Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2003 23:43:25 -0600 From: Karla Schulz Subject: The Preppie and the Punk chapter two Alright, so another chapter, finally. There are like nine more, so worry not friends and neighbors. Affectionate punches on the arm to all those who wrote me, you kids rock. Happy whatever the hell you feel like celebrating. --- The Punk We get to school, all late and everything, and even though we're acting all normal, which for us is like totally jokey and weird, we both totally stop cold. Faced with the building, I think a good half of each of us just wants to like run for it. Only I look over at him and he happens to do the same thing just at the same second, and we both know it's like what needs to happen. I make some crack about the newspaper headline, you know, 'Civil war breaks out amongst highschoolers, punks and preppies go to arms', and it cheers him up I think, 'cause he laughs, and squeezes my hand for half a second. "Okay?" I ask, basically asking, 'Are you ready?' He nods, and takes a deep breath. I feel like our roles keep reversing. Like one minute, I'm the one who's confused, or scared, or feeling insecure, and then the next it's me who's being brave for both of us, and he's the one who's leaning. So far he's been up to the challenge, and I hope that the same will be able to be said about me. The thing that seems the most strange, and maybe wrong, is that we don't even have class together - not until the afternoon anyway, of course, it's already halfway through second period. The halls are empty, and 'cause it's basically the first time we'll have been apart this whole time, except for the first night and well Saturday, I pull him close and we hug and then go at it pretty hard for a few seconds. "I'll look for you at lunch, okay?" he asks. I smile, reassuringly. "Uh-huh, see you then. He pulls himself up straight, takes one last look at me, and heads off towards his lesson. "Bye," I say, waving cautiously. There's nothing else to do, I head off too. As I enter the class, everyone stares at me, but that's what always happens when someone comes late. Robbie, who's one of my more friendly friendly acquaintances, greets me by sticking his chin out and sort of waving me over with his head. There's an empty seat beside him, and I take it. He doesn't ask me why I'm late, or anything like that, 'cause he's not like that. In reality, I really like Rob, I've talked to him, about real stuff, once or twice, and it's always been really easy. He's an easy person though, doesn't ask much, but he's not especially needy, 'cause he doesn't really give much either. Like most of the other punks I get along with - not that there are many of them - he's a bit of a mystery. I mean, I know what he likes for music, clothes, that shit, but what makes him happy? What is he doing while he listens to the really awesome CD? Where is he going when he plays that kick-ass tape in the car? And he's not snotty either, like I bet he won't care if that I'm friends with Elliot. I'm not totally sure about the 'and more' part, but we'll see. The Preppie I'm late so often no one asks me what I was doing, even though everybody, except Stacy of course, is in class and Kevin looks at me a bit oddly. I guess it's 'cause I'm usually such a sour puss, at least at school, and when I'm late normally, it's 'cause I was too unenthusiastic to get up. But all it takes is for me to be caught accidentally humming a song from a record of Simon's that I listened to for Kevin to lean over. "What's with you today?" he asks, and I'm glad it's Kevin because of how easy to talk to he is. I want to tell Kevin, and the others, and I want to tell them everything, before. So I tell him I'll talk to him at morning interval. And he leans over and conveys the message to Rowan who sort of shrugs, 'cause he was off in his own world again, a place he lives a lot of the time, and I guess he didn't even notice me come to class. When break comes, we find Stacy and I look at them all quite seriously. Kevin knows I'm gay, Rowan has probably guessed and certainly won't care, and I'm not really worried about Stacy either, but still, it's hard. "I'm going to be doing something today that might surprise you guys," I begin. Rowan's visiting our planet at this time, so he looks at me curiously. "Oh yeah?" "I met someone on Friday, who I've become really close to and who I care about a lot." Kevin grins. "You found a boyfriend?" The other 2 stare at