Don't Remember Me

’He’s liked you since he was in the ninth grade.’
I guess I fucked up – again. But this time I felt terrible about it. I didn’t care about any of the other people I’d fucked around with like Lynzee and Shawn and Ryan.
I mean, that kid seriously meant nothing to me a few weeks ago. He was just some faceless personality I’d met over the internet. Was it right to care about him?
“Shit.” I cursed, rolling around on my bed. The TV was blaring some useless infomercial at me. I checked my phone again for messages and then threw it against my pillow as I saw there were none.
Maybe it’s because he was my brother’s friend. Maybe I felt sorry for him. Either way, I started a new text after retrieving my phone from the blankets it had fallen on. Only what stopped me is that I have a new message. Hastily I opened it.
I’m sorry about walking out like that. Did I… make you forget for a little longer? It read.
Upon reading that, I froze. I felt the smile form on my face as I burst out laughing. I will give Brynden this: He’s a sweet kid. But easily corruptible; fragile. A terrible person like me isn’t suited for the kid. He knows I’m using him yet he still insists on this. But I suppose if I were Brynden and Hayden were me; I’d do the same thing. Does he really like me that much?
Just then, Brian knocked on the door.
“Come in.” I called to him.
“I came to talk about Brynden.” He told me as he opened the door and shut it behind him.
“As expected.” I stated, trying to act bored. But I was a little interested in how he actually started to like me of all people.
“You know, it’s pretty awkward when you’re told by your best friend that, at the same time, he likes guys and that one of those guys happens to be your brother.” He said, taking a seat on my bed.
“Yeah, well, I came out to you too.” I retorted.
“No, you didn’t come out; you just don’t care about anyone. That’s why you say your bi.” Damn little brother. Since when did he know me so well?
“Right.” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Give Brynden a chance this time. Don’t throw him away like every other person you go out with.” He pleaded with those oh-so-serious eyes.
“Who the fuck said we were going out?” I growled. Not only was I pissed at myself for fucking absolutely everything up today, but now I was getting a lecture in dating from my little brother.
“You did when you brought him back here!” Brian raised his voice – something he almost never did, really. “Now listen, you can either go get him, or-”
“Or what?”
“I’ll tell Dad you like guys.” He threatened, his face deadly serious. My heart stopped.
My father was a serious homophobe. He was nice to everyone – unless you were gay. I honestly didn’t like my father. I loved him, but I didn’t like him at all. The only love I had for him was more obligatory instead of actual love. All he expected out of Brian and I was to keep up our grades and stay out of drugs and alcohol; oh, and don’t fall for another guy.
It wasn’t like he was raised with strict religion but it was more like an inborn hatred thing against homosexuals. I don’t understand any of it really.
But, hey, I’m seventeen, I’ll be out of the house in another year and I don’t plan on going to college so I won’t be dependent on him for much longer. So I’m pretty sure I have a right to like who I want.
I don’t think Mom had a problem with them though. But I wasn’t about to test my limits.
“Okay! Fine, I’ll give him a chance.” I gave in.
“And you’d better not half-ass it either.” He growled. “Now hurry up; I’ll tell Mom and Dad you went to Hayden’s or something.”
I kept myself from noticeably freezing to the spot as I realized that I hadn’t actually been thinking about Hayden at all. Again.
I packed a few clothes into a bag; it was too late to actually talk about what we needed to talk about without it getting too late to go back home.
I slung the bag over my shoulder along with my backpack for school tomorrow and headed out the door. “Take him seriously!” Brian yelled after me, handing over the directions to the house.
“Yeah, yeah.” I said, brushing past him and out into the driveway to get in my car.
Brynden, of course, lived on the outskirts of town, as I had figured out when I was trying to find out who the punk was. Although, Brian’s directions were more like a five-year-old’s scribbles I still managed to find the house.
