Cassie chuckled then. “I’m sure you thought that when he gave you that black eye you were sporting after Nicole’s party.”
Scott looked over at me with a smirk on his face and nodded his head once. He knew he’d been a badass that night.
Andre laughed. “Please. That skinny homo barely touched him. He punches like the little fag bitch he is.”
And I about laid him out for calling Scott a fag. I hated that word.
“Hey, don’t call him that,” Cassie warned, coming to Scott’s defense before I could react.
Scott gave me a pleading look like he really wanted to hit Andre in that moment, but he’d wait for me to be all in with him.
“What are you going to do about it? Get your boyfriend to beat us up?” Andre challenged back.
It was then that Cassie’s gaze shifted to mine, right over Andre’s shoulder, and her mouth quirked into a small smile.
“Maybe,” she responded. “He’d kick your asses. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s pretty built.”
Brock laughed. “Please, I’m not afraid of that faggot ass punk. We kicked his ass for years, and we’ll do it again. Every time he tried to come to his little boyfriend’s defense, we just put them both in their place.”
“Yeah, and then they probably comforted each other with blow jobs afterward,” Andre chimed in, which caused Brock to start laughing. “Remember that time when we caught them behind the gym? Fucking classic!”
He elbowed Kyle who hadn’t been laughing, and he chimed in halfheartedly. “Yeah, we thought they were gay. It was really funny,” he said flatly, which was odd to me, but I didn’t spend much time dwelling on Kyle’s reaction since they suddenly had me remembering a day I just wanted to forget.
Unfortunately, I remembered that day all too well. It was right after my mom had left, and my dad had laid into me the night before when I was trying to study. He’d been drunk and had hit me a few times. I’d left the next morning for school and texted Scott to meet me behind the gym. I’d been barely holding it together, and when I’d seen the look on his face as he registered the bruises and cuts I was sporting, I’d started crying.
Being my best friend and not caring about what people thought, he’d hugged me, because he knew I didn’t have anyone else in my life who’d care that my dad had hit me. He tried to get me to go to his parents, to tell them what my dad was doing to me, but I’d refused. Instead, whenever I had bruises that I couldn’t hide, I avoided their house completely. But my dad rarely left marks where people could see. He knew my teachers would catch wind of what was up if I showed up to school with bruises more often than any other normal teenage boy.
So Scott had hugged me and told me it would be okay. It was all he could do. And I’d let him, because I needed to not feel so alone in that moment.
That had been when Kyle, Andre and Brock had come around the corner, having just smoked up before the first bell rang. They had some incredibly choice words for us as they stalked toward us, but before they could touch us, Scott and I took off, running into the woods where we stayed for most of the day, hiding out, afraid to go into school. After that they called us homos and fags on a regular basis.
“Real original, guys,” Cassie said, not believing anything Kyle and Andre were saying. She knew Scott and I weren’t gay. “Just leave Jared and Scott alone. High school’s over.”
“Whatever, you’re just the dumbass bitch who your boyfriend’s using to cover up the fact that he likes to take it up the ass,” Kyle spat back at her.
And that was pretty much the last straw for me. I started to raise my fist to punch Kyle in the back of the head when Scott spoke up.
“Hey Kyle, wasn’t that you I saw making out with that guy that looked like Hale two nights ago in the back of the movie theater?” he asked, and all three guys turned to face him.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed at him, as I lowered my fist and took in the glares on Andre’s and Brock’s faces They’d seen my intent and were about to strike back. But Kyle’s face showed something completely different. He was looking at Scott in abject horror mixed with fear.
Marley chose that moment to walk outside. “What’s going on?” she asked, looking around at the group us, trying to figure out if we were talking or fighting or some weird mix of both based on the looks on everyone’s faces.
“Hey babe,” Scott said, his face lighting up when he saw Marley. He put his arm around her and pulled her against his side. “I was just telling Kyle how we saw him at the movies the other night.”
