The Riveting Lives of Russell and Sal

Chapter 20

"Why Sal?" Russell asked, as they strolled through the mall. "Why did you have to get us kicked out of Youth Group?"

Sal was still seething from the incident. How dare that man tell him off for wanting to live with his hypothetical girlfriend. And if he knew by girlfriend he meant Russell, who knew what he would have said or done. "They're all a bunch of slut-shaming homophobes."

"Now you know why I hate going there." Russell gnawed at his thumbnail, though Sal wasn't sure he had much thumbnail left to chew. "What am I going to do when Pastor Dave tells my parents about this incident? They're not supposed to know you even came!"

"Who cares what any of them think. You worry too much."

"My mom's going to ban me from ever seeing you." Russell tugged at his hair. "I'll never be able to hang out with you again."

"You say that every time I screw something up." Sal's stomach rumbled. "I'm starving. Can we get pizza, since I was robbed of it tonight?"

"And whose fault is that?"

Sal stopped in his track, in front of a booth. Several plain, black rings had caught his eye.

Russell leaned in. "Now what?"

"Ace rings," Sal said softly. Russell gave him a questioning look. "It's a sort of symbol for aces, wearing a black band around the middle finger of the right hand. I've been thinking about getting one."

Despite how upset Russell had been with him, he smiled. "You should."

Sal returned the smile. "Only if we go to Cold Gothic afterwards to get you that pair of fingerless gloves. You need more than just a coffin necklace."

Sal wore his ring with pride the next day, serving as a reminder there were other people like him. The best part was, nobody would know the true meaning behind the ring and its placement, so nobody would ever guess that he was ace. He fiddled with it all the way to English class, and took his usual seat behind Russell. Russell, who wore the usual coffin necklace, along with his new fingerless gloves. Black with studs.

"Is that one of those ace rings?" the girl at the table next to Sal asked.

"Uh-"

"I didn't know you were asexual."

"Well Heather, it's not something I-"

"I have this friend, at a different school. She's asexual too," Heather said. "You'd be perfect for each other. You already have matching rings."

"That's great. But I'm not interested-"

"What the hell is an asexual?" Brad asked.

"They're people who don't like sex," Heather said.

"You don't like sex?" Brad's voice rang loud, causing many students to turn to stare at Sal, who buried his reddening face in his notebook. "What's wrong with you?"

"Absolutely nothing," Russell said.

Brad curled his lip at him. "Nobody asked for your opinion, pan-fucker."

Russell turned back around, ignoring Brad but gripping the textbook in his hands. Sal rubbed his finger over his ring, fire filling his chest over Brad's insult. But defending Russell would make things too suspicious.

"Is this to make yourself feel better about being a virgin," Brad said to Sal, "or are you just looking for attention?"

"I'm not a virgin." Sal raised his chin. "I slept with every girl at my old school. They called me Sexual Sal, because of all the sex I was getting."