Cabin Nine [Original]

12

We somehow make it to the end of the summer without our parents finding out about us. Well, mine anyway. Jack's parents caught us in a matter of days. They don't really talk much to my parents anyway, so they were completely fine with keeping us a secret. Especially once they heard how mine reacted at first.

I knew they'd be cool about it, but I didn't think they'd be this cool. I mean, they bet each other twenty bucks that we'd be dating by the end of high school. Mom 2 won. 

We also spent all summer doing damage control so nothing would get back to my parents. Even at camp, we denied anything anyone said. Dominic knew and helped us. David and Louisa helped a lot more than I would've thought. Susie didn't really care much until she heard her friend's siblings calling me slurs. Then she got involved in it. That didn't really solve her friend's sibling's homophobia problem, but it drop kicked Jack out of the picture. As far as people have been told, we're just friends and he's straight. Which is hard to believe, considering the way he... well, just the way he is.

Jack's reply to David asking him to tone it down was "why can't I dress nice? I haven't spent seventeen years in the closet for nothing."

I thought he was fine the way he is, but Louisa says it's a dead giveaway, especially now that he's been hanging out with a known gay guy.

I think this whole thing has brought us Ybarra kids together. We're friends now.

But summer ends and David has to go home, and Louisa and I are left alone.

She's only a year younger than me. It's kind of really hard to believe, because she's a lot smarter and completely terrified by the concept of time. I think that was part of her attraction to Jack. They're both insanely smart. But Jack wants to be an anthropologist and she wants to be an engineer.

We walk into school early on the first day. People don't stare more than they normally would, but six people from the chess club declare that we need an emergency meeting and three from the soccer team come up to Jack to ask about me. Jack scares them, I think. After he accidentally broke some guy's leg with a kick last year, they don't bother me.

I think that might be my second favorite part of his body. His soccer calves. It's kind of hard not to stare.

I do end up calling an emergency meeting for the chess club, right after school. The school day goes completely normal, save for a few insults thrown my way, and Jack joins me for the chess club meeting. He's never done that before.

We had to spread the meeting time around by mouth, so there are some people missing. We wait ten minutes to start and all but three people show up, plus a bunch of people who heard about the meeting but aren't in chess club. A few of them are athletes. I think that's why Jack came.

"May I ask why people wanted this meeting to be called?" I ask from my place on the podium. I toss the speaking stick to Jack. He passes it to a guy whose hand is raised. I've been in this club for four years. I should really learn their names.

"I know it's a personal question, but I wanted to ask about the rumors regarding your sexuality?"

I sigh. I knew it.

I take the stick back and sit down on the steps. "Alright, there's no need to be so formal."

"Shall I take this off, then?" Jack asks, gesturing to his suit.

I stick my tongue out at him. He grins and sits back down. People laugh.

"They're true. I'm gay."

It's so, so quiet. I don't know what to say. Everyone is staring at me. Most of them look impressed or proud. I make eye contact with a jock. He glares at me. Jack follows my eyes and stands up. The jock looks away.

"It's come to my attention that some of you don't approve of this 'lifestyle,'" Jack says bitterly, using finger quotes for emphasis on the last word. "And if I hear that any of you of your friends even look at him in the wrong way, you'd better watch your asses."

My eyebrows shoot up. Jack doesn't curse. And neither do I. I guess our rules change when we're defending each other.

I think I'm in love with him.