Pride

Saturday I wake up to the feel of a shoe in my gut. Shouting, I only manage to see a glimpse of red before I am shoved to the floor. My skull throbs from impact. There’s the sound of squeaking floor boards along with feminine laughter. That laughter is familiar…

“Mindy,” I grunt rather angrily, turning onto my back to see said girl standing at my side in a cute denim skirt and tank top. Raising an eyebrow, I sit up and glance towards the clock. It’s not time to leave yet. Why is she here so early? “The hell are you doing here?”

“I decided to come wake you up early. We have things to do,” she replies and without permission begins digging through my drawers. She ignores my protests and continues to search for clothes, I guess. Eventually she throws a pair of jeans at me, a pair that I have kept in the back of my drawer because I never wore them. They’re old but hardly worn. I bought them and realized too late that they were too tight and I had no intention of returning them because I was lazy and didn’t really care. They were pretty cheap.

“Uh? Is there a reason you’re digging through my belongings?” I ask, holding the jeans that were thrown at me in the air. Mindy was now heading to my closet, the sound of the hangers scraping against metal makes me flinch. Eventually Mindy finds what she’s looking for and tosses it at me.

“I’m finding you something to wear,” she replies, placing a hand on her hip. “What did it look like I was doing?”

“You do realize these are too tight. I can’t wear this shit.” I toss the jeans to the floor and head for my dresser but Mindy stops me by grabbing the elastic band to my boxers. I yelp when she pulls it back and lets go allowing the band to hit me in the back with a loud snap!

“The fuck are you doing bitch!” I rub the sore spot.

“You are wearing those jeans. They look good on you.” Mindy taps her foot impatiently.

Is she considering this a real date? Please tell me she isn’t. Not to sound mean or anything but my feelings for Mindy are purely platonic. I’m about to tell her this but she cuts me off.

“There is only one way to get Kai back and that is through any type of sexual means necessary.”

“What!” An inferno lights itself behind my cheeks, warming them immediately and there’s a rapid beating against my rib cage.

Mindy laughs and places both hands on my shoulders. Smiling at me, she speaks as if she can see into my heart, “You and Kai…you’re inseparable for a reason. It’s because each of you are the others half. No one can keep you in line like Kai does and no one can take care of Kai like you do. You know this too, don’t you?”

“We don’t know that’s true! Kai and I have never really attempted to get to know other people. Garrett may be the one for him, who knows.” My eyes widen in shock at the searing pain in my chest that I know is only mental. The wheels in my brain pick up speed as I try to think why it hurt so much to say that. It’s true. Kai and I have always been together and never bothered to change that. Now is the perfect opportunity to finally try and find what’s really out there.

I bite my lip. Thinking that…it doesn’t feel right. There’s an emotion surging up inside me that I can’t explain. The emotion has always been there but I’ve never really put much thought to it. I never really acted on it or noticed it until now. Why? Is it because of Garrett?

“You don’t believe that.” Mindy removes her hands from my shoulders and allows them to hang idly by her side. “Garrett isn’t the right one for Kai, we both know that.”

“But neither am I.” It’s too late to take back my slip up. I slam a hand against my lips as if I expect it to catch the words I’ve just said and keep them to myself. Mindy heard it though. The moment she did, she smiled and I knew there was no way I was taking it back. So I hold my hand against my mouth because saying that, it makes it seem as if I wish I am the one for him. It makes it sound like I really do like Kai, in more than a friendly way. Which I don’t!

We’re both guys. We’re best friends and that’s all we are and ever will be. I’ve been fine my whole life with us being this, just friends. Just because Garrett is in the equation, I start acting up. It can’t be true. I don’t like Kai. There’s no way. No fucking way!

“You two really are cute,” Mindy giggles, thankfully she says nothing more. She leaves me alone, allowing me to take the time to calm my raging thoughts. She’s just being a creepy fan girl. What she said isn’t true and what I’m thinking is just damn ridiculous. Kai and I are friends and…he deserves happiness. If Garrett gives him that, so be it. I will learn to live with it.

