Ryden Oneshots

This Is Fate

::

The first thing Bren notices when she opens the door is her mom standing in the hallway, waiting for her. That's slightly creepy. She drops her bag beside the door and smiles, dragging Brent inside.

"Hi, Bren, we were wondering if you would mind very much coming into the sitting room? We - that is - your father and I, have something we need to talk to you about." Her mom's pursing her lips the way she did when Bren backed into the garage door, which was a problem, but Bren had never driven before. She didn't know that R meant reverse! So she's a little worried as she follows her mom into the sitting room.

When she gets there, her parents, the cheerleading captain, and a man that Bren's never met before are sitting there looking like someone ran over their puppies. The strange man is dressed all in blue, and he's wearing a shirt that says 'Straight is Great!' There are tattoos winding around his arms, and when he smiles at her his teeth are huge and incredibly white.

Bren's really worried something's wrong. Like, maybe Vanessa died! She's been really sick lately but keeps coming to practice, and Bren's been helping her out a lot - tying her shoe laces and things, so maybe there's something seriously wrong with her? That would be awful. How is the team supposed to cheer their best if one of their own is sick? Her dad's sitting with his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face. It's easy to tell that something's wrong, but Bren's got no idea what it could be.

She really isn't expecting it when her mom leans forwards and clears her throat. "Hon, you know we love you a lot. And you know we're proud of you, but we think it might be a good idea if you were to go away for a little while."

Bren frowns and shakes her head. "But I don't want to go anywhere! I'll fall behind in school, and in cheerleading, and I'll miss my friends!" she protests. Shirley, who's the captain, chews on her lower lip and refuses to meet Bren's eye. It kind of hurts, because Shirley has always been really encouraging. She's helped Bren out a lot with some of the cheers she wasn't sure of.

"Brenda, my name is Pete," says the strange man. "And I'm an ex-gay. It's okay to be open and honest here, we're all supporting you. I'm here to show you that you can get better." Bren snorts, because there's no way she's gay. She goes to church and has a boyfriend.

"Brenda, there's something we've got to tell you," her dad says. "You're gay. And we want to help you. We want to help you get better. So you're going to go away to a camp, run by a very nice family, and when you come back you're not going to be gay any more."

Bren blinks and looks around the room, but no-one will meet her eye. They've got to have made some mistake! She's not gay, she's a cheerleader! Cheerleaders aren't gay, everyone knows that. Anyway, if she were gay, which she's not, isn't she supposed to be the one telling them? It's not that Bren has anything against the gays, it's just that she definitely isn't one.

Why does everyone seem to think she is one? They've all got to have agreed - they're ignoring her now, talking about when she has to leave, or something - and Bren sits quietly in her chair, thinking. Why would her parents and her friends think she's a lesbian? She doesn't have a shaved head, she spends time with her boyfriend, she doesn't wear plaid or giant boots, and did she mention her boyfriend? She's a cheerleader and a Christian! She gets good grades and has a BOYFRIEND.

Bren stands up, and reasonably points out all of this in a mature and sensible way.

Unfortunately, her parents don't seem to want to listen and, the next morning, she ends up at this silly camp for homosexuals.

::

She takes her pompoms with her, because there's no way they can part her from them. Her parents give her uncomfortable kisses on the cheek as they leave, and Bren stares around her in horror. They're in the middle of the desert, and she can feel the sweat slowly sliding down her back, underneath her blouse. She's standing on the porch of a giant house, which is painted blue and pink. Bren feels ridiculous.