Huuughhh I feel sick ToT So my writing isn't writing very great but here ya go:P (Also, long chapter alert!)

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.Five Years Ago.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Juelz dropped his pen with a yelp as he shot his head up from the sketchbook on his lap. He was met with a boy who seemed to be around his age, milk chocolate curls falling into his eyes and pretty, caramel skin. Although Juelz found it hard to believe the boy was the aggressive type, he didn't look particularly happy right now. Another thing he'd noticed, was that the boy had appeared from the house that'd been for sale for almost two years now. Juelz didn't feel like talking, though, so he chose to put his earphones back in and continued sketching.

"Excuse me?" The boy was now standing next to Juelz, violently nudging his shoulder.

Juelz shot the boy a glare as he paused his MP3 player once again. "What?"

The boy motioned to the house aside from them. "You're in my front yard."

Juelz furrowed his brows, glancing around the so-called 'front yard,' which solely existed out of a patch of grass and a big oak tree he was leaning against. "So?" Juelz eventually said, already dreading a conversation with this mysterious new guy. Who even was he?

The boy narrowed his eyes at Juelz, shooting him a tight-lipped smile. "So, I'm asking you to leave."

This has got to be a joke. Did the universe hate Juelz this much? He sighed, shutting his sketchbook before locking eyes with the boy. It was then that he realized two things. One, that the new boy didn't only have pretty skin, but also really pretty amber eyes, and two, that the porch light on the house had just turned on, which meant Juelz had to go home soon anyway. With all the social power he had left in him, Juelz did his best to replicate the boy's forced smile. It probably looked more like a frown, but seeing the twitch in the boy's face was all that mattered.

Without a word, Juelz threw his stuff into his bag and stood up, dusting himself off before he walked away without looking back. Welcome to the neighborhood, new kid.

.Present Day.

Loud music and incoherent chatter crashed into Juelz the moment he entered the living room of the Cortez family, his eyes scanning the place for Romeo. He locked his eyes onto his worn-out Converse as he shuffled further into the room, his heartbeat picking up with every step he took. Social gatherings weren't exactly Juelz's thing, to put it lightly. If he could, he would avoid them forever.

Sadly, the world doesn't work that way. So, over time, Juelz had figured out a coping mechanism that could pull him through most of these scenes. Tune the people out, tune the random details in. It seemed so simple, but the reality was much more complicated than that. Sometimes, he'd get so caught up in the details around him, it was as if he got trapped in his brain with the doors locked. He'd forget how to speak and people's voices would stop registrating.

Juelz got roughly yanked out of his mind when a random woman he'd never seen before bumped into him, sending him stumbling off to a table piled up with stacks upon stacks of food. Grumbling to himself, he decided to shake his worries away, for now, and instead took the chance to take in the scenery around him.

The bland, cream-colored walls were hidden behind gorgeously detailed Mexican tapestries, matching the pillows on the couch. Some older Mexican song blasted through the several speakers scattered around the house, just loud enough for Juelz to feel the bass in the floor. People of all sorts crowded the place, talking to one another and laughing heartily.

Juelz felt a bit out of place, even if he had tried his best to dress somewhat appropriately for the occasion. Normally he wouldn't think twice about what he looked like, but well... this was Romeo. So, instead of black or blue, he had opted for a maroon color on his nails. A dark brown T-shirt with an abstract rising sun on it, and high-waisted, black, baggy cargo jeans with a bleached design drawn all over them. And of course, the same Converse he always wore. Still, the amount of color popping off of these people's outfits almost hurt Juelz's eyes if he looked too intensely. And more importantly so, there was still no sign of Romeo.

He sighed, protectively tightening the strap of his bag, holding it extra close to his side.

"¡Oh, hola! ¿Eres amigo de Romeo?" A woman in a bright pink dress smiled at Juelz as she began filling up a plate with fancy foods that couldn't possibly be tasty.

Juelz felt his chest tighten. He had no clue what that woman had just said, but the way she kept her big eyes eagerly trained on him confirmed she was expecting an answer. Shit. With his heart in his throat, Juelz mustered up all the courage he had. "S-sorry.. I- I don't speak Spanish."

The woman furrowed her brows, still shoveling food onto her already piling plate, and then scrunched her nose in disgust. She muttered something inaudible under the volume of the music before taking off to the dance floor with a huff.

