A Five-Minute Kiss

by Elen Chase

  "I'm killing you, you fucking thief!" Boe shouted, and Liam closed his eyes, covering his head with his arms. Strangely enough, the pain he was expecting didn't come.

  "Boe, it's been a while," Dan's voice said. He was standing next to Boe, holding his wrist above his head.

  "What the fuck do you want, Price?!" Boe screamed out loud and shook Dan’s hand away. Dan said nothing and just pointed at Liam.

  "No fucking way! This little shit stole my weed," Boe barked.

  "If he stole your weed, where is it now? He must have it on him, right?" Dan asked, calmly. Boe seemed like he didn’t know what to say. Liam couldn't help thinking that he had smoked so much that he fucked his brain completely at some point.

  Dan rolled his eyes and said to Boe's friends, "Come on, feel free to search him." Two of them moved toward Liam and started looking inside his pockets.

  "Nothing," they said when they had finished with him.

  Of course I have nothing. As if I could steal so much weed and keep it in my pockets.

  "He must have some friends who ran away," Boe said. "I'll make you spit out their names and bring your bones back to them." He took a step closer to Liam.

  "Boe, can't you see he's all broken? Somebody framed him," Dan said and took a step forward too. "Come on, you can do better than this."

  Boe finally let the stick fall, and from the sound it made when it reached the floor, Liam realized how heavy it was. It could have broken his skull.

  "Who ‘framed’ you?" Boe asked, emphasizing the word “framed” even too much. Liam was pretty sure he had never heard it before.

  For a moment, he thought he could tell the truth and send Boe to beat the crap out of those bullies. It would have been sweet revenge, but Liam was scared. He was scared Boe would actually kill them. The last thing he wanted in the world was to be responsible for anyone’s death.

  "I don't know who they were," Liam’s voice came out a little uncertain. "I had never seen them before…"

  Liam swallowed air and averted his eyes, hoping they would believe him. Judging from the heavy silence that fell in the room, Boe didn't seem to like Liam’s answer.

  "You heard him," Dan said, breaking the silence. He gestured forward with his hand, looking at the guys who had searched Liam and that were still standing behind him. Boe nodded his head, and one of them pushed Liam forward. Liam stumbled a little, but Dan quickly passed an arm around his waist to sustain him.

  "Here we go," Dan whispered. The feeling of Dan’s arm around him was blowing Liam’s mind. Leading Liam out of the classroom, Dan finally said, "Boe, good luck with your thieves."

  When Dan closed the door behind their back, they heard Boe screaming and hitting something, most likely with that stick he had threatened Liam with.

  Chapter 3

  "Thank you." Liam didn't know what else to say to Dan after what he had done for him, and, most of all, he couldn't look him in the eyes. "I guess I’ll go now," he said, clearing his throat, and turned around to leave as fast as possible.

  "Hey, Ginger," Dan called him, freezing him on the spot. Liam turned to him slowly. Another joke about his hair. But said by Dan, it wasn't as irritating as said by all the others. There wasn't the slightest shade of malice in his voice. "You left all your stuff in the library," Dan said, walking back toward the stairs. Liam felt his face turn hot again. That was fairly embarrassing. He followed Dan in silence.

  "Liam," he told him when they arrived at the library door. "It's my name."

  "Short for William?" Dan asked him.

  "No, it's just Liam."

  "I see," Dan paused. "I guess you already know who I am."

  "I do." Liam wondered how he should call him. "Mr. Price…?"

  Dan made a face that was half disappointed and half a smile. "What's with that ‘Mr. Price?’ Do I look like an old man to you?"

  "But I owe you my life," Liam argued, serious.

  "Pfff!" Dan laughed, making Liam blush and his heart stop for a moment. "Just call me Dan, okay?"

  "Mr. Dan."

  "Can you drop this Mr. thing?"

  "But you're an upperclassman." Liam felt uneasy calling him simply by his first name like they were friends. He wasn't used to having friends in the first place.

