Vic's POV

Kellin's eyes went wide the second Mike's knocked on my door. We locked eyes and I couldn't hide my smile. Kellin started giggling and he kept putting his hand over his mouth to try and cover the sound. Watching his cheeks blush as he laughed made me burst out laughing too.

"What could you possibly want right now, Michael?" I called out towards my closed door.

"Mom said you didn't fly halfway across the country to not visit with her." Mike answered.

I sighed and reluctantly got off my bed, grabbing my shorts from the floor and quickly putting them on. I opened the door a crack to glare at Mike.

"Tell her we'll be down in a minute."

Mike's lips were pressed together as he clearly was holding back a laugh.

"Ugh and you have sex hair too."

"We didn't have sex you moron." I mumbled, shoving him out of the doorway as I closed it.

I turned back to face Kellin who was still shirtless, sitting on my bed. He looked insanely adorable with his slightly disheveled hair and red lips. My head was still in the clouds from what had just happened. It almost didn't feel real.

Kellin almost didn't feel real. The amount of attentiveness and support he had shown me these last few days was like a dream.

Up until last week I had convinced myself that I would be buried with this secret. That I would be burdened with the overwhelming suffocation every. single. day. That even if there was a heaven and hell, it would haunt me there too.

I couldn't kid myself. I still had my doubts. I still had my moments where I lost myself within my own mind. Moments where I was that ten year old again.

Crying. Struggling.

Then

Stoic. Hopeless.

I had spent ten years doing and saying everything I could to forget.

But then Kellin came along. Innocent. Sweet. Kellin. It was Kellin who captured me instantly. I saw so much of myself in him; naturally I felt compelled to protect him.

From the moment he came into my life I felt the shift within me. With each smile, laugh, and simple comforting touch, the barbed wire, metal door, and steel padlock around my memories disappeared.

Kellin understood. He helped me face what I had been so terrified to even think about for years. I wanted to be strong for him. To show him that I was optimistic about telling my family and the police.

But I couldn't deny the pinging in the back of my mind, the shiver up my spine, or the feeling of hands clasped tightly around my throat, whenever I thought about talking about what happened to me.

"Sorry about Mike. Um, my mom wants us to go downstairs and "visit" with her." I explained.

I reached down and grabbed the clothes I had picked out for Kellin earlier, bringing them over to him.

"That was so embarrassing." Kellin bit his lip and took the clothes from my hands.

I turned around to give him privacy so he could change.

"You don't even want to know the amount of times I overheard Mike in his room listening to gay porn growing up." I grimaced.

"Yuck. Hasn't he ever heard of headphones?" Kellin answered.

"You'd think."

I felt Kellin poke my shoulder letting me know I could turn around. My heart swelled just looking at him in my clothes. Except he was also wearing one of my snapbacks that he must've grabbed from my closet. It was a little too big for him and the brim nearly covered his eyes.

"Look, I'm you!" He giggled, leaning his head back to try and keep the hat from falling forward.

I walked over to him and grabbed his hips, slowly walking us back towards my bedroom door. I heard him gasp as he smiled up at me curiously. I pressed him gently against the door and kissed him lightly.

Kellin was quick to try and kiss me harder but I pulled back and smirked at him. I leaned in again, playfully pushing my hat on his head down into his face.

"Time to go downstairs." I whispered and grabbed his hand.

"You're such a tease, Fuentes!" He sighed, taking off my hat as he followed me out the door.

I guided Kellin through my house until we got to the opened sliding door that was off of the kitchen. We walked outside and greeted my parents who were sitting on lounge chairs. I plopped down on one of the vacant chairs, pulling Kellin onto my lap.

I had never brought home a boyfriend before. I had never even talked about any romantic interests with my parents before. Shit, I never had any real romantic interests until Kellin. Romance and feelings were things I had disconnected myself from for years.

I had no idea what to expect right now, but I knew they were excited for me. My mom made that very clear on the phone from the second I brought Kellin up to her.

"So Kellin, tell us a little about yourself. Although, I can't imagine Vic left anything out. I'd love to hear more about how you first met." My mom smiled.

"God..." I mumbled and buried my face in my hands.

"You just love embarrassing me don't ya, Mom?"

Kellin reached around and removed my hands from my face, winking at me.

"Don't be embarrassed Vic. I'm flattered." Kellin grinned, turning back around to answer my mom.

"I'm a freshman and a Psychology major. I'm actually from Michigan, so this is my first time out of the state. And Vic and I first met at the Halloween party, thanks to you." He answered. I could feel his leg bobbing up and down, a nervous habit I picked up on.

"Oh my, so you're far from home! And yes, the Halloween party. You dressed up as Kurt Cobain if I remember correctly." My mom replied.

