Being kissed by another boy wasn't exactly something that Pelham had ever experienced, regardless of his sexual orientation. And he couldn't exactly deny the fact that he was downright stunned by Lucio's sudden move. How much courage the simple move required, Pelham couldn't tell. He would never know.

Pelham sat frozen on the couch, his lips locked with Lucio's. He couldn't feel anything around him; not the warmth of Lucio's touch, not the boy's tightening clasp around his wrist, which was slowly moving to his upper arm. He was numb as ice.

And it took Pelham quite a while to respond. Performing it without conscious thought, he closed his eyes and moved his lips lightly against Lucio's, realising nonessentially that Lucio's lips where thicker than April's.

Pelham wished he hadn't done such thing, for after that second of kissing Lucio back, the younger boy pulled away abruptly as though an electric shock had been transmitted to his body. Horror was drawn all over the boy's face, his eyes wide and gleaming as iridescently as always. There was no missing the indignity that flashed across Lucio's eyes as he blinked rapidly up at Pelham, looking at a complete loss and trepidation.

His mouth opened and closed, but words failed to leave his mouth. Upon realising that Lucio's hands were still on Pelham's shoulders, Lucio extracted them at that instant as though the older boy was nothing but filth. His chest was heaving, and his cheeks were flushed. Lucio looked more like someone who had run a marathon.

When Lucio finally found his voice, all he could muster was, "I need to go." And it was said in such a haste that Pelham couldn't help but feel a tad crestfallen.

"Wait-"

Regardless of his debilitated state, perhaps the brief kiss had stimulated an adrenaline boost in Lucio's system that he gathered his belongings in less than a minute. Ignoring Pelham's call for him to settle down, Lucio dashed towards the front door. Pelham couldn't deny the fact that he was the slightest bit affronted.

"Just hang on a minute-"

"See you around, Pelham."

Pelham got to his feet, but he didn't attempt to chase after Lucio, who had paused momentarily at the threshold with his back facing Pelham. For a fleeting moment, Pelham got the impression that Lucio will stop to sort the whole occurrence out, that Lucio will justify the reasons behind his actions. Had it been what they all called "in the heat of the moment"?

Alas, Lucio left without another word.

Silence overwhelmed the whole room as soon as the front door was closed, like plugging your ears in to shut down the world's relatively irksome rumpus. And Pelham was left standing there, staring at the door, completely nonplussed by the sudden change of events.

It was only then that he became aware of the erratic beating of his heart against his chest. Unconsciously, he fingers travelled to his bottom lip, where the ghostly touch of Lucio's lips still lingered.

He wasn't grossed out. He found that he didn't mind it at all. As a matter of fact, it felt okay. He was simply stupefied at having been kissed out of the blue, especially from another boy. Yes, that's it, he told himself, trying to regain composure of himself. So much for an unforeseen kiss.

Still, there was no missing the storm of bewilderment that was beginning to rage in his head. Pelham simply couldn't think. Numb as ice though he was, something about the brief contact had seemed to unleash something else in him, one that he knew had been scratching at the back of his head for months now. "Lucio ..." the name left his mouth without so much thinking about it, as though by mentioning the name, Lucio will materialise out of thin air.

He stared at the couch and was momentarily taken aback by the sight of Lucio's phone. Nobody forgets their phone, he thought, feeling a tad amused. Surely Lucio will come back to claim his valued possession? It wouldn't take most of adolescents nowadays an hour to check their phones. By now, Pelham reckoned, Lucio would've realised that he'd forgotten his phone, and was already on his way towards Pelham's front porch.

He'll come back, Pelham assured himself, sinking down into the sofa. He picked up Lucio's phone, but didn't dare unlock it. That would be invading Lucio's privacy; it would be an unethical move. Regardless of trying to get to know Lucio more, stalking was downright amateurish. Instead, he put it back on the coffee table, where the ice in the bowl was already melting.

But Pelham was woken up an hour later by his mother, who stood looming over him. And Lucio's phone was still there. "Are you sick?" she asked worriedly, pressing her palm on his forehead.

Pelham blinked and arched his back, stretching his limbs while doing so. Having had dozed off on a couch wasn't practically a grand idea; he couldn't feel his feet. "What?" he asked, wondering whether he'd slept for a century.

