"Really?!"
"Yes." Cecil also answered truthfully.
"But why can't you date me? Am I not your type?" Romeo asked.
"No, it's not that. I just can't forget him although it's just one-sided from my part."
"Is he your first love?"
"I guess he is. Before meeting him, I had never imagined I would fall for someone so deep even if he is a guy. From the first time I saw him, he was only in my heart."
"Then what happened to him?"
Cecil smiled helplessly and replied, "Actually he is straight. I was planning to confess to him even if he was straight after the final exams but unexpectantly he got a girlfriend."
"Did you run away from him and came here?" Romeo asked being more curious.
"No. Fortunately, we were planning to transfer so, I tried to confess before leaving. But I couldn't say my feelings. I am not like you. When I discovered I was gay, I was also terrified like you. I also don't have enough guts like you to come out to my family and friends. I am really afraid."
Romeo then hugged Cecil comforting him. "It's okay. You don't have to be in a hurry. There is still a lot of time to come out. So, I want to ask, do you still love this guy?"
Cecil chuckled and answered, "Yeah. Maybe I am an idiot but I am still hopelessly in love with that guy. No matter how much I try, I can't forget him. I want to forget him desperately but every time my heart hurts so much. Maybe he is spending his time happily with his girlfriend and here I am... I can't even control myself from missing him."
Cecil was about to cry.
"Hey, stop crying." Romeo removed Cecil from his hug and looked straightly into Cecil's eyes. "Remember, as a gay, you should never fall for a straight guy or you'll be doomed."
Cecil lowered his voice and said, "I know. Isn't it ironic, I realized I was gay because of him."
"That's okay. Time can heal everything. You'll forget him soon." Then he held Cecil's hand and asked, "Why don't you try dating me? I won't mind if you use me to forget him."
"No, I can't do it. I am not ready for any relationship. I just want to take a break. Four years of unrequited love is enough for me plus my broken heart. I want to be away from this romance and love."
"Fine. By the way, you are my ideal type. I know, it has been only a few months since we know each other but I really like you. I can wait for you. When you're ready for a relationship, you can tell me." Romeo said showing his determined expression clenching his fist.
"Thanks. I've always wanted someone to share my inner feelings with. Let's start being good friends." Cecil smiled.
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Since then, Romeo and Cecil were always spotted together. Romeo always took care of Cecil and pampered him. He was basically like Cecil when Cecil had wanted to impress Noah. Everybody had thought Romeo was courting Cecil. Well, Cecil was really a cute guy and everybody liked him. They were more worried that the wolf would completely devour this cute bunny. The teachers were alert and always tried to create distance between them. They felt like Cecil's study would be affected because of Romeo's influence.
But instead, the opposite happened. Romeo's class rank improved by a huge leapt. He was no longer the class last. Cecil was always first and Romeo was always within the top 15. It was all because of Cecil's and Romeo's hard work. They used to stay in the library after school hours and Cecil used to tutor Romeo. Under Cecil's guidance, Romeo also studied properly. He felt like he should study hard to be able to stand side by side with Cecil.
Because of Romeo's huge improvement, all of the teachers were satisfied. They no longer tried to create distance between them. They were happy about the positive change. The chairman was also very happy and treated Cecil kindly whenever Cecil went to Romeo's house. Many other students were asking Cecil to tutor them but were chased away by Romeo every time. Romeo basically used to monopolize Cecil and Cecil's time.
While Cecil taught him different subjects, Romeo used to teach Cecil different outdoor games. Cecil was a poor athlete so, Romeo used to teach him how to play basketball, football, etc. He tried his best to keep Cecil's mind occupied and not think about his unrequited first love. Well, Romeo was actually super duper jealous but controlled himself. He had to get into Cecil's heart slowly and steadily.
Bella was also surprised seeing her son hanging out with his friends, She knew Cecil always had a hard time making friends and was worried he wouldn't be able to make friends but fortunately, he already had good friends. She was especially satisfied with Romeo. He was a good friend of Cecil and always took good care of him.
Cecil was also really happy with Romeo's company. He knew he was taking advantage of Romeo's feelings to forget Noah and was feeling like a jerk. Sometimes he saw Noah's shadow in Romeo. Both of them had a somewhat similar personality which made him feel like he was with Noah. Then later he would realize that Noah and Romeo were different persons. He used to feel like he was being unfair to Romeo. He had never responded to Romeo's feelings and was hanging him up. He used to see himself in Romeo. He had to make everything clear.
Could he love Romeo? Could he remove Noah from his heart? No, he couldn't do it. Why? Why was he so weak? Noah broke his heart and what was Cecil doing? Still being unable to forget him. He felt bad at himself moreover at Romeo. Cecil was already beyond repair.