Burning Britely

by Deidre Huesmann

  As Braeden started the car, Jeff peered at the road ahead. The morning was foggy and didn’t quite feel like late spring. “How’d you get the car, anyway?”

  Brenda mumbled a curse.

  Braeden’s expression remained neutral. “I have to do a few extra chores.”

  “You signed your summer away for one car ride,” grumbled Brenda. “Idiot.”

  Jeff shot Braeden—his boyfriend—a reproachful look. “You didn’t.”

  “Relax, it’s not that bad.” Braeden steered them into traffic. Fog rolled across the concrete. Braeden flicked something beside the steering wheel, and a pair of low lights cut through the fog, giving them an extra three feet of visibility. “I’ve been expelled anyway.”

  “What?”

  Brenda covered her ears. “Fuck, Jeffrey! Don’t yell!”

  Jeff twisted in his seat, ignoring her. “I thought you were suspended!”

  Braeden shrugged. “It got converted to expulsion once the hospital confirmed I broke Rob’s face.”

  Any satisfaction Jeff might have gotten out of Rob’s pain shriveled like dead grass in sunlight. “What the hell, dude? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It’s fine.” Braeden’s brow creased. “Gives me more time to figure out what I’m going to do with my life, now that I’m not distracted by school.”

  In the backseat, in Jeff’s periphery, Brenda shook her head. She said nothing.

  Jeff sank back into his seat, mind whirling. Braeden had been expelled. The track star of Lowry High. If he’d been expelled, he couldn’t graduate this year. Couldn’t get scholarships for his athletic ability.

  “You have to appeal,” he said.

  Braeden shook his head.

  “Don’t bother,” said Brenda. “I’ve been trying for days. He won’t do it.”

  “It’s too perfect,” said Braeden. “This way, one of us is home with Bumble Bee.”

  Jeff bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted coppery blood. He wrestled with what to say. He couldn’t say the wrong thing, or Braeden would shut down. But he couldn’t be too open, either. Not with Brenda within earshot.

  “Can you even drop us off if you’re expelled?” he finally asked.

  “Eh, the parking lot works.” Braeden eased onto the brakes as they reached a stop sign. “I’ll pick you guys up after school, too.”

  Jeff clenched his teeth over a smartass remark.

  “Sounds good,” said Brenda.

  They rode in silence until Braeden turned toward the student parking lot. He had to creep in, since several of their peers were loitering and chatting. A few cast looks their way, but few did anything other than wave at Braeden.

  Jeff didn’t know how to feel. He just kept scanning the area, hoping against hope to see Maya.

  Braeden pulled to a stop. “I’ll let you guys off here.”

  “Thanks.” Brenda hopped out of the car and jogged off like she couldn’t get away fast enough.

  Jeff let out a long breath. He knew he should get out but couldn’t.

  Braeden eyed him. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” he murmured. “Just … I thought you’d be here.”

  Braeden’s gaze softened. “Sorry, man.” When Jeff said nothing, he tapped the steering wheel. “It’s not that I don’t want to be. I just see things getting worse at home. Bumble Bee needs someone there with him. It’s like fate, dude. Like this fell into my lap.”

  “Don’t think fate did so much as I did,” muttered Jeff.

  Braeden grinned. “That, too. It’s definitely the more fun part.”

  A faint smile twitched on Jeff’s lips.

  “Hey.” Braeden leaned closer. Jeff couldn’t help but stare. How was it Braeden had such dark eyelashes? They framed his irises, made them look like green-hot candles in the night. “Nothing’s going to happen. Okay? Rob’s gone, and I broke the fucker’s nose, so his dumbass friends aren’t going to do anything stupid.”

  “I’m not worried about that.”

  “Then what?”

  Jeff frowned. Wasn’t it obvious? “How are you going to get into college this way?”

  Braeden blinked—then laughed. It turned near-hysterical, though he stopped when Jeff glared at him. “Sorry.” He ran a hand through his curls. “You’re the only person worried about my education.”

  “It’s important,” said Jeff quietly. “More than you seem to know.”

  “I do know.” Braeden’s expression softened. “I’ll still take my GED test. That should help—”

  A car horn blared. Jeff flinched. In the rear-view mirror, another student laid on the horn and appeared to be yelling at them.

  “Get going before this asshole rear-ends my dad’s car.” Braeden elbowed him. “I’ll see you after class. Maybe we can set up a proper date, soon.”

  “Study session, first.” Jeff opened the door. “If you’re serious about that GED.”

  Braeden’s eyes glittered. “Duly noted.”

  Jeff stepped out and closed the door. He glanced over his shoulder. The driver in the car had her hands up in a Finally! gesture. He rounded the front of Braeden’s car … but the engine continued to idle.

  “Hey, Jeff!”

  Why was Braeden stalling? The girl behind him was going to blow her top. Jeff turned to see Braeden gesturing him closer. Jeff complied, keeping a wary eye on the other driver. If she went nuts and tried to flatten him, suffice to say, he would not be pleased with his boyfriend.

