Erchomai [Ricochet/Adam Cole]

chapter 7: life as we blow it

It's been two days exactly since the pictures of him and Adam were released and, to absolutely no one's surprise, the wrestling world had taken and ran with it. While he can't speak for Adam (they haven't talked since their late-night chat; ask for space and you shall receive it), Trevor is suddenly flooded with unwanted attention. He can't check his Twitter or Instagram without seeing the photos attached to insanely untrue articles, getting asked about his relationship status with Adam, and being congratulated on coming out.

Okay, so the last one came about by accident. Yesterday, Trevor happened across a particular comment from some homophobic asshole and proceeded to let his temper get the best of him. Before he could stop himself, he responded with the now infamous line: I'm bisexual, you ignorant prick. It may not have been the way he wanted to tell the world, but he supposed it could've been worse. And it was almost immediately turned into a meme, so hey. There's a bright side.

All in all, he guesses it's not so bad. His social media is surprisingly getting more navigable by the day and the comments of support from fans mean the world to him. The only thing that proves to be a minor inconvenience and get under his skin like the annoying mosquito they are is the influx of trolls showing up in his mentions. They berate and lecture him as if he cares what they think, and they never shut up.

The block button works just fine, yet whenever he silences one there's already two more ready to spew uneducated venom in their place. They grow like fucking Hydra, and Trevor yearns to put them down with his wits and words. But after the last incident, he promised himself he wouldn't respond to any more negativity. His friends, however? They've made no promises of such.

"Get a life you homophobic twat," reads Lacey's response to some random.

"It doesn't pay to be ugly on the inside," broadcasts Mia to her followers.

Bianca posts a picture of her and Trevor mugging for the camera, taken in their paintball gear before the beatdown he received at her hands. It's captioned with a red heart emoji. Johnny decides to go full Broadway nerd and tweet a line from Hamilton about sitting under one's own fig tree. It's attached with a photo of he and Trevor sharing an emotional embrace backstage at a live event after Trevor had an injury scare.

He FaceTimed with Apollo and Akira earlier in the day as they were on the road, each echoing the same messages of support and threatening to fight anyone who even looked at him the wrong way. Trevor laughs it off, all the while knowing they're dead serious. He's glad to have the constant support of his friends. It makes whatever people are throwing at him a hell of a lot easier.

Trevor is laying on his stomach that afternoon on the well-worn dark green beanbag he brought with him when he moved out of his mom's, surrounded by his friends, all of them on their phone. Johnny sits in the chair adjacent to the sofa, where Lacey and Mia sit. Lacey has her feet dangling over the edge and head in Mia's lap, and Mia sits with one leg tucked under her. Bianca lays on her back on the floor, head propped up by Trevor's hip. While the other three continue taking on the task of being his personal defense squad, Trevor and Bianca break to scroll through the incessant articles of lies.

When Bianca finds a particularly funny line, she shares it with the class. "Listen to this: 'After eloping and honeymooning in Cancun a few months back, Adam and Ricochet have decided it's time they add to their family and are planning to adopt soon'. Seriously, what the hell are they smoking?"

"Beats me, but it gets better." Lacey turns her head towards them, gesturing in the air. "At the end they talk about how Trev and Adam are the ones who really live together, and Akira is just a ploy to throw everyone off their scent."