A Shift in the Universe Christian Mitchell Copyright 2004
CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
I admit that it was a bit strange to wake up the next morning and walk about the house knowing that my parents knew Kyle and I had sex the previous night. Initially the first fifteen minutes were awkward but the slight uneasiness soon diminished. It was not long before we were all acting normally.
The remainder of the weekend passed relatively quickly. Kyle and I hung out off and on. The planned dinner with his parents was postponed from Sunday night until Wednesday. And I had a lot of homework that I had to complete before returning to school on Tuesday. I pretty much spent Monday studying and preparing for school.
Once Tuesday arrived I was actually kind of happy about going back to school. Yet, I was also a little nervous because Kyle still had one more day of suspension. So I would be walking the halls of Westwood High on my own. Nearly a full week had passed since our relationship had become common knowledge. I convinced myself that I had every right to be apprehensive, but there was no need to completely stress myself. At best, it was a good opportunity for me to project confidence. If there were people that no longer liked me or ridiculed me, then so be it. Such is life. I was in control of whether I wanted to be a victim or a fighter, a survivor to varying degrees.
I reported to the office immediately upon arriving at school. I had a brief meeting with Principal Michael. Basically, he lectured me about fighting with other students and doing it on campus. He mentioned that he would be keeping an eye on my friends and me. Other than that, it was rather painless.
Before first period I retreated to the restroom to piss away all the coffee I had consumed. The bell was about to ring within minutes so the bathroom was damn near empty. As I was standing at the urinal Sheldon Baxter appeared at my side. He unzipped his pants and started to urinate. "How are you doing?" he asked me.
"I'm fine," I replied. "Same old shit."
"Yeah, I hear ya," he replied. He continued to piss then he sighed rather heavily. "Man, this past weekend was a bitch."
"Why?"
"My girlfriend Heather has been pretty bitchy lately."
I didn't really know Sheldon well because he didn't really hang out with the rest of my group of friends. He was somewhat of the rebel type. I'm sure he had quite a few friends because he was actually pretty nice when he wasn't projecting attitude. I didn't know his girlfriend at all. She was a junior and I wasn't even sure I could picture her in mind even if I concentrated hard.
"Sorry, to hear that," I replied.
"Yeah, life's a bitch," he grinned. Then he chuckled," and so is my girlfriend."
He glanced about the bathroom and discovered that we were the only guys in there. He laughed again at his stupid remark about Heather then looked at me. "Maybe you can help me out."
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that he was slowly stroking his dick to erection.
I shook my cock a few times. As I was zipping my jeans I turned to him and responded," I don't think I can."
Sheldon grabbed my arm. "Ah, come on, man. Heather's being a total bitch about sex. I need to get off. I mean, I don't wanna fuck you. I just need to have my dick sucked. You know how it is, man."
I yanked my arm from his grasp. "I wouldn't let you fuck me. And I don't want to suck your little dick."
"Hey," he sneered. "It's not all the way hard yet." He stroked the length of his dick slowly from base to tip a couple times. "Believe me, this baby is big. I guarantee you'll like going down on it."
"Fuck you," I replied. "You're a fucking asshole, Sheldon."
"Hey, I thought you might be interested since you're a fag now," he said.
"I promise I won't tell your boyfriend. It'll be our secret."
I started to walk away. "Thanks for the offer but fuck you anyway."
As the bathroom door was swinging closed I heard him say," your loss faggot."
I was happy to see Paul's face when I walked into American History. I sat down next to him and placed my books on the desk.
"Hey, buddy. How ya doing?"
"I'm fine," I replied with a frown.
"Liar. You look pissed."
"You know Sheldon Baxter, right?"
Paul thought a moment then nodded his head.
"He propositioned me in the restroom."
I quickly told him the story of my encounter with Sheldon. Just as the teacher entered the room Paul grabbed my wrist and leaned closer to me. "Hey, don't even mention it to Kyle. He'll be pissed and probably kick Sheldon's ass."
I motioned that I understood what he telling me.
