I had never met a guy like Sky. He was so... adorable. He was so innocent and somehow pure, like he was a small child. All my friends ever talked about was sex and parties and everything they were too young to even understand yet. Most of them didn’t even have girlfriends yet, and the only time they had tasted alcohol was when their dads had let them have a tiny sip from their beer.

But Sky wasn’t like that. It was really refreshing to be around him. He reminded me of the times when I was still playing with my transformers and action figures. He reminded me of the time when I was building the tree house with my mom.

I felt like I was a child again, just a little kid who didn’t have to worry about grades or being better than the rest of the students so I could get in to the best schools and get the best education so I could be an architect when I’d be all grown up.

It was really nice to not worry about future, and just be a teenager.

“So, how many times have you been here?” I asked, and turned around to see Sky.

He looked miserable, but I didn’t understand why. He’d been laughing just now. Did I say something wrong?

I was walking backwards to see him, forgetting that I wasn’t on a sidewalk. I suddenly tripped over a branch that was lying on the ground, and I would’ve fallen on my butt if Sky hadn’t grabbed my hand in time.

“Jeez – thanks,” I laughed with a racing heart.

“Watch where you’re going, city-boy,” Sky giggled.

I laughed too, feeling happy to see him happy again. I wanted to ask why he had looked so sad a moment ago, but I wasn’t sure if I should, so I let it go.

“Smart-ass,” I chuckled, and turned to see where I was going.

“I don’t have much to do on my free-time,” Sky spoke hesitantly. “So I come here quite often.”

“I have never been in this part of the forest even though I’ve lived my whole life here,” I said, looking around. “Maybe I should have.”

The forest was really pretty, and I liked the peace and quiet. The air seemed so much cleaner too, even though it was kind of hard for me to breathe while we were walking the trail that was leading uphill the entire time. I thought I had great stamina, but I guess I was wrong. I used my most of my afternoons running around the football field and I still got out of breath! How was that even possible?

I was so deep in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed how quiet Sky was being. When I looked at him, he had that sad expression in his eyes again.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Oh – nothing,” Sky hurried to say, but he wasn’t looking in my direction.

“It’s obviously something,” I said. “If you want to talk, I will listen.”

“The barn is this way,” Sky said, and stepped on another trail that was hidden behind a huge oak on my left.

I followed him and asked him again if there was something bothering him.

“It’s just... I like hanging out with you,” he said timidly.

“But?” I encouraged him to carry on.

“I know I’m not much fun, and I know I’m a weirdo, so you don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me,” he spoke almost too quietly for me to hear.

“Hey – you are not a weirdo,” I told him. “I like your company because you are different.”

“By different, you mean weirdo,” Sky said.

“No, don’t put words in my mouth,” I told him sharply. “I like you the way you are. You’re not acting someone else, and I admire that,” I added with a kinder tone. “I wish I was more like you.”

“Are you acting someone else then?” Sky asked.

I laughed a little. “I don’t know,” I said quietly, and shook my head like it could somehow clear my thoughts.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Sky asked.

“Never mind,” I said with a smile. “How far is the barn?”

“It’s just up ahead,” Sky said, and pointed at what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Then he turned to look at me again. He hesitated a bit before he asked carefully, “Is there something bothering you?”

“No – I think it’s just the pressure...” I muttered.

“You can tell me anything,” Sky said. “If you want.”

“I will remember that,” I told him with a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, I just need a little break from everything. That’s why I want to enjoy this trip.”

Sky smiled back at me. “Sure!”

He took my hand and pulled me on another small path that was leading through thick bushes and big trees. It was really dark all around us, and I felt like we were passing through the gates of Narnia or something. I couldn’t see a damn thing behind the leaves and branches. I could only trust Sky not to run over a cliff and pull me down with him.

And then, all of a sudden, there was light everywhere. It was so bright I couldn’t see anything in the next few moments. Sky stopped to a halt, and I almost ran him over. He helped me to keep my balance, giggling cheerily.

“Here we are!” he said triumphantly.

When I could finally see, I noticed an old, red barn, and an unkempt field around it. There were wild flowers everywhere, and an old tractor close to the abandoned barn. There was an old road going up the hill behind the building, and on top of the hill, there was a partly destroyed house.

It was safe to say that no one had been there in years, except for us.

“Wow. How did you find this place?” I asked.

“I was wandering around,” Sky shrugged. “Come, let’s go take a look.”

He was still holding my hand when he led me closer to the barn. I heard birds and crickets and bees and other insects and animals while we sneaked closer. I felt like we were trespassing, but who would ever come there?

“Are you sure we can be here?” I asked, trying not to sound like a wuss.

“This doesn’t belong to anyone,” Sky said. “We are not trespassing.”

“You sound awfully sure about it,” I chuckled.

“I checked,” he said, and pulled me into the shadow of the barn. “There’s a door here, but it has collapsed. I think we might be able to move it out of the way if we work together, so we can get in.”

“Okay...” I muttered, and looked around.

I still felt like we were doing something illegal. Sky let go of my hand, and I helped him to move the heavy door just enough so we could get in. The barn was empty except for a few forgotten piles of hay. There were some rusted pitchforks on the wall, and a spare tire for the tractor, but nothing else.

“Look! I knew it!” Sky said enthusiastically while kneeling down. “There’re feathers and droppings everywhere! This must be where they are nesting.”

I wasn’t as enthusiastic about the bird poop, but I was relieved. Sky was looking up at the rafters, but I had no idea what he was looking at.

“There’s bats too,” he whispered.

“B-Bats?” I repeated in surprise.

“And some other birds. Mice, rats... There are no humans here, so the animals have taken this place. This is so exciting!” Sky said, turning to look at me with sparkling eyes.

“Bats and rats,” I muttered, and looked around. “I hope I don’t see any.”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of them?” Sky said, tilting his head.

“N-No! I’m not! But...” I looked around again, and saw a tiny skeleton close by. “Can we go out?”

I didn’t wait for his reply. I just stormed out. I felt dirty, like I’d just been rolling in the bird poop. I heard Sky following me at a much slower pace.

“You don’t have to go there if you don’t want to,” he said with a tiny voice.

I turned to look at him, and the disappointment on his face was clearly visible. I felt like I had just ruined his Christmas.

“I’m kind of afraid of rats,” I told him, and his expression dropped even more. “But I can do this! Don’t worry. They’re just rats, right? It’s not like they can bite hard or anything...”

I was trying to sound manlier than I felt. Sky looked at me for a short moment before he started to smile again.

“I’ll protect you,” he said reassuringly. “Don’t worry.”

I sighed in relief. I didn’t want to ruin this for him.

“I may be a city-boy, but I’m no coward,” I said, and hit my chest like Tarzan. “I can do this.”

Sky laughed cheerily and turned to look at the barn again. I sighed, but this time in amusement. I shook my head and looked at him when he couldn’t see me.

There was something I had never mentioned to anyone before. Heck – I hadn’t even admitted it to myself yet. I had tried my best to ignore it and pretend that I was just imagining things. But then Sky had popped in my life, and... I just liked to hang out with him. He was kind and funny and interesting... and cute. My goodness, he was cute!

It was then, at that moment, when I finally had to admit to myself, that I liked guys too.

I liked Sky.