the boy who was afraid of the dark

monday 11:21 am, lucas

there i sat in class, ignoring the curious looks from my peers and instead copying down the notes on the board.

of course, i did not expect to get ambushed.

first, there was a loud pounding on the door.
the teacher jumped from shock and dropped her chalk, which sent her into a bad mood to open the door.

"what?" she sighed as she swung it open.

by the time i recognized the voice, it was too late for me to do anything.
"um- the headmaster, wants lucas." yann stuttered.

mrs. ledderman put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow, "pass?"

i knew he would freeze and get his dumbass into trouble, but then another voice stepped in.
"actually," william smoothly intervened. "he didn't give us a pass, but i'm sure you can trust that we have no reason to lie."

  ledderman glared for a second, but i saw the moment on her face when she realized that she really didn't care.
  then she nodded to me, "out."

  now, i can't explain it, but i'm stupid. and spacey. and often i can be fully aware of something happening while not listening or paying attention at all.

  so of course i said, "yes. i am."
  and stared at ledderman, obviously confused with myself and my surroundings.

  someone behind me snickered and that's when i figured out what she truly meant.
  so i picked up my bag and strolled calmly out of the classroom, because i'm gay and now everyone knows.

  but as soon as the door closed behind me, the shock on my best friend's face said maybe that's not a good thing.

  "so," he gulped. "you're out."
  i nodded.
  "and," william processed. "eliott's out."

  "he's not gay," i reminded them. "pansexual."
  they nodded. they knew.

  however, eli and i forgot about one of the most important people. this person did not know. and he had to find out from overhearing some girls from eliott's little fan club talking about it. and he was really, really mad.

  chris came storming down the hallway.
  "there you are, dipshits!" he slapped me on the head and crossed his arms.

  i didn't even say ow or yelp because of how bad i felt. we completely forgot that we didn't tell him. we genuinely thought he knew.

  "i really had to be the last to know about this? and i couldn't even find out from eliott himself? that's fucked up! is there a reason y'all didn't want me to know?" his anger quickly changed to self consciousness.

  i put a hand on his shoulder so he would quit tending up, "no, chris. trust me. it's just that- a lot happened and we thought you already knew. we completely forgot."

  he was staring at the ground.
  "i mean, i had my suspicions. but like, i wasn't gonna say anything about that cause i figured you guys were still trying to keep it a secret. and who am i to come bathing into your business?"
  he kicked the ground like a sad four year old.

  "well, if it helps, that's the right thing to do." william smiles encouragingly.

  "okay, moving away from chris being dramatic, how has eliott been doing?" yann changed the subject to why they really pulled me out of class. "we don't know his schedule."

  "well," i shrugged. "i don't know. i haven't seen him since this morning."

  the three shared a nervous look. and i could tell they were thinking that something bad was happening, or that eliott was immediately in a dark place.

  "don't worry about it," i assured them. "we'll find out at lunch in 30 minutes."