How Did You Know I Was 'The One'? Chapter 1

How Did You Know I Was 'The One'? Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ian was a happy soul when he started his sophomore year at Crestfield High. He had all the friends he wanted and he always got his way. His closest friend was Eli. They had known each other since third grade and no one knew them better than each other (not even their parents).

Then Ian, being the weird self that he is, was completely oblivious to this fact until Eli confessed his love to him. This news shocked Ian. He knew something was up but he didn’t know it was this big. But being as young as he was when this was told to him he just shrugged it off like it was just a joke and didn’t think twice about it since.

Both boys were aware of Ian’s homosexuality from the beginning. It showed just from the way he acted but they didn’t quite know what this behavior was called besides odd. He was always the one hanging out with the girls doing each other’s hair and would never really go and hang out with boys and play with the building blocks and play “Cops and Robbers.”

But it wasn’t until recently when Eli had realized that he too was gay and he was in love too. He wasn’t in love with just anybody he was in love with the boy that was always playing with the girls and never with the boys. Eli didn’t like to play with anybody he liked to sit quietly in the corner just sit and observe the room while the others played. He always found himself to be drawn somehow to that one boy. “What was this feeling?” he asked himself. Nobody ever really paid attention to Eli so he just got used to being left alone and not having to communicate with anybody. His hobby was observing and to this day he finds himself observing the room and over-analyzing most everything.

By the third grade he finally worked up the courage to talk to this boy for the very first time. They would eat lunch together, play with each other at recess, and Ian even got Eli to play with the girls and him. By the end of the third grade they were best friends and everybody knew it. But there was something about their friendship that puzzled the boys. They both felt the magnetic pull from each other and would get really sad if one of them had to leave. Through the rest of their elementary years, middle school years and their freshman year in high school the boys became better and better friends to each other.

Now that both boys were aware of Ian’s homosexuality from the start, but it was never a big concern to them. But now everything was clear to them, they were gay for each other. Now that Eli had accepted the fact that he was gay he was Ian’s to claim.

Their freshman year was over and their summer break was nearly at an end and they were on one of their daily outings with each other on their way to the mall to get some stuff for the new school year.

As Ian and Eli were walking to the local mall together, they were talking about the new school year and which guys probably got hotter over the summer. All through the conversation Eli was debating when he should ask Ian to be his lover, let alone if he should ask Ian at all. Weighing the pros and cons of asking or not they headed into the first store, Popular Subject. Wallets loaded and arms empty they began their spree for new clothes and accessories for school. Finally with their arms full (more like Eli’s arms Ian did more shopping) and their money spent they headed home after a pleasant lunch together.

When both boys were almost home, Eli decided now would be the best time to ask him. So with that thought he tried his hardest to urge himself to drop the bags and open his mouth. But for some reason he just couldn’t find the power. Although he did at least stop his pace leaving him standing there with his arms full and starring off into space.

This made Ian stop his jaunt and put his stuff (what little he was carrying) down. And so the interrogation began.

“What’s wrong? Did we forget something? Did you drop something? Why aren’t you moving? And what are you starring at? Hey! I’m talking to you! Is anybody there? Helloooooo…”

After giving up with the questionnaire Ian took Eli’s bags (having to pry them out of his hands) and his own and started trudging forward, threatening to leave Eli behind if he didn’t snap out of it and hurry up. Then he heard Eli mutter something.

“Will you be my lover?” It sounded like.

Eli was now looking down at the ground afraid to make eye contact with Ian.

“Wait, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you.” Ian replied with curiosity.

This time it was louder and he was looking Ian straight in the eyes with his cheeks flushed red as a red delicious apple.

“Will you be my lover?” He repeated this time more clearly.

“Um…Okay. But why exactly? What are your reasons? Why did you wait so long to ask me this?”

Eli started muttering more words and ended up having to repeat them in order to be heard clearly.

“Lately I’ve noticed that there was this odd feeling that I felt between you and I and I wasn’t able to place this feeling until now. This feeling I feel is…is love. I think I love you Ian. No scratch that. I love you Ian, will you be my lover and spend the rest of our lives with me and grow old and sit on our front porch together rocking back and forth in our old rickety rocking chairs squeaking away?”

“Okay but why me?”

“Because I love you and you are my dream guy that I want to marry and I think there is no other person on this planet more important to me than you.” With each word he uttered his face became livelier, “You complete me. You make my whole world light up with the way you always look at me. If you didn’t exist then I would not have such a great life like I do now. I want you to love me the way I love you, forever and always, with all my heart and more.”

Ian was awestruck. He didn’t know how to reply to this statement.

“I-I-I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say.”

Eli had finally moved down on one knee was holding Ian’s hand. This had made Ian drop his own bags and stare at Eli with the same blank expression as Eli had on before. As Eli began to get more life back into his body he asked his question again, hoping for a good answer.

“Well? What do you say? Will you be my lover?”

“Well…um…uh…I-I…I don’t know.”

“Oh come on, it’s not like I’m asking you to marry me here.”

“Well…I guess. It sounds like it would me a good idea. But won’t this creep people out though?”

“I don’t care if it creeps people out. There are just going to have to suck it up and deal with it.”

“You know you’re right, who cares? I say yes to your question.”

As they gathered their bags, and Eli got off the ground, Ian began to think about how great this relationship is going to be. Things aren’t really going to be much different than before except for the kissing and the hugging. Oh and the dates. The dates will be so much better than “hanging out.”

They made their way home, hand-in-hand, struggling with carrying their shopping bags, with big grins on their faces. Eli dropped Ian off at his house on Pioneer Street before heading for his own room in that building he calls home. While on Ian’s porch Eli started up another conversation.

“So um…do you want to tell people about us or do you want to keep it a secret?”

“I’m not sure yet. I think we should both let reality sink in and mull it over a bit until we are ready to make that decision.”

“Oh um, okay. I would have thought that you would want to tell everybody as fast as you could.”

With that Ian turned and went inside and up the stairs to his room. Eli left and on his way home he was already ‘mulling it over.’ He wasn’t even sure if he was ready to tell anybody.

“I think I’ll just do what ever Ian wants to do.” He spoke out loud to himself.

With this thought on his mind he began to unpack his shopping bags and get ready for school, for it started the following Monday.