In 1988 Alex Kelly learned what "gay" meant. In late 1994 he told his parents that's what he is. But in 1995 he died without resolution between his crumbling family. This is the story of the blank spaces.
[willex, lukereggie, juke, and alexluke]
Carefully, Alex unloaded the last box to his room from the uHaul. Moving to California had meant a fresh start. No more Christian youth group that somehow despite following a religion that prided itself on acceptance and forgiveness managed to be more judgemental than anything. It meant no more cold north mornings almost being late to school because the ice on windows would scrape off and wouldn't defrost quick enough. It meant being in a new town with a blank slate and a place in which the neighbor ten houses down wouldn't know about a recent argument via the grapevine because they didn't care.
And yes, it also meant he had to say goodbye to Johnny, and wipe away tears as he ran his fingers along the scraggly carving of his name he made on the wall when he was six. That he would have to try out for the jazz band all over again because this new school wouldn't know about his past drumming experience.
But, most of all it meant when he went for walks around the block he'd see all sorts of people embracing their individuality, such as the rainbow flags hanged at some buildings, and the tourist shops displaying anti Bush t-shirts and more gay memorabilia. It was a breathtaking sight driving by on the way in, one he couldn't help but sneak glances at while his parents purposely deterred their eyes to stay solely on the road.
It was strange to see the weather as well. In Minnesota he had been used to snow until April, and feet of it at that, but here? In California? All he saw was sunshine and a cold chill in the air.
"Alex, your father and I just have to take in a few more boxes. When you're done with that when can you look in the phone book to find some place that delivers?" His mother requested.
The concept of delivery was quite new to the states, even more so to Alex considering rural Minnesota had nothing of the sort.
"Mhmm." He responded.
A few minutes later after his last box was placed in his new room, he found himself flipping through the yellow pages and the overwhelming array of possibilities.
Finally his eyes landed on a place called "Sunset Sushi."
"Is sushi okay?" He yelled out the door to his parents.
"Sure honey! Just get a California roll for your dad, you know how picky he is with raw fish." She answered.
"Hey!" His dad replied, offended, causing them both to giggle.
"Order a spicy salmon roll for me please! And ask for a menu so we have one for the future!"
He nodded and went to the phone to order, dialing the number listed on the page he had flipped open. Later as the food arrived and the family of three sat by the stools at the kitchen counter eating, they realized how truly tired they were from the long drive.
"I am not going to get used to this time change any day soon." His dad stated, causing his mother to hum in agreement.
Alex was trying and failing miserably at using his chopsticks—the only sushi place near them in Minnesota was quite a drive away meaning such trips were far and few. "When I'm done can I walk around the block?" He asked.
"We were thinking tonight we'd just settle down for a bit and take a nap. There's a theatre down the street playing Reservoir Dogs and we thought it'd be nice to check it out." His mother told him. "If you think you can stay awake until 9 then you can go but the movie starts at 7 so I think a nap is the best option."
Yawning, he realized she was correct. Exploring could wait till tomorrow.
A/N Short chapter because I'm just uploading and cross posting from my ao3 and because of this:
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