I Need You

Once we arrived at my favorite little pizza shop, Zeke shut off the car. Then he opened my door for me again, like a gentleman. I smiled at him and got out of the car. He looked really amazing tonight, you could barely tell he had a pimple on his forehead. I could tell because I had the same problem and I had Ronnie fix it for me. He doesn't seem like it, but he is a master of makeup.

"I've never heard of this place..." Zeke said looking at the almost hidden building.

"My parents.." I took a deep breath, but Zeke interrupted me.

"You don't have to tell me." He said quietly. "If you don't want to, I understand."

"But, I want to." I told him. "You don't know what it's like keeping that's slowly degrading your life hidden from everyone. I need to tell someone, and you seem like a really nice person..." I trailed off.

"Oh." He seemed surprised. "I'm sorry for stopping you then."

"Okay then..." I said awkwardly. "Well, then my parents used to take us here every Sunday to get pizza. It became sort of a tradition, mom and dad would always get the same pizza, and Lillian, my sister, and I would try to switch it up, but we always had this one favorite type..." I felt tears brimming in my eyes. "They were killed on a Sunday... We were just about to leave but dad forgot his keys and we went back inside. We could have been gone, and they would still be alive!" The tears started to fall.

"Hey it's okay!" Zeke said while bringing me into a hug again. He let my put my head in the crook of his neck again before he spoke. "I'm sure they're watching you right now, they're probably happy you've managed to keep from breaking down. You're doing so well in life for losing them. Even I'm proud of you, and I barely know you!" He pulled away a little to look into my eyes and wipe the tears away. I smiled weakly at him.

"Thanks." I sniffled and hugged him again. He's too nice to me.There's no way I could ever deserve someone as wonderful as him.

"Come on, let's go get some pizza!" He grabbed my hand and gleefully pulled me to the door. I couldn't help but giggle. When we walked inside, the baker was surprised.

"Connor?" He gasped. "I haven't seen you since your parents... How are you?" He came around to give me a hug.

"Oh Gonzo!" I chuckled. "I'm great! I made it into Harvard and I met Zeke." I squeezed his hand, Gonzo can get very excited.

"Really?! That's amazing!" He hugged me one last time and turned to Zeke. "You are a good looking young man!" He smiled then frowned. "But if you hurt Connor I may just have to rearrange those handsome features of yours!"

Zeke laughed. "I wouldn't plan on it, sir. Connor has already been hurt much more than he deserves. I just want to make him happy, and if his happiness doesn't include me, then I'll accept that."

"You are a good man!" Gonzo said and slapped Zeke on the back. "I can tell you were being serious. You're definitely a keeper!"

"Thanks!" Zeke said as a huge smile lit up his face.

"Come, come!" He waved us forward. "I have the perfect table for you two." So we followed him to the corner of the restaurant to a booth, where he dimmed the lights and lit some candles.

"What would you like to eat?" He asked us once we were seated.

"The usual." I told him easily. I haven't eaten here in so long, and I was glad he still remembered what the usual was.

"Alright." He left for a minute then came back and set some drinks on our table. "I hope you like Pepsi!" He exclaimed and walked back into the kitchen.

"Connor," Zeke said my name very seriously, I looked up and was trapped in the passion his eyes emitted. "I... really like you. I feel happy when I'm with you. And when I'm here with you I can forget all of the extra feelings I had for the twins and just enjoy life. You make my life so much better. I've never been this happy with anyone." He smiled at me.

"I... really like you too." I whispered. "You're like a beacon of hope in my life. Even Ronnie noticed I was happier when I went home! And that's because when you're here with me I can forget about my parents for a little while. I can forget about the darkness that has managed to ensnare me after my parents died. With you I can... Be happy, can carefree." I smiled at him.

"Oh, would you just ask each other out already?" Gonzo said as he stormed around the corner.

"What?" Zeke and I asked at the same time.

"You two are perfect for each other!" He exclaimed. "Anyone with eyes, or ears for that matter can tell! Why do you think I put you two in the honeymoon booth?"

"But I hardly know him!" I muttered while blushing and looking down at my hands.

"He knows about your parents death, sorry for bringing it up, and he doesn't care! He still wants to be with you, he just said it!"Gonzo took a deep breath. "He even said he would leave your life if you wanted him to! How can you two no see it?"