him. "What the hell?" Rowan sputters. "I'm gay," I say a bit nervously. He nods. "Oh, okay," "Do you mind?" He shrugs. "Hell no, El, maybe it doesn't surprise me all that much anyway, you know?" He's smiling though. Stacy's just standing there, looking normal. "Stace?" She smiles. "Oh it's fine with me, Elliot, who's the guy?" Deep breath time. "Simon Kelly." None of them know that name. "Who's that?" Kevin asks. "He goes to our school. He's um, well, the guy who's always listening to music with headphones in Study Hall, you know." Rowan and Kevin do, and they both look a bit horrified. "He's a punk!" "Yeah, so?" I say defensively. Suddenly Rowan grins evilly, and pats me on the shoulder. "Way to fuckin' go, man! That's fantastic." "It is NOT fantastic, Ro!" Kevin begins sensibly. He looks at me. "Elliot. You cannot be telling you're planning to openly DATE this guy, are you? Like you'd be in enough trouble if you were dating one of us, but you couldn't get away with a neutral, never mind a punk!" "You won't support me if I do?" I ask coolly. He sighs. "Well, of course I will, but that's not the point. It'll be way too hard. You guys'll get beaten up - by both sides probably." I know he's probably right, and thinking of the danger I'd be putting Simon and my friends in almost makes me want to not go through with it, but first off I know Simon'd never want us to do that, and also, I can just tell how much Rowan's loving this. He needs it somehow, I think. "Fuck that, Kevin, we're doing it," I say, hoping that by sounding 100% sure I'll be able to make myself feel it too. He sighs, 'cause of how damn convincing I'm being and might even be holding back a smile. "Alright, alright. If you're so fired up about it. But, just so I'm clear, how far is this going to go, I mean, are you going to be publicly saying 'this is my boyfriend', or are you going to like stick to 'just friends' first to like test the waves?" For some reason, I look to Rowan for guidance. He gives me another evil grin, silently telling me to go for the whole hog. And I'm so tempted to just say, "Forget dating, we're going to make out in the cafeteria", but I know I have to check with Simon again first before I make any statements. "I'm not totally sure yet actually. I'll have to talk to Simon about it." "Elliot," Stacy says, ending her virtual silence. "Can we meet him a bit first, before you 'go public'? I'm not saying we're like checking up or anything, I'd just like to get to know him a little before y'all get totally lost in the mob scene that's bound to result." I shrug. "Well, yeah, I guess, only, how are we going to manage that? Like won't we attract even more of a crowd, all 5 of us?" She thinks on this for a moment. "Yeah, probably. Hmm, couldn't we sort of find him and then duck out, go off campus for lunch, and deal with the reaction in 5th block? Wouldn't that be easier anyway, you know, teacher supervision and all that?" Makes sense to me, so I nod. "Alright, that's what we'll do. You guys down?" Rowan grins, of course. "I'm totally down, this is going to be CRAZY." Which to Rowan is about as cool as something can get. Wearing an I-can't-believe-they-talked-me-into-this face, Kevin nods. "Yeah, guess so, man." The Punk I'm nervous, standing alone in the caf, waiting and watching for Elliot, but when I see him coming, my heart starts beating even faster, and I figure my current feelings are putting that other so-called nervousness to shame. What adds to my confusion is that he's flanked by his 3 friends, and they're all wearing sort of somber, serious business faces, well, except for the one guy who's like totally grinning his ass off. It's totally freaking me out, but then Elliot sees me and he smiles warmly, making me feel automatically better. "Hey, Si," he says once they've approached. He's got a look in his eye like he wants to hug me, not 'cause he wants to cause a fuss, just because he wants to, it makes me feel great. Doesn't make me hug him though, I must admit. We're only talking, in fact, I haven't even said anything yet, but I swear, every pair of eyes in the house is on us already. "Hey, El," I respond eventually, having recovered my voice. The bloke who was grinning sticks out his hand. I shake it, even though it makes me feel kinda weird. "I'm Rowan, Simon, and this is Kevin and Stacy," he says, pointing to the others. "And we'll get introduced properly in a minute, but right now we gotta split - assuming you don't mind - we were thinking