Hold Fast

The next few weeks passed by and before we knew it, it was November. We had all hung out for Halloween and to be honest, nothing of real interest happened. Well except the fact that we were the Ninja Turtles and totally rocked it. But that had nothing to do with what’s going on today. Today I was on a mission, well, two missions. Mission one, take Kellin on a date… type… thing. Mission two…have the talk with Tony.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why are you having the sex talk with your best friend, isn’t that supposed his parents job? But it’s not that talk. I’m going to go talk to him about Mike. It had been almost a month since we all told our secrets to each other, and I think I’m at the point where I’m comfortable enough to have this talk with him.
Unfortunately, mission one would have to wait until after two. (Don’t judge me. I don’t like going in order.) But that was the plan for this afternoon. I told Kellin that I would pick him up after I was done at Tony’s house. Mike kept telling me that it was not needed, but as his older brother, I was not going to leave any stone unturned.
So… here I find myself, walking with Tony in complete and comforting silence. Mike and Kellin were walking together towards our street, Mike occasionally looking behind him until we were out of eyesight. When we got to Tony’s house, I greeted his mom with a polite hello and followed him to his room. He took a spot on his bed and I sat across from him at his desk.
Now things were beginning to get a little awkward. We stared at each other for a few moments… neither of us knowing where to start with this. He cleared his throat.
“So…” He turns to me, a slightly embarrassed look on his face.
“Uh…” I fiddled with my fingers for a moment. “Ok… let’s just start with my brother.” He nods.
“Alright.”
“Tony, you’re my best friend, and you know that I would support you in any decision that you make…” I paused, trying to find the right words. “And I support you and my brother’s relationship.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth at this.
“Vic, I… I don’t know what to say.” His eyes began to glisten with moisture. (Please don’t cry… if you cry then I’m going to cry. Then we’ll both be crying idiots, and I don’t think I can handle that right now.)
“But, let it be known.” I got serious, and he straightened up. “Mike is my baby brother, and he means the world to me. If you hurt him, I hope God will look away because I can’t promise it will be pretty.” He gave me a nod of understanding.
“Vic, I love Mike more than anything. I would never do anything to hurt him.” The look in his eyes was all I needed to know that he was telling me the truth. I trusted Tony, probably more than anyone else, with my brother. I had a comforting feeling knowing that Mike was this loved by someone other than myself. “Oh and Vic.”
“Yeah?”
“Good luck… you know with Kellin and everything.” I smiled my appreciation to him. Before I could respond, both of our phones vibrated. I looked at his ID, seeing Mike’s name. I turned to mine: Kellin. We both looked at each other before picking up the phones.
“Hello…yes babe I’m fine…no your brother hasn’t done anything stupid…”
“Hello?” I stood, gave Tony and firm handshake, and walked from his room.
“Vic? Is everything okay?” Kellin’s concerned voice came through the phone.
“Yeah,” I turned just in time to see the smile and loving look in Tony’s eyes as he talked to my brother. “Everything’s fine.”
I talked with Kellin until I got to my house. I told him to give me a little bit to get ready and then I would come get him. I walked up the stairs, saying hello to my parents before walking to Mike’s room. I opened the door quietly, hearing his voice. He was still on the phone, which wasn’t surprising.
“Alright, tomorrow sounds good… yeah… I love you too, bye.” I entered his room and he turned to look at me. He had a big grin on his face. “Thanks for not killing my boyfriend, Vic.”
“You’re welcome.” I took a seat next to him on his bed. “He really loves you, you know.”
“Yeah.” Mike had this star struck look on his face, and I couldn’t help but feel happy for my little brother.
“Alright, well I have to get ready for my date with Kellin.” Mike gave me a pat on the shoulder and wished me luck.
It took me approximately ten minutes to get ready, before I began heading down the street to Kellin’s house, and I was beginning to feel really nervous. I kept taking my hands out of my pockets and putting them back in. I had been planning this out for nearly two weeks and I wanted it to be perfect. I took a deep, calming breath as I approached his front door and knocked. I heard a muffled yell that sounded like Kellin yelling “got it” and a moment later he opened the door.
He was perfect. His dark blue skinnies were just tight enough and his plain black v-neck hugged his torso perfectly. His hair fell loosely in his bright blue eyes, and to top everything off, he had a huge grin on his face. He turned and yelled goodbye to his mom and we headed out.
“So where are we going?” he asked as we headed down the main street that led out of our town.
“It’s a surprise.” He gave me a pouty look, but it soon fell from his face as I reached over and took his hand in mine.
“But wait… why are we leaving town? Isn’t it like a three hour walk to the next city?”
“Just be patient, Kellin.” I chuckled at his comment and he pouted again. We walked in silence for the majority of the way to our destination. The only sounds were the little Oos and Ahs that Kellin made at the scenery around us. He would also make a few comments, to which I would nod or agree. I was so excited about he was so impressed with something so simple.
I knew we were getting close to our destination and I gripped his hand tighter. He turned and gave me a confused look. When I didn’t return it, he focused back on the road. A small gasp escaped his mouth as we came around the final corner.
“Vic… is this?” he didn’t finish his question. He didn’t need to because I knew exactly what he was about to ask me.
“Yeah it is.” I walked him a little further along before I stopped. I turned to face him, taking both of his hands in mine.
I took a deep breath before beginning.
“Kellin, in the short amount of time that we’ve been together, I have come to care about you so much that it’s almost painful. I wanted to bring you here, to this spot where we met, to make you a promise.” He looked at me, faint tears shining in his eyes, making them sparkle beautifully. “Kellin, I promise to always protect you. I never want you to ever feel the way you did on that day, and I want you to promise me that if you’re ever upset or sad about anything, that you’ll talk to me.” He gave me a small nod, trying not to cry.
“Vic…” He couldn’t finish what he was going to say, a small sob cutting him off. He didn’t need to finish; I knew what he meant.
“I love you too, Kellin. More than you could ever imagine.” Smiling at me, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine in a loving kiss. We stayed that way for a moment before he began to deepen the kiss. He wrapped his arms around my neck, and I pulled his body as close to mine as was possible. After the need to breath became too great, we pulled away and just stood there in each other’s arms. It took a few minutes, but we finally separated and I took his hand in mine. I began walking back towards town, Kellin walking besides me. A smile crossed my lips as we both left the bridge and the once painful memory that it held, with a new one that was full of happiness.