That's All That Matters

Ty sat at his desk with his chin in his hands and head in the clouds. Christmas had come and gone, so had New Years and Valentine’s day was quickly approaching. Valentine’s day, that was what had Ty staring off into the distance.

Normally Valentine’s day Ty and Dale would exchange gifts. They always had done so. When they were younger it was cards and candies their parents had bought but as they got older they managed to do chores around the house and bought things for one another or made them. It wasn’t unusual to them but…

Well they were older now. Dale had turned 13 in October and Ty would be 13 himself in April…not to mention they were both guys. It was weird for guys to exchange Valentine’s day presents now…wasn’t it? In elementary school everyone got cards for each other but they were in middle school now, soon to be in high school!

Last year Ty and Dale had gotten each other gifts but when they exchanged them in class the guys had teased him. All day they heard people saying how weird it was for two guys to give each other gifts. Not to mention…Dale said he liked someone.

In the beginning Ty wanted desperately to know who but now he wasn’t so sure. Could he handle knowing? Probably not. The mere thought of having Dale taken by some girl made Ty’s skin crawl. He bit his lip to keep back a frown.

Maybe I should just ask him about it? He thought but before he had the chance to even consider the idea the boy who had been plaguing him appeared and took a seat at his side. Ty jumped, having not noticed Dale in class so he didn’t expect him. Dale smiled and asked, “Aw, did I scare you?”

Ty narrowed his eyes playfully and replied, “A bit. For a moment my eyes couldn’t handle seeing your face.”

“Because I’m so good looking right?” Dale winked, having turned the tables. Ty groaned at his best friend and chose not to give him a response. Dale smiled at his victory then said, “Valentine’s day’s coming up.”

Ty tensed at the mention of the dreaded day. He kept his head pressed to the desk in hopes that Dale wouldn’t notice his panic. “Yep,” he replied.

“What do you want?”

“Huh?” Ty shot up in his seat to stare confused at the brunette who in turn stared back in just as much confusion.

“What do you mean ‘huh’?”

“Well…I just…I mean we’re like 13 now. Do guys even get each other gifts on Valentine’s Day anymore?” Obviously not seeing as no one else had brought it up. The guys would tease them for sure!

Dale narrowed his eyes on his friend as if the question bothered him. Scoffing, the boy crossed his arms and retaliated, “Do other people matter? We get each other gifts. We’re best friends so what if other people don’t? That’s their loss. I never pass up an opportunity for a free gift.”

Ty couldn’t help but chuckle. Leave it to Dale to think of Valentine’s Day as a different form of Christmas or his birthday.

“So,” Dale placed an elbow on his desk then leaned in towards Ty. The proximity made the blonde’s cheeks heat up. “What do you want?”

“I…I don’t know. I don’t really care w-what you get me.” As long as it’s from you.

Dale chuckled. “So a dress will do?”

“You know what I mean!” Ty whacked his friend over the back of the head but that only made Dale laugh harder.

“Fine. I’ll guess. Aren’t you going to ask what I want?”

“I’ll get you whatever I want to get you.”

“I just re-watched Star Wars,” Dale said, paying no mind to what Ty had said.

“I am not taking you to see Star Wars-“

“Have we talked about how much I like Bloodborne?”

“No-“

“The new DLC just came out you know.”

Ty slammed his head against the desk with a groan while Dale continued going on about the things he liked. Ty may or may not have made mental notes about all of it but that’s a conversation for another time.

“You boys are absolutely adorable,” Mrs. Smith giggled as she followed behind her son, who had buried his head hung low in hopes that no one would notice him. Imagine how much he’d get teased if the guys saw him shopping with his mom. Why did she have to come again?

“I can get Dale his present on my own,” Ty sighed then remembered what his mom said. “And we aren’t adorable!”

Mrs. Smith gave her son a ‘cut the crap’ look but didn’t argue. Arguing with a 13-year-old boy was pretty useless. It’d end up with him groaning and stomping off either way so why bother. Instead she shrugged then said, “I was not going to stay in the car while you walked the mall. I’m not your chauffer.”

“You could go in a different direction at least!”

