uncover ➳ nick robinson

twenty ➳ real life

✦ CHAPTER TWENTY
REAL LIFE✧
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

the crackling of a fire echoed into the quiet of the night. the four boys sat around it in a circle, the sun slowly setting in the distance. keiynan playing his beaten down acoustic guitar, while hunter sang, the two lost in their own world. they were completely goofing off, playing 'girls just wanna have fun.'

nick glanced up at the two, a smile creeping on his face. he kept a small distance between him and brandon. they still had not told keiynan and hunter. nick wanted to tell them before anyone else. especially before he told katherine. he could never tell katherine, she was his number one best friend, and it would crush her. not the fact that he's gay. the fact he's hidden it for so long.

"c'mon, why don't you sing with us?" hunter asked, whining ever so slightly. keiynan's eyes kept shifting from hunter, then back to his guitar.

"i'm not really in the mood to sing." nick softly replied.

hunter stopped caring about the song. "is something wrong? you've been acting off all night. we thought a boy's night would be a good thing."

"no. it's not that."

"so," brandon added, sitting just inches from nick, keeping a distance. "what you're saying there is something wrong?"

"i.." he stuttered. he unintentionally got himself into a situation he hadn't meant to get into. "b, i think now is a better time than ever to tell them."

"tell us what?" keiynan questioned. he set his guitar onto the grass the four were sitting on. silence answered his question. "was this not just a getaway for a night? is something going on?"

hunter fake gasped. "oh my god. do you..." he hushed his voice, leaning closer to nick. "do you have aids?"

"oh my god!" nick shouted, standing up onto his feet in protest. "no, no, i do not!"

"that's what they all say..." hunter grinned.

unlike hunter, kieynan wasn't in the mood to joke. "nick, whatever it is, you can tell us. nothing you say will leave this group."

his heart began to race, fading in and out of a state of dizziness. this always happened, he didn't know why. brandon started to notice and flashed him a comforting smile.

"this is so stupid." he scoffed. "you're either going to be irritated or not care."

"go on." hunter chimed in.

nick took a deep breath. in and out. calm down.

his eyes moved to the fire. "i've tried so hard to tell you, kei." he froze, feeling it was better than never to just admit it. "i'm gay."

keiynan let out the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "oh my fucking god, i thought you were about to tell me you have cancer-wait-you're gay?"

"ahah." a fake laugh escaped nick. "yeah. yeah, i am."

"welcome to the rainbow family." hunter said. he had this small smile on his face, a sign of how proud he was of nick. nick being gay wasn't obvious, but hunter had his doubts on nick being straight. he could relate to nick's emotions. knowing that people knew or that people would accept him, but being too scared to let that happen.

too scared to let himself be happy.

"the rainbow family." nick repeated. "i like that."

"there's another thing." brandon cleared his throat.

"there is?" asked keiynan.

brandon looked at nick, who nodded his head. "uh, nick and i are kind of-sort of—a couple."

"oh-"

"-MY GOD THIS IS THE CUTEST FUCKING THING EVER WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK." hunter screamed, jumping up from where he had been sitting. he pulled nick and brandon up, hugging them both tightly. "i'm so happy you both are happy. i'm actually not joking. you've been so sad and now you're so happy and i finally know why you're happy!" hunter said to nick, unintentionally overwhelming him.

"tone it down, buddy. it isn't that big of a deal." nick replied.

brandon gasped. "isn't that big of a deal? i'll remember that next time you want pizza."

"no!"