And So It Began.... Part Fourteen (Kyle/Oliver, this part PG-13)
Fandom: One Life to Live
Pairing: Kyle Lewis and Oliver Fish
Rating: This part PG-13; R rated activities start up again in Part Fifteen
A/N: This chapter was inspired by Tuesday 10/27's show. Kyle said to Oliver: "Build what? Some secret that only a few of our friends can know about? I'm not going through that ag'in, okay?" I interpreted this to mean that some people, not a lot, knew or suspected they were together in college. As you can see, I'm trying to incorporate how that might've happened. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled smut next chapter. Thanks for such wonderful feedback! I really appreciate the comments and glad y'all are continuing to enjoy this!
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine
Part Ten
Part Eleven
Part Twelve"
Part Thirteen
Part Fourteen:
Why Do I Lie?
Luscious Jackson
Oliver steadied his bag. He threaded his way through tables and customers to the two people sitting in front of the window, sipping their coffees, laughing like old friends. Kyle looked happy talking to the girl at the table with him. It was the KΘ from the basketball game, the same girl who had taken Kyle to the Lover's Luau months ago. She was pretty. Athletic-looking, with her short blond hair and angular face. She had a friendly appearance to her.
And they were having the time of their life. Oliver wondered whether Kyle ever looked like that whenever they were together, joking around, having a laugh.
"Fish!"
Kyle had spotted him and was waving him over. Oliver grinned as he approached their table. There were two empty plates filled with crumbs, and their drinks were in front of them. Kyle was lounging in his chair, his legs wide apart, his wrist lazily draped over the plastic lid of his pumpkin spice latte with nonfat milk and no whipped cream. Oliver wanted to hit himself in the head -- he hated that he knew that.
He also noticed another large envelope sitting to the side. It had Kyle's name written on it in large letters. But as Oliver drew up to them, Kyle quietly pulled it aside and placed it on the shelf just below the large window. It didn't escape Oliver's attention, though.
"Hey. Uh, what's up Ky-, er, Lewis."
Kyle laughed and flipped his hand dismissively. "'S okay, Oliver. Relax. She's a friend."
"Oh... okay."
The blond-haired girl grinned and rolled her eyes. "Kyle and I don't keep any secrets about each other. And I still haven't bolted."
"How could you run away from this," Kyle asked, his drawl gravelly. He smirked, which made him look impossible and cocky.
"I'm Leslie, by the way. Leslie Kaplan." She held out a hand for Oliver to take, which he did, his grin awkwardly stuck to his face.
"Oliver Fish. Nice to meet you." He took a moment to assess her. Leslie seemed pleasant, but not in a fake, cloying way. Perhaps it was cool for her to know about Kyle because she didn't appear to be the type to needlessly gossip. And she did have a friendly appearance to her. Must've been her eyes, which were round and bright blue.
But if she knew about Kyle, then did she know about....
"She knows about you?"
Kyle kicked out the empty chair at the table and gestured for him to take a seat. "Slow your roll, Sherlock. Les and I went to high school together. She's the first person I ever told about me. And only me." He barely emphasized "only", but Oliver noticed it. He kept his eyes on Kyle as he sat down, but his guard was up.
"I've been his sounding board for so many years." Leslie smiled at Kyle, her posture indicating that she was tired but amused. "He's a bit of a mess, but you'd know that by now, being his friend and all."
"Oliver's my roommate, Les."
"Oh! Well then, you'd know all about him." Leslie winked at him.
"He knows computers. Oliver's the resident Computer Whisperer of the house." Kyle took a long drink of his coffee. He smacked his lips and tapped his cup on the table. "Any tech problem you have? He'll fix it. He's brilliant."
Leslie giggled. "Sounds like it. Computers totally mystify me."
"Kyle's exaggerating. I'm really a big ol' nerd." He snorted and looked up at the ceiling. "Just the resident nerd of KAΔ. That's me!"
Kyle shook his head and waggled a finger at him. "Don't start with that 'nerd' shit." He spoke to Leslie. "We couldn't function without him." His voice was soft, low, and raspy. "I know I couldn't."
Although his body was situated directly between them, Oliver's eyes shifted over to Kyle. He was staring back at him, his gaze intense. Bold.
"Sounds like you're pretty good, Oliver." He barely registered Leslie's voice, but a smile managed to appear on his face. He never broke eye contact with Kyle.
"He's the best."
