A Good Enough Reason (7 page)

Ellis bit his lower lip and tried to think as fast as he could. He couldn’t run away crying—not only was he tired of doing that, but it would also give the bastards a reason to continue making fun of him.

Ellis smiled when the idea sparked in his mind. He used his pen to lift the jockstrap and schooled his expression into a grimace before turning toward the group the strap had no doubt come from. Their snickers were starting to attract the attention of the students around them, and several pairs of eyes were now on Ellis, watching his reaction, waiting to see what he would do.

He held the strap high enough that everyone looking could see it, and gave Cole his attention. “Cole, how many times do I have to refuse to go out with you before you stop asking me? This is not going to work any better than the flowers you sent me, believe me. I don’t like this kind of gift.”

Ellis flicked his wrist and sent the jockstrap flying toward Cole. The guy tried to move backward to avoid it, but he was stuck between the chair he was sitting on and the desk behind him. Ellis grinned when the jockstrap landed right on Cole’s face, and he squealed.

Ellis laughed. He wasn’t the only one—most of the other students had seen and heard what he’d said. For the first time since the bullying had begun, Ellis felt great. It felt so good to react, to push instead of being pushed, that Ellis wondered why he hadn’t done it before. Of course, Mark was different. Ellis knew just by looking at him that there was something darker lurking in the guy, and he had no intention of waking it up and bringing it forward.

Cole was harmless, though. The worst thing he would do was insult Ellis, and Ellis had heard worse than anything Cole had to say.

Cole narrowed his eyes at Ellis. “You fucking cocksucker.”

Ellis ignored him, but Mrs. Carver heard him and started scolding him for it.

“Mr. Allen! You should be ashamed of yourself! Do you talk like this in front of your parents too?”

Ellis tilted his face back toward his notebook to avoid being caught laughing by Mrs. Carver. As he moved, he noticed a few students watching him. A girl smiled at him, and a guy even gave him a thumbs-up, and both left Ellis surprised. His smile grew, and he wasn’t able to stop until the end of the class.

He was still smiling like a loon when he met Anna in front of the Statistics classroom. “What happened to you?”

“I’m just happy.”

“I can see that. You look creepy.”

“What?”

“Creepy. I’m not used to see you smiling like this. Have you won the lottery by any chance? Because if you have, I saw a very nice pair of shoes the other day that screamed my name.”

“No lottery, sorry, but you’ll be the first I’ll call if I do. No, it’s something I did.”

“Come on, spill it.”

Ellis explained what had happened during study hall as they walked to the cafeteria for lunch. Rick was already there when they arrived, so they left their bags with him and went to stand in the line. “That’s great, El. I wish I could have been there to see it, though.”

“It’ll probably pop up on Facebook in a few hours.”

They grabbed their meals and turned back to their table, but Ellis froze at the sight that greeted him. Rick wasn’t alone anymore.

Dale was sitting in front of him, his hands moving as he talked animatedly while Rick nodded. Seth was sitting at Dale’s side, stuffing his face, and Ellis couldn’t believe Dale had really talked his best friend into bodyguard duty for Ellis.

Ellis stomped to the table and slammed his tray right next to Dale. “Really, Dale? I thought you were kidding!”

Dale looked bewildered. “About what?”

“About asking your friend to—” Ellis lowered his voice when he noticed heads turning their way. “—keep an eye on me.”

“I wasn’t.”

Ellis huffed and threw his hands in the air. “I can see that. Look, I’m grateful, but I can take care of myself. I don’t need your help.”

“Oh yeah?”

Ellis sat next to Dale. “Yeah. I shut Cole Allen up in study hall. I can take care of myself.”

“Cole’s a pussy.” Dale looked at Anna. “Sorry.”

Anna laughed. “Don’t be, you’re right. Cole
is
a pussy.”

Dale turned back to Ellis, and they stared at each other. Ellis felt like the first one to look away would lose the argument, and he didn’t want to have either Dale or his friend following him around the school, so he focused on Dale’s eyes.

They were nice eyes, the exact color of milk chocolate, Ellis’s favorite.

