•͟U͟N͟D͟E͟R͟S͟T͟A͟N͟D͟ ͟c͟a͟r͟t͟i͟u͟z͟i͟•͟

XII

Their faces changed from ones of humor to ones of anger and prejudice. "Ion like faggots, and I'm not makin' and exception for you, Jordan" Pierre announced, as he stood up from our table, and walked away. Destin followed shortly after, leaving me alone with Adrian.

Adrian was by far the closest to me out of everyone in my friend group; he and I worked on SoundCloud all the time, and he and I always seemed to enjoy the other's presence. I was really hoping he understood, but he just stared at me with a blank, emotionless face.

"Adrian," I began, "it's not how you think it is." I started to move closer to him, but he shoved himself away from me, causing me to fall off of the bench chairs that we attached to the lunch tables. He stood up and said, "I'm sorry Jordan, it's just too much for me." And away he went, joining Destin and Pierre at this table with Pierre's hookup, pointing at me and whispering to the others.

I hated thinking about that day, because it always made me cringe, and fill myself with hatred and regret. That day was one of the reasons why I was so afraid to tell Symere about how I didn't hate him for being gay, but rather I felt the same way. I couldn't stop thinking about it then, and I couldn't stop thinking about it while a video about the Berlin Wall played in European History. It made me think even more about what to say to Caleb, and not about how Germany was divided in two back in the 1980's.

I came to a consensus that I needed to be straightforward, and be delicate with how I phrased it. I found it evident that I sort of hinted at it at first, before just saying "I am" later on; that was what I needed to fix.

The bell rang, and I ran outside to the Cadillac to meet Caleb. Once I reached it, both Caleb and Symere's Acura were nowhere to be seen; I didn't notice that Symere hadn't parked next to us earlier, but it made me sad thinking about it now. I leaned against the hood waiting for Caleb, who showed up a little longer than two minutes later.

"Damn, you're early." Caleb announced, dapping me up. "I had nothing else to fucking do." I told him.

"Really? No Symere?" he asked. I got a tad bit upset in my mind, but I reeled myself in before telling Caleb, "I actually have to talk to you about that." Caleb looked concerned, and told me to get in the car and we would talk about it.

I jumped into the passenger seat, a frequent action by this point, while Caleb got in calmly. We both sat down, and closed the doors when I asked, "You're sure you don't mind waiting?" Caleb laughed, "Cuh, I'm good waiting. Besides, if we leave now, we'll get stuck in the traffic on the way out."

"Alright," I responded, "so I have something that I need to tell you." Caleb nodded his head, turning to look at me. I got really nervous saying this, which I guess was expected, but there was no turning back now. Besides, what was he gonna do if he didn't like it? It's not like he could just stop being my friend, he fucking lived with me.

"I'm just gonna be really blunt with this, because the last time I discussed this, I wasn't, and it ended poorly." I began. Caleb nodded, once again. "So before I say anything, Caleb, you need to know that I'm," I stopped mid-sentence, in a fit of nervousness. "No, you can't stop, he needs to know." said the angel on my shoulder that helped me through my incident with Symere. The angel was right; Caleb needed to know.

"Caleb, I'm bisexual." I proclaimed. Caleb didn't respond, but just looked forward, out of the windshield. I got nervous again, thinking he was gonna say something bad, until he spoke again.

"Is Symere gay?" he asked, after a long period of waiting. I didn't know what to say, because that was Symere's business. But then again, he had to have been telling certain people, especially after Sheyaa had threatened me this morning. "Yes, Symere is gay," I replied, "but don't go around telling people that because I'm not sure if he wants other people to know."

Caleb nodded, saying, "You see, I knew y'all were more than friends." I felt sad after he said that. I once again reminded myself that he needed to know the full story, "Well, on Saturday, once we woke up, Symere was telling me that he was gay, and I was really insecure, and felt guilty about things, and I freaked out, and said a couple of things, and I think he hates me for it."

Caleb once again nodded, not saying anything. We didn't say anything for a minute, until Caleb told me, "Look, I don't care who you like, I really don't, but I'm not gonna give you advice on how to get Symere back if that's what you're wanting. He's cool and all, but I don't know about y'all's relationship and shit. Have you told Travis?" I shook my head, "Nah I'll tell him soon though. I'm not asking for advice, I just wanted to be honest about why Symere and most likely the rest of them left outta nowhere."

"I respect that," Caleb said, "just know that whoever you want to be, you'll always be my 'cousin', and my love and friendship for you in that sense will never change. Just know that you sorta screwed up, and if I were you, I'd try my hardest to fix it, especially for someone like Symere who is incredibly chill, and will essentially jump in front of a bus for you. Just give him time though, he probably needs it."

I agreed, and with that, we left the parking lot, Caleb with a better piece of mind, and me, with the basis of a formula to win my cute little Symere back.