EMERALD
News of what happened to aunt Eden's car traveled fast throughout the town of Fairview Falls. Most people seemed to think it was some prank from one of the students at Valley View, but there were a few whispers amongst others that maybe, just maybe, that message meant something more.
Everyone in town new what happened to Eden and my mom. Of course rumors would spread like wildfire. Mom tried to reassure me there was nothing to worry about, but I couldn't help but wonder if she was keeping something from me.
The next day at school went by pretty quickly. When the last bell rang, I made my way down the hall to the classroom where we would be hosting Valley View's LGBTQIA Club. I was part of the club last year as a freshman, but this year I was promoted to club president. My brother Calix started the club his senior year, right before he went off to be part of the writing program in South Carolina. Even though I was dating my boyfriend Colton, I considered myself pansexual. Some people thought I was just copying after my gay brother, but I didn't listen to what the naysayers said.
I found my boyfriend Colton and best friend Cinder in the room already sitting at two of the desks next to each other talking. Colton was part of the school's football team but also part of the yearbook committee as the photographer. He was wearing his red and gold football jacket, the colors of Valley View High, over his school uniform, which consisted of khakis, a black dress shirt, and a black and red tie. It looked so much nicer than the black and red checkered skirts and black dress shirts that girls, including trans girls, were forced to wear.
Twenty years ago, there would have been a huge fuss over whether trans and non-binary people could wear what they want. Valley View was fairly progressive and allowed them to wear what they felt comfortable with—and that felt like real progress.
"Hey guys," I said to my best friend and boyfriend, plopping my backpack at the desk on the other side of Colton. "No one else is here yet, huh?"
"Not yet," Cinder said. "But last year we were the biggest club on campus. People are probably just late."
I hoped that was the case. Calix built this club from the ground up when Valley View first opened and his legacy deserved to continue on through me.
"So how's sophomore year treating you both?" Colton asked. He was a junior and had spent the last three years at Valley View. We'd been dating a little over a year and everything between us was perfect. We barely ever fought or had disagreements. We got along so well and everyone thought of us as the perfect couple. It was nice.
"It's going about as well as you'd expect," Cinder answered before I could reply. "But it's better than being a freshman, though. I feel bad for my brother."
"Kael?" Colton said.
"Yeah," Cinder said. "He's been bullied a lot his whole life. It's his first year of private school and I'm hoping it's better for him. At least there's a zero tolerance for bullying here."
"That sure doesn't stop some people," I said. "I still see kids getting bullied all the time. I try my best to intervene when I can. I mean, we still have to have an LGBTQIA Club for crying out loud. Bullying definitely isn't out of the question."
"Emerald's right," Colton said. "Kael could really be a target this year. Other kids are ruthless, especially freshman."
"You think so?" Cinder asked. "Should I be worried?"
"Worried about what?"
We all turned to look and see Kael standing in the doorway with a girl attached to his arms. The girl's name was Arya. I'd met her a few times over the summer when she and Kael first got together. She was a pretty, petite girl, with long blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, similar to Kael's and Cinder's. Kael wasn't very tall, but standing next to Arya, he looked like a giant.
"Oh, just getting adjusted to the sophomore life," Cinder said quickly. "What are you two doing here?"
"Well, Arya wanted to come and join the club as an ally," Kael said, stepping further into the room with his girlfriend latched to his hip. "I figured it was a good idea, especially since you're here, Cin."
"The more the merrier," I said with a smile. "Welcome."
"My dads are gay," Arya said, "so I thought it would be nice to join the club. Do you have a lot of straight people in the club?"
"We did last year," I said. "Not sure how many people are going to come to this first meeting, but it's nice having you both here. Truly. Can I just get you both to sign in on this sign-in sheet?" I reached into my bag and pulled out a clipboard with the form on it and placed it on the empty teacher's desk.
Shortly after that, a wave of students came pouring into the room. After about ten minutes, the entire room was full of people, from freshman to senior, gay to straight, trans to cis, and white to black. Cinder came and stood by me and smiled.
"Look what you did, Em," Cinder said.
"Yeah," I said, smiling back. Calix would have been proud.
