Outed

by Victor Thomas

Chapter 15

"Scott! Get your lazy ass out of bed!"

I jerked awake. Dad was banging on my door and yelling.

"I'm up!" I protested. "I'm up."

He didn't say anything, but I heard his footsteps retreat down the hallway. I looked at my alarm clock. It was nearly seven a.m. on a school morning. I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but I knew he would have a cow. I hadn't exactly been on his good side since he'd found out I was gay.

I quickly showered and dressed then walked to the kitchen. Dad was gone, but mom was still here. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table. We barely acknowledged each other as I sat there eating my breakfast.

As soon as I finished my breakfast, I ran and brushed my teeth, grabbed my jacket and back pack and took off for school. I was almost cheerful as I walked toward school. My little vacation with Brian had done wonders to improve my disposition. I'd certainly needed the break. Most of the improvements came from being with him.

I grinned. Soon, happiness would become the rule instead of the exception in my life. It was just a matter of time before Aunt Sandra would be able to convince my parents to let me live on her farm. Finally, we'd be able to see each other without having to sneak around behind their backs. I couldn't wait to give him the good news.

"Faggot!"

I looked down at my shoes as a car load of boys drove by and hoped they wouldn't stop and kick my ass. Violence was a constant threat in my life now. It had been so much easier before I was outed. One mistake had cost me so much. Why couldn't they just leave me alone? I didn't hurt anyone. The car drove on, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

How wonderful it would be if I could walk to school without fear of being molested. That was a dream that might actually become true once I was able to live with Aunt Sandra.

I stiffened as I neared the school. As I trotted up to the main entrance, I steeled myself for the disapproving glares, the vicious taunts, and unkind words, all the things that awaited me behind those doors every day. I never failed to experience dread as I walked into school. I mentally fortified myself for what was to come. As I walked in, all heads turned toward me.

Ashton cut across my path, gave me a dirty look and spit on the sidewalk.

"Fucking faggot!"

I wanted to kick his ass right then, but I knew I had to control myself. I'd get my chance eventually, somewhere away from school, where I wouldn't be the one who got into trouble. I needed to catch him alone, otherwise him and his Nazis would just gang up on me like they had before. Let's face it; I have far more enemies than friends.

Ryan escorted me to first period. When I was with him or Mark, I felt safe, at least somewhat. I knew if we got jumped by the Nazis, we'd likely get the crap beaten out of us. If I was attacked again, I was going to fight like hell.

I'm not stupid. I avoided any place where Ashton and his friends could get at me easily. I didn't even go to the bathroom alone. I went with Mark or Ryan whenever possible, or one of my very few other friends who have stood with me. There was no use in taking stupid risks. Still, there were many times each day I was vulnerable, and it was not a pleasant thing to live in fear.

At lunch I sat with my few friends. Mark sat directly across from me, with Ryan and Cody next to me. Jon and Kolton sat near me as well as Brendan and Robert and a few others. Thank god I had some friends left. I don't know if I could have handled it if I had to sit isolated and alone every day. As it was, I didn't see how I was going to make it to Christmas vacation, let alone through the whole rest of the school year. I felt as if I was running a gauntlet, and I had little hope of making it safely to the end. I just hope that Aunt Sandra is able to come through for me.

An unpleasant surprise awaited me just after school. I was going to walk around town before I went home, but as I stepped out the main entrance, a car horn honked. It was my dad! He quickly got out of the driver's side and walked toward me. Mark, who was walking with me, saw him approaching and stopped where he was, waiting to see what happened. Dad's eyes met mine, and a look of hatred crossed his face.

"Get in the car!"

"Dad!"

"Get in the fucking car, now!"

He grabbed my arm, whipped open the passenger side door and shoved me in. I just barely missed smashing my forehead.

Ashton was nearby. He'd seen the whole thing. He laughed, but moved on. His henchmen weren't with him, and Mark was standing nearby. Ashton wasn't brave when he was out numbered.

I entered the school the next morning and was immediately joined by Mark, Ryan, Cody, and a few of my remaining friends.

"Are you okay?" Cody asked. "Mark told us what happened yesterday."

"Yeah, dad gave me a lecture. I've been stripped of the last of my privileges, as he calls them. No television, no phone, no computer, no nothing. If football season wasn't over, I'm sure he would've taken that away from me, too. He took away my allowance, and of course, I'm grounded until I'm forty. But hey, I'm still going to see Brian at night, no matter what he says."

"I called him last night and let him know what happened," said Mark. "I can call him after school and you two can meet at your usual place tonight if you want."

"I appreciate it," I said.

"I just hope you don't get into any more trouble," Kolton said.

"What exactly happened, if you don't mind my asking?" asked Cody.