of high-tailing it out of this dump at least for this first noon-hour so you and El can talk and so we can get acquainted a little bit." I glance at Elliot, making sure this is what he wants, and seeing that it is, I nod and we get out of there fast. We pick this slightly divvy dinner place, 'cause it's free from kids from school, to eat lunch. Even though they're all totally richer than me, none of the others look adverse to eating in such a place. Rowan's eyes light up wickedly when he sees the battered fish and chips and he actually rubs his hands together and licks his lips - I definitely like that dude. When we're sitting down Elliot keeps kicking me under the table, challenging me to keep a straight face, the whole time I'm trying to get to know his friends. They are pretty cool, even the Kevin guy, who seems to be the serious 'dad' figure of the group. "So tell us about yourself," the girl (Stacy?) says brightly after we've been just sort of chit-chatting for awhile. I shift uncomfortably under their gaze as I struggle to find something to say. Then Elliot, my love, saves me. "Don't ask him that, Stace, it's not fair. You guys totally outnumber him, he doesn't know anything about YOU either, and then you just ask him this totally vague question, which who knows what it means really, ask him something else." Maybe if it wasn't Elliot who had said it, I would have been pissed off, 'cause hey, I can take care of myself, only it WAS Elliot, and he was trying to help, and he even did in a way, so I'm nothing but grateful. I press my foot up against his under the table, hoping he'll understand it's my attempt at a silent thank-you. I think he gets it, 'cause he gives me a private smile and then returns the gesture with his own foot. For her part Stacy doesn't seem to have minded the reprisal, in fact she even looks a bit sorry, like she's thinking how right El was. "Okay, you're right. Um, how about something more specific. I guess we kinda know what music you're into and stuff like that, but..., okay! How 'bout this, when or how did you and Elliot meet?" I look once again over to Elliot, 'cause he owns 50% of the rights to this story, and I want to make sure it's okay with him for me to be telling other people about it. He actually looks amused that I'd think to ask, and gives me a 'go ahead' smile. "Sure, okay. Well, we actually sorta ran into each other, I think it was my fault. I was listening to music on headphones, not paying attention, with my eyes closed even maybe, so I didn't like see him and then suddenly he's on the ground, and I help him up, and I don't know," I pause, 'cause I'm about to say something I haven't even told HIM yet, "but I just felt this connection with him right away. We got kinda pushed together when I yanked him up and, I dunno, he took my breath away." Elliot does this little quick intake of breath thing, and grabs for my hand under the table. I smile at him, and shrug a shoulder. "That's so beautiful," Stacy breathes into the silence, sort of ending our moment. Elliot's still in the lost-for-words stage, but I look over at her. "Well, he is anyway," I say, nodding over at Elliot. He actually drops my hand in surprise. I don't know if it's what I've said, or who I've just said it in front of, or that surprised him more, but he's like stunned. "You're certainly full of surprises, Simon," Rowan says to me, grinning, this is actually new, 'cause he stopped for awhile there, but anyway, the grin is back. The Preppie Oh, man. I never thought anyone could make me as happy as Simon made me that lunch hour. I don't know why really but I sort of half expected him to put on this total I-hate-you-and-everything-you-stand-for-richie act on in front of my friends. I never expected him to be sweet and funny and relaxed. Well, okay, relaxed is the wrong word, but he wasn't up-tight, or extremely twitchy or anything. It's gotta get a cliche, not that I have like a cliche book or anything, but the more I get to know him the more I love Simon. What's more, the guys love him. I'd say especially Stacy, but believe it or not, I would have to say his biggest fan is Kevin. I mean, I KNOW it's surprising, but Kevin loves him. LOVES him. Thinks he's great. Thinks WE'RE great. He can't stop grinning at us all through 5th block. I swear he's ready to take on anyone who gives us any trouble. Another thing that I found a bit surprising was the way Rowan acted at first. Almost like he was disappointed Simon wasn't this