CINDER
After our LGBTQIA Club meeting, my mother took Kael and me to Echo's school to pick her up, then we headed home. The ride was mostly silent. Mom still seemed anxious about the message left on her car, but she tried her best not to show it.
When we pulled up to the house, we noticed that Rachel's car was parked on the side of the road and she was leaning against her vehicle, most likely waiting for my mother.
"Shit," Mom said. "Why the hell is she here?"
"Maybe because she's your best friend?" I said. I knew better than to be smart with my mom, but I didn't think she'd take too much offense.
She parked the car in the driveway and said, "Kids, go inside the house. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Can I use the car to go over to Emerald's?" I asked.
"She can't come here?" Mom replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"She wants me to help her with homework," I lied. Not like I was going to explain to Mom where I was really going. "She can't come here because she's preserving her gas for school."
Mom frowned. "They live like ten minutes away. Besides, she couldn't get a ride with her Mom who's parked on the side of our house if she was that desperate?"
"Mom, please," I said. "Why so many questions? It's like you don't want me going out or something. Is this about the message you got on the car?"
Mom sighed. "No, honey, it's okay. I'm just being overprotective is all. Lately I've been thinking about...the stuff that happened to your aunt Rachel and me as kids and I'm putting that stress onto you. Here." She took the keys out of the ignition and handed them to me. "Don't be out too late, okay?"
"Thanks Mom," I said with a smile. "I won't be. See you later."
We both climbed out of the car and I made my way over to the driver's side and got inside. As I waved goodbye to Mom and Rachel, I pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road toward our spot. He would probably already be there.
It only took me about fifteen minutes to arrive. I drove along the dirt road that led all the way into hilly desert. I found Colton's Jeep already parked and pulled up next to it.
He rolled down his window and I rolled down my passenger side window and saw him grinning at me. "You're finally here."
"Sorry, it's not like I took that long," I said. "I'm coming out." I rolled my window back up and got out of the car, making my way over to his. I got into the passenger side and closed the door hard.
"Hey," he said, his grin never fading.
"Hi," I said. Every time I was around Colton, butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, but I also felt a little nauseous. I knew what we were doing was wrong. But it felt so fucking right.
"So..." I said. "Have you thought about what you're going to do yet?"
The smile suddenly disappeared and Colton looked as serious as he did every time I asked him the question. "I think I've made a decision."
"And that would be?"
"I think I'm going to leave Emerald," Colton said.
"You think?" I said. That definitely wasn't as optimistic as I hoped for. "You've been seeing me for months behind her back and you think you're going to leave her?"
"It's complicated," Colton said.
"Bitch, please," I said. "Emerald is my best friend. I don't want to hurt her. That's why you need to break up with her, spend a few months pretending like you're not seeing me, and then tell her we're together."
"You really think that'll work?" Colton asked. "Doesn't this whole thing go against girl code?"
"Screw girl code," I said. "Trust me, Emerald will understand."
Colton's eyes narrowed and he continued to frown. "Are you absolutely sure about that?"
"Of course," I said, but something in my gut told me that this was going to be a lot more messy than I expected.
KAEL
The next day at school was a bit of a drag. Arya and I sat together at lunch with our two other friends, Freddy and German. The two of them sat across from us and couldn't stop yammering on about how great freshman year was for them so far.
"How about you?" Freddy asked me finally. "Are you enjoying it so far?"
"I guess," I said, taking a bite of my ham and cheese sub. When I finished chewing, I added, "It's about as great as you'd expect for private school. The other kids here are pretty cruel."
"What makes you say that?" German asked. They identified as non-binary, meaning they didn't conform to male or female social constructs or labels. German used they/them/theirs pronouns and it was easy to respect. Evidently twenty years ago people had a much bigger problem with it. Nowadays, I could name at least five non-binary people in our school. Today they were wearing a pink hoodie, black skinny jeans, and some crocs. Talk about style. German always said they preferred comfort over looks.
" Well, yesterday some guys apparently saw Arya and I go to the LGBTQIA Club and today they started calling me the f-word," I said. "Speaking of the Club, how come you didn't come?"
German shrugged. "I just don't know if a queer club is the best choice for me."
"Why not?" Freddy asked them. "You're queer too, you know."