"But.. he doesn't know how old I am." I trailed off. What if he was appalled that I was admitted into Harvard at such a young age? I can't have him think of me that way.

"He's sixteen." Gonzo stated bluntly.

"I am too."Zeke said. "I was supposed to graduate early, and so I sent out letters to all different colleges and Harvard accepted me. But I can only stay here for a little while because our school said that had to finish at least three years of high school. So I have to go back for one term."

"No you don't." Was he being serious.

"But the school told me I did." He trailed off.

"How do you think those child prodigies finish college in 4th grade?" I asked him.

"I had never really thought about it before." Then he got this really confused look on his face. "Why would they lie to me like that?"

"Because they want to keep their tests scores but because they get a huge bonus this year if they do... You can bare the pain of going back or you can talk to the school board and they'll fix it." Gonzo said then took a deep breath. "Now, back to relationships. You're not one to fall in love quickly Connor, I think this means something. You've also never brought one boy here on a date. So, you trust him."

"But I only met him two days ago." I said quietly.

"I married my wife a month after I met her." Gonzo said randomly. "How long have we been married?" I did the math quickly in my head.

"Twelve years." I answered.

"Exactly!" He yelled. "Relations ships aren't about kissing and having.. you know... They're about getting to know someone on a deeper level and supporting them when they need it! Sure kissing is a benefit, but you don't have to do it right away! Take your time if you need too."

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to. I can wait, for now talking to you is enough for me." Zeke said and smiled sincerely.

"It's not that I don't want to that's the problem." I said. "It's that I want to! I want to do everything with you! It worries me!"

"It shouldn't." Gonzo said. "You are the smartest person I know relationship wise, Connor. Maybe you want to rush into this because you really love him. Maybe his that one fish in the sea that was made for you. Either way you shouldn't let him slip through you fingers." I was about to say something else when Zeke interrupted me.

"Connor," He said sweetly. "I wasn't lying earlier. I really like you. So, will you be my boyfriend?" Heat rushed to my face and my jaw fell.

Yes! I wanted to scream but nothing would come out. So, instead I just nodded vigorously.

"Ah, Connor." Gonzo chuckled. "He's always had a way with words." Then he walked back into the kitchen chuckling all the way. In less than a second Zeke was by my side and had his arms wrapped around me, and his face buried in the crook of my neck.

"Thank you so much." He whispered.

"No, thank you." I said back. I felt so safe in his arms, like nothing could ever hurt me, and it was nice.

He pulled his face out of my neck and smiled at me. I couldn't help but stare at his perfect lips. On it's own accord my body leaned towards him and I pressed my lips to his. Immediately he kissed back and cupped my face with his hand. I tangled my hands in his hair and tugged slightly. His lips felt so good on mine, and I couldn't help but smile into the kiss. I would have stayed like that forever, unfortunately my oxygen deprived lungs started screaming for air and I had to pull away to breath. However, Zeke still pressed his forehead against mine.

"Wow," I panted. He just smiled brightly at me.

"Here's your sustenance!" Gonzo exclaimed and set the pizza on our plate.

"Mm." Zeke hummed Hawaiian. With that we dove into the pizza and didn't stop eating until we had massive food babies. Then we asked for a box, and I packed up the pizza.

"Do you want to spend the night with me again?" Zeke asked randomly.

"Yes!" I said excitedly. "But I don't have clothes..."

"You can borrow some of mine again, or maybe Rory's he's about your size. Or we could go back to your dorm" He offered.

"I'll borrow yours." I said and smiled at him. "You smell really good. Oh dear, I just said that our loud..." I trailed off and Zeke laughed. Then we went to the cash register to pay, where Gonzo applauded Zeke for paying and wished us a final goodbye.

Now we stood in front of the door to Zeke's dorm. We took a deep breath and grasped each other's hand.

"They're going to attack us." Zeke said solemnly.

"I know, I'll be ready for them." I answered. And with that he opened the door and they barraged him with questions, until they saw me standing there as well.

"There's something we want to tell you.." Zeke trailed off and held up our intertwined hands.

"Oh my God!" Raine and Rory exclaimed.

"Congratulations!" Luca and Hale said at the same time. I was really happy they liked me, and that I get to spend more time with Zeke. Life is just a big ball of sunshine and happiness now. Until they started asking more questions...