The Kiss

A Short Story by “Hopelessfool”

Within a dark room at the Chapman residence, a red blinking light switched from 6:59 to 7:00 and a screeching buzz started to emit from the darkness. This is what Paul became accustomed to in the last few years. He woke up, and grumbled while on the way to the shower. After showering, he got dressed, shaved, and was on his way to Duncan High.

The bell rang and the students entered the building. It was a warm day in May and the yearly spring play was having auditions. Paul pulled into the parking lot, parked, and made his way into the building. As soon as he entered the building, his friend Renee attacked him from out of nowhere.

“PAUL!!!!!!!!” She said in a very excited manner.

“Hey” he said, trying not to sound bored or excited.

“Are you going to audition for the play after school?”

“Probably not.”

“Why not?” She asked offended, as if he had just insulted her.

“C’mon Renee, you know I don’t do that kind of stuff anymore. I just don’t have a passion for it.”

“Well you should, dammit!” she said with as much enthusiasm as possible.

“I’ll think about it” he said, smiling, and with that he walked off toward his first class.

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It was Paul’s senior year. He didn’t care so much about dressing nicely to impress other people anymore. People thought of him as being cool, but never made the effort to talk to him. They didn’t know him, and he didn’t know them other than the superficial “Hey, how are you doing?” line exchanged from time to time. And he was fine with that. It was starting to get to the point where he didn’t care about anyone. He was just focused on getting his education and getting out of Duncan, MA.

School was school, and nothing spectacular happened. Through Renee’s constant persistence in Paul to audition for the play, he decided to stay and audition, and through a stroke of ‘luck’, he was one of the first to go up and audition.

“Hi” he said coyly to the people sitting in the audience.

The middle aged woman, standing to the right with dark square glasses and a black turtleneck asked “Your name please”

Out of nervousness, he looked to her and said “Paul Chapman”

She picked up a clipboard from the table, and wrote notes as he spoke. “Okay. Now we need to hear a monologue and hear you sing.”

He looked over to Renee and his eyes widened. He didn’t know what to do. Renee made a motion as if to say “go on!” He felt like flipping her off.

Paul decided to go ahead and bullshit a monologue, as well as his song. He was not prepared at all, and after five minutes of what seemed like hell, he finally got to leave. He walked right by Renee and out to the auditorium.

On the verge of tears from all the embarrassment, he didn’t look as to where he was going, and as he walked through the door to get out of the auditorium, he heard a ‘thump’ and an “OW!”

He stepped out quickly and closed the door, only to find someone standing on the other side rubbing his head.

Paul’s eyes widened and quickly said “Sorry! Are you okay?”

The boy looked up and stopped rubbing his head “Yeah”

He got down on one knee and said “I am so sorry. I just had a horrible audition and I wasn’t paying attention. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah” he said, giving a half smile.

Paul’s heart melted a little.

Then all of a sudden, Paul was hit with the door just like the other boy.

“OW!” He exclaimed, and looked to see who it was. It was Renee. The other boy started to laugh since he got a “taste of his own medicine” so to speak.

“I am so sorry Paul” she said, “I forgot that you had to memorize a monologue and have a song prepared!”

“Yeah right.” He said, awfully angry. He moved away from the boy, remembering he was there and said “This is why I hate doing this. Thanks a lot.”

“Well all I can say is that I’m sorry” she said.

“That’s fine.” He said heading to the door. “I’ll just talk to you later.”

And with that, Paul left through the door.

Meanwhile, the boy sat there enjoying the show.

Once Renee turned around, she noticed he was looking at her and she shrugged.

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Paul came home and cooled off a little. He realized it was stupid to get angry about something so minute, so as soon as he got on the computer, he sent Renee an email.

To: Crazychick

From: PaulC

Subject: Hey

Text: Hey. I just wanted to say sorry about earlier. I was just really flustered and embarrassed. I hope you understand! Anyway. I’ll talk to you either tonight or tomorrow!

By the way. I have a question. Who was that guy that was in the lobby with the two of us earlier? What do you know about him? I’d kind of like to get to know him better.

okay, well I’ll talk to you later!

