Boys Will Be Boys

Chapter Five

“Are Nate and Jess okay?” I ask Alana, holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I’m in a very intense game of Mario Kart.

Alana sighs. “I mean, yeah. They kinda have to be. After all, they’re not dating, so Nate has no justifiable reason to be mad at her. Plus, Jess feels terrible about hooking up with Chase and they’re not back together or anything, so I think it’ll all boil down soon.”

“Good. I can’t handle any more drama.” I say. I can almost feel Alana rolling her eyes on the other end.

“You’re exaggerating.” She says.

I laugh. “Are you kidding? Between Vanessa and Tyler and Emery and Nate and Jess and not to mention Toby, I think I’ve got my hands full, thank you very much.”

“Um…what drama includes Emery?” she asks.

I pause. “What?”

“You said Emery.”

“No, I didn’t.” I deny.

“Yes, you did.”

“Oh. Well, I didn’t mean to.” I say, quickly.

Alana chuckles. “Alright, alright, so you’ve got a lot of drama. Sucks for you. Now, I’ve got to go to my Pre-Calc homework.”

“Have fun.” I say, in a singsong voice, and hang up before she can cuss me out. I return to playing my game, but am immediately interrupted by Gabe.

“Hey, big bro.” he says, sitting down on the couch next to me.

“Hey, little bro.” I reply, my eyes still hooked on the screen.

“Can we talk?” He asks, a little quietly, and I pause my game to look up at him. His expression is serious.

I toss my controller aside. “Yeah, of course. What’s up?”

“You know the rumors going around about Toby?”

I swallow. This is going to be a hard conversation. “Yeah, what about them?”

Gabe cocks his head to the side, looking at me, curiously. “Are they true?”

I cough. “Well, which rumors in particular?”

Gabe rolls his eyes at my pathetic excuse to avoid the question. “The ones about him being gay.”

“Oh. Those ones.” I say, lamely, and then decide that I have no other choice but to tell him. “Yeah, they’re true.”

“That’s what you meant when you asked me if I knew who he was dating, right?”

I sigh and put two fingers on the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, I wanted to see if you knew. And you didn’t, so…”

“So that’s why that basketball toolbag beat him up?” Gabe demands, his voice rising.

I nod in response. Gabe’s eyebrows fly upwards.

“That’s bullshit!” he exclaims. “Why should it matter? Oh my God, I swear, this school is insane!”

“Gabe, calm down.” I say, grabbing onto his arm.

“I will not calm down! Why should I be calm? Why are you calm? Why aren’t you beating up all those guys?” He yells.

“Gabe, they’re my teammates. I can't just barge in and beat them up!” I say, exasperatedly. Gabe glares at me.

“So you’re just gonna let them keep harassing Toby?” he spits.

“Gabe, I can’t help Toby. But he’s already got people watching out for him. Emery’s got his back and I know you do, too. Okay?”