About a Boy

Kellin woke up the next day at around eight o’clock. He made his way into the bathroom before the rest of his family awoke and got ready to leave the house. After he’d showered, he pulled on a Foo Fighters t shirt and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. Kellin shoved about two hundred dollars into his pocket, unsure of how much the present would actually cost.
“Kellin? Where are you going?” His mother called as he pulled on his hoodie and started to leave the house.
“Just… For a walk around town.” Kellin waved. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“Alright sweetie.” She smiled at her son as he left.
Kellin walked for ten minutes to the centre of town. There were quite a few people out, doing last minute Christmas shopping, like him, but the shop he was looking for was empty except for the cashier. Kellin gladly entered the warm shop, smiling to the elderly woman standing behind the counter as she fiddled with something. She looked up and smiled back, setting down what she was working on and walking up to the front desk.
“Hello, dear,” She smiled up at him kindly. “Last minute Christmas present?”
“Yeah,” Kellin admitted, rubbing the bag of his neck coyly. He was never the best at speaking to strangers, always unsure of whether he was offending, or being impolite to them.
“Is there anything in particular?” She continued.
“Erm… Well, I was looking for some, er, dog tags? I was wondering if I could get them engraved?” He asked.
“Of course. We have some nice ones here.” She led him around the room to a display of dog tags, silver on long chains. Kellin saw a pair hanging from a thin, sliver chain that immediately made him think of Vic, and decided to buy that one.
“Um… How much is that one?” He asked, pointing to the pair that caught his eye.
“That’s sixty.” The woman answered. “The engraving’s only another five dollars.”
“Oh. Okay.” Kellin nodded and began to dig the money out of his pocket, confused as to why it was so cheap.
“For your girlfriend?” She questioned, picking up the chain and setting it in front of her.
“Something like that.” Kellin muttered.
“Boyfriend?”
“Yeah.” Kellin smiled at the thought of Vic, and hoped like hell the other boy like the gift.
“And what would you like engraved on them?” She continued with a small smirk.
“Oh yeah. I can write it down…” Kellin took the paper and pen she offered to him and wrote:
How the hell did you ever pick me, honestly?
‘Cause I could sing you a song, but I don’t think words can express your beauty.
“That’s lovely. Is that from a poem?” She asked when Kellin handed her the sheet.
“A song.” He corrected. She smiled and nodded, lifting the tags and inspecting them closely.
“The engraving should take about an hour, you can wait here, if you’d like. Or you could go shopping.” She suggested, accepting the notes that Kellin held out to her.
“Can I just sit in here?”
“Of course, erm…”
“Oh, I’m Kellin.” Kellin answered her unasked question.
“I’m Sandra,” she nodded once again and walked away with the dog tags, through a door at the back of the room to engrave it.
____
“Here you are, Kellin.” She announced proudly to the teenage boy. Kellin stood up and accepted the small bag with a smile.
“Thank you.” He said gratefully.
“No problem, dear.” She waved him out of the shop, and he grinned to himself as he made his way back home.
____
When’s the earliest you can come round? Kellin sent to Vic when he got home. He was eager to give the other boy his present now, almost desperate to see his (hopefully happy) reaction.
From Vic: Probably after Boxing Day. I need to give you my present :)
To Vic: Same ;) I’ll see you then?
From Vic: Sure xx
Kellin spent approximately five minutes staring elatedly at the two kisses Vic had put at the end of the text message. They hadn’t been together for very long, and had only been back together after breaking up for a couple of days, but Kellin could honestly say that he was falling in love with the boy. And although that was quite scary, he didn’t mind as long as it was with Vic.
____
The next couple of days dragged on, mostly because Kellin was counting down the days until he could see Vic. Heather had insisted that he help with all the Christmas preparations, so on Christmas Eve he was helping his sister and mother bake cookies that were destined to burn and then watch ‘The Sound Of Music’ in the evening. Heather had forced him to marvel at the large assortment of presents sitting under the tree, clearly marked with only their names and neatly wrapped. He didn’t mind too much, he did enjoy spending time with his family when Heather wasn’t being irritating and his mother wasn’t being overbearing.
“If we go to bed early we can wake up early!” Heather had proclaimed, dragging Kellin upstairs at ten thirty.
“Come on, Heather.” He whined as his mother smiled at the two of them. “You can wake up as early as you like tomorrow. And why do I have to sleep early with you?”
“Because,” she started, as though it was the simplest thing in the world. “This is your last Christmas here.”
Kellin stopped for a moment and stared at his sister. She was smiling at him with wide, blue eyes, still excited for Christmas even though she was thirteen.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “You’re right.” And then he did something he hadn’t done for at least a year. He hugged her. Heather struggled out of his grasp for a moment, before relenting and hugging him back so tightly her hands appeared on the other side of his thin frame.
“I love you, you know?” She whispered into his ear.
“I do. And I love you too.”
“Finally!” Mrs. Bostwick exclaimed, forcing the two teenagers to jump apart. She stepped forward to hug her two children. The three Bostwicks stood there, halfway up the stairs for a few minutes until Kellin felt himself get sick of the cute scene and gently push away from his mother and sister.
“Well… Good night.” He said awkwardly, waving and climbing the rest of the flight of stairs to get to his bedroom.
“Night, Kells,” Heather called.
“Good night, darling,” his mother said. Kellin stepped into his bedroom and shut the door quietly, feeling excited for Christmas even if his father wouldn’t be there.
____
Kellin woke around seven on Christmas Day to the sound of his text alert. He moaned and reached for his phone, only to leap up in fear as he read the text he had received.
From Vic: Vic’s in hospital. He still hasn’t woken up yet.