Damn him! Why was Kyle doing this now? Tempting fate, being so open, so... so transparent around his friend. Even though he trusted Leslie, that didn't mean Oliver should. But any worries were tempered as Oliver kept watching Kyle, who looked like he was admiring him, like he was his. Oliver couldn't tear himself away. It felt too... wrong, being like this out in public.
But that didn't mean it didn't also feel really good. It was crazy to be wanted like this. It damn near took his breath away.
"I need to get out of here. My shift at the restaurant calls." Leslie stood up, which snapped Oliver out of his trance. Her eyes flew between both boys... gathering information about their relationship... assessing them... judging them. She smiled and walked around to Kyle, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "I'll call you later. And you better be careful about that," she said, nodding at the large envelope. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"I can take care of myself, Les."
She sighed and lightly punched his shoulder. "That's what I'm afraid of." Leslie smiled at Oliver. "Good to meet you, finally. I'm sure I'll see you again." She waved her hand over her shoulder and let one more glance slip between them. Then she left, pulling her coat around her shoulders as she walked out of the coffee shop.
Oliver watched her walk away. "She seems nice."
"She's been more a sister to me than my real sister."
He scooted closer to Kyle. "She's really concerned about you."
"That's Les. Always looking out for whatever stupid shit I get myself into."
This was the perfect opening. "Does that have anything to do with what's in the envelope? Or the other envelopes that keep magically popping up?"
Kyle leaned over the table, tipped his cup all the way back and drained it to the last drop. He pulled in his lips, licking them before he replied. "It's part of my tutoring business." He beat his fingertip on the plastic lid.
"Okay. So can I see what's in it?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Why wouldn't you just do it?"
Kyle picked up his coffee cup and lightly tapped Oliver's hand. Even that was enough send tingles along his skin.
"I've got a special system worked out, Oliver. If I show you here, it might mess everything up."
This was getting ridiculous. Why the hell was Kyle being so sketchy about tutoring materials? Oliver knew he was hiding something. He could read Kyle like a textbook. After all, he had made it his own personal hobby since last year to observe everything there was about Kyle Lewis. To know his moods, his rhythms, his temper. He knew when something was up with him.
"Why don't you just tell me then?"
"Oliver, it's just tutoring materials. That's all. And I want to make sure they stay clean and organized so I keep them in an envelope."
"I don't understand why you can't just give me a small peek -- wait." Oliver's eyes grew big and he pointed an accusatory finger at Kyle, dropping his voice to a whisper so no one else would hear him. "What if that's not even paper? Kyle, are you into something bad? Criminal?" He leaned in closer and whispered, "Are you dealing drugs?"
Kyle stared at him, dumbstruck. "Drugs? You, Oliver Fish, think I'm - into - drugs?" he asked very slowly.
"I see these envelopes popping up, and you won't give me a straight answer about them. What else am I supposed to think?"
"For starters, how about that I'm not stupid enough, or criminal enough to do stupid and criminal things like dealing drugs? Wow! Now I know how you really feel."
"Why wouldn't I think you were doing something shady with the way you've been avoiding answering me?"
"Oh, I don't know." Kyle's entire body tensed with anger. "Because I know, deep down, that I'd never accuse you of doing anything like that." He snorted in derision. "You must think I'm a huge piece of shit."
"But you're acting suspicious and... and not telling me what you're working on. All I'm asking is that we go back to the room, and you can show me then."
Kyle stared back, his nostrils flaring. "Only if Griswold's not there when we get back."
****
When Kyle opened the door to their room, not only was Stan Griswold there, but he was sitting on his bed, looking distressed. The state of their third roommate was enough to push away any concerns about envelopes and Kyle's odd behavior from Oliver's mind.
Griswold greeted them with a feeble bob of his head. "Hey guys... uh, can I talk to you for a sec?"
Kyle glanced at Oliver, confused. It was unusual for Griswold to appear so troubled. Normally, he stomped around campus, fueled by beer, pizza and whatever random alcohol he could find around the dorms and the house. Studying was, at best, a chore for him; Kyle, as well as the other KAΔs, gave a little extra time to help him out so he'd at least stay academic eligible.
He didn't earn his house nickname "Bluto" for nothing.
"Sure," Kyle replied, letting Oliver inside the room before closing the door. "What's up? You look like someone died."
Griswold laughed ruefully. "Yeah. Almost."
"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.
"Okay, first, I gotta know -- do you two, like, have problems with gays or anything?"
Oliver couldn't help it; he laughed nervously, although he felt he was on the verge of fleeing from his own body. Kyle tilted his head and stared at Griswold. His eyes almost popped out of his head. "Uh, no." It came out more as a question rather than a statement.