~

“I bet that’s Garrett,” Kai says with a small smile. Excusing himself, Kai gets up from the island in his apartment to walk to the front door. Mindy and I watch until he disappears and listen for the sound of the front door. There’s a soft click, the lock and squeaking hinges.

A few minutes or maybe only seconds pass until Kai and Garrett arrive. I’m sure Mindy is just as stunned as I at the sight. Garrett could only be described as handsome. Fuck, no man could deny his good looks. Garrett has pale skin that contrasts perfectly with his nearly black eyes and short blonde hair. He’s only a few inches shorter than Kai but a bit more muscular, the two actually look…nice together.

It’s only natural to think they appear as a perfect couple. When one sees two good looking people they assume they’re an item. Seeing them standing side by side…it makes my teeth grind. Faking a smile, I saunter towards him and offer a handshake.

Garrett smiles and takes the offer. Kai seems pleased to hear me speak, “So you’re Garrett? We’ve talked once before. I was wondering what you looked like.”

“And you’re obviously Shiloh. I’ve seen pictures,” Garrett chuckles, peaking over my shoulder to Mindy, who I know is gazing intimately at the boy. To think Kai got his hands on someone so…I don’t even know how to explain it. Damn. The air around Garrett is enough to make any man feel disappointed. It’s like he’s better than us. The way he holds himself, the way his voice seems to flow perfectly, it’s like he was hand carved by an artist that had way too much time on his hands. Is it even possible for someone so perfect looking to exist? “And you must be Mindy.”

Mindy bites her lip, probably to hold back a giggle, and nods. “Yes, it’s great to finally meet you.”

“Definitely,” Garrett chuckles and shakes Mindy’s hand as well. After doing so, he reaches for Kai’s hand and holds it in his own. Smiling, he nudges the boy softly and watches him as he speaks. “Kai told me about you two but never let me meet you. He’s so mysterious sometimes.”

“N-Not really,” Kai mumbles, his cheeks turning a light pink under Garrett’s gaze. My stomach hurts.

Garrett’s smile turns into a smirk and he finally tears his intense gaze from Kai to point it towards us. I try not to show how pissed off I am. I don’t even know why I’m pissed off. It’s fine for Kai and Garrett to be holding hands. They’re dating, after all. It’s a perfectly normal thing but every time my eyes lock on their intertwined fingers I crave to reach over and fucking rip them apart.

“How about we go out to eat since it’s nearly lunch,” Garrett suggests, looking over all of us for any signs of disagreement. When none of us say anything and simply shrug, Garrett takes that as a yes and we all head down to his car. Mindy and I sit in the back and I am relieved when Garrett and Kai don’t reach for each other’s hands. I shouldn’t care about that.

“So Garrett, tell us about yourself,” Mindy says, looking at the blonde from her spot behind Kai. Garrett glances at her through the rearview mirror and smiles.

“Well um…where to start…I’m 19 and graduated high school last year. I’m attending a college nearby for a history major and I continue to live with my parents and plan to do so until I graduate. I work part time at a movie store at the mall. I’m an only child and…I’m cat person?” Garrett and Mindy laugh. Kai is squirming in the passenger seat and me…well I’m glaring at the back of Garrett’s seat. If I were Cyclops from X-Men I would probably have shot lasers at this guy already. I don’t know why, I just would have.

Who cares if he’s good looking, young and obviously a hard worker, I still hate him! Being around him, it makes my entire being squirm in discomfort. Every fiber of my being is burning with anger, frustration and…something else. The desire to push Garrett out of the picture is stronger than any desire I’ve ever had before.

Is it because I’ve always been Kai’s number one until now? I’ve been saying this since the beginning, Kai and I are best friends and always have been. We’ve been each others number one since time for us began. No one ever came before our friendship but now…Kai has himself a boyfriend. Love is certainly stronger than our friendship and my status has been dropped.

I’m no longer the most important person in his life. Garrett is or he’s going to be. I’m probably just angry about that. Who wouldn’t be? It’s hard to let go of such a high status when you’ve lived with it for so long. I just need some time to get used to my demotion and things will go back to normal.

…right?