"I'm serious," he continued. "The last thing Kyle needs is to be suspende d again."
I agreed then focused my attention on the teacher as he started to discuss the chapter we were supposed to have read for the day's class.
Throughout the day a couple of my friends either ignored me or regarded me a little differently as they pretended that they were treating me the same as they had always done. I was relieved that quite a few friends didn't treat me any differently at all. Yet, only a few actually mentioned the word homosexuality and told me that they had no problem with me being gay.
I sat with Tyler in the cafeteria. A couple of our friends were seated around us. Everyone was talking and laughing as they normally would. Suddenly the table became very quiet. Then I saw Brandon walk into the room with Ashley at his side. They were holding hands and walking toward the food counter.
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed.
Tyler nodded his head. "Yep. Your eyes are not deceiving you. Brandon and Ashley are officially an item now."
The sight of the two of them as a couple shocked me. I wondered if the news would have an affect on Kyle. Despite the fact that Ashley had instigated the drama surrounding Kyle and me, would the news rub him the wrong way? Was it possible that his feelings would be a little hurt? Or would he simply shrug his shoulders as he always did when he didn't give a shit about something?
"So I'm pretty sure that no one has mentioned this to Kyle, huh?" I asked.
"Nope," Jordan replied with a mouthful of food. "He probably wouldn't give a shit anyway. And he shouldn't because the two of you are together. That bitch doesn't deserve to get him all worked up."
"You're right," I sighed. "But you know what? Fucking Brandon should be happy that he's with Ashley now. I don't even know why he was so pissed off last week. I mean, why even start a fight with us if he was going to end up with her anyway?"
"Because he felt betrayed by you and Kyle," Jordan answered.
I looked at him in disbelief. "What?"
"Yeah, he told me that he felt betrayed by you guys. He said the two of you were liars who deceived him."
"How the hell did we do that?"
"I guess he thinks that you and Kyle have been together a while and that you just never told anyone. Since he thinks that, he feels like you lied to him for a long time."
"That's bullshit," I shouted. "That's not even fucking true. Kyle and I didn't get together until just a little over a week ago."
"Hey, I'm just telling you what Brandon told me," Jordan stated.
"Well, I'm sure gym class will be interesting."
"He dropped it," Tyler replied. "He got permission to drop gym so he could go to study hall instead."
"Oh, he's so disgusted by us that he can't even finish gym class for the year?" I asked with irritation. "What a fucking idiot."
Jordan cleared his throat and gulped the soda he was drinking. "He said he didn't want to have to shower with two faggots."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, he is a fucking idiot. I suppose he thought we were gonna put the moves on him. Maybe make him gay just like Kyle and me, huh?"
"Fuck him," Tyler responded. "We're better off without him hanging around and we're certainly better off without him in fucking gym class."
"Well, looks like things are working out in my favor after all," I smiled.
I shouldn't have been surprised that some of the guys were shy about being naked around me in the locker room. In a way my feelings were hurt, but I could also understand their ignorance. Thankfully, Tyler and Paul noticed some of the guys' reluctance to take their clothes off and decided to be an example to the others. They both stripped and continued about their business as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place. Soon everyone was in the showers as usual.
Kyle returned to school on Wednesday. Sometimes people would stare at us oddly when he and I were together. For the most part everyone treated us the same or they basically ignored us.
I arrived at Kyle's house for dinner around six o'clock that evening. I was nervous about being in the house again since the night that Mr. Levine had kicked me out. Despite the fact that he had apologized to me, I still felt like somewhat of an outsider. The feeling that I had become a stranger to Kyle's parents did not completely fade away. Kyle did his best to reassure me that everything was fine and that I had nothing to be worried about. Yet, I remained in a constant state of anxiety.
Kyle's parents greeted me and again apologized for the way they had behaved toward me. About a half-hour before dinner Mr. Levine asked if he could talk to me privately.
We retreated to his office. I expected him to sit behind his desk, but he surprised me by sitting in the chair next to mine.
"Marcus, I can not begin to understand what you must be feeling right now," he said. "You seem a bit nervous. And I don't blame you. Please forgive me for the way I reacted last week."
