Step Brothers

Chapter Seventeen

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   Derek's Point Of View

   Everyone acted strange today. But maybe it was just my distorted mind messing with reality. After all, how could I see everything as normal when it wasn't? Every corner I turned to just seemed to be an end even when there was a door wide open.

   But I still couldn't help and wonder that something was awfully wrong. Yeah, I was majorly depressed and I felt like all these faces staring back at me were demons, but I could still sense the spine tingly sensation that shit was about to happen.

   And I was right.

   Last period before school was off for the day, friends muttered among each other, only that I didn't notice that they were whispering about me until after I heard his name.

   Leo.

   At first I thought maybe I had heard wrong. But then conversations dragged and sounds became louder, eventually I could hear about ten different conversations at once. I pushed the thoughts away, hoping it would all end. It couldn't be happening. Not now. How could it? It was impossible.

   But life had a way of biting me in the ass the least expected.

   The last bell ring and everyone quietly left the class. I headed straight for the gym, since today was football practice. It was the same as usual. Our team didn't completely suck, we just lacked real talent. Most of these wannabe players were just here because they wanted to be in the uniform, or under the helmet. Maybe they got a rush from the pleased crowd of girls staring at them on the benches. Either way we sucked.

   The lockers. That's where it began. And fuck me if I wasn't pissed when it did.

   "Hey, Derek. You got a minute?" Felix asked from across the locker room. He was pushing in his dirty clothes inside his already packed locker.

   "What?" I replied.

   He sucked in his teeth, like if I was a disappointment, or maybe he just wanted me to say that he was wrong and people were just being assholes.

   "Is it true?" he simply said.

   "Is what true?"

   He grimaced. "Come on, man. You know what I'm talking about. Everybody is talking about it. Is it true or not?"

   I blinked. "Uh, what?"

   "Are you fucking your brother? Because . . . that's sick."

   The knot in my throat went down unnoticed. 

   "I don't have a brother," I replied.

   Maybe I should have just said no. Anything but what I had just answered with. He didn't ask if I was gay, but I also didn't deny it. A twisted part of me wanted to deny it just because I was afraid. I think we're all afraid. We don't know what's gonna happen if our friends find out that we're . . . different. It's not that I'm a coward, because I'm not. I'm ready to stand up for who I am and what I believe in. And there ain't nobody that's gonna make me feel less of a human being.

   But shit. I love Leo, and I don't want to bring him into this mess. It's bad enough that he has no friends, just Nicole. He's the shy, awkward new guy that nobody really pays attention to. He'd get eaten alive if I don't watch what I say.