Short Stories

Solitaire - One

Jayce had dated Tyler for two years and Finn for one. High school relationships never lasted, but Jayce thought he really loved Tyler and Finn. A lot. So when the end of Tyler and Finn's 12th grade year came around, Jayce was struck with the overwhelming realization that he would be stuck there, alone, come next school year. Not only were Tyler and Finn graduating, but so was his childhood best friend Casey, and his girlfriend Kit. He would have no one.

The first time Jayce brought this up, Finn reassured him they would still always hang out after school and Tyler promised to pick him up at 3:15, on the dot, every day. But Jayce knew that would only last for a month, or so. They would spend their days together, having fun without him. The four of them would go to Coney Island and eat hotdogs and ride rollercoasters. Tyler and Finn would spend their mornings in bed kissing while Jayce had Physics I. Casey and Kit would go off on small getaways and soon would only be home one weekend a month. They would all have fun, while he was stuck at school.

When they would hang out, they would talk about different colleges they got accepted to, or what neighborhoods they were looking at apartments in. Jayce hated it... but they were all so excited. He couldn't say anything.

The first day of dread came, it was the day after graduation and they had all gone. The school was missing a quarter of its population, and Jayce was missing all of his friends. He sat alone at C lunch, barely picking at his food. He went to AP Literature, a class he shared with Kit. The class was half seniors, so today it was half empty.

There was going to be a leaving party tonight at some baseball player's house for all the graduated seniors and their friends. Tyler and Finn were going to pick Jayce up at 10 tonight to go. They'd gone to this person's parties before: everyone is there by 10, everyone has a drink by 11, most are drunk by 12, and most have found a room to fool around in by 1. Drinking wasn't Jayce's thing usually, but tonight he looked forward to it. He hoped the music would be loud enough that his friends wouldn't talk about their exciting futures. He was an awful person.

~

Joe helped Jayce pick out an outfit for the party. Joe was Jayce's father's husband. But the title sounded more complicated than their actual relationship. Joe had helped Jayce through his transition into a werewolf as a kid, he taught Jayce how to play guitar, and later he helped Jayce come to terms with his sexuality.   Which is why Joe gave Jayce two condoms and a cheek kiss as he left to meet Tyler and Finn in the driveway.

Tyler's car was old enough that the front seat didn't have a center console, but instead was just a long bench so all three of  them could fit up front. When he slid into the car, Finn greeted him with a smile and Tyler turned down the Wu-Tang Clan on the radio.

"Hey, baby boy!" he grinned. 

"Hey! Ready to go?" Finn asked. 

Tyler was always ready to do everything with 110% effort, and he never hid that. Finn was always concerned about others before he was concerned about himself. Jayce loved that about them. 

Jayce nodded. "Let's go! I'm dying to see what jail-bait outfit Tiffany has on tonight." Jayce wanted to make sure tonight still felt like normal. Not like it was their last hoorah before they all left him behind.

Finn's arm was around Jayce's shoulders as Tyler drove and shouted along to the lyrics. They were too distracted with the excitement of the day to notice Jayce nervously bouncing his knee. They were allowed to be distracted, this was their first night of freedom, after all. Jayce didn't want to make them feel bad about their excitement, but he certainly did not want them to talk about it either. It was a strange combination of feelings. 

It would be a strange night, Jayce concluded, but hopefully not a dull one.