Gold

"...and then my mom proceeded in attacking the lifeguard, like that was going to help the situation, and the lifeguard was like 'Miss, I'm going to have to kick you off the beach' and my mom was even more mad, which lead to us actually getting kicked off of the beach." I laughed uncontrollably at Derek's story about how his mom pissed off a lifeguard earlier today.

"That's insane! I'd love to meet her," I said. He smiled through the webcam.

"I want you to meet her too," He said, making me smile back.

It was around nine at night, and I was currently video calling Derek out of boredom. Hayley went to sleep an hour ago, and I still have nerves about seeing my parents tomorrow, and I didn't really have anyone else to talk to besides him. I could've called my college roommate Alex, but he's always busy.

Maybe that was just an excuse for me to talk to Derek again and see his face.

"Anything else happened at the beach?" I asked.

"Not much, besides missing you." He said, making me blush. I hate that i like him.

"Same here," I replied. I really did miss him. Coming back here to where Hayley and her mom are the only supportive people I'm around sucks. College was way cooler. Besides Derek and Alex, no one knew I was trans. They only knew me as a guy from Baltimore that's good with helping people out on essays.

"I need to hug you again," He said while laughing a bit.

"I need you to hug me again." I said, laughing along with him. He gives the best hugs. I was about to switch the topic when a slightly crazy idea popped into my head.

"Hey, aren't you in Virginia?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What part?"

"Near Yorktown. Again, why?" He asked again. I sighed. The idea was probably terrible anyways.

"Nevermind," I said. He cut his eyes at me.

"Now you have to tell me." He said. I sighed again. I usually don't have nerves talking to Derek. Usually. Now just happened to be one of those times.

"Whatever," I continued, "I was gonna say that Yorktown is only three hours from Baltimore." I rushed out. I was gonna ask him to come visit, but three hours seem pretty long for some people, even if it isn't that long for me. I stopped looking away from the screen in embarrassment and looked up to him smirking.

"Are you implying that you want me to come visit?" He asked. Oh god. There's the rest of my nerves. I stammered before talking.

"Well, if you want to. I just thought that I'd be cool if you came to visit before I got my surgery, you know? Alex was planning to visit next week, but some family stuff came up and he cancelled, so I thought It'd be cool if you came along, but again, you don't have to-"

"Jack, chill. I can come visit," he said calmly. Well, that's a slap in the face to me being scared to ask him. I tried to smile as normal as I possibly could, but it probably came out weird.

"Really? How?" I asked.

"We drove here, so I can just drive there in my car. You know, because I have one that you've drove in about one or twice." He sarcastically said. I rolled my eyes.

"Very funny," I said back, "I thought you like, drove with your family." He gave me a disgusted look.

"Oh god, no. My little brother yells too much, my mom's a snorer, and my dad plays terrible music. I drove by myself." He explained I nodded.

"So you'll be able to come visit?" I asked.

"Of course. I'll leave tomorrow." He said, picking up his phone.

"What about your family? They haven't seen you for months and you're already leaving them." I asked.

"That depends on how long you want me to stay," He said. I shrugged.

"I don't care. I just want to see you before I get my surgery." I replied.

"And your birthday," He added. I blushed again.

"That too."

"I can stay for a few days. My family's taking pictures before they leave Friday, so I'll have to come back the day before-"

"Which means if you're coming here tomorrow, that'll be four days." I finished for him.

"Yeah. I can do that." He confirmed. I tried not to show too much excitement.

"Okay, that's great. I don't know how Hayley would feel about that though," I said, looking over at her fast asleep.

"Nicole will be fine. She loves me," He said, making me laugh.

"Whatever you say," I said. I heard a noise from his side of the screen, followed by him rolling his eyes.

"I gotta go. The family's back," He said in a sad tone. I frowned, but smiled remembering that he's visiting.

"Okay, see you tomorrow." I said, waving and ending the call. I turned the lamp off in between me and Hayley's bed. An emotional rollercoaster is set for tomorrow, and I don't know if I'm prepared.

***

I woke up to the smell of eggs, waffles, and sausage. Mrs. Williams morning special.

I instantly hopped out of bed, running towards the kitchen. I haven't had a decent morning breakfast in months, and Mrs. Williams really knew how to make one. I walked in on her finishing up the sausage, and Hayley making coffee. She looked over at me and sighed.

"Now you're up." She commented. Mrs. Williams gave her a sour look.

"Don't be rude, Hayley. Breakfast is almost finished, Jack." She smiled.

"Thanks," I said, smiling arrogantly at Hayley. She snarled.

