The Rivals

“I’m gay.” Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Edwin kept practicing how to tell the truth about him, to his friend, Kate. Rubbing his palms together, Edwin let out a sigh while mustering up the courage to reveal the truth about himself. “Okay. Once more.” Edwin told himself and stared at his reflection sharply. He continued “Kate, I’m sorry. I can’t love you. Not only you, I can’t love any girl because I’m gay.” He then sat on the bed holding his head with his palms, irritated. His puffy eyes said that he hadn’t had enough sleep last night. He shook his head annoyed while mumbling “I can’t tell this. No one should know about me. I can’t face the society.” His annoyance increased with the buzzing sound of the alarm. It was the most irritated sound to him as it always reminded him to move his lazy ass off the bed and got ready to go to his college. But he had to set the alarm otherwise it was nearly impossible for him to wakeup from his sleep. Turning off the alarm clock, Edw

Surrounded with hot girls, booze and music, Ace and his classmates were enjoying the night at one of Ace’s guest houses. Ace sat at the edge of the swimming pool with his legs inside the water, enjoying the coolness of it. He kept drinking while laughing with his best friend, who had been with him, since he was a kid.“We shouldn’t have left them soon, Ace. It was bloody satisfying seeing them getting beaten by us.” Jacob said while having his drink.“Those filthy people... if we didn’t leave the place, I might have broken any of his body parts.” Ace muttered while remembering their defeat that happened nearly many months ago.Jacob started to laugh with Ace's reply. While they were talking, Freddie, the one who was with Ace and Jacob in the evening, walked to them with his drink glass in his hand. He sat beside Jacob, asking, “What’s the matter?”“Talking about the fun we had in the evenin

Edwin set his hair one final time before stepping out of his house. He stood outside locking the doors and called Ralph. Before the call connected to Ralph, Ralph was in front of Edwin in his car. Smiling at Ralph, Edwin cut the call and got in the car. “So, how did it go? Leila and you... last night...” Edwin asked giving a playful  smirk. “Don’t expect much. It was a dinner date, that’s it. But I’m happy that I spent sometime with her.” Ralph said with a bright smile on his face. “You really love her, don’t you?” Edwin scoffed. Ralph kept quiet while his face proved that he was blushing. Edwin’s eyes widened looking at his blushed cheeks. Edwin shouted “Bro, what am I seeing? You are blushing.” He laughed out loud. “What’s the surprise, Ed? Don’t boys blush?” Ralph asked while focusing on the road. Edwin continued laughing as he kept teasing Ralph. Then they reached one of their friends house, where a casual party was th

Ace was at his house, lying near the swimming pool, with his hand inside the water, thinking about the fight he had with Edwin few hours back. He was still angry with Edwin, and he couldn’t get him off his head. No one in his life irritated Ace, like Edwin. When Ace was in his thoughts, Jacob walked to him, shouting his name. Though his shouts were audible enough, Ace didn’t respond to Jacob, as he was in his own thoughts. Jacob gritted his teeth, seeing Ace, and he pushed him into the swimming pool, angrily. “Bloody hell!” Ace shouted, while coming out from the water. “Jacob? What are you doing here? Damn, in a few hours, it’s morning, man.” “What the fuck did you do, Ace? Have you lost your mind?” Jacob shouted. Ace asked, wiping the water from his body with a towel, “Me? What are you talking about?” Jacob pushed Ace back, shouting, “You bloody attacked Edwin.” “So? Don’t say you feel bad for him.” Jacob rolled his eyes with

Edwin couldn’t forget the night of Kate’s birthday. He didn’t understand from where did he get the courage to call Ace, a loser. It’s been a week since it happened, yet he wasn’t able to forget it. Deep down, he had been cursing himself for calling him as a loser.  Edwin was getting ready to go to his college, while talking to Liam on the phone. They had been talking to plan their next meet, and after a few minutes, Edwin cut the call. When he was about to leave the house, he got a call from his father that made him smile. He spoke “Hey dad.” “Ed... Edwin...” His father stammered. Edwin frightened hearing his tone, so he asked, “Dad, are you okay? You don’t sound normal.” Edwin heard his father’s cry on the phone, that scared him. He started to sweat in fear. He asked “Dad, dad calm down. What happened?” His father said, “Your mom got into an accident. Her condition is so critical. We are in the city.” “What?” Edwin shoute