“What have I done? Why did I do that?” Gowan’s thoughts plagued him as he stared at Cliff’s back.

 “ Cliff I-”  Gowan was interrupted by the small sloppy laughter brought by the petite male.

“Am I...Am I too boring for you… Gowan?”

“N-No, of course not!”

Cliff turned back to face Gowan and walked towards him with pools in his eyes.

“Am I not pretty enough? Do I need to have millions of dollars to get you to just tell me what’s going on?”

Gowan’s throat closed and he was left speechless under the menacing glare given by Cliff. 

“What did I do wrong?!? Tell me what...what do I need to do…what I need to BE...”

Cliff stepped forward even closer to Gowan.

“To make you like me?”

 He finally took a breath and said “Cliff...You know I care about you…” He reached to wipe Cliff’s tears away with his thumb but the petite man slapped his hand away.

“ NO!”

“DON’T DO THAT!”

“STOP THAT!”

“DON’T JUST CRUSH MY HEART THEN SUDDENLY CARE ABOUT ME!”

“I didn't try to hurt you!”

“THEN WHY! You know I like you...I like you alot...why? Tell me Gowan. WHY!”

Gowan choked once more. He didn’t want to admit the fact that he was in love with him too. He could still hear the echoes of his parent’s voices in the back of his head. Cliff’s face turned from sadness to disgust and he said “Nevermind, I know why already…”

Cliff places his pointer finger at Gowan’s chest and shouted “IT’S BECAUSE YOU JUST WANT EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF!”

“YOU GOT TIRED OF ME AND MOVED ON THE NEXT HEART TO BREAK!”

Gowan gave Cliff a scowl. Cliff said even louder “It's ALWAYS about YOU! I always get whatever you want, You want another chick? You go for it!”

Gowan retaliated and said “No...You don’t know ANYTHING about me…”

“Oh I know a lot about you, Sir Westerly. I know you’re just some stuck up rich dude that came from a family that won’t even acknowledge your existence and that’s why you became such a 

LOUSY

 MORON!”

“ No…”

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE!” Gowan said with a crack in his voice.

“You’ve had a loving family since day one and you were never told to act a certain way! You have people who actually love you...and...care…” Gowan starts to tear up as well.

“My classmates used to make fun of me too you know! There you go again thinking that YOU are the only one having a hard time! And…”

Cliff gritted his teeth. “Goddamit Gowan…”

“*I* LOVE YOU!”

Gowan’s eyes widened in shock. He looks directly at Cliff’s eyes which are now red and puffy from all the tears.

“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, GOWAN! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS!”

“From day one I gave you my heart...and look what you did with it…you threw it away”

Cliff grabbed the collars of Gowan’s suit and said in a low whisper: “You threw me away…”

Gowan’s head was rumbling with all sorts of thoughts and emotions. Him? Love me? No...No one can ever love me...I am unlovable...he’s just stupid… “No...You can’t...possibly love me…”

“I DO, GOWAN! GOD WHY ARE YOU SO DUMB!”

“NO! GET OFF ME!”

Gowan pushed Cliff off him. He pushed him so hard Cliff fell onto the pavement, scraping his hands.

“No...I don’t need friends...I don’t need you...I am strong...I can do this on my own…” Gowan said while panting. His parent’s voice is not an echo anymore. It’s as clear as day now, berating him, picking him apart.

Although his hands were scraped, Cliff mustered all his strength to crawl to Gowan.  “G-Gowan...I...l-love …”

Gowan knew what he needed to do. He opened his lips, stared directly into Cliff’s eyes and said…

“You’re fired.”

Cliff’s lay knelt there on the ground in total shock. “Wh-what...Gowan y-you can’t ju-”

“Oh yes I can. I am your boss. I get to do what I want. That’s what I love doing right? Getting everything I want right? Well this is what I want.”

Cliff couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew it. He knew Gowan hated him now. He felt so ashamed and worthless, his heart was pounding so fast it could leap out of his chest at any moment.

Gowan didn’t say anything anymore. He walked past Cliff who was kneeling and walked inside the house. After a few seconds, he came out again with the three body guards behind him.

Iron saw Cliff on the ground and asked him: “S-sir Jenkins...are you alright?”. He held his hand out to help Cliff but the petite male just gritted his teeth and stood up on his own. He looked into Gowan’s dull lifeless eyes that were once a beautiful shade of blue.

He couldn’t bear the weight of Gowan’s gaze and just buried back into his home. All Gowan could do was stare at the petite man and walk away inside.

Gowan turned around and started to walk away from the home. After a few seconds, he felt something soft hit the back of his head and after, a door slamming shut.

He turned around and looked at the ground.

Gowan’s lifeless eyes started to tear up again as he muttered the words… “Stop crying Gowan you’re a boy...Stop crying Gowan you’re a boy...s-stop...crying….Gowan you’re a....boy...”

His tears fell from his chin.

And onto the pastel purple T-rex shaped pillow that lay on the ground.