Sunflowers and Tulips

The two little boys sat under the slide, their legs criss-crossed, talking. They sat almost perfectly still, just letting their eyes do all the talking, saying sweet little sentences with their breathing. The boy that was closest to the slide looked like a small angel: long black hair, leafy green eyes, and pale skin. His name was James, or as the other boy called him, Girasole, which means “sunflower” in Italian. The other boy, however, was different. He just had long blonde hair with crystal blue eyes and a tan complexion. James called him Margherita, which meant “daisy” in Italian, but his real name is just Braedon. Pronounced like “Bray-dun”, but spelt like “Braedon”.

Braedon was different in so many ways then James other than looks. He’s more rambunctious and adventurous while James was more reserved and quiet. But they go along perfectly, because neither of them would ever dream about hurting each other or even making them remotely sad. It just wasn’t natural. They couldn’t even hit each other without saying sorry three seconds later. Both boys were ten at the time they sat under the slide. It was actually Braedon’s birthday, and they were celebrating it at the park. Hence why they were under a slide.

“Can I ask you a question?” James said, his lips barely moving.

The other boy shifted a little bit so that he was closer to James, breaking eye contact for a split second. “Sure, Girasole. Shoot.”

James scooted closer so that they were sitting right next to each other, their hands nearly touching. He moved his right hand to brush some blonde pieces away from his friend’s face. “So you know how Jeremy said he was gay a few days ago, and that we didn’t know what gay meant?” He questioned innocently, his green eyes wide.

“Yea…I remember.”

The raven-haired boy hesitated for a second, then took a deep breath and whispered,

“Well…I found out what it means, and I think I’m gay, too.”

“What does it mean?” Braedon’s eyes were wide open with curiosity, trying to figure out what his friend was saying.

James looked down towards the wood chips and started to play with them nervously, shifting them around his index finger. “Well….” He began, exhaling. “When you’re gay, it means…it means you like boys ‘stead of girls.”

The blonde’s nose slightly wrinkled up, trying to understand the concept of two guys together instead of a girl and a guy. “So..what you’re saying is that…you like boys?”

The other boy nodded in response. “Mhmm…and I want to try something, but….I need your help too.”

“Anything!” Braedon said. “Anything…..”

James leaned in closer to his friend until their noses were almost touching. “Kiss me,” he said in a heavy breath, looking intensely in the blue eyes of his best friend. Braedon gulped, and leaned forward, connecting their lips.

A shock erupted through the both of them, making their lips disconnect and their eyes wide. It was as if they were meant to kiss. As if they were meant to be together. The tingling feeling after the kiss lingered on their lips while both boys stared at each other, wondering what it meant. Were they gay? Did they still like girls? What happened?

Braedon opened his mouth to speak, and the same went with James, but no sound ever did come out. They just stared at each other and stood up, brushing the wood chips off their pants. The patronizing eyes of the blonde pierced through the raven-haired boy’s head, glowering silently due to the confusion he felt. It was all James’ fault for confusing him, but he was just curious. And they couldn’t stay mad at each other for long, so James was the first one to speak.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “for confusing you. I screwed everything up, didn’t I?” James chuckled kind of darkly, flashing his award-winning grin that he only gave to Braedon.
Said child shook his head and snorted, “No. It’s alright. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“So do you want to just forget about it for now? I mean, it’s not a big deal is two boys kissed, right?”

“I don’t think so. And you’re right. Let’s just forget about it.”

Oh, how wrong they were. Over the next six years, both boys questioned what the kiss meant, but they never brought it up again. They moved on to other things like girls and sports. Mainly football, and in both middle school and high school, James was the head quarterback with Braedon as his back-up. There was not one thing they didn’t share…except for girlfriends.

Both boys got closer to each other, but one day during their junior year in high school, everything changed……..