More than Best Friends?

Chapter 14 - Bully ⚠️

⚠️ - Warnings for heavy topics, including bullying and verbal harassment.

During the next few weeks of school, Yuki and Kyle's relationship had become the center of attention.  While most students were supportive of the new couple, love always came with its opposition.  One person who didn't agree with what was going on was Evan.  He walked with his head hanging low, eyes on the floor as he heard classmates talking about the lovely pair.

"Aren't they so cute! I wonder if they kiss a lot!" one girl exclaimed to her friends.

"I know, right! I think they're my new OTP!" another in the group squealed.  The girls started to giggle and continued talking about the couple they had dubbed "KyYuki".  Evan thought it was the most annoying thing on the face of the planet.  He wanted to be the one that everyone was talking about, he wanted to be the cool kid.  Why should Yuki and Kyle be the talk of the school when he was so much better?  He just wanted the gossip about "shipping" to stop.  He shuffled down the long corridor to Mr. Omperponk's classroom, taking his usual seat in the back near the bookshelf.  As he took out his cell phone and scrolled down the front page of iFunny, Kyle and Yuki walked into the room.  Yuki sat in his window spot and Kyle set his bag down in the chair beside him. Evan rolled his eyes, hoping to the gods above that they wouldn't be all lovey-dovey in class again.

~*~

"I hope you all remembered that the essays will be presented this week!" Mr. Omperponk reminded the class and clapped his hands once to gain the students' attention.  "Do we have any volunteers willing to present first?"   The students looked around at each other to see who would stand up first.  Kyle nudged Yuki with his elbow, attempting to encourage him.

"Are you crazy? I can't go first," Yuki whispered to him.

"Of course you can!  You'll set the bar and your essay is the best!  Way better than mine," Kyle murmured back.  He suddenly raised his hand and shouted, "Mr. O!  Yuki wants to go first!"

"Kyle!" Yuki cried, "I told you I can't do it!  I'm not r-"

"Thank you, Yuki!  Please come up and present your essay," Mr. Omperponk said and sat down in his rolling chair to make room for Yuki at the front of the room.  Evan was slightly intrigued to see what Yuki's essay was about.  Maybe it was something that everyone was writing about, like racism.  Maybe it was abortion or gun control?  He watched as Yuki slowly made his way to the front, and squinted as Yuki set his paper down on the podium.  Yuki's hands were trembling as he mentally prepared himself for the presentation, and he gulped before opening his mouth to speak.

"Whoo!  That's my man!" Kyle hollered, giving him a thumbs up. Some of the students chuckled in response.  Yuki's face flushed red at Kyle's forward nature; internally, he thought it was cute.  Kyle knew that speaking in front of a large audience was difficult for Yuki, but felt that pushing him to confront his fear would change things for the better.

"Uh... hi... my name is Yuki, and my presentation is about...transgendered persons," Yuki murmured as his eyes stayed glued to his essay.  The black text he had typed up seemed to jump out at him, and the words vibrated in a seemingly mocking way.  Even though it was an inanimate object, he still felt like the paper was trying to ruin all of his hard work.  He looked up at Kyle, seeing him form a heart shape with his hands and grinning.  Yuki smiled softly at the gesture and picked up the courage to resume his presentation.

~*~

"In conclusion, it is highly unreasonable to impose heavy restrictions on trans people in our society.  People should not be ashamed to be themselves; the fact that some legislations choose to exclude trans people from equal rights is unfair, not to mention contradictory, to the democratic ideals described in their constitutions.   Uh... yeah... so, that was my presentation..." Yuki finished his speech and looked up to be met with loud applause from the rest of the class.  He began to blush again, feeling overwhelmed by the acceptance of his essay.  After the clapping died down, one student clapping slowly at the back of the class harbored everyone's attention.  The class turned their heads to find Evan, dramatically positioned with his feet on his desk and his elbows resting on the back of the chair.