Tj

It was Friday morning a week after Kevin's dad showed up at the house drunk with a gun; that ended with Kevin's dad getting shot in the shoulder after the sheriff's department showed up and he refused to lower his weapon. He was arrested, and the judge set his bail at some ridiculous amount. There wasn't anyone willing to bail him out, so it didn't matter. That was also the night I met Sean's Uncle Aaron. Imagine Sean about twelve years older in a tight-fitting uniform. I asked Sean if we could get him one and he said I wasn't allowed to fantasize about his uncle while doing anything with him.

We all noticed the change in Kevin after the threat of his dad was taken away. He smiled more, talked more, and we discovered a wicked sense of humor under the gentle giant exterior.

Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah, Friday morning a week later. We were eating breakfast still in our sleeping shorts. Robert looked over at Josh and me and said, "Now, y'all finish up breakfast and get ready for school. Remember today's Spirit Day theme is purple and white."

"Okay. That's fine. I'll find a purple shirt to wear."

Both Josh and Robert looked at me like I was from Mars or something. Josh said, "You can't just wear a purple shirt and say that's it. Seriously, aren't you going to paint your face half purple and half white? Amber and Jenny are doing my face before school and I'm wearing my school shirt from last year with one white Converse and one purple Converse. If you just throw on a purple shirt, that's totally phoning it in. Don't you have any S-P-I-R-I-T?"

"Are you serious right now? Painting your face? Two different colored shoes? You're going to stick out like a sore thumb. There's no way I'm painting my face or anything else like that."

Robert chuckled. "Teej, you have no idea. If anyone's going to stick out today, it will be you. This town takes football and school spirit very seriously."

"Yeah, right. Every school says that. The football players will be wearing their jerseys, the cheerleaders will be wearing their uniforms, and few other students and a couple of teachers will be dressed up."

"You'll see. You're going to wish you didn't phone it in by the end of the day. Maybe Jenny will take pity on you and paint your face."

"There's no way in hell I'm going to be wearing face paint today."

Josh interjected, "It's not called face paint, it's war paint. You're going to be surprised, I promise you."

Well, let me just say, I stuck out like a sore thumb. There were only a handful of students who didn't come decked out in purple and white with war paint on. This school was crazy obsessed with school spirit.

Thankfully, my caring, wonderful, loving boyfriend happened to have his war paint with him and sat me down in the cafeteria before classes and I officially acquired school spirit or something.

While Sean painted my face half purple and half white, I couldn't stop staring into his eyes. They were emerald green pools I could drown in and die a happy man. He noticed my stare and got a shit-eating smirk on him face.

"Babe, the way you're looking at me right now is making my dick painfully hard. I don't want to walk around here with a boner in my shorts and I don't want to get expelled for public indecency. Besides, if I get arrested before tonight, I can't come over after the game and spend all night with my lips on your skin."

"Oh fuck!" I exclaimed as I surged forward and claimed his lips.

The kiss was mind-numbingly blissful until I heard Rogers' voice. "Fucking faggots." I looked his way to see him and Smith glaring at us. Surprisingly, Rachel was holding Smith's hand. She looked nervous for a moment until she looked at me and glared.

Sean groaned and I was about to say something about finding new material when I heard Josh speak. "Seriously? What is your fucking problem? What did any of us ever do to you? What gives you the right to stand there and yell insults like that? Sean is your teammate and captain who put everything on the line to be honest with y'all. And you repay his honesty by calling him names and insulting him? How does us being gay affect you at all? We're not hitting on you or checking you out. We're minding our own business and not hurting anyone."

I don't think Josh realized he was saying "us" and "we" while he spoke. He had just unintentionally outed himself to the two biggest homophobic bigots in the school. I made eye contact with Sean and the look on his face was a mix of shock, awe, and admiration. I looked over at Kevin and could tell he was surprised but there were signs of moisture in the corners of his eyes. I notice Rachel looking at Kevin and she put two and two together. She looked back at me and her eyes almost softened. I stood and placed my hand on Josh's shoulder. He looked at me and looked scared for a moment. I squeezed his shoulder and he looked back at Rogers before continuing.

"I don't hear anyone complain when Castro kisses Jenny. In fact, I don't hear anyone complaining about Sean and TJ kissing except you. Why is that? Are you jealous?"