  "Is there still someone who cares about that kinda thing, here in Downtown?" Dan commented with an enigmatic smile. They went back to the library, and Dan sat back in his usual seat. Liam silently started gathering his things to leave. "You can stay, if you want," Dan said, looking at him. The intensity of that gaze was doing strange things to Liam. Now he understood why people said that a crush would make you feel butterflies in your stomach. Dan continued, "Since you almost died today, I'll even pretend I didn't see you drying your nose on my jacket."

  Liam seriously wanted to disappear now.

  "I wasn't drying my nose on it," Liam weakly argued, abashed.

  "And what were you doing then?" Dan seemed to find it amusing. He was clearly teasing him.

  "I told you, I just wanted to give it back to you," Liam lied.

  "You were crying."

  "Sophomore year literature is very dramatic."

  Dan tried to hold back, but in the end, he burst into a good laugh. Liam felt relieved. Not only did Dan not seem to consider him creepy, but he had also saved him from Boe and now he was having an almost-normal conversation with him. Furthermore, he looked cool while laughing. Even too cool.

  Liam sat back in his seat in front of Dan. "You don't come to school often," he told him.

  "No, I don't," Dan said. "But this is my last year, and I'll have to study for my exams, somehow."

  "You can come here," Liam said, and he regretted it immediately.

  It’s obvious that he can come here, that's what he's been doing already, idiot!

  "I mean… I don't mind your presence at all," he muttered, trying to fix his mistake while being well aware of how cringy he sounded.

  ‘I don't mind your presence at all,’ said the guy he caught smelling his jacket. I have lost it completely.

  "I'm sure you don't." Dan’s stare was fixed on Liam.

  "Liam!" somebody screamed his name, and the door of the library opened suddenly. Liam turned around and saw Peter standing by the door, panting like he had been running. He looked at Liam and Dan for a few seconds, saying nothing. Then he smirked.

  "Hey, Carrot Carter," Peter said. "I heard you got into trouble with Boe, but it looks like you were here having fun instead."

  "What do you want from me, Dorian?" Liam didn't want him there, in his library. “I was almost killed thanks to your friends today, and you come here to mock me?"

  "Oh, sorry to disturb you," Peter pouted. "I’d almost forgot how you enjoy being with other guys." He laughed at Liam, then left.

  Again. Rumors about my sexuality will be spread again. Why? Where did I go wrong?

  "Brat," Dan commented when Peter left, after he had listened to the whole conversation without moving an inch. "Is he the leader of the bullies?"

  "Yeah, he's been tormenting me since middle school," Liam exhaled. "I hate him."

  "I see," Dan said. "I was bullied too, in the past."

  "Really? You?" Liam couldn't picture Dan being bullied at all.

  "Yes, at first as a kid, grade school. I was insulted and ignored because of a psychological problem I had."

  Liam listened carefully to him.

  Dan continued, "Then it happened again when I moved back to Downtown, in this very school. This time the bullying was more physical, I had to learn how to run away fast enough when a group of people approached me."

  "I had no idea…."

  "It's because you met me now. Rumors aren't always a bad thing if you learn how to use them."

  "Is this what you did? You used a rumor to stop being bullied?"

  "Sort of."

  "You're so cool." Liam didn't realize he said it out loud until it was too late. "You said you moved back to Downtown. Does that mean that you lived
in Uptown before?" He tried to change the subject to divert his attention from what he had just said.

  Dan nodded his head. "I've lived there for seven years."

  "My dream is to become an engineer and work in Uptown," Liam told him. He couldn’t explain why, but it felt just natural to talk about his dreams with Dan. "I'm sure everything is easier there."

  "Easier?"

  "You know… for a short, gay, pumpkin-head like me."

  Dan gave him a small smile, that didn’t really reach his eyes, and shook his head. "I hate to break it to you, but there are assholes in Uptown too… and maybe you think this place’s worth nothing only because you met the wrong people, until now. In any case, there's nothing wrong with wanting to change, I guess." He stood up and put his jacket back on his shoulders. "I have to go now," he added, stroking Liam’s head. "See you tomorrow, Ginger."

