Who Should I Choose?

Seeing the dreadful weather outside made me feel agitated about I was about to see. Moving to a new home is not that easy for everyone, especially to someone like me. I had to start from square one, and my efforts of creating friends and fitting in at my school, all have been erased.

"Honey, you'll love the new house. It has twice more of space that it provides than our old one. You could take the bedroom upstairs if you want."

"It's not like I have a choice, Mom. And besides, I have to take the bedroom on the second floor because there is no other bedroom downstairs besides the masters bedroom."

I felt like I was too harsh on my Mom. It wasn't her fault, nor Dad's, that we had to move to a new place. I guess I didn't have anyone else to turn my anger to.

After three hours on the road, we still have about less than 50 minutes left until we reach Hartford, Nevada. I know what you're thinking. Out of every city in the United States, why Hartford? Well, that's easy. Dad got a job at this "prestigious" law firm, which can only mean one thing. Nope, I wasn't talking about a bigger salary (although that did help motivate me in the idea of moving). It is the fact that I spent my whole life living in Carson City and all of that has been wasted. I guess the only benefit I see when we move to Hartford is that we are much closer to Las Vegas now.

I sighed. "Why can't we just wait one more year until we move. I only had my senior year left!"

"The big boss asked me to move there immediately. After hearing how wonderful I was at my previous job with the other law firm, he did not think twice about hiring me to be part of them. I know that it is hard for you, saying good-bye to all of your friends and the house, but this sacrifice of yours is - well, not so bad, I guess," my Dad said. Not so bad? I had leave my whole life back there! "If you could look at it this way: you could make new friends, create new memories at our new home, and much, much more! Just be glad that we moved early so school there probably hasn't started yet."

Once again, I sighed. "I guess so." It was the only words I could think. I didn't want to argue with my dad, knowing that he has experienced with that field since he's an attorney, and the fact that if children and their parents argue, there is only one clear winner. The parents.

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"Hey, hon, wake up. We're here," my mom said.

I didn't know I fell asleep the rest of the way. After stretching my arms and taking a large yawn, I woke up to the sight of a large, two-story house outside the window of my Dad's truck. My jaw dropped instantly. I guess my mom was right. This house was incomparable to our previous one!

"Come on. Help your mother and I carry the baggage inside." I saw my dad gesture towards the truck bed. "All of the luggage were already taken out of the bed and on the driveway. All we need is a little help carrying them inside. Just get your two luggage and we'll get ours, 'kay bud?"

I nodded and carried my luggage. God I wish both of them could roll. All of my clothing and other miscellaneous items are packed inside both of them. You could imagine how heavy they would be knowing that some of the items that were kept are from my early childhood till present day.

After a couple of minutes in dragging my luggage up the long flight of stairs, I finally reached my bedroom. I turned the knob and to my surprise, the whole room was already decorated, completed with large queen bed, two large cabinets looming overhead, and pictures of my family and I on the walls. I heard both my parents coming up the stairs.

My mom asked, "So, how'd you like your new room?" She was smiling and waiting for my answer.

Suddenly, the upset feeling of moving to a new house felt erroneous. "I-I love it! This house looks amazing and is starting to warm up on me. How did you guys get the pictures already hung up on the wall?"

"Remember last weekend when your mom and I wanted to have a little 'vacation' for ourselves as part of our anniversary? Well, we drove to Hartford to check out this house and picked up the house key from the realtor. Knowing your mom, she framed all of the family pictures and hung it up your bedroom wall before we even move in. I guess, its to make you feel at home, son," my dad explained.

My smile went from ear to ear and I walked to my parents and gave them a hug. "I can't believe you guys would sacrifice your anniversary to do this. You are the best parents!"

"Tell us something we don't know!" my mom replied, causing us three to laugh our hearts out. "Now go ahead and get settled in. Afterwards, head downstairs so you could eat lunch."

"If you want, after that, you could stroll down the street. There's a local park you could visit and make new friends," my dad suggested.

'New friends' stuck to my mind. What if I didn't fit in? God knows how much blood and sweat it took for me to fit in with the the students at my school, especially knowing that I'm different from the rest. So much stuff was going inside my head at once, keeping me distracted from what I was suppose to do. Organizing my room.

I nodded towards my dad, agreeing to his suggestion, and headed towards my bedroom and took all of my stuff out the luggage and organizing them in the cabinet. After a few minutes, I looked around and saw that my bedroom now looks like the one I had before, but bigger. But there is still one thing inside my head that is bothering me. What if the students at my new school do not accept who I am? I let myself fall on top of the covers of my bed with both my hands covering my face.

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My stomach was full after eating a whole plate of my favorite veggie lasagna, although I had to set my plate on the counter to eat since there was no dinner table yet. It was made by my Mother, which is one way to make good use of her Italian heritage.

