[So, I was drawing and I just said "fuck it" and went for realistic and oML it's the most realistic drawing I've done that I didn't really plan for and am actually proud of, and it also ended up looking like Calvin so I added glasses and bAMM: the picture above. Arianna said the character looked like he ate dick anyway, so thERE WE GO. Enjoy.]

Chapter 14

The principal gave me In-School-Suspension whenever I have PE now. I also have detention after school for causing a commotion in the cafeteria, when I confessed to the nude photos. The principal called my father and there's a conference with my parents scheduled Saturday. She went on to explain that what I confessed to is an illegal crime that can send me to court and possibly prison. I doubt Eli will file charges against me, but that doesn't mean I'm safe from school and social punishment. Despite that the principal seemed to expect me to sob in front of her, or something, I kept a calm demeanor and took responsibility.

The rest of the day after that was absolute shit. In the halls, I either got shoved around or avoided. In graphic design, I had expected Oscar to not want to talk to me, but we chatted like we usually did.

"So, that small rumor about you taking nude photos of Eli is real?," he had asked, still surprised. I nodded to his question.

"I'm sorry if you end up getting shit for what I did," I told him glumly.

He shook his head and replied, "I'll be fine, Tae. Barely anyone talks to me anyway."

"You're not upset with me? Not disappointed, or disgusted?"

He shook his head and managed a smile, his jade colored eyes brightening significantly. "Dude, you're still the same Calvin Tae I know. We've talked about hentai and jerkin' it before, so this wouldn't surprise me. You're still cool to me, man."

A minor sense of relief washed over me and I managed a smile. "Thanks, Oscar. That means more than you know."

"It does?"

When it was PE, I went to ISS, then in U.S. History, I got the stare down from a lot of people. After school, I reported to detention and stayed there until Appa came to pick me up. As soon as I set one foot into the car, he started scolding me in Korean (which basically means he's extra pissed). Appa could probably forgive me for making a commotion in the cafeteria, but taking photos of a nude person without their consent was a whole new boundary for him to set with me now. He hasn't been this upset with me since that time I tried purchasing a sex toy from Spencer's during freshman year (it wasn't for me, it was meant to be a prank on Yani, but shit got out of hand).

Both Umma and Appa gave me a lecture when I got home, and I would have my phone and computer privileges taken away from me until this situation was resolved. All of that was understandable. Like the principal, they expected me to make some sort of scene, but I took their punishments without question. I knew that I fucked up, I don't need them to tell me that. I knew that there would be negative consequences eventually, just didn't know when.

I hung out in my room and did all of my homework. When I was done, I had nothing to do. I tried taking a nap, but I would wake up only a few minutes after I laid down. As I laid in my bed, I wondered if Eli was trying to reach me on my phone, or Yani, or even Wesley (he's taunted me enough...). I wondered if people were hunting down my social media to spam hate at me. I wondered how much the news of my wrongdoing would spread. I wondered a lot of things, but in the end I always thought about Eli. The one thing that mattered most was if he's going to have an easier time now. That's what I worried for the most.

After a while of sitting around and doing nothing, Umma came into my room. I expected her to tell me that dinner was ready, but instead told me, "Calvin, noo-gu ga nul-ur bo lo waht da." (Calvin, someone has come to see you.)

Confused, I got out of bed and asked, "Noo-gun de?" (Who is it?)

"Ka-man mu-lli iin nun ki-kuun nam-ja ii. Whua nan-gu chul-um bo-yeow," (A tall boy with black hair. He looks mad for some reason.) she answered me.

Excitement built up in my chest and I ran past her to get to the front door. As soon as I opened it, I jumped out and latched onto whoever was standing outside. The person groaned and wobbled a bit, but hugged me back anyway.

"Calvin," Eli's voice whispered, his breath brushing past the top of my head.

I hugged him tighter and murmured into his chest, "I missed you. I was worried for you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I'm sorry I'm an idiot. I missed you. Eli. I missed you." My body was trembling more from my happiness than anything else. He stifled the chuckle that I adored and rubbed his hand against my back. "I missed you, too," he murmured, and my heart melted.

"Wesley told me about what happened in lunch," he started. I pulled away and looked up at him, knowing that's what he would've wanted me to do (there's a bruise under his left eye now). His expression was stern, and he asked, "Why would you do that?"

"I...I knew if I didn't confess to what I did," I answered, "then you'd keep getting hate. You'd get hurt. I didn't want anyone to hurt you."

"But now those people will hurt you," he remarked, scowling worriedly. "Calvin, you shouldn't have said anything."

"I told you, I didn't want you to get hurt," I repeated.

He shook his head. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me--."

