Secret Runaways

Chapter 3: Damian

 As soon as he walked in, he caught Damian's eye. Damian was standing with his group, waiting for activities to start when a boy with green hair came in. He was thin with tan skin, and was about an inch shorter than him. Damian thought he was cute, but immediately brushed that thought away. He was not supposed to have feelings for boys.

"What's your name?" the boy asked.

"Damian," he answered, turning away from him. The boy sounded flirty, and Damian wanted nothing to do with that. "Now pay attention, we're about to get started."

"Hello everyone!" A pastor said loudly. "Welcome to New Beginnings. Here you will get rid of your homosexual and transgender desires with therapy that works 100% of the time!" He pointed to the counselors. "Each one of your leaders is a success story from this very camp! Now everyone introduce themselves to your group." Damian turned to face his group.

"Everyone say your name and how old you are. I'll start," he said sternly. "My name is Damian and I'm 17. Now you," he said, pointing at the green haired boy.

"I'm Bat-" he started.

"Real names please." The boy rolled his eyes.

"I'm Bartholomew, and I'm 16," Damian liked that name. Then a young girl spoke.

"My name's Lily, and I'm 14," Damian glared at her.

"Fine. I'm Liam," the girl said quietly. Damian nodded. He noticed Bartholomew looking at her with a sad look in his eyes. The rest of the kids introduced themselves, all looking more nervous than the last.

"Ok guys, at this camp, you are going to become completely different people," Damian said blandly. "You'll become better, more pure men and women." He noticed that Bartholomew had crossed his arms and began to close himself off.

"Remember, I came here too, and I felt like all of you do now. I thought that gay was who I was," Damian said, with a hint of kindness in his voice. "But here you'll learn that who you are, is a child of God, and God doesn't want this life for you."

"Alright everyone," The pastor started again. "For this first activity we'll be making a family tree. This will help us get to the root of your illness, and find out what caused it. Make a family tree as far back as you know, and write any mental illnesses or addictions your family members may have struggled with." Damian began handing out large pieces of paper, and put markers out on the floor. All the kids sat on the floor and begrudgingly began working on their family trees. As Damian sat, he found himself watching Bartholomew, unable to pull away from him. Something about this kid intrigued him, but he knew he could never act on it. After all, acting on homosexual thoughts was the real sin.

After they finished their activities, Damian brought the kids to their rooms. Most of the kids in his group were younger which meant they were in a separate area with double rooms, whilst older kids got their own rooms. Bartholomew walked beside him the whole time, and Damian couldn't stop himself from looking over every now and then. He noticed how his green hair fell into his eyes constantly, and how he bit his nails. But he quickly pushed those thoughts away, reminding himself that they were wrong and sinful. Finally, Damian dropped off the last of the younger teens in their rooms.

"Why do we have to share a room?" Lily asked before she went into her room with another girl.

"I don't know Liam, you just do," Damian sighed. He was getting tired of these kids.

"Also, you realize I'm a lesbian?" She said, "Putting me with a girl is just enabling my gayness."
"No you're not, you're a boy," Damian responded, "Now go unpack in your room," he walked away, Bartholomew following. They were silent for a few seconds and Damian could feel his heart beating faster.

"Do you really believe all this bullshit?" Bartholomew finally asked.

"Of course I do, it worked on me." 

"No it didn't," Bartholomew snickered. "Not only is there science backing the fact that this doesn't work, I also saw you looking at me all day."

"I was not!" Damian felt a blush rising on his cheeks. "I was watching all of you. Being gay is a disgusting sin that I am glad I am no longer a part of." Bartholomew rolled his eyes. Then he softened again.

"Am I going to turn out like you?" He asked. He seemed genuinely scared. Damian hesitated.

"Yes." He then stopped in front of a room. "This is yours." Bartholomew nodded and went inside. He looked so sad, Damian couldn't help but feel for him. He grabbed his shoulder. Bartholomew turned around hopefully.

"You'll be happier when it's over," Damian said quietly. Bartholomew ignored him and turned around, shutting his door behind him. Damian lingered at the door for a second, but he wasn't sure why. As he walked away, he looked at the hand that had touched Bartholomew's shoulder. He needed to get rid of these feelings. This boy was making him lose all control.