A few months have passed since that first meeting, and Takehiko decided to invite the young boy, Hao Xian, and So-mang to his house. The young boy was nervous about this at first.
Later that night.
"You should do it, son!"
"Yeah, it is not every day you can have this opportunity to go hang out with your friends in elementary."
His parents had persuaded him, and so that weekend brought him to the home of Takehiko, expecting them to be just the four of them, but a girl looking to be in middle school answered the door.
"Huh, who even are you, little guy?"
Then another girl popped up, looking to be in kindergarten.
"Are you our brother's friend?"
She was, of course, younger than him, and then another girl came to call the two of them in, and she looked to be in high school.
"So you are him, huh? You came to see him, right? Then follow me."
He was led into the house, which had many rooms, and looked so spacious.
"Our younger brother talked about you; he said you were kind and friendly, so he said," The eldest sister said to him, and he asked.
"Yeah, but who are you?"
"I am Emiko, his older sister. Nice to meet you."
The Young Boy: "Yes, nice to meet you."
Emiko: "..."
Emiko kept on glancing at him, repeatedly confused and anticipating something.
"What?"
"Nothing, you do not seem to be interested in me."
The young boy was speechless after all, what the heck does she mean by being interested in her....do boys his age go after older women like her?
It is no lie she is attractive....except for the young boy who looked on, confused and lacking any understanding. After all, is it normal to have a crush on high school girls as an elementary boy?
"Yeah, you're not into big sister?!"
There was someone who commented who looked to be the younger sister of his friend. I mean, just what is happening.....he has heard of his friend's families not accepting any guy they brought home from school, but was this the reason why cause if it is, then what on earth happened when those other guys from school visited this place?
"No....."
The truth, after all, was that he did not understand crushes or the feelings of love for others.
Taboo words and actions such as sex, kidnapping, smoking, drinking alcohol, and making out were words he heard from others....not at school but in other places.
He was not exposed to it; discussions like these come and go, and he did not understand what was so good about sex, smoking, or drinking alcohol, since the concept of lust was absent.
Kidnapping was something his mother warned him about when he was young, as she told a story to him about instances, but he got so scared that he could not sleep, so his mother pampered and nuzzled him in her arms while his father smirked at them.
Making out was found in movies.
The drinking alcohol idea also came in movies, though he forgot when it started.
The middle school girl, his friend's older sister, seemed to watch me, confused and unattracted to them and smiled at him, then patted his head, which brought him more confusion.
"I am Riko, and this is Yuiko."
Riko introduced herself and Yuiko to him as all four of them were walking to Takehiko's room.
What is even going on here, exactly? Why are they looking at him weirdly?
The young boy could not understand at all what goes on in the minds of these girls.
Emiko: "Okay, here we are, enjoy!"
The older sister, who looked to be in high school, waved him goodbye, and the three girls disappeared into their rooms.
He watched them leave, and then he decided to enter the room of his friends, and there he saw his three friends along with a group of boys and girls, either older or younger than them, crowding over the table.
Slam!
Was the response of the young boy who felt overwhelmed by the large number of people present in the room.
He stood in front of the door, wondering whether it was a good idea to do this... He compared this to other moments when dealing with cousins.
He then felt nervous to enter again.
Takehiko: "Hey, bro, why did you slam the door?"
His friend opened the door and smiled at him in response.
So-mang: "Sorry, who are those people?"
Hao Xian: "These are my siblings, So-mang's siblings are busy, and of course, you met Takehiko's."
Was the response of Hao Xian as he explained and showed off their siblings to the young boy
"Why are they here now? I thought it was just the four of us guys?!"
Takehiko: "Hey, it was supposed to be; however, these guys decided to come in today instead of tomorrow because of personal circumstances."
So-mang: "Sorry for not telling you, dude."
Hao Xian: "But, hey, allow us to introduce you to them."
The younger siblings of Hao Xian introduced themselves and smiled at him while hiding behind Hao Xian.