"Stop telling me that," I grumbled. "Stop telling me not to care. I care about you a lot, and it's why I did what I did, why I wasn't afraid of telling the entire school. You mean a lot to me, Eli. You're a good person and you don't deserve to be labeled as more of a jerk because of something you didn't want to do."

"I could've handled whatever anyone had to throw at me," Eli kept arguing. "I would've been fine. You would've been fine. As insulting as this may sound, people are going to tear you apart now."

"I don't care."

"Calvin..."

"This would've happened eventually," I stated, "I couldn't run from this drama forever. It's better off this way, anyway, because it'll help keep people off your back."

"I appreciate that," he retorted, "but...Calvin, I want to protect you. I want to keep you safe and content. Let me do that."

I frowned. "Let me do the same for you...!"

"Calvin, please..."

I grabbed onto both of his hands and squeezed them tight. "All of this is my fault, and you can't argue against that. If I hadn't taken the photos, we wouldn't be here now. When you punched me, it was only to protect me. You risked ruining yourself to keep me safe. Now I'm ruining myself to protect you. I wanna make you happy, Eli. I just want us to be okay, together. I don't care what other people think of me, same as you don't care either. What matters to me is that I have you and you're alright. That's it."

Eli sighed as he stared back into my eyes. Then, he leaned forward and placed his lips on mine, moving them gently. My heart pounded in my chest and I held onto the sides of his face. When he pulled away, he murmured, "Thank you."

I smiled and kissed him a little more (it's only been a couple of days and it feels like a huge relief to do this). In between kisses, I asked him, "Why didn't you ever reply to my texts and calls?"

After a smooch, he answered, "My phone was dead and I couldn't find the charger." A kiss. "I tried calling you earlier but you didn't pick up."

Another peck. "Got my phone taken away."

"Oh..," he murmured, then kissed me deeply again.

When we finally stopped, we just stood together gazing at each other. Eli held his hands at my waist and my hands rested on his shoulders. In a soft tone, he murmured, "I really don't want you to get hurt from this."

"I'll be okay," I assured him.

He sighed and leaned his forehead on mine. "I want to do something to fix everything."

"You don't have to do anything," I mumbled, brushing my fingers through his hair.

Suddenly, he pulled away and said, "I know one way."

"Eh?"

"Calvin," he started, "I need to fix this. You're mine. Not my property, just mine. You're my boyfriend and a new chance."

"What are you talking about...?"

"Listen, you mean a lot to me, too. Ever since I started dating you, things have become more...bearable. Being at home isn't so bad anymore. I'm more happier than usual at work. School is easier to endure, too. I want to keep you with me, by my side. I want to protect you, and I will. Right now, the only way I can do that, and mend all of these problems, is to embrace the fact that you're all mine without having to hide it."

Eyes widening, I responded, "No way... But, people will talk..!"

"Let them talk," he said, smiling the kind of smile that can make anyone feel daring, "Let them talk all they want. I don't care--we don't care. I want you, Calvin. I intend to keep you."

Words couldn't describe the sensation I felt seeing him look so confident, so ready, and so caring. God, he's perfect. I'm such a dork and I really don't deserve him, but I'll be damned if I let him go. I've longed for him for so long now. I want to keep him, too.

"How do you want to come out?," I asked him.

He smirked mischievously, which made me wonder what he had in mind. Next, Eli took out his phone and opened up the camera. Grabbing my chin with gentle fingers, he leaned forward and kissed me tenderly. I closed my eyes, enjoying his lips as if it's the first time I'm feeling them. Even when I heard the sound of a camera shutter, I didn't open my eyes.

It was when Eli pulled away that I opened my eyes. The both of us looked at the photo of us kissing and we chuckled. Then, Eli hugged me close and held the phone out in front of us. "Say 'Wesley has a daddy-kink'," Eli jested as I posed and saying it actually made me laugh.

The picture was taken and we checked it out. It looked wonderful: Eli leaning a cheek against my head as he smiled; me winking, smiling, and making a peace sign. (I should make him send it to me so I can have it as a wallpaper.) Eli went to his contacts and picked Wesley's name. Oh my god...

"Let's see....," he murmured, tugging on his bottom lip as he thought. Then, he started texting, murmuring as he finished, "....and send."

"What did you send him?," I questioned excitedly. Eli held up his phone and I checked out his text. He had sent both pictures, plus a message saying: Jokes on you, asshole. I'm gay for the Creep.

It was hard to contain my laughter and I shook my head at him. "You're terrible," I commented playfully. When I stopped to look up at his face, I was mesmerized. His smile made him look so charming and the warm look in his eyes had my cheeks flushing red. How the hell could anyone ever leave him? How could anyone just shove him off as a delinquent and move on? They're weird. Maybe I'm weird for thinking this way. No, I'm not weird... I think I'm just crushing way too hard to see anything else but the amazing Eli that I've gotten to know.

