Chapter 20

Author's POV

"Lan I swear to God if you don't get your ass down here you are walking to school! "Nate yelled at the top of his lungs. He stood down close to the staircase, headphone clung in his neck.

He kept tapping his feet on the ground staring at the stairs.

Light feet padded down the stairs. The sound kept getting closer till the person was in his view.

Nate chocked on his saliva when he saw Lan.

"What the fuck did you do to yourself!"Nate asked with rounded eyes.

Lan shifted on his feet. He scratched his ear, cheeks tinted red.

"W-what rubbish are you talking about?"He stuttered.

Nate laughed out pointing at his face.

"I-is t-that m-make up you have on?!"He gasped trying to control his laughter.

"I thought you weren't talking to me,let's just go"

Lan walked passed him heading for the front door. He halted when he realized he forgot something.

"Bye Mom!"he yelled and walked out of the door even though he got no response in return.

Nate shook his head in amusement and followed him out.

The ride to school was a disaster for Lan, Nate kept glancing at him chuckling at every interval making him feel uncomfortable.

"So..tell me why the new look?"Nate asked driving.

Lan rolled his eyes and fixed his hair in the mirror.

"Not your business" he replied.

"On the contrary it is. You're my brother I don't want anyone associating madness with me."he shrugged.

" I wonder what womb you crawled out from" Lan scoffed unamused.

"Oh so you finally found your snarky personality again. Good for you"He mocked him.

Lan ignored him staring at the road till they reached school.

He opened his side of the door about to come down when Nate held his arm.

"Please don't come close to me today,I don't want anyone laughing at me" He pleaded with round eyes.

Lan's nose flared. He pulled his hand out of his hold and jumped down from the car banging the door hard.

"Spoil my door and you're working your ass off to repair it!"Nate yelled.

Every eyes kept turning towards him as he walked towards his locker. He held his bag straps uncomfortable with the stares.

"Did I perhaps overdo it?"he mumbled to himself.

Snarky comments and few laughters were going around . He tuned down their voices and walked towards his locker.

He opened his locker pulling out the subjects for the day.

"Hey La.... Oh fuck!"Pearl covered her mouth in shock as she stared at his face.

"W-what did you do to your face Lan?"She asked looking shocked.

Lan kept pinching his fingers looking awkward.

"Makeup. I-i umm.. watched the tutorial this morning so I decided to try it out. Is it that bad?" He asked with sad eyes.

Pearl sighed and pulled him towards the toilet.

Once they got in,she locked the door and pulled him to the mirror.

"When I talked about you accepting who you're I didn't talk about you applying makeup!"She flared her nose looking like a disappointed mother.

"But I wanted to--"

"No buts"she cut him off. "These have to go. The hairstyle I like,the new dressing style, amazing but makeup nah ah. You're gay doesn't mean you must apply make-up. You're pretty on your own. Thank goodness Mark didn't see you in this or else the poor boy would have fainted from shock."

She pulled out her make-up kit from her bag and wiped all the make up off his face.

She ruffled his hair a little and dabbed some water on it.

"You now look like the Lan I know"she blew a kiss at him.

Lan sighed in disappointment.

'Is that enough though?' he asked himself.

He stared at his now plain face unhappy. All the imperfections he wanted to hide are out on the open. He doesn't want Mark to see him like that. This is his first date and he wants it to work so bad.

"Stop looking so disappointed. You look amazing like this. Plus Mark's gonna trip once he sets his eyes on you" She wiggled her brows at him.

Lan blushed setting his worries aside.

The bell rang and they made their way to their first class.

The day went by slowly more slow than Lan would like. He kept watching the clock instead of focusing on his class.

He nibbled on his lips anxiously. Once the bell rang,he sprang from his seat and ran out of the class leaving Pearl behind.

He ran till he reached the gym room. He pushed the door open panting.

It was empty with no sign of Mark. He checked his watch and sat down on a bench waiting for Mark.

His anxiety and nervousness sky rocketed when the door screeched open.

Mark stood close to the door a smile on his face. He approached Lan and sat down beside him.

"Hi"he said smiling at him.

Lan blushed awkwardly replying "Hello"

They both sat awkwardly next to each other not knowing how to start a conversation.

Mark scratched his head and took the lead.

"Let's go..I have an amazing spot you'd love to see"he said standing up.

" Okay"Lan stood beside him holding his bag strap.

Mark with gittering nerves pulled his hand from the bag strap and held it.

Lan was a mess on the inside,his hands were clammy and wet.

Embarrassed he pulled his hand away and cleaned it on his jean.