"Good, that's kind of what I thought. You seem pretty cool with, well, gay stuff, Lewis."
Kyle squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. The inarticulate way Griswold had of phrasing things probably annoyed him, but other issues were pressing. Kyle ignored the insensitivity and cut to the chase. "What's going on?"
Griswold took a breath and twisted his faded, torn LU cap around on his head. He scratched where the brim had rubbed on his skin. "You two know my younger brother, right?"
"Yeah, we remember. He came up to visit you last year." Oliver sat down on Kyle's bed. He knew the kid, Jason. He had been quiet, shy around the other KAΔs. Some of the brothers had joked behind Griswold's back that he seemed... artsy. Not really masculine. Oliver knew what they meant, as Kyle and he had discussed Jason and the house's reactions to him during one of their private conversations.
"Jason and I -- we're close. I've sorta looked out for him when we were growing up and everything. He used to get teased on a lot. When I went back home, we were having our family dinner and, to make a long story really short, he came out to us."
Kyle glanced over at Oliver. There was confusion, hesitation, and understanding all battling it out in his dark eyes, but he said nothing to expose any personal emotion. He sat down on the floor in front of Griswold, and let out a low, breathy whistle. For his part, Oliver remained seated. He stared at the two guys, surprised by this new information about Griswold's brother, positively shocked that this party animal was so cool about having a gay sibling.
He feared Kyle's response. Would he tell the truth? About himself? About Oliver?
"Damn."
Griswold nodded at Kyle. "Yeah, that's an understatement to say the least. Dad went apeshit, Mom went quiet, and both of them kicked him out of the house."
"Where is he now?" Kyle asked.
"I brought him back here with me. He's got friends he can stay with in Llanview -- his best friend lives in a small place a few blocks away from campus. I'm actually gonna take him out to dinner here in a couple of hours, but I've got a problem."
Kyle's brow fell. "What's that?"
Puffing out his cheeks, Griswold let out a monstrous groan. "I'm cool with the whole gay thing. Hell, I knew he was gay before he told me. I've got a couple of gay friends at school, so I'm used to it. And I'm totally here for him because, let's face it, I'm the only family he has right now. But he's a wreck about what happened and I'm not sure if what I'm doing's enough for the little guy."
"You're doing fine." Kyle's reply was serious even though his voice remained soft. "You're there for him. That's what matters."
"That, um... you're so cool about your brother is pretty... er... c-cool too."
Kyle slowly turned around. "Profound words, Fish." Oliver frowned at his sarcasm.
"Great, but I don't really know what he's going through. You guys don't happen to know anyone who's gay too, who're close by? It'd be great if Jason had someone to talk to."
The silence that followed Griswold's question was thick. Heavy. It blanketed the room, and so stifling was the quiet that Oliver couldn't breathe. He focused everything in him on the back of Kyle's head, his eyes practically burning a hole through his dark hair. He couldn't see his friend's face, but he knew Kyle was watching Griswold, pondering what to say next... whether or not to tell Griswold.
A sinkhole was growing in the middle of the room. Oliver could see everything swirling, falling into its orbit, disappearing forever--
Kyle sighed and stood up. "Stan, I'll talk to him."
The floor shifted under Oliver's feet. The walls moved, the ceiling was collapsing. He was going to tell their other roommate. There was no stopping Kyle; the can opener was already twisting and turning around the edge, and the first couple of worms were inching out.
Griswold, however, looked surprised. "You an expert about this stuff?"
"Actually, I kind of am."
Griswold blinked. And then comprehension dawned on him, literally like a lightbulb flaring on, illuminating his characteristically gormless face with understanding. "Are you saying you're gay?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm gay too."
"Whoa!" Griswold looked over at Oliver. "Did you know?"
"Uh, y-yeah... I've known for a while now... and I'm... y'know, Kyle's cool. I'm cool, too. With it -- I mean him. Being gay, that is." He was shocked he was able to talk at all, as his tongue suddenly muddled into cotton and nothing in his body seemed to be working right.
"I'm not out to the rest of the house." Kyle added. "My family, a few friends and Oliver know. I didn't want to make it a big deal. I still don't, so it'd be good if it stayed between the three of us." He looked back over his shoulder and gave Oliver a pointed stare.
Griswold popped off the bed, his hands raised. "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal for me. If you don't want anyone else to know, I won't say a word. But would you be cool with talking to my brother?"
"Absolutely." Oliver heard the smile in Kyle's voice. And Stan Griswold responded with his own smile, filled with gratitude.
