Chapter Text
October 3rd, 2018
“Ugh! Why do I do this to myself, Gavin?!”
Gavin and Tina were sat in the back of Mrs. Jefferson’s classroom after school. Tina was ranting to Gavin about the latest “straight” girl they had fallen for, though Gavin highly doubted she was actually straight. He had long since given up telling Tina that.
“I don’t know Teens.”
Gavin scanned the rest of the classroom, hoping to find a particular face. This face belonged to a freshman boy in his geometry class he’d been talking to for a while and may or may not have developed a crush for. You see, Gavin had never had the courage to bring up the topic of sexuality so he had no idea if the guy was even into dudes. However, if he came to the GSA (gender and sexuality alliance) meeting, there was a good chance he could be. It was a slim hope and Gavin knew it. Even if he was gay, that didn’t mean he would come and if he did, he could always be an ally. Still, Gavin held onto it.
“Gavin, we cuddled. And I know it was completely platonic on her end but I still can’t get over it!”
“Yup.”
Gavin was mostly ignoring his best friend at this point.
“It was probably all in my head but I could’ve sworn we were about to kiss!”
“Wow.”
So far no sign of him but there were still kids walking in.
“Ugh, why can’t she just be a little bit queer?!”
“I totally get that.”
And then Gavin saw him. Finally walking through the door was the freakishly tall, unfairly handsome, practically genius Richard Anderson. Honestly, Gavin never would’ve guessed he was a year younger than himself. Walking next to him was a boy Gavin had never seen before. He looked almost exactly like Richard except significantly shorter and with completely juxtaposed mannerisms. While Richard stood with perfect posture and wore a calm, stoic expression, the boy next to him was practically bouncing with each step and flailing his arms about as he spoke. It was kinda funny, actually.
Gavin quickly jerked his head away when Richard suddenly met his gaze. He could already feel heat rising to his cheeks.
“Ooh, is that him?” Tina asked as they jabbed their fingers on Gavin’s shoulder.
“What? No! Shut up!”
He forgot he’d mentioned his little crush to Tina.
“It’s totally him!! Wait, which one? The one over there or the one coming towards us?”
Wait, what? Gavin turned his head to find that someone was indeed heading their way, but it wasn’t Richard. It was the other boy.
“Hello, my name is Connor,” he introduced himself with a wide smile.
Up close Gavin could see many more differences between Richard and the boy, Connor. Instead of the piercing, blue-gray eyes he had grown accustomed too, he was met with warm auburn. Connor also had a single dimple and many more freckles. Not that Gavin had counted Richard’s. (He absolutely counted Richard’s freckles when he got bored in class)
“Uh, hi…” Gavin dumbly responded.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. It’s just that my brother over there says he knows you but he’s too shy to come over.”
Gavin looked over Connor’s shoulder to see Richard glaring daggers at the back of his brother’s head before making eye contact with Gavin yet again and turning away.
“Yeah, I uh… we have geometry together. I’m- I’m Gavin.”
Gavin wasn’t entirely sure what to say. He’d never been good at socializing. When Richard turned to look at them again, Gavin motioned for him to come over.
“I didn’t know you had a brother” he said as Richard finally joined them. Connor gasped, clearly exaggerated.
“You’ve never mentioned me?! I’m hurt!”
Richard glared even harder at his brother.
“Shut up, Connor. This is why mom doesn’t fucking love you.”
Gavin snorted at that while Tina curled over in a fit of coughing. Connor just stuck his tongue out, which Richard returned.
“Anyways, yes. This dumbass is my twin brother.” He ignored Connor’s small ‘hey!’ as he shifted from Gavin to Tina. “I’m afraid we haven't met. I’m Richard.”
“Tina.” They gave Gavin a knowing smirk and he felt his cheeks go hotter.
Thankfully, Mrs. Jefferson finally asked everyone to sit down so they could start the meeting. Richard took the seat directly next to Gavin and Connor behind him, next to Tina. As it was the first meeting of the year, it was going to be mainly introductions and welcoming the newcomers. Gavin wasn’t too excited for the ice breakers but he remembered the previous year’s ice breakers being better than he’d expected. Much better than the ones he’d done in his classes, at least. He felt more at ease in the GSA. Everyone was nice and despite all their differences, they all had at least the LGBTQ+ community in common. No one had even given him shit for being a freshman. Ultimately, he felt safe in this room with this group of people. Gavin could admit he was usually a bit of an asshole but he reeled it in when he was at meetings.
They were instructed to give their preferred name, pronouns, and 3 facts about themself. Mrs. Jefferson started so as to give an example.
“Hello everyone, my name is Mrs. Jefferson and I use she/her pronouns. Three interesting facts about me would be… let’s see, I’m a language arts teacher, I have a dog named Munchkin, and I’m happily married to my wife of four years. Who wants to go next?”
They took turns starting in the front row and moving back, giving Gavin plenty of time to think about what he wanted to say. By time they got to Richard, he had three facts prepared. He was a little nervous about what Richard would think. They were kinda nerdy but so was he, he could reluctantly admit. Richard should know that after about a month of knowing him but that didn’t stop his anxiety.