Paul

And with that, Paul got offline.

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It was around 5pm when Renee got home. She lived in a quaint little apartment with her Grandmother, and hardly had anyone to talk to. Hence, whenever she sees someone that she knows, her full on hyper personality comes out at full speed.

After walking in the door and grabbing some soda, Renee decided to sign onto the

computer. The white light illuminating the dark room shined off of her face and she smiled as she read Paul’s email. After a couple of seconds of pensive thought, she decided to write him back.

To: PaulC

From: Crazychick

Subject: Re: Hey

Text: It’s alright. I understand you were embarrassed. And about Diego, I really don’t know him. I’m afraid though that I don’t think he’s “your type” if you know what I mean…

See ya at school tomorrow!

R 

Renee clicked on the “send” button and grinned. She actually knew Diego really well, and she had decided to lie to Paul in the email, and then later get them together in order to “make up” for embarrassing Paul earlier.

With that, she went to her purse, pulled her cell phone out of it, dialed a few numbers, and held it up to her ear.

“Hey, is this Diego?” she asked unsure. “Hey. This is Renee from English. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute…”

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Paul lay awake in his bed that night, having a hard time trying to sleep. He couldn’t help but think of the very awkward chance encounter he had with the boy earlier that day.

“I can’t believe I never noticed him before” He thought to himself as he tried to fall asleep.

He lay there for a while longer; creating faux-memories that he hoped would one day come true. The thing he thought of most, that he wanted to come true more than anything, was that the two of them could kiss.

“In my dreams” he thought, as he figuratively rolled his eyes.

After turning onto his side and waiting for a few minutes, a smile remained on his face, never fading, and soon-after he fell asleep.

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Diego hung up the phone and stared into space for a minute. He had the kind of smile on his face you only find with the most skilled daydreamers. Suddenly the door to his bedroom started to open which startled him.

“Diego” his mother asked with a blunt tone, as she peeked her head around the door, “Did you have a good day at school?”

“Si, mama” he said, and he smiled with a big grin.

“What are you so happy about?” she asked.

“Well” he started as if he was going to tell her what just happened. Then as he opened his mouth, he closed it “Oh never mind. I just had a good day…” He looked down toward the floor.

“Well good.” She said. “Make sure to set the table for dinner”

His mother left and Diego heard the footsteps getting softer as they trudged away from his bedroom. His smile had quickly turned into a frown. Diego wanted to tell his mother about him so badly, but knew it wouldn’t go well. She had strong Catholic beliefs and would hardly understand. He couldn’t believe that a mother could know her son so well, yet not even know him at all.

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The next morning was greeted with the same indifferent attitude as the morning before. Paul got ready without giving a thought to this second nature activity. Then soon after word he was on his way to school.

He walked through the main doors and searched for Renee who was not in her usual spot in the morning. He decided to quit looking and stood in the crowded hallway, waiting for the first period to start.

Diego had been sitting in the cafeteria, also waiting for the first period to start. He had a nervous feeling in his stomach, but eventually made his way to talk to Paul. As he stood directly behind him, he opened his mouth to say hey, and the bell rang. Paul then quickly walked through the doors to go down into the lower floors of the school. With a look of defeat on his face, Diego walked down the hallway and headed toward his class.

Halfway down the hallway, he was suddenly yanked to the side by Renee.

“Did you talk to Paul yet?” She asked excitedly.

“Actually.” He started, “Just as I went to say ‘hey’, the bell rang. So I didn’t get to”

Renee was disappointed, “Well you better talk to him today! Or else!” She tried to be intimidating.

“Alright, Alright!” he said, trying to get out of the conversation, “I will. I have to go though, so I’ll see you, okay?”

She smiled widely, “Okay!” she said. She let him go and made her way to class. Diego did the same.

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It was time for lunch, and Paul was making his way to the cafeteria which was on the fourth floor. On his way up the stairs he got to the second floor when he heard “Get the fuck out of the way” and someone had bumped into him, causing his books to scatter everywhere. He sighed, feeling bad enough about things, and bent down to pick up the books.

“Here, let me help you with that” he heard, but didn’t turn to see who it was.

