Ralph walked through the halls of his high school, desperately trying to get to his chemistry class before he was late. He was almost running, not exactly paying attention to where he was going. He rounded a corner and bumped into a rather tall man. He was just over six foot, his hair cut really short. There was a small amount of stubble on his slim face. He had a nervous look in his eyes, but a kind smile as he assisted Ralph in picking up his school supplies.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there." Ralph rushed as he gathered his things. "Thank you for helping me Mr..."
"Matthews." The man said. "Mr. Mathews. I'm new here, do you think you could show me to the honors english room, please?" His tone of voice wasn't panicky like any normal substitute teacher running late, it was more of a calm or relaxed sound. Ralph eyed him for a moment before responding.
"It's back that way, take a left, room one-oh-three." Ralph said, gesturing the way with his thumb. Just as they were about to part ways, the bell rung. Ralph groaned and made his way to Chemistry. He slipped into the classroom and took his seat at the shared lab table. Jack glanced at Ralph as he took out his notes. Ralph payed attention during the teacher's lesson, but Jack couldn't seem to focus on anything except his boyfriend.
He opened to a new sheet in his notebook and started drawing. He occasionally looks up at Ralph and adds more detail to his picture. Jack kept his arm between his drawing and Ralph so he wouldn't be scolded by the smaller boy. The period seemed to fly by and just before the bell, Jack had a picture of his boyfriend drawn in his chemistry notes.
***
"Are you coming over tonight?" Ralph asked once they'd gotten seated on the bus.
"I can't." Jack sighed. "Dad wants me home for some dinner thing with his boss. I have to dress up and act like I care about becoming a businessman when I'm older." He rolled his eyes.
"Yikes." Ralph cringed. "That sounds awful."
"It's so annoying. He does this at least once a month." Jack huffed. "I think he's trying to get a raise or something, as if he doesn't make enough money as it is."
Ralph nudged Jack. "If it makes him happy, you should at least try to let him enjoy it. Maybe to you it's enough, but to him he sees it differently than you do." Ralph said gently. He didn't like Gregory all too much, but he didn't want Jack to despise his father for doing something that made himself happy. "Besides, it's not going to kill you to eat one meal with him. You eat with Aunt Annie and I every other night."
Jack sighed. "You're right." Ralph smiled at his boyfriend, about to lean up and kiss him, but he quickly realized where they were and how many people were around. He could get into trouble for kissing a boy in public. "I just wish he didn't have to make such boring conversation."
Ralph shrugged. "It's what adults do. One day you'll have kids and then they'll think the same thing."
"MERRIDEW!" The driver called as he pulled up to the corner. Jack bid Ralph goodnight and got off of the bus. Ralph pulled out the book he was reading, The Spire by William Golding. He found himself easily getting lost in the book and reading nearly a whole chapter within a what felt like a few minutes. However, he almost didn't hear his name being called as the bus stopped at his house. He rushed inside and switched on the lights.
It was quiet in the house, something Ralph wasn't used to anymore. He's usually accompanied by a certain red headed boy until after dinner with himself and his aunt. He turned on the radio in the kitchen and grabbed a cookbook from the top of the spice cabinet.
The beatles played in the background as Ralph mixed together the ingredients to make brownies. It was something he'd thought about earlier that day and hadn't gotten off his mind since, so instead of pestering his aunt to make him some he made them for himself.
"Ralph I'm home!" Anastasia called. She could smell chocolate and hear faint music through the house. She quietly walked to the kitchen and watched as her introverted nephew danced around the kitchen, singing along to Alabama Song by The Doors. She smiled at him.
"I tell you we must die-" Ralph spun around and screamed at the sight of his aunt. Anastasia covered her mouth, trying to hide her laugh. Ralph's face turned bright red as he covered his cheeks. "Sorry you had to see that." He said awkwardly.
"What are you cooking?" Anastasia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Brownies." Ralph replied. "I got bored."