"Mom! Could you stop exposing me?!" I pleaded, she simply shook me off with a wave of her hand, turning her attention back to Kellin.

Kellin giggled at my embarrassment and squeezed my knee comfortingly.

"Yes, I did. My friend Jenna came up with that idea after Mike slipped that he was Vic's favorite growing up."

"What did Vic dress up as?" My mom asked.

My eyes went wide and I reached around trying to cover Kellin's mouth, "We don't have to go into that!"

Kellin was shimming around in my lap, his reflexes were quicker than mine and he easily grabbed both my hands and held them tightly.

"He was David Beckman. But when he did those Calvin Klein ads..." Kellin answered, holding back a laugh.

My mom looked confused for a moment before her eyes went wide, "Oh Vic, tell me you didn't walk around a party in your underwear."

Suddenly the phone started ringing, thankfully interrupting this conversation.

"Mom you better go get that! It might be Mrs. Preciado with Thanksgiving plans!" I said, sighing in relief as she disappeared into the house.

Kellin hopped off my lap and bursted out laughing.

"I can't believe you betrayed me like that!" I sighed dramatically.

"Consider that payback for the little kissing tease you pulled up in your room."

Kellin grabbed my hands and pulled me out onto the grassy area that made up our backyard. I heard him gasp as he spun around to face the back of the house. I followed suit and stood next to him.

"Vic, look at the back of your house! It's...beautiful." Kellin said softly, gawking up at the wall.

The entire back of the house was painted in different bright colors. From the very top, all the way to the bottom. Various words, pictures, portraits, you name it, covered the once white house.

"Oh yeah, that. My dad is a painter. He always filled the house with art growing up. Mom insisted on having her picture perfect white house from the front. But Dad convinced her to let us kids have the back." I explained.

"It's incredible. I've never seen anything like this in my entire life." Kellin walked over to the wall slowly, running his hand across the thick paint.

"Whenever we felt happy, sad, angry, inspired...we'd paint it on the wall. There's a bunch of stuff that Jaime and Tony have painted too. It was kind of the outlet for our emotions." I continued, watching Kellin with a smile on my face.

He trailed his fingers across a painting of a lopsided hand, "What's this for?"

"When we were fifteen, we tried building our own skate ramp with some wood we took from this abandoned construction site. Jaime was the first to try it. The thing immediately collapsed and he broke his arm." I chuckled at the memory.

Kellin shook his head disapprovingly and laughed, "Boys."

He moved in front of an abstract painting of the ocean, shades of blue and green swirled in long brush strokes, "And this?"

"Ah, first time I ever rode a wave. I was so proud that day. I had been teaching myself how to surf all summer." I explained.

I followed him as he tilted his head up at another spot on the wall. It was messy slashes of black and red. Lyrics scribbled out in white paint.

"My punk phase. First time hearing Black Flag."

"You had a punk phase? I need to see pictures of that IMMEDIATELY." Kellin turned to face me, his eyes analyzing me up and down like he was trying to imagine me as a punk.

"Maybe one day. I even had a spiked choker. It was not my best look." I laughed.

"A choker?! There's no way you wore a choker." Kellin stared at me with those big blue eyes, giggling, and I swear I could've melted right there.

"Why would I lie about that?" I questioned, looking away from his gaze. When he looked at me like that, I could never hide my blushing cheeks.

We continued walking alongside the house until we came to the very edge. I felt my stomach drop as my eyes fixed on the painting in front of us. My head started to spin as I opened my mouth, trying to speak.

Silence filled the backyard as Kellin realized what he was looking at.

It was a painting of a boy wearing a soccer uniform. A mere stick figure. A boy with a big simple smile on his face. A line that was meant to be a leg, standing on top of a soccer ball. Two words scrawled underneath the portrait in messy handwriting.

"Captain Vic."

"U-um that's me...I painted that the day before my first day of middle school soccer...the day before I found out I had gotten T-team..." I heard myself speak but I couldn't actually feel the words being formed on my tongue.

I felt Kellin's hand in mine as he pulled me around the side of the house and away from the painting.

"Is there a coffee shop around here?" He asked.

"W-what?" I managed to choke out.

"A coffee shop. I could use some coffee, we had a long flight. My treat." I heard Kellin repeat himself.

Then his hands were on either side of my face. We were standing in my driveway. I don't even remember walking over here. Kellin was looking right at me. One of his hands was running through my hair soothingly.

"Vic? You're safe. Look at me. Smell the air around you. Listen to the birds. Feel the fabric of my shirt." I heard Kellin instructing me.

He took my hands and put them on his hips. My fingers grasped gently on the soft fabric. I heard the high pitches of the robin's. I saw the seafoam green color of Kellin's eyes. I stared at the slight curve of his dainty nose.