Mom was born and raised in Carson City, but both her parents, my grammy and gramps, came from Milan, Italy and moved to the US, specifically, Carson, back in the early 70s. A few years later, Mom was born. There she was raised her whole life. That is where she met Dad, whom was also born there and had parents from Italy as well (I guess they were destined for each other).

"I think I'll head upstairs and take a quick shower. The long ride rubbed on me I guess." After helping Mom with cleaning up the dishes, I headed upstairs, into my bedroom.

I grabbed a light blue, fitted shirt, a pair of jeans, and my undergarments from my cabinet, and my favorite hat with the logo of my old school, Carson High. I layed them on top of the dresser in front of my bed and walked out of my room, towards the bathroom, which is conveniently just a few feet away.

I walked into the shower and turned on knob. The warm temperature of the water, dripping on my body, soothed every one of my muscle. This way, I could forget about all of the problems I had.

After the long shower, I grabbed a towel to dry myself and covered my waist. I walked into my bedroom, still feeling the warmthness of my skin after the shower, and stood in front of the mirror of my dresser.

"Hmm, I guess PE payed off." I told myself while admiring my body. Though I didn't look like a bodybuilder, I still managed to get a visible six-pack, which shows nicely with the light tan skin tone I have (thank you Carson for the warm weather all-year-round).

My face isn't that bad looking either. Yeah, I only had dark brown hair and hazel-colored eyes, but that doesn't mean I look like a Shrek. I have had my fair share of girls from my school asking me out on a date. But not one got my attention. That is why students think I'm a loner, no girlfriend, only made a couple of friends, and I spend my time at school doing school work. My social life did not really made any progress. I guess it wasn't so bad moving, since I only had a few friends that I left behind. Still, those friends made school worthwhile.

I sighed in front of the mirror. Why did I have to be this way? Why can't I be just like the other guys at school? I surrendered and gave in. Well, just put on my clothes actually. The time I took just to stare at my body made me feel awkward. Who does this kinds of things?

After dressing up, I headed downstairs, giving my parents each a kiss before heading out. "Be safe out there and make new friends, okay?" my Mom said.

"Mom, I'm 18 years old already. I know what I'm doing." I said, with a smile of course.

"Do you even know which direction the park is?" I used my right palm to slap my forehead slightly. Mom sighed, "Head out and it should be a couple of blocks to your right."

"Got it, thanks!"

I didn't even noticed the weather was beautiful now, after the rain was pouring so hard a few hours ago. Just like what Mom said, I turned to the right on the sidewalk and walked a couple of blocks. I reached the park after a few minutes and saw that it was an amazing sight. The grass was greener than Kermit the Frog (great comparison right?), there were dozens of trees, all rising about 15 feet above the ground, providing a great amount of shade, and a park benches everywhere.Both of my hands were in my pocket as I walked, making me look as awkward as ever. But I didn't care what others are thinking right now. For now, I enjoyed the free time I had. I closed my eyes and took a whiff of the fresh air.

I said to myself, "This place isn't so ba-" Something huge just fell on top of me, causing myself and whatever it was to fall.

My head hit the surface of the ground, thank God it was grass. I found my right hand, out of my pocket, and rubbing the side of my head, while I still lay on the ground. Whatever hit me was still laying on top of my body. I heard a groan from its direction.

"Ahh. I'm so sorry that happened. I had earbuds on and my music was turned to its max, so kinda got distracted."

I opened my eyes and saw that a guy, probably at the same age as I was, and his deep, blue eyes. Reality seemed lost with me when I looked into them. "I-It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was! I was so stupid and didn't pay attention." The guy argued.

"Let's just say its both our fault." I said, which made him smile and laugh. "Umm, can you get off of me please? My body is starting to ache a little."

"I hope that wasn't a fat joke," he said, while continuing to smile, and stood up. He extended his hand to me to assist me in getting up.

I stared at him. He was a little taller than me, probably at 6'1", since I'm at exact 6 feet tall. The guy was only wearing a white tank top and red, athletic shorts. "From your looks, anyone who calls you fat needs to get their eyes check." I gave in and grabbed his hand, to which he pulled back once I did, although it was a little too hard, as I fell on top of him next.

Our bodies touched and without even thinking about it, both our hands grabbed each others' backs, preventing ourselves from falling, but causing our faces to be only inches away from each other. I gently pushed him away.

"Now that was completely my fault." After what just happened, all I could do was grin at him, without saying any word. "I'm Kevin by the way," Once again, he extended his arm.

I looked at it again and asked, "You're not going to pull hard again, will you?"

He laughed, "I don't know. We'll see." We both smiled and I extended my arm towards his.

"My name's Andrew."