  "Tomorrow?" Liam said. "So, you'll be back tomorrow?"

  Dan smiled again, with a real smile this time, and lifted his hand as to say “goodbye.” Left alone in the library, Liam kept staring at the door, remembering how Dan saved him from those bastards and the feeling of his arm around him.

  Maybe it's not a crush after all.

  I think I'm in love with him.

  Chapter 4

  Rumors travel fast, and they get distorted as every single person adds something to them. Somehow, in a couple of days, the entire school thought Liam had been busted smoking weed with some upperclassmen, and he had been hooking up with one of them. Some mentioned Dan's name while others said that it was “impossible” for him to have any interest in Liam.

  Liam hated that he had been outed to the entire school, but, since on a practical level his situation hadn’t changed too much, he decided to act more mature and just ignore the rumors. At the same time, he couldn't wait for class to end to go meet Dan in the library. Liam liked talking with him while studying. He had found out that Dan wasn't only cool and fascinating, he was smart too. He even explained to Liam some physics formulas he hadn't understood completely and helped him prepare for his exams while studying for his own.

  "I went to a good school in Uptown," he explained to Liam. "I studied most of these things in middle school, so I just have to remember them."

  "I admire the Uptown education system," Liam said. "If I just stick to this school’s program, I'll never be able to move there."

  "Why don't you try some state competitions?" Dan asked him. "They're meant to find talents to bring to Uptown with a scholarship."

  "I applied for one in middle school… but the day of the exam I couldn't make it to the designated location. Since that moment I've been too depressed to try again."

  "What happened?"

  "The principal was so proud of my participation in that competition that he announced it throughout the school…. As a result the bullies got jealous of me, waited for me at the station, and locked me in a bathroom stall. It was awful."

  "Was it that Peter brat?"

  "Yes, it's always him. He's the worst. He pretended to be my friend for some time, and then he betrayed me and started bullying me after I told him that I was gay."

  "I see…. Did he do something to you? After the other day."

  "He did say to somebody he saw us together…. Rumors say I have an older boyfriend now."

  "That would be me?" Dan’s expression softened.

  Liam smiled and shook his head. "No, apparently you are promised to some rich girlfriend and are going to get married right after graduation."

  "Says who?"

  "A reliable source."

  "Girls in your class?"

  "Yep." Liam held Dan’s stare, making his best serious face until they both started laughing.

  Dan lowered his gaze to the books on the table, not really looking at them, and then said, "I see. Interesting."

  Liam swallowed some air and finally found the courage to ask him, "Do you have one?" He paused. "A girlfriend."

  "No," he said, and Liam’s heart started beating faster. "I have a sort of boyfriend, though. I'm bisexual. Did I ever tell you?"

  No, damn it, you didn't tell me.

  Liam didn't know if he could allow himself to be happy, because now he knew he could have a chance, or disappointed because Dan was dating someone already. In the end, disappointment was stronger.

  "Who is he?" Liam asked, unable to look into his eyes.

  "Someone I met here at school. He’s two years older than me."

  "I see." Liam looked somewhere in the distance, tormented by jealousy. "Maybe he was for you what you are for me now."

  He couldn't stay there anymore. He felt like he had just been dumped, even though he hadn't even confessed his feelings to Dan yet. He silently started gathering his books.

  "Ginger…."

  "I hate jokes about my hair," he said to Dan dryly. "I have a name, damn it," he added through his teeth, turned around and left the library, with a brand-new broken heart.

  Liam walked as fast as he could to the closest bathroom down the hall, went in, and rested his back against the wall. He looked at the green-blue tiles on the floor, trying to find something interesting in them, hoping they could distract him from the shame he was feeling. He had never felt so disappointed in himself and stupid. He had made himself look ridiculous, reacting like a jealous, pathetic teenage girl. He shouldn’t have fallen for Dan. He should have known better. Love wasn’t his thing. There was no way it could have worked out.