"Love you too, mom," Hayley mumbled under her breath. I smiled at her.

After hearing her talk to Hayley about college and stuff, breakfast was finally finished. Hayley sat beside me, giving us our food. It was quiet, but a reasonable quiet. For one, Hayley doesn't know that Derek is visiting, and second, I have to go see my dad. I texted him before I came downstairs this morning, and he said that mom wasn't home, so I can just hang out with him all day.

I was almost finished with my food when I looked up and Hayley was giving me a concerned look. I gave her a dumbfounded look back, hopefully not making it obvious as to what I was thinking about.

"Jack, nice try. Talk to me," He said. Dang It! She's good.

"Whatever," I admitted, "My dad told me my mom went out this morning, so I can just talk to him all day." I told her.

"And?" She asked.

"I was thinking about how good that is. That's all," I lied. She cut her eyes at me.

"Fine. You don't have to talk now, but I'll find out later." Hayley skeptically said. I rolled my eyes. I can't keep anything to myself when I'm around her.

"Sure. We should be leaving in a few so I can spend enough time with my dad," I said, finishing up my food and going upstairs. After quickly getting ready, I called Derek while waiting on Hayley.

"Derek? Where are you?" I asked.

"Sup," He replied, "And I'm about two hours away." He answered. So I had one hour to talk to my dad, since Hayley wants to take forever to get ready.

"Oh. Okay," I said, smiling to myself.

"What are you doing today?" He asked in a mocked professional voice, making me giggle a bit.

"About to go hand out with my dad and Hayley. She's taking a while to get ready, so I called you to kill time." I said.

"Reasonable," He muttered, making me smile again.

"How did your parents react to you leaving?" I asked. I still felt bad for dragging him from his family, but he seems fine with it.

"What if I told you I forgot to tell them before I left?" He said wearily, making me freeze. Why would he do that?!

"Derek!" I shouted at him. I was even more pissed when he started laughing.

"Calm down. They said it was fine. I told them you were getting surgery and they're all wishing you a speedy recovery." He said. I was blushing now. His family is so sweet when they're not cussing out lifeguards.

"Aw," I said.

"Yeah, adorable." He sarcastically said.

"Is someone mad?" I asked, picking at him. I heard him sigh on the phone.

"No, not at all. It's not like I'm missing you and I have to drive two entire hours impatiently," He mumbled.

"Drive faster then." I commented.

"Look at who's being demanding all of a sudden." Derek said, making me roll my eyes.

"Stop flirting and get in the car," Hayley said, coming down the stairs. I scolded her. She's the one who took 27 years to get ready, but rushes me?

"I got to go, see you later," I said, waiting on a 'bye' from him before i hung up. We got into the car, but with me driving this time since we were heading to my house. I haven't been here in a year. Even when holiday breaks came around, my mom wanted nothing to do with me unless I came to the front door with long hair and a dress on, so I stayed at Hayley's. Though it did hurt me at the time, i'm so used to her being stubborn and unaccepting, I just don't see the point in dwelling on it anymore.

The car ride there was quiet, well at least on my part. Hayley has plans to meet up with Taylor later today, which means that I can hang out with Derek by myself self all day. She was currently on the phone with him, catching up with stuff. I'm glad that she's interacting with people and not only relying on me, her college roommate, and sometimes Derek for her entertainment. She usually has a hard time talking to people, and not because she's shy or anything, but simply because she thinks a lot of people are problematic in general.

We eventually made it there, Hayley hanging up on Taylor as soon as I went in the driveway. I turned off the car and sat there for about a minute.

"Are you gonna go in, or...?" Hayley asked. I shrugged.

"Just a bit nostalgic, sorry." I said while getting out, along with her. I knocked on the door, and was expecting my dad to take a while. He's usually either watching TV or cooking. What I wasn't expecting, and what made m heart instantly pump twelve times faster, was my mom opening the door.

She looked me up and down, innocently smiling. I looked back at Hayley, who looked like she was about to charge at her. I saw my dad behind her, in the house, and was showing me his phone, and mouthing 'I tried to text you earlier!'.

"Hello! Who are you?" My mom asked, which made my heart sunk. Either she doesn't remember me, or she's trying to forget me. I know I said that I was used to her transphobia, but the fact that she's willing to act like I'm not even her child is what got to me. Hayley stormed past me, looking my mom into her eyes.

"That's your son. His name is Jack." She said aggressively, pointing at me. My mom gave her a sour look, but still managed to smile.

"Ah, you must be confused. I don't have a son. I only have a daughter named Janette."