The two of them probably looked ridiculous, but Ellis was determined not to lose.

“Guys, you’re freaking me out.”

They both looked at Seth at the same time. Ellis didn’t know for sure who had lost, but from Dale’s stubborn expression, he had a good idea.

“Ellis, this is Seth, Seth, Ellis.” Dale looked at Ellis. “Look, I know you don’t like this, so I’ll stop.”

Ellis gaped. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“I thought you’d be harder to convince.”

“I can’t force you to do something you don’t want to. Besides, you’re right. I’m sure you can take care of yourself just fine.”

Ellis was still suspicious, but he nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

Dale smirked. “I can’t tell Seth what to do either, though.”

“What does that mean?”

“That if he wants to keep an eye on you, I can’t stop him.”

“Dale! You sneaky bastard!”

Dale held his hands up. “I didn’t do anything. Did I do something, Seth? Did I ask you to do something for me?”

Seth and Anna were laughing, so Ellis turned to Rick. “Help me! Say something. Please, make them see how wrong they are.”

“He’s in some of your classes anyway, El. It doesn’t change anything. Maybe you two can be friends.”

Ellis huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t need more friends. I already have my hands full with you. No offense, Seth.”

“None taken, but Rick’s not wrong. I could use a friend to help me in math.”

“I think we’re both in trouble, then, because I suck at math.”

Seth groaned. “Damn, I thought you’d make my life easier.”

“I can help you with history if you want,” Ellis proposed.

Seth looked up with puppy eyes. “You’ll help me memorize all those dates?”

“Sure. It’ll be easier to do in two. I’ll quiz you.”

Seth offered his hand to Ellis over Dale’s tray. “Deal.”

Ellis smiled and shook. Maybe the guy wasn’t that bad. “Deal.”

He saw something pass in Dale’s eyes, but it was gone as fast as it’d come, and he couldn’t identify it. Ellis shrugged and started bitching about Dale again, just because he could.

ELLIS SLUMPED
in the chair. “Where do we start?”

“I did a lot of research.”

“Really?” Ellis looked at Dale, who was sitting in front of him. “When did you find the time to do it? I don’t have practice after school, but I didn’t have the time to do it.” Okay, maybe that was a lie. Ellis had had the time to start the project, but he’d worked on his fan fiction instead. Sue him.

Dale nodded. “It didn’t take long.”

“Let’s see what you have, then.”

The library was mostly empty, but the dragon lady was there, so they had to keep their voices low.

“Most of the schools in the country don’t have rules against same-sex couples for prom. The only ones who do have them are Catholic schools, or at least that’s what I found.”

“Makes sense.”

“Yeah. Thing is, there might not be specific rules, but that doesn’t stop principals and teachers from forbidding it. I found more than one instance of this, and some schools even canceled prom when the kids protested. I’m sure there’s a lot more stuff than what I found too.”

Ellis leaned back in his chair. “What do you think about it?”

“About same-sex couples attending proms?”

“Yeah, and about them having the right to the same privileges as straight couples.”

“I don’t see why people have problems with it or with all the different sexualities. Who cares what and who you do in your bed, right?” Dale gave Ellis a cheeky grin, and Ellis’s gaze dropped to his hands.

He suppressed a smile. “I wish everyone would think that.”

“Nah, it would be boring.”

Ellis looked up and arched a brow. “Really? It would be boring if I didn’t have to hear homophobic insults just about every day? If I didn’t have people judging me for something I can’t help, without even knowing me?” He tried to keep his voice low, but anger seeped through in his tone.

“That’s not what I meant, Ellis, and you know it. Don’t take your anger out on me.”

Ellis splayed his hands on the scarred surface of the table. “Sorry.” It wasn’t Dale’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but the bigots, the ones who wielded the insults and slurs like weapons. “I wish I could be myself without worrying I’ll be shunned, beaten, or disowned.”

“Your parents don’t know?”

“That I’m—that I’m gay?” Ellis had said it out loud only twice in his life, and it was only after Matt had confessed the same thing to Ellis. The second time had been to Dale. He’d never even told Anna. She knew, of course, but it had been more implied than anything. Telling Dale had been scary, even though Dale already knew and clearly had no problem with it. Admitting it made it feel so much more real, like little else had since that day with Matt.

