What?” Dan asked as he opened the front door. His tone was sharp.
Eric stood on the doorstep. “I want to talk to you,” he said. “Is that cool?”
Dan stared at him. Then he shook his head. “Sure, come on in.”
They walked into the garage.
“Look, I’m sorry about calling you out. It was low,” Dan said. “Our past is private. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Thoughts flashed through his mind. They had ever since he’d schooled Lance and Liam. Those two probably thought he liked Dan.
The tournament was coming up. They would compete. Eric knew his mom would sign off on it. People were going to find out about them. Guy versus ex-girlfriend. Who was now a boy. What would everyone think?
“Dan,” Eric yelled. It was the only way to stop his thoughts. “I don’t understand this stuff. Okay? I don’t. I don’t understand how I feel about you. I really liked you.”
“And I liked you, Eric.”
“I still like you!” Eric’s voice was loud.
Dan stared at him.
Eric’s heart pounded. He was breathing like he was in a match.
“But you’re not Danielle. You’re this new person. You’re Dan. Am I not supposed to have feelings anymore? And now we’re in the tournament. We’ll probably compete against each other. Everybody knows. They’re going to find out about us. I hate it. I just want things to be normal!” He took a deep breath. Finally he’d said everything that had been building up.
“You want me to be normal,” Dan said.
“Yes!” Eric yelled. “I want you to be normal!”
“Eric,” Dan said angrily. “This is my normal. You keep talking about wanting Danielle back. What about you? When did you become so fake?”
Suddenly Eric’s nerves vanished. He wasn’t worried about offending Dan. The anger bubbled up. “I’m a fake?” he yelled. “You’re the fake. At least I can accept who I am.”
Dan stared at him. His posture changed. It was as if he realized something. “Don’t you get it? You know what would have been fake? Accepting who I wasn’t.”
Then it hit Eric. Dan was being his true self. He hadn’t ever thought about it like that. It clicked. Hating Dan would not bring Danielle back. He didn’t want to hate anyone. The fear started to melt away.
“You can walk away,” Dan said. “Avoid me. Act like we don’t know each other. I’ll do the same. This is who I am. Take your time getting used to it. Eventually you’re going to have to accept it. Or walk away.”
It was a stare-down. Eric looked away first. He had to.
Dan was right.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. He felt his voice crack. Eric hated being so emotional. Who was he to judge Dan? He was ashamed. It was embarrassing how close-minded he’d been.
“Don’t be sorry.” Dan put his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “Just be my friend, okay?”
“Okay.” Eric smiled.
Dan smiled back. “Are we going to roll or not?”