One Shots 3.0 [boyxboy]

Outed AKA The First Kiss

One-Shot: Outed/The First Kiss

I always thought that if my life was going to change some day, I’d wake up knowing it. That I’d be prepared somehow, braced for it, and able to react accordingly.

                Turns out that’s not really how it works. When life decides it’s time to take sharp exit off the path you’ve been idly following all along, it’s like being punched in the face as you sleep. It’s the absolute last thing you see coming.

                And of all the places you regularly frequent from day to day – school, home, gym, somewhere reasonable like that – life will sometimes decide to transform into something new in public. In front of all your friends, and some strangers too.

                And sometimes, when your life changes completely, it’s not even your story. It’s someone else’s. And you just get taken along for the ride.

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It was just after basketball practice, and some of the team had decided on a whim to get some food in the town diner, which was just down the street from the school, before heading home. There were eight or nine of us in all; the captain, Alan, and his best friends Frank and Mikey, a few others, and of course my best friend Will and I.

                Will’s been my best friend since as long as I can remember. We were assigned seats next to each other in Junior Infants and the convenience bred a pretty solid bromance. He had my back through anything, and vice versa.

                Our group noisily filled one of the booths halfway down the oblong-shaped diner, generally being a nuisance and making a mess as we consumed as much food as we threw at one another. I had garlic and cheese fries, and Will was sharing because he’d forgotten his wallet, but I’d bought him a strawberry milkshake as well as one for myself.

                We didn’t see the effeminate gay kid Topher making his way through the diner as Frank aimed a potato wedge at Will and got him square in the middle of his forehead; with lightning reflexes Will and greased up and fry with cheese and garlic real good and flung it right back. It stuck to Frank’s cheek and he shouted, ‘You faggot!’ on an unfortunate impulse.

                Topher stopped right by our table with his eyebrows raised and his jaw jutting out, looking insulted and bitchy.

                Frank would have been wise to just apologise and forget about it, because Topher had a sharp tongue and could rip people apart with his words, but Frank is pig-headed just actively ignored the kid, paying a lot of attention to his wedges all of a sudden.

                I don’t know how everyone else felt or reacted when Topher turned his gaze on Will, but I know I was confused as hell for a few minutes.

                ‘Are you seriously going to let him talk to you like that?’ Topher demanded, placing one hand on his hip like he was in no mood for anybody’s shit.

                ‘Shut up Topher,’ Will muttered, avoiding eye contact and instead focusing intently on his milkshake.

                Topher made a clicking sound of annoyance. ‘You’re a pussy, William Atkins,’ he snapped, and I gaped at Will, noting the faint blush that was beginning to colour his cheeks.

                ‘Shut it,’ he hissed, raising his eyes to glare pointedly at Topher now.

                ‘No,’ Topher said archly, his body language becoming increasingly hostile. ‘I’m shit-sick of this falsity parade you call your life. You wanna mess around with me behind closed doors to try and get over the fact that you wanna bone your best friend, you better be prepared to dump the Neanderthals when they start spouting homophobic shit like that.’ Topher tilted his head the other way. ‘On second thoughts, never mind. There are plenty of guys just as hot as you without all the baggage. Lose my number.’