The Boys and Girls in the Cliques

Mikey, Erica, and I walked out of the door. We walked for about a minute in silence. They seemed very tense, and I wasn't going to say anything until they said what they had to say.

That was almost too much for my small brain to comprehend.

Finally Mikey sighed and opened his mouth.

"Bob, we know that you're a total flamer."

Wow, big shocker there.

"Ah, man. I thought I could keep my secret! You figured me out, dude," I said sarcastically.

"Please, let me finish," Mikey said, and I let him talk.

"We know you're a flamer, but my dad doesn't, and it'd be better off he didn't. You know what I mean?" Mikey said.

"Oh, okay. Yeah I get it." I said.

Then it hit me.

"Wait, so, Gerard...?"

"He came out to our dad a few months ago." He said sadly.

"Did you?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No, are you kidding me? If I told him, we'd be gone by now. The only reason why Gerard is still there because I begged my dad for him to stay. If he knew... he'd be pissed, to put it bluntly."

I felt bad for them. I mean, I've spent my whole life in comfort. I've always known that I'm gay, and my parents were always okay with that. I've never had to hide myself from anybody before. And to think, that Mikey must feel so uncomfortable, always trying to make sure he didn't anything that could set him off as "gay". I guess, you won't really know what you have until you see that someone has less.

Erica, who was silent before then, said, "Well, if he can't accept you for who you are, then fuck him."

Mikey looked at her as if she was crazy, he looked very hurt.

"Erica, he's my dad. All I want is for him to accept me."

"Sorry," she said softly.

"That's all I ever wanted," he whispered.

I patted him on the back, "Don't worry, Mikes, you have us. And we are so flippin' awesome, too," I said, and he cracked a smile.

"You aren't that awesome," He said.

"That's debatable," I said, matter-of-factly.

"Debatable, my ass," he chuckled. I mock-gasped and said, "Oh, you better run!"

He squealed and ran, all the while waving his arms and legs like the act of running threw him off balance so much that he had to make sure he didn't fall.

I, on the other hand, didn't chase him.

"How long do you think that he'll keep going on like that before he notices?" Erica asked me.

"Oh, until he reaches the next block or so," I smiled.

"Yeah, probably."_

We walked up to Mikey, a sour look on his face and his arms crossed.

"Asshole," He muttered.

"Ha ha," I said.

He stuck his tongue out at me and followed us as we walked up the porch steps to my house.

"I can't believe you ran all the way to Bob's house," Erica said as we opened the door.

"I didn't run all the way here. I stopped running after I figured out Bob was chasing me."

We giggled and pulled off our shoes.

"So, I'm guessing that you guys are gonna stay here for a while?" I asked.

They nodded.

"Okay, then."

We sat on the couch and turned it on to a random channel.

"Yay! Wheel of Fortune!" Mikey squealed and hugged my couch pillow to his chest.

"Fine, I guess we'll watch this," I grumbled.

After thirty minutes the show was over and Mikey said I was no use to him to anymore.

"See ya," He said as he walked towards the door.

"Mikey, dear," My mother said, walking into the room, "It's getting dark out, let me drive you and Erica home."

"Okay Mrs. Bryar," Mikey smiled.

My mom put on her coat, grabbed her keys and walked out the door.

After a few minuted my grandfather walked down the stairs, yawning.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I was just taking a nap," he said.

I laughed as he sat down and reached for the remote.

"Are you watching anything?" he asked me. I shook my head and he started to flick through the channels.

"Grampa?" I asked.

"Yes, Bob?"

"What's it like...for someone to not accept you for being gay?" I asked him.

"Don't you already know?" he asked.

"I mean, like a person that you love."

I sighed, but kept his eyes on the television.

"It... hurts. To know that they don't accept you, and that's all you want them to do."

And that's all he said.

And I could almost understand what he was saying, but at the same time... everybody I'd every loved were okay that I was gay. And I never really wanted to be accepted by anyone but them. All the others didn't matter, it was just them. I couldn't imagine somebody I love not liking me because I'm gay. I could probably never understand what Mikey and Gerard are going through.

And I was kinda glad that I never will.