Then I realized it was almost nine in the evening. Jeez, what would the kid’s parents say? I suppose I could lie and say I was coming over to help him study for his final the next day. Even though it was the last day of school a lot of teachers had their finals scheduled for it; something about giving the kids a reason to come to school on the last day.
I put my car in park and mechanically walked up to the porch with both my bags in tow. The light came on instantly and I realized it was a motion-sensitive one. I rang the doorbell and hope I wasn’t waking anyone up.
I heard a lock being shoved out of place as the knob turned and the door opened. A woman, a few inches shorter than me, stood there.
“Oh, can I help you?” She asked politely, obviously not caring that she’d been disturbed this late at night.
“Uh, yeah, my name’s Daemyn. I’m here to help Brynden study for his math final tomorrow.” I lied smoothly.
She gave me a warm smile before saying, “Oh, come on in. I’ll call Brynden down. Are you staying the night?”
“Yeah.” I told her, following her into the house.
“Brynden! Please come down here.” She called up the stairs. She smiled at me again as I heard a few light thuds from upstairs. “I’m sorry, you look familiar, but I can’t seem to remember your name.”
“Oh, no, you’ve never met me. You must be thinking of my little brother, Brian.” I explained. Even though Brian and I had slightly different hair color and different eye color, our facial structures were still very much alike.
“You’re his brother? It’s nice to meet you. Brynden mentions you sometimes when he comes back from your house. Are you two close?” She asked.
“Uh, kind of.”
Well, he already knew the one secret that no one else did. I think I could consider that close. Besides, if he didn’t totally hate me already, we’d most likely end up being a couple after tonight.
“D-Daemyn?” Came the meek whisper of Brynden’s voice as he lithely walked down the stairs to join us.
“I came to help you study.” I told him, hoping he’d catch onto the cover up story.
“O-oh… th-thank you…”
“Did you eat at home Sweetie?” His mom asked, turning to me. “If not, I can fix you up some leftovers.” She told me.
“Ah, no. I ate already, thank you though.” I told her politely. Not to brag or anything, but I was pretty good at handling people with politeness and manners. Even if they were fake ones. But strangely enough, his mom gave off the same aura that he did. The kind that I couldn’t be a fake to so any polite thing I said was a real statement. If any of that made sense anyways. Those two made me want to be kind to them. So I was.
“S-sorry… my room’s th-this way…” Brynden stuttered, heading back up the stairs as I followed after him.
His room, like mine, had video games stacked in a pile, but everything else was different. It was clean and the décor was light. My walls had always been black or crimson colored. His were a light blue and they reminded me of his light personality.
“Y-you can h-have a seat on the b-bed…” He stuttered in a cute way. I wasn’t going to deny that Brynden was cute, because he was.
But I took a seat on his bed and set the bags on the floor. “You did make me forget though.” I told him as he shut off his computer.
When he turned to be I saw that his face was lit up. “I-I did?” He asked, smiling.
“I don’t know how the fuck you’re doing it, or why you’re doing it, but you are.” I took a long deep breath. “I know I’m a complete asshole, alright?”
“I-it’s fine… I-I know it’s hard to… to just f-forget someone y-you love…” Brynden told me, his coal black eyes full of sympathy. Of course he understands; he likes me.
“If you can put up with me then, maybe we can go out?”
His eyes went wide with question. “Wh… what?”
“I’m serious. Somehow you’re making me forget him. Everyone else… all they did was make me remember how I was betraying him.” I explained.
For the time being, it didn’t matter that he was a terrible kisser or that he was shy as fuck or that he stuttered when he spoke. All that mattered was that he could make me forget and maybe… just maybe I could come to love this kid.
“S-So we… we’re a-an actual… umm… couple…?” He asked meekly.
“Right. Unlike everyone else I’ve dated, I’m taking you seriously.” I told him with a serious expression. “But first I think I’ll have to teach you how to kiss.”
Brynden looked so surprised by all of this that it looked like he wasn’t even breathing. “R-Really…?” He asked when he could finally speak again.
“I’m not guaranteeing anything right now. But yes, really.”