"He's gonna lose his shit when he sees those pictures," I chuckled, then grabbed Eli's hand (I love holding it). He held on and replied, "That's exactly what we want. He's the one who started this mess, anyway."

"Well, technically, I did," I remarked.

Eli pulled me close against his chest and said, "And it's the best thing that's happened to me in a long time." He encased my lips into another kiss and I brushed my fingers through his hair again. When we stopped, I held his gaze and said, "I don't want you to leave just yet. Do you...do you want to come inside? Maybe get some food?"

"What about your parents?"

"What about them?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Would they be okay with random company? Do they even know about me?"

"Oh, they don't," I murmured, looking down. Then, I perked up and added, "But, they can now! If, ya know...you're willing to put up with them today?"

Eli flashed another warm smile and shrugged. "I don't feel like going home just yet, anyway."

Excitement rang through my body and I couldn't help but shimmy in my spot. "Awesome! C'mon! Oh, and don't freak out if my mom speaks to you in Korean. Her English is broken, too. Also, my dad is really big on table manners since they, like, show off a person's respectability, or something. If you wanna win over my mom, just eat all of the food she gives you and you're set for life."

"I can handle all of that."

"Sweet, because that's only the beginning--welcome to my crib! Make yourself at home!"

•••

Eli did great. He did exactly what I told him to do, and did it better than I expected. Umma practically fell in love with him and his manners (and his looks, as she went on to comment to me when Appa wasn't listening). Appa was a bit iffy at first, but his vibe eventually eased up. Eli didn't falter his attitude either when Appa said something a little judgmental. I think that was one of the things my dad was impressed with, aside from table manners.

After Umma made sure Eli and I were fed, we all had a discussion at the table over what was going on. Eli kept his cool the entire time, and I mostly rode off of what he said. He lied, explaining that we had been dating before the nude photos incident and that the pictures were only intended to be playful. Obviously, Appa and Umma never saw them so they wouldn't be able to guess that they were candid, and we never mentioned that. We left out the sensitive things (like how we came to even talk to each other, cough cough), talked about the drama, and my parents ate up every word. Even though they were both a little uncomfortable, they felt better about everything. Umma was happy that I had someone like Eli to stick by me, and Appa was just happy to know that Eli took responsibility (he was still weirded out about the nudes).

When we all finished talking, it was already 9 pm. Umma, being the shameless mother she was (I think I get it from her), offered for Eli to stay the night, if he needed to, since she was worried about him driving home this late. As much as I'm sure Eli wanted to say yes--I know I wanted him to--he had to decline out of respect and convenience. Even with this, Umma said he was welcome any time. When he was leaving, he shook hands with both of my parents and bid them a good night. I went outside with him to spend a few more minutes with him, alone.

"That was nice," he said, "Things went better than I expected."

"Are you kidding? You were great," I chimed happily, "They love you."

He chuckled and grabbed my hands as we stood together. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he remarked.

"What do you mean?"

"The principal said I have to come to the school tomorrow for a conference with you and your parents," he answered.

"Oh, right," I murmured, "That shouldn't be difficult, since you made it through my parents."

"They weren't as bad as you say."

"Oh, they get worse," I said, over-exaggerated. Eli laughed and shook his head at me. Gently, he lifted up my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. Blushing, I whined and muttered, "Stop being so charming...!"

"Why?"

"Because you don't give me the chance to be charming, too," I grumbled and he rolled his eyes.

"Charm me then. Go ahead," he said and I could hear the hint of challenge in his tone. I thought about it for a few moments, before taking a deep breath and tiptoeing to reach his lips. Instead of landing a kiss, Eli purposefully leaned back and I stumbled forward a little. He snickered and I glared playfully at him. When I kept trying to kiss him, he moved away and I complained, "Dammit, let me love you...!"

"I don't know...," he murmured, shifting his gaze to the side tauntingly.

"Oh, come here," I said, before wrapping my arms around his neck and forcing him to lean down. Without anywhere to go, he was forced to let me kiss his face, but he didn't try to fight it. The both of us enjoyed every second we spent standing there on my door step, holding each other, kissing, smiling. It felt wonderful and perfect. Being with him like this felt like laying under gentle sun rays; warm, relaxing, refreshing, and eventually it becomes the perfect amount of hot. Just perfect.

It almost pained me to let him go, but it was late and the both of us were tired. Eli wished me goodnight before walking back to his parked Camaro. I watched him leave until I couldn't see his car anymore, then sighed contentedly. After waiting outside a little to take in the cool night air, I walked back into my house to get some sleep.