Chapter Text
"Goiky power, goiky pride! Be aggressive, drive, drive, drive!" The cheerleaders shouted in unison. They did backflips, flips, frontflips, more flips, tumbles, flips, everything that cheerleaders did. Like flips. "Goiky power, goiky pride!" They continued.
Needle, a seventeen year old cheerleader, jumped around and shouted. She wore a purple uniform with lime green accents. As she jumped around with her purple and green pompoms, her long, tied up silver hair did flips too. She continued shouting with everyone. "Be agressive, drive, drive, drive! Goiky power, goiky pride! Be aggressive, drive, drive, drive!"
To the left of Needle was Naily, one of her good friends, and to the right of Needle was Bell, another one of her good friends. To the front of the cheer area was Pin, the captain of the cheer team and her best friend. "Go Goiky!"
The cheerleaders did more flips. Finally, the cheerleaders ended their cheer. The group gathered in a circle, smiling after how well their cheer went.
Pin gathered everyone around her. "Good job everyone! Now remember, tomorrow before classes, make sure you have your uniforms picked up from the dry cleaners because the bus for the playoffs is gonna leave at 1:30 PM, all right?"
The group of girls all collectively sighed.
"But, Gelatin's Doughnut House has agreed to donate four dozen doughnuts!" Pin added. The girls cheered.
"We're gonna kill the Rangers this year, right?" Needle asked the group.
"Yeah!" They cheered.
"Okay, good!" Pin put her hand in the middle of the circle, and everyone followed. "Goiky on three, one, two, three,"
"Goiky!"
The girls all walked away from each other, talking excitedly about the playoffs the following day. At the same time, the football team ended their practice. Needle ran over to her boyfriend, Pen, who wore a purple jersey with lime green accents as well. She gave him a giant hug, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. As they began walking towards Pen's car, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"I can't believe you're leaving." Pen said sadly.
Needle shrugged. "It's just a couple hours before you go."
Pen looked at the ground with disappointment in his eyes. "I know, but..." He caught himself. "Nevermind. You're right."
Needle ran in front of him and shook her pom poms. "Aren't you excited? It's playoffs!" She gave him a giant smile, and he just looked away.
"Yeah, yeah." They got to Pen's car and he opened the door for Needle.
Once the two got in, Pen immediately leaned over to Needle and began kissing her. She kissed back. And then they started making out.
Needle didn't really care for making out. It was gross and yucky. And not to mention the sicknesses she could get. She would much rather spend time with Pen by getting lunch or watching a movie, but Pen liked making out, so Needle went with it like the good girlfriend she thought she had to be. Pen was the perfect boyfriend after all, according to what her parents and friends said, so she must've got lucky with him, right?
As they were making out, Needle was zoning out. It was getting really boring, and she just wanted to go back to cheer practice. She thought about how the girls on the team were great at cheering, how they flipped, everything. And then she thought about some things on the cheerleaders that she shouldn't be thinking of. That the good, Christian cheerleader that she was shouldn't be thinking of.
She stopped kissing him. "I'm sorry." Needle apologized. "I have to get home for dinner."
"Aw man." Pen sighed. "Alright." He put his seat belt on and turned the car on. "Let's go."
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Needle sat at the dinner table with her dad and sister, Needy, as her mom handed them their plates. On Needle's plate was some form of meat she forgot the name of and carrots. She didn't like meat that much. To her, she could probably go without it. But she was happy with what she got.
"Oh!" Needle's dad clapped his hands. "Now that's some beef!" He said, getting excited about some meat on his plate.
"And carrots." Needle's mom added, sitting down at the table.
Needle smiled at her mom. "Thank you, mom . This looks great."
"Thank you, poodle." Her mom smiled back at her. Needle smiled at her nickname.
Her dad turned to Needy, who was a couple of years younger than Needle. "And what do you need to say, Needy?"
"...Thank you." Needy said in a flat tone.
Her dad brushed Needy's mood away as he reached his hands to his family. They all grabbed in, lowered their heads, and closed their eyes. "Dear Lord, please bless this food we're about to eat. We thank you for the abundance You have provided. Please help us to follow Your path, the one you intended. And Lord..." He paused. "Please help us to obey the roles in life You set for us."
Needle's dad paused again and looked at his older daughter. "For all that is natural and healthy and sacred..." Needle opened her eyes, confused at why he was pausing. Her dad quickly shut his eyes again. “In Your name we pray. Amen.”
“Amen.” The rest of the family said in unison.
“Okay, now let’s eat.” Her dad said, and everyone started stabbing at their beef and carrots. Needle poked at her beef.
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That morning, Needle was eager to go to school. Her bag had her uniform in it, along with her bible, library books that were due today, and homework. Today she had her long silver hair down, and wore her favorite pink dress.
She grabbed a piece of toast from the toaster and gave her mom and dad a hug. "Bye!" She said as she hugged them.
Outside of their house, Pen honked his car horn to tell Needle that they needed to go.
"Bye dear!" Her mom kissed her forehead.
"See ya later, swee-" Her dad coughed. "I-uh, I mean tonight. See you tonight."
Needle walked out of the room, waving to her parents.