“Thanks.” Paul said. “That guy is such a…” as he was talking he looked up and noticed it was Diego standing there. He was surprised, and his mouth dropped “…jerk.”

“I know.” Diego said smiling. After a few awkward seconds passed, he perked up and then said “So…what are you up to now?” Meanwhile thinking to himself what a stupid question.

“Just going to lunch,” Paul said. He started to walk and hoped that Diego would follow. He did. “You?” he asked.

“Oh…just going to lunch” He said, mocking Paul somewhat and grinning.

Paul smiled.

“Do you . . . Maybe want to sit together?” Diego finally asked.

“Yeah.” Paul said. “There’s just one thing. Renee wanted me to go to lunch with her. Is it cool if she sits with us?”

“It’s cool. I figured she’d sit with us anyway” Diego said, giving Paul a sort of ‘Duh’ expression. Paul felt like an idiot.

They made their way through the fourth floor doors and then walked to the cafeteria.

When they entered, Renee was sitting to the side of the room grinning. Paul saw and knew she must have been behind the whole Paul thing. Either way, he went and planted a seat next to her. Diego sat across the table from Paul and Renee.

“Hey guys!” she said excitedly, “What’s up?”

“Oh you know,” Diego said, “Same old stuff. What about you?”

“I’m good.” She perked up, “OH! Paul! You got a part in the play!”

Paul looked up from what he was doing. His eyes widened a little, and he slowly glanced over. “What?”

“Yep!” She grinned happily, “You didn’t totally screw up afterall”

He glared at her.

Diego then cut the awkward stare with a “So, what part did you get?” he asked Paul.

“I don’t know..” He said, glancing to him and back to Renee. “What part did I get?”

“You’re the miner. You have your own solo and everything!” She said. Paul smiled in return. “By the way, there’s practice tonight. 6:30 in the auditorium.”

“Ugh….” Paul groaned, placing his head on the table. He then said sarcastically, “Thanks for telling me in advance.”

“It’s not my fault you left in a huff yesterday!” she said raising her voice a bit. “They told us who was getting what part yesterday!”

“Oh” Paul looked down.

Diego once again cut the awkward silence, “Alright…well I’m going to go get some food or something. I’ll be back” With that, he got up and made his way into the lunch line.

Paul turned around and watched Diego walk away.

“Quit checking him out!” Renee said.

Paul turned back to Renee and rolled his eyes, meanwhile grinning.

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It was after school, and Diego trekked his way home. He immediately came into the door, said “Hi” to his mother, and headed toward his bedroom. He set his books on the floor, got into his bed, and immediately fell asleep.

He was jolted awake. He glanced over and the clock read 6:04. Immediately he thought it was the next morning, but realized it in the evening. After he woke up a little more, he realized he wasn’t the only one in his room. He rubbed his eyes, and tried to make out the shadows in the dark when the light came on. It was Diego’s parents in the room. He let out a sigh of relief. If he would have only known what was to come.

“DIEGO!” his mother said angrily, “When were you going to tell us about this?”

Still waking up, Diego took a minute to reply. After yawning, and a stretch, he said “What, mama?”

“This!” she said, holding up a picture that she had found in his wallet of Diego and another boy kissing.

He immediately perked up, “Where did you find that!” he said, surprised.

“In your wallet.” She said. “Get up. Get out of my house, you…you,… faggot!”

Diego felt the tears start to fill his eyes. He thought his mother loved him, but at the moment it didn’t seem that way. He then began to get angry, “How could you go through my wallet. My personal things?” he said as he stood up.

“Nevermind that.” She said also angry, “Get out!”

“Ma! Listen to me!”

She cut him off, “I don’t care what you have to say, faggot, now get out of my house!!!”

Diego’s father was silent. Diego grabbed what he could, including his cell phone and his jacket, his wallet, and of course the picture his mother was holding. He made his way through the door, eyeing his silent father as he started out the door. But his father stopped him.

