COLOR ME BLUE | SPIERFELD

1.0 | BLUE

Thursday September 13th

It all started with a post on the school's gossip website. Kind of like Creekwood High's very own Gossip Girl blog - but, without the wealthy students, fancy soirées...and a lot less scandalous posts. Sorry to disappoint if you were there to see a cheap version of Chuck Bass trading their girlfriend to their uncle for an hotel or a poor imitation of Blair Waldorf loosing their virginity in the back of a limo after stripping in a burlesque club.

That being said, don't be too disappointed. Creeksecret do have their fair share of exposed secrets and cheating scandals. Not a day went by without someone's dirty laundry being exposed. Most students of Creekwood High followed the blog religiously but, Simon wasn't into that. He prefered to stay away from gossips. They weren't true half of the time anyway.

Simon's best friend, Leah, on the other hand, loved gossips. She was actually the one who drove Simon to type the blog's URL into his browser. He stared at his computer screen, reading this 'Blue's post about being a closeted gay.

Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck on a ferris wheel. One minute I'm on top of the world, the next I'm on rock bottom. Over and over, all day long. Because a lot about life is great. Because nobody knows I'm gay.

- Blue

A closeted gay kid at Creekwood High?

Now more than ever, this post called to Simon.

As he read the post over and over, Simon felt like he had to do something. He knew exactly how this 'Blue' kid felt. He knew how suffocating it was to hold a secret like that and how alone he must be feeling. Being a closeted gay felt like you were trapped inside a cage you hold the key to but need to fight a giant two headed dog to get to the lock.

At least, that's how Simon felt. Maybe Blue felt like that too?

A part of Simon wanted to write back to this 'Blue', tell him he wasn't alone in this, but something was holding him back. This email would reveal Simon's identity, it would reveal his biggest secret. He doubted Blue would out him - if he made this post, it was probably because he felt alone himself - but a voice in the back of Simon's mind reminded him there was a high possibility said secret would ends up in the wrong hands - accidently or not.

Simon furrowed his eyebrows, conflicted. He really wanted to help this kid, tell him he wasn't alone in this, but how could he remain anonymous with simon.spier@gmail.com for email address? It was impossible.

Then, Simon got an idea.

He created a new Gmail account: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com. With an email address like this one, no one would figure out his identity. It was a safe bet.

Once he went through all the process and filled the forms, Simon opened a new window with Blue's email as recipient.

A wave of warmth filled the teenager's body which turned to cold and then back to warm. Simon gripped his hair, tugging at the roots before standing up from his desk. He took long exhales as if to encourage himself and push through the nervousness settling inside his gut. Why was he so nervous to send an email? It's just that, an email.

Except, it was not. This email will reveal his biggest secret and Simon wasn't sure if he was ready to share it yet. His mom told him countless time keeping things bottled up wasn't healthy but, it's difficult to open up about something you've been hiding for so long. Something that's been pushed so far away and locked with so many locks to make extra sure it would be impossible to unlock. He pushed his secret far away and covered the box with awkward flirting and interactions with the female gender and agreeing to his Nick's 'that's girl's so hot' comments.

No matter how scary it was, his decision was made. In order to help Blue, Simon will unlock all the locks and tell someone about his homosexuality.

TO: bluegreen118@gmail.com

FROM: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com

DATE: Sept 13 at 7:15 PM

SUBJECT: hey

Dear Blue,

I'm just like you. For the most part, my life is totally normal. My dad was the annoyingly handsome quarterback who married the hot valedictorian. And no, they didn't peak in high school. I have a sister I actually like, not that I'd ever tell her that. Last year and two-hundred episodes of Chopped ago she decided she wanted to be a chief, which means we're all pretty her test subjects now. And then, there's my friends... Two of them I've known since pretty much the beginning of time. Or at least kindergarten. One of them I just met a few months ago. But it feels like I've known her forever. We do everything friends do: drink way too much iced coffee, watch bad nineties movies, and hang out at Waffle House dreaming of graduating and moving to a city that doesn't have a Waffle House. And we have each other's back. Always.

So like I said, I'm just like you. I have a totally perfect normal life. Except I have one huge ass secret.

Jacques.