"Just Friends"

Brandon

(495 words)
Brandon's parents were fixers, they always had been. Something broke? It was repaired. Something wasn't broken? It was upgraded. They worked hard to make things good and strong and effective. Their first son was a perfect boy, he was a prodigy, and just like them. They named him William, because it meant Strong Resolute Warrior. 

So when their second son was born with a degenerative muscle disease, that was something to be fixed. And when he came out to them as queer, that was something to be fixed. Brandon knew, in his heart, that there was nothing about him that was broken or in need of an upgrade, but when you grow up being told differently it can plant a seed of doubt. He held a grudge against his perfect brother for being the perfect son that their parents wanted, because at the end of the day "needing to be fixed" meant "unwanted".

His friends were his solace, never trying to change him and loving him the way his family didn't. Ally's relentless positivity rubbed off on him, giving him new optimism for life. Ash's humor and queerness matched his own, allowing him to feel as though he really had a place. Calvin was always there to support him, and treated him like a brother. His favorite place was their study sessions, because he could sit in his own house at his own dining room table and feel welcome, like he was a part of a family. That wasn't something he was used to.

The moment it was an option, Brandon left the "care" of his biological family and moved out. It didn't take long for them to become estranged, the subject everyone knew not to ask him about because he refused to talk about them. Family was supposed to be the one thing you could count on to love you and accept you, so how could he forgive them for doing neither?

About a year after Ash moved back to New York, his brother reached out to him, which was a deep surprise. The very first words William spoke were an apology for everything. He'd learned so much since they'd last talked, and gained opinions that didn't belong to their parents. It took time and some doing but Brandon became much closer with his sibling, who had also begun doubting his sexuality, something that amused them both due to their parents prejudices.

Eventually, William came out as gay, and it crushed their parents, but the brothers stood together in solidarity. Their father came around, learning to accept and love his sons for who they were, and accepting how he'd hurt them. Their mother was incapable of this change, and the parents separated.

Life was not easy on him, but with his friends and his endurance and, eventually, his brother, he managed to get through it stronger than before and with a secure knowledge that he was not the one in need of fixing.