His face slowly came into view as I felt myself relax. He was staring at me with concern in his eyes although I could tell he was trying to hide it.

"I-I know the perfect place." I answered slowly, forcing a smile. It had been a long time since I had an episode like that. I didn't want to scare Kellin.

We walked down the street holding hands for a few minutes, until Kellin broke the silence.

"Vic? If you need to talk, I'm here. I was telling the truth when I promised you that you weren't going to have to go through this alone." He whispered.

I gave his hand a squeeze.

"I know. Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am to have you in my life, Kells."

He leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. Turning his attention back forward as I led him down the sidewalk. That was one of the things I was grateful for about Kellin. He knew when to drop a subject. He was sensitive to my emotions and could pick up on how I was feeling even if I didn't say it.

We turned a corner and onto a bustling street lined with various stores and restaurants. Living in San Diego had its perks. Lots of shopping and things to do were only ever a few minutes walk away. I noticed that there were a lot more teens and kids hanging around. Most likely college students home for the holiday just like us.

I came to a stop in front of a worn green door. The swinging sign above read "Perk Up! Cafe." There were yellow lights strung up around the window to the left of the door. A little bell rang out as I pulled open the door, guiding us inside.

Me and the guys had come here almost every day after school. The familiar smell of fresh roasted coffee beans filled my nose, instantly enveloping me in warmth.

Kellin and I approached the counter to order as a cheerful looking blonde girl appeared.

"Hi, welcome to Perk Up! What can I get for you both?" She smiled.

I looked at Kellin who was scanning the menu intensely.

"Hmm...a chestnut praline latte sounds festive." He said.

"Festive?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's Thanksgiving in two days, duh." Kellin teased.

"Right. Right. Uh, I'll have the same." I told the barista, placing a $10 bill on the counter.

"You got it. I'll have someone bring them over to you when they're ready." She replied, ringing up our drinks before handing me the change.

Kellin took my hand again and weaved us through the line of people waiting for their to-go drinks. We sat down at a corner table, sinking into the big leather chairs.

Our intertwined hands were resting on the table top. I couldn't help but admire how perfect Kellin's hand fit in mine.

"Hey Vic? I saw something I wanted to buy in the window of the store across the street. Do you mind if I run over there quickly while they make our drinks?" Kellin's question pulled me from my gaze.

"Oh sure, yeah of course. Do you want me to come with you?" I asked.

"No it's okay. I want it to be a surprise. I'll be right back." Kellin leaned forward and pressed his lips against my forehead before going outside.

I watched him leave, making sure he crossed the street safely, only turning back around when I saw him enter the store. It was a hardware store. What could he possibly get there?

My curiosity wouldn't have to wait for too long because only a few minutes later did Kellin appear, plopping back down in the seat across from me.

"Okay what on earth did you buy at a hardware store?" I reached forward, trying to peek inside the paper bag he was holding against his chest.

"Now hear me out...and if you hate the idea we don't have to do it...I just thought it might be nice..." Kellin explained.

"I'm sure it's a great idea, now let me see! I'm dying in suspense over here!"

Kellin paused, watching me intently before handing over the bag. I unrolled the paper and peered inside.

Paint. He bought paint. He bought every color of paint and two brushes.

"I-I thought we could paint over that picture...with a happier one...we could do it together."

When I didn't respond he spoke again.

"I'm sorry Vic. It was a horrible idea. I shouldn't have assumed...I can bring it back. We don't have to paint. I won't bring it up again."

I stared at the paint, feeling tears well up in my eyes. I looked up at Kellin and quickly blinked back the tears.

"No. No, darling, it's perfect. No one has ever...has ever um...done anything like this f-for me. I love...it. I love it. It's a great idea."

I leaned forward and kissed him. I tangled my hand in his hair and I kissed him deeply, not caring who saw.

"Two chestnut praline lattes?" A voice spoke, causing us to break apart.

When I pulled back Kellin was smiling up at me. He took his thumb and stopped a stray tear that had fallen down my cheek. We sat back in our seat, completely oblivious to the person standing at the side of the table.

"Vic? Vic Fuentes?" The voice spoke again.

My head whipped towards the mysterious barista.

"Christofer?" My mouth dropped. The last time I saw him was that morning on the soccer field. That morning that I would never forget now.

"Holy shit man, it is you. What has it been? Almost 4 years?" He asked.

"Kellin, this is Christofer. We were on the varsity soccer team together..."

Author's Note

Hi, have another update! Sorry this one was a bit shorter than my usual chapters.

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

With Vic and how he's dealing with being back in his hometown? Oh and did you like the change in POV?

And what about Christofer? It's Christofer Drew btw!

Thanks again for reading, commenting, and liking, it means so much. See ya on the next one.

-Cassidy