Side By Side

14

Warnings:
-None

Clay's POV

I was very slowly walking to the bus in the distance while tears streamed down my face. This had been my dream since I was so young and it was all gone in just a minute's time. I never wished for anything more than being a soldier in the army and I was so close...

'SHIT!' I screamed as I kicked a rock. I furiously wiped my tears away from my face as I heard someone yell at me.

'CLAY, COME BACK. RIGHT NOW!' I heard my sergeant yell out.

I stood still and turned around, wiping my tears away again.

'WHY?' I screamed. 'TO HEAR HOW DISGUSTING I AM AND THAT I SHOULDN'T HAVE LIED? THIS HAS BEEN MY DREAM SINCE I WAS SIX AND IT'S ALL RUINED BECAUSE OF MY SHITTY SEXUALITY!'

The sergeant walked up to me and I breathed quickly from anger.

'I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE GAY, I WANTED TO JOIN THE ARMY WAY BEFORE I EVEN KNEW I LIKED GUYS! WHY CAN I NOT DO IT? I'VE BEEN BULLIED WITH MY SEXUALITY FOR SO LONG! EVERYONE TOLD ME I COULDN'T DO IT AND I WANTED TO PROVE THEM THAT I COULD!'

'Clay, calm down,' the sergeant tried to comfort me, walking up to me.

'I CAN DO IT! I CAN BE A SOLDIER. I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE OUT WITH SOME RANDOM GUY IN THE ARMY, I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND AND I'M FINE WITH NEVER GETTING ONE!'

It was quiet for a while and I started pulling off my uniform.

'JUST BECAUSE I'M GAY DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T FIGHT, BUT FINE. HAVE YOUR UNIFORM BACK. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE ANYMORE NOW!'

I was about to pull my uniform down as the sergeant laid his hand on my shoulder. 'Pull it back on, grab your weapon, lay your sleeping bag back down in the barrack and come with me.'

'W-what?' I whispered with a hoarse voice.

'Pull your uniform back on and grab your weapon and your bag!' he repeated, pointing behind him. 'NOW!'

'Yes, sergeant,' I mumbled as I ran to my weapon while pulling my uniform back on. I quickly walked into the barrack and laid my sleeping bag down on the floor, standing back straight in front of the sergeant.

'Come with me.' He pointed to the barrack the sergeants slept and I walked after him, going inside. 'Sit down.'

I sat down on the ground with my back against the barrack's wall, looking at the sergeant who smiled shortly.

'Clay, I know there's a rule that gay, bi, trans and any people who are part from the LGBTQIA+ aren't allowed in the army,' he started. 'And I do not agree with it.'

I felt my mouth fall open as I stared down at my hands, then back up at him with a soft smile.

'I can't change the rules, but I can fight for you. I've known that you're gay for a while now. Do you remember doing the two mile run and the other challenges? I was there with you.'

'I remember, sergeant,' I whispered.

'I noticed you constantly talked to yourself, making yourself mad. You told me that you wanted to prove yourself and at that point I didn't know why. A week ago, I started worrying about you.'

I didn't answer as I waited for him to continue.

'You're so incredibly good and motivated and I wondered if you mentally in the right place. I needed to make sure you weren't pushing yourself too much and exhaust yourself so much that you wouldn't be able to serve anymore after the boot camp.'

I nodded slowly and he smiled again.

'I called your parents and I asked them about the bullying. Eventually they told me that you're gay and it made sense to me, I understand your willpower.'

'I'm so sorry, sergeant. This has been my dream for so long and I didn't want to ruin it by telling anyone I'm gay so I tried to hide it. The other recruits in my platoon have never been very kind to me and when I was almost asleep, they asked me for this information.'

'Clay, you're the best recruit I've ever had in my whole life and I've been doing these boot camps for years now. You could go straight into the army and you would fight better than most of the current soldiers we have. That's what we need, Clay. We need someone who has the strength, but also someone who can take it all mentally.'

I sighed softly. 'I really want this, sergeant. I know it's over, though... I'm sorry, I feel so emotional right now because my dream is over. I've been bullied for at least two years and they constantly told me I couldn't do it... I guess they were right, sergeant. I've had a great time here and thank you so much for training me and teaching me all these things.'

'Clay, it's not over, okay? As I said before, I can't change the rules, but I'm going to fight for you. You're the best recruit we had and I don't think you're going to break. I'm going to do anything I can to keep you here and if not, I'll retire too.'

I smiled brightly and lifted myself up. 'I'm doing anything I can to stay here, sergeant. I will prove that gay boys can be soldiers and I will be so proud as the first openly gay soldier there is.'

'There's no difference between a boy and a gay boy. You both have testosterone, you both have the ability to train and you can both have the mental strength to continue. I've always wanted to give women a chance too, I want these army rules to change and I'm going to fight for what's right.'

'Thank you so much, sergeant,' I smiled, standing up.

'No, thank you, Clay. I served in the army for twenty-five years and I've never met such a young boy who is so motivated to fight for his own rights. You're Clay, alright? You might be gay, but that's not who you are! You are Clay and you're going to be a soldier.'

'Yes, sergeant!' I yelled.

'UNDERSTOOD?'

'YES, SERGEANT!' I yelled again with a big smile on my face. He laughed shortly and softly pushed my shoulder.

'Go to the bus. We are moving you to a different platoon.'

1082 words