"Are you gonna… Pick it up?" Zoe asked. The silly ringtone I had assigned to my mother's number was her favourite song-Jingle Bells. Why she loved it, I don't know. All I knew is that my phone was currently playing that song and my mother definitely had some stuff to say. What do I do? Let it ring? I'd have to face her sooner or later. I couldn't just leave it until I got home. She might call the police and report me missing. That would not be good.
"Evan, sweetie, you look extremely pale. Are you okay?" Connor's mom asked, obviously very concerned.

"Who, me? Oh, yeah, I'm fine! Let me just take this call, since it's my mother, and, uh…"
"Go ahead, Evan. Like you said, everything will be alright." Connor said. As his hand brushed the hair out of my eyes, I suddenly found myself with more confidence. Not much more, but a bit more. Knowing I had Connor on my side was helpful, to say the least. After he kissed me on the forehead, I grabbed the phone that had already turned off and begun to ring a second time. Mom is going to be so upset, I thought. With a shaky, sweaty hand, I picked up the phone and held it to my ear.

"H-hello?"
"Why did you never tell me, Evan? You know you can tell me anything."
"T-tell you what? I mean, I'm so open, and you know…" I stuttered. Zoe was staring at me, and the moment I looked at her, she mouthed, "Not convincing."

"Jared's parents said that you're gay, and you were kissing a boy. Now, I know that we can get it treated, and maybe you can date a nice girl from school. Get someone to sign your cast and then start talking, you know? And-"
"Mom, I don't want to be treated. Gay conversion therapy doesn't work. It's a modern torture."
"But Jared's parents said-"
"Being bisexual is a thing too, Mom. I'm attracted to boys and girls. And at the moment, I'm really into Connor from school. The one that Jared always calls, uh, crazy. But he's not. He's really a super sweet guy, and he took me to the ER when I broke my arm-"
"You told me a park ranger did that."
"No, it was… It was Connor. We were climbing a tree, and my branch broke, and I fell. He said that he tried to call an ambulance, but he had no signal, and he didn't want to leave me. So, I-"
"Let me get this straight. You're attracted to boys and girls? Why don't you just date a girl then? Doesn't Connor have a sister?"
"That's not how it works, mom. I'm… I'm in love with Connor. He makes me happy, and he cares for me, and he isn't crazy like everyone says. He's just really misunderstood."

"Are you sure? I mean, a gay relationship can't be good. It'll ruin your reputation. Really think this through, Evan."

"I don't have a reputation to ruin. It's my senior year of high school. His too. We're going to graduate at the same time. Mom, please."
Then came the silence. The long pause from my mother, and the anxious waiting from Connor and his family. Just… Silence. And then…
"Fine. But just remember, a gay relationship isn't a very good thing. You'll find a nice girl to settle down with and have kids with eventually. This is just a phase, I'm sure."
Ignorance. That's all of what was coming out of her mouth. Just pure ignorance, and disregard for the fact that I had true feelings for a man. I was… Unbelievably angry. But I couldn't blow up at her. That would ruin any positive feelings she had about Connor.

"Connor's parents invited you to come to dinner. They want to meet you. They're really nice people, and I think you'll like them. Plus, you should meet Connor. So…"
"I can't, Evan. I have class tonight. I can't miss class for that."
For that? Really?
"Okay, Mom. I understand."
"I have to go now. I love you."
"Love you too."

More silence. Everyone staring at me, judging my mom, maybe judging me.

"Evan, sweetie, I'm putting the pieces together, and she isn't that happy, is she? "
"And she can't come, either. Classes."
"I'm sorry. I'm going to go pick up a roast and veggies at the grocery store. I'll make you a good meal. You, Connor, and the rest of us. We can all sit down and get to know you, Evan. I see the way Connor has been looking at you. He's never looked at anyone like that."
"I've seen him do that at school." Zoe chimed in. "He always watched someone in the halls. It was… Weird. Then came the time where he was harassing a kid for some reason or another. Probably for drug money."
"I wasn't harassing him. I was asking him for Evan's email address, and he wasn't giving it to me. And it wasn't 'someone' I was watching. It was Evan. Something about him was different. Sure, he's a twig, and he looks terrified half the time, and he's always wiping his hands on his pants, but he's just… Special. I love him."
So that's how he got my email. Glad to finally solve that. But no one, ever, has ever said anything as nice as that. As much as he insulted me, hearing him call me special was amazing. I couldn't imagine having a warmer feeling in my chest. I loved it. I still do.

"Why don't you two go watch a movie while I go get the ingredients for dinner?"
"I'd… I'd really like that." I whispered, shuffling over to Connor to grab his arm. He was warm, and as I had suddenly realized, I was freezing. Was the room always this freezing? It probably was, but I didn't notice due to the pure terror.
"My god, Evan, you're freezing. Why is your skin so cold?" Connor asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
"Yours is, too. Just not as cold as mine." I replied, closing my eyes. I was ready to spend some time with Connor in a place that didn't make my jeans dirty. A hopefully comfortable couch, with a blanket over our laps, me leaning on him.
"They're probably gonna smoke crack in Connor's room." Zoe groaned. "Smoke crack then fuck really loudly."
"Zoe, that's enough!" Their dad finally yelled. "Jesus Christ. Boys, why don't you go into the basement and put a fire in the stove, then watch a movie? Take some time on your own. Their mother is very excited that Connor's finally come out."
"I'm just so happy that he trusts us enough to introduce his boyfriend to us. And he's clean, too!"
"Evan, follow me downstairs. I need to get away from this. It's overbearing."

"That's a big word for you, Connor." I joked,wiping off my hand and then grabbing his.
"Please. You sound like my fucking sister." He said with a slight tone of sarcasm in his voice. Not enough to show that he wasn't irritated, but when he squeezed my hand gently, I knew it was okay.

The basement was… Massive. One section had a kitchenette, another a pull out couch with a giant TV across from it, another had a pool table. There was even a taxidermy deer head on the wall. It wasn't what I had expected from Connor's home, but then again, I had yet to see his room. When I snapped out of my own thoughts, I saw that Connor was pulling out the bed and placing a couple pillows on it. The TV was on, with a picture of an old Japanese painting on it. It wasn't moving at all, which I thought was weird, and the bottom right of the screen had a clock.

"So, uh, what's with the TV? How do you use it?"
"Really? You just cast a show to it. What movie do you want to watch?"
"I'm… Open to anything. As long as I get to sit with you. Also, I have no idea, at all, what cast means."
"It's a Chromecast. You just press the thing on some apps on your phone and it shows up on the TV."
"That's really… Amazing." I said. Enough chit chat, I thought. I need to spend more time doing actual romantic things with Connor instead of just smalltalk. I needed to prove to myself that I loved him.

Or was I going to do it so I could tell my mother about it and prove it to her?