“How could you do this to me? To this family?” He went off on a Spanish ramble that even Diego couldn’t make out. He started out of the door once again when his father hit him across the face. Hard. At the moment of impact Diego felt winded and stepped backward. He then immediately ran out of the door and down the hallway. While he was running through the hallway his parents started a screaming match between one another, all in Spanish. But, Diego didn’t pay attention to what they said. He ran out of the house and into the rain. After stopping for a quick second, he decided to run to the right. He wasn’t sure where he was headed, but his main concern was getting out of the house. He just didn’t know where to go.

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Meanwhile, at the auditorium at the high school, Paul had arrived ready to start practice. He had a feeling of nervous anticipation, and he wanted to start the practice already. He saw Renee but she was talking to some other friends, so Paul decided to sit by himself and review the script. The director, Mrs. Grant came in, and started barking orders. Everyone immediately got quiet and the practice had started.

Paul was one of the first few on stage to start practicing. Once his scenes were done he went back into the audience and talked with Renee.

“So. Lovebird.” She said jokingly, “How are things going with your Latin Lover?”

“Uh…They’re going.” He said. “He actually helped me pick up my books earlier, which was nice. It was a right place in the right time sort of thing, I suppose. I still think he’s probably straight and was being nice.”

“Aww.” Renee said faux-sympathetically. She knew Diego was gay, but she liked playing games and wanted Paul to find out on his own. “Well hopefully you’ll find out soon enough.”

“Yeah. Before I start “crushing” even more” He stated. He looked down when he heard Mrs. Grant bark “Miner! We need a miner on stage. NOW!”

Paul winced at the shrieking but immediately made his way onto the stage. While heading to the stage he mouthed the words ‘sorry’ to the director, and she rolled her eyes.

Paul started the scene off, after a little bit of direction from Mrs. Grant. This was the scene in which Paul had his solo song. He was nervous at first, but had all the words down and knew he couldn’t make the same mistakes twice; he went on with the scene when everyone heard the sound of a slamming door in the back of the auditorium. No one paid attention to it, however.

“Excuse me ma’am, but I was wondering if you had a fresh cup of Joe” He read from the script.

“I sure do partnah,” The girl read in a faux-southern accent. “ Do ya like it with coffee, cream, or both.”

“Cream, ma’am. Thank you much.” He said, getting more into the scene.

The scene continued on for a few more minutes, until it was time for Paul’s song. The music started, and Mrs. Grant had a look on her face that showed she at least liked what had been done so far. Then, just as Paul was getting ready for his song, he noticed a figure to his right, off-stage. He glanced over.

It was Diego; Dripping wet, and crying. He had a bruise on his left cheek from his father’s punch, and he was standing there, breathing heavily. Diego knew that if he could at least make it to Paul, that things would be alright.

The music kept on. But Paul hadn’t started to sing. Mrs. Grant was barking orders and getting angrier by the second, but Paul didn’t care. He only cared about the dark-skinned boy standing off of stage right who was wet and hurt and crying.

Everything seemed to just click at once. Diego’s sexuality; The fact that Renee had set them up after that audition; His strict parents; It all made sense. Paul dropped his script and walked off stage to hug the boy. No words were exchanged because none needed to be. Paul understood. He wrapped his arms around the dripping boy and hugged him. For a long time. Diego was getting water all over him from the rain, but Paul didn’t care. The only thing that mattered in that moment was Diego and Paul. Mrs. Grant, who was now on the stage, continued yelling orders; but the orders came into Paul’s ears incoherently.

Paul pulled away from Diego just for a second to stare him in the eyes.

“Look at you.” He said, raising his left hand to run his finger around the bruise on his face.

Diego said nothing. Instead, they looked deeply into one another’s eyes for what could have easily been forever. The hurt and the look in Diego’s eyes tugged at Paul’s heart, so much so that a tear ran down his cheek. He decided that this was the time, and Paul leaned in ,slowly but surely, and placed his lips on Diego’s. After a few seconds Paul felt nothing, but then Diego’s lips sprang to life, and he kissed Paul back.

Their lips stayed locked for a long while. Everything seemed to be going so slowly to the two boys, but they didn’t care. The kiss led Paul, and more importantly Diego, to believe that everything was going to be okay.

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Fin.