Jude stepped off the train at the LA station bouncing with energy. He had gotten a ride from Brandon right after school to the station where he boarded the train for LA immediately after school. Throwing his bag over his shoulder he headed for the main entrance where Connor said his mom would be waiting. Connor had to stay at school to get ready for the football game as the team prepped and did dinner together before they played. Walking through the stairs he looked around when he heard a shout.
"JUDE!" he looked up and saw a brunette girl about his age holding a sign that read "Hey Jude!" with hearts and lots and lots of glitter. He had never seen this girl before but she came running up to him and threw her arms around him yelling. "This is so cool!!"
She was laughing and giggling as she looked at him and then she slapped his arm "So have I totally freaked you out?" she said teasingly.
"Yeah" Jude said nervously. He has never seen this girl before but her smile was contagious and her laughter was reassuring.
She slid her arm in his and started pulling. "Well, I am Gina. I go to Winward School with Connor, who is currently preparing for the game tonight. Since he can't come, he sent me to pick you up with your mom. Parking is a beast so I said I would come in and get you and let her stay in the car" Gina didn't seem to pause to breathe she talked so fast.
"You know Connor?" Jude asked surprised.
"Of course I do. I mean he is pretty dreamy, even by LA standards you know. New guy shows up, good looking, smart, athletic. All the girls noticed Connor and he was really nice and polite, but kept to himself. My brother, Joey, got him to try out for the football team, he's a year older than us, he said Connor had an amazing tryout. Oh, there she is" Gina suddenly changed direction, pulling on Jude as he saw her dash towards a blue sedan. Opening the door, Jude slid in the front and saw Connor's mom smiling at him as Gina jumped in the back.
"Hello Jude" she said smiling. "I see Gina found you."
"Yes ma'am" Jude said. "Thank you for picking me up and for letting me stay this weekend."
Connor's mom laughed. "You are welcome Jude. Besides, if I hadn't agreed I am pretty sure Connor would have walked back to San Diego" she said with a smile.
"Nah" Gina said leaning forward "my sis would have driven him." Jude looked surprised at that. "Oh, Valerie thinks you two are adorable and is a huge fan. She teases him mercilessly about you" she giggled.
"Oh really?" Jude said with a raised eyebrow. "Do I need to have words with your sister?" Jude said narrowing his eyes.
Gina just burst out laughing as did Connor's mom. "OMG, you are so exactly like he described" Gina laughed. "He warned us not to mess with you or we would feel it." Gina rolled her eyes at Jude's reaction. "So, as I was saying, Connor tried out for the team and did great. Coach said he made it but Connor said he had some questions first. He started grilling Coach Jones about bullying on the team, diversity, and whether the athletic programs had issues with gay athletes. Well, Coach was definitely caught off guard. Joey said he was stammering and stuttering and the guys were all laughing when one guy asked why it mattered. So Connor then says 'Well when my boyfriend comes to visit, I want to make sure no one has a problem with it'."
Jude's eyes widened at that. He knew that Connor wasn't going to be in the closet at his new school, but he wasn't sure how he would address it. When they talked Connor just said he was going to be himself and that people would have to deal with it. He hadn't expected him to be so...blunt!
"So" Gina continued "several of the guys started teasing him about his boyfriend, but the good kind of teasing, you know?" Gina was really animated. She tossed her hands about and her face made all these expressions while she told the story. "Riley, the quarterback and captain of the team, he stood up and told Connor that his sister was a lesbian so it didn't matter to them if he was gay or not. Two other guys had gay siblings and one of the defensive backs has two dads. So everyone was cool and Connor joined the team. Of course after that word got out to the collective dismay of all the girls who had been drawing his name on their notebooks" Gina snorted.
