Tear In My Heart ✔️

XXXIII. Tear In My Heart (edited)

I sighed. I knew I'd have to talk about this eventually. "I just...didn't want to, I guess. I didn't think you'd understand and it was a bit awkward," I admitted looking down, unable to meet their eyes in fear of judgment or disgust.

"But bro, you know we would've been there for you, right?" A guy named Gavin said.

"Yeah, especially with that pizzeria dude threatening you and those other guys beating you up...that wasn't cool."

"It was effed up, bro," Connor corrected.

"Exactly," Max agreed. "As for your new boyfriend–what's his name?"

"Madison."

"Madison," he filled in. "Bro, we don't really care. If you like boys, girls, or whatever, as long as you can still kick a ball. I mean, you could literally be humping a tree and I wouldn't care." This caused everyone at the table including me to laugh. "Plus, that means I have less competition, not that you were much anyway." That caused a series of "oh" to fill the air and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah? Tell that to my DMs and take note. Yours are looking a little dry." This caused another series of "oh" to fill the air before we all started laughing. I felt relaxed as all of the anxiety that had been building up within me disappeared. They hadn't treated me differently nor were they getting in my business about my relationship or the trial. It was like nothing had changed. Because it hadn't. And I was grateful for it.

When the warning bell rang, we all got up and headed toward our classes and I was grateful to have the one I'd missed the most first: creative writing. "Hey Mr. H," I greeted normally as I walked into the door.

"Hey, Noah," he said as I grabbed my computer. He'd already given me feedback on my final story and told me it was exactly what I needed, raw and real. He'd already submitted it and now we were in the part I hated most. The wait.

I was about to sit down when someone tapped my shoulder. It was a guy in my class that I'd never spoken to before, his name was Isaac, I think. He was quiet and never really spoke to anyone but I'd read his work before and it was amazing. Simple, yet effective. He was also on the lacrosse team, and you could tell by his build that he was good. "Hey," I greeted, not wanting to say his name in case I got it wrong.

"Are the rumors true?" He bluntly asked.

I slowly nodded as I tried to read him, however, his expression remained stoic.

"How...how did you do it, come out? I think I might be...I don't know, but it's not straight and I need help. Especially because I'm an athlete too." I felt a smile tug at the edge of my lips.

"How about this? What if we meet in here during lunch and we talk about it then, because this is more than a three-minute conversation. Plus, Mr. Hill could help too, unless you just want to talk to me."

"That's fine."

"Alright, cool. I'll meet you here."

"Okay...thanks, Noah," he said with an awkward smile before he hurried back to his spot in the back. It felt good knowing that I could help someone.

As the rest of the students funneled in, I felt eyes on me. Some people, including a girl named Allison, even came up to me and congratulated me. Allison was "the lesbian" around the school but she was more than that. She was kind and creative and so much more. I thanked her just as Mr. Hill got in front of the class and began instructing. "Alright, class. Now if you look at the agenda folder for today..."

***
"Bro, I'm not even joking. Justine literally hooked up with me in the supply closest," Max said as we walked out of the school.

"Are you sure it wasn't a dare?" Connor asked causing Abbi to hit him. "What? I gotta ask."