AN: And now, the moment you may or may not have been waiting for: Brian's coming out scene!
(Featuring the death of his best friend.)
Happy Pride Month!
Characters
Carter
Brian
Nolan
Nick
Gabe
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of the following: death, violence, possible homophobia (don't worry, the characters themselves aren't homophobic) and estranged fathers.
Setting: Carter Norton's rec room, 8 PM, post Monroe arming spree
Carter leads his friends, Brian, Nolan, Nick and Gabe down a flight of stairs and into his rec room. They enter quietly, as Carter's two little sisters, Leah (age 7) and Lizzy (age 5) have been sent to bed. After Monroe's arming spree, the boys have decided to meet at Carter's house to unwind. As the boys settle in, sitting on the couch/chairs around the coffee table, both Nolan and Brian fidget with their clothes/hands in a stressed manner. Nolan is still shaken from the fact that his estranged father had shown up for the arming, as well as Monroe's demeanour in general. Brian has not heard from Aaron in the past few days and is worried sick about him. Gabe notices the demeanour of both boys as Carter hands out drinks and snacks.
Gabe: You guys alright?
Nolan: Well, seeing my dad in there, and the whole thing with that guy Ethan getting battered up kinda shook me a bit, but I'm fine.
Brian: Yeah, that was kinda hard to watch. As for me, I'm still waiting on that text from Aaron.
Nick (surprised): He still hasn't texted you?
Brian: Not yet, no. I'm starting to get really worried, and Josh joking about him being mauled by a pack of werewolves didn't help matters.
Gabe: This is why I never liked Josh.
Carter: Who does like Josh, anyway?
Nolan: Brett, Joey, that one group of freshman girls and Sydney - but only because she has to.
Nick: How the f*ck are they even related anyway?!
Gabe: Right?! Like, Sydney's actually a good person. Josh is one of those guys people will say peaked in High School.
Nick takes a sip of 7-UP as Carter starts his line.
Carter: If I'm being honest, I think he peaked in middle school.
The boys start laughing. Nick tries not to spit out the 7-UP from laughing.
Nolan (wheezing): MidDLE SCHOOL-
Carter: Am I wrong though?!
Brian: I don't think you are, actually!
The boys laugh for another moment. There is a small beat of silence before Carter speaks up.
Carter: So anyway, what weapons did you guys take?
Brian: Well, I faint at the sight of blood, so I just got a crap ton of wolfsbane.
Gabe: Wow, that's, like, the opposite of what I got; I took a f*ckin' rifle.
A one-second beat. Nick suddenly knows what's up.
Nick: You were the one who shot up Scott's house weren't you?
Gabe (mischievously): Maaaybe.
Nolan: In his defence, he saved my *ss from Monroe.
Gabe: Too bad I only got humans and what's-her-face, Lydia.
Nick: Oof, that's rough, buddy.
Gabe: Anyways, what did the rest of you get?
Nolan: A crossbow.
Carter: Same, but without the cross.
Nick: A bat.
Gabe: That was an option?
Nick: Yeah. I plan to catch the ladies' attention while beating the sh*te out of everything.
Gabe: Well, I mean, if it gets you a soulmate, sure.
Carter: Regardless, you'll find a woman someday. We all will.
A beat. Brian starts fidgeting.
Brian: I don't think I will.
Nick: Ahh, have a little faith in yourself, Brian.
Brian: It's not that I don't have faith in myself, it's just... (takes a deep breath) I'm gay.
A small beat as everyone digests this information. Brian's fidgeting gets worse as he feels himself go pale.
Carter: Oh! Okay, well, in that case, we'll all find a soulmate someday. Sorry, Brian, I shouldn't have assumed.
Brian (immensely relieved) Oh, no, don't worry about it! I'm actually glad you said that, since I was planning on coming out tonight anyway, but I didn't know how.
Nolan: Well, regardless of that, you're still our friend, and we support you no matter what.
Gabe: I second that, and if anyone gives you grief over your sexuality, you let me know. They'll be Dunbared within the hour.
Nick: Yeah, and I'll hit 'em over the head with my bat!
Nolan: Or we could get Joey on them.
Everyone stares at Nolan in shock.
All but Nolan: Joey?!
Nolan: Yeah! I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen him give some guy he caught picking on a gay freshman a swirly in the guys' washrooms. Now, I'm not even sure if the swirly guy was picking on the kid for being gay or something else, but regardless, Josh and Brett were pretty proud of Joey. Josh even said it was the first time Joey had ever done a swirly by himself and unprompted.
Gabe: Wow... maybe that trio isn't so bad after all.
Carter: Well, they may be pains in the rear, but that doesn't mean they're bigots.
Brian: Regardless, I'm just glad you guys accept me for who I am.
Carter: On that note, does Aaron know?
Brian: He knows. In fact, I told him right before school started. He was the only person I was really comfortable telling at the time - well - him and my parents of course. I plan on being out to everybody by the end of the school year.
Nick: Good for you, man!
Brian: Thanks! Man, I don't know what I'd do without friends like you guys.
Brian's phone beeps. He digs it out of his pocket and checks it. The screen lights up, and a notification from Twitter can be seen on the lock screen; "BHHS Student Kills Classmate, then Transforms into Red Supernatural Creature". Brian's heart jumps to his throat. He doesn't know who it is, but he has an awful feeling about the whole thing.
Brian (off-sounding): Um- I should- I should probably take this. It's an important message.
The rest of the group nods in understanding as Brian gets up and heads to the bathroom. He opens the article as he closes the door. Brian scrolls through, searching desperately for names or faces. Finally, he comes across two images: one of a guy and one of a girl. Brian recognizes the girl as Quinn Finch, Mrs. Finch's daughter. After glancing at the guy's photo for just a moment, Brian's heart sinks as he realizes his worst nightmare has come true. He sits on the edge of the empty bathtub and tears well up in his eyes as he stares at Aaron's eighth-grade school photo in heart-wrenching disbelief. We cut to black.
Exit.
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Innocent Bystander: The Extras
Fanfiction*PLEASE READ THE ORIGINAL INNOCENT BYSTANDER BEFORE YOU READ THE EXTRAS!* What exactly went down the day Gabe and Katie met? Was there more to Alice's enemies-to-lovers joke than what was originally let on? What was the secret that Nolan told Aaron...
