“Ten bucks says I make it!” 

Derek tosses a honey nut cheerio in Rory’s direction and then cheers when it bops Rory directly on the forehead. The boy blinks back to reality, shooting Derek an annoyed look.

“Who the hell gave you permission to open those?” Rory asks. “And why are you eating dry cereal straight from the box when there are bowls in the kitchen?”

“My stomach gave me permission, and I don’t need a bowl when I have two very capable hands,” Derek answers. He takes a seat on the sofa opposite Rory, proceeding to talk with his mouth full, because what are manners. “Now that I have your attention, you wanna tell me why you’ve been sitting over there looking like someone just swooped in and stole your bitch?”

Rory rolls his eyes, pretending to watch TV. “I’m single, remember?”

“Right, then do you wanna tell me why you’ve been sitting over there looking like someone just swooped in and stole your imaginary bitch?” Derek laughs as Rory mutters something in Korean, probably cussing him out. “I’m serious, bro. You’ve been hard to reach ever since that damn party. Like, I literally got out of bed and got dressed before noon just to get over here to make sure you were still alive. So tell me what the fuck is up with you.”  

“Nothing.” Rory sighs, not in the mood to reveal that he’s been having a bit of a sexual identity crisis. “Nothing is up with me. I’m fine.”

“That’s literally the go-to answer that people use when they’re feeling the exact opposite,” Derek replies. “We’ve been friends for more than ten years, Rory. You can’t get a lie past me.” Derek places the cereal box on the ground before getting up to unplug the TV. He ignores Rory yelling at him to turn it back on and instead takes a seat next to his best friend. “Remember the day I came to school with that nasty looking black eye? Remember what you did for me?”

“Yes,” Rory whispers, reflecting. “I begged and pleaded for you to tell me what happened, tell me who’d done that to you. When I found out that it had been your father, I immediately contacted my parents and we got you and your mother away from that crazy bastard.”

“You saved our lives that day,” Derek says. “No one knew that my dad was an abusive piece of shit because my mother and I had gotten really good at hiding our bruises.”

“Except for that day,” Rory adds.

“Right, except for that day,” Derek says. “When you started pestering me for the truth, I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid of what might’ve happened to my mother. I was terrified to tell you about my dad, but at the same time, I trusted you because you were my best friend. You were like a brother to me. You said that you’d protect me, and I believed you. We went on to make a pact that day to never keep secrets from each other. Remember that, too?”

Rory nods, smiling a sad smile. “D, I want to tell you what’s been going on with me, I really do, but I’m just so afraid of what your reaction might be. I don’t care what the rest of our friends might think; your opinion is the only one that matters to me; you and my parents.”

“Did you not hear what I just said, dumbo?” Derek smiles, playfully bumping shoulders with Rory. “You’re my brother from another mother. There’s nothing you could do that would make me turn around and disown you…I mean, unless you hurt my mom or try to come for my new step-sister. I draw the line when it comes to them.”

“Trying to hookup with someone’s sibling is something that your thirsty ass would do, not me.” Rory laughs after Derek agrees with him. “How are Glenda and Andre doing anyway?”

“They’re still in the honeymoon phase even though their wedding was two years ago,” Derek chuckles. “Nice of you to try and distract me, by the way.”

“Tried and failed, huh?” Rory asks. Derek nods, giving him a look that demands he keep talking. “Right, so, the party that I threw a week ago, I ended up… me and this person, we… let’s just say things happened. We didn’t go all the way, but we had gotten pretty close until the person asked me a question that I didn’t know how to answer. I snapped at them in response. I was a total dick, and then when I spoke with them the next day, I acted like I had forgotten about what we did at the party. This person, I like them a lot, but I’ve also never been with someone like them before and…I don’t know. Things are just really complicated.”

“Ah, I see.” Derek isn’t as stupid as he acts sometimes. He jumps straight into asking Rory the most obvious question. “Would this person happen to be a dude?”

“H-Huh? What makes you think that?” Rory stammers, his face turning red.

“Because out of all your past hookups, the good and the bad, you’ve always referred to them by name. Also, you’re blushing hard as shit right now,” Derek teases. “So you got a little handsy with another guy at the party, gay panicked and hurt his feelings, and now you’re confused about what your next steps should be as far as making things right with him?”

“Yes,” Rory whispers, internally panicking. “I don’t get it, though. Why aren’t you…more bothered? Shouldn’t you be disgusted with me or whatever?”

“What? Hell no!” Derek exclaims. “You’re a grown ass man, dude. It’s none of my business what you do with your dick. I don’t care who you’re into, literally or figuratively, as long as you’re happy and they treat you right. I mean it’s 2020, bro. Who isn’t a little gay?”

Rory laughs. He laughs until he cries, relief washing over him in waves. “Damn. I hope my parents and fans react to my coming out as calmly as you just did.”

“Honestly, I should kick your ass right now,” Derek says. “You had me thinking something was seriously wrong with you, but really, you’re just gay…or are you bisexual? Wait. Are you still into girls or not? I don’t want to assume.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of research,” Rory says while pulling out his cell phone. “I’m still attracted to women, and so far, Joshua has been the only guy that’s made me…feel something romantically towards the same gender.” Rory pulls up a webpage that breaks down what bisexuality is, and he shares it with Derek. “This definitely describes me best, I think.”

Derek and Rory were fifteen years old and in high school when they first met.

Back then, Rory was super shy, and Derek was the class clown. One day, Rory had made it his business to take up for Derek after he saw him getting bullied by an upperclassman. Rory was mostly seen by his peers as a quiet loner, but that day, he gained everyone’s respect once it was revealed he had hands after making a bloody mess out of the bully.

Fast forward ten years, Derek and Rory remain close friends.

“I’m happy for you, bro. Happy and honored that you were comfortable enough to tell me all this.” Derek passes Rory his phone back after he’s done reading the article. “Now to ask the most important question…what does Joshua look like? He must be something special if he managed to catch and keep your attention.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Rory smirks.

“It means you’re a picky motherfucker.” Derek jokes. “Even when we were kids you mainly fooled around with chicks, never dated them exclusively. That’s partly why I was left shocked after you told me you wanted to make things official with Hailey.”

“Yeah, well, she was a fucking mistake,” Rory mutters.

Hailey Dawson, Rory’s first and last girlfriend, met Rory through a mutual friend during their junior year of college. Hailey and Rory started out as friends, eventually became something more, and then they tried dating until Rory had grown tired of Hailey and her toxic behavior. Eight months in, Rory called it quits on their relationship. But the breakup hadn’t stopped them from occasionally messing around with each other, their title having transitioned from friends to partners to friends with benefits.

As of late, the two haven’t hooked up in a while, and Rory currently only views Hailey as a friend. She, however, still desires to be the girl that’ll end up carrying his last name.        

“Anyway, here’s my Joshua.” Rory pulls up one of his favorite Instagram photos of Joshua and shows it to Derek. He laughs as Derek’s eyes widen in approval. “He’s cute, right?”

“All homo, I’d totally hit that if I were gay,” Derek replies. “Real talk, if you’re serious about him, don’t let him slip through your fingers because you aren’t sure how to apologize for being a jerk that night.” Derek points at Joshua’s picture again. “Someone that adorable? I bet his DMs are lit lit. You better stop wasting time and snatch him up before someone else does.”

Rory nods, suddenly feeling more determined than nervous. “Soon.”