"I know that," German said. "I just...don't know if I want to go."
"Is it because someone has said something to you?" Arya asked.
German sighed. "Fine. You got me. Some kids yesterday were making fun of me. Calling me horrible names I won't repeat. It's this group of boys. Some are freshman, some are upperclassmen." They crossed their arms over their chest and said, "I just don't know if I want to become a target."
"It sounds like you already are one," I said. "I mean, I'm not even gay and got called gay slurs for being in the club. They're just a bunch of assholes. The club is a safe space for everyone who joins."
"Maybe," German said. Just then, the school bell rang, alerting us that it was time for our next class. Which meant it was time for my least favorite class of all.
Gym.
"Saved by the bell," Freddy said, giving German a serious look. "But we're talking about this more later. Hell, I'll even join the club if it makes you feel any better."
German smiled weakly. "Thanks. I'll think about it."
***
Once the horror of gym class was over, I followed all the other boys to the locker room. As uncomfortable as I was getting naked in front of a bunch of other guys, I was sweaty and really needed a shower. After I was positive all the others were gone, I checked my phone to make sure I had enough time before the next class.
I had seven minutes.
That should be enough time, I thought. I stripped off my pants and t-shirt, then got into the shower for a good rinse.
The hot water shooting onto my skin felt amazing, and for a moment, I didn't want to get out. When I finished, I reached for my towel and started to dry myself off. I wrapped the towel around my waist and climbed on out, only to discover that all of my clothes were missing.
"Shit," I whispered. There was no way this could have been happening to me. Could someone have really been that cruel?
The answer was yes. My clothes were nowhere to be found in the locker room. My best bet at this point was to see if the gym teacher was in his office so I could report that my clothes were missing, even if it would have been embarrassing.
But to my dismay, the office was empty. That meant that I actually had to leave the locker room to try and get help. It wasn't like I could call Cinder for help; my phone was in my pants pocket.
"I'm so screwed," I muttered to myself. My heart was racing and my stomach felt like it dropped all the way to the floor, but I had no other choice. I had to go out there and try to find help.
Sneaking my way out of the locker room wasn't much of a challenge. Thankfully no one was standing out in the hallway, so it was easy for me to start looking for some support. Someone had to know where my clothes were.
"Hey fag," a voice said from behind me.
I froze, completely shook by the deep male voice that spoke. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. It belonged to Brett, my long-time middle school bully.
And he was here to torment me.
I spun around and saw him standing there with four other guys I didn't recognize. Some of them looked like freshman, some looked older, and I tried my best not to die of embarrassment. They were snickering and pointing, and each of them had their phones out to record the nightmare that was me.
"Why are you doing this to me?" I asked. My voice came out small and weak, and for the millionth time in my life because of this prick, I wanted to kill myself.
"Simple," Brett said with a smirk that wouldn't falter. "I hate you."
"And why's that?"
He shrugged. "Does there have to be a reason?"
It was then that I noticed that one of the guys, a blond with muscular build who appeared to be a football player, was holding onto my clothes.
"Give me my clothes back," I said as a lame attempt to try and stick up for myself. I knew that by now, videos of me standing in the hallway with my scrawny body in a towel were likely circulating the internet. Everything was on the internet nowadays.
"Fine," Brett said. He motioned toward the blond. "Give them to him. We got what we needed."
The blond threw the clothes at me and I bent down to pick them up. That's when the worst thing that could have happened, well, happened. My towel dropped and suddenly I was standing before I group of boys butt ass naked.
"Now this is what we needed," Brett said with a laugh, recording with his phone like the others.
My face burned a bright red and I knew I couldn't stand there any longer. Grabbing the towel and clothes off the floor, I headed back into the locker room, throwing myself on the tile and began to cry.
This was mortifying. I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone to call my mom to tell her I needed to go home, switch schools, switch towns, something. That's when I noticed the text. It was from a blocked number and I read the message over and over again, trying to decipher it.
Hey Kael, the message said, ready for a new set of Games? I'm in if you are.
"Huh?" I said out loud. What kind of games could this person mean? That's when I realized that the G in Games was capitalized. They couldn't be talking about the Fear Games, could they?
There was no way.