I stood frozen at the spot from a dare one of my friends made in complete shock. "Why did I agree to play?!" I mentally screamed at myself, glaring at each one of their smirking faces; only one was fake, if not concerned. My best friend, Zara, was the only one in the entire jungle that knew which way of the vine I swung, not even my dad knew; the way she found out was VERRRY embarrassing.

I will say only this about how she found out; she caught me while I was trying to give myself some 'relief', crying the name of the bird of my dreams as I 'peaked'. I just about died when I saw her standing there, her beak on the branch. Like in the past, I felt like dying; I was dared to kiss, not on the cheek, no, but a FULL-ON-THE-BEAK kiss on Tiago, who just so happened to be the bird that I loved. I might as well have been a scarlet macaw, so deep was my blushing as I looked into his mesmerizing, depthless, sexy as hell eyes, the light blue color drawing me in...

"You can't be serious?!" Tiago yelled, looking among all of the others, hoping that it was all a joke. "Is that a 'no' I hear?" Xavis asked him, a wicked smile on his beak. Tiago looked back at me with a heavy blush on his face, knowing the consequences if he said no; he would have to embarrass himself in front of the entire children population of our and the scarlet macaw tribes.

Tiago looked back at me for a second before sighing, rubbing the back of his head. "Fine, doing this in front of a group of four others is better than doing it in front of a group of 100" Tiago decided. "Good; oh yeah, did I fail to mention the kiss has to last at least a minimum of ten seconds?" Xavis added. Groaning out loud, Tiago turned to me. "Let's get this over with; I'm sure you don't want to do this as I do" Tiago mumbled. "You have no idea how wrooong Holy droppings!" I thought/yelled in my mind, more so the last part when Tiago's beak came into contact with mine.

Learning to fly was nothing compared to this! I felt like I was on cloud nine, such was a strong sense of euphoria took over my mind. I closed my eyes in bliss as I returned the kiss, our beaks locking together perfectly. I closed my eyes in enjoyment as I gladly returned the kiss, feeling like I could die happily knowing that I had gotten a kiss from the one that I loved. I was so lost in the moment that I failed to hear a set of surprised gasps.

My eyes snapped open when I heard a voice speak; my dad. "What the actual hell?!" my dad yelled, his eyes filled with disgust as I turned to him. "Dad I" was all I got to say before Zara interrupted, knowing how much my dad hated same-gender relationships. "Sir, he was dared to kiss" was all she said before my dad raised a wing to silence her.

"I saw the look on his face, a look of pure bliss; he enjoyed it!" my dad screeched, clearly seething before turning to me; by now, my eyes were heavy with tears. "Answer me; are you gay?" my dad demanded; I let out a sob at his tone. "Are you?!" my dad yelled. My friends just stood back from us, the closest two being Tiago and Zara, one looking worried while the other was looking more and more angry with each passing moment. Zara was about to defend me, but stopped when I nodded; I figured that there was no point in hiding it any more. My dad yelled out in rage and in absolute disappointment. "You are no son of mine you faggot! You can" was what my dad said before he was tackled by some one that surprised me; Tiago. With his talons locked firmly around my dad's neck, Tiago began to speak, slowly and clearly.

"You will leave him alone. You make fun of him, you make fun of me; I started the kiss, so I DARE you, mock me. My dad, if you didn't know, is the tribe leader and he has given me the power to exile any bird who abuses their children; and verbal abuse counts! So, I'm waiting" Tiago hissed before letting my dad go. "Well, I'm not abusing MY child; he is not my son!" he spat back before flying away, not without a disgusted glare thrown to me.

I began to openly sob as I fell to the ground, my body shaking violently with distress; I was just disowned and my life was ruined, as it was more than likely that my dad would go tell his friends about how much of a abomination I am and for them to make my life a living hell when they can. I cried for a while before a pair of wings wrapped themselves around me in a warm, comforting embrace, there owner holding me close as he comforted me. "Everything will be okay; come, stop your crying..." Tiago said before lifting my eyes to his; I could see hurt, anger, concern... and love in them. "Besides, you have me and my family" Tiago smiled that charming smile of his before kissing me again.

Despite just being removed from the little family that I had, I felt my heart start to be repaired, piece by piece, my emotions stabilizing as I returned the gesture. All depression left me as I felt joy replace the negative feelings. I felt like I could finally be happy without faking my emotions or not being myself. I was finally accepted for who and what I am, and I managed to find love without realizing that the one I loved returned the feelings I had!