"Well, Andrew, it is a pleasure to meet you," Kevin said as he shakes my hand.

Hartford isn't so bad I guess.

Kevin walked away a few feet away from where I was standing and bend over to pick up our hats that flew away from our heads when we bumped into each other. He grabbed one and put it on, the other, he walked over and handed it to me.

"So, you're from Carson huh?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"I'm not a mind reader, but I am smart enough to see 'Carson High' imprinted on your hat," he said with a smile. God, I just noticed how perfect his teeth are, all white and straight.

"Oh," I laughed, "I kinda feel stupid now."

"Don't worry, I do that a lot of times as well."

"Um, its getting late now and I got to go. Do you think -- maybe, we could --"

"Of course, we could hang out!" He grabbed the words right out of my mouth.

"How'd you know I was going to ask you that?"

"I guess I'm a mind reader after all!" We both laughed at his joke. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. First day in Hartford and I already made a friend.

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I continued walking to my house. The image of Kevin still couldn't be erased from my head. I don't know. There is something about him that makes me smile, or something like that.

"Hey, hon! How was the park?" my Mom asked me. My mind was so lost in its own world that I didn't even noticed I was at our driveway already. "Did you make any new friends?"

"Umm yeah I made one." I said as I made my way up the driveway and to the front porch. I gave my Mom a hug. "His name is Kevin and we actually bumped into each other while I was walking. He apologized for it and so did I, then he introduced himself and --"

"He asked you out?!" my Mom asked excitedly. She was the type of parent that acts like a teenager towards their child, asking questions about dating and other stuff. Both my parents knew about my sexual orientation, and thankfully, they gladly accepts me for who I am.

"No Mom! I don't like him, he is just a friend." I explained.

"Well, son, no matter what choices you make, you know your Dad and I are always by your side to support you."

I smiled and said, "Thanks Mom. I know you guys always do."

"Oh, by the way, our neighbors are inside right now. They brought homemade muffins as a welcoming gift. Isn't that nice of them?"

"I heard the word 'muffins' and right away, they are already the best neighbors." That made my Mom laugh. We both went inside at the same time and saw a woman and a man, probably around the same age as Mom and Dad, sitting on the staircase with my Dad.

My Mom walked towards them. "I apologize for the lack of chairs. We decided to get new furniture and we are not going to have them until next week, I hope."

The woman answered, "Oh no need for the apology. If you want, Adam and I could help you guys move your furniture."

"I'll ask my son, too, for help." Adam, the woman's husband, I think, offered.

"That would be very helpful. Thank you guys for all the help." my Mom said. "So do you guys want anything to drink? We have a refrigerator all ready here filled with food and drinks."

"Thank you for the offer, but we actually have to be heading home now. Our son is probably worried to find that the house is empty, knowing that Margaret and I are always at home at this time.

"Before we leave, may I ask which high school your son is planning to go to?"

"Hartford High School, I think that's the name." my Dad replied.

"Great! That is where my son is also going. Maybe the two could get acquainted with each other."

"That would be fantastic." my Mom said. "Is he going to be a Senior this year?"

"Yes, and your husband said that your son is also a Senior, which is great to hear since they could end up with the same classes."

"I hope so. I want my son to make new friends since he is new here."

"Don't worry, he is in great hands with my son." Margaret reassured. "Well, we best be heading now."

"Oh, before you guys leave, thank you for the muffins mister -" I said.

"DeMarco. And it is no problem. So have you already registered for school yet, umm Andrew I believe is your name? It is going to start next week."

"Yes, sir, you got the name right. My Mom and Dad said that it has already been taken care of. All I need to do is pick up my schedule from the counselor when I get there on the first day."

"Well, sometime next week, you and our son should hang out after school some time." Mrs. DeMarco said.

"Of course, that would be awesome!"

"Great! Well, I am going to tell him that now when we get home. See you guys later!"

Mr. and Mrs. DeMarco said their goodbyes and exited our house. "So you made a new friend again?" Mom asked.

"Again? Oh, you made new friends at the park?" Dad asked.

"I'll answer one question at a time. Mom, I guess I did. Dad, only one so it wasn't really much of an accomplishment."

"Is it a guy or a girl?"

"Guy."

"Is he nice?" Geez, he's sounding like a detective all of the sudden.

"Umm, from the looks of it, yeah I guess."

"Are you going to ask him out?" Dear Lord. He and Mom are really great for each other.

"Dad! I just met him."

"Hey, I'm just asking. Before you do, though, get to know the guy first."

"I am not asking him out!"

"I'm just saying, maybe in the future, there is always a chance."

There is always a chance. I wish.

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Thank you for reading you guys! I will gladly accept any comments, just email me. If you guys want me to continue the story, please just tell me and I'll get right on with it.