“Yeah.”

Ellis shook his head and kept his gaze fixed on his hands. “I don’t know how they’d react.”

“Do they talk about it?” Dale’s voice was gentle, as if he were trying not to spook Ellis. “About gay rights and stuff like that? Do you know what they think about it?”

“Yeah, more or less. I know they’re actually in favor of gay marriage and adoption, but… I’m still scared. They might react differently because I’m their son, because it wouldn’t be something abstract anymore, you know?”

Ellis didn’t see any movement until Dale’s hand was already on his. He squeezed. “I don’t know them, but you should have more faith. They obviously don’t think anything bad about homosexuality, and why should that change for you? If anything, it should make them more accepting of who you are.”

Ellis couldn’t answer, not when Dale’s hand was still on his. This was the most intimate contact Ellis had ever had with another guy who wasn’t his best friend, who wasn’t Matthew.

Dale’s hand was dry and warm, and the skin was a little rough but not too much. It made Ellis’s stomach squirm, and not in an unpleasant way.

Of course Ellis’s lack of response made Dale realize what he was doing. He snatched his hand away and looked around to see if anyone had seen them. Ellis wanted to be angry with him for that, but he couldn’t.

He understood. Being partnered with Ellis, or even being his friend, was one thing, but being caught actually touching him was completely different. Ellis didn’t want to lose the tentative friendship they were building just for a bit of comfort.

He cleared his throat and wished the embarrassing moment would pass. “So, why don’t we make a list of reasons people are against homosexuality?”

“Umm, yeah.” Dale grabbed his pen. “First one is obviously religion.”

“How about it’s not natural?”

“If God or nature had wanted two men to be together, they’d have made it possible for them to have kids?”

“Which one are you going to use in your part of the essay?”

Dale grimaced. “I don’t know. I’ll probably have to use more than one, but I don’t want to focus on gay rights in general. I think we should keep the focus on how same-sex couples are treated in regard to prom.”

“I’ll help you.”

Dale looked surprised. “With what?”

“With the research you need to write it.”

“You don’t have to do it.”

“Mr. Shea said he wanted us to work together as much as possible.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to read that stuff.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“What about you? Do you already have an idea of the arguments you’re going to use?”

“Some, yes.”

“Care to share?”

“The First Amendment to the Constitution.”

“Uh?”

“You know, guarantee of equality. There was even a case in the eighties where a federal court ruled in favor of a guy who wanted to bring his boyfriend to the prom.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll use that as a start, I guess, expose the case. I’ll explain why I think same-sex couples should be treated like straight ones in school, the new laws created to support them, stuff like that.”

“Looks like you have a plan.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So, now that you know how your essay is going to go, what about what I told you the other day?”

“Dale, you talk so much I can’t possibly know what you’re asking me if you don’t give me more clues than
the other day
.”

“I still want to help you find a date for prom.”

“And my answer is still no.”

“I don’t get it. Why don’t you want to go?”

Ellis played with his pen as he answered. “I don’t get what the hype about dating is.”

“You mean you don’t want to date?”

Ellis shrugged. “It looks like a complication to me.”

“I guess it depends on how you look at it. Sure, it’s a complication because you have to dedicate time to another person and compromise, but you get so much in return.”

“Like what?” Ellis was curious to know what Dale was getting out of his relationship with Stephanie. It didn’t mean he was interested in the guy. Nope.

“You know you can always count on the other person. You can talk to them about everything without having to hide. You can be yourself. You know there’s someone out there who’s not related to you but loves you anyway.”

“Is that what Stephanie gives you?”

Dale hesitated, and it made Ellis wonder why, but he didn’t ask. “More or less. We haven’t been together long, so we’re not there yet.”

“But you want to be.”

“Sure.”

Ellis told himself he was imagining the glance Dale had shot him with his last answer. It was the only thing that made sense. He was probably letting his wishes get the better of him, even if he hadn’t admitted them yet, not even not himself.

“You can’t have that with everyone, though.”