The young boy looked on and decided to give it a go.
So far, he did not hate this experience....at first, in all of this, he had difficulty talking to them, but eventually he was able to open up with them, albeit in stutters and long silences.
He observed the younger kids, and in the end, he felt happy.
They all included him in their games, and they all began to have fun together compared to the kids from school.
Hao Xian's Young Brother: "He is better than those kids you invite."
Hao Xian: "Yeah, you all mention that many times."
Hao Xian's Younger Brother: "He is so good to us."
Hao Xian: Younger Sister: "Big bro, could you help us with our homework?"
Everyone was really friendly and chatting with one another. He did not feel excluded as they all invited him to the conversation, and he enjoyed the time he spent being friends with these three boys, as well as their siblings.
Over the past few months, he had often gone over to his Takehiko's house, where he either met the Hao Xian and So-Mang, his three sisters Emiko, Riko, and Yuiko, along with many family and friends of the three boys, who, most of the time, were not as complete as the first time he met them all, but still enough for him.
During those days, he had spent time having study sessions with them, played many games either outside or inside, and hung out with each other at many places.
Those fun-filled days were good for the young boy who seemed to suddenly have a rise in confidence.
He enjoyed the many days with Hao Xian, So-Mang, and Takehiko, and this is what brought his mother into joyful tears when the young boy told them over dinner, while his father smiled at him proudly, for all that his son had done for himself.
They were both wildly impressed with all that he has achieved, for he managed to have three best friends from his school, along with many others.
They noticed how much those boys have helped him grow as a person since he has become more lively and happy to go to school to meet up with those friends of his, and he enjoyed himself the best way he could with those same friends.
"Hey, so we are heading on a family vacation, so we won't be back until we returned next weekend."
Takehiko mentioned this in front of the three of them.
Hao Xian: "What, so where would we hang out if not with you?"
So-Mang: "It is fine, we can just hang out in any of our houses, sound good for you, Hao Xian?"
Hao Xian: "Yeah."
The young boy then suddenly felt this huge, uncomfortable feeling rise when the idea of them hanging out in his house came to mind.
The moment those words left his friend's mouth, a wave of embarrassment washed over him, not out of embarrassment of his always messy room or the idea of them not having fun, but the thought of them being present in his room made him feel afraid.
He could not explain why so many what-if scenarios came to his mind that very moment.
Despite hanging out with these friends of his for over a month, he is still not emotionally ready for them to come over to his house now.
Why would he be worried about his friends coming?
These three boys were his best friends since the start of the sixth year of elementary, and yet he is still not ready to invite them over to his house.
He wondered why these feelings were affecting him so much he did not want to say anything because it would be rude and mean to not invite them over his home, so what he can do is to just convince them to hang in their homes instead of his after he will not allow them yet until he is ready.
Just as he was rummaging in his childish brain, a sudden thought came.....what if they will not be into him when they see how he lives.
That made his heart sink as he questioned himself on whether they would still accept him or if he would have fun with them the same way he did at their house.
Over the years, from childhood, he has never invited any friends over, so perhaps this is what is affecting him.
Deep down, he was so confused about himself.
He thought over what was happening to him and in the end dismissed those thoughts as.....
Hao Xian: "So you guys want to hang out in my place then."
So-Mang "Sure thing, dude, you down?"
These two guys stared at me, waiting for my answer.
The Young Boy: "Uhhh, yeah sure I guess so."
Hao Xian: "You sure you want to come, you seem a little off....."
So-Mang "You doing okay, man?"
The Young Boy: "Yeah, well, sure, I am fine hanging out with you guys in your house."
In the end, the problem in his mind never arose again.
The young boy clearly forgot about this issue; however, he has to admit that one of these days, this is clearly a problem that came from separating his home life and his student life, along with his inability to have any previous friendships where his friends would be invited over to his home.
Throughout the last few days, one of his friends had to go on a family vacation away from home.
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