Enrique and I hadn't spoken since I stood him up at Shirley Town Center. I honestly didn't know how to face him, so we just didn't speak. There wasn't much to say, anyway. He already gave me an ultimatum, and I made my choice. Gyan and I were in a better place, but something still felt off.

Gyan thought it would be a good idea for me to pay Arya a visit, about the whole Steven situation. I didn't feel like talking about it, but I knew I had to. Avoiding a problem didn't make it go away. It would only linger. If there was anyone who would understand, it was Arya, with the whole Aarav situation and all. I didn't know the details, but I knew it was bad, but she came out on top. I needed some of that encouragement.

So, that evening, I went to Arya's flat, standing outside the door after ringing the doorbell. It didn't take Arya long to open the door, and a grin spread on her face when she saw me.

"Gabriel." She led me in, and I removed my shoes at the door. "Great to see you. Wasn't expecting you, but it's still nice."

I rose a brow. "Gyan didn't tell you?"

"Sounds like Gyan," Darian said to my surprise, and that was when I noticed the group of people in the living room. "Forgetting to tell people shit."

Kenji and Darian sat on the couch while Honoka sat on the floor in front of the table. At the kitchen island were a bloke and a girl I didn't recognize. The bloke was white with brown wavy hair while the girl was a light-skinned black female.

"You already know Kenji and Darian," Arya said while sitting beside Darian.

"What's up, man?" Kenji greeted, and I flashed him a smile.

"My girl, Honoka," Arya went on, and Honoka waved at me. Then Arya turned to the bloke and the girl. "These bitches here are Clay and Alissa."

Alissa kissed her teeth while Clay sent Arya a look. "Look who's calling who a bitch," Clay said. "The queen of bitches."

Arya waved him off. "Clay and Alissa, this is Gabriel, Gyan's partner. You can take a seat, Gabriel."

I decided to sit on the love seat. "It's nice to meet you," I said to Clay and Alissa.

"These two remind me why I'm afraid to get married and have kids," Arya said. "They have no life outside of their marriage and daughter."

"You have a daughter?" I asked them.

Clay nodded. "She's a year old. She's beautiful."

"Because she doesn't look like you." Arya took a sip from her root beer while Darian busted into laughter.

Clay glared at her. "Like I said. Queen of bitches."

I snickered. "What's her name?"

"Camila," Alissa answered.

"With one 'L,' not two," Clay clarified.

I tilted my head. "That's how Hispanics spell it."

"Why is that?" Honoka asked while planting her arms on the table.

"In Spanish, two 'L's' together make a 'Y' sound," I replied. "If it was spelled with two 'L's,' it'll be pronounced Camiya."

"Rosalyn told me about that," Kenji said.

"Your ex-girlfriend?" I asked, and he nodded. I turned to Clay and Alissa. "Is there a reason you spell Camila that way? Most non-Hispanics spell it with two 'L's.'"

"That was the name of our friend," Darian answered.

"She must have been special for you to name your daughter after her," I said to Clay and Alissa.

"She was one of our best friends," Alissa said.

Arya stood up. "Need a drink, Gabriel?"

"Water, please." Arya went to the kitchen, and I looked to Kenji. "Where is she? Are you guys still friends with her?"

Everyone glanced at each other. "She died a couple years ago," Kenji said, and my face fell. "Camila was Rosalyn's older sister."

"I'm sorry." Arya handed me my water, and I set it down. "That must have been hard."

Honoka nodded. "She died July of 2013."

"Almost eight years," Clay said. "I can't believe it's been that long."

"Camila was my girl," Darian said. "She's gone, but she's not forgotten."

Arya's eyes were on her root beer, quiet. The queen of snarky remarks had nothing to say.

"How did she die?" I didn't want to open old wounds, but I was curious.

"Car accident," Kenji said. "We were all in it."

"That's terrible," I said. "I'm sorry you all went through that."

"Yeah," Arya finally spoke up, "but enough sad talk. Let's talk about some good news." She grinned at Kenji and Darian. "Like my boys' five-year anniversary."