Her mom cleared her voice and spoke loudly. "Don't forget your library books by the door!"
"Already got them!" Needle opened the door. "Bye! Love you!" She shouted towards her parents as she exited the house.
Needle's parents looked outside the window to watch Pen's car drive down the street. When it was out of their view, they closed the windows.
"So... Are we ready?" Needle's mom asked.
"They'll be here at 11:30." Her dad answered.
Needle's mom stared at the cross above the door. "Gosh, I hope we're doing the right thing."
✮⋆˙.𖥔˖*✰⭑˖๋࣭ ⭑☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
The bell rang. It was 11:15, and Needle skipped out of class. For the cheerleaders, the school day had ended and they got to spend an hour or so doing whatever they wanted. Needle and Pen were going to go to a new restaurant that opened up recently for lunch before Needle had to go.
Needle skipped down the hall. Naily and Bell were walking side by side, talking about boys or whatever. Needle came up from behind them and wrapped her arms around them. "Shaker Hills, here we come!" She shouted.
Naily and Bell rolled their eyes and walked away from Needle.
"Remember, 1:30 doughnuts!" Needle reminded them. Naily and Bell looked away. She frowned.
"Did you talk to both her parents?" Pen asked Pin, leaning against a locker. Needle began running up towards them.
"She's coming." Pin quickly told Pen.
"Kill the Rangers!" Needle smiled and then kissing Pen on the cheek.
Pen then grabbed her face and started making out with her in the middle of the hallway. She leaned away from him, breaking the kiss (If you could even call it that).
Pen fixed his blue jacket. "I'll meet you outside." He said and walked away from her.
Needle waved at him and then walked to her locker, which was right next to Pin's locker. Pin's locker had pictures of buff, shirtless guys, and when Needle opened hers, she had pictures of buff women in sports bras. She didn't find them attractive, of course not! She just liked the... The women's hair! Yeah! She liked the women's hair. Just that.
"Don't you hate when guys do that?" Needle asked her friend, putting her books in her locker.
Pin shook her head. "I think it's fun."
Needle thought for a moment. Her boyfriend was captain of the football team, and everyone always gushed on about how hot he was and whatever. Of course Pin would find it fun. "Maybe Pen just doesn't do it right." Needle thought out loud.
"See ya!" Pin said to Needle, slamming her locker.
"Bye!" Needle put her silver jacket on.
✮⋆˙.𖥔˖*✰⭑˖๋࣭ ⭑☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
Needle and Pen sat in their car. Pen was driving incredibly slow. It should've been illegal to drive that slow in Needle's opinion. Behind them, a car honked, and the driver yelled "Speed up, jerk!"
Pen was completely out of it. He stared off into the distance.
"...Pen?" Needle asked. "Why are we going so slow?" She gestured to the speed limit, which said 60 miles an hour, which Pen was about 50 miles under.
"Sorry!" Pen shook his head. He pressed on the brakes, going from a 10 mi/hr to a 15 mi/hr. "Must've been zoning."
Needle looked outside the window. The road they were going down looked awfully familiar, almost as if it was the same exact one she went when she came home from school.
✮⋆˙.𖥔˖*✰⭑˖๋࣭ ⭑☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
Outside of Needle's home, her parents stood outside, watching the bright pink van pull up to their house. On the side of the van was a silhouette of a man and a woman holding hands, with the words True Directions on the side. Two people emerged from the house. One had dark skin and neat brown hair, and the other had tan skin with straight, long black hair. The guy wore blue shorts, a blue jacket, and a blue shirt that read Straight is great. The girl wore a pink dress with pink heels, and carried a pink clipboard.
Needle's dad looked at them with thankfulness in his eyes. He extended his hand towards them. "Floory, One, thank you two so much for coming all the way out here."
Floory took his hand and shook it, One nodded her head. "That's what we're here for. Now, you've watched the video?" One asked.
Needle's mom nodded her head. "Yes--Over and over." She opened the door of her house and gestured to it. "Please, come in."
Inside of the house, Needy, Pin, Naily, and Bell sat on the couch, looking very concerned. When they saw Floory and One enter the room, they all stood up. As soon as Needle's dad closed the door, the sound of Pen's car honked.
"Now, the important thing is to be clear." Floory told the group as he passed out pamphlets.
"And direct." One added, writing something down on the clipboard.
"But to do it lovingly." Floory interjected. "We're not accusing, we're supporting." Everyone nodded their heads. They were doing this because they were worried for Needle.
Pin walked over to the window and took a peak. She quickly turned around, her red hair whipping the window. "I see the car."
Naily ran over to Pin's side and looked outside the window. "Uh-oh. Here they come!"
Everyone ran around the room, trying to get into place. Floory and One faced the door, sympathetic looks on their faces as a confused Needle walked through the door. She froze where she stood, looking at everyone in the room.
"...Surprise!" Needle's mom smiled.
Needle looked around the room. "What happened?" Her voice quivered. Her pompoms in her hand shook. "Is somebody dead?"
Needle's mom forced a smile and shook her head. "Why don't you just come on in and have a seat, honey?"
