Finding Love in the District

Bombshell Queen - Part One

16 years ago, Boston University. Spring Semester.

Another Friday evening, Ros found himself in Daniel and Charlie's dorm room. He realized that it had become his safe haven in the entire dormitory, considering that his own shared room was not a space he considered secure. Unless he was going to be sleeping or needed to get something from the room for class, he tried his best not to be in there at all. He quietly sat in Charlie's desk chair, watching the two having an engaging conversation regarding plans for that evening. Charlie was having a slight moment of anxiety, as he was trying to decide what outfit to wear, while Daniel sat on the bed across from him rather exasperated.

"But I'm confused on the theme for tonight at the club. Look at this flier I got from Duran. What do you think it means?" Charlie said in a frustrated manner, giving Daniel the piece of paper as he shifted through shirts in his closet.

"It means just come in club clothes, dude. Why are you making this so hard?" Daniel replied with a sigh, giving Charlie a look of mild annoyance.

"It says 'Come and party like a royal to cheer on contestants in the Drag Queen showdown. Only one of them will be crowned the Bombshell Queen.' That means you must dress fancy! I don't have anything fancy except my button-up shirt and slacks I wear for freaking job interviews. That's not sexy, ok?" Charlie exclaimed, a groan of desperation escaping him as he continued looking through his closet.

Daniel just rolled his eyes in silence before he grabbed his phone to start sending a text message. "Ros, what are you up to tonight?"

Not expecting to be included in the conversation, Ros looked over towards him in surprise, before shrugging. "I don't... have any plans. I figured I'd hang with you guys, but it seems like you have plans already. I can always just go and study."

"Lame. You're hanging with us." Charlie protested, pointing a finger at Ros from inside his closet.

"Charlie, what if he doesn't want to go to a club?" Daniel interjected as he continued texting.

"No. I've been wanting to know this for a while now and every time I bring it up, he avoids the question." Charlie shot back, defensively. "I need to know if Ros is straight, bi, or gay."

Ros averted his gaze to the floor with a sheepish grin, having figured this was the reason why Charlie asked him to stop by their room in the first place.

"Forcing him to go to a gay club is not going to make him give you an answer. It's probably just going to push him away." Daniel responded, a bit of firmness in his voice as he sent his message and placed his phone down. "Also, it's none of your business."

Charlie emerged from his closet with 4 shirts in his hand, tossing them onto the bed before he walked over to Ros and stood in front of him with a look of concern. "Ok... Daniel has a point. I shouldn't be trying to force you to come out, if there is even anything to come out from." He added, before he carefully took Ros's hands in his own. "But... I don't think it would hurt to at least try going to a gay club. You've never been, right? You can try it once and if you absolutely hate it, you can leave whenever you want."

Ros looked up towards Charlie with nervousness and hesitation. The idea of going to a gay club seemed intriguing, but the issue wasn't the club itself. It was that Ros was uncertain of what his sexuality was, and he didn't know if he even wanted to figure it out. Considering that he had broken up with a girl he only dated very briefly within the first 2 months of starting university, along with the horrid incident with his dorm mate, Ros was a confused mess. "What... actually goes on at this club?"