Falling Out of Line

"Are you ready, Tyler? We head out for the restaurant in ten minutes!" Cory called upstairs.

I sighed. I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, hair still a bit damp from my shower. My eyes were bloodshot. I didn't get much sleep last night. I couldn't stop thinking about the party... that kiss... It was the strangest thing I ever had to do. I never thought in a million years that my first kiss would be with a guy... and not with Lewis. He's probably pissed at me. I let this go too far and I embarrassed him in front of everybody. And the way they were making fun of him was horrible. I'm sure I've only made things worse.

"Tyler!"

"I'll be down in a minute, Sean!"

They were making a big deal about dinner tonight because it was the first time I was meeting more of the family. Dallan was Sean's brother and Keith was practically family even though he and Dallan weren't married. After them, the only relatives left were Sean and Cory's parents. With such a small family, I guess it was a big deal for me to meet half of it tonight. Cory was so excited about tonight. During breakfast, he even started talking about visiting my grandparents during the holidays.

I know how great this is, I mean I've finally found a family who welcomes me with open arms, but I still feel a little weird. I'm not used to staying with a family long enough to meet the relatives. This just makes everything feel more permanent. This is gonna take some getting used to.

I leave the bathroom and go to my room. I put on the outfit that Cory picked out for me - yes, he insisted on me wearing it. It's a dark grey turtleneck, and I hate turtlenecks because they're itchy and make me feel like I'm being choked, but Sean asked me to wear it anyway to make Cory happy. At least I get to wear jeans and my new sneakers with it - that makes me a little more comfortable.

I went downstairs and waited on the couch. Sean walked in and smiled. He was clean-shaven and dressed in all brown clothing. I guess people like wearing neutral colors when they dress up for big events.

Just then, Cory came rushing down the stairs wearing a bright pink button-up, totally killing my neutrals theory. He grabbed a black jacket as Sean tried not to laugh. Cory glared at him.

"What happened to your white shirt?" Sean said after clearing his throat.

"Someone put their red boxers in the load with the whites and now everything is pink. I didn't have time to iron another shirt," Cory pouted.

Sean laughed and wrapped his arms around Cory's waist. "Aw, I think you look cute. Pink is a good color on you."

"Shut up. It's all your fault, leaving your stupid boxers in the wrong hamper. But at least they made it to a hamper this time. Usually you just leave them scattered around the house, and in the weirdest places! It's like an Easter egg hunt! Do you even wear them before you toss them on the floor?"

Sean pulled his husband closer to him and whispered in his ear, "You know, I could just stop wearing underwear at all."

Cory's eyes widened as a blush crept across his cheeks. "J-Just p-pick them up."

"I love it when you stutter. It's so cute."

Cory blushed even deeper.

There is nothing grosser than your parents flirting... no matter what the pairing is. I interrupted their little love fest. "And... now I'm not hungry anymore. Can we go before you two lovebirds make me barf?"

Sean rolled his eyes, but they headed out the door and I followed them.

We were at the restaurant in no time. We found our reserved table and sat down. I had been reading the menu when Dallan walked up with another guy.

"Hey everyone. Tyler, this is my boyfriend Keith."

Keith was a tall, slim guy with short brown hair and a beard. He grinned at me, showing off pearly white teeth. And it was weird, because I couldn't really picture him as a college professor.

They sat down across from Sean and Cory. I was the odd one out, sitting at the head of the table.

The waiter came and took our orders. I just got a burger. I know it's silly to order a burger when you can get one at any restaurant, but I hate being adventurous when I eat in expensive restaurants. If I don't like what I order, then that's a waste of money, and I'll still hungry later. Best to stick with what you know.

"Would you like everything on your burger?" The waiter asked.

"What's everything?" I asked. He rattled off some basic toppings and I just shrugged and said sure to everything. I handed him my menu, but his eyes trailed over me before he took it from my hands. I shuddered. Nobody else at the table seemed to notice this weird interaction.

"So, Tyler, what year are you?"

"What... what?" I turned my stare away from the waiter. Keith was smiling at me.

"What year are you in high school?"

"Oh, I'm a senior." I answered him.

"Do you know what you are going to do for college?"

"No... I... haven't really thought about it yet. But the school counselors are already hounding me about it."

"Do you know what you want to do as a career?"

I thought for a minute, then shook my head. "I never really thought I was good at anything." I said, looking down at my napkin.

"Why did you think that?" I looked up and saw Keith and everyone else at the table staring at me. Why were they all putting so much attention on me?

"Uh... well, I... I don't know."

"Wasn't there anything you enjoyed doing as kid? Maybe a hobby?" Dallan asked.

"N-No... I didn't have any hobbies. I didn't do anything."

