I’ve known my best friend since I was four years old, and now that we were eighteen, he was also my oldest friend in the world. Anyway, I should probably introduce myself: I’m Kyle Daniels and my best friend is Simon (I can’t tell you his last name). Anyway, Simon has this cousin who was kind of a geek, but soon blossomed into a cool guy. He went to college earlier than we did, because he went to a school with a different system than ours. In college, he dyed his hair blond, changed his name to Shawn Stevenson and developed a really nice body. I hadn’t met him yet, but one day, Simon got an e-mail from Shawn, saying that he was coming back to Malaysia and asked him if he could stay over. Simon quickly sent a reply saying yes. I guess he must have been online, because a few minutes later, we got an e-mail back confirming plans. * * * “Alright, the cab ought to be here any minute,” Simon’s mom said. “Simon, Kyle, Kelly,” Kelly is my older sister; she goes to a local college. “Is everything ready?” “Yes, mom,” Simon groaned. I rolled my eyes. Though he was already eighteen, he still whined like a kid. Simon’s mom turned off the lights and we all found hiding places. Through the window we saw cars pass by. He was late. I started to get kind of hot (and not sexually. I mean sweating). Finally, a red and white car (a Malaysian cab) rolled up. I watched Shawn step out of the cab. The driver walked out and opened the back and helped bring out his suitcase. “Thank you,” we heard him say politely. “How much is that?” We couldn’t hear how much it was, but Shawn smiled and handed him the money. He whirled around and froze as he saw the dark and seemingly empty house. Shaking his head he made his way to the gate. He wasn’t able to unlock it, so he kicked it. To his surprise, it opened. “Hmm,” I heard Simon’s mom mutter. “I’ll have to get that fixed.” “Hello?” I heard him call. “Simon? Are you there?” He opened the door and stepped into the darkness. His hand searched blindly for the light switch and finally found it. He flicked it on and we all screamed, “SURPRISE!” He stared back at us quite calmly. “Oh, my,” he said sarcastically. “What a surprise. Never saw this coming,” “You knew we were going to surprise you?” Simon asked skeptically. Shawn nodded, smirking. “How?” “Your cars were here and you haven’t seen me like, what two, three years? Way to be subtle, guys,” he pointed out. We groaned. My sister turned to my parents. “Well, he ruined it,” she said, shaking her head. I saw him smile. “Well, it’s sorta cute how you tried to surprise me, if it’s any consolation,” he shrugged, still smiling. He then fixed his eyes on me. It was then I noticed they were green. God, he looked hot! He wore a Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirt and baggy jeans. “Hi, Kyle,” he said softly. I smiled at him. He turned back to the crowd. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna unpack my stuff,” “Oh, you don’t sleep in Simon’s room anymore,” Simon’s mom interrupted. Damn. “We recently built a guest room. Since Kyle is staying over, he and Simon can sleep together and you sleep in the guest room.” “Alright, thanks,” he said. “Simon, Kyle. Help me unpack?” “Sure,” I answered readily. The three of us bounded down the stairs and to the guest room. However, when we got down, Simon’s mom called him up to help with something. Apologizing, he hurried up to help her. I turned to Shawn and saw him watching me. “What?” “Nothing,” he replied. “You just look a little different than I remember you.” “I look different?” Shawn nodded. “You were the one who changed his name and dyed his hair and—” “You don’t stutter anymore,” Shawn said softly. “That’s good,” I realized he was right. “I hadn’t stuttered in a long time. I just hadn’t noticed it until he told me. “Sit.” “What?” I was caught off-guard. He motioned to the bed. I sat down and he sat next to me. We stared at each other for a few moments, which seemed like hours. “Kyle,” he began hoarsely. “There’s something you have to know…” “There’s something you have to know too,” I said quietly. “I’m gay,” we said in unison. We stared at each other in shock. A million questions ran through my brain. He was gay? He didn’t just say that, did he? I felt tired of all the questions, and I let myself go. I leaned over and kissed him. He closed his eyes and kissed me back. He started to unbutton my shirt, but I stopped him. “Not now,” I said. “Later. Anyone could walk in.” He sighed and nodded. END OF PART 1 Tell me what you think. Send me e-mails at archwiz75@hotmail.com.