The Coming Out

Rumors

Riley sat across from her two best friends, Maya and Lily, at their favorite coffee shop. They had been friends since kindergarten and knew everything about each other's lives. Maya was scrolling through her phone, while Lily was busy admiring her new manicure. Riley looked down at her hands, nervously tapping her fingers on the table.

"I need to tell you guys something," Riley finally spoke up. "It's about Ivan."

"What about him?" Maya asked, finally looking up from her phone.

"I think he's in love with his best friend, Carson," Riley said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?!" Lily exclaimed. "How do you know that?"

"Well, when we were dating, Ivan would always cancel plans with me to hang out with Carson. He would text him constantly and would always talk about him when we were together. It just felt like he cared more about him than me," Riley explained.

Maya nodded in understanding. "That does sound suspicious. Have you talked to him about it?"

Riley shook her head. "No, I didn't want to confront him about it. But it's the reason why I broke up with him. I just couldn't compete with his feelings for Carson."

Lily let out a sigh. "That's so tough, Riley. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

The girls continued to talk, sipping on their coffee and catching up on each other's lives. But as the day went on, the conversation seemed to shift towards Ivan. They discussed his behavior and speculated about his sexuality. Eventually, rumors started to spread around the school that Ivan was gay.

It wasn't long before Ivan found out about the rumors. He was devastated and couldn't believe that his ex-girlfriend, Riley, would spread such lies about him. He confronted her about it the next day at school.

"Riley, why are you spreading rumors about me being gay?" Ivan asked, his voice shaking with anger.

"I'm not spreading rumors, Ivan. I just told Maya and Lily that I think you're in love with Carson," Riley defended herself.

Ivan's face softened as he let out a sigh. "Look, Riley. I don't know what you think you know, but Carson is my best friend. I care about him, but not in the way you're suggesting."

Riley could see the hurt in Ivan's eyes and realized that she may have been wrong. "I'm sorry, Ivan. I shouldn't have assumed things without talking to you about it first."

"It's fine," Ivan said, shrugging it off. "But please, don't spread rumors about me again."

Riley nodded, feeling guilty for causing Ivan pain. She couldn't believe that a simple conversation with her friends could lead to such chaos. She wished she had kept her thoughts to herself.

Ivan felt suffocated by the rumors that spread around the school like wildfire. 

"GAY-WAD"

"GAY ASS"

"IVANS GAYYY"

"Rainbow bitch!"

The taunts and stares he received from classmates made him feel like he didn't belong. He was depressed and couldn't shake off the feeling of being misunderstood. But deep down, he knew he wasn't gay. He didn't want to come out to defend himself because he didn't see it as something to be ashamed of. Ivan eventually found solace in the few friends who stuck by him, and he learned to stand up for himself. He realized that the only person's opinion that mattered was his own.

As the days went on, the rumors continued to spread, and Ivan felt more and more isolated. He found himself avoiding his friends and staying home more often. It wasn't until he finally confided in Carson about what was going on that things started to improve.

Carson listened to Ivan's fears and worries, assuring him that there was nothing wrong with being gay. He reminded Ivan of all the times they had shared together as friends and how much he meant to him. Carson's support and love helped Ivan find the strength to face the rumors and stand up for himself.

In the end, the rumors slowly died down, and Ivan was able to move on from the hurt that Riley had caused. He learned the importance of being true to himself and not letting others define who he was. He eventually became friends with his ex-girlfriend Riley, even though he still had some feelings deep down for her, their friendship remained strong, and Ivan knew that he could always count on her. But even though they were all "rumors" it was true, he wasn't infact "gay-gay" but he was attracted to girls and men. he just didn't know yet. And while he was still young, he thought maybe he was going through a phase, so he pushed these "weird" feelings away and started focusing on school.

Or so he thought.