disgruntled card-board-cut-out punk. But because Ro's not an ass, this didn't last and he ended up liking Simon for himself, well at least so I assume - we didn't have a huddle about it while Simon got his stuff out of his locker, but he was laughing and grinning like the rest of them. So there's the five of us grinning, and the rest of the school's population, still a bit too shocked to react, but as the afternoon went on, there began to be the murmurings of something. And we all got the impression loud and clear that it wasn't going to be the pleasant variety of a something. Far from it, in fact. What shocked me was that it was just assumed we were dating, not because either of us had ever really been suspected of being gay, but because no one seemed to be able to see 2 people who were just friends pulling something like our cross-clique caper. The proud tradition of hating whomever wasn't in your social group was being shamelessly broken, and only queers would do such a thing. Kevin and Ro were obviously dating, Stacy was of course a lesbian. It was almost unreal. I was, in all honesty, beginning to regret going public. I wasn't even able to speak to Simon anyway, because of all the scrutiny we were suddenly under, so it was like the purpose had been defeated. By the end of the day I had lost virtually all hope. But how could I tell Simon this? After all he had done for me? Braving 3 strangers for my sake, openly and brazenly loving - when I hadn't done much of anything to deserve that love. I was miserable, and near tears in the loo when Rowan found me. "Hey, El," he says, peering at me, wearing only the lightest grin. "We were getting ready to leave, going to drive us home in your lovely car? Eh? Elliot?" He's sounding concerned, for now I am crying. Looking stricken, and with no idea what to do, he says, "I should go get Simon, I'll just go get Si-" "No!" I cut him off in a panic. "I don't want him to see me like this." Rowan looks almost amused. "What? You look okay, El, and I'm sure it doesn't matter to him." Now I understand why he was amused. "It's not that, Ro," I say, shaking my head, now beginning to regain my composure. "I meant, well, that I don't want him to know I was upset. I'm being stupid and I'd rather he not hear about it." "Being stupid about what?" he asks me, because I believe he really doesn't know. I'm not even sure Rowan thinks about such things. His mind is not wired that way. "It's all gone wrong, Ro," I say, rediscovering my misery. "I thought it'd be this huge defiance, and that everyone would be so shocked and impressed, that they'd just leave us alone. It's stupid, I know, and I told myself I was prepared for this, but I'm not. I'm no rebel, Rowan. I'm the worst kind of person. I whine about my constraints, about my lot as someone with a group, a set way of living, but maybe I preferred it all along. It was safe and comfortable and I probably enjoyed feeling sorry for myself most of all. I think I've been fooling myself." I look at him, but not for guidance, because it's not what I expect from Rowan, but there he is appearing to prepare himself to dole some out anyway. > "Elliot," he begins sternly (Rowan, being stern?) "Snap out of it. Get a grip. You've got someone who loves you out there, and that's a lot more than most of us, so don't jinx it. Don't let the losers freak you out. Fear can take a hike. We've all got your back, and none of us care about the stupid rumors if that's part of what you're worried about. I actually kinda enjoy everyone thinking I'm doing Kevin, he's not exactly ugly." I stare at him, but then he laughs. "I'm not saying THAT, El. I'm just saying take a few deep breaths, and realize you've got it pretty good. It'll be okay, you know, just as long as you let it be anyway." "Okay," I say, deciding to believe him. I run my hands through my hair and wipe my face. He pats me on the back. "Let's go, Simon's probably freaking-out out there." Realizing he's probably right, I quicken my pace. The Punk The second Elliot comes out of the bathroom he takes me in his arms and starts whispering how he's 'so sorry' and I'd ask what the hell for?