Runaways- Runaways 1

Chapter 3: Luke

That was weird. Marcus never asked to video-chat with me. The last time we'd done it he couldn't even turn his camera on due to technical difficulties. But I guess he had fixed it now since he said he offered to Skype with me later tonight. I agreed anyway. We were going to start in about five minutes.

It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to him. Marcus was awesome. We had been friends for a solid three years, and he'd always been so goofy and fun to be around. He was like me too. We were both bisexual. It was nice to have someone close to me who had similar issues and faced similar opposition to what I went through on a daily basis. I hadn't come out to my parents yet. I was planning to do it closer to when I turned seventeen in November, but he had already come out. He was so much stronger than me in that way.

Our families both belonged to a very conservative Southern Baptist church. We were raised with similar beliefs. And those beliefs definitely did not include anything that said it was okay for a guy to like another guy. Like, as in have a crush on them. Serious feelings. More than friendship. I mean, I knew it was wrong. I think any Christian in their right mind knew that. The heart was a deceitful thing. But it showed no mercy. I was giving in, and faith was taking the backseat.

That's why I didn't always feel right talking to him. It definitely wasn't that I didn't enjoy it. No, certainly not that. It was that I maybe enjoyed it a little too much. His brown chestnut hair was super handsome, and his deep brown eyes were too. And he was taller than me. That was uncommon, especially for someone a little over a year younger. He was six-foot-five while I was six-foot-two. And he was so cool to be around, and—okay I'll be honest—I liked him. A lot. I had for a while.

I opened the link he had just emailed me from his laptop. He was already in the meeting room, waiting for me. At least this way we could still see each other, despite social distancing.

"Hey," I greeted. I brushed my sandy curls out of my eyes. They were a little too long compared to the rest of my short hair, and they hung over my face uncomfortably sometimes.

"Hey, what's up?" His voice cracked in his normal silly greeting, going high and then low. But there was something different about him. He seemed nervous. Very nervous, actually.

"Hm, let's see...what has the government not prevented us from doing? I went out and I kicked a soccer ball at the fence today. I ran a couple miles. My online classes took four hours, but I did my homework in less than an hour as usual," I said sarcastically.

"I know! This whole thing is ridiculous!" He laughed nervously. "Next thing you know they'll prevent us from going in our own backyards."

"For real man. Though I don't think they should be able to do that, because we're supposed to live in a free country."

"It really seems like a free country these days doesn't it?" He rolled his eyes, reinforcing the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I mean, at least LGBTQ+ isn't seen as a complete enemy anymore," I started hesitantly. I didn't meet his gaze, which turned out to be easy considering he looked down at his shoes. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he trailed off. "Um..."

"What's up?"

"Don't hate me. Please. And please don't judge me Luke." He shifted uneasily. I relaxed.

"I promise I won't. Spill the tea," I said gently.

"Luke—I—Luke, I, um, I—I like you. Like, you know. I, um, like you." He was turned away from the screen now.