I immediately recognized Kareem coming down the sidewalk towards The Sweet Onion Bistro. His slow strides with hands awkwardly in his pockets had always been easy to spot. The person with him, on the other hand, I wasn't sure. We were supposed to be meeting Malcolm too but the person walking beside Kareem looked particularly feminine with shoulder-length curly hair, a yellow short sleeved top with a rose on the front, and cuffed tapered jeans.

"Who is that?" I asked Alex.

"Kareem and Malcolm?"

Was Malcolm... transitioning? Why didn't Alex tell me? But, wait, it was still 'Malcolm' and not Mallory or something? "He―Uh Malcolm looks effeminate..." The other two headed inside so the host could lead them to our table on the patio.

Alex sighed. "This is why you should check Instagram and Snapchat. He crossdresses now, but he's not trans. And this is mild; you should see him online."

"So like drag?"

"No. Just regular cross-dressing. And I don't even like that term, to be honest, because it reinforces the notion that clothes are only for a certain gender. But it's what Malcolm calls it, so..."

So one gay guy called it cross-dressing and the other thought that was sexist? The LGBTQ community was so inconsistent and complex―how was someone like me supposed to know what to do?

"Oh my god, they're here!"

Both Kareem and I winced as high-pitched squeals filled the patio. Alex and Malcolm looked like 12-year-old girls as they hugged and bounced in circles.

Looking closer, Malcolm's outfit wasn't that extreme, but he'd changed a lot since high school. High school Malcolm was a plain-looking kid whose personality could only be described with the word "extra." Now, he was stylish and androgynous. His acne had cleared and his much longer curls looked diffused.

I gave Kareem what Alex called a bro hug and we sat down to tell the waitress our drink orders.

"Oh my god, girl!" Malcolm squealed. "I've missed you!"

Alex was not a girl. But he didn't even blink. "Look at you! I love your aesthetic!"

Malcolm did a hair flip. "Thank you. I try."

I looked at Kareem whose expression didn't show any surprise or discomfort at all. He had told me he and Malcolm became friends (he "guessed") since my sneaky Facebook stuff when I first tried to make amends with Alex. No one was on Facebook anymore, though, so I had no clue about Malcolm's new hobby. Was it offensive to call it a hobby?

"I was telling Liam about your social media."

"Yeah?" Malcolm whipped out his phone and started swiping. "You need to get on Snapchat and Instagram, Liam!" He turned his phone towards me to show an Instagram post where he was making babydoll eyes and poking out his lips like a Kardashian. "This one has 100 likes."

I nodded, trying to look interested. "Cool." This was so out of my zone.

"Kareem," Alex started, scrolling on his phone as well, "do you have Snapchat?"

Kareem smirked. "No."

"Instagram?"

"No."

A dramatic gasp came from Malcolm whose jaw was dropped. "Wait, aren't you kreem.man?"

"Who?"

"He always likes my pictures." Malcolm tapped his phone with wide eyes.

Kareem leaned over to look on. "Dude, that's not me."

"I've been replying to him like it's you. Oh. My. Lord."

The waitress set down our drinks as Kareem shrugged. She ignored Malcolm's frozen expression of horror as she asked, "Are you ready for your orders now?"

We hadn't even looked at the menus. Everyone awkwardly picked theirs up. Alex looked at the waitress and smiled. "Sorry, can you give us five minutes?"

"Sure."

After a five minute pause to browse the menu and place our orders, the conversation started back up again.

"Have you gotten jobs yet?" Alex asked the two.

Kareem set down his drink as he leaned against the iron-cast back of his chair. "IT Support for a bank."

"He's getting $19 an hour," Malcolm enthused.

"Uh, thanks for sharing my business?" Kareem replied with a raised eyebrow.

"No problem, honey."

"Tell us your business." Alex smirked towards Malcolm.

Malcolm twirled his hand. "I'm trying to hop on the trend and become a famous gay YouTuber."

I blinked in surprise. Though, I shouldn't have been surprised considering it suited him. "What kind?"

"I react to things," he drawled casually. "I already have fifty subscribers."

"You might have better luck starting with makeup tutorials," Kareem noted.

We all looked at him.

"What? I have older sisters."

"I don't wear makeup like that. Mascara, sometimes lip tint and done. I don't wear anything here, though." He glanced around the patio where only two other parties were seated and the adjacent empty sidewalk. "A lot has changed since high school, but I'm not taking my chances. I have this cute maxi skirt I would never wear."

"A lot has changed," Alex remarked. "They tore down the old mall."

"They did that last summer. Where have you been? Oh, right, interning in To-ron-to." He pronounced the second T, like an upstart.

Kareem sat up straight. "Remember that Tim's Liam punched that one guy at? They were talking about turning it into a Starbucks."

We all gasped.

"No." Alex's mouth was open in horrified disbelief.

"That was just a rumour," Malcolm explained.

"I swear it was going to happen. But then the Starbucks cup stuff happened and all the London Catholics were against it."

"Oh!" Malcolm exclaimed. "Speaking of Dameon Paulson, he's on drugs now."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Not surprising."

"And Coach Michaels went to jail on domestic violence charges."

"Better than statutory rape charges." Alex shrugged.

Malcolm would not stand to have all his juicy gossip brushed aside. "Raphael Wilson knocked up his girlfriend. His black girlfriend."

