The Cutest Boy in Harlem - First Draft

Chapter Ten: Boyfriends

The next couple weeks were filled with me going to video game club with Graye, going on spontaneous dates with Noah, and spending the weekends with Tori, like I always did.

She would always come to my house, an accepting environment where she could actually be Tori, and not her birthname. It was sad, really, her situation, Her stepdad hated trans people with a passion. Her mom was accepting of me, but not of Tori. And her actual dad? Just thought she was a really feminine boy.

I was actually the one who helped Tori figure herself out. She would always tell me she hated her "manly parts" and wanted to be a girl so badly, but she didn't know what word it was. It was then that ten-year-old us snuck onto the computer late one night and Googled "what is a boy wanting to be a girl". The third result said "transgender". We then googled "what is transgender" and I translated it to be a person who didn't identify as what they were assigned at birth. I remember holding Tori as she cried because she found out what she was. From that point on, I always questioned myself. Four years later I would realize I was transgender myself.

My mom accepted her with no problem. When it came time for her ot come out to her own mom, however...

Let's just say that's when the establishment of Tori always coming over began.

This weekend, we sat on my bed, Tori redoing her nails while I was texting Noah. Eventually, Tori looked over at me.

"Honey, we need to talk."

I looked up from the message I was typing out to Noah. "What's up?"

She screwed the cap to her nailpolish back on and started to fly her hands in the air to dry them. "You need to explain what's going on between you and Noah Highlands. Every day during class you stare at him while he stares at you and you giggle and blush like the little gay boy you are. I know the kid is bi, but are you dating him?"

I blushed. "Um, well, like..."

"Don't um well like me! Are you Noah Highlands' boyfriend or nah?"

I looked at anything but Tori's eyes. I looked at her hands, and how the pink contrasted her dark skin in a nice way. "Tori, listen, I don't really know..."

Tori shook her head. "Declan, it's a yes or no question. How many dates have you been on with him?"

I mentally counted for a second. "...Five or six maybe?"

"Five or six. You're in the category of 'dating'. Ask him, honey. I know you've been texting him for the past thirty minutes." She started to blow on her nails to dry them quicker.

I looked at my phone, then back at her. I started to type out my message.

"To: Noah

From: Declan

Message: Hey, weird question, but would you consider me to be your boyfriend? We've gone out a couple times and I don't know, it kind of feels right to call you mine."

    I hit send before I had any regrets.

    Almost instantaneously I got a call from Noah. Tori squealed then covered her mouth with her hands and nodded. I accepted the call.

    "Hey," Noah said. "Sorry, what I wanted to say would've been one hell of a message, and I know how you like phone calls anyway."

    "Yeah," I said. I put him on speaker. "Don't worry about it. What did you want to say?"

    "Declan, to put it simply, I've wanted you to be my boyfriend since the first day I saw you, when you ran into me in the hall. I thought you were so small and cute that I wanted to protect you and be yours with everything I had. Now, you asking me whether I wanted to be your boyfriend or not, my answer is of course. Of course I consider you to be my boyfriend. You're my one and only Delcan, and you've earned that in a couple of weeks."

    For a second, I was silent. "...Oh."

    Noah laughed a little. "Surprised?"

    "Just a bit," I replied. He laughed again.

    "So. We're boyfriends."

    "We're boyfriends," I repeated. "Listen, I gotta go. I talk to you later?"

    "Yeah. Oh, and Declan?"

    "What's up?" I clenched my fists.

    "I love you." I died inside.

    "I-I love you too."

    Tori started to silently die. As I ended the call with Noah, she started to scream. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH! HONEY YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"

    After Tori's sudden outburst my mom burst through the door."Who has a boyfriend?!"

    Tori turned towards my mom. "Declan got a boyfriend!"

    My mom looked at me and smiled. "When can I meet him? Oh, is it Graye?"

    I blushed hardcore. "No mom, it's not Graye. Graye isn't a guy, they're nonbinary or I don't know."

    "Then who is it?"

    I blushed more. "Noah."

    My mom gasped. "Ah! I can't wait to meet him."

    "Yeah, yeah, okay. Maybe later." I smiled at the energy in the room and at the fact that I, Declan Sanders, was dating Noah Highlands.

My mom left the room and Tori hugged me. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah," I muttered to myself. I was just excited to see Noah again.