A Good Enough Reason (24 page)

“Mom!”

Ellis heard Dale groan beside him, but Mom said, “El, I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re almost eighteen, you have a boyfriend, of course you’re going to have sex. If not full sex, at least some kind of it. It’s nothing bad, nothing to be ashamed of, just be safe. And try not to make too much noise.”

Ellis huffed and kissed her good-bye before grabbing Dale’s hand and pulling him toward his room. It was harder to keep up a happy face now that his mom wasn’t in front of him anymore, and his hands shook as he closed his bedroom door.

“You can check on the laptop,” he told his boyfriend.

Dale nodded and took the computer. Ellis watched as he scrolled through the pictures and the comments left under them. Ellis had already turned off the notice tone, both on his cell and on his laptop, because it continuously went off. He couldn’t even think about the number of messages and notifications he was getting.

He slumped on the bed next to Dale and avoided looking at the laptop screen. He waited until Dale closed it before talking. “What do we do?”

Dale raked a hand in his hair. “You should tell someone. It’s not bullying anymore, El. He followed us around. He followed us to your house and took pictures. That’s not normal. He’s clearly obsessed with you, and I know something happened in the bathroom the other day, even if you don’t want to tell me.”

“I know.” Ellis wouldn’t tell Dale what he thought had been about to happen then, but he’d tell his parents. He had to.

“How do you want to deal with the rest?”

“You can say you were experimenting.”

“Yeah, no, that’s not going to happen. We’re together, no experimenting, no confusion. I’m not about to deny it, unless that’s what you want.” Dale took Ellis’s hand in his and stroked his thumb over Ellis’s knuckles.

Ellis sighed. “I don’t, but things are going to be hard for you. People are going to insult you, some team members won’t want you in the locker room anymore, or to play with you. You’re going to lose some friends.”

“El… it’s already out.” Dale snorted. “We’re already out. Maybe saying it was a mistake will make things easier for me, but it won’t for you, and this is going to be hard enough. I don’t want to make things worse. I don’t want to hide our relationship. We’re working on a same-sex couple project, and we believe in it. We should be proud of being together.”

Ellis leaned his head on Dale’s shoulder. “Tomorrow isn’t gonna be fun.”

“I know. Maybe your parents will let you stay home?”

“Probably, if I told them what happened, but would it really change anything? I’m not going to let you face everyone alone, and even if you stay home too, we’re still going to have to face them sometime. Let’s just do it as soon as possible and be done with it.”

Dale kissed Ellis’s forehead. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

They both knew it was far from the truth.

THEY’D DECIDED
Dale would pick Ellis up the next morning. Ellis had no intention of braving the student crowd on his own, even if Anna had texted him, and she and Rick were already waiting for him in the school’s parking lot. It wouldn’t be the same thing, and Ellis knew everyone would think Dale had run if they didn’t show up together.

“Mom?”

She’d just come back from her shift at the hospital, and it showed. She was tired, the circles under her eyes a bit darker than usual. “Yes?”

Ellis put the coffee he’d gotten ready for her in front of her on the kitchen table. She gave him a grateful smile and took a sip, closing her eyes at the taste.

“I need to talk to you.”

Mom looked at the microwave clock. “Is it important? You don’t have much time before you have to leave for school.”

“Dale is picking me up. I, well, I have more than one thing to tell you, but I need to say one of them right now.” Telling her about Mark could wait until tonight. It was too complicated to explain in a few minutes.

Mom put her mug down and looked at Ellis. She clasped her hands, and her eyebrows drew closer together. “What’s wrong?”

“Someone saw me and Dale the other night and outed us on Facebook.”

“Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”

Ellis shrugged. “It’s okay. We’re not ashamed or anything, so it’s fine.”

“I know you didn’t want everyone to know.”

“No, because I know it’s going to make Dale’s life more difficult, but we can’t do anything now.”

A car honked outside, and Ellis peeked between the curtains. Dale noticed him and waved. “Dale’s here. I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yes.”

Ellis waved good-bye and hurried outside. Dale was waiting by the passenger door and smiled, but Ellis could see he was worried anyway. It was obvious in the tense way Dale was holding himself.

“Everything okay?”