  “What?” he asked.

  Braeden was half-leaning out the window. He impatiently waved Jeff closer. Jeff stepped forward, leaned down—

  —and Braeden cupped the back of his neck, nudged him down, and gave him a lingering kiss on the mouth.

  Oh … shit. Jeff’s first thought was panic—he didn’t want to get his ass kicked again—but Braeden’s mouth was so warm and firm and inviting that he couldn’t resist kissing back.

  Because he could. Because Braeden was his boyfriend.

  Braeden let him go. This time, his smile was adorably shy. “Later.”

  “Definitely,” said Jeff.

  He watched Braeden drive off, his brain still wrapped in bliss. His mouth was warm. He didn’t want to rub it. He wanted the taste of Braeden to linger just a little longer.

  But as he came back to reality, he realized people were staring. Jeff pushed his glasses back up his nose, adjusted his backpack, and walked toward the school. The stares followed him. At first, he wondered how everyone could possibly know about the kiss, before he remembered the letter that had been posted to the Fire Wall. After that, the fight, and the suspension, he was probably one of the most infamous kids in school.

  Just find Maya. Get through it.

  His eyes scanned the area, but he just found more staring. Some whispers. Dread began to creep up his spine.

  “Umm … are you Jeff Young?”

  The voice wasn’t what he expected. He turned to see two girls watching him. One was a brunette with hair so short she could have slapped on some product and spiked a faux-hawk. The other was a chubbier girl with a lip ring. She tugged nervously at her violet shirt. A rainbow imprint wrapped around it like a beauty pageant sash, with the words, The B & T Aren’t Silent in curvy cursive across her impressive chest.

  “Yeah,” he said cautiously.

  In the corner of his eye, he saw Maya walking toward him. She’d found him.

  “Are you really dating Braeden?” asked the brunette.

  Jeff rocked warily back on his heels. “Looks that way.”

  “Oh, thank god.” The brunette turned and slapped the chubby girl on the back. “You owe me ten bucks.”

  Jeff blinked.

  The chubby girl blushed. “Um … sorry. I’m, uh, Jordan, and this is—”

  “Danica.” The brunette stepped forward and grabbed his hand before he could say anything. She shook it once, hard. “See, Jordan thought it was just a false rumor, but I told him, no way, it had to be true because you and Braeden would make
too cute of a couple.”

  This was getting weird. And Jeff wasn’t certain he’d heard the pronouns correctly. “Do I even know you?”

  Maya stepped up beside him and jabbed his side. “Don’t be rude to your new friends, Jeffy.”

  Jordan smiled. “Yeah. I mean, please! If you want to be friends. It’s not, um, required. We just figured, um…”

  “You were such a loner,” interjected Danica. “We didn’t know if you knew about us. This town can kind of suck, but there’s more of us, you know? I’m gay.” She glanced at Maya. “Wish your friend was.”

  Maya tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Sorry.”

  “So it goes.” Danica jerked a thumb toward Jordan. “And Jordan’s trans. Born female, feels male. I know, your brain’s probably doing a 180 right now, but it gets easier. Just remember: Jordan equals male. Jordan equals he and him. Got it?”

  Trans. So the pronouns had been right on. Jeff’s brain shuffled through the onslaught of new facts. There were others here. Others like him. Others who could easily have their asses kicked like he did.

  Except … if they had, he’d never noticed.

  He gave Maya a questioning look.

  She offered a half-smile and nodded. “Maybe I’ll catch up with you guys at lunch. You can meet more of their friends. Yeah?”

  Jeff almost declined. He didn’t want to let Maya go. Not after all that had happened.

  But she stared at him, and her thoughts were clear: I’m not going anywhere. I’m just stepping aside for a couple hours.

  He could do this.

  He could.

  Jeff nodded. “Yeah. If you guys don’t mind.” He directed the last at Jordan and Danica.

  “Nope!” Danica tugged him by the jacket. “Now, c’mere and talk to us. How long have you known? And why the hell didn’t you seek us out earlier?”

  Each step away from Maya felt like the threads between them thinned and weakened. Jeff still wasn’t certain. He turned to look one more time—and she was still there. Watching him with the biggest, dorkiest grin on her face.

  “See you later, Jeffy,” she called. Pointedly.

  Jeff took a deep breath and nodded. He turned back to Danica. “Can’t say I have a good reason.”

  “Then tell us about Braeden,” insisted Jordan. “I thought for sure he was straight.”

  “He is.” Jeff thought back to their conversation under the tree and couldn’t stop a small smile. “With a Jeff Young preference, as he puts it.”

  “Ugh, so sappy,” said Danica. “I love it.”

  “Me, too,” said Jordan.

  Braeden’s lips against his. The tight embrace. Jeff’s blood flowing hot. The sheer joy of being accepted, faults and all.

  “Yeah,” he said with a broad smile. “Me, too.”

  This didn’t mean the road ahead was easy, but he could walk it. One day at a time.

  The End

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