****
Pairing: Kyle Lewis and Oliver Fish
Rating: This part PG-13; R rated activities start up again in Part Fifteen
A/N: This chapter was inspired by Tuesday 10/27's show. Kyle said to Oliver: "Build what? Some secret that only a few of our friends can know about? I'm not going through that ag'in, okay?" I interpreted this to mean that some people, not a lot, knew or suspected they were together in college. As you can see, I'm trying to incorporate how that might've happened. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled smut next chapter. Thanks for such wonderful feedback! I really appreciate the comments and glad y'all are continuing to enjoy this!
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine
Part Ten
Part Eleven
Part Twelve"
Part Thirteen
Part Fourteen:
Why Do I Lie?
Luscious Jackson
Oliver steadied his bag. He threaded his way through tables and customers to the two people sitting in front of the window, sipping their coffees, laughing like old friends. Kyle looked happy talking to the girl at the table with him. It was the KΘ from the basketball game, the same girl who had taken Kyle to the Lover's Luau months ago. She was pretty. Athletic-looking, with her short blond hair and angular face. She had a friendly appearance to her.
And they were having the time of their life. Oliver wondered whether Kyle ever looked like that whenever they were together, joking around, having a laugh.
"Fish!"
Kyle had spotted him and was waving him over. Oliver grinned as he approached their table. There were two empty plates filled with crumbs, and their drinks were in front of them. Kyle was lounging in his chair, his legs wide apart, his wrist lazily draped over the plastic lid of his pumpkin spice latte with nonfat milk and no whipped cream. Oliver wanted to hit himself in the head -- he hated that he knew that.
He also noticed another large envelope sitting to the side. It had Kyle's name written on it in large letters. But as Oliver drew up to them, Kyle quietly pulled it aside and placed it on the shelf just below the large window. It didn't escape Oliver's attention, though.
"Hey. Uh, what's up Ky-, er, Lewis."
Kyle laughed and flipped his hand dismissively. "'S okay, Oliver. Relax. She's a friend."
"Oh... okay."
The blond-haired girl grinned and rolled her eyes. "Kyle and I don't keep any secrets about each other. And I still haven't bolted."
"How could you run away from this," Kyle asked, his drawl gravelly. He smirked, which made him look impossible and cocky.
"I'm Leslie, by the way. Leslie Kaplan." She held out a hand for Oliver to take, which he did, his grin awkwardly stuck to his face.
"Oliver Fish. Nice to meet you." He took a moment to assess her. Leslie seemed pleasant, but not in a fake, cloying way. Perhaps it was cool for her to know about Kyle because she didn't appear to be the type to needlessly gossip. And she did have a friendly appearance to her. Must've been her eyes, which were round and bright blue.
But if she knew about Kyle, then did she know about....
"She knows about you?"
Kyle kicked out the empty chair at the table and gestured for him to take a seat. "Slow your roll, Sherlock. Les and I went to high school together. She's the first person I ever told about me. And only me." He barely emphasized "only", but Oliver noticed it. He kept his eyes on Kyle as he sat down, but his guard was up.
"I've been his sounding board for so many years." Leslie smiled at Kyle, her posture indicating that she was tired but amused. "He's a bit of a mess, but you'd know that by now, being his friend and all."
"Oliver's my roommate, Les."
"Oh! Well then, you'd know all about him." Leslie winked at him.
"He knows computers. Oliver's the resident Computer Whisperer of the house." Kyle took a long drink of his coffee. He smacked his lips and tapped his cup on the table. "Any tech problem you have? He'll fix it. He's brilliant."
Leslie giggled. "Sounds like it. Computers totally mystify me."
"Kyle's exaggerating. I'm really a big ol' nerd." He snorted and looked up at the ceiling. "Just the resident nerd of KAΔ. That's me!"
Kyle shook his head and waggled a finger at him. "Don't start with that 'nerd' shit." He spoke to Leslie. "We couldn't function without him." His voice was soft, low, and raspy. "I know I couldn't."
Although his body was situated directly between them, Oliver's eyes shifted over to Kyle. He was staring back at him, his gaze intense. Bold.
"Sounds like you're pretty good, Oliver." He barely registered Leslie's voice, but a smile managed to appear on his face. He never broke eye contact with Kyle.
"He's the best."
Damn him! Why was Kyle doing this now? Tempting fate, being so open, so... so transparent around his friend. Even though he trusted Leslie, that didn't mean Oliver should. But any worries were tempered as Oliver kept watching Kyle, who looked like he was admiring him, like he was his. Oliver couldn't tear himself away. It felt too... wrong, being like this out in public.