-but he doesn't seem ready for that yet. So I just sorta wait it out, letting him hold me, since what the hell, everyone thinks we're poofs already anyway. "What are you sorry for, baby?" I ask once he's calmed down. I think it's only after I spoke that he remembers where we are, and he puts on this face, like he's not going to give the people around us the satisfaction. He mouths "not here" and shrugging to the others while I at the same time look to Rowan for assistance, we leave the school. When we reach his car he asks Kevin if he wants to drive and the three of them all cram into the front while Elliot and I huddle together in the back seat and talk. Or rather, we sit in silence while I wait for Elliot to say something. "I gave up on us for a few minutes there, Simon," he admits to me at last, looking profoundly guilty. "What do you mean?" I ask. "Just what I said. In the bathroom after school, for a while I was ready to quit, I wanted it to all go away and things to be normal again. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown, I guess you could say." He looks up at me. "I'm just SO sorry, I don't deserve you." I take him in my arms, hearing this. "It's okay, baby," I tell him, because it is. "You deserve me if only because of how much I want you. Very few people actually get their fondest wish, and you were always mine, so hush about the not deserving stuff. As for the rest of it, I understand." "You do?" he asks, looking up at me once more, eyes large with surprise or maybe it's more like relief. "Of course," I say, nodding reassuringly. "It was an intense afternoon. And worse for you because your friends' names were getting dragged into things. I don't mind, honestly. It's okay. We're human, and we have doubts and worries and aren't always 100% sure about things. But I love you anyway, you've made me so happy doing this, and I'd never ask you to only feel great about it all the time. It's fine to feel however you happen to be feeling, but tell me and then we'll always be able to work things out. Anyway, I'm the one who should be sorry since it was me who pushed you into doing all this." "You didn't!" Quickly. "Oh, Simon," he says, hugging himself to me. "I love you so much." For the rest of the ride home we sit in silence while I stroke his hair. ______________ "Elliot," Kevin says to Elliot suddenly after we've been sitting around in his living room for a while. "Not to add to your stress level or anything here but, what about your parents? What if they find out about this?" For a few seconds, from his position beneath my arms, Elliot only stares at Kevin blankly as if he had spoken in some foreign language. "They won't find out," he replies firmly as if attempting to convince himself as much as Kevin. "Well- are you sure? Suppose they do?" If I didn't know him to be a friend of Elliot's I'd wonder why he was doing this but I assume Kevin's just trying to help. Reassuming his role as the leader of this particular pack. "Oh, I don't know," Elliot mumbles in a pout, following which he promptly buries his face in my neck. "It's been too much all so suddenly," I say, finding myself explaining the behavior of someone they in all honesty probably know a lot better than me. Despite this apparent breach in edict, they all just smile at me. "No, I'm okay," Elliot says, coming up for air at last. He shares a weak smile with the group. "I'm sorry, to all of you, for the way I've been behaving. I'll pull myself out of it, really. I just need sleep, I think. I'm incredibly tired." "Probably because I didn't let you sleep in this morning," I say, bringing up a memory in hopes of cheering him. It works. He's smiles a bit more genuinely and sits up straight on the settee we're sharing. "I think I might actually fancy a nap, if you can believe it," he says sheepishly. We all get up, but he glances at me, surprised, it seems, by my movement. "Oh, did you want me to stay?" I inquire, not finding myself feeling especially opposed to the idea. "Um, yes, please," he says quietly. "If you don't mind," "Of course not," I say, sitting back down. "Should we let ourselves out then?" Stacy asks meaningfully. "Oh, I'm sorry," he says, rising to the occasion, looking apologetic. "I really AM tired." "Do you guys need rides?" he asks once we've all reached the front hall. "Could use them, yeah," Kevin admits, looking a bit sorry. Elliot smiles. "It's alright. I can take you, um, did you want to come, Si, you could just stay here if you wanted, I'd be back in less than 15 minutes probably." "Maybe 20," Kevin revises. Elliot shrugs. "Yeah." I'm not sure if he wants me or not. Suspecting that he maybe has something he wants to say to them in private, I smile. "Sure, yeah. I'll just stay here then, I guess. I can make the bed up for you." His eyes widen with surprise and