hate is a strong word (bxb)

51

Within another week or two, it seemed as though tons of people knew.

They went to a decently large school, so it didn't seem as though it was the biggest deal to most people. After all, there were a handful of other people who were somewhere in the LGBT community, so it wasn't as if it was the end of the world or anything but there were still some people who talked. It still seemed as though the rumors made their way around.

"So I was in class, right?" Braxton begins telling a story to Ben and Scar at lunch, "and this guy turns to me. His name's Eric—Eric Simpson, I think. We talk sometimes in class..."

"Yeah, I know Eric," Ben added to fill the silence.

Ben personally hadn't interacted much with Eric but over the years he had heard the name a few times. From what he understood, he seemed to be more of a background character than anything else. He would come into people's lives but he never seemed to get too close to anyone. The only thing that Ben truly understood about Eric was that he was a tad bit obnoxious, so it made sense that Braxton would talk to someone like that in class.

"So we were talking in class and he randomly just goes 'Yeah, Braxton, that's why you take it up the ass.' And all I really want to know is... do people think that I'm the one who bottoms? Really, do they look at me... and then look at you... and think, yeah, that's probably how that works."

Ben cringes at that a little bit—not at the actual conversation itself, but merely at the implications of the conversation. He didn't necessarily mind people knowing. There was a part of him that was actually relieved at the fact that he could be more open about it now. However, it still made a small part of him uncomfortable that he had no control over who knew.

In a perfect world, people like Eric Simpson wouldn't know anything personal about him. He didn't mind most people knowing but there was a large part of him that had an issue with the obnoxious straight boys knowing he was gay. Even though what Eric said seemed to be more of a playful joke than anything else, he knew that there were many people that would say way more malicious things.

"You act like you've never taken it up the—"

Braxton cuts him off quickly, "Does Scar really have to know about that?"

"Oh, so now you're embarrassed about something?" Ben questions.

"Wait, so you mean to tell me that..." Scar closes his mouth and is silent for a moment, "You're telling me that... ew..."

"Oh, so it's gross the one time that I take it up the ass but Ben can take it up the ass like twenty times a week and that's ok? I see a real double standard here," Braxton accuses sarcastically.

"It makes me equally uncomfortable either way," Scar states, "I swear, you guys fuck like rabbits. How do you even find the time for that kind of stuff?"

Without putting any thought into his words, Benjamin lightly answers, "It's not that hard when you live together." Scar furrows his eyebrows in confusion at this and Braxton's eyes shift around awkwardly as he waits for Ben to realize his mistake. It takes him a few moments, but it's not long before he picks up on his mistake, "I... I mean... Uh, when you live close together? Ah, fuck it, you're not dumb enough to buy that."

"I'm lost," Scar says.

It had been so long since Ben had gotten kicked out that it now felt like there was no way to casually bring it up to Scar. He had considered it a few times but there was just never a right time to mention something that was as important as that.

So many things had happened since he had gotten kicked out that he had almost forgotten that he got kicked out in the first place. He was far better off now than he was when he was living with his father, anyways. The entire "getting kicked out" thing just seemed so irrelevant now that telling Scar about it had slipped his mind.