"I-i'm sorry just nervous."he stuttered out an apology.

Mark scratched his head and chuckled " Well that would make two of us then" he said

"You're nervous too?"lan asked surprised.

" Yup. Maybe even more than you" Mark laughed.

Lan smiled and shyly held his hand this time.

They linked their fingers together their cheeks tinted red.

Mark led him out of the gym room where they sneaked passed a few students and followed the backyard jumping out of the school into the forest close by.

"Where do they think you went?"Lan asked as he admired the scenery.

"Home. I told them we had an emergency at home"Mark shrugged.

" We are almost there. You'd love it. its my favorite place to be" His teeth were in display as he smiled.

Lan hummed walking with him. They reached an area where the grasses were leveled. It was an open space overseeing the sky. Everywhere was calm and quiet. Only the sounds of birds quirking could be heard.

"Do you smell it?"Mark asked closing his eyes.

"Smell what?"Lan asked as he tried sniffing the air but couldn't make out anything.

"Peace"Mark replied. A smile stretched on his face. His eyes closed in pure bliss.

Lan stared at his face admiring every curve of his face.

"Try it. Close your eyes"

He closed his eyes as instructed and tried being in tune with his environment. His senses were on high alert. He could smell the fresh air . He felt at peace here.

"I can smell it. At first I thought it sounded weird" he chuckled.

Mark opened his eyes, his entire focus was on his face. He couldn't tear his gaze away from him.

Lan opened his eyes and caught him staring at him.

His cheeks burned in embarrassment as he rubbed his neck.

"Let's lie down"

They both laid down on the grass staring at the sky. The sky was so blue with the sun high shining on their faces.

"I know this was not what you expected but I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable with anything over the top."Mark said explaining himself.

" No. It's beautiful. This is exactly what I wanted"Lan smiled at him holding his hand.

Mark's eyes held relief.

"Would you like to know when I started having feelings for you?"Mark asked out of the blue staring at Lan's eyes.

Lan nodded not taking his eyes off him.

"The first day I met you. You were looking like a mess on your couch. I came over that day to meet Nate." A smile grazed his face as he recalled the memory.

Lan's eyes rounded "You had feelings for me since then?!"he asked surprised.

Mark scratched his ears "Yeah...but I didn't accept it though. I mean you're a guy and I was at that phase where I denied my sexuality. I always believed I liked only girls so at that moment I thought I was confused"he chuckled.

" Actually Damon was the one who helped me see that my confusion actually was love and nothing else"He said.

" Damon? He knows about us?"Lan asked in sheer surprise.

Mark chuckled"No. He actually helped me understand my feelings without realizing it" his lips pulled up.

Lan stared at him confused but Mark didn't explain.

"So....does anyone know that you're gay or about us?"Lan asked changing the topic.

Mark hummed " My mom knows that I am bisexual but no one knows about us. "He replied.

Lan etched his brow at his statement "Is their a difference between being gay and bisexual?"he asked.

Mark thought for a moment before he replied

"Well they are all addressed as being gay,but bisexuals are not only attracted to a man but also a woman while homosexuals are only attracted to a man but I guess they are all called gay in general term. In this time and age no one care if you're bi or not,they all see it as being gay which is right I guess." He shrugged looking back up at the sky.

Lan hummed agreeing to him.

" Hey Lan..." Mark called out turning to stare at his face.

"Am I your first?"he asked. His voice low as his eyes glistened with hope.

Lan's cheeks burned red as he nodded "Yes" he replied.

"Good..."Mark replied. His face stretched in a full blown smile.

"Do you ever feel scared at the thought of people finding out that you're gay?"Lan asked

. Deep down within he was scared of anyone finding out about his sexuality. How would they treat him, especially his brother.

"Yes. When I came out to my mum I was scared that she'd flip or disown me but she was very accepting of it. She wasn't in support though but she never once asked me to change" Mark said beaming with happiness at the thought of his mother.

"That must have been nice" Lan said looking dejected.

Mark caught the sadness in his tune . He held his cheeks warmly and stared into his eyes.

"I'm sure you mom would love you regardless"he smiled at him.

" What about Nate and the rest of the world?"Lan asked looking scared.

" Nate has always been a jerk and the world can go f*ck themselves." Mark stared at him with determination in his eyes.

Lan felt warm inside by his words that his eyes watered.

"We will do this together. We will come out to everyone together but at the right time okay. For now let's keep it between us"Mark said.

Lan nodded "..and Pearl"he added smiling cheekily.

Mark chuckled as well "and Pearl."he added