Dale nodded and kissed Ellis before walking around the car. They both got in and put their seat belts on.

“A few members of the team called me last night, after I left your house.”

“What happened?”

“Tyler wasn’t happy, but Jake and Pete were fine with it. They asked me why I never told them.”

“So they’ll support you?”

“Yeah, looks like it. I also got a call from Anthony.” He looked at Ellis like Ellis should’ve recognized the name, but Ellis didn’t.

“Who’s that?”

“He’s the guy I wanted to set you up with, remember?”

“Oh, the one you thought was gay?”

“Yeah.”

“And? What did he want?”

“He told me he was gay too and that he was sorry for what was happening.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. He’s not ready to officially come out, though.”

“We weren’t either.”

The rest of the ride to school wasn’t nearly long enough, and Dale was parking the car all too soon for Ellis’s taste. A few heads turned their way, and it made him want to hide, but he knew it was nothing like what would be waiting for them as soon as they stepped inside the school.

Dale looked at him and squeezed his hand. “Ready?”

“No.”

Dale laughed. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

They got out, and Ellis watched Anna and Rick make their way toward them. Anna launched herself at him, and he almost fell on his ass while trying to grab her. He leaned against the car instead and hugged her. “Everything okay?” he asked her.

She moved away and slapped his chest. “I should be the one asking you if you’re okay. Are you?”

“I will be once this day is over.”

Because it wasn’t only the crowd’s reaction that worried Ellis. He also wondered what Mark would do, but most of all, he’d talk to Mr. Shea today, and it was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew it had to be done, though. Mark was getting worse, and Ellis didn’t want to wait until the guy snapped.

He looked at Dale, and their eyes met. Dale nodded and offered Ellis his hand. They’d talked about it the night before, and Dale had insisted they should enter the school holding hands, like every other couple did. Ellis wasn’t so sure about it, but he’d caved in. Everyone knew about them anyway.

He reached up and grabbed Dale’s hand. Dale squeezed in a reassuring gesture, and Ellis squared his shoulders, then turned to Anna. “You’re coming with us?”

“Of course we are!”

She took Rick’s hand and pulled him along when they started walking. Ellis was ready to puke, and he gritted his teeth against the sensation as they reached the stairs that led to the entrance. More and more people were noticing them and looking at them, but no one said anything yet.

They walked into the school, and the level of noise assaulted Ellis’s ears, like every other morning. People looked at them and whispered, some even pointed, but Dale just strode by, his back straight and his jaw tense. Ellis walked by his side and looked straight ahead.

“Dale!”

They both looked at Seth. He was coming their way, two guys trailing behind him. Ellis vaguely recognized them from the soccer team and steeled himself for their reaction.

“Hey, Seth.”

“El, these are James and Gary.”

“Uh, hi.”

They both nodded at Ellis before turning their attention to Dale.

“Hey, man, why didn’t you tell us?” James asked.

“I didn’t know how you’d react. Tyler sure didn’t take it well.”

“He’s a dick. Don’t mind him.”

“Yeah,” Gary confirmed. “Most of us don’t mind, as long as you don’t try anything funny with us.”

Dale grimaced. “Eww, no. You’re not my type.”

Gary looked at Ellis and winked, and Ellis tightened his hold on Dale. “Yeah, we can see that. We’re going to be late, so see you at practice, Dale.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Oh, and if anyone tries anything, tell us, okay?”

“I don’t need bodyguards.”

“You never know!” James yelled as they walked away.

“That went well,” Ellis pointed out.

Dale nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hope the other team members are as nice as them. So, what do you have first?”

“Fiction writing.”

They said good-bye to Anna and Rick, and Dale walked Ellis to his classroom. People were still looking at them, but no one came forward and said anything, not even when Dale looked around and quickly kissed Ellis good-bye in front of the classroom. They got some stares, but apart from those, things were okay.

He sank in his chair and took out his notebook. He wasn’t sure he could work on the piece he was writing for class, but he could lose himself in a bit of fan fiction before Mr. Shea got there. At least it would distract him from what he needed to do once class was over.

ELLIS WAITED
until everyone was out of the classroom to get up from his seat and make his way to the teacher’s desk.

“Is there a problem, Ellis?”

