Apathy & Empathy

Chapter 6

Classes went by quickly. Henry had managed to calm down enough to get through his tasks, though his mind wandered. He couldn't help himself. Spencer remained at the forefront of his mind. He wondered what they would get up to after school. Perhaps watch some TV together? Now that he thought about it, his place was pretty boring. There wasn't much to do besides watch the TV in the living room or listen to music in Henry's bedroom. Still, Henry and Luclan always managed to find things to do. Usually it involved destruction of inanimate objects, but it was still fun.

Henry met up with Luclan and Victoria and sat down at their table. Luclan was staring Henry down with his hands pressed together like a cheesy James Bond villain. Henry sighed, already exasperated with Luclan and his shenanigans.

"What?" Henry asked.

"You know what, Henry." Luclan began. "I, as your best friend, have a right to know who it is you're crushing on!"

"That's not how it works at all." Henry stated and took a bite of his chicken sandwich.

"Of course it is! I tell you about my crushes." Luclan glanced at Victoria and realized the implications of what he had said. "Ur, not that I have any currently." Luclan cleared his throat in a comic manner. "My point, Henry, is we tell each other everything! That's what best friends do! Now suddenly you're keeping secrets?"

Henry felt a little guilty when he put it like that. It was true, he and Luclan did tell each other everything, until just recently. Henry just felt so overwhelmed and embarrassed by everything. Luclan made it all look so easy. Henry wondered if that was because Luclan only dated girls. Things just felt different for Henry, and he knew he shouldn't feel weird about being gay, but he did. He couldn't shake the shame he was feeling on top of everything else. These emotions were all new to him.

"Look, I don't want to keep this a secret, I just need to know if it's a fluke or not before I start talking about it."

"A 'fluke'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Luclan was confused.

"You know, like I need to know if I actually like this person or if my brain is just doing weird shit." Henry explained, clunkily.

"Dumbass, a crush is a crush. If you think it's a crush, chances are it probably is! I just don't get what the big deal is." Luclan was still confused.

"It's just embarrassing, okay?" Henry muttered.

"Dude, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Almost everyone gets crushes! How do you think most relationships start off? 'Oh hi, I think you're cute.' 'Wow, you do?' Muah muah muah!" Luclan made his hands look like they were violently kissing to further illustrate his point.

"Well, this is different!" Henry insisted. Luclan raised an eyebrow.

"Different how? You're not hanging out with some weirdo forty year old from online, are you? Because if that's the case, then it is different, because that's called 'grooming' and I'll call the fucking cops." Luclan got all puffed up. Henry groaned.

"No, it's not some forty year old! He's eighteen!" As soon as the words left Henry's mouth he could feel the blood drain from his face. Luclan was no longer confused.

"Ohhhhhh. Okay yeah now it all makes sense." Luclan took a sip of his milk. "I always knew it was a possibility. I mean you have 'He' in your name after all." Henry was stunned into silence. Things were not going how he planned at all. "So, are you gay, or is this like a bi thing? Either way it's cool. I'm an ally." Luclan took the opportunity to wink at Victoria. Henry groaned and put his head down on the table, pushing his tray of food away. Luclan took the opportunity to steal one of the fries.