"You're right, I am nervous," I responded. "And I do accept your apology."
"Good."
"My feelings were hurt so I guess I'm still a little scared about being here."
"You don't have to be scared," he sighed. "You are welcome in my home. I want you to feel comfortable when you're here."
"Thank you," I smiled.
"You know, I was not prepared for Kyle to tell me that he is gay. I guess I didn't want to accept it. But he's my son and I love him. I should have been happy that he was in a relationship with you."
I wasn't sure if we were going to be having an exchange of words or if I was meant to simply listen. I nodded as he talked and tried not to shift too much in my seat.
"The world is a very different place today than it was when I was growing up. When I was a teenager it was a very taboo thing to admit to being a homosexual. No one ever really mentioned the word, for the most part. Currently things are a lot different. I forgot how much easier it is for a gay person to be living in today's world. But there are still many people out there who condemn homosexuality. When Kyle told me about the two of you, I think I was scared of what might happen to you. And I guess I was scared of what people might say to me about having a gay son."
"I can understand that," I replied. "I've thought about all of those things, too."
"Good," he smiled. "Then you know where I'm coming from."
"Yes."
"The truth of the matter is that I don't care that Kyle is gay. And I don't care that he's involved with you. If he wants to be in a relationship with another man then I'm happy that he chose you. I know that you and Kyle are very close. You've been friends forever. It gives me comfort knowing that the two of you love each other very much."
"Thank you," I replied. "It makes me feel good to hear you say that."
"I'm glad," he beamed. "I don't want to hurt my son and I don't want to hurt you either. I want the two of you to be happy together. If I stood in the way of that then I would be denying you happiness. It could turn my son against me. And I don't want that."
I continued to look Mr. Levine directly in the eye and nodded my head.
"The two of you are old enough to make decisions for yourself. I have to trust that you know what is best for you. Soon you'll be in college and experiencing all that life has to offer. I can't keep popping up to voice my opinion or put my foot down when I don't approve of something. I have to let Kyle make his mistakes and enjoy his successes. And I hope that you are one of those successes."
"I hope so, too," I replied. "I don't want to disappoint you or make you angry with me. I want you to remain an important part of my life. And now that Kyle and I are a couple it's more important to me now than it was when you were just my best friend's father. Know what I mean?"
Mr. Levine chuckled and slapped his hand on my shoulder. "Yes, Marcus. I know exactly what you're saying."
The dinner was quite a pleasant experience. It was as if nothing bad had ever happened between us. Kyle's parents were as attentive and loving as they always were. We talked and laughed about many things. After dessert we sat on the patio for a while.
In the past when I visited Kyle's house I was expected to return home at eleven o'clock so that he could finish his homework or get ready for bed. I was no longer subjected to that expectation. Mr. and Mrs. Levine said good night about 11:30 and retired to their bedroom.
I smiled at Kyle. "I had a nice time."
He grabbed my hand with both of his. "I'm glad. And I'm happy that my parents have accepted you as being my boyfriend. The guy that I'm in love with."
My smile widened. "It's kind of surreal."
"What?"
"I can't believe that you and I are sitting here. Like this. In a relationship with each other. In love. And our parents are happy for us. They really, really accept us as a couple."
"Yeah," Kyle agreed. "It feels good, doesn't it?"
"It feels great!" I exclaimed. "I'm very happy right now."
"I never would have imagined that this is where we would be. But I'm glad that we are. I love you so much, Marcus. I want you to be happy. I want to love you forever."
"I want you to be happy and loved forever, too," I replied.
I returned home soon after midnight and went directly upstairs to my room. I sat at my desk for a few minutes. I didn't do anything but stare into space, not looking at anything in particular. I allowed myself to think about how happy I truly was at that very moment.
I was acutely aware of the constant smile that painted my face. And when I seriously concentrated on my perpetual smile I couldn't help but giggle. It embarrassed me a little to be acting so boyishly. Yet, I never defeated the urge to giggle. I embraced it.