In the weeks that followed everything seemed bright. Corey and I basically acted like really good friends in school. I met his friends and he met mine. We tried to distance ourselves somewhat so as to not attract suspicion, which was fine with me. I was going to let him take his time with this. During free periods, which coincided with Scott's we would hang, only then could we be ourselves. Corey knew of Angela but seeing as he wasn't really friends with her, he didn't feel a need to tell her about our relationship, which I respected. Yeah everything looked good.
It was a Saturday and I was sitting in Corey's car, heading out of town. He had told me that he wanted to bring me somewhere, not saying anything more.
"C'mon dude, at least tell me where we're going. I mean you can keep all the activities information to yourself." I pushed.
"It's somewhere that I spent a good portion of my childhood, how about that." He teased. It was one vague answer after the next. My guess was that it was a park or something he used to go when he was younger but I couldn't be sure. To be honest, he could bring to the lamest place in the world but I would have still enjoyed myself, as long as I could spend time with him. I just hoped I was dressed for the occasion. I was wearing a black hoodie over a simple t-shirt and a pair of khakis. I looked over at Corey and he was dressed to a similar degree, a white graphic t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans.
During the hour drive, we kept playing stupid driving games. The radio was blasting music in the background and we would start singing along to the song in exaggerated ways. I was laughing so hard my sides hurt.
"We're almost there." He said. I looked out the window and realized we were driving through a suburban area. As if reading my mind, he answered my question. "We're in Santa Fe if you are wondering." Santa Fe? I thought about any link to this place and anywhere he has mentioned. Only one came to mind and my eyes widened. "Surprise?" He said, sheepishly.
"You're bringing me to your parents'?" He kept quiet. "Don't tell me you..."
"Well you told me to plan my next one so this is what I'm doing."
"Dude why are you rushing this? I can tell you are not fully confortable about doing this yet." I said. It was true, his face showing very subtle hints of nervousness.
"I'm doing it for us." He said. I sighed, part of me wanted to kiss him and part of me wanted to smack him.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I. Can. Wait. I'm not even pushing you to do it."
"But I'm pushing myself. I'm also doing this for me. I need to do it sooner or later, I might as well do it now." He said. I sighed once again and looked out my window. He drove another 2 minutes before stopping in front of a suburban home. I looked at him and waited, him looking at his hands on the steering wheel. "I know I should have told you but I thought you would refuse to come."
"Yeah no duh. Corey, coming out to your parents is something you need to be fully prepared with. And to be honest, my being there might provoke a wrong response." I said, putting my hand on his arm.
"I needed support."
I sighed. "I'll be right there with you." I said. He looked over at me and smiled weakly. I rubbed his arm and gave him a chaste kiss. I left the car, followed shortly by him. He led the way up the lawn to the porch. The house was a typical suburban home; A green lawn with a single pathway leading to a sheltered porch. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. He gave me a nervous glance and waited for someone to open the door.
"I've got it mom." I heard a voice, which probably belonged to Corey's younger brother, coming from inside the house. The door opened and there stood a teenager that was no doubt Corey's brother. He had similar facial features, although his hair was a light chestnut instead of black like Corey's.
"Hey bro. I've missed you." He said, hugging his brother tight.
"Hey man, how've you been?" Corey was grinning as he broke their embrace.
"You know, school sucks and all that." Corey laughed, ruffling his brother's hair. It was at this moment that his brother saw me standing there.
"Oh Zack, this is Kyle, friend from school. Kyle this is my brother, Zack." Corey said, introducing us to each other. Zack's eyes moved between Corey and me a second before he smiled and waved a 'hey' before turning and heading into the house announcing Corey's arrival.
I followed Corey into his home and saw his mom coming out of the kitchen, giving Corey a hug. "Oh honey, I missed you. How's everything at college?" She asked. She was a petite woman, no more than 5'6". Her red hair fell in waves over her shoulder, framing her face, which had hints of a once very stunning girl.
"Fine." He replied. His dad sat in the living room, in a recliner. "Hey dad."
"Hey buddy." His father replied, not taking his eyes off the newspapers he was reading. His black hair had streaks of grey in it, the only indication that we was older than he looked. His face, from what I could see looked like one of someone at least 10 years younger.
"Oh and who is this?" His mother asked, noticing my presence.
"Oh this is Kyle, friend of mine." He said. I smiled and muttered my greetings. His mother's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, really slightly before greeting me.
"So where is this Kayla?" His mother asked Corey. Kayla? I raised my eyebrow. Things were getting weirder.
"Oh uh...she got held up. She'll be here soon." He said, taking a sideways glance at me. I crossed my arms. He was hiding something and I had a pretty good idea what.
"How about you two catch up while I give Kyle a tour of the house." Zack interjected.
"That would be great. Thanks hun." His mother said, ushering Corey in the direction of his father.
"So how about I give you the upstairs tour first." Zack said, proceeding up the stairs. I followed him, still trying to wrap my mind around Corey lying about a fake girlfriend. "So this is my room." He opened the door and I looked in. My mouth dropped, I mean it was a teenager's dream room. I mean everything from the 42" flat screen on the wall connected to video game consoles of all sorts, to the double sofa bed across it. Hanging on the wall was a couple of skateboards, whether for use or merely décor I couldn't tell. A desktop with two 21" screens sat on the desk in the corner, beside it a whole selection of various DVDs. "Nothing much." He said, nonchalantly.
"Nothing much? Dude I would have killed to have a room like this." I said.
"I do some freelance video production so I get some extra cash now and then." He said. "C'mon I'll show you Corey's old room." We left the room and heading down the hall, passing a door on the left. "Parent's room. Out of bounds." He said, pointing to the room we just passed before coming to a stop at the room furthest down the hall. He opened the door and I followed him in. It was a lot less tricked out compared to Zack's but went for something a lot homier. I heard the door close behind me and I turned, seeing Zack take a seat on his brother's bed.
"Why'd you close the door?" I asked.
