Something Blue

Chapter 51

"Move over, Wyatt. I'm not a pillow," Pierce demanded, squirming in the tiny airplane seat. "Are you filming this?"

Wyatt snuggled closer to his side, holding a phone in front of his face. "I'm documenting the entire flight for Hayden and Quinn. They want me to send everything to our groupchat."

"You guys have a groupchat without me?"

"It's called Pierce's Frontal Lobe." The part of the brain responsible for logical thinking. "It's essential for the success of this mission. And also very entertaining."

Pierce elbowed him. "Move over," he repeated. "I should've taken Quinn."

"We both know she would've tossed you out of the plane after the first hour."

Pierce didn't disagree.

"So," Wyatt began, adjusting the position of his phone. "Tell me the story."

"What story?"

"Of you and Elliot." Wyatt's gaze was love-sickening. "How did you two meet?"

"We were roommates." Pierce's expression was flat. "You know that. Everyone knows that."

"But, like, how did you fall in love?"

Pierce closed his eyes, feigning sleep. "Goodnight."

Wyatt persisted. "Was it the blue hair?"

"Go to sleep," Pierce requested, eyes still shut. "We have eight hours to waste."

"Was there anyone before Elliot?" Wyatt wondered. "Were you attracted to other guys? Were you attracted to me? Subjectively speaking...Am I hot?"

Pierce exhaled, long and annoyed. "No."

Wyatt blinked rapidly. "No to what? Me being hot? Or you being attracted to - ?"

"Please stop talking." Even irritated, he was polite.

"How did you know Elliot was in love with you?"

Pierce adjusted his position, eyes still closed. "He told me."

"When?"

One of Pierce's eyes popped open. "Recently. Why are you asking?"

"Everyone's asking."

"Who's everyone?"

Wyatt displayed his phone screen to Pierce. "Everyone," he repeated. Thousands of comments were visible. "Thank God for in-flight Wi-fi, right?"

"Holy shit." Pierce scrolled with his thumbs. The digital inquiries were endless. "How many questions are there?"

Wyatt grabbed back his phone. "Like a million. And that's just Twitter."

"Like what?"

Wyatt read his screen, choosing, "Has Elliot ever been to one of your hockey games?"

Pierce's shoulder bounced, nonchalant. "Yeah. Of course."

"Before you started dating?"

"Yeah," Pierce replied. "We were friends."

"I don't remember seeing his blue head in the crowd," Wyatt said, skeptical.

Pierce turned his head, a smirk floating onto his lips. He leaned in close to his friend and whispered, "He used to wear my hat." A tone of fulfillment, teetering on the brink of bragging. "Next question."

"Did you guys always get along when you were roommates?"

"No." Pierce's response was quick. "He used to steal my clothes - he'll deny it, but he totally did."

Wyatt huffed. "I can't see Elliot wanting to wear your gross-ass sweats, no offense."

Elliot would never buy anything comfy for himself. He hadn't grown up with a casual household. Pierce had learned that later. It was one of the reasons he didn't mind Elliot stealing his clothes now.

"He's not glamorous all the time," Pierce shared. "Don't let him fool you."

Wyatt kept scrolling. "Do you have any advice for people in the closet?"

Pierce sighed, long and thoughtful. "No." He chuckled to himself. "Because I'm still halfway in the closet. Like, I barely opened the door. My toe is out."

"What're you talking about? You're flying across the world for Elliot. You're in love with another dude, dude. There are millions of people supporting you. The closet has been demolished."

Pierce exhaled. "It's complicated."

"It's really not," Wyatt assumed. "Everyone knows you're gay. And the response has been super positive." He displayed his phone screen, thumbing through heart emojis and all-cap compliments. "It can't get any simpler than that."

How was Pierce supposed to explain what he was feeling? Everyone had already placed him into a category, but he himself wasn't convinced that was correct. Maybe it would be easiest to go along with everyone's assumption.

"I don't know if I would've chosen to come out like this. It was an accident," Pierce admitted. He picked at his nailbeds. "I confirmed our relationship by yelling at Elliot at the art gallery."

Wyatt lowered his phone, but his speaker remained on. "And you regret that?"

"No," Pierce said. "I mean, I regret the fight, yeah. But I don't regret people finding out about us. I would've told everyone eventually. I think. I just..."

"Just what?"

"I don't know how to explain it," Pierce struggled. "Growing up, it was really easy for me to be straight. It felt normal. But being gay...doesn't feel right. Being gay and being with Elliot feels like two different things."

Wyatt considered the idea. "When my sister first came out," he began. "She told everyone she was bi. She went to school dances with guys and refused to clip her nails. She clung to femininity like it was a cure for sapphic culture. And then she got to college. Now if she got a papercut, she'd bleed orange, white, and pink."

Pierce eyed his friend. Did he just say sapphic? "I'm not a lesbian, Wyatt."

"But if you were - "

"I know, I know." Pierce rolled his neck. "You'd support me. What's your point?"

"Sexuality isn't just a spectrum," Wyatt explained. "It's fluid. It can change overtime. Maybe you were straight until you met Elliot. Maybe that's why you feel weird now. Or maybe you aren't even gay. If a label doesn't feel right, then don't use it. And, hey, I don't want to force any labels on you, but maybe ask yourself if being gay doesn't feel normal or if you don't see gay as being normal."

Pierce was quiet for a moment, letting his friend's words reconfigure his thoughts. "Your sister would be so proud."

"Fuck yeah she would. I'm posting this video on my Snapchat."