Quid Pro Quo

So, it was possible that Remy liked Emmitt a little more than he thought. It was a strange thing, the line between friendship and a romantic relationship, Remy thought.

"Romantic partners were basically friends; they just did... sexual activities," Remy thinks. "But, like, you were supposed to prioritize them above your other friends? Or maybe you weren't? Like, what's the line here? I like Emmitt as a friend, and I also like kissing him. But then, what about my other friends? I also like Landon, and I imagine kissing him would be good, too (which is a weird thing to think about). So, like, is there a difference between having a crush on someone and liking someone as a friend but also liking kissing them? Does that even make sense?"

Remy had just spiraled into a mess of thoughts and was trying to make sense of the hurricane of words that was currently rampaging through his brain.

Allen walked back into the room, asking, "Are you dressed?"

Remy threw on his shirt that was on the floor before answering, "Yeah."

"Um. That was awkward. I mean, obviously. I'm just putting it out there. And I am very sorry to have interrupted that little... whatever between you two."

"Yeah. Thanks, I guess? Sorry to you too. I didn't think that was gonna happen, or I would've locked the door."

"Well, I have a room key so that wouldn't do much good. Do we need some kind of code? Like, you could slide something small under the door so I know not to come in, or to at least knock first."

"I don't plan on that happening again."

"Still. It can't hurt to have a little warning outside the door just in case. I've already seen more than I ever wanted to."

"Uh, okay."

"Hey, do you have Roblox?"

"That game for little kids?"

"No," he said defensively. "There's plenty of teenagers that play it, too."

"Is that what you tell yourself?"

"Do you want to play or not?"

Remy sighed, "Seeing as I have nothing else to do, sure."

They spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening on Roblox, playing games that mostly involved shooting people.

Remy could have chosen to feel weird about what happened, but when he thought about it, Emmitt had kissed him, meaning he wanted that. And if they both wanted that to happen, then there was no need to feel awkward. Right?

The next day, Remy decided he wanted to talk to Landon. He didn't know why; he just felt like it. He walked to his room, which was just down the hall. He was pretty surprised that he never bumped into him the first week he moved in considering how close they lived.

When he knocked, a boy he knew to be Landon's roommate answered. He just pointed over to Landon, then walked back to his bed. Landon was lying in his own bed, watching something on his phone with a depressed look on his face. He glanced up at Remy, then pulled his covers over his head, blocking himself from view.

Remy walked over to him and threw the blanket off. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes," he replied, reaching for the blanket to cover himself again.

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, staring at his bed sheets to avoid eye contact.

"We could go somewhere more private."

Landon just petulantly shook his head.

"What if I were willing to tell you something?"

"Tell me what?"

"Something I'd rather not talk about either."

That offer seemed to intrigue him, "Okay. It's a deal." He looked to his roommate. "Nathan, get out. We need to talk privately."

"What? This is my room, too. You can go somewhere else."

"Ugh, fine. Let's go, Rem."

He led him to the bathroom, reminding them both of the first day they met. After checking that no one else was in there, they began speaking.

"Okay, so if I tell you my thing, you have to promise me you'll tell me yours."

Landon thought it over, "We'll see how interesting it is to me, and then I'll consider it."

"Oh, it's pretty interesting."

"Then go ahead."

Remy wasn't sure why, but he was weirdly comfortable with telling Landon. He was one of his best friends, and he knew he'd be cool about the whole thing. Turning around so he wouldn't have to face him, he said, "I kissed Emmitt."

"Holy fuck! That is not what I was expecting!"

Remy turned around, face red. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, something less interesting. You don't look like a guy that has cool secrets. No offense."

Not sure what he meant by that, he said, "Uh, none taken. So what's your secret?"

"No, hold on. I'm not done. I have questions. Was it good? Emmitt looks like a good kisser. I don't know why, he just does."

Face burning, Remy said, "Yeah. It was good."

"I knew it! So how far did it go? Was it just like a few seconds or was it a full-on makeout?"

"I'm not answering that! I don't ask you about what you and Renee do. Now tell me what's got you in a bad mood."

"Oh. Yeah," he said as if he forgot about the deal. "Damn it, now I wish I had gone first. That really cheered me up... So, me and Renee had our three-year anniversary yesterday."

Remy blurted, "You guys didn't break up, did you?"

"No. Actually I... Okay, before I tell you anything, I need you to promise not to judge me. What I did was really, really stupid. So please don't judge."

"Um... no promises."

"Whatever. Remy... I asked her to marry me." He put his hands up to defend himself. "Please don't judge me!"

"What?! That... Yeah, I have to admit that's pretty crazy. Why did you do that?"

"I didn't plan on it. We were just talking about the future, and I was thinking of how much I love her, and we've been together for three years, so why not?"

"Maybe because you're in your first year of college."

"Yeah, I know. But I wasn't thinking about any of that. I just love her a lot, and after what happened to her, I just want her to know how much she means to me."

"Then you take her on a nice date and tell her that, not propose marriage!"

"I know! If I could take it back, I would!"

"What did Renee say?"

"Well, like, she was very sweet about it. She was like, 'Oh, Landon, I love you too, but I'm not ready to get married yet, and I don't think you are either.' And obviously, she's right! What was I thinking?"

"At least you guys are still together. And, it does sound really bad, but I think it's more embarrassing than it is awful. You'll get over it. I mean, I'll still bring it up and make fun of you for it, but you'll get over it."

Ignoring his teasing, Landon said, "Thanks. That helps, but I can't stop from cringing every time I think about it. Like, who does that?"

"Well, can you see yourself being with her forever?"

Landon thought seriously for a moment, "Yeah."

"Then you weren't that far off. Just think about it again when you actually have a job or something."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I have a job."

"Where? McDonald's?"

"No, it's at Dairy Queen. And they treat me very well there."

"Uh, okay. I kind of lost track of what we were doing with this conversation."

Landon looked down at him in mock sympathy. "Just got lost in trying to roast me?"

Remy pouted at him, "Yeah."

"Oh, it's okay, little guy. You'll get me next time."

Dropping the act, Remy asked, "Can we get out of the bathroom now?"