Acceptance

I knew the next morning that my mom had talked to my dad either late last night or early this morning. He hadn’t said a word to me, but I could see the fury in his eyes. He was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

My mom glanced at me as I walked down the stairs and she still had the same look of anger and disgust that she had last night.

Before either of them could say a word, I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my backpack, and walked out the front door. I got inside my car after tossing my backpack in the back seat and started the car. I immediately began driving and not long later, I was parked in front of Caleb’s house.

I got out of my car, walked up to the front door, and knocked. His mom opened the door for me and gave me a smile as I walked inside.

“Elliot, come on in! I have some breakfast in the kitchen if you are hungry,” she offered and my stomach took the opportunity to growl loudly. I nodded with a slight blush from embarrassment, and followed her to the kitchen. I felt so much better here. It was like all the fear and negativity left as soon as I walked into their home.

She put some eggs and bacon on a plate and handed it to me with a fork. I sat down at the island and she placed a cup of orange juice in front of me. I thanked her and dug in immediately.

“Caleb, Elliot is here! I’m gonna let him eat all the bacon if you don’t hurry up!,” Caleb’s mom yelled and I could hear Caleb’s protests.

“He better not! I’ll kick his ass if he does!,” Caleb yelled and I chuckled.

“You can try!,” I yelled back and heard his mom laugh.

“You both are so adorable,” she smiled. I smiled back with a slight blush and finished my breakfast. I thanked her once I was finished and she took the dishes from me to clean them. I offered to help but she insisted I go see what was taking Caleb so long.

I went up the stairs to his room and laughed at what I saw. It looked like he was trying to put on his shirt and jeans at the same time. His dark gray t-shirt was halfway over his head and his ripped black jeans were halfway up his legs. It appeared that somehow his head got stuck and his frustration was only causing him more problems.

I couldn’t stop myself from admiring his beautiful body. He wasn’t muscular, but I could see he had some on his arms and torso. He spun around during his struggles and I saw the cutest little bubble butt I’d ever seen.

“Stop staring at my ass and help me!,” he shouted at me and I snapped back to reality.

I approached him and stopped him from spinning more. I helped him get his shirt on properly and he pulled up his jeans after getting his foot out of one of the holes. I stepped away when I realized we were standing pretty close and let him finish getting dressed.

“You better not have eaten all the bacon,” he grumbled as he slipped on some socks and a dark plaid shirt. He left the shirt unbuttoned and rolled up the sleeves to his forearm.

“Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? You seem a bit grumpy,” I chuckled and he shot me a dirty look. He walked out of the bedroom while putting his hair up in a bun and I followed him down to the kitchen.

“Of course the heat is going to be broken when it’s cold outside. It’s fucking freezing in here!,” Caleb groaned as he got his books out of his locker. I was leaning on the locker beside him and watching him in amusement.

“You can wear my jacket if you want,” I offered and took my leather jacket off.

“What about you?,” he gave me a surprised look at my offer, “Won’t you get cold?”

“I’ll be fine. If I get cold later I can get the hoodie from my locker,” I helped him put my jacket on and he just stared at me. “What?”

He snapped out of it and said, “Nothing. Thank you, Elliot,” with a blush.

“You’re welcome,” I smiled and he closed the locker door with a smile.

“Hey, Caleb, I was wondering if Matt could join us tonight,” I heard Atlas’s voice and tensed up once I saw him approaching us. He was looking down at his phone and hadn’t seen me yet. “I know its usually just us, but I was hoping you could make an exception,” he trailed off his sentence at the end and slowed to a stop once he saw me.

He crossed his arms and shot a glare my way. He was wearing dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and a fleece lined denim jacket.

“What are you doing here,” he asked me with a scowl.

Before I could speak, Caleb said, “Elliot is my friend too.” His tone was stern and Atlas frowned.

“You’re going to stay friends with a homophobic asshole? Do I need to remind you of what his parents said t0 me?,” Atlas stepped closer to Caleb.

What? What did they do?

“Wait, what are you talking about?,” I asked, very confused. He glared at me and rolled his eyes.

“As if you don’t already know,” he scoffed.

“Atlas, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

He just looked at me for a moment and sighed.

“Your dad called my parents this morning and said I needed to keep my ‘faggot ass’ away from you before I ‘infect’ you with ‘the gay’ as your dad called it. Your mom said you would have never associated with me if you knew sooner. Your dad said that my existence disgusts him and he refuses to have a son that isn’t straight. He said you think that since I am gay I am a pathetic faggot and a waste of space,” he had tears in his eyes by the end.

I hadn’t felt so angry in a long time. They had went way too far. What my mom did last night was already too far, and to do this...

No. I wasn’t going to let this continue.

First, I pulled Atlas into a hug and murmured into his ear, “I’m sorry they did that. It wasn’t right of them to do that. Just know, those aren’t my views at all. Caleb can tell you what happened last night. I’ll see you later, okay?”

He looked confused, but nodded anyways as he wiped tears off his cheeks.

I turned to Caleb next and hugged him tightly. “I can’t let them get away with this. I will be here after school to pick you up at the latest.”

I began to pull away and he stopped me as I was about to walk away.

“Wait, what are you going to do? I don’t want you to get hurt,” he held onto my hand tightly to keep me from slipping out of his grasp.

I pulled him close and murmured, “I’ll be okay, I promise.”

I gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and walked away.

I put my books back into my locker and walked out the front doors of the school.