Russell had only spent about ten minutes helping Sal with his homework. He had turned it into a game where, every time Sal would get a question right, he'd get a kiss. And after the third kiss, Russell decided he would rather make-out with Sal, despite his parents being a room away. Something about the risk of getting caught made it more exciting than usual. Sal must've had similar feelings, because he slid his hand up his shirt for the first time. And let Russell do the same to him. His body quivered at the memory as the two walked along a dirt trail.
"That sign said the park closes at sunset," Sal said. "And it's practically sunset."
"I used to come here after sunset when I was younger. No one cares."
They strolled past a variety of trees and plant-life, and turned onto another trail that ran alongside a lake. An empty bench faced it, and Russell led Sal towards it. The two sat down on it, arms linked.
"So, why are we here when the park is supposed to be closed?" Sal asked.
"It's not closed yet. Look." Russell pointed across the lake, where several does appeared, drinking the water.
"Deer!" Sal shouted excitedly, causing the deer to stare at him. A couple of them bolted.
"Nice going. You scared them away."
"Not all of them. One of them stayed."
The deer that had stayed walked back into the trees.
"That was exciting while it lasted," Russell said. And it was the second reason why he brought Sal here at this specific time. The first reason was for the sunset. The sky was now orange, as the sun began to set behind the golden mountains. Russell wrapped his arm around Sal, and Sal laid his head against his chest.
Russell ran his hand over Sal's arm, enjoying the time spent with him. Being with Sal, watching the sunset. It was all cliché, yet everything felt right. For now, anyway. It was only a matter of time before Sal would ruin the moment by saying or doing something idiotic.
And of course, the thought jinxed it. "Is this your first relationship?" Sal asked out of nowhere.
Russell tore his eyes away from the sunset, away from Sal, down at his knees. "No. It's... my second."
Sal pulled his head away from Russell's chest, and silence filled the air again. Good, Russell thought. Hopefully he would leave it at that.
"Was your ex a boy or a girl?"
A long, thick stick trapped under strands of grass caught Russell's attention, and he leaned forward to yank it free. What to tell Sal? If he knew about that relationship, he'd never hear the end of it. Russell was tempted to lie, but that would end in disaster if Sal ever found out the truth. He poked at the dirt with the stick. "This would make the perfect walking stick, if we decided to hike a bit more."
"That doesn't answer my question. Was your ex a boy or a girl?"
Russell dropped the stick, and it rolled several feet down the slope towards the lake. "Neither."
"Neither? So someone like..." Sal's hand flew to his mouth. "Oh God."
Russell closed his eyes.
"You didn't date Terry, did you? Please tell me you didn't date Terry."
Russell didn't answer. He didn't want to hear Sal bad-mouthing them yet again. There were many fond memories he had of Terry. Ones he wouldn't trade for the world.
"You did, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. I dated Terry. Now you know."
Sal covered his face with his hands. "How could you do such a thing? Why would you do such a thing?" His hands fell back to his lap, and his eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. "Oh God. I've... I've been second-hand kissed by Terry!"
"Stop over-reacting so much!" Russell gritted his teeth. "Terry was a damn good partner-"
"Damn good? So good, you actually used a bad word? You still have feelings for them!"
"This was two years ago!" Russell stood up, and took a few steps towards the lake, arms crossed. "My feelings for Terry are long gone. I was the one who initiated the break up."
"Really?" Sal jumped up. "They were a damn good partner, and you're the one who broke it off?"
"Yes. I felt we'd be better off as friends. And..."
"And what?"
"And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop bad-mouthing them all the time. Terry was an important part of my life. We went through a lot together."
Sal let out a snort, and kicked away at a rock. "Did you love Terry?"
"Only as a friend." Russell braced himself for the question he knew would come next.
"Do you love me? As more than a friend?" Sal moved in close.
Russell stepped away. "We're in high school. We don't know a thing about love."
"We're 17. That's old enough."
"We've only been together for 4 months."
"It feels like forever." Sal took Russell's hand. "I want to be with you forever."
Russell looked into his shining, brown eyes. Eventually they would have to break up, for some reason or another. It would most likely happen during his first year of college. High school couples always broke up during the first year of college. A pain stabbed Russell's chest at the thought, but he shook the feeling away.
"Hey!" a voice called. Russell and Sal both turned to see a park ranger on the trail, several feet away. "What are you kids doing? The park's closed!"
"Sorry," Russell said. "We were just about to leave."
"I thought you said no one cares if we're here after closing," Sal said in a sarcastic tone.