he looks quite touched, he kisses me lightly for my just saying it. "That'd be great. You're the best." He turns back to his friends. "Ready to go, guys?" They nod, all say good-bye to me, and exit the house. The Preppie In the car they all turn to look at me. Kevin has been silently elected to speak. "You wanted to talk to us then, Elliot," he says bluntly. I nod uncomfortably as I drive out of my driveway. "So," he encourages gently. "Are you guys really okay with what people've been saying? Calling you gay and everything?" They all actually SIGH aloud, so obviously relieved this is what I wanted to talk to them about. "Of course we are, El," Rowan assures me. "I told you so in the bathroom. We couldn't care less. It doesn't happen to be true, but there are worse things to be than gay, in fact I don't think anyone of us even consider it an insult. Right, guys?" Kevin and Stacy both nod. "It's totally not a big deal," Stacy says, picking up where Rowan left off. "I for one would love it if they stuck to thinking we were all gay and just left us alone." Then, noticing me get tense all over again, she smiles. "Don't worry so much, El. It'll be okay. We might have more allies than we think." It seems I'm not the only one in the car who's surprised to hear her say this. "What'da ya mean exactly, Stace?" She shrugs mysteriously. "I dunno really, time will tell." "STACE!" we all shout, but she just continues to grin smugly. "Patience, boys," she purrs. "Patience." When I return home I find Simon fiddling around in my room, looking like he's been enjoying himself. Hearing me enter, he looks up and smiles. "Oh, you're back." He walks right over to me and kisses me on the mouth. It's not an aggressive kiss, but a supportive, loving one. It reminds me of how wonderful he is and almost makes me feel bad all over again. "Listen, I really am sor-" "Hey," he cuts me off. "I said it's okay. I meant it. Really. Let's just take that nap you mentioned together, alright? We can talk more later." "Alright, thanks." He kisses me again, with the same gentleness. "Don't mention it." ____________ We wake from our nap just after 6 o'clock. I stretch and yawn happily, placing a small kiss on the side of Simon's head. "Hello, my love," I say to him adoringly. "Hello yourself," he replies with a grin. Then he looks at the clock. "Oh SHIT!" he exclaims. "What's wrong?" "It's late and I haven't called. I might be in trouble." I can't understand this really, after all, my parents are home so rarely themselves they're hardly in a position to be keeping track of me. Still, I feel bad about my role in possibly getting him in trouble. "Like, serious trouble?" He shrugs, seeming to now be attempting to off-play his own concern in the face of mine. "Oh, I might get grounded or something, yelled at. But she's not like that usually. A lecture or something. Don't worry about it." I sigh, half-smiling. "That's all I get from everyone these days. 'Don't worry'. Can I help it if I'm a worrier?" "Yes," he says, leaning back down to kiss me. He's sitting up and I'm still lying down, you see. So he has to lean down. "Think of happy things, and if all else fails, I dunno, I suppose there's drugs for it or something." "Geddout of here," I say, giving him a little push. "You're no longer wanted," I continue, giving him another one. He jumps up, and then grabs my hands, pulling me up as well. "I've decided to make it my personal mission to cure you of both your laziness and your worrywart-like tendencies," he tells me, doing a brilliant job of sounding serious. "Yes? And what about my terrible taste in music? That as well?" He wraps me up in his arms, now that we're both standing, and presses our lips together. "That," he says, meaning of course my musical tastes, "goes without saying." "Ah," I say, with his same level of gravity, as I'm walking us both out of my room. We go down the stairs still attached. In the foyer again, this time he's leaving and I'm able to give him a goodbye kiss. "Leave, really. I don't want to be blamed for getting you in even MORE trouble." "Okay," he consents, kissing me once more. "I'll try to call, but I might not be able to. Phone privileges might get yanked, you never know." "I'll prepare myself," I say jokingly. He shoves me a bit. We seem to be getting awfully abusive to each other. I mention this to him. He laughs. "I blame you," and he has to duck my swinging fist as he races out the door. He shuts it, and I wait a few seconds. It