Forgotten

It felt strange to be back in school. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him but he ignored it. “Liv, I gotta talk to you!” Jonathan called from across the cafeteria at lunch. She waved him over and he took a seat across from her, beside Caden. Jonathan found Cadey’s hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze. Caden smiled.

“So, what’s going on?” Liv asked after she had swallowed a bite of her sandwich.

“My little sister’s freaking out. She actually came to talk to me and I tried to help but I have a feeling talking to a girl might help her more.”

“W-Why is she freaking?” Caden asked.

“She’s got a crush on a girl. And from what I can tell, it’s a serious one. She’s really stressed out about it.”

“Yeah, I can talk to her. Just make sure she’s okay with it. You don’t want to freak her out even more by bringing a stranger into the situation and making her feel like she’s been outed.”

“Good point,” Jonathan said with a nod.

* * *

Jonathan smiled as the sun hit his face walking out of the school building. He had made it through his first day back and it had gone considerably well. Besides the whispers of gossip and the constant stares the day had actually been manageable. He had been expecting a bombardment from his fellow football players but it hadn’t come. Still, it wasn’t as if he was surprised that now as he made his way home he could hear the heavy footfalls of his old friends behind him.

“Hey!” Brett’s voice called from behind him. Jonathan turned slowly and watched as the entire football team walked up to him.

“Is it true your parents sent you to some rehab?” Jared, a tall, bulky boy asked from the middle of the pack.

“Um, you could say that, I guess,” Jonathan said with a shrug.

“So, uh, what exactly did they do to you? Make you forget about all your friends?” Brett asked. Jonathan remained silent.

“No man, he forgot all about us before he ever left. Got a little too obsessed with fag boy.” Jared said cruelly.

“Ooh, ‘fag boy’. Is that the best you can come up with? It sounds more like some kind of edgy superhero than an insult to be honest.” Jonathan said bitingly.

“Oh yeah, a faggot superhero, like that’ll ever happen,” another boy laughed.

“Oh come on, it already has, have you seen how tight Superman’s clothes are? Just saying,” Jonathan said.

“Okay, enough with the fucking jokes,” Brett said. “Just admit it.”

“Admit what?” Jonathan asked.

“The reason you left us in the dust. You’re just a faggot, aren’t you?” Jason asked, stepping forward until he was barely an inch away from Jonathan’s face.

“Are you sure you want to be standing this close to a faggot?” Jon asked. Jason’s eyes widened for a second and he quickly stepped back, his cheeks turning scarlet as he did so.

“So, so you are then,” Brett said softly.

“Afraid so,” Jonathan said with a smile. “Now unless you’re planning on another gay bashing, I really do need to get home.” And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving the entire speechless football team standing there stupidly.

* * *

The Whyte family held hands and bowed their head as Daniel said grace. “How was your first day back at school?” Daniel asked Jonathan when he had finished the prayer.

“Pretty good,” Jon said with a shrug.

“Oh honey, I’m glad to hear that,” Melanie said warmly. Daniel gave a curt nod in affirmation.

“What about you, Sarah? How was your day?” Jonathan asked, eager to change the subject and escape the spotlight his parents had put on him. Sarah looked up nervously. Her eyes were wide and fearful, as though she expected Jonathan’s next words to be “So, have you told your friend about your crush on her? Yeah, by the way Mom, Dad, your little girl is a big lesbo.”

“Sarah, sweetie, are you okay?” Mel asked concernedly.

“Uh, y-yeah, I’m fine. School was good,” Sarah said quickly.

The rest of dinner passed in almost complete silence except for the occasional murmur of attempted conversation and the clink of silverware against plates. After dinner Jonathan called Sarah into the kitchen to help him load the dishwasher while their parents were in the living room watching the news. Sarah walked over sheepishly, eyes darting to the door, keeping a lookout.

“Sarah, I was wondering if I could tell my friend about what you’re going through. I think she c--”

“No way!” Sarah hissed. A cup fell from her hand but Jonathan caught it and tucked it into the dishwasher.

“Just hear me out,” Jonathan said. Sarah shook her head. “Come on, Sarah. I think she could really help you sort out your feelings. She’s really good with stuff like that.” He watched the internal struggle on Sarah’s face. The fear of anyone finding out was apparent but it was also clear that she was desperate to be able to talk to someone and make sense of what she was going through. The two finished loading the dishwasher in silence. Finally, Sarah looked around to the door again before speaking.

“O-Okay. But she’s the only one that can know. The only one! Jonathan, please Mom and Dad can’t find --”

“I know,” Jonathan said reassuringly. “Don’t worry.”