Fighting to go on

Chapter 19

            Since it was Thanksgiving weekend, there was no school the next day. But for some reason, the library was still open, so I had to go into work. Luckily, Mark was there to amuse me, so I wasn’t bored.

            We were putting books away when I learned something new and kind of surprising about him. “So, have you got your eye on any girls yet?” I asked him.

            He looked uncomfortable. “Um, no, not really.”

            I paused in my work to look at him. “You know you can tell me if you like someone, right?”

            He looked around nervously before replying. “Uh, I’m not interested in girls…” he said.

            My brow furrowed as I thought over his statement. Suddenly, it hit me and my eyes widened. “Oh!” I exclaimed, and then clapped a hand over my mouth when I remembered where we were. “You mean you’re gay?”

            He looked down at his feet. “Yeah,” he mumbled.

            It all made sense to me now. It explained why he was so shy at first and why I’d never seen him really talking to girls besides me and Sarah. “Well, that’s cool,” I said.

            He looked up and blinked. “Really?”

            I gave him an odd look. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

            “Not all people are so open to it,” he said bitterly.

            I frowned. “Have you been hassled before?”

            “Yeah, that’s part of the reason we moved. I mean, my dad did get a new job, but he asked for a transfer so we could get away from my old school.”

            “Oh Mark, that’s horrible. Some people are ignorant assholes.”

            He snorted. “That’s putting it nicely.”

            I placed my hand on his arm. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me too,” I told him.

            He shrugged. “I’m not ashamed of it, but it’s not something I openly advertise. You can tell people if you want too, I just don’t want it getting all over school.”

            I squeezed his arm gently before releasing him. “Well, I won’t tell anyone unless it’s necessary,” I assured him. He seemed satisfied with that and we continued working.

            Ryan picked me up when I was done and we went back to my place for a little while to hang out. He only stayed for about an hour though, since we had to be up early for school the next day.

            When I woke up the next morning, I had this strange feeling that something was going to happen. I got ready for school and I couldn’t help but feel anxious for some reason. Ryan noticed when he picked us up and asked me what was wrong, but I couldn’t tell him, because I didn’t know the answer.

            We got to the school and everything seemed fine, so I gradually relaxed. It was after the bell rang for lunch that I figured out what the feeling had been about.

            Mark and I were heading down the hall to my locker like usual after class. We were talking quietly about what he’d told me last night as we neared my locker. “My parents are okay with me being gay, but my older brother can be a dick about it sometimes,” he said.