“I’d like to talk to you, please.”

Mr. Shea put down the papers he was holding. “Can it wait until lunchtime? I have another class now.”

“Oh, sure. No problem.”

“All right. Come back when you’re done with lunch.”

The morning flew by. Ellis didn’t even eat lunch because he was too nervous, but he did go to the cafeteria to tell his friends he wouldn’t eat with them. Dale was already there, talking with Rick. Ellis sat beside him and tried to ignore the stares they were gathering.

“Hey, El.”

Dale didn’t touch Ellis, and Ellis was both grateful and dismayed. He didn’t want to flaunt their relationship, not when he knew it would make people talk even more, but he also didn’t want to hide it, not now they were out.

“Hey.”

“Do you want me to go get you something to eat?”

“No. I have to go to Mr. Shea’s classroom, and I’m too nervous to eat anyway.”

“I’ll grab you an apple for later if you want.”

Ellis smiled. “That would be great, thanks.”

“Want me to come with you?”

“Yeah, but it’s better if I do this on my own.”

“How about I finish eating and go wait outside Mr. Shea’s office? That way you’ll know I’ll be there if you need me.”

Ellis suddenly didn’t care about flaunting their relationship. He leaned against Dale’s side and kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”

Ellis got up and ignored the whispers. It wasn’t easy because he was used to being invisible to most students, and he wasn’t anymore. Until they started gossiping about someone else, of course.

He made his way to the classroom and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Ellis opened the door and peeked in. Mr. Shea waved him inside, and he closed the door behind himself.

“Sit down, Ellis. Sorry for the mess.”

Mr. Shea was still eating a sandwich, and there was an open bottle of soda on the desk, along with an open paperback with its cover up.

“Do you want me to come back later?”

“No, no. Sit down.”

Mr. Shea wrapped his sandwich in a napkin and closed both the book and the bottle. He put everything to the side and leaned forward, twining his fingers together. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Ellis looked at his hands in his lap. “I, well, I’ve been having some problems with bullying.”

“Does it have anything to do with your relationship with Dale Stephens?”

Ellis’s head snapped up, and he looked at his teacher. “Who told you?”

“It’s about the only thing the students are talking about today. I’d have to be deaf and blind not to notice it.”

Ellis felt himself blush. “No, it doesn’t have to do with that. Well, maybe in part, but it started last year, actually, and me and Dale have been together only for a few weeks. We never even talked to each other until you paired us for the project.”

“All right. I’m listening.”

“I don’t know why this guy hates me so much. It’s, uh, Mark Wright. He started insulting me last year, pushing me around, you know.”

Ellis looked at his teacher, but Mr. Shea just nodded.

“I always try to stay away from him, but we have some classes together, and sometimes he just finds me.”

“Did something specific happen? Apart from the name calling and the pushing around?”

“Yeah. He put dirty jockstraps in my locker a few months ago and grabbed me hard enough to leave a bruise on my arm.” Ellis hesitated, but he was there for a reason, so he pushed on even though the only thing he wanted to do was get up and run away. “There was also something the other day. He, uh, he cornered me in the bathroom.”

Ellis rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans. Mr. Shea didn’t push him. He waited for Ellis to be comfortable enough to talk, but when Ellis peeked up, he could see his teacher was worried.

“He heard me talking with Anna. She’s… she’s my best friend. We were talking about my… boyfriend.” Ellis looked up again. Mr. Shea smiled, and Ellis said, “I was in the bathroom, and he came in after me. He told me he’d heard us and asked who my boyfriend was. He even suggested it might be you.” Ellis didn’t have the courage to look up now.

“He used words I don’t want to repeat, asked me if that was why I’m getting good grades in English.” Ellis stopped and swallowed.

“Did he touch you?” Mr. Shea asked in a gentle voice.

Ellis shook his head. “N-no. He tried to. He asked me if… if I would let him—” Ellis stopped talking. He couldn’t say it.

Mr. Shea handed Ellis a tissue. Ellis hadn’t even been aware he was crying, but he dried his face and took a deep breath. “He asked me if I would let him fuck me to have him leave me alone. He tried to grab me, but I punched him, and then Seth came in, and Mark stopped. I… I ran away.”