"You must have done something, Tyler." Cory urged me on.

"No, I... I didn't do anything. I didn't have any hobbies, I didn't have any friends, I didn't do anything better than anyone else. I was just... average."

"Did you like being average?" Dallan asked.

"Dallan!" Cory yelled at him. Dallan looked at him with surprise. "Tyler, what Dallan means is, were you happy with... not standing out?"

"I don't- I don't know. I mean, I didn't care one way or the other. Sometimes, the less attention I got, the better."

"But you were content with how your life was going? You never wanted to change anything?" Cory asked.

"Well, yeah, of course I did. Who wouldn't? I mean, life wasn't perfect. It just wasn't bad enough to really bother me then."

"Then? Well what about now?" Keith asked.

"Now? Now I... now... I... right now I think I need some air." I stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over my glass of water. I tried not to looked at their worried faces as I turned to run to the restroom.

I wanted to lock myself in the restroom, but there wasn't a lock. I just leaned against the door and tried to relax. I hadn't even noticed I was breathing hard.

Why did they have to attack me with those questions?

As I calmed down, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I took it out - Lewis was calling. Time for things to get even more awkward.

"Hey, Lewis."

"H-Hi, Tyler."

Brief silence. Then:

"Tyler, c-can we talk?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I think we should."

"Can you come over?"

"Not right now. I'm in the middle of an awkward family dinner. But I could see if I could come by later."

"Oh, okay. N-No hurry."

"Alright, I'll call you later."

"O-Okay, b-bye."

"Bye."

We hung up. I sighed and put my phone back in my pocket. I had to face my family again.

I walked back to the table. My food was already sitting in front of my seat and everyone else was eating. They looked up at me when I walked up but quickly buried their gaze in their plates as I sat down.

"Are you okay, Tyler?" Cory looked at me.

"Yeah, I'm just a little... stressed, I guess."

"We're sorry. We didn't mean to put any pressure on you, it's just that senior year is the time to start applying to colleges, and we want to make sure you get a good start on it." Cory said.

"I know, but I've never really thought about college before. I mean, I thought about what it would be like to go to college, but I never knew what I might be going for."

"And that's okay because you do have time to think about it. Why don't we talk about something else? How was the party last night?"

"Party?" Dallan looked at me. "Was there drinking?"

"Yeah, but we didn't drink."

"Who's we?" Dallan smirked.

"My friend Lewis."

"Just friends?"

"I'm not gay." I snapped.

"Um, Tyler's probably still adjusting to-"

"Why would you assume that I'm gay?" I cut off Cory, turning my glare to Dallan.

"I didn't assume, there was just the possibility that you might be gay-"

"What, like every other guy in this town? What's wrong with this place?!"

"Tyler," Sean's stern voice cut through my ranting.

I glared at him but then I noticed that people were staring at me, well everyone except Cory and Keith, who were looking down at the table. I immediately felt guilty for embarrassing them. I kept fighting with them when they were trying to get to know me.

"Sorry." I sat down.

"Are you alright, Tyler? You seem really on edge today." Cory looked at me with concern.

"Do you have a problem with us, Tyler?" Sean spoke up.

I was surprised. "What? No. Why would you think that?"

"It's obvious that you are uncomfortable here. It's been almost three months since we adopted you and you still haven't adjusted." Sean said.

"We know you weren't thrilled about being adopted, but we had hoped you would come to like it here... with us." Cory gave a sad smile.

"No, guys this isn't about you. It's... I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Cory asked.

I shook my head. Dinner continued quietly after that. Nobody asked me anymore questions, which was good because I probably wouldn't have any answers. Afterward, I asked if I could be dropped off at Lewis's house. Sean didn't think I should, but Cory let me go. I promised to be home before 9.

I rang the doorbell when I got there. I stood on the door step, staring at the welcome mat, before a girl opened the door. She was probably a few years younger than me, but her clothes were just as revealing as Kaitlyn's.

"Uh, is Lewis home?"

She looked me up and down, making me feel as weird as when the waiter did it.
"Who wants to know?"

I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Tyler. He said I should come over."

"Oh. Well, come in and make yourself comfortable."

I brushed passed her and stood by a coat rack near the door.

After closing the door, she walked around to stand in front of me. "You don't have to stand here, you know. You could sit on the couch. It's really soft. I love to lie on it." She smiled as she rested a hand on my chest.

"Thanks, but I'll just go... find Lewis instead."

I ducked away from her hands and ran up the stairs. I didn't even who that girl was. She was probably his sister. He did say he had three of them. Still, why the hell was she flirting with me so much? She looks like she's a freshman! No way am I going after jail-bait.

