"Daa...dad?..."

"Who are you talking about?" Dad's intimidating  blue eyes pierced me with fear. He was dressed in his pastor clothing. 

I hid the flower behind my back.

Before I could get a word out he said, "You aren't talking about that fag looking kid with the piercings and flashy clothes are you?!"

I. Was. Furious.

But I had to hold it in.

"No dad. And his name is Luke." I couldn't look my own father in the eyes.

"Luke, Dale, Bill, it's all the same to me." He stepped forward.

"And you missed youth again. You WILL start going. You should go and meet new friends, children of Christ, and forget about that queer looking kid and the chink with the loud mouth.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!......and this man is a pastor?!?"

I wanted so bad to scream. To punch him. To leave and never come back.

"Luke...Haru...." I could feel the tears of anger and helplessness welling up again.

I ran up the stairs to my room.

"Coy!.....Micah Coy Evans!!" 

I slammed my door.

Huff Huff Huff  

I slid down the door covering my face with my hands. I started crying harder than I ever have in my life.

I let out a quiet scream.

"Luke...Haru..I'm so fucking sorry..."

"AHHHH!!!!!"

I couldn't hear my father coming after me like he usually did when we fought.

"Ha! He must have gone back to the church to play dress up and pretend to be a decent person."

"Dammit.."

I looked at the Cherry Blossom for what felt like the 100th time. I thought about throwing it away.

Then...I looked at my closet and I slowly rose.

I got out the stool hidden under my bed and got the "Treasure Box" out of the back.

I pulled out my thickest BL novel and opened it up.

Inside were the other flowers that Jordan had gave me.

When I was 7 years old my parents and I, dressed in black, went to the smallest flower shop in town to pick out flowers for my grandmothers funeral. 

It took a lot of effort to keep from crying, but after I entered the shop as soon as my parents walked away, the tears started to slowly come out. 

"What's the point of even buying flowers when they will just wilt and die?"  I mumbled.

"Just like grandmother."

I turned to the wall and began to cry. Then ball harder but silently.

"It's true that eventually they will wilt and die." Came a voice that startled me.

The voice came from a very pretty woman with white blonde hair pulled up in a loose bun.

"But let me show you something. I'm the owner of this store...well my husband and I are, he's just away for flower pick up." She laughed softly then she smiled a sweet, genuine smile. 

Next she grabbed a random thick book on flowers and opened it up. 

Inside was a rose pressed neatly against the pages, still a beautiful red.

"If you press them in a book like so, their vibrant spirit will stay and they will be with you always." She wiped my tears.

"What's going on over there?" Asked my dad looking around. Most likely to make sure that no one from the congregation was there to see his embarrassment of a son.

At 7 fucking years old.

"Oh Heavens no Pastor Rodger!...He's just having a mild allergic reaction! We might be the smallest shop around, but as you loyal customers know, we have the vastest collection of plants in the county! Some of the plants are even from the other side of the world!" She smiled but this time her smile looked strained...as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. 

"Now that I think back, it was probably a fuck you smile."

"Is that so...well hurry up and come.." He said coldly turning around.

"Tch...disgraceful." He mumbled.

"Listen..." She said as she wiped the rest of my tears. "Sometimes we have to hide who we are and what we are feeling...it isn't right but it's something we must do so that we can rise above." She smiled that genuine smile once more as I nodded, faked the best smile I could, and began to walk away.

As I started to walk out I heard her call for me and I turned back around.

She said, "I have twin boys your age, you should come by on the weekends when they are out of school. They come to help in the shop. Well the best that they can anyway.. hehe. "

"Coy c'mon!" Came my father's voice. I'll never forget the look on her face as I was leaving. The look of pity, of sadness for me.

"Damn...I haven't thought about that in a long time....I feel bad for not ever going back....I could of made new friends..but after that came the time when my father first started to quarantine me."

I slowly peeled back some of the flowers that Jordan had given me one at a time. They were still very much vibrant.

"Well, they are also not that old so that makes sense." I thought.

I looked at the title of the BL novel that I had grabbed.

Haha..

Hahaha

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

"I'll be damned...how ironic.." I laughed as a few tear drops fell on the pages.

The title: "Basketball Lovers"

"Well might as well re-read it."

I read clear into the night.

It wasn't until a certain someone's nick name popped up on the caller ID on my cellphone that I remembered very important plans that night. 

I answered in a shaky voice. "He...hello?"

"you're an hour late for a "certain" event." Said Jordan.

Ba-Thump Ba-Thump Ba-Thump!

"His voice is so much deeper on the phone...it makes me feel...strange......strange and tingly.."

"Do you not care if your secret gets spread around?" 

"I don't." I managed to squeeze out. I was about to burst like a dam. It took everything I had to hold back.

".......What??" Answered Jordan

"I'm so sorry.." I whimpered.

I covered my red, hot face.

"....Coy...hang on.."

"I'm sorry that I ruined our plans!...I'm so sorry Jordan. I'm sorry that I made you wait!...I'm...I'm just so fucking sorry!" 

It was no use....I began to ball.

"I have shown my most shameful side to this guy...to THIS guy..."

"Coy....keep your window unlocked tonight."