"So you cook when you're bored now? What happened to reading."
Ralph shrugged. "Guess I didn't feel like it." Just then, the timer Ralph had set went off with a soft ring. The boy put on his aunt's oven mitts and pulled the brownies from the hot oven before switching it off.
"Aunt Annie," Ralph said, setting the tray down. "Why do you want us to go to that protest?"
Anastasia didn't answer right away, trying to find the correct wording for what she wanted to say to him. "I want you guys two go because what the people in office are doing is inhumane. Wouldn't you like to be able to show Jack affection anywhere you want? The way they have it set up, you can get a ticket for kissing a boy in public. Wouldn't you want a better future for generations to come?"
Ralph nodded his head, understanding what his aunt was saying. "But the crowd would probably be really big." Ralph felt his chest tighten with anxiety.
"Jack will be there in case anything happens. You don't need to worry about that." She said, entering the kitchen fully now.
Ralph turned away from her and opened the cupboard. "Have we any frosting?" Ralph asked, quickly changing the subject. He reached up for the chocolate frosting and pulled it down.
A loud knocking on the front door made Anastasia jump. She approached the door and looked through the peephole to see who was creating such a ruckus. There, standing in the chilly evening, was Jack's father Gregory.
Anastasia opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, shutting the door behind her.
"Good evening, Gregory. Is there something you need?" She said politely, pushing back her hatred for the man before her.
"I'm here to talk about your nephew, Ralph." He responded in a professional tone. "I do not want him being associated with my son."
"What do you mean?"
"I think you know what I'm talking about." Gregory replied. "The homosexual tenancies your nephew forced on my son-"
"Ralph did nothing like that." Anastasia snapped. "Your son has been willingly spending time with my nephew, and there was no forcing of any kind."
"Ever since they started spending time with each other, my son has not been the same. He's gay now and it's your nephew's fault." Gregory spat. "I do not want Ralph around Jack anymore." With that he turned on his foot and made his way to his car. Though, just before he got to the sidewalk he slipped on a wet patch in the lawn and fell onto the concrete, scraping his cheek when it hit the jagged ground. Anastasia stifled a laugh as she turned around and went back inside her house.
"Why was Gregory here?" Ralph asked.
"Be careful hanging out with your boyfriend now." She warned. "I don't know exactly what happened, but he just came over to tell me he doesn't want you two to be around each other anymore."
Ralph stared at her as anger started to bubble in his chest. Ralph took a deep breath and headed up to his bedroom. He couldn't believe that Gregory had the nerve to try to split them apart again. He was finally happy and could finally trust someone, but that someone's father just had to be a homophobic jerk. He paced the length of his room in silence as he let his thoughts consume him.
Jack stood in front of the bathroom sink, a damp hand towel pressed to his bloody lip. Coming out to his father could have gone better, but it could have definitely been worse. He moved the cloth and inspected his bottom lip. It was busted on the side, the bleeding had subsided but there was a light bruising, but luckily no swelling. How was he going to explain this to Ralph? 'Oh yeah, I came out to my dad, but he hit me' That wouldn't go over so well. Maybe telling his boss over a business dinner wasn't exactly a smart idea.
"Are you done in there, Boy?"Gregory called through the wooden door of the bathroom, pounding on it once with his fist.
"Yes, Sir." Jack said monotonously. He opened the door and quietly slipped past his father to his room.
"JACKY!" Leonard squealed from Jack's bed. "I made this for your friend!" He held up a drawing that he had made. He shoved it at Jack, eager for the elder boy to see his new picture. It was a little better than some of his past drawings. It was what looked like Jack and Ralph holding hands next to his house. Jack smiled at his little cousin and ruffled his hair.
"Good job, bud." He said. His voice was scratchy from the argument he'd gotten with his father on the way home from the restaurant. He felt his heart swell in pride the more he looked at the picture. "I'll be sure to give it to him."