“My name is Richard. He/him pronouns. My favorite subject is math, I am on the track team, and my Hogwarts house is Slytherin.”
Damn it, he totally stole Gavin’s Hogwarts house idea! Well, “steal” isn’t exactly the right word to use. He wasn’t even the first person to say his Hogwarts house but since he went right before Gavin, it would make it look like Gavin was just copying Richard.
Oh well, too late now , Gavin thought. He took one last calming breath before speaking.
“Gavin, he/him. My favorite movie is Guardians Of The Galaxy, I like cats, and I’m a Gryffindor.”
Gavin looked to Richard from the corner of his eyes without turning his head, hoping to catch his reaction. He was looking down at the desk in front of him with the corners of his lips raised in a small, barely noticeable smile. Gavin wasn’t quite sure what that meant but he didn’t look disgusted and he hadn’t laughed at Gavin so that must be good.
“My name is Connor. He/him pronouns, please. My three facts are: I have a Saint Bernard named Sumo, I’m really good at impressions, and I’ve been learning how to do coin tricks!”
Gavin seriously wondered how Connor and Richard were related. Connor seemed way too friendly to have grown up right along with Richard. Not that Richard was mean, he was just generally awkward until you got to know him. Once he gets comfortable around you, he reveals this whole other side of him mainly consisting of sarcasm and witty comments. Connor was nothing like that. Gavin had just met him and he already seemed just fine being completely open with his personality. He spoke with wild gestures and didn’t hide any emotion. If Gavin had to guess, he’d say Connor’s a Hufflepuff.
“Tina, they/them. I skateboard, my favorite color is royal blue, and I can lick my elbow.”
Gavin chuckled. He remembered when Tina first discovered they could lick their elbow. He had been staying the night at their house when Tina decided to spend almost the entire night trying to maneuver in just the right way. They screamed from excitement when they finally got it and woke up their moms. Tina insisted it was worth the scolding they got, especially now that they’ve mastered the weird skill.
After ice breakers, Mrs. Jefferson explained what the GSA is for newcomers. That it was a safe space to have fun and be yourself but also a group working to make the whole school a more accepting environment. She talked about different projects they’ve done in the past and organizations they’ve raised money for. Eventually she brought Markus Manfred up as he was the club president the year before. Of course they would vote for new leadership this year but Gavin was pretty sure Markus would still be president. He’s a great leader and everyone liked him. He was also the one to propose they change their name from “gay straight alliance” to “gender and sexuality alliance” so as to be more inclusive and better describe the group.
Mrs. Jefferson let Markus take over the meeting from there. They took a vote on when the best time to meet is and how often. Right now they were meeting every other Wednesday and it looked like that wasn’t gonna change. Finally, they were given time to just hang out until the time the meeting was supposed to end.
“So, whad’ya think?” Gavin asked, turning to Richard.
“About what?”
“The GSA.”
Richard came to the meeting, now Gavin just had to figure out how to lead the conversation to whether Richard is part of the community himself or if he’s just an ally.
“Oh, of course. I suppose it seems fun. People are nice. I’m… glad I came.” Gavin melted as Richard gave him one of his rare, genuine smiles.
“See, I told you you’d like it!”
Gavin turned to see Connor wearing a proud smirk. Richard glared at him but it seemed forced.
“It wasn’t the worst idea you’ve had…” He grumbled at his brother whose grin widened.
“So, what brings you guys here? Are you allies, LGBT, questioning?”
Gavin was suddenly very grateful for his best friend.
“I believe I am asexual, panromantic” Connor easily supplied. Richard, on the other hand, looked a bit uncomfortable.
“I’m mostly here because Connor thought it would be good for me to join a club. I suppose I’m questioning, though. I’m not straight, I know that.”
Gavin could’ve sworn Richard was blushing when he quickly glanced over at him and back to Tina.
“I get that. I usually just identify as ‘queer’ to keep it simple” Tina replied. Gavin knew that what they really meant was they couldn’t pronounce ‘gynesexual’ and therefore didn’t like the term. Which is totally valid, labels weren’t really all that important unless they helped the person using them. If you don’t like a label, there’s no point in using it.
“What about you?” Richard asked, looking at Gavin. ”If you don’t mind me asking, of course” he quickly added on.
“Ah, I’m just gay.”
“Disaster gay would be a more accurate term” Tina whispered under their breath but Gavin heard.
“Shut up, T! At least I don’t only like straight guys.”
“Nope,” they popped the ‘p’ sound “just questioning guys.”
Gavin glared at them while Richard shoved his brother’s shoulder for some unknown reason. Tina winked before taking her phone out.
“Oh, my mom‘s here. I guess that means we have to go.”
Tina’s moms and Gavin’s mom were close friends so they often gave Gavin rides when his mom was working late. He sighed.
“Yeah, I guess. See ya tomorrow, Richard.”
He went to gather his stuff but Richard stopped him.
“Wait! Can I uh- can I get your phone number?”
He ignored the burning in his cheeks moving to his ears as he gave Richard his number before following Tina to their mom’s car. They teased him the entire way but it didn’t stop his smile.