It's OK

Chapter 10

The next morning Danny woke up to his alarm blaring in his ear.

"Danny get up! You're running late!" his mother called up the stairs. Danny, hurriedly got ready and ran down the stairs.

"Ma! I finished the painting!" He blurted, excitedly.

"Really? What did you paint?" she asked. Before Danny could answer there was a small knock on the door.

"Adam!" Danny laughed. His mother couldn't understand why her son had laughed but she laughed along anyway. Danny opened the door, waved to his mom, and was on his way to school.

"Did you sleep well?" Danny asked Adam.

"Yeah! Did you?" Adam asked.

"Not really, I couldn't get to sleep," Danny replied, yawning.

"Sleepy-head," Adam laughed. Danny smiled. All he needed to hear was Adam's laugh and his day wouldn't suck as much.

School dragged on as Adam stared at the clock. He couldn't wait to get out of this place. No matter what he did, he was given death stares and threats from everyone, even his friends. He never knew being Danny's friend would hurt this much. He thought back to the day he realized that being gay would never be ok.

He was in 7th grade. Him and Danny had been walking home from school and Danny reached for his hand. Adam looked at him with confusion.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked.

"I'm escorting you home," Danny joked, taking Adam's hand. Adam had felt his heart skip a beat and his palms grew sweaty. He hoped Danny hadn't noticed. When they finally reached Adam's house, his father was sitting on the porch.

"What in the hell are you two doing?" his father had yelled.

"Danny was escorting me home," Adam replied as Danny let go of Adam's hand.

"You do NOT hold boy's hands! Is that understood?" his father bellowed.

"Ok, I'm sorry!" Adam replied, startled by his dad's reaction.

"I have to go Adam, I'll see you tomorrow," Danny stated as he walked away. Adam walked into the house and looked at his hand. It had felt so wonderful when Danny had held his hand. He didn't understand what it meant. He decided to ask his dad.

"Dad?" he asked when his father came back inside.

"What?" his father replied, looking Adam in the eye.

"Why did my hand feel weird when Danny touched it?" Adam asked, his voice shaking. His father's eyes lit with anger.

"What do you mean, Adam?" he asked.

"Well, mommy said that when you fall in love that your heart pounds and you can't talk right and you only want to be with that person forever and ever," Adam explained, "I think I fell in love with Danny but I'm scared. Is that normal?"

"NO IT'S NOT NORMAL! NO SON OF MINE WILL BE SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU JUST SAID?" his father roared. Adam covered his face with his hands and shook with fear.

"Roger? What's going on?" his mother asked timidly.

"Our SON just admitted he liked A BOY!" his father growled. Adam looked at his mom, hoping she'd rescue him from the situation. Instead she nodded and walked back into the kitchen.

"If you EVER decide to bring him back to my house, SO HELP ME ADAM I'LL KILL THE BOTH OF YOU!" his father threatened. Adam was sobbing in fear. "NEVER do that again! Am I understood?" Adam shook his head vigorously, hoping to end the confrontation. His father shot him a murderous look as he ran to his room.

"Adam!" Danny shouted, snapping him out of his thoughts, Adam looked around, confused.

"What?" he mumbled.

"Come on, it's time to go to lunch," Danny explained. Adam nodded and followed Danny to their usual place on the stairs. "I took your notes for you by the way."

"Thanks Danny. I'm sorry I zoned out," Adam replied. Danny smiled and sat on the step.

"What were you thinking about?" Danny asked.

Adam sat beside him and mumbled, "Nothing really."

Danny smiled and pulled out his sketchbook. Within seconds he began to draw.

"What are you drawing?" A voice came from the doorway. Both boys looked up in surprise. Randy stood in the doorway to the stairs watching them intently. Adam went pale and he looked to Danny for reassurance.

"Nothing, why?" Danny asked, concerned as he held his book close to him.

"I was just wondering what goes through a faggot's head," Randy snarled. Danny grabbed his bag and tried to run but Randy tripped him before he could make it. Adam gasped and tried to help his friend but didn't get to him in time. Randy had grabbed the book out of Danny's hands and was ripping out page after page and throwing them to the floor.

"NO!!!" Danny screamed as he watched Randy rip his art in half and crumple them before tossing them to the ground.

"Uhh, Danny?" Adam asked as he picked up a picture. He looked at Danny with wide eyes as tears flew down Danny's face. He was so scared of what Adam would think. He looked around at all the pages on the ground and realized that Danny had drawn him over and over in his book.

"I don't think your friend appreciates your artwork," Randy sneered. Danny looked up at Adam's stunned face. He felt like his world was crashing around him. Without thinking, Danny ran.