"Lewis," I called his name. I heard him mumble from somewhere followed by a lot of noise. I found which room the noise was coming from but waited before opening the door because he was probably trying to clean up or something, not that I care about a messy room anyway. When it finally quieted down, I opened the door. He was throwing a blanket over his bed as I walked in.

He looked at me, then looked at his feet while biting his lip. I closed the door behind me and stood there. Neither of us actually said anything at first, but I knew Lewis didn't talk much anyway, so I decided to start the conversation.

"I, um, met your sister."

His head snapped up. "Oh no, which one?"

"I don't know, the one who wears too much make-up and not much else..."

"Oh no. What did she do to you?"

"Other than molesting me with her eyes, nothing. I ran off before she could do anything else."

"I'm sorry. Lori's a whore."

I laughed. I had never heard Lewis talk like that.

"Why so mean? She's your sister."

"Exactly, so I can call her all the names I want."

We laughed. At least the ice was broken now.

He stared at the floor. I noticed he had on another pair of expensive-looking shoes. It's funny because I don't see Lewis as the kind of guy to wear fancy labels. But I've hardly seen him outside of his school uniform, so what would I know?

"I've never been kissed before." He blurted out.

I felt bad. I made it so not special for him. I kissed him in a room full of teenage bastards and I wasn't even gay. Not exactly something you want to remember as your first kiss. "I'm sorry I ruined it for you. If it makes you feel any better, it was my first kiss, too."

He looked at me. "Really?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah. So this is just as awkward for me as it is for you."

He laughed nervously. "It's not that awkward. I was just worried you were mad. You didn't say anything when you got in the car last night."

"I was kind of... thrown off by what happened, but I wasn't mad. Well, I am mad at those assholes for making fun of you."

"Oh, yeah," he blushed. "I-It's okay, it-"

"It's not okay, They were jerks to you!"

"They always are," he mumbled.

"Lewis, you don't have to take this. You can tell them off."

"And get killed?! No thanks." He looked away.

I couldn't let this keep happening to him. He didn't deserve any of it. "Lewis, remember when I said I would have your back if people were bothering you?"

"I.. I don't really-"

"You asked me to help you out in exchange for pretending to be my boyfriend."

"Oh. Tyler, I don't think you really need to keep this up. Everybody believes we're dating now. We don't have to pull any more phony dates."

"I'm not talking about that. I just feel like you need somebody to protect you, to kick some ass for you."

He smiled. "That's nice of you, Tyler, but really it's okay. I've put up with worse."

"But you shouldn't have to put up with any of it."

He sighed and looked at me. "You're just feeling sorry for me. You don't have to do anything for me. I told you, we're friends. I'd prefer if you just did what you wanted to do, and not do something because you feel like you owe me."

"Then I won't do it for you. I'll do it because I am your friend, and friends don't let each other get bullied. I mean it, Lewis. I'm not leaving you alone until you let me kick some ass."

A burst of laughter came out of his mouth. "Quit swearing. You sound so weird when you do."

"What? No I don't."

He just grinned. "Okay, Tyler, do whatever you want - that's all you ever do." I just rolled my eyes at him. "B-By the way, why... why did you kiss me?"

I felt my face heat up. "It was the only way to make them shut up."

"You don't really think things through, do you?" He smirked.

"Shut up, I did think it through. I didn't see any other options."

"There were thousands of other options. You didn't have to kiss me."

"Are you trying to say that I am a terrible kisser? My feelings are hurt." I clutched my hand to my chest and faked sadness.

He laughed, but his face was flushed red. "Whatever Tyler."

"But now I want to know. Am I really a bad kisser? I mean, I wasn't really trying to get into to it - it was just a quick one."

"I'm not answering you, Tyler." His face was even redder now as he walked away from me to the door.

"But I must know! What if I have to kiss you again? I want it to be believable!" I shouted at him.

He refused to humour me and kept walking out the door as my shouts echoed down the hall. I went after him down the stairs. I ran in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Why won't you tell me how bad I was?" I pouted.

"Oh my god, I'm not gonna tell you!"

"Ah, so you do have an opinion!"

He groaned. "Stop asking or I'll throw you out of my house."

I just mock-zipped my lips and he rolled his eyes at me. He walked past me again and disappeared into another room. Of course, I followed. It was the kitchen.

He went in the fridge and took out a pudding cup. I raised an eyebrow. He just picked up a spoon and put it in his mouth.

I watched him go back to the fridge and take out a can of whipped cream, which he then sprayed a ton on top of his pudding cup.

"Do you really need that much-"

"There is no such thing as too much whipped cream, as long as it comes from a can. That oily stuff from a tub is not the same."

"Oh, so it's only posing as whipped cream?"

"Exactly." He pointed the nozzle at me.

