Today and Forever

Chapter 1 | Back Home

Sometimes I feel like there's not a lot going on with my life; classes, part time work, classes, club activities, more classes, more work but really, that's just the gist of it. I had thought that after high school, I'll get to have a pretty cool college life focusing more on cultivating my future or something like that. What my naive mind didn't  care to at the very least visualize is that more than those simple things, I'll have to deal with lots of parties, late night hookups, failing classes, early life crisis and heartbreak. 

I should've listened when Dad and Papa were telling me all those stories from when they were students. It was Dad, I remember who made the most out of it. They'll surely be so bummed once they find out I got my heart played by a one night stand. 

Luckily for me, it's winter break and I get to share my woes back home to my parents and brother and probably Hailey if she decided to fly back from her current home in Canada.

Little Aiden picks me up from the airport and I'm faintly surprised at how tall he has gotten. I guess I can't call him little anymore. Puberty has gotten him a great deal. His resemblance to Dad is probably getting him all the girls he wants, or probably guys. "Aiden, I have a question." He glowers at me. I wonder where he got that grumpy attitude? It ruins that handsome face. "Are you gay or straight?" The car slightly swerves to the left, alarming us both. He whispers a curse before looking back at me and sighing with that hint of annoyance. 

"I can't believe that's the first thing you asked me. That's not nice." He continues to grumble reasons to justify why having me as a brother is a pain in the ass making me give nothing but a chuckle. No matter how much he acts annoyed at me, I know I'm still his favorite sibling. I was the one who took care of him when he was younger after all. "You should've just went to the closest university from our home. It's a pain driving to the airport everytime you go home." Listen to this child. It's not like he's been driving for long. He had just gotten his license this year. It's been Papa or Dad picking me up at the airport while he grumbles at the backseat. Oh, what  cute, little kid he is.

"So? What's the answer?"

He frown some more before finally replying. "I'm gay."

"Oh." I let the word hang just for the fun of it. I steal a glance at him and indeed, he's nervous. Why would he be? If I shame him for being gay then what does that make of me? We have two fathers as parents and I, had a fair share of my same-sex escapades hence the heartbreak I've been itching to tell them. "Let me guess, it was that small, little kid who was with you in the photo you uploaded? The one with glasses."

His silence echoes the answer.

I nod in appreciation. The kid's really cute, he was like Jules when we were younger. "Tell me more." This is his cue to actually dive in with the things he's been bottling up. We have always been open about our personal lives to our parents. We tell them many things from the small crushes to the budding love and they have always shared their experiences in return. It's our way of acknowledging each other as part of the family and having the validation that someone got our back no matter what happens in our lives and wherever it brings us but this bond we share between us is purely ours just like his with Hailey. 

As soon as he makes a turn on the highway and eases up with the drive, he starts to tell his story. "I knew him since freshmen. His name's Jasper. I didn't like his guts before, you know? He hates mine as well which makes sense because we're like in two different groups in school. I heard him calling me a dumb jock once and I got mad at him, I kissed him in the hallway to embarrass him." That wasn't the kind of encounter I was expecting but this is Aiden we're talking about. He's the embodiment of turbulence. "He cried then kicked me before running away. After that, I just felt guilty. I asked Dad and Papa what to do and they told me to talk to him and apologize."