Fragile Threads [boyxboy]

Fragile Threads

There was only one closed door, and the rest were all open. Ethan poked his head into the bathroom, wondering if there would be the drunk puking their guts out over the toilet, but it was uneventfully empty. Man, the movies played everything up. It wasn’t fair.

Ethan was about to duck back out and go back down stairs, but he felt himself bump into someone. Before he could even say sorry, something wrapped over his eyes and he was pushed forward. Ethan swore and stumbled, almost fell, but a strong hand caught him by the arm.

Was that the close and lock of the bathroom door? Ethan turned and tried to get whatever that was off his face, but those hands grabbed at him again. “Stop,” a voice commanded, a low rumble. “I’m not going to hurt you or anything.”

Ethan didn’t answer. He was freaking out and trying not to show it. He could hear his heart hammering in his ears, and he swallowed hard. Maybe this had been a really bad idea.

“What are you even doing here?” the voice asked.

Well, that made Ethan feel great. Not. “I-I live nearby,” he stuttered angrily. “I went for a walk.”

“This time of night?” The voice probed.

Ethan refused to answer and just made sure to frown. His hands were still being held down at his sides.

“Relax,” the voice soothed, maybe sounding a bit annoyed. “Are you drunk?”

“No,” Ethan spat angrily. He’d only had a sip.

“Are you gay?” Was the next question. That made Ethan stall in answering. How had this gone from how he ended up at a party to his sexual orientation? “You are, right?” the guy pressed.

“What the fuck does it matter?” Ethan growled. He tried to get his hands free, but it didn’t work. He was getting scared now. Was he going to get beat up for being gay? He clenched his hands to try and keep them from shaking.

“I am, too,” the voice murmured. “So calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.” His hands tightened over Ethan’s.

“Says the guy that blind folded me,” Ethan returned bitterly.

“I’m not out,” the guy explained. “I’m far from it. I just don’t want you to know who I am. If I let your hands go, will you promise not to take it off?”

Ethan pursed his lips. Still, this wasn’t exactly a good situation. He couldn’t see anything, couldn’t tell if anything was about to happen until it might be too late and he couldn’t stop it.

“If I trust you not to try and look at me, will you trust me just a little bit when I let your hands go?” the guy rephrased. “I’m not going to do anything you don’t want.”

“Fine,” Ethan hissed, trying to keep his voice firm, trying not to let his nervousness show through.

The grip on his hands disappeared, and he heard what was probably the intentional shuffle of feet just a little bit away from him. There wasn’t much room in the bathroom for space.

“So what do you want with me?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t know, to talk,” the guy replied. “I noticed you when you got here. Figured this is probably my only chance outside of school.”

He wasn’t really making it easy. There were probably a hundred people here, and of course, were all from the same school. There was no way to narrow down who he was. That was probably the point.

“Do your friends know you’re gay? What about your family?” His voice wavered slightly.

Ethan started to calm down a little bit. This could be considered a normal conversation, right? Well, blindfold aside. Just one gay guy trying to console in another. “My friends, not really,” Ethan admitted. “I mean I’m not really close enough with any of them. I’m sure they would be fine with it, but it’s not that important and it hasn’t come up.”