I knew he had gone too far. Before I could react and pull him out of the way, Rogers grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"You little fucking..."

That's as far as he got before we heard a primal roar come from Kevin. "Get your goddamn hands off my boyfriend before I put you in the hospital."

Rachel dropped Smith's hand and looked at him, silently begging him to stop his friend. He just smiled at her. Rogers looked from Josh to Kevin and back to Josh. He laughed and threw Josh in Kevin's direction. Kevin caught Josh before he could fall but never took his eyes off Rogers.

"Walk away now and you'll still be able to breathe on your own. If you ever look at Josh the wrong way I will make you regret it."

Rogers chuckled, but it sounded forced and full of false bravado. "Don't worry Wilson, I won't hurt your little butt boy. Just make sure he watches his mouth."

Kevin all but growled, "Walk away. This is your last warning."

Everyone, including Smith, could hear the promise in those words. He wisely said, "Come on Rogers. We gotta get to class. Leave the fags alone for now."

Smith and Rogers started walking away. Rachel was looking from Kevin to Smith. It looked like she was trying to decide what she should do. Smith turned and said, "Rachel, come on babe. If you don't leave with us now, don't bother trying to talk to me again."

For half a second, I thought she might do the right thing and choose her cousin. She looked at Kevin and Josh and whispered a pathetic, "Sorry y'all," before turning and walking to catch up with the pair. Smith threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her forcefully to his side.

I glanced at Kevin, but he was too busy comforting Josh to care about his cousin's actions. Josh looked at me and started to say something, but I cut him off.

"Robert's going to be so fucking pissed and for once it won't be at me."

Josh barked out a laugh and sounded a little hysterical when he spoke. "I just came out. Oh, fuck me gently with a chainsaw. I just came out."

"Yeah bub, you did. How do you feel? Are you okay?"

Kevin spoke softly in Josh's ear. I could barely make out what he was saying. "I'm so proud of you. But, if you ever try to stand up to someone that much bigger than you again, I won't be happy. It took all my willpower not to throttle him when he grabbed you. Now, I think we need to go talk to your dad and let him know what happened."

"I guess we should. I'm not looking forward to this. Hopefully he won't be too pissed. Thank you for not attacking Rogers. I don't want you getting in trouble over his ignorance. Well, let's get this over with before class starts."

They started walking away and since this was normally the type of thing Josh and I handled together, I blurted out, "Hey let me grab my things. Wait up."

They turned and looked at me. Kevin looked apologetic and Josh looked confused. Josh looked at me and simply said, "You don't need to come. Kevin and I can handle it. I'll see you in Drama Class." He turned and started walking to the office.

My face must've fallen because when Kevin and I made eye contact, he started, "Teej, I'm sor..."

"It's okay. Go on and catch up with him. I'll see you at lunch."

It looked like he was about to apologize again. I don't think I would've been able to handle that, so I said, "Really Kevin, it's okay. I'll see you at lunch. Go on." And then I added in whisper he could barely hear, "Please."

He nodded and said, "It will be okay. I'll see you later." But his eyes were saying, "Don't worry, I'll take care of him."

As he walked to catch up with Josh, I rushed to my backpack, picked it up and tried to walk away. Before I could make it a few steps, someone grabbed me from behind and whispered in my ear, "Are you okay, babe?"

It took me a second to be able to answer him honestly. I nodded and said, "Yeah, I think I am. It hurts to think he doesn't need me like he used to when we were young. Normally, this would be the kind of thing he would need me to be with him for. Just to stand next to him and encourage him and give him support. I guess he has Kevin to do that for him now and I think I'm okay with it."

"You know he's always going to need you too, right? He's always looked up to you as a big brother. The only thing that has changed is now he has Kevin to help take care of him. Come on, let's head to class, the bell is about to ring."

"Oh, shit! I forgot some of my homework out in the car. Will you tell Mrs. Waters I'll be a couple of minutes late?"

"Okay, hurry up. You know how she gets when someone comes in too late."

"Alright, I'll see you in bit."

