Selfish Pleasure: A Homophobic Nightmare

Chapter 5: The Coverup

The next day, Marcus walked downstairs to find Nathan eating breakfast with his grandmother.
"Hey," he told them.
"Good morning, sweetheart." His grandmother told him as he pulled up a chair next to Nathan.
Nathan looked up at him as they both smiled.
"I take it you two had a nice night," his grandmother told them with a smile.
"Grandma," Marcus said firmly.
"We didn't do anything," Nathan said looking down as he ate.
"Alright, alright" she told them as she continued to eat.
"Look, Nathan, I think we have to do something about this." Marcus told him.
"About what?"
"About what we did; we can't be the two reasonable for this." Marcus replied as his grandma raised an eyebrow listening in.
"Marcus, that's it, we aren't. We aren't the first two guys to ever date." Nathan told him.
"I know that, but we're basically the first in this town.. or else we wouldn't be all over the news."
"You certainly are the first I've seen." Marcus' grandmother replied as she ate.
"Really? You've never seen any couple of the same sex?" Nathan asked her.
"Never. I've merely heard stories, but never have I seen one in person. When I was your age, no one ever spoke of that word, let alone sing it in Christmas songs."
"Whoa," Nathan and Marcus both said in shock.
"See, we are the first!" Marcus told them.
"No we aren't, we may be the first for a lot of people in this town, but not for the country." Nathan replied.
"Still, we made an impact. Because of us, half the country is trying this like it's nothing but a new trend. This is one of the many reasons why Christians and conservatives are so against us."
"Well we can prove to them that this is not an option you could just one day choose to be." Nathan told him.
"It's not? I thought you were straight before, Marky!" His grandmother interrupted.
"See, how are we going to do that? I mean, I can't even explain it." Marcus told them.
Nathan looked down as he tried to think of a quick solution.
"I don't know," he answered, disappointed he couldn't come up with anything.
"I do." Marcus told him.
"What,"
"We have to fake it. Tell them it was all just to try something new, and that we didn't really change our sexualities." Marcus answered.
"Marcus, but then we wouldn't be able to date anymore."
"Don't worry, we could still hang out..."
"Without being affectionate, so basically back to when we first started all this." Nathan interrupted.
"No, we could be affectionate.. we'd just have to keep it to a minimum."
Nathan looked up at him before saying
"You sound like a conservative lawmaker."
"I'm sorry, but it's what we have to do to fix this."
"What if we do that instead?" Nathan asked as he thought of the idea.
"Do what,"
"Compromise. It's where our country's always started the process of change." Nathan told him.
"It's a start, but I don't think they would be comfortable with the idea that their children could choose to become a part of this."
"Well, we could go with your plan, but we can't stop anyone from doing anything." Nathan told him.
"No, but we can prove that not everyone is capable of becoming gay." Marcus replied.
"Alright, lets do it." Nathan said smiling.
"Let's do this, boys." Marcus' grandmother replied standing up.

After Marcus and Nathan arrived at school, they went their separate ways to change as they got ready for P.E.
"Hey Marc, this is crazy! Everyone is talking about our school!" One of the guys told him as he walked to his locker.
"Yeah, everyone's trying it! Even girls! I haven't come up with a name for them yet.. Galfriend? Na.." Jeremy replied from his locker.
"You guys, this isn't a good thing. What happened with you and your parents, Jeremy?" Marcus asked him.
"I told them I got back with Casey."
"The girl cheerleader?"
"The cheerleader," Jeremy replied before they laughed.
"Jeremy, this was all just for fun. You don't really think you're gay now, do you?" Marcus asked him.
"Man, I'm in love. That's what I am. Casey basically is a girl anyway, he wears fake eyelashes and makeup." Jeremy answered.
"Oh God, this wasn't supposed to happen.." Marcus said to himself.
"Look, Marc, I know you were just trying it out with Nathan, but didn't you start to like him even more after getting to know him better?"
"No, it was all just a lie. I never liked him that way, I saw what I wanted and tried it, now I've gotten it out of the way. And you all should too. Let's just make things go back to normal." Marcus told them as it began to get quieter.
"See guys, I told you from the start. I knew it from the minute Marc said it was just for fun that it wouldn't last long. It's not love, guys.. it's another trend. And just like trends do, they die out. It's time to move on to the next." Jake told them.
"What, become girls now?" One guy joked before the rest began to laugh.