But that didn't mean it didn't also feel really good. It was crazy to be wanted like this. It damn near took his breath away.
"I need to get out of here. My shift at the restaurant calls." Leslie stood up, which snapped Oliver out of his trance. Her eyes flew between both boys... gathering information about their relationship... assessing them... judging them. She smiled and walked around to Kyle, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "I'll call you later. And you better be careful about that," she said, nodding at the large envelope. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"I can take care of myself, Les."
She sighed and lightly punched his shoulder. "That's what I'm afraid of." Leslie smiled at Oliver. "Good to meet you, finally. I'm sure I'll see you again." She waved her hand over her shoulder and let one more glance slip between them. Then she left, pulling her coat around her shoulders as she walked out of the coffee shop.
Oliver watched her walk away. "She seems nice."
"She's been more a sister to me than my real sister."
He scooted closer to Kyle. "She's really concerned about you."
"That's Les. Always looking out for whatever stupid shit I get myself into."
This was the perfect opening. "Does that have anything to do with what's in the envelope? Or the other envelopes that keep magically popping up?"
Kyle leaned over the table, tipped his cup all the way back and drained it to the last drop. He pulled in his lips, licking them before he replied. "It's part of my tutoring business." He beat his fingertip on the plastic lid.
"Okay. So can I see what's in it?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Why wouldn't you just do it?"
Kyle picked up his coffee cup and lightly tapped Oliver's hand. Even that was enough send tingles along his skin.
"I've got a special system worked out, Oliver. If I show you here, it might mess everything up."
This was getting ridiculous. Why the hell was Kyle being so sketchy about tutoring materials? Oliver knew he was hiding something. He could read Kyle like a textbook. After all, he had made it his own personal hobby since last year to observe everything there was about Kyle Lewis. To know his moods, his rhythms, his temper. He knew when something was up with him.
"Why don't you just tell me then?"
"Oliver, it's just tutoring materials. That's all. And I want to make sure they stay clean and organized so I keep them in an envelope."
"I don't understand why you can't just give me a small peek -- wait." Oliver's eyes grew big and he pointed an accusatory finger at Kyle, dropping his voice to a whisper so no one else would hear him. "What if that's not even paper? Kyle, are you into something bad? Criminal?" He leaned in closer and whispered, "Are you dealing drugs?"
Kyle stared at him, dumbstruck. "Drugs? You, Oliver Fish, think I'm - into - drugs?" he asked very slowly.
"I see these envelopes popping up, and you won't give me a straight answer about them. What else am I supposed to think?"
"For starters, how about that I'm not stupid enough, or criminal enough to do stupid and criminal things like dealing drugs? Wow! Now I know how you really feel."
"Why wouldn't I think you were doing something shady with the way you've been avoiding answering me?"
"Oh, I don't know." Kyle's entire body tensed with anger. "Because I know, deep down, that I'd never accuse you of doing anything like that." He snorted in derision. "You must think I'm a huge piece of shit."
"But you're acting suspicious and... and not telling me what you're working on. All I'm asking is that we go back to the room, and you can show me then."
Kyle stared back, his nostrils flaring. "Only if Griswold's not there when we get back."
****
When Kyle opened the door to their room, not only was Stan Griswold there, but he was sitting on his bed, looking distressed. The state of their third roommate was enough to push away any concerns about envelopes and Kyle's odd behavior from Oliver's mind.
Griswold greeted them with a feeble bob of his head. "Hey guys... uh, can I talk to you for a sec?"
Kyle glanced at Oliver, confused. It was unusual for Griswold to appear so troubled. Normally, he stomped around campus, fueled by beer, pizza and whatever random alcohol he could find around the dorms and the house. Studying was, at best, a chore for him; Kyle, as well as the other KAΔs, gave a little extra time to help him out so he'd at least stay academic eligible.
He didn't earn his house nickname "Bluto" for nothing.
"Sure," Kyle replied, letting Oliver inside the room before closing the door. "What's up? You look like someone died."
Griswold laughed ruefully. "Yeah. Almost."
"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.
"Okay, first, I gotta know -- do you two, like, have problems with gays or anything?"
Oliver couldn't help it; he laughed nervously, although he felt he was on the verge of fleeing from his own body. Kyle tilted his head and stared at Griswold. His eyes almost popped out of his head. "Uh, no." It came out more as a question rather than a statement.