Juelz felt a massive lump form in his throat, his heartbeat fastening even more. It's okay, it was just one interaction. It's okay-

"Perdona, ¿podrías moverte un poco? Estás parado frente a la salsa."

Well fuck. Juelz flinched at the sudden voice next to him, his heart roaring in his ears by now. A middle-aged man with a big stomach and graying hair, dressed in traditional clothes expectantly stared at him, raising his brows when Juelz didn't immediately reply.

Juelz wanted to tell the man he didn't speak Spanish, he really did. But his brain didn't allow him to. The music thundered around in his head, bouncing on and off in echoing waves until it hurt. His throat filled up with thick anxiety, seeping down his lungs until he could barely breathe. He stared up at the wall, blinking furiously to get rid of the acidic heat in his eyes, burning so bright Juelz thought he'd go blind.

"Hola? ¿No me has oído?" the man spoke again, a little more impatient this time. He craned his neck at Juelz, the way a teacher would do when you don't answer their question.

He couldn't leave. He couldn't just run off like his head was screaming at him to do. The music got louder and louder, pumping bass through Juelz's veins until it felt like he'd been pulled out of his body, now floating around his head in infinite circles. And no one would hear his pleas for help.

Finally, it seemed like the man had had enough and he not-so-carefully shoved Juelz aside to reach for the salsa. His touch burned into Juelz's skin, jolting the entire fucking world into slow motion. They were laughing too loud. They were chatting too loud. Chewing too loud. Moving too much. Standing too close. The soft curls of smoke floating around the incense smelled too strong. Too much.

Too much too much too much- I can't breathe. He was frozen, paralyzed into silence as his senses kept running on over-drive.

"Juelz? Are you okay?" a vague voice fluttered through the clouds in Juelz's head.

For some reason, Juelz found his eyes locking themselves on the source of this voice, surprised to find Ella, glancing at him in concern. Breathe. Just breathe. "Outside," he managed to choke out, still rapidly blinking.

Ella's eyes widened, her brows knitted together. "Are you- are you having a panic attack?" When Juelz didn't say anything, she continued, "It's okay, my sister has those a lot. I've had them too. I know you probably don't want to, but just try to focus on me, okay?"

Tears involuntarily slid down Juelz's cheeks as the thunderstorm in his head hurled to a stop, jolting the world back to full speed. She understood. A blanket of needles burned through Juelz's lungs when he tried to take a breath, pinching him harder with every new sound registering in his brain. "I can't-" he sharply inhaled, "f-focus- t-too many pe- people."

"Close your eyes," Ella said, her face softening when she noticed the pure fear taking over Juelz's face. "I won't let anything happen, okay? Promise. Just close your eyes."

With a hesitant nod, Juelz obeyed and closed his eyes. Despite the chatter worsening, he felt a sense of relief wash over him at this newfound darkness. The world calmed down, and so did Juelz. The giant hurricane of waves slowly retreated to low tide, leaving behind nothing but a faded imprint of anxiety. Juelz took a deep breath as his eyes fluttered open, revealing a warmly smiling Ella looking at him.

"Better?" she asked, filling up a red solo cup with what seemed to be iced lemon water before handing it to Juelz.

"Yeah, uhm, thanks," he mumbled, taking a quick sniff of his cup to confirm it was indeed water and not some random tequila. "I'm gonna head outside. Don't feel good."

Ella nodded, filling a cup for herself as well. "I'll break Romeo free from his grandparents' interrogations and send him over, 'kay?"

Juelz found himself smiling at that. He shot Ella a quick nod before dashing out of the back door, where he was greeted with an empty backyard and the sweet caress of sunlight stroking him on the face. The smell of drying grass and summer air filled up Juelz's lungs, spreading its peacefulness everywhere it went.

He sat down on the porch steps, resting his elbows on a braided cotton rug lying on the patio. Tiny hummingbirds chirped from left and right, fluttering around the blooming flowers at full speed.

"Admiring the view, I see?"

Juelz tilted his head back to find Romeo standing there, a big grin on his face and two strawberry popsicles in his hand. He couldn't help but smile too, scooching aside a bit so Romeo could sit next to him. "Yeah," he hummed, adding a quick "thanks," when Romeo handed him a popsicle.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Romeo began after a few minutes of silence, "I know my family can get pretty crazy."