“Why?” Mrs. Smith eyes grew wide and mouth gaped. “You aren’t…getting something dirty are you?”

Ty’s face lit up like Christmas tree. He sputtered out a very quick ‘no’ that only made Mrs. Smith howl with laughter. Oh there were perks to having children, like humiliating them every chance you get. The joys of young love!

“Then why can’t I tag along? What if you see something that you can’t afford on your own?”

“Then I won’t get it. I have my own money from chores,” Ty replied before turning into GameStop. He shoved his hands in his pockets to double check that he had said money. He pulled out his wallet to look within seeing a trio of 20’s and two 10’s.

Ty spent the next two hours scouring the mall for a suitable present for Dale. As he did this he came to the realization that this has been his longest trip. Before he could easily get Dale what he wanted. It would normally take him thirty minutes tops to get a gift yet why now does he feel so nervous? Everything he picks up, everything he looks at doesn’t look good enough. What was so different this time?

In the end Ty went a bunch of Dale’s favorite junk food in a large Star Wars popcorn bucket and that anime Dale wanted to watch called Another. It was apparently quite bloody and Ty knew he’d regret getting his friend this seeing as he knew he too would have to watch it.

Dale already had Ty’s present picked out for over a week. He rested on his bed, texting his best friend who he knew was out getting him a present since Ty couldn’t lie to save his life. He claimed that he and his mom were “cleaning,” yet a minute later when Dale what he was doing Ty claimed he was playing games. Oh, so you finished cleaning so soon? Dale laughed to himself. Ty was too cute for words.

On his bedside sat a small gift wrapped in shiny red paper with a little tag that read To Ty on it. Dale smiled to himself, more than content with what he had got for his best friend. He knew he’d love it. He wouldn’t expect it. Dale grinned thinking about the look on Ty’s face when he opens it.

Luckily Valentine’s Day fell on the weekend this year. Ty wasn’t sure if he could handle his friends teasing him about how weird it was for two guys to exchange gifts on a day meant for couples.

Dale arrived at Ty’s a little before noon. He didn’t bother knocking seeing as this was his second home. He walked in and went straight to the kitchen where Mrs. Smith was already making lunch. She smiled at her the brunette who saw that the food was nearly ready so he shouted up the steps, “Kids, come eat!”

It was nice having a helping hand around, Mrs. Smith laughed. Mr. Smith was working a bit of overtime for some extra cash since his Valentine’s Day gift was a week long vacation in Hawaii for him and the wife while Ty and his little sister crashed at their grandparents.

Ty came down the steps along with his little sister, Rachel. Rachel was only four so Ty had to hold her hand as she came down the steps. Sometimes she would wobble and it made everyone anxious. Rachel waved quickly to Dale but was so focused on the food Mrs. Smith was putting on the table that she tripped over her feet and face planted.

“Way to go booger,” Dale laughed and helped up the unfazed toddler. She giggled and ran over to her mom who had a plate for her in her hands. “Hey,” Dale frowned and pointed to Ty’s empty hands. “Where’s my present?”

“Upstairs, calm down,” Ty laughed. “It isn’t going anywhere.”

“I swear to god if you didn’t get me anything-“

“Like you would let that happen. You’d make me sit through so much horror shows I’d die of a heart attack.” Ty, obviously, didn’t have the stomach for horror while Dale loved it. Ghosts, werewolves, vampires, zombies, you name it and he was interested while Ty wanted nothing to do with it. He simply watched it because his best friend loved it and he didn’t want to ruin his fun.

“True,” Dale laughed and followed Ty to the table. “I don’t get why you hate it so much. As if I’d let something happen to you.”

Ty flushed furiously, said flush only got worse when Mrs. Smith made ‘ooooh’ sounds across the table. Ty sent her a glare to which he shrugged and turned her attention back to Rachel who decided that her fries made excellent building materials.

“That’s…that’s n-not the point,” Ty tried to rub the blush from his cheeks. “Stuff like that makes me anxious.”

“Like that time when we were kids?”

“We agreed not to talk about that.”

Dale smirked. “I don’t recall such an agreement. What was it again? Someone dared you and the both of you were scared of a sheet. You clung to me like a little girl.”

