umkansa - atwow highschool au

ten

little bit of a longer chapter because y'all deserve it!! 🤭

neteyam

Neteyam woke up to his 4:30am alarm going off on his phone. He snoozed it and fell right back asleep. He heard the alarm go off again 8 minutes later at 4:38am. He let out an exaggerated groan as he turned it off and sat up in his bed. He always made sure to set his alarm earlier than his sibling's to make sure that he had time to prepare their lunches and shower in the morning since Kiri and Lo'ak use all the hot water at night. Neteyam had always been a morning person anyways so he truly didn't mind. But this particular morning he felt like ten tons of bricks had collapsed on him. He had stayed up all last night overthinking about how his parents would react if he were to come out to them. The thought of losing their acceptance or viewing him differently stabbed his heart in ways he never wanted to imagine. He had known since 4th grade that he wasn't the same as his peers. While everyone was talking about their celebrity crushes being Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez, he was wondering how he would look hand in hand with Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars is still his celebrity crush but he always says he doesn't have one when people ask him. Although he had known for such a long time that he wasn't interested in women, he hadn't come out to anyone until the 7th grade when Kiri straight up asked him "Are you gay?" He didn't feel the need to lie at the time so he told her the truth. She took it really well and never made him feel any different for it. So then a few weeks later he decided to come out to Lo'ak as well, in which his brother responded "Oh really? Sick bro! You do make it kinda obvious now that I think about it," followed by a high five and what Lo'ak called a 'bro hug'. That had Neteyam questioning himself and the way he acted for three days straight it was sort of humorous. He never truly came out to Tuk because he didn't think she would have much of a clear understanding, but he made sure to give subtle hints. Like when they would play dolls he would have the two Ken dolls together instead of Barbie and Ken. Or when she would make him bracelets he would ask for rainbow ones, although he never wore them, as cheesy as they were, he hung them on his jewelry stand were he kept the rest of his bracelets. Along with his rings and necklaces as well.

Although his siblings had always been very supportive of his sexuality, Neteyam truly didn't know what kind of reaction to expect from his parents. They never talked about these sort of things and he thought that if he brought it up to them, it would be too obvious and he'd out himself before he wanted to. These thoughts kept him up the entire night, his eyes hadn't rested until exactly 2:43 am. He was absolutely overwhelmed and just needed a day off, for the sake of his mental health. He picked up his phone and rung his mother.

Neytiri: Hello?

Neteyam: Hey Ma, is it okay if i stay home today? I'm not feeling great.

Neytiri: Oh no, what's wrong love?

Neteyam contemplated telling her the truth, but he fought against it.

Neteyam: My head's pounding and i didn't get much sleep. I think i might be sick.

This wasn't a complete lie. His head had been pounding, and he truly didn't get much sleep. But he knew this wasn't sickness making him feel this way.

Neytiri: Okay well, you stay rested. Can I get you anything?

Neteyam: Not right now no, thank you though. I think i just need some rest for now.

Neytiri: Okay son, text me if you need anything. I'll get Lo'ak and Kiri's lunches ready for you.

Neteyam: Thank you Mama.

Neytiri: Of course.

And with that, she hung up the phone. Neteyam rubbed his eyes with the bottom of his palms. He decided it would be best if he just went back to sleep. So that's exactly what he tried to do. He tossed and turned for 37 minutes straight until he heard his sister's bedroom door open. He instantly turned his back to his door and curled into his blanket. He shut his eyes extremely tight hoping sleep would fall upon him, praying his sister did not open his door. That's when heard a knock. And then another one following shortly after that one. He never said a word and no one ever opened the door. Suddenly Neteyam heard footsteps following into the siblings shared bathroom. He let a sigh of relief as he curled into his blanket more. He knew Kiri would never burst into his room the same way that Lo'ak did, but for some reason it never bothered him when Lo'ak would just open his door without knocking or barge into his room. It's hard for Neteyam to ever be upset with his brother knowing how much Lo'ak cares for him. So when Lo'ak hit him with the "When are you telling Mom?" question he couldn't even be upset. At first he was upset, infuriated actually. How dare his brother question him like that? He doesn't understand how hard it is to keep such a big thing a secret from the people who've done everything to keep you safe and alive. But as Neteyam thought long and hard he knew deep down that Lo'ak had no bad intentions behind his curiosity. He knew his brother had a bad habit of speaking before thinking and just couldn't bring himself to stay upset with him any longer.