"My Aunt Sandra talked to mom about me moving out to her farm on Sunday," I told them. "She said how much happier I had seemed. Well, mom talked to dad, and they got suspicious. They put two and two together and figured I must have been with Brian all weekend. They don't know for sure, of course, but they suspect that I'm still seeing him behind their backs."

"Damn," they all said at the same time.

"I've pretty much maxed out on the trouble I can get into with my parents," I said. "I'm a 'bitter disappointment' to them. My dad was actually talking about military school, but I convinced him to forget about that."

"How did you manage that?" asked Cody.

"I acted like I was enthused about the idea. All those horny boys, no girls in sight. A perfect opportunity for a little deviant like me. I asked him how soon I could go. He shut up about military school pretty fast."

They all laughed.

I groaned when I saw Ashton and Alex heading in my direction between first and second periods. It was too late to duck into the crowd, and there was no escape route. They closed on me quickly and pushed me up against the wall.

"We're going to get you, you little faggot," hissed Ashton as he shoved my shoulder painfully into the wall.

I struggled against them, but they had me pinned. Ashton laughed at me, but they soon released me.

"See you later, queer boy," he said as he departed.

He scared me more than I wanted to admit. The little incident in the hallway was humiliating, but wasn't all that bad really. Not compared to what had happened before when they had beaten me up so bad that I had ended up in the hospital. I feared what might happen if him and his friends ever got me alone again.

My day was filled with a series of disagreeable events, none of them earthshattering alone, but they just kept coming and coming. Someone had taken it upon himself to write 'pillow biter' on my locker in permanent marker. In the restroom, someone wrote 'professional cocksucker, cheap rates,' then my name and phone number. I wondered if my parents had gotten any crank calls. Between classes, boys greeted me with 'fag,' 'fairy,' 'homo,' 'cocksucker,' and various other names. Some smiled as they said it, as if they thought they were funny, others scowled, or looked like they'd love to kick my ass if they got the chance. A lot of guys got a kick out of coughing 'faggot,' or 'homo,' thinking themselves so cleaver. I drew plenty of stares, too. Well, more like glares from boys, but stares from girls. Some of the girls laughed at me, others looked on with pity. Every once in a while, I heard one of them say something like, "I knew he was too pretty to be a boy," a comment meant for others that reached my ears.

I had thought that after almost two months of this, everyone would begin to tire of everything, but they just kept going and going. My weekend out at Aunt Sandra's farm with Brian had done wonders for me, but coming back to the unrelenting torment was beginning to wear me down again, all those little blows to my self-esteem. The worst part of it was that it was like this every single day, and there seemed to be no end in sight.

Fortunately, not everyone was down on me. There were a handful of guys like Mark, Kolton, Cody and Ryan who stood by me. Then there were those like Brendan and Robert who didn't exactly stick up for me, but quietly showed their support by sitting with me at lunch and talking to me as if I wasn't a freak. More girls than guys were supportive. I'm not sure why, but guys seemed to be threatened by my homosexuality, as if it was something they could catch if they got too close. Maybe they feared they'd be called 'fag' if they didn't say it to me often enough. Who knows? A lot of girls smiled at me and said, "hi." Some of them went out of their way to be kind, which I truly appreciated. Some intervened when boys were giving me a rough time. More than once I'd seen a girl give her boyfriend a lecture for calling me fag, or shouldering me as they passed. I had mixed feelings about girls sticking up for me. I appreciated the support, but it gave the guys more ammo to shoot in my direction.

Ryan walked me home after school. I was grounded, or, more accurately, under house arrest and was expected to come straight home and stay there until it was time to leave for school the next day. Ashton and his crew kept stalking me. They didn't say anything, but they drove by a few times as we were walking and glared at me. If I'd been alone, they would've probably tried to jump me.

The circling predators made me edgy and ruined what could have otherwise been an enjoyable walk. Why couldn't people just leave me alone? I wondered how many times I'd asked myself that each day since this whole ordeal had started.

I pretended to take no notice of them, but my heart pounded in my chest. I knew they were up to no good. Maybe they were just trying to scare me, but they probably had something much worse in mind, worse than when they had beaten me up so badly a month ago. I felt myself trembling slightly.

I felt myself speeding up slightly as we walked along. I thought it best to just get home as fast as I could. A sense of nervousness flowed through my body and my breath came more quickly than normal.

We finally arrived at my house about ten minutes later. I thanked Ryan for escorting me home.

"You're welcome," he said.

Be careful, Ryan," I said. "Those guys might decide to come after you as well. If they do, run."

"Like the wind."

He turned and walked away. True to his word, he was moving fast. Fortunately, he only lived about three blocks over from me and should arrive in less than five minutes. I watched him for a few seconds, then walked across the yard to my front door and entered my prison.