Pride

Chapter 16

"Since when do you smoke?" Bonnie demanded as she shot a harsh glare in Emrys' direction. The curly-haired boy was sitting with his back against the building and a hand in his hair. A baggy maroon t-shirt engulfed his body and his light blue jeans had a patch sewn into them that said "Starfleet Command; United Federation of Planets". He had a cigarette between his two fingers and his hand was in his hair, anxiously tugging at it.

"I don't" Emrys groaned. "I'm just freaking out"

"I'm sure everything is going fine" Bonnie reasoned as she took a seat beside Emrys. She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged her knees to her chest. She wasn't sure why Emrys was so stressed about the city council meeting... Bay was more charismatic than she gave him credit for. He had a way with words and that combined with his family's influence was sure to convince the council to agree. It was the easiest win they needed.

"What? No... Not about that" Emrys groaned. "Just... Things" he couldn't bring himself to even say it out loud... He couldn't even if he really wanted to. He was sure Bonnie had her suspicions about him liking Arran, but nobody would ever guess that they were actually together at some point... Well, kinda together anyway. If he said anything, he'd risk outing him. And he could never forgive himself if he outed another person.

He was supposed to get a call from his parents today... Usually, it was all fine. Usually, he had Arran with him when he spoke to them. Even if Arran couldn't understand half of what was being said, it was good to have a hand to hold when he started stressing out or a shoulder to cry on when reality slapped him in the face.

There were always... Issues... Regarding his parents. He could tell himself that they loved him and that they just needed to be away from responsibility. He could tell himself that he actually meant something to them or that he was still their son. But that was all bullshit in the long run. They barely remembered his name, let alone his age or birthday. They dropped in once every few years when they needed money or to drop off another kid they didn't want. Emrys couldn't even remember the last time he got a hug from his mother that was genuine...

"What kind of things?" Bonnie asked.

"Parents..." Emrys admitted. "I don't know, it's just a lot" He groaned as he threw his head back against the brick wall. He didn't even like smoking... It was disgusting and made him feel sick. But feeling physically sick over-powered any mental hurt he was feeling and that was what he was hoping for. "I swear I'm a fucking magnet for toxic people..."

"It's because you're an empath" Bonnie sighed. "You understand others' pain and you sympathize with it. You make excuses because you hurt for them and you know why they act the way they do... You trick yourself into thinking it's okay that they treat you like shit"

"Bonnie, I love you, but now is not the time to stress me out by dissecting my brain" Emrys muttered. Bonnie snorted at that before pulling out her phone and smiling down at it.

"Arcadia should be here soon"

"The meeting should be over soon" Emrys added as he glanced over at the time. The doors opened shortly after he said that and two teens walked out, the first with frizzy red hair and the second with a bright smile.

"The council voted. Five to three in favor of Pride" Scooter happily announced. "All because of this weirdo" They added with a teasing smirk up at Bay. Bay only laughed and ruffled their hair before pressing a quick kiss to the top of their head.

"It was your idea to have a Pride in the first place... I say we all go to the river and get wasted in celebration" Bay chuckled. Emrys smiled to himself at that. He hadn't been to the river in a while... There was a small spot popular for swimming and bonfires in the Summer where a lot of teens usually drank or partied.