The two smiled, but I arched a brow. "I thought you two have been together for five years for a while now."

"It was definitely more than four years, so pretty much five years." Darian shrugged. "It's just official this month."

Clay pointed at the two. "You've been together since February of 2016."

"Yup," Kenji said. "Time's just flying by."

"Tell me about it." I released a breath. "I can't believe it's 2021 already." 

"How old are you, Gabriel?" Honoka asked.

"I turn twenty-eight this year," I answered. "I'm getting old. If I'm not mistaken, when you all graduated high school, I was graduating college."

"Gyan, too," Arya said.

"That confuses me." Kenji scratched his head. "Gyan's only two years older than Darian."

"I met Gyan in 2015," Darian said. "He had just turned twenty-one August of that year, and he graduated college that year, too."

Confusion edged Alissa's face. "How?"

"Gyan started school a year early," Arya explained. "His birthday is also in August, so if he hadn't started early, he still would have been one of the youngest people in his graduating class."

"I was pretty young in my class, too," I said. "My birthday is in July, so I technically graduated when I was twenty-one. I only turned twenty-two two months later."

"Summer baby," Honoka said in glee. "Kenji and I are summer babies, too."

"When's your birthday?" I asked the two.

"June 25th," Kenji answered.

I smiled. "I'm a cancer, too. July 3rd."

"They're the only ones who are still twenty-three," Clay added.

"The rest of you are twenty-four?"

Darian, Arya, Clay and Alissa nodded.

"We heard you came back from Australia," Alissa said. "How long have you been back?"

"Since August of last year," I replied.

Alissa's eyes widened. "You were in Australia for five years."

I nodded, and Arya turned to me. "I remember now. Gyan had just turned twenty-six, and a week or two later, he told me that you were back."

"That's correct," I verified.

I left the summer of 2015 for Australia, right after graduating college. I'd only been back since August of last year, but it felt like such a long time ago.

"Glad to be back?" Honoka asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Glad to have Gyan back. Glad to be welcomed."

"You should hang with us more," Clay said. "You seem cool."

"My boy Gyan got good taste," Darian said. "Of course, Gabriel's cool."

"He got good taste, alright." Arya drank some of her drink. "He never dated you."

Darian's jaw dropped while everyone else 'oohed'. I chuckled. "You throwing shade left and right, Arya," he said in disbelief.

"Throwing shade at me, too," Kenji said. "I'm dating Darian. Hell. I'm marrying him."

Arya only drank more of her root beer, and Honoka giggled. "Arya, you're a mess."

"Darian, you and Gyan have a weird relationship," Alissa said. That, I agreed with. "You're friends, but you fuck sometimes."

Darian's expression was blank. "How's that weird?"

"I'm sure Gabriel definitely wants to hear about Gyan and Darian fucking," Honoka said, sarcasm coating her words.

I shrugged. Like Arya said, Gyan didn't want to date Darian. Gyan had had sex with a lot of people, but I was the one who had his heart. That was what mattered most.

Arya jutted a thumb at Kenji and Darian. "I'm going to be fucking these two one day. That's not weird at all."

I choked on my water, and Clay wrinkled his nose. "That shit's weird."

I cleared my throat. "You're going to be what?"

"These two are gay as fuck," Arya elaborated.

"I'm not gay," Kenji protested.

"Kenji's half gay," Arya corrected, and Kenji rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty queer myself. I enjoy good dick." Alissa and Honoka laughed. "But I'm not gonna end up with someone with one. I still want kids, though."

"We do, too," Darian said, "but that surrogate shit's expensive."

"Kenji and Darian want kids," Arya continued. "I want kids, so there's only one thing to do."

"You're going to have kids together," I said.

Kenji pointed at me. "Bingo."

"They're going to do it naturally, too," Clay said.

"Meaning sex," I concluded.

Arya nodded. "Kenji and Darian aren't going to jack off in a cup, and I'm not going to take a syringe and inject myself with that shit. That's weird."

"But you having sex with Kenji and Darian is definitely not weird at all," Clay said with more sarcasm.

"Like you said, Darian's gay as fuck," Alissa pointed out.

