Take a Stand
By Carli Jean
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2011 Carli Jean
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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*****
Take A Stand
Jay had spent his entire life being someone else, figuratively speaking of course. As a kid he did everything his teachers told him to and as he got older he started listening to peers and parents. If they told him to get straight A’s then straight A’s he got. He was on the football team, he was on the honor roll, he was homecoming king, basically he was an all around perfect guy, but that wasn’t him. Jason Michaels wasn’t a straight A student, he barely managed to scrape by his Junior year, and now as a Senior they had him in college level classes; he hated, no that’s not the right word, despised, sports of any kind, but especially football; and he considered homecoming a giant waste of time. The biggest thing Jay wasn’t was straight. Yes, Jay Michaels, captain of the football team, homecoming king, all those titles, was gay. With a capital G. Jay wasn’t ashamed of being gay, in fact he liked it, but it didn’t fit his parents’ image of a perfect son so he had to keep it hidden, and hidden he kept it, at least until that day. The day that Adam showed up, that was when everything changed.
***
“Jay, sweetie, you have to get ready for school,” Jay’s mother, Katrina Welch-Michaels said sweetly as she gently shook her son’s shoulder. Jay groaned and blinked up at her out of bleary, sleepy, blue eyes. She smiled down at him and patted his cheek. “There are pancakes on the table for when you’re ready.”
When she was gone Jay rolled back over and covered his face with a pillow. He didn’t want to go to school. He didn’t care about any of the crap they were teaching him, honestly all he wanted to do was draw, and unfortunately art hadn’t fit in his schedule this year. Nothing fun had fit in his schedule.
“Jason! Hurry up!” his dad, Laurence Michaels, yelled from the kitchen, always impatient and gruff. Jay sighed dejectedly and rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with a small thud, he winced at the impact but pulled himself up. He looked at his closet and sighed again, polos and khakis that was what made up his wardrobe. He hated polos and khakis, but they fit the image, and Jay was all about fitting the image. He sighed for a third time but grabbed an orange polo and a pair of khaki shorts. The shirt hugged the muscles of his shoulders, chest, and back that he had built up over the years of playing all the sports imaginable. He was good looking, he had no problem admitting that, but he was conceited like some of the jocks he knew, he could recognize his own flaws, like his nose. His nose had always been too big for his face, the fact that it had been broken a couple of times during basketball didn’t help. His cheekbones were somewhat noticeable and his jaw was rectangular and “oh-so-manly” as many of the girls liked to put it. But, his most attractive feature had to be his baby blue eyes, they crinkled along the edges when he smiled and twinkled when he laughed, matched with his bleach blonde hair he was practically the poster child of a surfer boy, except he had never surfed a minute in his life.
He trudged into the kitchen and plopped into one of the old kitchen chairs. The chair squeaked under his weight but didn’t give. He covered the fluffy, golden-brown pancakes with syrup and dug in, ignoring his father’s disapproving look.
“He really shouldn’t be eating that.”
“Oh honey, let him live a little, he’s a growing boy. Plus the report cards are coming today and this is just an early reward.” His mom smiled at him and the food froze in Jay’s throat. Fuck! He forced the lump of pancake down his throat and gulped down the orange juice.
“That was a great breakfast, but I’ve got to get going if I want to make it to first period on time.” He kissed his mom on the cheek, grabbed his backpack and keys, and was out the door before they could ask him any questions. There was no way he was going to tell them he got a B- in AP Physics. For once he was grateful for practice after school.
***
The school was abuzz when he got there. The halls were packed full of writhing bodies but they all parted for him like he was Moses and they were the red sea. He had no problems getting to his locker and waiting for him next to it was Brett, co-captain of the football team.
“Hey bro,” Brett said when Jay approached. Jay nodded and quickly did his combination. He got out the monstrous textbooks he’d need for his first two periods, AP Physics and AP Chemistry. He slammed the locker shut and Brett looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “Bad day?”
“The day hasn’t even started yet,” Jay pointed out. Suddenly the hallway erupted with hushed whispers and people were pointing. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, just some new kid,” Brett said, waving it away and looking at his phone, he smiled and started typing a reply to whatever text his girlfriend had sent him.
To Brett a new student might not have mattered but to Jay it was very important. In a small town like Arindale a new face was uncommon, and when he saw the face that was the topic of everyone’s whispers he understood why. The new kid stood out, he had black hair that fell in front of his face, he absentmindedly ran his hand through it, pushing it out from in front of his eyes but it just fell back. The quick glance Jay got of his eyes showed that they were a hazel-green and shone bright with some hidden light. The boy’s skin was pale and looked white when compared with the black Slipknot shirt and black denim skinny jeans he wore. His combat boots clopped loudly as he walked down the hall, seemingly oblivious to all the whispers and stares. He paused and looked up, from behind his hair Jay saw the hazel-green eyes stare right at him and the boy smiled, no not smiled, smirked, then he turned and headed into the attendance office.