reopens. "You have to give me a ride home, idiot," he orders. I cross my arms and pretend to be unsure. "I dunno, after all the horrible things you've said to me? And the pushing back there? If I get near you again, you might hurt me." "Shuttup," he says, dragging me out the door. "Now lock up if you have to and let's get going. Do you know where I live?" "Twat," I say, flicking his shoulder. " I HAVE been to your house." He shrugs. "Yeah, right." The Punk We kiss before I get out of the car. "Wish me luck?" He grins. "Aww, you won't need it." I de-grin my face. "Might." "Really?" The concern is back. I smile. "Well, yeah, probably not." "You'll be okay?" Checking. I nod. "Yep. Fine, see you tomorrow?" "Can I pick you up? I'd rather us get to school together." Makes sense. "Absolutely, but only 'cause it's such a gorgeous car, YOU I can take or leave." He laughs, giving me the same rush I always get from making him laugh. "Maybe I won't pick you up after all then. I could just send a taxi to have you picked up." "Just try it. I'm spoilt now. It'd have to be a limo," he groans. "Didn't I hear you say something about worrying over being late? Get away." "Yeah," I say, leaning in for one last delicious kiss. "I'll call if I can." I get out, he rolls down his window, blows me a kiss, waves and then drives off. We were parked away from my house so it's a short walk before I have to face the music. As I enter the house, I see my mum right away, sitting at the kitchen table, staring warily at the phone, as if it will suddenly jump noisily to life, even though it's unplugged. "Hi, mum," I begin. "Sorry I'm late and that I didn't call. I haven't really an excuse, I just forgot." "I can imagine you did," she says, in an odd tone. She knows something, though I'm not sure exactly what. "What'd ya mean?" I ask, nervous. She nods her head at the chair opposite, indicating I'm to sit down. "How much of it's true?" "How much of what?" She points at the phone. "It's been ringing pretty much off the hook. Some of the things I've heard over that phone were more unpleasant than I ever cared to hear. Now I'm ready to hear your version. So I'll ask you, how was your day at school?" Oh. So it's that. I had debated whether or not to tell her before, should have been before, I suppose. Oh well, though, why hadn't Elliot's phone been ringing at all? "It was different," she snorts. "Um, well. I dunno what kinds of things you've been hearing, but this is what happened. I'll go back a few days. Last Friday I met a boy from school sorta on the street and we went to a show together and then hung out at ours for a while afterward. Long story short, he's gay and I'm gay and we happen to fancy each other so we sorta decided to make a thing out of it. Dating, I guess, is the word. I like him a lot, by the way, and he's great for me, so please don't worry or try to forbid us from seeing each other." She says nothing, waiting for me to continue. "Anyway, I told you about him sort of, well you know, he called that time and was over Sunday," "The boy is Elliot?" she interjects. I nod. "Oh. Well, go on," Her tone gives nothing away. It never does. "You know I stayed over, and this morning we decided we'd go to school as friends. I mean, do you know how it is at school? I've talked to you about all the cliques, right? And how we're all sort of at war or something equally stupid? Anyway, he's a prep and I'm a punk and our two groups couldn't hate each other more, but we decided to say to heck with them. We're in love," She doesn't comment. "We didn't even act as boyfriends at first, but everyone just assumed, since they could see no other reason to risk so much. I mean, would you risk your social standing for just some random bloke? Well, I guess it'd be a girl in your case, or er, something. Um, so yeah. That's how my day was, Mum." She was silent for a while. "Okay." "Okay?" She smiles. "Well, I've known you were gay. Getting a boyfriend was next in the natural course of events." "So you don't mind?" She frowns. "Depends. When you stayed over, did you have sex?" "Augh, Mum!" I say, covering my face in horror. "You do not talk to your mum about sex with your boyfriend!" I'm not recovering very well. She sighs, amused. "I'm not asking you how it was." I recoil again, it's even worse this time. "I would just like to know. I might not have any say about whether you're having sex or not, but I could at least know for my peace of mind it was safe, and mutually beneficial." My