*[ ] Indicate Russian is being spoken *

I wake up to the sounds of the bed creaking, I feel a hand on my forehead. 

“[Sweetie? Do you feel better?]” Nana comforts. I flutter my eyes open, Nana’s expression matches her tone. 

“[Oh, your eyes are red and puffy…Did your stomach hurt that bad?]” She frowns. I place my hand on hers as she cups my face. 

“[I’m okay now, Nana],” I reassure her but it doesn’t seem to do much. 

“[Was it from the food?]” She asks. I shake my head, 

“No no, [It wasn’t…Don’t worry, I’m better now],” I tell her with a soft smile.  

She furrows her eyebrows before giving me a light smack on the head. “[Don’t scare your Nana like that again. I would’ve been known as the crazy old lady who poisoned her grandson!]” She jokes. I shake my head at her absurd thoughts with a large smile. 

I sit up on the bed when she suddenly becomes silent. She observes me sharply, eventually letting out a deep sigh. She grabs my hand, “[...you know you can always talk to me, Kian, right]?”

I give her a puzzled look but before I can respond, Dad comes into the room. “Kian, do you feel better?” I nod as Nana gets up from the bed. 

“[Are you getting ready to leave, Alex]?” She asks him. 

“[Yeah, it’d be better to leave before the rush hour],” he explains. The two continue to talk as I head into the bathroom to freshen up. I feel very…indifferent after everything that happened last night. 

With all the thoughts and feelings I came to admit, it’s like none of it happened. I guess nothing is supposed to change…I’m still me. But I did decide last night to immediately meet up with Mateo when I get home. He’s the only option, anyway. 

***

The door swings open, and I see Mateo. “So? How was the date?” He says with a cheeky smile, utterly eager to hear what happened. I did tell Mateo and the girls the date got cut short because of the dinner, but I never got back to them.

I walk inside and look around the house, disregarding what he said, “Is Abuelo home?” 

“No, he and Martina went to the store, why?” He says, quite confused. I let out a huff and sat on the sofa. Mateo follows in silence as I try to collect my thoughts. I don’t know where to start…

I know Mateo would be far from unsupporting, but I never voiced my thoughts. Hell, I just had everything happen last night–

“Kian? Are you alright?” He asks, waving his hand in front of my face. I let out a sigh, I should just tell him. No more stalling, I’ve done that for too long already. 

“I think I’m–,” I stop and look at Mateo before continuing, “...I’m bisexual." I feel a sense of relief as I say those words to him and myself. "I always knew, but I didn't want to admit it.” 

I glance at him, Mateo's expression is soft. Over the years we've known each other, we've been able to express our emotions with no problem…but this feels different. 

"I know this is sudden, but I thought I should–”

“No-no, it’s alright…I’m glad you told me,” he reassures.

I let out a sigh, “Does it ever get easier?" I ask as my voice shakes. 

The boy looks down. "I-I don't know," he says. We both stay silent for a moment. 

Eventually, I told him everything that happened at dinner and the overflowing thoughts. It wasn't easy, but I don't regret telling him. 

Though halfway in, we decided to lighten the mood by shifting topics because it got too gloomy…

"Julien? You liked Julien Harris?" Mateo grills, acting like he didn't hear me the first time. 

"Yes, him," I huff. I already know what he's gonna say, hell I don't even blame him!

"He was so fucking annoying, why him of all people??" He scowls.

"That was all in the past, okay? My standards have improved and now I'm interested in Caitlin…and she seems really cool," I explain with a slight blush forming. 

Mateo shakes his head, "I hope so–I still can't believe you liked fucking Julien!" He's still caught up on this?

"Dude, I don't know what you want me to tell you. I thought he was cute!" 

"The boy literally drowned himself in Axe body spray, please tell me what about him was cute," Mateo tells me with the most deadpan expression.

I rub my temple and let out a sigh, "Okay, but don't act like you didn't like Rahim–"

"Don't test me, Kian," he threatens. 

"You're going to act like he wasn't the most naive boy ever?" 

"Okay, so what? Maybe I'm into himbos. At least he isn't an asshole like Julien!" Before Mateo and I could go for each other's throats, I got a call. 

"You're lucky you got saved," I scoff.

"Shut the fuck up," he huffs. I chuckle, reaching for my phone in my pocket when I see it's from Caitlin.

"Oh shit, it's Caitlin!" I exclaim. Mateo hovers over the screen. 

"Well, what are you waiting for? Answer the phone!" He says, cheering me on. I really hope that he doesn't do something dumb…

"Hello?" I answer, trying my best not to sound nervous. 

"Hey! Am I calling at a bad time?" She hums. I suddenly notice a cheeky grin spread across Mateo's face. Knowing how he is, I immediately ran away from him. 

"No no, you're good. What's up?" I ask, now hiding in the bathroom. 

"Right. I called because I want to take you out to the carnival on Friday," she explains. I feel my cheeks redden.

"O-oh." I'm so fucking stupid. I hear Caitlin chuckle on the phone.

"Is that a yes–"

"Yes, yes. I mean, yeah." Seriously, why am I like this?

"I was also wondering if you'd want to bring your friends, too. You've already met mine so I'd like to meet yours," she suggests.

I blush like an idiot, unable to wrap my brain around it. Though, I snap out of it and agree with the idea.

"Perfect!... I can't wait to see you," she flirts before hanging up the phone. She knows what she's doing and fuck, it's working. 

Once I’m not tomato red anymore, I open the door only to see Mateo right against it. The boy trips, but acts as if nothing happened.

"So?" He hums. 

"I hate you."