Garrett Watts One Shots

Pride {Andrew x Garrett}

(Garretts POV)

It was the morning of the LA pride parade and I was nervous. There would be so many people. Most of them would be like me- just happy to show their pride for who they were. But some of these people would be the opposite. I knew homophobes sometimes turned up the protest at pride parades. I don't like conflict and I wouldn't know what to do if someone approached me.

At least I'd have my friends. Shane was helping me put a temporary tattoo on my right cheek, a little pride flag heart. It matched the identical one on my left cheek. When we were as rainbow as we could get, we made our way to the parade.

I was having the time of my life and had totally forgotten my worries when I realized I'd lost my friends. I was surrounded by people on all sides, all happy and cheering, but none of them were Ryland, Shane or Drew. I was suddenly lifted onto the shoulders of a bigger, older man. At least I could maybe spot my friends from up high. But I'd hardly had a look around before the older man put me down gently, slapping my shoulder gently. I smiled at him quickly and then began to push my way through the crowd. I didn't know why I was so scared of being alone here. I was almost 30. And I was surrounded by people who were just like me.

Well, that wasn't all true. There was angry yelling as well as happy cheering. The happy noise was far louder than the angry noise, and yet all I could focus on was the angry people. I could see them now. A group of people holding signs with the usual homophobic quotes. They looked like they hated me, just for existing. I suddenly felt very small. One of them got right up into my face. She was holding a camera, clearly recording a video, probably for some kind of homophobic organization. She was asking me questions. Asking why I'd chosen to betray god. Asking why I'd decided to be gay. I was frozen and couldn't think of anything to say.

Before I knew what was happening, a red headed man with a bi flag had wrapped his arm around me. He whispered in my ear, asking if he could kiss me for the camera. I nodded and we embraced quickly, joining lips. I heard the angry screams get louder, but nothing else mattered right now.

We parted and looked at each other properly for the first time. He was cute, but that's all I can really say. I was too hyped up to take in any details. He was lost in the crowd before I knew it.

The rest of the day went by in a whirlwind. I found my friends and we went home early because Ryland wasn't feeling well. I was glad we had left when we did, because the parade took a dark turn. A few protesters got violent and started beating up parade-goers. It turned into a pretty big brawl and a few people were badly hurt.

I was back in my tiny house that evening, watching the news, feeling upset. They were showing footage of the fight. One homophobe even started beating people with a bat. I couldn't understand why they'd be so full of hate at us just for being who we were. I was getting ready to have a good angry cry when I saw me.

It was the video of me and the redhead, kissing. My heart stopped when I realized why they were showing it. The redhead- his name was Andrew- had been beaten and was in hospital, in a stable condition. It was the woman with the camera who had done it. She was so angry over the video that she had bought a baseball bat and had beaten him with it. They began talking about the assault charges she'd be up for, and I turned off the TV, feeling numb. I called Shane, needing some comfort, and explained what had happened. He told me to come over and I did. We ordered pizza and had a midnight feast, while I wondered whether I should go and see the boy- Andrew- in hospital.

I decided it would be the right thing to do. I got up the next morning, showered in Shanes spare bathroom and put on a clean shirt. I realized I didn't know which hospital he was at, but I assumed it would be the closest one.

I bought some overpriced flowers at the hospital gift shop and approached the front desk. I'd written down his full name (Andrew Siwicki) from the news report and I asked the receptionist where I'd find him. She told me it was immediate family only, and I told her I was his brother.

She directed me to his room and I slowly walked in, suddenly wondering if I was being weird. We weren't friends. We'd just kissed to annoy a bunch of middle aged homophobes.

It was too late. He was sitting up in bed, awake now, and he'd seen me. He was still cute but now he had purple bruises on his face. His lip was swollen and cut. He had a fractured wrist.

He looked confused for a moment, and then his eyes lit up as he realized who I was. He smiled and said "Hi!". I gave a sigh of relief and greeted him, handing over the flowers.

We sat in silence for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

"Thanks for coming" He said. "You didn't have to, but you did, and it's nice. My family live in another state so I thought I'd get no visitors".

I smiled and we began to talk. About our families, our coming out stories, our careers. He was a videographer, which was perfect because I was a YouTuber.

After a hesitant pause, he opened his mouth. "I know I hardly know you. And I look a little weird, with a fat lip and two black eyes. But... maybe, when I'm out, do you want to go on a date? I could buy you dinner to thank you for the flowers. Or, I don't know, you don't have to".

I smiled at his uncertain awkwardness. "I'd love a date. Where should we go?"

We planned to have a beach picnic. I visited Andrew every day after that. My friends even came in and Shane started discussing hiring Andrew as his own cameraman, which made me so happy.

I got up early the day Andrew was getting out of hospital. I showered and put on the nicest outfit I could find. I sprayed myself liberally with cologne and combed my hair. Then I drove to the hospital and walked the familiar path to his room.

He was sitting on the bed in regular clothes. He looked fantastic, despite the fading bruises and bandaged wrist. His red hair was soft and shiny and he was clean shaven. He had such pretty eyes. I helped him gather his things and he got discharged. I took him to his house and he told me he wanted to surprise me. I sat on his couch playing video games while he closed the door to the kitchen. I smiled as I listened to him humming as he worked busily. When he opened the door he was holding a picnic basket.

We drove to the beach and set up in a spot that wasn't too crowded. The picnic basket was packed with delicious food. Andrew was a great cook, even with a hurt wrist. We ended the lunch with a glass of champagne each. Then we walked to a park and started being silly, playing on the swings like kids. Andrew comforted a little boy who'd fallen over, and my heart melted into a puddle at his caring tenderness. We got ice cream cones and walked along the beach hand in hand. I felt like I was floating, I was so content. Of course I clumsily dropped my ice cream into the sand so he shared his, but we weren't that worried about ice creams. We were too wrapped up in each other.

I took him back to his house and helped him clean up the dishes from our picnic. I had evening plans so I had to leave. I walked slowly to the door, wanting to stay with him forever. We made promises to facetime that night when I was home.

He kissed me softly before I left. It wasn't our first kiss, but it felt like it was, and I melted into it happily.