Brandon. Yes, THAT Brandon.

Trust is Overrated

So.... Conner has definitely had sex before.

Exhausted is an understatement to describe the amount of tired I feel right now. Conner lays on my chest peacefully. I'm almost asleep myself.

Just as I start really drifting, Conner says my name softly. Dream me answers him. Real me is a useless rock that can't even talk right now. "Brandon?" he whispers again. Nope, my body refuses to wake. Once Conner is sure I'm asleep, he kisses my lips once and conscientiously removes himself from his position to travel to the corner of his bed. I watch through the slits my eyelids have allowed to see Conner lift a piece of blue paper tacked to his wall and mark on the paint with a sharpie. I want to ask what his doing, but then again I'm living in my brain right now.

Conner leaves quietly as he can. I hear the shower run within a few minutes. My metal ringtone shakes me up enough to wake me up completely. It's my mom. Out of all the awkward times of the day to call me, it has to be right now.

"Hey," I croak.

"Brandon I told-- were you sleeping?" she asks.

"Math wears you out haha. Yea I'm still at Conner's if you're wondering." I sit up and fish for my jeans on the ground. "I'll be home in about twenty minutes."

"Good, because you know your cousin is coming over in a week, sooner than we think. We still have to get that room ready for her. And also, you really should get home for that thing we had planned today." I resist groaning. I haven't seen Aiden in at least five years. "When you come home, do it in good spirits. Dad is in a mood. I've recieved the 'Brandon Needs to Be Responsible Speech' that he's supposed to give you. Also, he cooked dinner tonight, so I hope you're hungry."

"Thanks, Mom. Love you." She says it back and I hang up. Great. If my dad thinks I'm irresponsible now, what's he gonna think when I say, "Oh and Dad? I think I'm gay."

There's something I was going to do... right. I slip on my jeans and peek under the blue paper on the corner of Conner's big bed. The shower is still running. For some reason, I feel cagey about this. I lift the thin sheet to reveal...tally marks? There's twenty-four of them. Just tally marks. No label or title. I hear the shower water turn off and I scurry to my last position; then I realize that's unnecessary because in my last position, I didn't have pants on. So I decide on hunting for my shirt instead.

Conner waltzes into the room only clothed in baggy Colorado Rockies sweatpants. The blush that rises to my cheeks tells him how good he looks before I do. My shirt is engulfing Conner's dreaded math book. I snatch it up, putting it on quickly.

"Good morning, sunshine," Conner giggles. "Oh my god your hair."

"Not a big deal. Apparently my dad is in a mood. Gotta get--" I struggle slipping my sneaker on. "home as soon as possible."

"See, if you had no dad, this wouldn't be a problem," Conner jokes. "Since tomorrow's Friday, you shouldn't have to come over to help with...'math'. And my mom will be in a hurricane of a frenzy so..."

"You should help her out. When's your dad coming over?"

"Saturday or something," he scoffs. "But I'll probably find something to do so I don't have to see him much." I don't respond. Conner's parents are his business, and his only. I have enough to deal with concerning my own parents.

"Well," I kiss him once. "I'm gonna go. See you Monday."

And if I patted myself on the back once I sat inside my beat up truck, nobody has to know that.