Basement Royalty

Chapter 15

By Friday morning, Ray felt a little more ready to face his friends. He was still anxious, and maybe the day off had let that build up even more. But having released a lot of emotions to his mom had taken a weight from his shoulders and given him a sense of reality. Of course she accepted him; why wouldn't she? They'd talked about it a little more and she made it very clear that she would love him whatever he decided about his identity. One of his biggest hurdles had been passed, and the apprehension he felt was a lot easier to deal with now.

He said goodbye to his mom cheerfully as she left for work, ruffling his hair as usual. As he heard her car pull out of the driveway, a little of his fear emerged again, making him grimace at the feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't being afraid to talk to Gavin and the others; it was being afraid that he would let his temper get the better of him again. He was calm most of the time but sometimes those rushes of anger took him (and everyone around him) by surprise. So soon after the last one, though... maybe he could escape from it, even if Gavin wouldn't listen to him.

Ray set off into the foggy morning early, hoping to catch Michael and Gavin as they got off the bus. But when he got there, Gavin was standing at the gates alone. He didn't seem to see him coming; he was staring into space, chewing on the sleeve of his hoodie. Ray approached him carefully.

"Hey, Gavin." He said gently. Gavin jolted in shock and turned to see him, seeming to stiffen as they made eye contact.

"Hi." He replied, almost whispering.

"Uh... Are we on... speaking terms?"

"It's... up to you, really."

"Well, I wanted to talk to you. So it'd help." There was no reply, so he continued. "I want to apologise to you. I was... well, I was a dick to you, and this seems to be becoming a pattern. Last time I did something like this I fucked it all up forever so I'm ending this now. You were a dick too, but I reacted way too violently and... I understand that you're sensitive about Dan and I didn't mean to make that worse. I'm really trying to keep my temper under control now, and I won't do this again. I'm sorry." Gavin just stared at him for a moment.

"I thought you were mad at me?" He finally asked.

"Well, I was. But we were both in the wrong, really."

"Yeah! I mean, I wanted to say sorry too, because I was really... mean to you. And then I thought you were blaming me for what happened with Joel when you talked about it, and I just... got upset."

"And this coming from the man who claims to be heartless." Ray joked, and Gavin managed a small smile.

"I'm really sorry, Ray." He said, and held out his arms at his sides. Ray recognised the motion and hugged him, instantly feeling a little calmer. As they moved apart, Gavin grabbed his arm and squeezed it gently. "Thanks for understanding, Ray. Ryan and Jack have been so awkward with me, not even speaking. Not to Michael or Geoff, either."

"Yeah, how are they all doing?"

"I explained that I wasn't mad with you to Michael so he might have forgiven you but he might still yell at you. Geoff's still pretty pissed off. Ryan's been silent to all three of us since Wednesday afternoon. Jack made an attempt at peace with Geoff which ended with him getting yelled at too." Ray bit his lip at the news. This was more complicated than he'd imagined it would be.

"So what do we do?" He asked.

"We could try to get them all together at lunch. You tell Jack and Ryan that we aren't coming, and I'll tell Michael and Geoff you guys aren't coming."

"That's a little dishonest."

"They'll never come if they know the others are there, though!"

"True." He considered for a moment. "Alright, as long as we get it over with quick. I have to go to the library later."