Summer Nights (Solangelo AU)

nico iv • church, arguing, and partying

Church is such an awkward place to be when you're gay.

   Hazel sits next to me in the pew, checking her fingernails. The preacher rambles off about some story I had stopped listening to 20 minutes ago. Church is the one place I choose to compartmentalize my focus. Most of the time I'll stay tuned in just to hear the tales, but I clock out once the homophobic interpretations come in. My eyes travel around, thinking about the structure of the building. Most of the time when I feel uncomfortable, I look to the environment of wherever I am.

Dad and Marie seem pretty focused, listening to every word of this homophobic speech. Dad has his eyebrows furrowed in, and Marie sucks in her cheeks. I can't tell if that means they disagree.

My eyes wonder to a few rows up, where Percy was sitting. He didn't look like he cared much about what was going on, either. His hair fell in his eyes as he picked at his pants. I try to hold my smile, but he just looks so cute.

Then, I look away for just a second, and find something slightly startling. Will sits with perfect posture, right beside his dad, his eyes latched onto the preacher, as if he were listening intently to the sermon. Will is definitely not a Christian, and seems pretty unfazed by being gay, so I have no idea why he's so...wrapped up in it. I keep staring, and suddenly have my answer. Every few minutes, Will would slump or look away, only to be nudged by his father and brought back into attention. His face is a hard stare, eyebrows arched, and his teeth are gritted together although he tries to hide it. Sometimes, it looks like he'll cry, but he doesn't.

I try to remind myself what kind of person he is so I don't fall under a trap of sympathy, but it's hard to see someone else being rejected of their true self like that. I wonder if Allistair knows, and why he won't let him be free. What a fucking hypocrite, as if any shit he does resembles the teachings of Jesus.

Eventually, the service ends, and everyone goes straight for shaking hands. I always feel awkward when older people come to pinch my cheeks, telling me they've known me since I was a baby. I slide out of the pews, heading towards the corner. Someone appears at my side not too long after.

"That was...weird," Percy says.

I jump slightly, looking up at him. "Oh...what?"

"The sermon," Percy says. "It's never been so...homophobic before. Has it?"

"To be honest, I kinda started to block it out," I fumble with my fingers.

"I just wanted to check how you were feeling," Percy offers a warm smile that causes butterflies to erupt in my stomach. God, he's such a good guy I could cry. "I may have hinted at the fact that you were single."

My cheeks go red. "O-oh, thanks," I force a smile. "Yeah, nothing happened last night, by the way."

"That's what he told me. But I still have hope," he winks, which makes my knees weak. I laugh nervously, going to lean against the wall, but instead stumble. Percy instinctively goes out to grab me, and my body erupts into chills. We're inches away from each other.

"What are you guys doing?" A voice asks.

I jump back, scared I was about to get hate crimes, when I realized it was just Will. However, his face is twisted into an annoyed expression. "I-I f-fell," I stammer, blinking quickly up at him, still nervous over Percy touching my side.

Will folds his arms, his stern eyes bouncing from me to Percy as if he's a strict parent whom's kids just colored on the wall. "Can we talk alone?"

Percy looks at the two of us. "Totally," he winks at me, walking off. Will takes my wrist, dragging me to the bathroom.

"Whatever you're trying to do, stop it," he says.