierre and I turned our heads in his direction.
"You're back," Pierre said but he did not make a move to get off me, "You took your sweet time."
"Are you sure you went to pee?" I asked Joshua as he sat back down and he rolled his eyes.
"You did not answer my question," he replied and he quickly added, "But to answer your question, yes I did go to pee but as I was coming back, a group of girls approached me and they informed me about something really interesting."
"Which is?"
Joshua smiled.
"There will be a masked ball at the high school."
***
Hello everyone! ^.^
I'm aware that it has been quite a while since I last updated but writing hasn't been easy. I just completely blocked but thank god, I succeeded to get it done. I will try to post another chapter this week. Tomorrow my exams will end and I will officially be in holidays (I have two whole months to stay at home!). I hope to write much more then.
Oh, and another thing, I want to change the name of the story but I can't find a good name (I'm so bad with titles I swear) so does anyone have any suggestion to make? It will help a lot actually.
Well, I hope that you like this chapter. Tell me what you think of it in a comment and don't forget to leave a little vote.
Have a fantastic day/night!!! :D