Marcus saw Nathan walking out to the blacktop before he followed after him.
"Nath, why didn't you wait for me?" He asked him after walking in front of him.
"'Cause we aren't dating anymore." Nathan told him as he walked around him.
"What? What's wrong?" Marcus asked, confused as he followed him.
"This was all just for fun, wasn't it? And now it's over; out of your way."
Marcus stopped as he watched him leave to the blacktop. He ran over to sit next to him as he waited for their class to start.
"Nath, that was the plan, remember? I didn't mean what I said about you." Marcus told him firmly.
"Then how did they know before you even told them? You did just what you said; you saw me, got what you wanted, and..."
"I didn't move on." Marcus interrupted.
"I stayed with you, Nathan. I'm still here."
"Well, so what, you saw an opportunity and then 'fell for me unexpectedly'." Nathan asked.
"No, Nath, I saw you. I wasn't lying about that. I saw something in you that the only thing I knew was that I had to figure out what it was. And now I know." Marcus told him.
"Don't say it, you've said enough cheesy shit for the day." Nathan told him, beginning to smile.
"You don't want me to say it?" Marcus asked him, surprised as he placed his hands around his waist to tickle him.
Nathan shook his head before laughing as he tried to stop him.
One of the guys looked over to them as he had heard their conversation. He walked to his class where he ran into Jeremy.
"Hey man, I just realized I gotta dump Casey now.. could you tell him like you told my last girlfriend?" Jeremy asked him.
"No... I think you should still be with him." He told him.
"What? Why do you think that?"
"Because, you two like each other don't you?"
"Well, I thought I did. But, it was just for fun, remember?" Jeremy told him.
"I know it was, but now it's turned into something better. Something much more than just a trend."
"That's not my fault. But I can't, I mean my parents would kill me. I can't go back now."
"Just do what Ross did in Friends." Jake told him.
"Ross wasn't gay."
"Yes, he was, when he was younger. But then he changed back!"
"How do you know he was gay"
"He had tea parties and watched Golden Girls."
"Not at the same time!" Jeremy replied.
"Look, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't let other people decide for you. Not your parents, nor your friends. If you feel something for someone, you should allow yourself to."
"But Jake, Marcus said it was just a trend, just a phase."
"People say a lot of things to make you question your own way of thinking. You can't let people do the thinking for you. You gotta think what you feel and do what you feel is right." Jake told him.
"You're right! But wait, wouldn't that mean I shouldn't listen to what you tell me either? And that what I feel is the opposite of what you told me even though I agreed with you? Aw, I have a headache." Jeremy told him as he placed his hand on his forehead.
"Man, just dump him, I don't care." Jake told him before watching the students around him as they too were trying the new trend.

After school had finished, Marcus met with Nathan as news reporters who were waiting outside of the classrooms chased after them.
"That's them! Marcus! Nathan! What inspired you to create this viral sensation?" One of them asked as the rest began asking different questions.
Marcus covered Nathan as they walked away from them.
"What's going on?" Frankie asked as she caught up with them.
"Is this your friend? Are you gay now as well?" One reporter asked her.
"No, lady! No I'm not gay, yes I am their friend. Frankie Lopez, nice to meet you. Hi Mom and Dad!" Frankie replied waving to the camera.
"Look, we can't take this anymore." Marcus yelled after letting go of Nathan's hand.
The reporters gasped before leaning in closer.
"We are not gay." Marcus told them before they gasped again even louder.
"Alright, alright.. it's true. We just wanted to go viral." He told them.
"And how did you know this would become such a big trend?" One reporter asked him.
"We knew how our school would react since this was so new and controversial. I mean, it's the same for every trend, isn't it?" Marcus asked before the crowd mumbled.
"So this was all just a lie to get what you want," one reporter said, disappointed.
"They're phonies!" Another reporter yelled before the rest of the reporters started talking into the cameras.
"This just in, the two boys at West Valley High faked a relationship to gain internet fame." One of them told the camera.
"That'll hold them for a while. Come on, let's go." Marcus told Frankie and Nathan before they followed him to his car.
The news reporters looked around for them after they left.
"Where'd they go?" One asked.
"I can tell you where they're going." The reporter heard a voice coming from behind her.
"Oh? And who are you?" She asked after turning around.
"My name is Jake..."