"You came home early," observed his mother, extracting her hand from his forehead. "Are you ill? These stuff ..." she gestured at the damp towel and the bowl now pooled with water from where the ice had thawed. She had clearly missed to notice the phone that didn't originally belong to anyone in the house.

"I'm fine," he said, straightening up. When his mother cocked an eyebrow, indicating that she needed some more explanation, he sighed. "My friend ... he wasn't doing all right. So I brought him home."

"What happened to him?"

"He was ... sick. And his parents weren't home."

"All right," Jody nodded. "He's home now, I take it?"

"Of course, Mum. Where else would he be?"

"Maybe you're hiding him in the attic,"

"We don't even have an attic,"

"I meant the laundry room,"

"Why would I be hiding a friend of mine in the laundry room?"

She shrugged. "It's better than hiding someone in the closet." And with that she headed into the kitchen.

He glanced at the phone, feeling reasonably agitated. Where is he? The question lingered in his head as he headed upstairs and into his room. Even then, he stood before the windows with his arms crossed over his chest, one hand clenched around the phone, anticipating Lucio's arrival. Surely the boy would call his own number in case he'd forgotten where he left it?

The phone buzzed. Feeling quite thrilled, he held it up. But it wasn't what he was expecting;

Vanessa: Hey, where are you?

Pelham sighed. Not bothering to feel curious on who Vanessa might be - though he was fairly certain he'd heard Lucio mention her on the phone the other day - he shoved the phone into his pocket. Just give it to him tomorrow, he told himself. What's the worse that could happen?

And really, Pelham needed a clarification, especially when he initially thought - and with good reasons - that Lucio Alves' preference was girls and only girls. He couldn't be more astounded.

*

It was quite of an astonishment to find Roshon and April standing right in front of Pelham's locker door on the morning after, with their arms crossed over their chests and the same expression worn on their faces, like a mother waiting for her child to explain why the cookie jar was in shards on the kitchen floor. Pelham was momentarily amused, seeing as Roshon and April reminded him of his parents about to scold him back when he was eight years old.

He thought better than to mention it, though. They looked adequately anxious. He wanted to ask why, before he remembered that he had gone home early the previous day and never said a thing to either of them. They must be beyond troubled, he thought, for neither of them even sent him a text message.

Pelham's eyes made a brief skim around the hallway, trying to locate Lucio, before actually jogging towards his two friends when said boy was nowhere in sight.

"Do you have a good reason for bailing out of class?" was the first thing April said as soon as he reached his locker.

"I didn't bail out of class," he stated.

"Phoebe told me you barged into class after washing your face and told Ms Harvey that there was an emergency," Roshon pointed out.

"Well-"

"An emergency?" April repeated. "What kind?"

Pelham took a moment to construct his sentences. What harm would it cause? "I had to take someone home," he said eventually.

"You know," said April, looking considerably pensive, "that very term always indicates that something sexual happens."

Pelham barked out a laughter, because - in his case - it was partly true.

"Wait, what happened?" Roshon, being the more rational one, asked.

Pelham resolved not to twist the truth then. "Lucio," he began, "was hurt ..."

When they both raised their eyebrows, Pelham began narrating the full event - even Lucio's phone - though, only cutting it short with the kissing part. He didn't suppose he was going to let it flow into his words and simply turning a deaf ear to any forms of reaction, especially from Roshon, who still didn't know that he was an invert. Sure, it wasn't entirely Pelham's fault, but how was he going to clarify the fact that he'd responded when it came to it?

Was it mainly due to the fact that they were alone together? What exactly had driven Lucio to do such thing? Am I that attractive? he mused.

What Pelham realised by then was that he didn't know who Lucio Alves was entirely. Though, wasn't that the same case for the people around him? As far as he was concerned, April was the only one who knew he was gay.

"Poor kid," Roshon remarked when Pelham was done. "You reckon he's going to school today?"

"I doubt it," said Pelham, feeling more apprehensive by then.

As if on cue, April said, "There he is!"

Pelham and Roshon turned their heads simultaneously at that instance, following the direction of April's pointing finger. Sure enough, there Lucio was, making his way towards his locker. This time, he was accompanied by a girl - the same girl, Pelham noticed, who he usually hung out with whenever Lucio wasn't with Pelham. Pelham assumed she had to be Vanessa. Whoever she was, Pelham had to remind himself once again that Lucio Alves wasn't a forlorn boy. Not quite.