Raphael Wilson? The Raphael whose nose I bloodied in Catholic school? The Raphael who I threatened to beat up again when he spread rumours about Alex being gay in middle school? Raphael Wilson, whose parents were known to be both homophobic and secretly racist?

Now, Alex was interested. He leaned towards Malcolm who leaned back with a triumphant look on his face. "That baby is mixeder than me."

Kareem shook his head. "I'm pretty sure mixeder isn't a word―"

"It is now―"

"And I don't think anyone's more mixed than you."

"But I'm pretty much white passing."

Alex frowned. "Back up, where did you hear that?"

"Everyone? All my life?"

"Not that. About Raphael."

"Oh. Kareem."

The true source of the information shrugged as we turned our shocked attention to him. "Just because I don't spread gossip doesn't mean I don't know it."

"Oh please!" Malcolm's eyes rolled so hard I could only see white for a second. "You're surprisingly dramatic."

"I am not." Kareem's straw bobbled as he missed it with his lips.

"You invited me, the gayest guy in high school to be your plus one for the wedding of the second gayest guy's ex-friend.

Wait, what? "Jeremy?"

"Yeah," Kareem sighed. "We haven't really talked since first year of college, but he invited me and other people from high school."

"He's still with Danielle?"

"I heard they took a break for a year in college, but yep. They're... in love?"

Wow. Malcolm interrupted my moment to tell Kareem, "Anyway, you're messy."

"I'm not messy." Kareem frowned as he defended himself. "I'm the opposite of messy. I hate drama."

"Then why did you invite me?"

"....I hate drama, but, okay, I'm a little passive-aggressive."

Malcolm gave another triumphant smile. "Told you, sis."

Jeremy and I were friends in high school, but after the stuff with Alex, it was more like I was only there by default. And Jeremy could sense this. But he never mentioned anything or left me out, probably because he was just glad I wasn't still hung up on Alex. And in Kareem's defence, he did hate drama. He'd told me that was the reason he stayed passive. That was the reason he never pressed me to explain what happened. And that was the reason he also pulled away from Alex. But...

I looked at Kareem. "We've all grown since high school, so you should go with your congrats."

With folded arms, Alex peered at me and remarked, "He didn't invite you."

"So?"

"So, both of you were by his side in high school."

"It was strained..."

"Strained?"

I didn't want to explain everything to Alex. To relive or rehash how I'd been so pathetically obsessed with him, though he was happily living his life, that Jeremy could barely stand having me around. "Can we not talk about this right now?!"

The regret was immediate. I hadn't snapped at Alex like that since... Since I'd told him everything was his fault for kissing me...

Alex was quiet and an awkward atmosphere settled across the table.

"W-who needs them?!" Malcolm exclaimed, the tension in his face gradually fading. "We have our own childhood sweethearts right here! Right?"

A soft but reluctant smile formed on Alex's lips as he tried to gauge my emotions. I couldn't let him worry. And I needed to apologize for being a dick. But were we really childhood sweethearts? How might we have been if I'd had a clue back then? The fact that we spent so much time apart was completely my fault.

Alex's arms wrapped around one of mine and his smile and eyes contained nothing but gentleness. Even though I was a dick, my boyfriend was understanding. We knew each other well. His eyes told me he'd forgiven me and that everything was okay because look at us now.

With a small smile on my lips, I briefly kissed his.

Malcolm squealed. "Oh my god! Stop it! You're too cute!" He winked.

Malcolm and Alex hugged a little too long, but I was an understanding boyfriend. Kareem and I glanced at each other awkwardly.

"Another bro hug?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Sure."

Alex smiled at Kareem and Malcolm as he held Malcolm's hand. "You two should visit Toronto."

"Sure." Kareem smiled his calm smile. "My second eldest sister lives there, so I'll definitely visit sometime."

"I'm getting my finances together to move there," Malcolm announced. "And I'll get to finally wear my maxi skirt."

"You could always stay with us until you can afford your own place and/or find a roommate?"

Say what? Kareem nudged me with his elbow, cluing me in that my face was giving my thoughts away.

Malcolm chuckled nervously. "No thanks, hun. But I'll visit."

I nearly expected them to give each other cheek kisses but they thankfully did not. Kareem and Malcolm went off in the direction they came and I took Alex's hand.

"You know, someone from our area is going to see us, then see our parents and out us."

"We've already outed ourselves."

"Yeah, but I don't want to cause my mom problems. She still goes to church."

I removed my hand from Alex's and he showed a thankful smile with regretful eyes. "If someone tried to give your mom or tía crap, though, they'd say 'Adiós' and have their own church."

Alex snorted. "You're right." His smile faded as he looked off.

I figured what he was thinking. "Your mom doesn't support our relationship."

"She's warming up. She's just being an overprotective mom. Apparently, she had a long talk with yours on the phone last night and she seemed better this morning. And Tía is supportive and talked to her too." He hugged my arm. "Everything is going to be fine! Before you know it, we'll be in our new apartment in Toronto and they'll be sending us off with kisses and toilet paper!"

I couldn't help but laugh. I hoped Alex was right and that by the time we settled down, we'd have everyone's full support---that'd they'd all know, despite the past, I was here for Alex with my everything.