Love Within The Granite

Chapter 29

I didn't know who he was, the boy Jack was kissing, but he had a look of pure fear on his face, which masked Jack's expression.

I looked between the two of them, back and forth, my whole body in shut down mode. I couldn't move and, although my mouth was open, I couldn't force myself to speak.

Suddenly, the boy I didn't recognise stood up from the bed and darted past me, out the room, barging into my shoulder. I barely felt a thing. I couldn't take my widened eyes away from Jack who's looked about as mortified as any average boy who got caught kissing another boy would.

"Lexi," Jack whipsered, his voice breaking.

"Jack, are you g-"

"No!" He yelled. He hurried over to me, looked outside the room to see if anyone else was around, then pulled me into the darkened room, slamming the door shut behind me. "That was not...what it looked like." His eyes were frantic, blaring into mine as if he could tear away the memory of what I had witnessed.

"You were just kissing a guy!" I held my arms out to the side. "So, yeah, that was what it looked like."

Jack winced. He took his eyes away from mine and ran a trembling hand through his bleach blonde hair. "It didn't mean anything."

"It didn't mean anything?" I moved my head so he had no choice but to look at my face. "Of course it did! It means that you're-"

He cut me off, his tone sharp and harsh. "Don't say it."

"Gay," I finished.

He winced again, tears forming in his eyes. I'd never seen Jack cry. "Please don't tell anyone," he whispered. "Please, Lexi. Especially not Seth and Freddy."

"Jack, how long have you kept this in?"

"It doesn't matter, just...promise me, okay? Promise you wont say anything," he demanded, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I promise," I said.

He walked away from me, towards the door, but I gripped onto his arms and he flinched. I pulled him to me and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug. "I'm here for you," I whispered in his ear. "You being gay doesn't change anything. It only makes you stronger for not being afraid to be who you really are."

Jack said nothing, I could feel him sobbing as he gripped onto me. His hold was strong, like he'd kept his secret in for so long, too afraid to tell anyone, and now that someone knew - me - he just needed someone to comfort him, he needed someone to understand who he really was.

"You should've told me earlier," I said, pulling back to look into his eyes. "You know you can trust me, right?"

He nodded. "We made a deal, remember?"

I rolled my eyes. "You wouldn't admit it unless I found out myself."

He nodded again, sniffling from crying. "But I didn't want you to find out that way. I haven't told anyone. And I don't want anyone to know."

I nodded my head in understanding, my forhead creased with worry for him."Of course. Are you okay?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes for a second or two. "I don't really wanna...can we talk about this another time? I just..."

"Sure," I said, curving my lips into a smile. "I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk."

"Thank you," he said and took a deep breath. When he looked back at me, his eyes looked afraid, like he was just waiting for me to run off and tell everyone or make fun of him.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled again.

"Should we get back to the party?" I suggested.