Off To Uni! (Written after Nick & Charlie by Alice Osmen)

Chapter Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty Five.

Charlie:
After we finish ice-skating, we all decide to go grab something to eat. Nick suggests the pizzeria down the street; I really only think he did that because he knows I know the menu really well and won't have a hard time. There are many reasons why I love that boy but the way he looks after me is one of my favorites. As we walk inside, Adam pulls me aside.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?"
"Yeah, sure," I say as everyone walks inside.
"When you and Nick first started dating, it was in secret right? He wasn't out yet?"

I nod my head.

"Yeah, it was really hard on both of us to be honest," I say.

He sighed.

"Did he just come out to everyone all at once?"

I let out a small laugh.

"Definitely not. Our friend group first. Then his Mum. Then some people here and there, and then one day on a field trip, he just, he said it to everyone and it got around."
"Was it, was it hard for you to carry that secret too?"

I knew he was asking me this because of what is going on between him and Jacob. I want to be sensitive to him but I also don't want to lie to him.

"Okay, I want to start off by saying this is your journey. You do not need to come out to anyone until you feel absolutely ready. With that being said, I was already bullied pretty horrifically in high school when I was outted. When Nick and I got together I thought everything was going to be great, but keeping it a secret made it feel like we were doing something we should feel ashamed of, when in fact, we were doing something that made us happy, being together. I think Nick could feel the weight I carried with that, because of the boy I was sort of with before him, Ben, we only hung out in secret, he acted like I didn't exist in public. I was never going to tell Nick when or how he should come out, that was for him to decide and him only. But I do think his decision was greatly based off of how I was feeling about everything. Am I rambling? Did any of this help?" I ask as I scratch the back of my head.

He lets out a small laugh.

"Kind of. Yes and no. I just, I don't want Jacob feeling that way. He has made me happier recently than I've been in a long time and I'm not ashamed, I'm just ...scared."

I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I'd like to say the people who love you will come around, but at the end of the day, you know your family better than I do. But I will say, sometimes people surprise you, and most times, they come around even if they don't understand it at first."

[THE NEXT DAY]

Adam:
I couldn't sleep all night. Partially because Charlie, Nick, Jacob and I were up all night but mostly because I was thinking about what keeping this a secret might to do Jacob. I don't want him to think I'm hiding him because I'm ashamed. I keep replaying my conversations with Nick and with Charlie over and over again in my mind. I'm going to tell my sister today and see how that goes and go from there. Jacob and I say goodbye to Nick and Charlie and start heading home. As I'm driving I look over at Jacob; he's trying really hard to stay awake but I see him drifting off. He was never really a morning person. I smile to myself and intertwine our fingers. He rubs his eye with his other hand and looks at me.

"I was losing you there for a second, wasn't I?"
"I was totally and completely awake," he insists.

I laugh as he picks up my hand and kisses it.

"I had a really great time. Nick and Charlie have a great group of friends. You're okay too," he teased.
"Yeah it was really great company, you know, besides you," I say as I smirk.
"Want to hang out at my house for a bit?" He asks.

I take a deep breath.

"Do you mind if I come over a little later? I think I'm going to tell my sister about me, about us," I say nonchalantly as I quickly look over at him.

He immediately sits up in his seat and narrows his eyebrows.

"What did you just say?"

I shrug.

"Do you mind if I come over later?"
"No you handsome idiot, the other part."
"Oh, you mean telling my sister? Yeah, I think it's time to tell someone."
"If you weren't driving right now, the things I would do," he says with a big smile on his face.

I pull into a gas station and park the car.

"Well, I'm not driving no ---"

Before I can even finish my sentence, Jacob grabs my face and kisses me slowly. When we're like this, I'm not afraid of anything. I pull away from the kiss and place my forehead against his.

"Well, I guess I need to tell people about us more often," I joke.

I drop Jacob off at his house. It's weird being back here with him. I'm still so mad at myself for all the time I wasted because I was afraid. I don't want to do that anymore.

"Let me know how it goes?" He asks.
'I'll call you right after," I say.

Jacob smiles softly and goes to open the car door.

"Don't I get a kiss goodbye?"
"I just, now that we're back here, I didn't think --"

I kiss him and to my surprise, there isn't an ounce of fear in my body, just pure bliss. Jacob pulls away from the kiss and smiles.

"Okay, okay, enough with the PDA, go home already," he says as he smirks.

I playfully push him out of the car and head home. I see that there are no cars in the driveway which means either everyone is out, or only my sister is here, which would be ideal. I walk inside and can hear the faint sound of the TV from upstairs.

"Isabelle, are you home?" 

I hear the TV shut off followed by her running down the stairs and throwing herself into my arms.

"You didn't tell me you were coming home today!"

I spin her around quickly and place her down.

"Well, it is the holidays," I say with a smile.
"I know that but still, I know you were happy to get out of here, figured you might stay with a friend over your break."

We go over and sit on the couch. 

"So what do you want to tell me?" She asks.

I look at her confused.

"What do you mean?"
"Well, you walked over to the couch, we sat down and all you've been doing is fidgeting your hands around. What's up?"

I laugh. She does really know me so well.

"Well, do you remember my friend Jacob?"

She nods her head.

"He actually goes to my roommate's friend's Uni right by ours and --"
"You're finally dating!" She exclaims.

Once again, confusion takes over my face.

"How did? When did? ...You know?"
"Adam I know you better than anyone, and I may have been young but anyone with eyes could see that connection between you two when he use to come over."

I let out a sigh of relief and laugh.

"So I'm bisexual," I say confidently.
"I figured. I see the way you look at some girls too," she says with a laugh.
"Well right now, I only have eyes for a guy."

She smiles as she melts into the couch.

"Tell me everything."

It was in that moment that I realized I was ready to tell everyone. If my younger sister could wrap her head around it, even before I could, I would hope everyone in my family would feel the same way. Just then, the door opened.