Social Norms (Synacky)

Chapter Thirteen

So, Brian was dating a boy. Not just any boy. The queer he had hated since the beginning of sophomore year.

Who would’ve thought?

They decided to not tell anyone about it. Not yet. Brian was still testing things out, and Zacky was just too fearful of their reactions to just come out and say it.

“Why don’t we go to the beach?” Brian asked Zacky the next day after practice. They were walking together from Jimmy’s house to Zacky’s, trying to act more like friends than anything else in public.

“I don’t really go to the beach that often…” Zacky trailed off. “We haven’t gone in like, a year.”

“What?” Brian asked, “Why the hell not? This is Surf City, people travel from around the world to come to the beach here!”

Zacky just shrugged. “I don’t know, we just never seem to go. I guess my family’s so busy and my mom doesn’t like sand and there’s sunburns and stuff…”

“Do we have practice tomorrow?”

“Nope.”

“Can I pick you up at around noon, then? It can be like our first date. We can bring food and go swimming and stuff.”

“Um, sure…” Zacky paused on the sidewalk in front of his house. “Yeah, that’ll work.”

He turned to go into his house, but paused and turned back to Brian. Brian smiled and waved, but Zacky hugged him tight. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Brian chuckled and hugged him back, trying to calm the butterflies that crashed around wildly in the pit of his stomach. “Yeah, okay. Bye, Zacky.” He kissed Zacky’s cheek, and the younger boy pulled away.

“Bye!” he called before the front door closed behind him.

~*~

“You should take your shirt off.”

“I’d rather not. I burn easily.”

“I brought sunscreen.”

“I like this shirt though.”

Brian sighed, watching Zacky as the younger boy drew patterns in the sand. His Transplants shirt was a good one, Brian had to admit, but it was blocking a view of something he imagined would look much better.

“What month is it?” he asked, laying on his back and staring up at the blue sky.

“June.” Zacky replied. “I don’t know what day, though. In the twenties, I’d guess.” Zacky smirked, and added, “You’re getting sand in your hair.”

“Oh, fuck sand.” Brian sat up, shaking his head, succeeding in spraying grains all over Zacky. “It’s hot, let’s go swimming. You’ll have to take off your shirt to get in the water.”

“Brian, I really don’t want to…” Zacky gasped suddenly when Brian straddled his thighs.

“Can I persuade you?” he asked huskily, lips lingering centimeters form Zacky’s own. Zacky blushed deeply, pecking Brian’s chin softly.

“N-No…” he replied, “But you could kiss me…”

Brian leaned down, pressing his lips to Zacky’s, relishing the feeling of cool metal and warm softness against his skin. He flicked his tongue over Zacky’s bottom lip, and the younger boy let out a soft sound, fingers running through Brian’s hair. Zacky moved his hands to cup Brian’s face and pulled away to look at him.

“You’re so cute.” Brian chuckled, turning his head to kiss Zacky’s palm.

Zacky bit his lip, blushing and looking away. “Well, let’s go swimming, okay?”

Brian got off of Zacky, holding out a hand to help him up, and they raced each other to the ocean, splashing into the waves.

“Shit!” Zacky cried as soon as his toes touched the water. “It’s fucking cold!”

Brian smirked, grabbing Zacky’s hand. “You just gotta get used to it.” He replied, before pulling him into the deeper water, and crashing down with him into the ocean.

Brian surfaced a moment before Zacky, watching as the younger boy spluttered and shivered when he surfaced. “That was mean!” he pouted, wrapping his arms around himself. “God, it’s freezing.” Brian watched in amusement as Zacky stood stiff and shook, but then he looked up at the older boy, mischief glinting in his emerald eyes.

“You’re gonna fucking pay for that.”

They spent the afternoon laughing and chasing each other through the waves, and it was honestly the best time Brian had had in a long time. Brian couldn’t believe he had ever dared to hurt this fascinating boy, who had the most beautiful smile of anyone he had ever seen.

That evening, they made their way back to their spot on the beach, sitting on the sand to watch the sunset, at Zacky’s request.

“Why do we need to watch it set?” Brian asked as he stared out across the ocean.

“Because it’s beautiful.” Zacky replied, “It’s a form of art in itself. I wish I could write music as well as the sun sets every evening.”

Brian smiled, “You’ll get there. You’re coming along quite nicely. You’ll be writing sunset art in no time!”

At this, Zacky chuckled softly, eyes glued on the sun as it kissed the horizon of blue water.

“Can I ask you something?” Brian asked, searching the expressions on Zacky’s face. He looked so happy now, so serene and calm.

“Yeah, go ahead.” Zacky replied, not moving his gaze from the ocean.

“What does your family think about you being… you know…”

“Gay? A queer? A cocksucking faggot?” Zacky offered for him. He scoffed softly, then sighed. Brian bit his lip, waiting for Zacky’s answer.

“When I came out to my parents, they were really mad. Took me to church a few times, tried to get me straightened out. They thought it was a phase, but I brought home my first boyfriend to meet them when I was in eighth grade, and they flipped out. Now I guess my mom accepts it more or less. She knows I’m serious, and as long as I’m single, she’s alright with it. I don’t really get along with my dad much anymore. He doesn’t talk to me often, and when he does, it’s sorta harsh. I’m not really his kid anymore, just his mistake. He leaves the room when I come in, won’t look me in the eye.” He shrugged. “I guess you can say they don’t think very highly of me anymore.”

Brian frowned. “What about your siblings?”

“Matt’s still cool with me. Dad doesn’t want my ‘gayness’ rubbing off on him, so we don’t hang out that often. Zina really liked it for a while, but when she realized I was her same old brother and I had no huge taste in fashion or keeping things clean or having slumber parties and giggling over boys, she sorta lost interest.” He bit his lip, teeth toying with his snakebites.

Brian brooded on this, glaring down at the sand. “Do you wanna spend the night at my house?” he asked.

Zacky looked over at him warily. “I don’t generally do that with guys I’ve just started dating…”

“I won’t try anything on you, I swear. Please? You have a shitty home situation, and my parents won’t mind if you spent the night. Would your parents care?”

“Yeah, they don’t like me staying the night with my friends. Look, it’s late. I need to go home.” He stood, brushing the sand from his pants, and Brian stood too. “I had fun today, Brian.” He smiled, before giving Brian a hug. “We should do this again sometime.”

“Do you want me to give you a ride home?” Brian asked, “I drove us here, I could just-“

“I don’t live far off from here, I’ll walk.” Zacky smiled, and Brian kissed him gently.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at practice, then.”

“Yeah. Bye, Brian.” Zacky scooped up his shoes, before heading off down the beach.

Brian watched him go, feeling confused and sad, for Zacky, and more than anything else, wishing he could help him.