I quickly gave him a kiss and ran out to my car. Once I found the homework I was looking for, I headed back inside. The halls were eerily empty. It's weird how a school hallway can go from chaos to abandoned in less than a minute. Anyways, I was turning the corner to head my English class and saw Rachel walking towards the classroom from the opposite end of the hall. This was not the overconfident, selfish bitch walking my way. Normally she walks like she's the most important person in the room. I might not like her, but I will admit she has a presence about her and people notice when she walks in or out of a room.

The person I was looking at was looking down at the ground, almost shuffling her feet, and wiping at her eyes. Gods help me, I don't know why, but I actually waited before entering the classroom to check on her.

"Rachel? Is everything okay?"

She looked up and I could see she had been crying. When she answered me, there was ice in her words. "What do you care? Let me in, I'm late."

"Hey, I was just making sure you were okay. I honestly don't give a fuck. I gave my last one to Sean, so you're shit out of luck."

I started to open the door, when she surprised the fuck out of me and laughed. I looked up at her to make sure she hadn't lost her damn mind, and she was smiling at me. The bitch further blew me out of the water when she said, "Thank you, I needed that."

I was stunned and stammered out, "Umm...you're welcome?"

"This doesn't change anything. We're not going to be friends. But thank you for asking. Just stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. I'm trying to get Smith and Rogers to back off Kevin and Sean, but I don't think it's going to work. I'm not sure what they have planned, but tell Sean and Kevin both to be careful. I don't even know why I'm telling you this. Get out of my way so we can go inside."

"And the bitch is back," I said with a slight smile.

She huffed and pushed past me loudly stating, "Get out of my way, you're making me late for class. Just leave me alone. Sorry Mrs. Waters, TJ wouldn't let me come into class. I've been trying to get past since the bell rang."

I stood in the doorway with my mouth hanging open. Before I could respond to what was said, Mrs. Waters said, "Mr. Kennedy, please close your mouth before something flies in and take your seat, I'm ready to begin."

After class, Sean wasted no time before he asked, "What was going on with you and Rachel?"

"When I came in from getting my shit out of the car, I saw her walking down the hall towards the classroom and I could tell she had been crying. Now, here's where I plea temporary insanity because, me being the dumbass I am, asked her if she was okay. Basically, she asked why I cared and I said I didn't because I had already given you my last fuck, so I didn't have any more to give. She actually laughed at that. Scared the shit out me. I was half expecting her to start projectile vomiting split-pea soup and her head to start spinning around. Either that or start fucking herself with a crucifix screaming 'Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, lick me raw bitch.' Thank the gods none of those things happened. But, she did tell me she's trying to get Smith and Rogers to back off you and Kevin, but y'all need to watch y'alls backs.

"Next thing I know she reminds me we're not friends. No shit bitch! Then she pushed past me opening the door spouting off some bullshit about me not letting her past to get into the room. Like I was purposefully trying to make her tardy or something."

"Wow, we really didn't need to watch The Exorcist last weekend."

"Really? That's what you got from my rant? The Exorcist references? Wow, it's a good thing you're hot and I kind of like you because, hello? Rachel and I had a civil conversation and we both lived to tell about it. That's like way epic, don't you think?"

"You know, before I turned her down, she wasn't that bad of a person. Just very persistent. Kind of bratty sometimes. Expected to get what she wanted. Never mind she was a bitch back then too. Alright, I'm going that way, you go that way." He indicated which direction we were supposed to head, like I wouldn't remember. This is the worse part of my day. I won't get to talk to him again until lunch. Then I won't see him after lunch until last period.

"Okay Brainiac. I know where I'm going. I have been going to school here for three whole weeks. I'll see you at lunch. Love ya."

"I love you too. Bye."

I watched him walk away for a moment, smiled to myself while admiring the view, then headed for Drama. I immediately went to find Josh. He was talking to some of the other students when I walked over to them. One of the girls asked, "Kevin Wilson is really your boyfriend? Really? I mean he's so...and you're so..." When referencing Kevin, she held her hands as far apart as she could. When she spoke about Josh, she held her hands about six inches apart. An uncontrollable laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Josh turned around and looked at me. I noticed he had added Kevin's number to his cheek. One look in my eyes and he knew what going on in my mind.

He stood up and put his hand over my mouth. To get him to move his hand, I started lick his palm knowing how much he hated it. "Eww, gross Teej. Keep your mouth shut, please."