Needle walked over to the couch slowly, and Pin and Bell stepped out of the way. She sat down on the couch, looking around the room, her eye catching on what Floory's shirt said. Her pompoms sat sadly next to her. "What's going on?" She asked.
"Hi, Needle." Floory said softly to her. "My name is Floory and that's One." He gestured to his companion next to him. "Your family and your friends want to have a conversation with you, and we're here to facilitate that dialogue."
Needle raised her eyebrow, look at her loved ones. They all looked away from her.
One smiled at everyone. "Now, why don't we all make ourselves comfortable?"
Everyone squished themselves on the chairs and couch that surrounded Needle, with no one actually sitting next to her.
"Now, Mr. Point," One addressed Needle's dad, "Would you like to start this conversation?"
Needle's dad nodded his head. "Needle, we love you." He said with much sincerity.
"We all love you." Needle's mom added. Her eyes were beginning to water. Everyone nodded their heads.
"And lately we've become concerned about certain behaviors. We're afraid you're being influenced by..." Her dad paused, trying to calm down. "...A way of thinking. Unnatural way of thinking." He looked briefly over to the TV. "Do you remember the woman on TV?"
Needle scanned her brain, trying to think of what woman he was talking about. There were a lot of women on TV.
"Honey, we think you're a..." Needle's mom paused and whispered. "Lesbian."
Needle raised her eyebrows and leaned forward. "Huh?" Why would her family ever think that she liked girls?
"I, myself, was once a gay." One stated, and tilted her head towards Floory. "We were once gays. Now we're ex-gays, Needle."
Needle looked between the two. Then towards her parents. Her eyes felt like they were burning.
Floory spoke up. "We work for a place called True Directions who help people, like yourself, to learn to understand the reasons behind homosexual tendencies, and how to heal them."
No no no no. This couldn't be happening. Needle shook her head. "What tendencies? Why would you think I'm a...?" She couldn't even say the word.
Her sister raised a bag of stale tofu that was at least a week old from when Needle brought it home for her parents to try. "You've been trying to make us eat this tofu." Needy stated, indifferent
Floory nodded his head. "In diet, watch for a switch to vegetarianism." One checked something off on her clipboard.
Pin raised one of the posters of women that Needle kept in her locker. “You don’t have any pictures of guys in your locker, just these.”
“Mhm.” One checked another thing off.
"And these." Needle's mom said while holding up a pillow with what Needle assumed was an apple core design. Bell held up a poster with the famous performers of Winner and Loser.
One checked off another thing, and Floory sadly nodded his head. "Sexual motifs in artwork and decorating." He gestured towards the apple core design. When Needle looked at it closely, she realized it did look a little like something bad... But it definitely was an apple core!
"Gay iconography." One muttered as she checked off yet another item, gesturing towards the poster. Sure, Winner did look a bit androgynous, but Needle was sure that Winner was a girl. Or a boy. Winner was probably a girl if Loser was wrapping his arm around her(or him(or neither)) like how Pen did to Needle, right?
"Hey, that's not fair!" Needle protested. "I didn't know-"
Pen gave Needle a look that was a mix between confusion and disappointment. "You don't even like to kiss me!"
Pin, Naily, and Bell nodded their heads. "It's true." They said in unison.
Needle leaned over and put her face in her hands. "I can't believe this." Why was Needle being accused of being a lesbian?! She wasn't!
Floory walked over to Needle and patted her shoulder. "Denial is a normal part of the healing process that we'll explore at True Directions."
Needle looked up. Why did her face feel wet? She wasn't crying, was she? "Healing?" She questioned.
"Like rehab, honey." Her dad added. "Poodle, it's only for a few months."
It didn't matter that it was only for a few months. The problem was that it was a few months of going to 'fix' a problem that never even existed! She was straight. Not a lesbian. Nothing that wasn't the good Christian cheerleader girl she was.
Everyone looked at her, their eyes piercing her. They expected an answer. An answer that Needle wouldn't be saying.
"There is no way I'm going!" Needle yelled.
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Needle was going.
A couple minutes later, her parents made her pack her bags and dragged her into their car. Her bag was filled with her cheer uniform, her bible, clothes, and pictures of her family and Pen. Her pompoms, which were essentially a main part of her by now sat on top of her suitcase.
Her mother and father were driving her to True Directions, and she sat in the back. They had been driving for thirty minutes by now, but it felt like eternity. It felt like they were police officers, driving her to prison. It probably was prison!
She looked outside her window and saw a bus full of cheerleaders driving in the oppo. Her cheerleaders. They all hung outside the window, laughing as they ate doughnuts. Their long hair flowed in the wind. Needle suddenly felt disappointment. She wanted to curl up in a ball.
Her mother must've noticed this, because she turned around and offered her a cookie. Needle shook her head and leaned her hand up against her palm on the side of the car door. She tried to ignore the tears rolling down her cheek.
Finally, after thirty more minutes, they slowly approached a big two-story house in the middle of an empty field. The bottom story's walls were painted blue, while the top story's were painted pink. As the car pulled into the driveway of the house, Needle noticed the sign in front. It read True Directions with an image of a man and woman holding hands and an arrow around them.
Needle felt sick.