Juelz snorted, feeling the cold strawberry flavors melt down his throat. "You could say that again," he chuckled, narrowing his eyes when a new wave of sunlight broke through the branches of a tree, highlighting the little red dust particles in the air. Juelz's eyes fell on his bag, which is when he remembered he still had a gift for Romeo. He dug his hand into the bag and pulled out a small black box with a dark golden ribbon tightly wrapped around it. "Happy birthday," he said, nudging Romeo with the box.

"What? Aw, you didn't have to get me something, sunshine. It looks so fancy!" Romeo took the box in his hands with curious eyes, carefully loosening the ribbon. As the top of the box slowly slid off, a golden bracelet was revealed, glistening in the sun. A silent gasp escaped from Romeo's mouth as he gaped at Juelz with wide pupils.

"I uhm- I wasn't sure what to get you so... I know you always wear that necklace," Juelz motioned to the golden cross necklace draped around Romeo's neck, "the one your mom gave you, and so I did some digging and I found out the necklace was originally part of a set, and this bracelet is supposed to ma-"

Juelz's rambling was cut off by Romeo wrapping his arms around him, holding him in a tight hug. "Thank you, Juelz. You're seriously the best," he mumbled into Juelz's neck before pulling away again, still widely smiling. After fidgeting for a bit, he managed to get the bracelet on, proudly flashing it in the sunlight, and wiggling his brows at Juelz. "And, how do I look?"

The sunlight caught Romeo's face, casting it in a golden-red hue, illuminating his sparkly amber eyes even more than usual. His necklace sprang out from underneath a loose white t-shirt, slightly tucked into his khaki cargo's. He was wearing his special occasion beige Vans, too, Juelz noticed. And well, with that massive grin on his face, Romeo simply looked breathtaking. "You look great. But you always do."

Romeo grinned again, holding out his hand to Juelz. "I wanna ask you something," he said, almost breathlessly.

"Okay..?" Juelz hesitantly placed his hand in Romeo's, allowing him to pull Juelz up.

A red color washed over Romeo's face as the two boys stood face to face, both their hands intertwined. "That day you asked me about Ella..." he began, his suddenly hoarse voice sending goosebumps down Juelz's spine. With a chuckle, he continued, "I should've immediately known."

With his heart in his throat, Juelz furrowed his brows. "What do you m-

"-I love you, Juelz. I love you and it's been driving me crazy, honestly," Romeo admitted with a nervous chuckle, focusing his eyes on the grass beneath them, swinging their arms left and right.

Juelz felt as if the entire world had just halted to a stop, except for the boy in front of him. This... This was not the plan. This was a million times better than any plan Juelz could've come up with. He wanted nothing more than to fall into Romeo's arms and never let go again, but doubts began filling his mind before he could act on the butterfly tornado in his chest. What if Romeo meant he loved him as a friend? What if he was about to tell Juelz he was moving back to Mexico? Pressure filled up Juelz's head until he couldn't think straight anymore. He bit his lip. "But-

With a shake of his head, Romeo's eyes flitted toward Juelz. "A la mierda," he muttered -probably to himself- before closing the gap between them.

All possible fear and doubt dissolved out of Juelz's system when he felt Romeo's lips softly press against his own, the featherlight touch sending electricity through his veins. Before Juelz could even comprehend the current situation, Romeo pulled away. His tomato-red face hovered inches away from Juelz's, a hesitant smile crawling up his features.

"Was that- was that okay?" Romeo asked, still a little out of breath.

There were a lot of reasons why Juelz enjoyed spending his free time stuck in his head. It was rational, safe, and comfortable. Everything he did and said had to be manually approved by his brain first, even if it was something as simple as saying hi to a passerby. But right now? Right now he couldn't give less of a fuck, because every single nerve in his body was screaming at Juelz to kiss Romeo.

And so, that's what he did. "Yeah... More than okay," Juelz breathed out, untangling one of his hands to cup Romeo's face before finally, he kissed him. He kissed him and it was one of the best decisions he'd made in a long time.

Romeo hummed in surprise before he too melted into the kiss, placing his hands on Juelz's back to pull him closer. "Te quiero, sunshine," he murmured against Juelz's mouth, smiling when the corners of Juelz's lips tugged up as well.

Juelz pressed his forehead against Romeo's, a small smile on his face. "I love you, too."

~
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Next chapter is the last one 🥺!! Don't worry cause I'm already manufacturing a new story hehehe >;)

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