I shook my head and said, "What? What do you think I was going to say? I certainly wouldn't make any references to a Chihuahua and a Rottweiler."

Josh's neck turned an adorable shade of red while the girl who made the hand gestures, whose name is Stacey, looked at me and started giggling. I decided to take pity on him and said, "Actually, Kevin is a sweetheart and I couldn't want anyone better for my baby bro. You should see them together."

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Since it was a game day, the football team didn't have to be anywhere till 6:00, so Sean, Kevin, Josh, and I went out to grab a bite to eat. At one point during the meal, I looked at Josh and asked, "How did the rest of the day go for you? Anyone give you any shit over this morning?"

He shook his. "No, not at all. I was asked questions all day, especially after I added Big Guy's number on my cheek. Otherwise, if anything, people seemed supportive. I understand why Dad's worried about us coming out. When he was in high school and college, things were different. But people our age tend to be more accepting when it comes to sexuality. Yeah, there are still bigots and homophobes out there, but they are not as common as they used to be."

We talked a little longer, then decided to head to the school. The stadium filled up faster than I thought possible. This town is seriously dedicated to supporting the football team. Josh and I found seats next Jarrod and Mike. I noticed Jenny and Amber on the sidelines and waved. They came over to say hi. Since they were co-head cheerleaders, it was their responsibility to get the paper sign the football team runs through set up, so they couldn't speak to us for very long. I kept noticing Mike and Amber glancing at each other and smiling. Mike surprised the hell out of all of us as they were walking away.

"Hey, Amber!" She stopped and turned towards us before Mike continued. "Umm...I was wondering if you wanted to maybe, possibly...umm...well...what are you doing after the game?"

She smirked at him. "Nothing, yet. Why?"

He was starting to blush. "Well, I was thinking that maybe, I mean, I thought you might be hungry after the game and wanted to see if you maybe wanted to get something to eat?"

Amber is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, but she isn't above teasing someone. I think we all like to watch people squirm a little. So, it didn't surprise me when she asked, "Mike Hebert, are you asking me out on date?"

Mike stammered out, "M...m...maybe? I mean, if you wanted to consider it a date. Or, we could just go as friends. It's up to you totally."

"I would love for you to take me out on a date tonight after the game." She winked at him and ran to catch up with Jenny.

Jarrod, Josh, and I sat there in silence. I'm not sure how my face looked, but Josh looked like he was about crack up, while Jarrod's face was a mixture of shock, amusement, and awe. I finally broke the silence when I busted out laughing. I managed to say, "You realize my boyfriend is going to threaten you with bodily harm if you hurt her, right?"

Mike's eyes got comically huge. He managed to speak out an "Oh," before I clapped his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you. Too much. Besides, you being the big badass track star I've heard about, you can probably outrun him. Maybe."

The game started shortly after that. Our team looked good. Sean looked fantastic. He tended to hand the ball off to Castro most of the time. When he did throw, he hit his target almost every time. There was one point where it looked like he had fumbled the ball when Smith "accidentally" allowed one of the defensive linemen past him. The ball came loose as he was being tackled. Luckily, the ref ruled him down, so the ball didn't change possession. The final score ended up 38-21, in our favor.

As soon as the clock hit zero, we all ran onto the field to congratulate the team. I was going to give Sean a fist bump or a bro hug since there were so many fans surrounding us. However, once Sean saw me, he ran up to me, picked me up in a hug, and placed a light kiss on my lips. The crowd around us suddenly got eerily quiet. There were a few gasps when they noticed the same thing happening with Josh and Kevin right next to us. Most of the team, however, carried on like nothing was wrong, trying to encourage their parents to act like nothing was wrong. As far as Smith and Rogers went, they were glaring at us.

This is, until Robert and Lori came over and congratulated Kevin and Sean. Suddenly, Tweedle-Dee and Tweddle-Dum had somewhere better to be. Robert leaned over to me and asked, "Are y'all going to the party tonight?"

I looked at him questioningly. "What party?"

Robert chuckled. "The football team has a party almost every Friday night during the season. It's normally at either one of the player's or one of the cheerleader's house. I'm sure Kevin and Sean will get invited in the locker room. If y'all go, have fun, be careful, watch out for your brother, and be home before one. That's when the city curfew starts."