From his perspective, Lucio looked all right, despite the fading bruises on his face. Pelham didn't want to interrupt their conversation while they were at it. The girl, Vanessa, was probably bombarding him with questions regarding why he went home early the previous day, what with the hyperbolised way in which she was motioning with her hands. So he simply waited with Roshon and April, leaning against the lockers, all three of them with their arms crossed over their chests.

"Kid looks fine to me," said Roshon after a while, not meeting any of his friends' gazes.

"With that black hoodie instead of the school blazer?" came April's voice. "That boy looks more than fine."

"April," Roshon grunted.

"He does. Right Pelham?"

"Right what?"

"Your friend there is honestly fine," she said. "Dashingly hot. He's hot, isn't he?"

Pelham could only hum his assent, knowing fully well where April was trying to stir the conversation to. And he wasn't in the mood, especially with Roshon around. Not yet anyway.

"Pretty sure I'm hotter than most of you," Roshon stated, to which Pelham snorted. "Too hot that my melanin burned completely black. I mean, have you seen my skin?"

"No, sorry, Rosh. You've darkened my vision," Pelham said.

"And there is me regretting our friendship all over again," said Roshon with a sigh. "Anyway, don't you think we're being like those two-thousand-one gothic students in the movies, talking about someone in hushed voices?"

"What kind of movies do you watch anyway?" Pelham asked.

Roshon pushed himself from the locker, addressing Pelham and April. "I sense judgement," he simply said. "Gotta head to homeroom. Hey Pel, gaming on this evening?"

"Sure thing,"

By that, Roshon gave a small wave and walked away, leaving Pelham and April to still lean against the locker doors. They didn't say much, though Pelham could sense that April wanted to say something. Pelham's hand was clenched around Lucio's phone, and he became aware of how he was rapidly tapping his foot on the floor.

Would it do good to wait? he mused, seeing as it didn't look like Vanessa was leaving Lucio any time soon. How is he not bothered?

Eventually, April pushed herself from the locker and faced him, thereby blocking Lucio's figure from Pelham's sight.

"Class is gonna start soon. You sure you don't wanna just wait until lunch?" she asked.

"This phone buzzes way more than mine does, and I just can't wait to return it to Lucio," he said.

"So?" she shrugged. "Why not turn it off?"

"I don't think that's my place to do such thing,"

April rolled her eyes. "You're too altruistic sometimes," she said. "It's just a phone."

Pelham opened his mouth to counter, when at that precise moment, Lucio - finally alone - was heading past Pelham with his head dipped as if he didn't want to meet anyone's eyes, especially not a particular pair of eyes.

Pelham didn't waste another second to dash towards the boy, stopping right in front of him and causing Lucio to skid to a halt.

It took Lucio quite a while to stare at Pelham's shoes before lifting his gaze to meet his eyes. "You forgot your phone at my place," Pelham quickly said, sparing what imminent gauche attempt at explanation was going to pour out of Lucio's mouth.

"Right," said Lucio, taking his phone from Pelham's hand. "I thought I'd left it in school ..."

Pelham cocked an eyebrow at that remark, for Lucio had clearly used his phone when he was at Pelham's house. He didn't question the topic further, however. He could tell that Lucio was already ill at ease.

"Feeling better?" Pelham searched Lucio's face, whose eyes refused to meet his now.

"Like I always do,"

Inadvertently, Pelham's hand reached out to touch the swollen area on Lucio's face - the faintest of caresses. And he extracted his hand the moment he saw Lucio flinch.

"Look, thank you for bringing my phone, but I'm going to be late for class," he said, trying to sidestep Pelham.

But the older boy wouldn't let him. "And you're a hundred per cent sure you're okay?"

"Pelham ..."

"We're gonna have to talk about this, you know that, right?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Pelham instantly regretted it, for the look on Lucio's face just reflected how menacing he must have sounded, if not formidable. Of course, there was - again - the matter with "something else", never quite submerging.

"Can I go now?" said Lucio.

And Pelham stepped out of the way.

In any normal situation, surely Pelham was the one who should be freaking out? He didn't initiate the kiss, yet he was calm as the sea after the storm. And there was the unfathomable itch again ...

"Pelham," came April's voice, this time deliberate and wary.

When Pelham looked at her, he saw something in her eyes that suggested she had every ounce to be more intrigued than she already was. "Yeah?"

"Can I at least have a full version of your story?"