“I-I did not!”

“Did.”

“Didn’t.”

“Boys!” Mrs. Smith laughed and looked between the two. “Eat your lunch…and yes you did Ty.”

“Mom! You weren’t even there!”

“But I know you. You clung.”

Dale threw his arms into the air in triumph. “Thank you mother!”

Ty pouted throughout the rest of lunch. He refused to speak to Dale, not that Dale was trying to make conversation. His victory left him chipper throughout the rest of his lunch. After the boys finished eating they ran upstairs.

Ty handed Dale his gift. The brunette smiled from ear to ear as he admired his new popcorn bowl before digging through the contents. He had enough candy to last him the month. “You know we’re watching this today right?” He asked as he held up the horror anime.

Ty scrunched his nose in distaste. “Do we have to? I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”

Dale laughed, “Yeah especially after you see what I got for you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll see.” Dale sat the anime that they would watch later by the TV before sitting beside Ty. The blonde watched as Dale pulled out a package from his hoodie. It wasn’t very big but it was kind of thick and a bit heavy. “Don’t shake it,” Dale ordered. “It might break.”

“So it’s something fragile?” Ty asked as he tried to pick through his brain. Was there something he wanted this small?

Dale nodded. “Stop staring at it and open it.”

“Ok, ok!” Ty ripped off one of the sides and nearly died at that. On the side was a symbol he recognized well and he knew in that moment that this gift was pricey. He looked to Dale to see if he had any sign of this being a joke on his face. When the boy simply bit his lip and gestured with his hand to continue Ty knew that this was for real.

He pulled out the white and clear box and stared in amazement. “You…”

Ty looked to his best friend who said with a smile, “Happy Valentine’s Day Ty.” Dale pressed a chaste kiss to the shell-shocked boy.

“You got me…” Ty started to peel the tape off the side to make sure what was inside the box was real. When it didn’t magically disappear or break to pieces Ty knew this was no joke. “You got me a freaking iPod! This couldn’t have been cheap.”

“$250…plus tax.”

Ty cursed before repeatedly hitting Dale’s leg. “It was freaking expensive!”

“It was.”

“Why…why did you get me something so nice for Valentine’s Day?”

“Because I didn’t have enough during Christmas.” What a smartass.

“How did you even afford it?” Ty asked as he moved to his computer desk. There he plugged it in to charge seeing as he wanted to mess with it as soon as possible. He turned to Dale’s side on his bed afterwards.

“I worked over the summer doing landscape stuff with my dad remember? I mostly mowed lawns or helped put together bathrooms but I got a good bit. Plus after Christmas Mr. Figgs needed help clearing out his garage and cutting firewood. I was loaded!” Dale pouted. “Was being the key word.”

Ty wanted to hit Dale but he couldn’t. Dale had gotten him an iPod! He wanted to hug him and kick him down the steps at the same time. All he got him was a freaking popcorn bowl with some candy and a series. That was pathetic in the eyes of an iPod especially since Ty loved music. His dad had gotten him a cheap MP3 that he couldn’t even pick out artists on. Instead he had to skip through songs to get to a specific one but now…now he had an iPod!

“I can’t believe you got me an iPod,” Ty whispered more to himself than Dale. Dale shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal that he had spent so much on his friend.

“You have that crappy MP3 player so I figured this was a needed upgrade. Welcome to the 21st century,” Dale teased. He was happy Ty liked his gift so much. The boy was already plugging it into his computer to charge. Dale knew he’d have it full of music in no time.

“Thanks Dale,” Ty sighed. “Sorry I got you something so…” He shrugged. “Crappy.”

“It wasn’t crappy,” Dale huffed and pulled Ty onto the bed next to him. He wrapped an arm around the boys waist and rested his head on Ty’s shoulder. Ty flushed at the closeness. “I like everything you get me Ty.”

“Even if it was a dress?” Ty teased.

“Sorry, did you say you wanted to watch Another?”

“No!”

“We can make popcorn in my new movie bowl!”

“Wait! I’m not mentally prepared for this!”

But they watched it anyways.