"Good, that's kind of what I thought. You seem pretty cool with, well, gay stuff, Lewis."
Kyle squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. The inarticulate way Griswold had of phrasing things probably annoyed him, but other issues were pressing. Kyle ignored the insensitivity and cut to the chase. "What's going on?"
Griswold took a breath and twisted his faded, torn LU cap around on his head. He scratched where the brim had rubbed on his skin. "You two know my younger brother, right?"
"Yeah, we remember. He came up to visit you last year." Oliver sat down on Kyle's bed. He knew the kid, Jason. He had been quiet, shy around the other KAΔs. Some of the brothers had joked behind Griswold's back that he seemed... artsy. Not really masculine. Oliver knew what they meant, as Kyle and he had discussed Jason and the house's reactions to him during one of their private conversations.
"Jason and I -- we're close. I've sorta looked out for him when we were growing up and everything. He used to get teased on a lot. When I went back home, we were having our family dinner and, to make a long story really short, he came out to us."
Kyle glanced over at Oliver. There was confusion, hesitation, and understanding all battling it out in his dark eyes, but he said nothing to expose any personal emotion. He sat down on the floor in front of Griswold, and let out a low, breathy whistle. For his part, Oliver remained seated. He stared at the two guys, surprised by this new information about Griswold's brother, positively shocked that this party animal was so cool about having a gay sibling.
He feared Kyle's response. Would he tell the truth? About himself? About Oliver?
"Damn."
Griswold nodded at Kyle. "Yeah, that's an understatement to say the least. Dad went apeshit, Mom went quiet, and both of them kicked him out of the house."
"Where is he now?" Kyle asked.
"I brought him back here with me. He's got friends he can stay with in Llanview -- his best friend lives in a small place a few blocks away from campus. I'm actually gonna take him out to dinner here in a couple of hours, but I've got a problem."
Kyle's brow fell. "What's that?"
Puffing out his cheeks, Griswold let out a monstrous groan. "I'm cool with the whole gay thing. Hell, I knew he was gay before he told me. I've got a couple of gay friends at school, so I'm used to it. And I'm totally here for him because, let's face it, I'm the only family he has right now. But he's a wreck about what happened and I'm not sure if what I'm doing's enough for the little guy."
"You're doing fine." Kyle's reply was serious even though his voice remained soft. "You're there for him. That's what matters."
"That, um... you're so cool about your brother is pretty... er... c-cool too."
Kyle slowly turned around. "Profound words, Fish." Oliver frowned at his sarcasm.
"Great, but I don't really know what he's going through. You guys don't happen to know anyone who's gay too, who're close by? It'd be great if Jason had someone to talk to."
The silence that followed Griswold's question was thick. Heavy. It blanketed the room, and so stifling was the quiet that Oliver couldn't breathe. He focused everything in him on the back of Kyle's head, his eyes practically burning a hole through his dark hair. He couldn't see his friend's face, but he knew Kyle was watching Griswold, pondering what to say next... whether or not to tell Griswold.
A sinkhole was growing in the middle of the room. Oliver could see everything swirling, falling into its orbit, disappearing forever--
Kyle sighed and stood up. "Stan, I'll talk to him."
The floor shifted under Oliver's feet. The walls moved, the ceiling was collapsing. He was going to tell their other roommate. There was no stopping Kyle; the can opener was already twisting and turning around the edge, and the first couple of worms were inching out.
Griswold, however, looked surprised. "You an expert about this stuff?"
"Actually, I kind of am."
Griswold blinked. And then comprehension dawned on him, literally like a lightbulb flaring on, illuminating his characteristically gormless face with understanding. "Are you saying you're gay?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm gay too."
"Whoa!" Griswold looked over at Oliver. "Did you know?"
"Uh, y-yeah... I've known for a while now... and I'm... y'know, Kyle's cool. I'm cool, too. With it -- I mean him. Being gay, that is." He was shocked he was able to talk at all, as his tongue suddenly muddled into cotton and nothing in his body seemed to be working right.
"I'm not out to the rest of the house." Kyle added. "My family, a few friends and Oliver know. I didn't want to make it a big deal. I still don't, so it'd be good if it stayed between the three of us." He looked back over his shoulder and gave Oliver a pointed stare.
Griswold popped off the bed, his hands raised. "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal for me. If you don't want anyone else to know, I won't say a word. But would you be cool with talking to my brother?"
"Absolutely." Oliver heard the smile in Kyle's voice. And Stan Griswold responded with his own smile, filled with gratitude.
****