The Beard

Chapter Thirty-Two

Sebastian wasn't seen for a week. After the scandal of him kissing a guy came out, he just sort of disappeared. Valentine's Day had passed with me continuously calling and texting him. At one point, I even had my friends blowing up his phone and spamming him, yet still, no answer was received. I was worried, but I also wanted to give him space.

But now that a week has passed, and his face wasn't shown on another school day, it was time I did something. Rather than going home at the end of the day, I decide to head to Sebastian's house. I need to make sure he's okay.

I just know that when he comes back, things will be so different. There's a lot more homophobic people in our town than I thought. After Sebastian had left, his teammate, Joe, had started spewing a whole bunch of nonsense. I could see the disgust in his face as his lips curled, baring his teeth slightly. There was a sort of crazed anger in his eyes, something I didn't think would fade away soon. I had watched him as he had marched back over to his friends, talking animatedly and shaking his head.

Even now, a week later, people are still talking. I'm constantly feeling eyes on me and it honestly makes my skin crawl. People have come up and started apologizing to me about Sebastian being gay. Little do they know, I had already known. Not only that, but people are starting to hate Sebastian because he has been 'lying' to me this whole time.

"I can't believe it, still." Jenny's voice pulls me from my thoughts. I shake my head, blinking, before I turn to her and give a small smile. Jenny rolls her eyes with a playful smile. "That Sebastian is gay."

"Oh, Jenny," I sigh, mood dropping further than it had already been. At this point, I have no mood because it's so low. "Please stop, I can't have you talking about him too."

Jenny raises her hands in that 'I surrender' pose. She juts her bottom lip out and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I'm just saying...why didn't you tell me?"

I raise an eyebrow and give her a deadpan look. Jenny gives me a sheepish smile as she realizes why I'm looking at her like that. I open my mouth to scold her when I feel a presence behind me. As Jenny looks at the person, she tenses, her smile dropping as fast as kids drop their attitude for candy. Giving her a funny look, I turn to see it's Micah who's standing behind me. She's giving Jenny a weary look as if she'll jump over the table at her.

"Hey." I greet, giving her the same funny look as I did Jenny. "Are you here to eat with us?"

Micah immediately shakes her head, making me pout at the force of her denial. "Nah, I just wanted to ask if you've gotten to talk to Sebastian?"

Her question brings me back to the problem at hand. "No," I answer, shaking my head and slumping my shoulders. "He still hasn't answered. I'm going after school today so I can speak to him."

Micah nods and give me an approving smile. "Good. I know he needs someone right now, even if he seems like he wants nobody. Sebastian is definitely hurting, I mean, this can't be good for him at all."

I nod, agreeing with her words. Jenny interrupts me as I open my mouth to speak. Both Micah and I turn to look at her. "I know I'm the last person who should be talking about this, but maybe Sebastian is a little relieved?"

Micah and I glance at each other before looking at Jenny incredulously. "Jenny, Sebastian was just forcefully outed by this stupid jerk."

Jenny nods. "Yes, I'm aware, but think about it. Sebastian no longer has to hide in the closet. The door is open and he's free to come out. I mean, he has to be a little relieved that he doesn't have to hide anymore."

Her words give me a new resolve. It's actually really logical that Sebastian might be a little happy. I mean, of course he'd be upset at being betrayed by Cody, but maybe he's also relieved that he doesn't have to keep such a large secret. Though it's not my secret to tell, even I struggled to keep it buried. Naturally, Sebastian would have a harder time hiding his feelings. I just wish everyone was accepting and not so close minded.