Him... (Troyler AU)

Alone

Darren’s POV

I glanced down at my phone. 10:00. I’d been waiting for Tyler for half an hour. He hadn’t replied to my last text. It was time to face the facts: I’d been stood up. That was something I’d never expect from Tyler. I guess he just got carried away with Troye. I’m not sure if Tyler feels anything for Troye, but I was fairly confident from the first and only time I’d met Troye that he was falling hard for Tyler. The problem is, I think I am too.

I know that Tyler finds me attractive (I’ve seen the video), but after getting to know me better, he’s probably realized that he doesn’t feel anything for me. It doesn’t help that he thinks I’m straight. Tyler and I have gotten pretty close and he knows a lot of my secrets, but this is just something I’m not ready to tell him. I’ve only told a few people in the past and some of them truly hurt me. That makes trusting anyone, even someone as amazing as Tyler, really hard. I swallow a large mouthful of beer, trying to drown out the bad memories that are suddenly popping into my mind. I pay for my beer and leave, feeling like shit as the memories I have suppressed for years resurface.

“Mom, Dad, I think I’m bisexual.” My hands are shaking, this is a big risk. I know my parents are really religious, but I’ve heard a lot of inspiring stories about parents who changed their minds once their children came out to them.

“So…you’re confused? It’s fine honey, everyone has phases where they want to experiment. Even I did. But I’m sure soon God will guide you back to the right path,” my mom said. Of course. The stereotypical, ‘I don’t hate you but I don’t think it’s real’ response.

“Um, dear, I disagree. I’ve seen people go down the wrong path, a lot. I know you went through some stages, but you weren’t raised in a religious household. Darren should know better than this. I don’t think we can support him if he continues to believe that this is acceptable. We haven’t allowed him to do drugs, drink, anything like that. Why would we condone something even worse?” my dad exclaimed.

“Guys, it’s not a phase. This is who I am, this is who I’ve been my whole life, this is who I always will be. I can’t, and won’t change, not even for you.” I spoke the truth. I had known for a few years that I was bisexual, and before that, I had always known I wasn’t quite the same as the other guys in my school.

“Fine. If that’s how you feel and you refuse to fix yourself, then I don’t think we can keep you under our roof,” my father replied.

“But dear, isn’t that a little extreme? He’s still our child.”

“It’s necessary. He needs to learn to respect us, our rules, and the word of God.”

Tears pouring down my cheeks I got up and left, running towards my room. I called my best friend who had just moved to San Francisco.

“Hey, I need a favor.”

“Is everything ok? You sound upset.”

“I decided to go through with the plan of telling my parents, and… they didn’t take it well. I need a place to stay.”

“Oh god, of course, yeah you can definitely stay with me. When do you plan on getting here?”

“I don’t know. I have some money saved up and I think I can get my mom to send me some money until I get back on my feet. I’ll probably be leaving tomorrow or Wednesday. I don’t think I can handle staying in this house much longer.”

“Ok. I’m really sorry but I have to go right now. Do you want to talk about this later?”

“Yeah,no problem. Bye!”