Say Those Three Little Words

April 24th, 2009

The new teacher arrived when Josh and I were in Providence. She’s a shrewish old prude, but apparently she has the skills needed for taking care of mental illnesses.

I don’t like her.

When I walked with Josh to the school Monday, the principal stopped me and said I wasn’t allowed to enter the building anymore without a visitor’s pass and a valid reason. Miss Garter, the new teacher, was beside him, giving me a disgusted look the entire time.

Was kind of disappointed, because I don’t really like being away from Josh, but kinda glad I don’t have to deal with her.

Besides, it gave me time to plan something special for Josh. Took me 4 days since I'm incompetent when it comes to cooking and... planning in general. Anyway, he’s gonna be home in a few minutes and I can’t wait to see how he reacts…

The door opened and banged against the wall. Josh cursed, dropping his bag on to the floor. He was exhausted and about two seconds away from committing homicide.

From their bedroom, Oli could hear him grumbling as he moved throughout the house. He shoved his journal under the mattress and got out of bed, finding Josh glaring at the bathroom mirror.

The 22 year old stepped behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Bad day?" He whispered, kissing Josh’s shoulder.

Josh leaned into the embrace and squeezed his eyes shut. He sighed and rubbed his temples in an attempt to get rid of a massive headache. “Terrible day. I hate her."

“Who? Ms. Garter?"

“Yes. She’s the devil incarnate." Josh said bluntly. Oli chuckled. “Not really, but she’s one of those close-minded, extremely judgmental, homophobic 'Christian' pricks. After we finished this project we had to do, she suddenly started a lesson on early Christianity and how we’ll all go to Hell unless we repent.

“Sage is buddhist. She made the mistake of telling Ms. Garter that and she got yelled at for 20 minutes… so just for kicks and giggles, I told her I was firm follower of satanism." He turned and wrapped his arms around Oli’s neck. They smiled at each other for a moment before sharing a small kiss. “She looked appalled. Crossed herself, even, and started praying that my soul would be saved."

Oli shook his head, chuckling. “You really shouldn’t have done that. Now she’s gonna be on your case the entire time."

“Trust me, she would’ve already." He replied, his anger flaring up again. “When I walked in, she called me to her desk and told me, ‘do you know what happens to faggots when Judgement time comes? They all burn in Hell. I suggest you leave that devil worshiping man and learn the good word of the Lord before it’s too late.’"

“Why does everyone assume I worship the devil?" He muttered, shaking his head.

Josh shrugged. “I told her that maybe she needs to reread the ‘good word’ because I’m pretty sure the Bible talks about loving others and not tell them how horrible they are. She got pissed and told me to sit down."

“That’s the thing most of those people overlook…" Oli said, remembering the things his mother told him when he was younger. He quickly shook his head. All the religion talk was beginning to bum him out. “Hey, I have a surprise for you."

Josh’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. “Oh really? And what would that be?"

“I was thinking about how we never had a proper date… so if you’re up for it… how does staying at the cabin by the river sound?" Oli said between kisses. Josh was beaming when he pulled away, and that gave him all the answer he needed. “Great, because I already have everything ready."



The cabin by the river is a small wooden structure that Josh’s uncle had built in the 1970s. Oli saw it one day while he was waiting for Josh and, upon questioning the Mansfields about it, thought it was the perfect place to spend a weekend away.

It’s nestled on a small hill surrounded by trees, close enough to hear the waves crashing against the bank, but up high enough that it wouldn’t be destroyed in case of flooding. Ivy clung to the edges of the walls and a short stone path led to the front door.

With the sun just beginning to dip into the horizon, Oli pulled up to the cabin. He heard Josh gasp beside him and chuckled. The teenager clutched his overnight bag and smiled, wondering why his parents never told him about the mystifying place.

They got out of the car and walked up the winding path to the top of the hill. The cabin was plainly decorated, but still managed a homely feel. A fire crinkled in the fireplace at the back wall with two beanbags thrown carelessly nearby. A painting of a Victorian couple hung above it; the people in the picture smiling down at a toddler.

A door off to the side led to a single bedroom, which only had a queen sized mattress with tons of pillows thrown on top. There was no bathroom or kitchen, besides a mini fridge in the corner of the main room, fully stocked with water and soda.

“I hope you came prepared." Josh said, eyeing the contents of the mini fridge. He closed the door and sighed.

“Got us covered." Oli smiled and took Josh’s hand. He led the teenager back out of the cabin and around to the back, where a picnic was set up in the small clearing. It was the completely cheesy, movie quality set up, but Josh found it to be absolutely perfect.

“When did you do all this?"

Oli shrugged and sat in front of the basket. Josh cuddled up next to him, watching as all his favorite foods appeared in front of his eyes. “While you were at school the last few days. Oh, by the way, I asked for the next two days off of work so we could do this. My boss was very understanding."

Josh smiled, nuzzling his cheek against the elder’s shoulder. He seriously had the best boyfriend ever. “Well… thank you. You couldn’t have picked a more perfect day."

Oli leaned down to look at him, a small smile on his face. Josh returned it and leaned up a fraction to press their lips together.

If he were to be honest with himself, he felt like crying with joy. This man was so perfect, everything he could ever dream of, and it kind of scared him a little. He has never felt so strongly about another human being before and he didn’t know what exactly that feeling was.

They pulled away and began to eat. The sun was halfway gone by now, reflecting off the water and giving the world an orange hue. The crashing waves were relaxing and created the soundtrack to their evening meal.

“You’re amazing, you know that?" Josh said as they finished. He had moved to Oli’s lap halfway through the meal and was now resting his forehead against the side of the elder’s neck. “Not just for this… but for everything you’ve ever done for me… I really appreciate it."

“Of course." Oli whispered, bringing Josh’s face up to softly kiss him. He wanted to tell him how much he didn’t mind doing those things, how he’d even take a bullet for the kid that his entire world was beginning to revolve around, but he figured Josh wasn’t ready and was fine with waiting for him.

As the turned in for the night, the 22 year old thought about how perfect everything was. With all the family drama behind him, he was finally looking forward to the future.

Little did he know, Life is going to throw him another loop, the first kink in his relationship, in just a couple days.