[DISCONTINUED] My Whole Family Thinks I'm Straight (Lams)

1

(If you didn't read the A/N or description I advise you to do that now because this won't make much sense without it.)

"So why is it that gay people think that they have some sort of superiority over everyone else? Personally, I don't understand this 'community', it's not natural for two men to love each other, don't you agree Jack?" John's father, Henry Laurens, grunted from across the dinner table as he noticed his eldest son staring absentmindedly at his glass of water. John looked up to his father and gave a short nod, finishing the last bite of his meal and letting his cutlery clatter down on the plate before him.

Ignoring his mother's glares from the disruptive noise, he abruptly stood up, picked up his plate and headed towards the kitchen, avoiding eye contact with any of his family members. ' So much for coming out soon.' John thought to himself as he angrily chucked his items into the dishwasher, only imagining the looks his mother would give him, had she been in the room of course.

As if on cue, Eleanor Laurens walked into the kitchen, an empty glass in her hand, just as John had slammed the dishwasher door closed.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Eleanor's voice was full of concern at the sight of her eldest son who, at this point, was so frustrated that he was tugging at his hair. John let out an exasperated sigh and swivelled around to face his mother, trying his best to display a somewhat convincing smile.
"Yeah mom, um, I'm just going to freshen up real quick then I'm heading out. I'll probably call Laf and Herc to see if they'll come too."
Only part of this was a lie. He needed a break from his family, especially his father, and he was actually going out, to a bar in fact, but he wasn't planning on inviting anyone. She gave him a sceptical look but nodded regardless of her motherly instincts, softly kissing his forehead.
"Don't stay out too late, and let me know if you stay over at anyone's house." She gently stroked his cheek with a smile before filling her glass with water and exiting the room, all in one swift movement.

Shortly after she left, John made his way upstairs and into his bathroom. After quickly scanning the door to check it was closed, he unlocked the under the sink cabinet, that he always kept a padlock on, and pulled out his pair of old hair straighteners. Whilst his hair was already pin-straight from when he'd used them that morning, being the paranoia infused teen that he was, he felt it necessary to run them over his hair one last time before leaving.
"How ironic," he muttered to himself as he waited for the temperature to rise on the straighteners, "they can get rid of the curls, yet not the real gayness."

He rushed through the process of flat-ironing his hair and proceeded to dress himself into one of his classic outfits: a green flannel shirt, black skinny jeans and navy converse, topped off with his signature ponytail. Personally he'd always thought, on the rare occasions that he did leave his hair curly for more time than it took to dry, that his ponytail looked much better when it was curly, not that anyone else knew.

Staring at himself in the mirror as he tied the elastic round his hair, he felt tears prickle in his eyes, threatening to fall.
"Five years. Five years, and it still never feels right to do this."
He harshly bit his lip, hoping to prevent the drops falling from his eyes as he roughly wiped away any remnants of moisture from his tear ducts.
"One day." His voice cracked as he said this short sentence and he winced at how pathetic this made him sound.

Pushing stray hairs away from his face and behind his ears, he grabbed his wallet from his bedside table, slipping his fake ID from Lafayette into one of the compartments and crammed it into the back pocket of his jeans, along with his phone and keys.

John jogged down the stairs, grabbing his thin waterproof jacket from the banister, and poked his head into the dining room, where his whole family were all still sat around the table. Conversation died down as Henry Jr noticed his presence and grinned up at him.
"Hey Jacky!" He chirped. John, despite his shitty mood, couldn't help but smile back at his younger brother.
"Hey kid." He ruffled the boys short black hair, sighing that nobody knew the truth.
"I'm going out, don't wait up for me."
Eleanor nodded, trying to ignore all of her impulses to not let her son leave.

John exited the room, giving a small wave to his younger siblings and closing the door as the previous chatter resumed inside. Almost instantly, the bright smile that he had been wearing dropped, but he tried to shake off his negative emotions and instead decided that he'd try to have some kind of fun on his lonely night out.