mind is blank from horror. Sometimes, I swear, a liberal parent is a curse. Finally I manage to shake myself out it. "We are NOT, at this point, having sex. And if and when we do you'll not be the first person I tell, but it would be safe if it happens. Don't worry, and PLEASE, don't ask me again, Mum, please?" She nods. "Alright, if you're going to be like that about it. Next question? Have you thoughtlessly put yourself in danger as I know you are so apt to do? Will you be coming home to me with all manner of bruises and stitches from the endless brawling?" I have to shrug. "I can't tell you there'll be no scuffles. I don't know really. But it doesn't really depend on me, it's in the hands of the others in school." She sighs, putting a hand to her forehead. "If some of the calls I got were any indication of the lovely young people you attend classes with, you might very well have a few bruises. Oh, my. Why couldn't you be more sensible? There wasn't a nice punk boy you could fancy instead?" I laugh, her take on this is just so priceless. Not caring at all it's another boy I'm with, just not wanting me to get physically hurt 'cause he's from some other clique, and I wouldn't have anyway? Mothers. "There's only Elliot that I want, Mum," She looks at me. "Really?" "Yes, really." "Alright then. I only want your happiness." I smile. "I know that. Thanks for understanding." She laughs. "You're still grounded." I fake disbelief. "What? No way, that's way uncool." She looks down her nose at me. "I don't care, young boy. A call is all I ask. Now it wasn't extreme, so one day in should be enough. I tell you what, you can even call that lad of yours at some point tonight, briefly, to fill him in. How's that for cool?" "You're the greatest mum," I say, giving her a hug. "The greatest, eh?" she says to herself. "Hmm, yes, today anyway." When I ring up Elliot, he doesn't seem himself. "Hey, gorgeous!" I begin enthusiastically once I know it's him. "Um, hey," he says back. "So guess what?" I begin to launch into my conversation with my mum. His only response is to occasionally mumble things like 'oh, really?' and 'crazy', I tell him about being grounded for only a day, which finally gets me something of a real reaction, but even that's muted. "Hey, what's wrong with you anyway?" I ask, having had enough. "Um, nothing." "Elliot?!" "Really, I'm great." "You're lying to me now. What's happened?" "Er, nothing. Honestly, it's fabulous." "What's fabulous?" I'm beyond confused. "The new system. It's great, there's nothing wrong with it. You should try it. I'll bring it over to yours sometime." "What the hell, Elliot? What are you talking about?" "Yeah, my parents just brought it home for me, I really love it." Finally, FINALLY, I realize what's going on. "Oh shit. Your olds are home. Sorry for being a prat about it. Should we just say goodbye? We can talk more tomorrow, pick me up a bit early if you like so we aren't in any rush." "Sure, sounds brilliant. Bye then?" "Yea, I know you can't say it back, but I love you." He's quiet. "Yeah, me too, mate." "Bye." "See ya." _____________ "What was wrong on the phone last night?" I ask him once I've hopped into his snazzy car. "I mean, I know your parents were home but your house is massive, couldn't you have just gone into your room or something?" He's already started to drive and it's a few turns and shoulder checks before I get a reply. "It's just I answered in the kitchen, stupid I guess, but my mum was in there and I didn't want to like leave the room in case she thought it was suspicious. She seems to think I'd only leave to talk to a girl and well, I wasn't up for pretending, I guess." It all seemed very reasonable to me so I grilled him no further, instead reaching over and rubbing his neck with my hand. "Oh, okay," I say eventually. "But, I wanted to ask you too about why they were ringing my place like mad but you didn't get a single call. I mean, you didn't, right?" He nods. "It's just 'cause we're not in any public directory. I assume you are." He glances at me and I make a quick gesture of conformation. "Yeah. That was probably why. The few people who do have access to our line, well maybe they are waiting to confront me about it today." I laugh in a way that makes it clear I'm not laughing 'cause I find anything especially funny. "The luxuries afforded to those higher up on the social ladder," I say lamentably. He gives me a quick 'shut-up' grin and says, "Oh, please." (Edit by Ed)