"Hey don't point that thing at me. It's loaded."

"Scared of a little cream, Tyler?"

"I'm not scared of anything. I just don't want you wasting your precious whipped cream."

"It's not a waste if you catch it in your mouth."

I stared at him as my mind made his statement entirely perverted. He didn't seem to notice. He just held the nozzle above my head. I shrugged, tilted my head and opened my mouth. Instead, cream splattered onto my forehead. I wiped it off before glaring at him.

"You're gonna regret that."

"It was an accident, I swear! The nozzle malfunctioned!" He screamed as I chased him around the kitchen.

I quickly grabbed him from behind. "Gimme the can."

"No!" He squirmed and held the can away from me but I still grabbed it. I couldn't get it out of his grasp though.

I tried to yank it away from him, but that only made me fall backwards with him landing on top of me. Even though he had knocked the wind out of me when his butt fell on my stomach, I still managed to wrestle the whipped cream away from him. As soon as he turned around, I sprayed his face with the whipped cream.

I could see him pouting as it ran down his face. Something in my stomach churned. Maybe it was because he had landed so hard on top of me.

He got on his hands and knees to lift himself, so he was briefly straddling me. The feeling in my stomach only got worse.

He stood and got a towel off the counter to wipe his face. He held out his hand to pull me up and I grabbed it. Seeing him closely now, I could see there was still some whipped cream near the corner of his mouth. I wouldn't have noticed he was talking if I hadn't watched his lips moving.

I inhaled deeply before asking, "What?"

"I said that was definitely a waste of whipped cream." He licked his lips and it was all that I could see.

I tore my eyes off of him. "W-Whatever."

"Remind me never to share with you again." He joked. "I didn't even get to eat my pudding."

He reached in front of me to grab his pudding cup off the counter. His hair brushed my nose. After he moved away, I realized I was biting my lip and the feeling in my stomach was really bothering me.

"W-Where's your bathroom?"

"Upstairs, across from my room."

I made it upstairs and fell to my knees in front of the toilet. I felt kinda sick, but I didn't puke. I didn't know what was wrong with me.

After a few minutes, I stood up and went back downstairs. Lewis was sitting on the couch watching TV with his spoon still in his mouth. He looked up at me and patted the spot next to him on the couch. I plopped down and tried to follow what was on the TV, but it was a weird show. A bunch of weird monsters kept popping up and there were some people talking to them then running away.

"Okay I have no idea what's going on."

Lewis turned to me, his mouth open in shock. "You mean you've never watched Doctor Who?"

"Who? What? That doesn't even make sense."

"Oh my god, you have to watch it! It's the greatest show ever!"

He dove into this super long speech about the origin of 'The Doctor'. By the time he had started explaining about 'the Daleks', I had given up trying to understand.

"Lewis, I have no clue what you're saying."

He frowned. "Just watch it. If it still doesn't make sense, then... well... there might be some explosions later."

He turned back to the screen looking completely excited. I tried to follow the storyline.

"Okay, so that's doctor."

"The Doctor. Yes, the guy in the suit."

"Why is he wearing Converse sneakers?"

"Because he does a lot of running."

"Okay, who are they running from now?"

"The Vashta Nerada."

"Who?"

He turned to me and smiled. "We can watch something else if you want."

"No, I'm trying to get into this. So the... the thing you said, that's a shadow, right?"

"They are in the shadows, yes."

"And right now they've taken over the spacesuit."

"They infiltrate the suit and kill the person inside of it. But they can still control the suit, like they use it was a shell to move around in."

"But you can still hear the guy's voice."

"The spacesuit has this thing... it replays the last thought or phrase the person said before they die."

"The doctor guy called it an echo."

"Right, it's like that."

"So it's a carnivorous shadow living in a spacesuit that can attack you at any time."

"Yes, and it can still be in the shadows too."

"Why do you watch this creepy shit?"

He giggled. "I like it. Doctor Who is amazing. I'm a total Whovian."

"Well, I can barely understand what's going on, and it's getting late. I promised Cory I'd be home by 10."

"Oh, so you're gonna leave now?"

"Yeah. I better head out." I got up from the couch.

"Well, you don't have to walk home. I could drive you."

He turned off the TV and stood up.

"That'd be cool, thanks."

I followed him to the front hall. He reached to grab his keys off the side table, but he knocked down a vase full of flowers in the process. He bent down to pick up the flowers. I was going to help him, but my eyes zoned in on the fit of his jeans. My stomach was going crazy and I started feeling something new that I didn't like at all.

"A-Actually, I-I think I'm just gonna walk home. Bye."

I ran out the door before he could respond. I ran most of the way home, and the funny feeling in my stomach just wouldn't go away. What's wrong with me?