Rollercoaster [Discontinued]

Chapter Six: I'm Sorry, What?

"So, how're your roommates?" Nick asked, him, Jeff, and Wes claiming a table in the dining hall.

Jeff nodded. "They're pretty great. I mean, Thad spoke like two sentences and they were extremely violent, but a good violent, so... yeah."

Nick looked to Wes, who promptly offered him a comprehensible explanation. "We were telling Kurt- he's a transfer, I was right- about Dalton's no-bullying policy, and that people will only harass you if you're homophobic or racist or something on that level. Then Thad added transphobic, and said he'd punt the head off of anyone who's transphobic like it was a soccer ball."

Nick nodded slowly. "Well... At least he's an ally."

"Oh, he's somewhere in the gay community, nobody's just figured out where yet," Wes said.

"Anyway, what about your roommates?" Jeff asked.

Nick buried his face in his hands. Despite his efforts, the conversation was permanently burned into his mind. "Don't even ask."

Wes laughed. "Come on, it can't be that bad."

"You wouldn't be laughing if I told you what we had a conversation about," Nick mumbled.

"Now I'm intrigued."

"C'mon, tell us," Jeff said.

Nick looked up, resting his face on his hand. "Indirectly, your dick."

Wes went a furious red. "I'm sorry, what?" he managed to get out.

"Yeah, told you you wouldn't be laughing. They were musing on whether or not you were gay, and asked why it was even a question with your skinny jeans, and I, confused, told them you didn't wear skinny jeans. They were shocked and asked if I was sure. I, still oblivious, said that yeah, you said they were uncomfortable, you didn't wear them. Then I, realizing why they were so shocked, tried to burn the memory from my mind."

Wes had buried his face in his hands, mortified. "I can't believe that's even a conversation."

Jeff, always the optimist, found the bright side that only made Wes more embarrassed. "Hey, I mean, it means David has checked you out."

"Oh my god, he was there, wasn't he," Wes mumbled, looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

Nick knew there was only one way to get Wes and David together: being extremely blunt. Wes would deny everything until you bluntly told him if it would change something in his life.

"Yeah, he was. He said 'well damn, then' when I told him you didn't wear skinny jeans. I don't think he knew we heard him."

"You're messing with me," Wes said.

Nick shook his head. "I'm not. He and Blaine were the only ones there; he was the one who was curious about whether you were gay or not in the first place."

Wes looked up at him, shocked. "Wait, if only he and one other person were there, he'd be half of the conversation that was being had. He..."

He nodded. "Yep. Jeff and I-" there was a warm buzz in Nick's chest as he referred to them as one, an actual couple- "came up, and they asked if our families knew. I said that only they and you knew, and David was quick to clarify that I was talking about you, Wes Montgomery. I asked him if there was another Wes at this school and he blushed, said no, and said he was just curious. When Blaine pointed out that he was really curious, he blushed more."

Wes looked like his world had been flipped inside out. He looked hopeful for a minute, before shaking his head and pressing his fingers to his temples. "No. No, I can't do this. I'll just ignore it and it will go away."

"You know that's not how that works, right?" Jeff asked.

"Actually, I kinda had a question about your whole not-dating thing... It's not because your family doesn't know that you're gay, is it? Because you kno-"

"No, they know I'm gay," Wes said. "They're fine with it."

Nick nodded, relieved. "You're not just saying that to make us feel better?"

"No, I promise you, they know and couldn't care less. It's not... That's not it."

He picked up on Wes's tone, heart dropping a bit. "It has something to do with them, doesn't it?"

Wes bit his lip. He eventually looked down at the table and sighed. When he spoke, his voice was smaller than they'd ever heard it. He sounded so insecure, so cautious- it didn't even sound like him.

"There's a time in relationships, there always is, where you meet each other's parents. I can't... I can't be on that level of intimacy with anyone. It's too... There's a reason I never talk about them, you know. Why they're never at conferences, at meetings, why they don't drop me off at Dalton, why they never call me-"

Jeff had cut him off, hugging him. They were both in shock- Wes was crying. They'd never seen him cry before, in all the time they'd known him.

He gently led Wes out the hall, Nick making sure nobody followed them or saw Wes crying. He knew he would be absolutely mortified.

They made it far away from the dining hall before stopping in a hallway. Wes immediately slid down the wall and brought his knees up to his chest, hiding his face. He was shaking.

Nick sat on his side while Jeff was on the the right.

Eventually Wes stopped crying, but he didn't look up. He stayed curled into a ball, as if waiting for them to leave.

"Wes, what's going on?" Nick asked gently.

He shook his head, still not looking at them. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" he hiccuped, "I shouldn't have done that."

"Done what? Shown emotion? All you did was help us know that you need help," Jeff said.

"I don't- I don't need help. I've got it covered. It's just... Stressful. Especially since dad died."

His voice was muffled, but they heard it clearly. It was the first they'd heard about his father being dead.

Nick wrapped his arm around Wes, silencing Jeff with a look. He knew what he was going to say, but Wes didn't want that kind of help.

"Well, you can still let us help you. We can help you relax, make sure you don't overwork yourself. You don't have to tell us what's going on, but will you still let us help you in the ways we can?"

Wes let out a dry sob. "I love you guys."