"Love is Like A Glass Door..."

Kevin's Pov

As I watched the redhead trail up the stairs towards my brother's room, my attention focused on the dude sitting in the armchair.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying not to sound rude.

"Connor."

"What are you reading?"

"Poem collection." It was obvious that he was trying to keep his answers as short as possible, and right away I knew he was the shy type.

Connor looked like a carefully collected, poised person. His physical appearance looked unreal, like something you’d find in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue- no, wait. Better. More real; down-to-earth. And, oddly enough, I felt a slight admiration, like I looked up to him or something. But there was something else... only I couldn't put my finger on it.

I allowed myself to study him as he continued reading. He was fashionable skinny and he wore a purple and black stripped hoodie and some tight black jeans. He had on some scuffed-up checkerboard converses too. His eyes were a bright hazel color and his hair was dark and layered. I took notice of his subtle features- the slight curve of his back, the cat-like curl in his smile, his dainty nose.

And all of the sudden, he turned around.

He stared straight back at me, his cool gaze somehow killing me. Frantically, I built up a wall of composure. His stare lasted longer than the usual comfortable length of time, but I didn't mind; I wanted him to get a good look, like I were saying Hey, I'm perfect too!, as if I had to own up to it. His eyes took their time, exploring me openly. He tilted his head slightly, intrigued. The wall I had built up started gradually wearing away.

Finally, when he satisfied with what he saw, he simply said, "Hi."

His voice was immature in the quirky, eccentric sort of way- and I knew I had misjudged him.

"Hi." I smiled. I held out my hand and said, "It's Kevin."

"I know," he responded, and shook it, smiling back.

And something told me we'd be hanging out a lot.

---

Joe was off somewhere in his own little world while I myself was on the internet, resisting to Google myself and all of the gossip about me being gay. Connor kept reading the love poem collection book. A nasty 3 minute awkward silence had ensued, or maybe it was just my imagination.

Connor's Pov

My body was literally tingling from after he had been gazing at me. I was ridiculously in love with him- serious love- and suddenly I felt vulnerable, as if he could read my mind and he could see all of the dirty things I fantasized doing to him as I laid in my bed at night.

"...Uh, dude, you okay?" he asked me. Oh, yeah, of course. It's just that I have a ridiculously immense crush on you, and if it wasn't for the fact that Joe was in here I'd maul you within a second.

"Yeah..." I replied instead, again the damned nervousness tinting my words. "I-I’m just a nervous wreck. All of the time,” I added.

Joe went off, up the stairs to his room. Here was my chance; I had promised myself that if I ever had a chance alone with Kevin Jonas, I’d tell him… I swear my heartbeat just got a hundred times faster.

Kevin noticed my slightly shaking hands. “You look like you need some fresh air.”

“Y-yeah- please.”

---

Kevin's POV

I escorted Connor to the back porch. He gripped an iron curly-q of the railing, and breathed in the slightly misty air of a passed rain shower. He noticed me looking at him curiously. “Indoor allergies,” he explained.

“Are you okay now?”

Connor nodded quickly. “A lot better. Thanks.”

I sat down on the porch swing, leaving room for Connor if he wanted to sit down. He stayed there, though, staring out fancifully towards the sun, the light hitting his face and giving him a more un-real appearance.

Time is the enemy of love
The thief that shortens
All our golden hours
I have never understood then
Why lovers count their happiness
In days and nights and years
While our love can only be measured
In our joys and sighs and tears

He said it so softly and dream-like I thought at first I had imagined it. Then he turned around and looked at me, and said, “V. J. Rajadhon. He wrote that.”

And suddenly I was saddened for an odd reason.

It was quiet for a minute, but it was serene. Out in the horizon you could see the faint trace of a rainbow. It set me at peace.

“Nature’s first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf’s a flower
But only so, an hour
As leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief
As dawn turns to day
Nothing gold can stay”

“Robert Frost,” we said in unison. Connor smiled gently.

He left the railing and sat next to me, the porch swing rocking faintly. I felt him relax and he laid his head on my shoulder. I felt warmed and comforted.

I closed my eyes, reveling in the magic of the mist and the rainbow that washed over us.

I thought I felt a kiss on my neck, soft and almost unnoticeable, but it turned out to just the lonely breeze.