“Yeah, that was weird. Why were you making out in the back of a movie theater? Aren’t you a little old for that?”
“That wasn’t me,” Kyle said quickly. “I’m not a fag.”
And I knew in that second that he was lying. Not that I cared which way he swung, but it pissed me off that for years he’d tormented Scott and me because he thought we were gay when it was him all along. What a dick.
“Kyle, I’ve known you since the third grade. It was you,” Marley said. “Besides, I know all about you and Hale.”
My jaw wanted to drop, but I kept it firmly in place as Kyle’s eyes got wide and he struggled to find the words to refute what Marley had just said. He couldn’t seem to come up with anything.
“I knew that was Hale,” Scott said, his face brightening as he solved the mystery.
“It wasn’t,” Marley said quickly. “Hale’s still pissed at him. He just found someone who looks like Hale, apparently.”
What the hell was going on?
“What the hell, dude?” Andre asked, turning to Kyle. “You’re a fag?”
“No,” Kyle said quickly. “He’s lying.”
Marley rolled her eyes. “Bullshit. Hale told me all about you guys after I asked him if he was with you the other night.”
As soon as she said that, Kyle’s eyes got wide. “You asked him that?!” Kyle exlaimed, his voice getting all high and squeaky. “Fuck, Marley!”
“Sorry, but I thought it was him, and I wanted to know what was up.”
“What the hell did he say?” Kyle asked, panic lacing his voice.
“That you two were together for two years. You guys hooked up the summer after we graduated, and you were dating up until Spring Break when you cheated on him with some guy you met in Cancun. And then you came back to school all upset and begging him to forgive you, but he wouldn’t take you back. It’s why you came home this summer, because you knew he’d be here. And it’s why you guys keep coming here to eat.”
From the expression on Kyle’s face, I knew Marley was telling the truth. And I wasn’t sure what shocked me more, that Kyle was gay, that Hale was gay or that Hale’s taste was so shitty that he wanted to date Kyle Fowler. I also couldn’t believe Marley had just outed both of them to their friends. That was kind of crappy.
Andre turned to Kyle. “Is that why you always wanted to come here?” he asked Kyle in disgust. “You told us it was because you wanted to nail Cassie.”
Cassie’s jaw dropped when he said that, but she didn’t say anything.
Kyle was glaring at Marley. “Why the fuck would you tell them all that?” he yelled at her, completely ignoring Andre.
“Because you’re an asshole, and I’ve heard too many stories of how you tortured my boyfriend for years, and I’m over it. You’re a dick, and now you know what Scott had to put up with for too long. See how you like it.”
Holy shit. That was harsh, but she was kind of right.
“Just because I was a bully in high school doesn’t mean you can tell my personal business to my friends,” Kyle growled at her. “Fuck, Marley, my family doesn’t even know.”
“Dude, you’re really gay?” Brock asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, I am,” Kyle sighed.
“And you were really dating Hale? He’s gay too?” Brock asked.
Kyle’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, and I fucked it up because I was pissed that he couldn’t go to Mexico for Spring Break because o
f baseball, so I got really drunk and hooked up with this random guy, and Hale found out, and that was it. My life’s been shit since then, so go ahead and beat my ass for being a fag if you want to. Whatever. I don’t care.”
All the emotion drained out of his voice to the point that if Andre or Brock tried to hit him, I’d probably have come to Kyle’s defense. I felt bad for the guy. Regardless of what he’d done in the past, I didn’t think it was fair for him to be subjected to the same kind of torture he used to inflict. Cassie was right, high school was over.
“Dude, I’m gonna beat your ass,” Andre threatened, but Brock’s arm flew against his chest to stop him. Andre tried to push forward. “What the hell, man?”
“Don’t touch him. He’s our friend.”
“But he likes dick.”
“So what?”
Andre turned to Brock. “Why are you defending him? Are you a fag too?”