  Lost in his thoughts, Liam didn’t realize Peter had entered the bathroom until the other boy was standing in front of him.

  Why is it that every time something bad happens to me, it has to be followed by something even worse?

  "Liam, what are you doing here?" Peter asked, looking at him with an expression that, if Liam didn’t know better, could have been mistaken for worry.

  "Leave me alone, Peter," he sighed, tired.

  "What's wrong? Got dumped by your boyfriend?" As always, there was only hostility in his voice. Liam hated him.

  "Yeah, you know what? Why don't you go tell the whole school? It seems you got nothing better to do than trying to ruin my fucking life!" Years of frustration were finally coming out. "All that happened to me, it's all your fault! Damn you and the day I met you!"

  "What did you say?" Peter seemed furious. "Always acting superior, like you’re better than everyone! You're the only reason your life sucks!"

  Liam literally jumped on him and punched him with all his strength. Peter stumbled and was about to fall on his back but managed not to. His eyes flashed with anger, and he pushed Liam back to the wall. Liam lost focus for a moment, distracted by the pain in his back, and even though he struggled to resist, he couldn't prevent Peter from lifting him up from his collar and punching him. With his head spinning, Liam tripped and hit his forehead on the sink. He fell down, his vision blurring.

  "Look what you've become, all for that asshole!" Peter screamed at him.

  "You’d wish you could be half the man he is," Liam murmured.

  Dan broke his heart, but that didn’t make him less awesome to Liam. On the contrary, he could almost hear his voice as he was losing consciousness.

  "Liam!"

  Liam forced his eyes open. It really was Dan's voice. Dan pushed Peter away and knelt by Liam’s side, taking his head into his hands to look at his forehead.

  "Liam, I'll bring you to the hospital now," Dan told him with a sweet voice.

  Liam didn't want him to be so nice to him, not after he had broken his heart, and yet his body moved on its own. He grabbed Dan’s shirt and pushed his face to his chest. Dan took him in his arms to carry him away. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Liam knew he should be embarrassed to be seen like that by the other kids in school, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was happy to be there, in Dan’s arms.

  Before leaving the bathroom, Dan turned to Peter and said, "You ever touch him again, you’re dead."

  ◆◆◆

  Liam woke up
in a hospital bed. Dan was sitting on a chair next to him, reading one of those gossip magazines abandoned on the bedside table with a disgusted face.

  "Dan…."

  As soon as Liam whispered his name, he moved closer to him. "Liam, how are you feeling?" he asked him.

  "Shitty…. Am I dying?"

  Dan smiled at him. "No, you're fine. You'll get a big bump, but nothing worse. The nurse wants you to call your parents. Legally they need to be informed you’re here, or something like that."

  "I see." Liam let out a sigh of relief. "Will the nurse believe me if I just said I called them? I don’t want them to worry if it’s nothing serious."

  "Won’t they notice anyway?"

  "I’ll just say I fell from the stairs. Old but gold," he said, hinting a smile.

  Dan returned him a sad smile. "It’s your choice, Liam."

  Hearing Dan say his name like that made Liam’s heart ache. He sat on the bed and hugged him, holding tight to the back of his shirt. Dan passed an arm around his shoulders.

  "I thought that if I was going to die, I could ask you for a goodbye kiss," Liam told him.

  "Just how much do you like me?"

  "A lot," Liam confessed. "I like you a lot…. Even if I said I hate jokes about my hair, the truth is that I like the way you call me ‘Ginger.’ And now I have a broken heart because you dumped me."

  "I didn't really dump you."

  "You said you have a boyfriend!"

  "Well, monogamy was never too important to me."

  "No way," Liam said. "That’s cheating. And I wouldn't want to share my boyfriend with anyone else."

  "I see. Pity." So, he had no intention to leave his boyfriend for him. It made Liam sort of sad.

  "You're strange," Liam told him, trying to understand him better. "I guess you don't like me back?"

  "I do like you," Dan smiled. "I find you impossibly cute."

  Liam felt his face burning.