The Plague

Prologue

In the autumn of 1982, I packed my few belongings and left the small town I grew up in without looking back.

London was exciting. It was a place where I could explore the side of me that I had shoved so far back in the closet that I was unsure that I would ever find my way out.

That was when I met Zayn. He was proudly openly gay and he introduced me to a whole new world that didn't exist in Holmes Chapel.

I was mesmerized. Young and naive but it was the first time that I had ever felt free to be who I am. Zayn took me under his wing and introduced me to his friends. That was how I met Louis.

It was love at first sight. Louis was loud, funny, sassy, and confident and I couldn't believe it when he showed an interest in me. We quickly became a couple, and he taught me everything I needed to know about sex and love too for that matter.

Zayn did drag shows and after my first visit, I was hooked. I loved everything about it. I soon made my debut and Louis sat in the front row with a proud smile on display.

It was a wild time in my life. Louis and I moved in together and our apartment became the center of fabulous parties and dinner events. I was living the life I dreamt about as an insecure teenager.

The underground gay movement was thriving. London was our oyster and we had our lives in front of us. Exciting, wonderful lives where we didn't have to hide anymore.

Then people started to get sick.

We had heard rumors about a new, horrible disease that targeted gay people. No one really knew what it was. There were conspiracy theories about government experiments but I never believed that.

The gay plague. That was what they called it. The freedom so many of us had found took a choke hold on the community. People were scared. No one knew how you got infected. Everything we did know was that it was a horrible disease that drained the life out of us in the most excruciating of ways.

Louis and I talked a lot about it. Our closest friends Zayn, Liam, and Niall were worried too. We needed answers. The parties stopped. Everyone was afraid to go out. We were closeted again.