Hold Fast

It was here. Graduation was finally tomorrow and I couldn’t wait until it was finally over with. Yesterday was the last official day of school and we had just finished practicing for tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow was all that we had been thinking about since I had shared the news that Kellin and my moms had told us.
The only thing we really needed to do now was fix up the van that my dad was giving to us as his gift. This is where we currently found ourselves. Up to our elbows in grease and covered in various forms of dirt and grime. Yeah we were a sexy bunch of misfits.
“Dude, are we ever going to get this converter fixed?” Jaime asked from underneath the van.
“Shut up Hime. At least you didn’t get shot in the face with oil.” Tony complained.
“You’re one to talk Tone. I had the joy of cleaning the floorboards. Do you even know what was stuck to those?” Kellin made a really disgusted face. Mike and I both laughed.
“You guys are lucky. Mike and I already cleaned up the majority of this van. You should have seen it two months ago.”
“Vic’s right. I think I showered three times to get clean.” Mike chuckled.
“Well it didn’t work babe. You still stink.” Tony laughed from behind Mike who chucked a wet sponge at him. I really couldn’t think of a better way for us to bond before our move. People always say that you appreciate the things that you honestly work for. And we were working our asses off.
“Vic, hand me the socket wrench.” Jaime called out. I grabbed the wrench and got down on my stomach so I could hand it to him. “Thank you.”
“Damn, this looks significantly better than a few hours ago.” Jaime made a grunting noise of approval as he tightened the last bits of the converter into place.
“That should do it.” We both got out from under the car and up to our feet. “Give it a go Kellin.” Kellin nodded his head and reached over, turning the key in the ignition. After a second of grumbling, the van turned over and started. “Yes!” Jaime exclaimed.
“She sounds like a champ.” Tony clapped Jaime on the shoulder and shook him slightly.
“Yeah, it looks like that year of auto shop really paid off.” Mike joked.
“Now we just got to get her washed up and painted and we’re good to go.” I handed a bucket of water to Jaime.
“Let’s do this.” He grinned.

It took us another hour to get the van clean enough for us to sand down the remaining part of the paint. We got it taped up and moved it to the yard were my dad had set up the paint station for us. Why he trusted us with this equipment, I honestly couldn’t tell you. I’d be lying if I had said that we knew what we were doing.
A few more hours of that, five paint covered teenagers, and only one exploded paint canister later, the van was painted and ready for the road. I have to admit that I am pretty proud of our accomplishments thus far. How many teenagers can say that they are signed to a major record label and painted their own tour van? My point exactly.
My dad came by a little later to look it over. He wanted to make sure that Jaime’s work under the hood wouldn’t explode on our trip to California. Jaime was slightly offended but after we all gave him the same look, he sighed and agreed.
Kellin joined me on my walk home. We spent the time talking excitedly about moving and about how different our lives would be within the next few months. This all seemed surreal to me. I felt like any moment I could wake up and everything would have been a dream, like this reality was just a figment of my imagination. It was like one of those movies where the entire this was a vision or some other stupid plot twist. But as Kellin reached over and squeezed my hand, all of those thoughts went away. This was real, and nothing could change it.
“So we’re leaving this weekend right?” He asked as we made our way into my room, which was basically my bed and dresser now. All of my things were in boxes, ready to be loaded into the van.
“Yep. First thing Saturday morning.” I changed my clothes and tossed the paint covered ones into my hamper that my mom had left. “Then we’ll finally be out of this place.” Kellin grinned up at me and tugged me down onto the bed next to him.
“I’m the luckiest person alive.” He whispered as he pulled me close to him. I propped myself up onto my elbows and gazed at him.
“Why’s that?”
“Because.” He pecked my lips lightly. “I have the greatest friends ever, an awesome mom who’s letting me move halfway across the country, and the most perfect boyfriend I could have every dreamed of.” I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. These were things that I had thought about for him almost every day.
“I feel the same way about you Kellin.” I stroked his cheek. “You’re so amazing.” He gave me a loving look before something caught his attention.
“Hey, you’re going to bring that with you right?” He sat up and motioned to my wall. It was barren of all of my posters and pictures, leaving nothing but the once blood red rose hanging in the center. I grinned at him before getting up and walking over to it.
“Of course. I wouldn’t forget this in a million years.” I pulled the tack out and carefully moved it from the wall. “It’s my most prized possession.”
“It was just a rose from my grandma’s garden.” Kellin tried to play it off.
“No Kellin,” I sat next to him. “This is so much more than that. This symbolizes the day that I met the one person who would change my life for forever.” He lifted his head and looked into my eyes questioningly. I took a deep breath. I was about to tell him something that no one knew, not even Mike. “Kellin, the day that I pulled you from the bridge, your life wasn’t the only one that was saved.”
“What do you mean?” A fearful look passed through his features. I took a deep breath and looked at the rose in my hand.
“I was tired Kellin, so tired of being an outcast, bullied, even ignored. I was tired of it all. The reason I was walking that way that day was because I had had the same thought you did. I wanted an ending.” Kellin’s eyes were misting over as he listened to me. “I had walked there, ready to end it all, but I had this weird feeling so I kept walking. I spent a good amount of time sitting in the woods, just thinking. I was on my way back to the bridge when I saw you. I honestly don’t know how, but that single moment in time was enough for me to walk out of the darkness inside me. I had found my light.” I wiped the tear that fell against his cheek. “I owe you so much more than you think Kellin.”
“Vic… I…” He stuttered out before lunging for me and wrapping me in a hug. Nothing was said between us for a few minutes, the only sound in the room being a sniffle here and there from him. He finally calmed down enough to rise up and look at me. “Victor Fuentes, I love you more than anything in this world, and I’m so glad I met you.”
“I love you too Kellin.” I kissed his nose. “Now let’s go clean up your face and get some food.” He nodded before getting off of me and dragging me with him into the bathroom. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt better after telling Kellin about that day. It was like some unknown weight was gone, one that I didn’t even realize I had been holding.