* * * * *
Sal felt as though his heart had been shattered. Russell dated Terry- and liked it. Probably more than he liked dating him. Though Russell was the one who broke it off. But the thought haunted him. And he could not see Terry the same way.
"Hi Russell," Terry said, as the two boys approached the lunch table. "Hi Sal."
Sal glowered, and sat diagonal to them, whipping out his lunch bag without responding.
Terry gave Russell a "what's his problem?" look. Russell shot Sal a "be nice" look.
"Is everything okay?" Terry asked.
"No, everything is not okay," Sal slammed his water bottle down on the table.
"Sal!" Russell grabbed his arm. "What did we talk about?"
Sal tore his arm away but kept his mouth shut.
"What did you talk about?" Terry asked.
"Nothing," Russell said quickly. "It's nothing."
"Like our relationship, apparently," Sal muttered.
"Our relationship isn't nothing," Russell muttered back. "Stop being a drama king."
"Don't tell me what to do!" Sal smashed his sandwich down next to his water, accidentally mushing it in the process.
"Okay, what's going on?" Terry raised their eyebrow. "Lovers spat?"
Sal pointed a finger at Terry. "I know about you and Russell. Don't try to deny it."
"What?" Terry looked at Russell. "What does he know about us?"
"He found out we dated." Russell raised his voice. "Two years ago!"
"You told him about that?" Terry asked.
"I didn't want to, but he kept asking questions."
Stewart appeared, carrying a lunch tray. "Hi Sal- what's wrong?"
"Oh nothing," Sal said sardonically. "I found out Russell dated an enemy of mine."
"Enemy?" Terry slumped over their sandwich. "I don't hate you, Sal. I don't even dislike you."
"You pushed me into the lockers, and made me make a fool of myself in front of the entire school."
"You do that to yourself every day," Russell said, his tone harsh. Terry covered their mouth, but failed to hide their laughter.
Stewart took his seat across from Sal. "Gee, I thought you would have known about Russell and Terry. Everyone knows they dated."
"And I thought you would have known I wasn't here for that." Sal took a bite of his sandwich. "Everyone knows that."
"I thought they were great together," Stewart said, poking at his mashed potatoes, making them more mashed. "I was surprised when they broke up, they seemed so in love."
Russell shot Stewart a look.
"Oh, gee." Stewart turned to Sal. "I'm sorry. That wasn't very nice of me. The two were terrible for each other. Always fighting..."
Russell covered his face with his hand.
"So you did love Terry." A lump formed in Sal's throat. "You loved them more than me."
"No." Terry narrowed their eyes at Russell. "He didn't love me. At all."
"It wasn't like that," Russell said to Terry. He ran his fingers through his hair. "Can we please talk about something else?"
Sal snorted and took another bite of his sandwich. Stewart took a bite of his potatoes. Terry took a bite of their apple. Russell took a bite of his sandwich. An awkward silence filled the air.
Terry lowered their apple. "So Russell, have you heard back from any colleges?"
"Of course you'd be interested in Russell's future plans," Sal grumbled.
"Only Harvard," Russell said. "They didn't accept me."
"I'm sorry." Terry set a hand on his arm. "I know how bad you wanted to go there."
Sal glared at Terry's hand, and Russell pulled his arm away. "It's not a big deal. What about you? Have you heard back from that art school?"
"No, and I'm worried I won't get in."
"You'll get in," Russell said. "Your work is amazing."
Sal clenched his fingers around his water bottle. The interaction between Russell and Terry burned at his insides. "Art school is stupid, along with every student in it."
"Shut up, Sal," Russell said, giving him a warning glare.
"And what do you plan on doing after graduation?" Terry asked, an edge in their voice.
"I'm moving to wherever Russell is moving." Sal smiled and clasped his hands together on the table.
"You're not going to college?"
Sal stopped smiling and unclasped his hands. "Why? So I can be forced to pick a major I might not like in three years? And then, be stuck in school another three years if I want to switch? Wasting thousands of dollars to be able to apply for jobs I don't like because my 18 year old self thought it sounded cool at the time? Only qualifying for unpaid internships because employers only look at resumes that have years of experience? Then, spending the rest of my life slaving away at a job I hate to pay off student loans? Screw that. I'll keep my money, and use it to buy a Honda Civic."
Terry and Stewart eyed Sal curiously. Russell had already heard similar spiels from him, so he concentrated on his last bite of sandwich.
"Well," Terry said at last, "have fun working retail."
"I will!" Sal said, proud at the thought of spending the rest of his life working retail.
"I'm going into accounting, just like my pa," Stewart said, but no one seemed to have heard him.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
