First And Forever (under reconstruction) (Wattys2018)

Chapter 39: Beautiful Friendships-3 3/4 Months Later Jazz POV (edited)

I sigh, watching as Ashley targets Harper from across the room with her eyes. Harper might say she's 18, but I know she's lying.

Her and Landon both are 16 at max. They act mature and they are mature, but there's a bit of youth in their eyes. They speak like they're 16 sometimes, not even realizing they slip into it. I sigh again, rubbing my temples. I'm the only guy in the class today, all the others guys have sport functions. There's freshman testing, so we'll be stuck here in this room for a couple more hours.

Harper is messing around on her phone, but she looks at me when I sigh, "You ok, Jazzy?" I don't know why, but Harper has started calling me Jazzy. I'm fine with it, but only from her.

I make a motion telling her to hold on, get permission from the sub, then grab Harper's hand. I drive her to a cafe, leading her to a booth.

We order some food, Harper a pie and fries (damn fucking pregnancy cravings), coffee and some biscuits for me. "Spill Jazzy, what's bothering you?" I haven't told anyone my secret, I'm so fucking scared. It goes against everything I have been taught my entire life, something I have been fighting for two years now. My parents will disown me if they know, my friends won't talk to me.

I just met Harper, but she's like a little sister to me. I open my mouth, but speak the wrong thing, "Can I call you Harpy?"

Harper is confused, but laughs and agrees. She looks at me pointedly, "Jazzy, I know you're still hiding something. I may look extremely oblivious and dense, but I studied psychology as a hobby nearly my entire life. Besides, I have that freaky feet trick y'all hate that I use all the time. At this moment your heart is racing in fear and you're wanting to know if you can trust me or not. Considering the fact that you've been my friend when no one else has, you can trust me with anything." Can I tell her? I fidget in my seat, playing with my fingers.

Harpy doesn't push me, simply watching me as she dips her fries in her glass of coke (who DOES THAT?!). I don't know Harpy very well, but I know deep in my gut I can trust her. I can't explain it to myself, but I know she's going to respect me and still keep my secret. I struggle with myself internally for a while, before finally admitting to Harper what I've barely admitted to myself, "I'm gay." A massive weight lifts off my chest, before another even heavier weight settles onto my chest. What if she won't talk to me? Harpy, to my surprise, says nothing. She's sitting there chewing her fries, before she purses her lips in thought, "Looks like Ash owes me 100 bucks. Remind me to get that from him."

My mouth drops open, I stare at her in shock, "WHAT?!" She grins, "Ash bet me 100 bucks you'd tell after high school was over, I bet during freshman testing since all of us have been getting closer as friends."

She shoves some more fries into her mouth, "And the fact that your gay doesn't bother me. And before you ask, I knew when I met you. It's nothing you say or do, it's just my perception. I have a gaydar, my best friend since childhood was gay too. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to treat you any differently. In fact, it doesn't bother me or the entire group as a whole." I still stare at her, so scared it is just a dream, my jaw dropped.

"Jazzy," her voice is soft, "Have a bit more faith in us, ok? None of us care that you're gay, for me it just means I can enjoy whatever fuck hot eye candy you bring around. You're still our friend, and friends stick together no matter what. After all, friends are often times in soul the siblings the universe forgot to give us." She reaches forward and cups my cheek gently, pulling me forward and resting my forehead against hers. That makes me smile, closing my eyes as I revel in the loving sisterly warmth of Harpy's forehead against mine. Harpy's right, I can't hide anymore.

I reach forward, grabbing her hand and intertwining our fingers. She chuckles quietly, squeezing my hand in comfort as we rest in this embrace.

~Time Lapse~

"Guys, I have something to tell you." My voice is nervous and shaking, Harpy squeezes my hand. The other boys look up from the video game they're playing, eight pairs of eyes resting on me curiously.

I take a deep breath, Harpy squeezes my hand again, "I'm gay." I finally blurt it, feeling like a huge weight just lifted off of my chest and shoulders once again. They say nothing, Jake, Damon, Landon, Tony, Ky, Ash, Luke, and Sam are silent.

Ash gets up silently, leaves the room, then comes back and hands Harpy a hundred bucks with a scowl. "Dammit CJ," He complains, "I'm going to go broke, why the hell are you so fucking good at gambling? Jazz, it's fine, we knew you were gay. None of us care, we're not homophobes. I mean it may take us a while to get used to the idea of you bringing a guy to meet us, but you're still Jazz and our friend."

I smile at these people, watching Landon go wrap his arms around Harpy and kiss her head. "Jazz, have you told your parents?"

I gulp and shake my head. Ash chimes in, "If you're up for it, I say we do it go now Bro, we'll be right behind you the entire time."

The doorbell suddenly rings, loud and shrill, cutting off Ash before he finishes his sentence. Groaning, Harpy waddles to go answer it. She suddenly screams from the foyer, a bloodcurdling screech of pain none of us have ever heard from her before. As a group, we frantically run towards the door. Oh God, please let Harpy be ok.

Whose at the door O.o?! Jazz is gay! he's such a sweet person!

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