Hey guys, dunno if u've read my other story What Happened in Highschool but i'm on holiday and forgot to bring the latest chapter to finish so i started writing this story... i'm still not sure about it so let me know what you think!!! i love emails and i will write back!!
Rian Chapter One
It was a dark and stormy night.... That cheesy line ran through Rian's head as he sat in the dark and watched the pouring rain outside his bedroom window. He reached out and followed a rivulet running down the cold glass with a finger and ignored the overwhelming painful knot in his stomach. Everything had changed tonight.
He had finally gotten his nerve up to tell his parents that he was gay. It had come out fairly badly and not at exactly the best moment, that is when his father had just put a piece of steak in his mouth and his mother a sip of wine. It hadn't been a great timing at all, especially when his father began to choke and his mother sprayed wine all over the dinner table. Rian reflected sadly on the event. No, it hadn't gone well at all.
He had always thought his parents were open-minded; they had supported the movement awhile back when gays and lesbians protested the right to civil marriage. Rian had watched them carefully and had been extremely proud of his parents and it had firmed his resolve to tell them. He was sure that his parents might be shocked at first but would stick with him, be those wonderful parents of gay children you read about sometimes who love and support them happily. He had been wrong. Rian held his head in his hands as tears leaked forth again. His parents seemed to be leaning towards the other side of the spectrum. Rian again wished he had never opened his mouth.
Obviously his parents were ok with being gay in practice but when faced with reality they had freaked out. Rian closed his eyes and saw his father's red face. He had finally swallowed his food and when Rian moved to help him, had held up his hand.
"Stop!" He croaked.
"Dad, are you ok?" Rian asked in concern.
"No! No, I'm not bloody ok!" He was glaring furiously at his panicking son.
"Rian, dear, you can't possibly be gay. That's just silly. Now finish your dinner and go up to your room." Rian's mother was a picture of calm as she began clearing the plates as if the meal had finished, not just started. Rian stared at her for a moment.
"Did you even hear what I said? I'm gay mum."
"You are not gay!" She shrilled back at him, her face furious. Then she took a deep breath and smiled. "Go up to your room and finish your homework now dear."
"Mum! Why are you doing this! I just said I'm-" His father cut him off standing and shouting.
"You are not a fucking poofter you understand? Get up to your room now!"
So that's what had happened. It couldn't have been worse if he had tried.
It had been a month now since the `misunderstanding' and his parents had gone completely weird. First they had taken away his computer saying it was distracting him from his studies. That computer had been his lifeline. His only way to talk with other gay kids his age and now it was gone.
His father kept introducing him to workmate's daughters and forcing him on dates. Then he had noticed that things in his room had been moved around, put back in the wrong place or just looked different. Someone had been through his room.
This was the worst thought for Rian; his parents had always respected his privacy and would always knock before coming in. Rian decided to set a trap. He set up a little card house in the way of his door and squeezed through the narrow gap he left himself. If the cards were knocked over then someone had come into the room. That afternoon after school the cards were flat on the ground and Rian felt angry and sad. They had broken the rules.
Things got worse. They took him to a councillor who specialised in `gay' cases and who had promised to change Rian's way of thinking. He wasn't even qualified as a councillor.
His father suddenly complained that he didn't do enough sport and pushed him to join the rugby team or soccer. Rian had turned to him and scathingly remarked that sport wasn't going to `cure' him. His father wasn't put off until in exasperation Rian went and saw the soccer coach about trying out. His father had already called and spoken to the coach offering to make a large donation to the team in return for allowing him on it so late in the season. That was the most humiliating thing Rian had ever felt when the coach accepted the offer seeing as the team was so under funded.
His friends at school had started to notice the changes in Rian. The normally happy and laid back boy had turned overnight into a moody and angry version, unpredictable and hostile.
Tristian, Rian's best friend since grade four when Rian had moved to Melbourne, was deeply troubled by his behaviour. Rian usually told him what was wrong if he was upset but he could get no answer from the boy and when he pushed it Rian would shout at him and storm off. Tristian was extremely worried and talked to the other guys in their group about it. All were surprised at Rian's behaviour but could think of no reason for it. Then Jackson said the shocker.
"Guys, don't you know. Rian's joined the soccer team. Nate told me."
"What?" Tristian demanded.
This was so wrong. Rian had never really cared about sport before and had never even mentioned soccer as far as he remembered. Tristian decided to corner Rian and demand answers that afternoon after school. Rian usually caught the bus home and Tristian walked, so he decided to wait at the bus stop for him.
The end of school found Tristian waiting near the bus stop looking anxiously around for Rian. He only had two classes with his friend and they had been at the start of the day. Finally he saw the curly black head of his best friend heading towards him. Tristian had always thought of Rian as the boy snow white... well except his skin was fairly tanned so the white as snow part was wrong but the rest was true. His hair really was as black as ebony and his lips as red as blood. Rian had a slender frame, soft and trim, defiantly not a muscle man but not overweight or really skinny in any way either. He was too pretty for a boy in some ways and Tristian had always thought that if Rian's parents had had a girl she would have been stunning. As it was Rian was fairly stunning too with his brilliant emerald green eyes, Tristian mused. He knew he wasn't gay but he was secure enough in his own sexuality to appreciate the attraction of the same sex, a rare maturity for a seventeen year old.
Tristian stepped forward to call out to Rian when he saw Rian's dad appear and grab the boy by his shoulder leading him towards the parked car. Tristian frowned. Something felt wrong.
Rian sat in silence as they drove but looked up when his father parked out the front of a barbers complete with a tacky red and white striped pole. Rian's eyes widened as realization set in. He loved his curls!
"Dad! No! I like my hair as it is!"
His father glared at him. "You look like a girl!" He got out of the car and Rian debated not following him but in the end gave a big sigh and got out.
His father gave the barber a curt nod. "A number one please."
The man smiled at him and nodded at Rian. "My you're a looker! You sure you want to get rid of those curls?"
Rian smiled at him. "Actually-"
His father cut him off. "Yes he does. Sit down boy."
Rian's shoulders sagged when he glanced at his fathers set face and sat in the chair. The barber didn't say much more during the hair cut feeling the incredible tension in the air. Rian refused to look into the mirror as his hair was basically shaved off. What were people going to say?
His father paid the man fifteen bucks and Rian kept his eyes on the ground, hurrying out to the car. He knew he had to look terrible and he really didn't want to face his friends tomorrow at school. If they were still his friends, Rian frowned; he had been acting like a complete arse towards them and knew they must be getting fed up.
His father broke the silence. "It doesn't look too bad and it'll be better for when you are playing sports."
Rian's jaw twitched. "I don't see how making me look like some neo-nazi is going to stop me being gay! Why are you being like this? I always thought you were open minded about those things!"
"YOU ARE NOT GAY!" His father shouted loudly, the car swerving a bit.
Rian shut up. They had been repeating this daily like a mantra and nothing he said seemed to have any impact what's so ever. At home he stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and ran his hand back and forward over this shorn head. He hated it.
I look like a convict.