“No,” Brock replied, rolling his eyes at Andre. “But he’s like our brother. Let it go.”
“Seriously?”
Kyle was standing there watching everything unfold with slumped shoulders and a dejected expression on his face.
“Yes, seriously,” Brock said, putting his arm around Kyle. “Stay or go, Andre, it’s your choice.”
“What the hell is going on out here?” a voice asked from behind us then, and all of us turned to see Hale standing there.
“Fuck,” Kyle hissed as he ducked out from under Brock’s arm and marched past Hale toward his car.
“Seriously, what did I miss?” Hale asked, looking at each of us in turn.
“Marley outed you and Kyle, and now Kyle’s upset,” Scott said softly, and Marley smacked him in the arm. “Ow, sorry.”
He never knew when to just keep his mouth shut.
“Seriously?” Hale questioned, looking at me, usually the voice of reason in any conversation.
“Yeah, man. I’m sorry.”
Hale looked over his shoulder to where Kyle was sitting in the front seat of his Tahoe, his head in his hands. “Fuck,” he hissed before he turned on his heel and walked over to the car.
We all watched as he knocked on the window. Kyle looked up in surprise before he unlocked the passenger door and Hale climbed in. Kyle was shaking his head and looking down when Hale pulled him into a hug.
“Ugh, that’s sick,” Andre grumbled.
“In or out, Andre,” Brock said, repeating what he’d said about being with Kyle or against him. And Brock may have been a huge dick, but I had to give him credit for being a loyal friend. I didn’t think I could give Andre the same consideration.
“I’m out,” Andre said, and he started to walk away.
Brock let him go, just shaking his head as he watched Andre walk over to his Camaro, get in and drive way.
“Okay, so should we go?” Scott asked then, and the four of us looked at each other.
Cassie raised an eyebrow at me, so I nodded. I was time to go.
“I want to make sure Hale’s okay,” Marley said then, her eyes still on the conversation Kyle and Hale were having.
Kyle was wiping under his eyes as Hale talked to him. Then Hale grabbed his arm, and Kyle turned to face him. Hale said something, and then he leaned forward and kissed him, taking us all by surprise.
“Whoa!” Scott said, covering his eyes with his arm. “I did not need to see that.”
Marley smacked him again.
“Jesus, stop doing that!” he yelled at her.
“Stop being an idiot!” she yelled back.
“Mar, I think Hale’s going to be okay,” Cassie said then, coming to stand next to me, lacing her fingers with mine.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Marley agreed, as she tucked in under Scott’s arm. “I’ll just call him later.”
With that we filed back toward Scott’s car and piled in wordlessly, leaving Brock standing on the sidewalk alone, but it wasn’t like we were going to invite him along. Even if we hadn’t come to blows, and I had a smidge more respect for him, we were never going to be friends. He was still a jackass.
“This is kind of great news,” Scott announced as he backed out of the space.
“What do you mean?” Cassie asked from where she was tucked under my arm in the backseat.
“Well, now that Kyle’s out and so is Hale, everyone will stop calling us fags. It was seriously getting old,” he said, turning around to look at me. “I mean, you’re not even my type, Jared.”
He winked at me, so I shoved him in the shoulder.
“And,” Scott continued, “I don’t have to worry about the fact that my girlfriend is friends with a guy who’s so much better looking than me, because he’s gay!”
Marley rolled her eyes and looked at Scott adoringly. “Baby, even if he weren’t gay, I’d still want you. You’re adorable. And you make me laugh.”
Scott crossed his eyes at her as he rolled to a stop at a light, proving her point as he made her giggle.
Cassie looked up at me, so I met her gaze and smiled before I kissed her. I knew we were both thinking the same thing, so neither of us needed to say a word. Then she settled her head on my chest and twined her fingers on one hand with mine.
“Were you really going to beat down all three of them?” she asked me a few minutes later.
I shrugged. “I would have tried. It would have been sweet retribution to years of bullying.”