"My dick can still fuck girls," Darian said. He pulled Arya into a side hug. "Plus, Arya's my girl."

"Which is why that shit's weird," Clay said, the volume of his voice increasing.

"Arya's cute," Kenji said. "Having sex with her won't be the worst thing."

Arya touched her heart. "You two may be annoying as fuck." The boys sent her a look. "But you're not too bad to look at either."

"Wow." I was in disbelief. "You're all so nonchalant about friends having sex with each other."

"Hell nah." Alissa shook her head. "Other than Clay, I'm not having sex with none of these fools."

Arya sucked her teeth. "Your loss bitch."

"I'm out of luck." Honoka fake pouted. "I'm not into girls like that, so Arya and Alissa aren't an option. Clay's married. Darian's gay. Kenji's my brother. No having sex with friends for me."

"You'll be getting some if you stayed with my boy, Gavin," Darian said.

Honoka frowned. "That chapter's closed."

"Be friends with benefits," Arya suggested.

Honoka smirked. "Like you and Aaron?"

"Aaron and I have a special bond," Arya said. "We have sex, and we aren't in a relationship. At the same time, what we have is more than a friendship."

Alissa crossed her arms. "I'm amazed Darian hasn't fucked Gavin and Aaron yet."

Darian scrunched up his face. "Hell nah. You're going too far."

"But you can fuck, Arya?" Clay asked.

"Fucking Gavin and Aaron would just be unnecessary," Darian said. "Arya and I want to have kids together. We're not doing that shit for fun."

"Gavin and Aaron are your friends?" I asked.

Darian nodded. "They're my boys. Other than these idiots, they're my best friends."

I turned to Honoka. "You dated Gavin." She nodded, and I focused on Arya. "You and Aaron have something going on."

"For more than five years now," Arya responded. "We pretty much all have history with each other."

"How long have you all been friends?"

"Since elementary school," Alissa said.

"There were a couple years we weren't friends," Clay added, "after the accident, but we became friends again around college."

"That's nice," I said with a small smile.

I wanted that. A few close friends who I could count on. I wish I had what they had. I guessed it wasn't too late to get it. I just had to be open to it and prioritize it.

"Speaking of friends," Kenji started, "I'll like to ask you something, Gabriel."

He had my attention. "What is it?"

He turned my way. "Would you like to be one of my grooms-people?"

My brows furrowed. "Grooms-people?" 

"Instead of groomsmen, grooms-people," Arya elaborated. "It's gender neutral and inclusive."

"My grooms-people are my boys Gavin, Aaron, Gyan, and my girl Arya," Darian said. "Gavin's my best man."

"Mine are Clay, Alissa, Honoka, and I'll like you to be a part of it, too," Kenji told me. "Clay's my best man."

I grinned. "I'll be honored."

"This wedding's going to be queer as fuck," Arya said in excitement. "Both Kenji and Darian's parents are walking them down the aisle. There's going to be a rainbow cake. The grooms-people are all wearing tuxes. Dresses would have worked, too, but these boys have fragile masculinity."

"There isn't a blueprint for queer weddings," Kenji said, "so we're going to make our own."

"That's amazing," I said. "I can't wait to get married."

"I can." Arya examined her nails. "I'm still deciding whether or not I'm going to get married. Priyanka doesn't care, so it's my choice."

I admired that in people. The ability to do what you wanted to do without giving a damn about what was normally done. I was a pretty conventional bloke. Always have been. Those who made choices independent of what was expected of them inspired me. Being yourself was one of the most courageous things a person could do, especially when yourself didn't fit societal norms.

Being queer. Practicing non-monogamy or any other alternative lifestyle. Being your unapologetic, authentic self. It was brave.

We continued talking, and I had a blast hanging out with the group. They were all very interesting and hilarious. After a couple hours, Clay and Alissa left first, followed by Kenji and Darian.

After a while, Honoka stood up. "I'm gonna head to bed." She looked at me. "I'll see you later, Gabriel."

"Goodnight."

