I Need A Reason (boyxboy)

~8~

Joey's POV

By lunch, I had made four friends. Will, Chase, Howard, and Issac. The four boys made me feel welcome. Though, Chase's dirty blonde hair and dull gray eyes made me crave the embrace of Andrew. It was tough, but, after fifth period, all I was thinking about was Skyping him after school.

"Something wrong Drysdale?" Issac asked, shoving me playfully. "Nothing. I just miss Boston, is all," I said quietly. "With your looks, I bet the city ain't all you're missing, huh. C'mon, you have to have had a special lady back north didn't ya Joey?" Chase chimed in. "Yeah. I guess, pretty damn special to me," I say, overwhelmed with moments of me and Andrew. "You hear that? Drysdale had a woman. And you can't even talk to girls Howard," Will chuckled.

"Hey back off would ya?" Howard smirked, raising his hands in defense. "Hey, check it out. It's Quinn," Issac smirks. "More like 'Queer'," Will laughed. I forced a small smile. "Why don't we let the Bostonian take the reins on this?" He suggested. The group murmured in agreement. "No, this really isn't me," I defended, "Honest. Plus, um, I-I don't even know how stuff goes around here. Wh-Why don't you show me?" I said.

"Yeah, c'mon Will. Let's show him how to do things 'round here," Howard said. Eventually, they walked towards the boy, leaving me where I was. "Hey faggot," Chase cursed. The boy tried to keep walking. Chase grabbed the boy's shoulder harshly. "I said hey. Pay attention queer," He spat. "S-Sorry," The boy mumbled. "You should be," Issac said, shoving the boy into another person. "Watch where you're stepping!" She snapped, walking off cockily. "G-Guys. I-I just wanna get t-to class," He whimpered. "'I-I just w-wanna'... Shut up fairy!" Will mimicked.

That's when I stepped in. "Guys, what're you doing? What's with the language? What'd he ever do?" I asked, standing between them. "He's a fucking faggot, Drysdale. Now, step aside. Let me show you what we do to faggots," Howard said, pushing me off to the side. "No way. Back off bastards," I cursed. "Geez. Just when we thought you were one of us. You traitor. You goddamn traitor. Go fuck yourself for protecting this cake boy. What are you? A 175, huh?" Chase ranted. The names hurting me more than the punch in my gut.

They walked off without saying another thing. "You okay?" I asked the boy. He just nodded. "I'm Joey Drysdale. A-And you are?" I introduced. He stayed quiet studying me. "Quinn. Tyler Quinn," He said. We just stood here in awkward silence. I was about to speak, but he started walking away. I stepped toward him, but he just walked faster. I just scared him away like a fucking deer. Way to go Joey, I scold mentally.

I speed through my remaining classes. Will and his group of followers throwing spitballs at me. So much I wanted to say, but the way I saw them treat Tyler, I was terrified to. After the final bell, I rushed to the front to find Dad's car no where in sight. I wandered around, waiting for him to pull up, and trying to make conversation with the people around me. It wasn't successful.

Finally, my phone buzzed. Dad texted me that he was going to be late coming home, and I would have to walk. I wish I had paid attention on the way over here. I end up using my phone's map and walked for at least fifteen minutes. I went inside of the apartment and gulping a water bottle down. I wiped my face with a damp paper towel and fixed my hair. I then logged onto Skype and called Andrew. He answered almost immediately.

"Joey!" He greeted warmly. "Hey Andy," I smiled. "Oh, I missed you so much today. I felt so sad at the sight of your empty desk. But you're here! How was your day?" He said, hyperly. "Fine, but, I really did miss you," I said. "So, I met this kid, a-a guy, today," I started. Andrew's face went blank. He forced a small side smile. "R-Really?" He asked. "Don't get any ideas Andrew. I just saw him being bullied and I stood up for him. Calm down," I chuckle lightly. "Well good for you. So, unlike you, I still have Mr. Parks. I've still got his book report due tomorrow and I haven't even started. So, call me tomorrow?" He smiles.

"Of course. Bye Andrew, I'll text you later," I wave. "And I'm not kissing the screen," I add. He starts to laugh lightly. "Dammit. Bye Joey," He winked, waving and hanging up. I sit on the couch, unable to think of what to do. The names that they called me were so . . .  unusual. 'Cake boy', '175', 'fairy'? 'Fariy' I had heard before, rarely, but never 'cake boy' or '175'. I googled the definition of cake boy and 175. Cake boy was just slang for gays, but 175 was the number used for homosexuals during the Holocaust. Looking at the words on the screen brought me to tears.

I quickly exited the browser as I heard a key jingle in the lock. "Hey dad," I greeted. "Hey Joe. How was school?" He said, dumping his stuff on the couch. "Fine, I guess," I mumble. "Make any friends?" He asked. "Sorta," I say. "Well good for you. Have you talked to anybody back home?" He smiled. "Yeah, I just hung up with Andrew on Skype," I said. "Nice. Well, I haven't had the chance to get groceries, so looks like we're getting take-out," He said. "Anything's better than your cooking," I joke.

We ended up picking up Subway and watching a football game. "There's a popular way in," Dad remarked. "What are you talking about?" I ask, cocking am eyebrow. "Try out for the football team. You'll have a better a shot at making some friends," He suggested. I shrugged. "I guess I could give it a shot." I threw away the bag and used napkins. I walked into my bedroom.

The walls still weren't painted and my bed was just . . . there. I collapsed on my bed and placed the hot laptop over my stomach. I noticed Andrew hadn't properly hung up our Skype call. I was about to, but what I saw stopped my dead in my tracks.