“I didn’t think fighting was really your style.”
I smiled. “You forget that I’m an ace with a samurai sword.”
But she was right. I fought in video games, but I’d never initiated a fight in real life. It wasn’t my style. It was why I’d hesitated in throwing the first punch, even though I’d really wanted to.
Cassie laughed lightly. “That is so true. You would do well if this was ancient Japan.”
“You know it,” I said, grinning at her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cassie
“So how you doing, kiddo?” my dad asked one morning in mid-August, taking a seat at the breakfast table across from me.
I looked up from the magazine I was reading while I sipped a cup of coffee. “I’m good, Dad.”
He nodded. “You seem happy.”
“I am,” I said, feeling like things were starting to get back to normal for real.
I’d wanted them to for months, but this was the first time I felt like it was actually happening. Classes were over, and I’d gotten an ‘A’ in psychology and a ‘B’ in chemistry, which was as good as I could hope to get with my inability to memorize the periodic table and anticipate chemical reactions. But aside from that things with Jared were awesome, and work was going well. I felt really settled.
“I’m going to guess that Jared has something to do with the smile on your face I’ve seen for the past two months?”
I smiled when he mentioned Jared. “Yeah, he has. Totally. I’m not going to lie. He’s amazing. You like him, don’t you, Dad?”
“I do,” he said, and I knew he was being honest.
Jared had come over for dinner a few times, and he was always quieter around my parents than he was when it was just the two of us, but he was polite and he talked to both of them since he knew how important it was to me that they like him. And what was not to like, really?
“He’s a smart boy with excellent taste . . . in books,” my dad teased.
Jared and my dad had actually ended up having more in common than I’d ever realized when they’d gone off on a tangent about literature the week before. My dad had been barbequing, and Jared had been ‘helping’ him at my insistence. Somehow the subject of what they were each reading had come up, and then it was like we couldn’t shut them up. My mom had leaned over to me and said, ‘I think you’re dad found a new friend.’ I’d laughed and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. I’d never been so serious about a guy before, and I wanted my parents to feel okay with me dating Jared.
I rolled my eyes at my dad’s attempt at a joke.
&nb
sp; “Okay fine, he also has excellent taste since he picked you. But I’m not biased or anything.”
“Dad, be serious,” I chastised him. “He’s a good guy, right?”
“Honey, you don’t need my validation. Yes, he’s a good guy, and I’m glad you found someone as grounded as him. I can’t say I was as big of a fan of Dylan. He was a little arrogant.”
“Dad!”
“Hey,” he said, throwing his hands up. “Am I wrong?”
“No,” I said sheepishly, remembering what an ass my high school boyfriend could be.
He wasn’t as bad as Brock or Andre or Kyle, but he’d been a star baseball player and had gone to USC on a full ride. He’d thought a lot of himself back then, and he hadn’t apologized for it. I was glad when I’d heard he’d stayed in California for the summer. We hadn’t kept in touch after we broke up the summer before college, and now I knew why.
“Yeah, Jared’s definitely nothing like Dylan,” I mused as I took another sip of my coffee.
My parents hadn’t met anyone I’d dated at Coleman since there hadn’t been anyone of note since I’d been in college. I wasn’t even sure they would have met Will. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d be up for dinner with the parents. But maybe he would have surprised me.
“So what’s the plan?” my dad asked then.
“What plan?” I asked, looking around the kitchen as if there was something I was missing.
I didn’t really have a plan for my day off, per se. I was thinking about laying out and reading as soon as Marley got her lazy butt out of bed. She’d been out late the night before with Scott. He’d wanted to take her to a comic book art gallery in the city, and so they’d gotten home around two. Jared and I both had to work, so I’d gotten home around one-thirty, opting to sleep in my own bed for a change since I’d started spending more and more nights at his place. I couldn’t seem to stay away.
“You and my adopted daughter,” my dad said, pointing toward the ceiling.
Paper Airplanes Page 32