She waved as she walked away to her room, disappearing down the hall. Arya patted the spot beside me. "Come sit."

I moved over to sit beside her. "I'm guessing you know why I'm here."

"Gyan told me," she said. "Didn't expect you today, but I'm glad you came."

"I needed it," I confessed. "It's nice to just have fun. Spend time with people and enjoy the great parts of life."

She sent me a sad look. "I'm sorry about what happened to you."

I shrugged. "I'll live."

"It gets better," she said. "It doesn't feel great now, and sometimes, even years later, you may still get triggered, but it won't consume your life. You'll continue just fine. You're free from him just like I'm free from Aarav."

"Aarav's in prison, right?"

"Yup," she said. "Been there for a while now. It tore apart our family. Aarav was my stepbrother, after all. My dad and his mom divorced, but I'm glad it came out. I'm safe, and my dad and I have a great relationship now. Things may not have worked out perfectly, but they worked out alright."

"I learned a lot from everything with Steven," I said. "Everything that's happened to me, I've grown a little more because of it."

"You can say that again." She looked ahead. "I never thought I'll be where I am now. I've been sober for almost five years. I'm free from Aarav. I have my dad and friends. I'm in therapy and thriving. I came out okay." She smiled at me. "More than okay, actually. Sometimes, it feels like things will never get better, but just because something feels unbearable now doesn't mean we won't grow. Doesn't mean we won't get to a place where we can handle those things. Your problems may not always change, but you can."

I'd never thought of that. People always said it gets better, and most people assumed it did because problems got better. Not always. Not everyone's problems were temporary, but our ability to handle them could get better. What Steven did to me would never go away. It would always be there, but it would get better. It would get better because I was growing. I could find ways to live a fulfilling life, even with that being a part of my past.

"Camila, for example," Arya went on. "She's still dead, but I can handle it now. Before, I didn't know how to."

"Because it's hard."

"But I've learned to deal with it," she said. "I've learned to focus on her life and our wonderful memories together. Not her death or all the pain that followed." Arya glanced down at her hands. "I loved her. As more than a friend. She was my first love." She looked up at me. "Losing her was probably one of the worst things that ever happened to me. I didn't know how I could go on, but I did. I survived it, and if I could survive that and Aarav, I can survive anything. It won't always be easy, but it'll be okay. Even the worst pain doesn't last forever."

"It hurts." My voice came out small. "Losing someone you love."

I still had Gyan, but I felt like I was losing him. I felt powerless to it, too. Like there was nothing I could do.

Arya rubbed my back. "The only thing I regret is not telling Camila how I felt. She was most likely straight. I would have to listen to her talk about the boys she dated and had sex with. It was awful, but I couldn't let her go. I would have rather been her friend than to not have her at all. It was probably never going to happen, but I'll never know because I never told her. I never took that chance." She squeezed my hand. "Sometimes, you have to take risks for the ones you love. It's better to regret doing something than to regret doing nothing."

"What if you don't know what to do?"

What could I do? The situation with Anushka was out of my control. Even Gyan didn't know what to do, and it was all in his hands.

"You have to take charge of your life," Arya said. "You're in control of what happens, even when you feel like your back is against the wall. Just go with what feels right, even if it means being impulsive. Sometimes, the most impulsive things we do are what we really want. Go after what you want. You can't get it if you don't take it. Take it before it's gone."

I didn't say anything, lost in my thoughts. I wasn't going to give Gyan up again. We couldn't keep doing this, not taking action. If Gyan wasn't going to do anything about this Anushka situation, I would. His ring ceremony was coming up and the wedding would be here in no time. Arya lost the love of her life.

I wasn't going to, even if it meant risking it all.

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* What do you think is in store for Gyan and Gabriel? What Gabriel will do? How this will turn out? Comment your thoughts.

* Sorry for the long wait. Been dealing with a lot with the stability of my mental health, relationships/heartbreak/stress, and I even lost my flash drive that I keep my stories on. I found it, thank goodness. Right now, I'm going to focus on keeping myself busy, my hobbies and self-care. I want to finish this story, and a lot is going to happen in the next couple chapter.