Wait For Me to Come Home (Noah Schnapp x Gay Male OC Story)

Part Twenty Five

'Am I the first person you've come out to?'

My gaze flicks back to Robbie, whose turned to look at me again.

'I mean... officially? No. I told Chloe the other night when I was planning to take you to sixth avenue. She kinda suspected stuff as soon as you stepped foot in our house.'

We fall back into silence, but Robbie disentangles his hand from mine and crosses his arms above his chest, before sighing heavily.

'What is it?'

He rolls onto his side, keeping his arms folded, but he gives me this look which makes my heart go out to him. He looks like he's on the verge of tears.

'It's just... The whole coming out thing. Have you seen Love, Simon?'

'Yeah, I never knew why I liked the film so much until now...'

'Well it's like what they say in the film and the book. How straight people don't have to come out. Could you imagine if everyone had to come out no matter what their sexuality was?'

'It'd be a massacre.'

'Exactly. It's not really fair that it has to be such a big thing and people make a big deal out of it. It shouldn't have to be a big deal. That's one of the biggest reasons I stayed in the closet for so long. I know my parents and friends will be fine with it. But it's still terrifying you know? To call them in for "the talk". Why can't I just bring a boy home and introduce him as my boyfriend, like I'd do with a girl? And then also tell people, "Oh hey, I'm actually a guy and no I'm not confused.".'

I nod silently, feeling some tears starting to well up. I'm in the same position. I know my family and friends won't mind, but it's this massive elephant in the closet which I've got to carry around. Robbie runs his hand through his hair.

'Oh shit.'

'What?'

'We've got fans. You have a lot more than me. How the fuck am I gonna navigate going about coming out with that? I swear it might make us both a target for hate crimes, and dude you've got so many more followers and fans than I do, and that could blow up --'

'Robbie. It's really sweet that you're thinking about me. But you know I'll be able to deal with it. And if I can't, I know some very good friends, family AND a particularly cute, talented musician to get me through it.'

Robbie's gone red, and he attempts to swat at me with a hand.

'Shut up. I'm not cute. But seriously though, I hope you'll be okay with whenever you decide to come out. I'll be there every step of the way.'

I reach out with my hand and we link together again, and I can just see in his eyes that he means everything he's said. And it does make me feel a lot more confident about doing this at some point.

'I'm not gonna force you to come out publicly though or even to your family if you're not comfortable yet. That's a decision only you can make, so don't let anyone else make it for you. Even if people say they deserve to know, or that it's not fair, they're full of shit. It's your decision, your life, you get to choose.'

Robbie looks away from me to the ceiling again, and I feel a little shiver come from him. I hold his hand a little tighter, hopefully letting him know that I'm still here for him.

'Don't talk to Quinn about this, cause he'll be mad that I told you, but... basically when he first came out to me and a few friends, he caught the attention of the only other out gay guy at the time. Quinn was still not ready to come out to everyone else, but this other guy was relentless. He started like, shaming Quinn and stuff because he didn't make being gay his whole personality, telling him that he should be proud. And because of that, Quinn's coming out got a bit skewed, and I hated seeing him get hurt like that.'