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- 11/15/2015
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Timothy’s Terrible Prompt Stories - 40. Prompt 460 Who invited you?
Rob's plans are carried out on Monday morning.
A Rob POV chapter
“Who invited you?” The disgust and annoyance was obvious in Ryan’s voice, but Rob was pleased to see Eric and Nelson ignored the second baseman completely.
“I did!” Rob flashed a quick grin at his new ginger-haired friend across the coffee shop table, as they both spoke at the same time. Jasper gestured at him to keep going.
“And why shouldn’t they be here?” Rob stared at Ryan who tried to look unconcerned. When Rob had joined the gathering a few minutes earlier, he had been hailed as the game hero by most of them, but the SB, Chris and a few others had ignored him. Fine by Rob, but he wasn’t going to let anyone pick on Eric.
The guy with dark brown hair shrugged. “They’re not part of the team.”
“Neither are our girlfriends, but nobody objects to them being here.” Jasper turned to claim a kiss from Carolyn. She had been busy helping Nelson distribute the cups from the tray he held. Afterwards he and Eric settled down on the chairs she and Jasper had kept free for them.
“Speaking of which, where’s Melanie?” somebody said behind Rob.
“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Rob could see most of the people around him had already heard about the break-up, but he wondered how many of them knew the reason. Not that it mattered either.
His casual dismissal of his ex-girlfriend caused the hush to deepen, but surprisingly no one commented or asked any of the questions which were probably on at least some people’s minds.
“Anyway, here’s to the win of the weekend; you guys were great!” Rob raised his cup and nodded to those teammates who were ahead of him in the line-up. The two runners he’d let score with his home run, raised their cups back at him, and everyone joined in on the cheering.
The normal chatting and banter picked up again, and Rob grinned at Eric and Nelson. This morning had gone exactly as planned so far.
***
They’d met in the parking lot half-an-hour earlier. Jasper had picked up Carolyn on the way to school, and they headed towards the coffee shop. Nelson led the way to the GSA ‘office,’ and Rob noticed his brother and the normally shy junior casually held hands as if they’d been boyfriends for months. Yes, this was exactly the cool attitude he wanted from them.
Trevor was alone in the room, tapping away at his laptop when Rob opened the door for the lovebirds. Over Nelson’s shoulder he could see Trevor’s eyes flick down to the joined hands and back up to their faces before his gaze met Rob’s.
“Good morning guys, what can I do for you?”
“Hi Trevor. Eric and Rob are here to join the GSA.” Nelson sounded deeply satisfied.
Rob wanted to shake his head at how oblivious Nelson was. He treated Trevor as if they were acquaintances or casual friends, but to him it was clear Trevor had once hoped they might be more. However, he had to admit the dark-haired guy hid it well. He smiled and welcomed Eric, and joked with Rob about leaving it to the last minute to join.
“Yeah, sorry about that, Trev. I would have done so long before now, if someone hadn’t been a stubborn idiot.”
“Rob!” Eric punched his arm, and the blond jock grinned. Good to see he could still wind up his little brother. They finished the formalities and talked for a few minutes more, and Rob’s respect for Trevor increased. The calm and collected senior seemed genuinely pleased for Nelson and Eric about their new status while they discussed the possible challenges with being out in high school and going to the prom as a couple.
As they finally turned to leave, a group of freshmen – or perhaps sophomores – entered; two guys and three girls. They stopped and huddled just inside the door, and Rob nudged Eric.
“Come on, guys, let’s go.”
Eric got the message, and he took Nelson’s hand. As they walked past the group, Eric greeted a couple of them by name, confirming Rob’s guess of them being in his year. He noticed both boys looked at the couple with wide, envious eyes, while at least one of the girls sighed with what seemed a mix of admiration and regret. When her eyes moved on to Rob who was a few steps behind, he gave the pretty girl his cheeky smile, and was rewarded by a charming blush and a smile in return. Oh yeah, he still had the power, even if she was way too young.
The corridors were pretty much deserted. None of the school buses had arrived yet, and Rob knew most of the seniors who came in early would be in the coffee shop. Time for the next mission of the day.
“So, that was Trevor; he seems nice.” Eric’s casual comment didn’t fool Rob one bit. Hmm, Trevor had taken Nelson to the prom, but what else might have happened, and had he told Eric?
“Yeah, he’s a good GSA president. He makes people feel comfortable and safe, but he’s not afraid to speak up for our rights. I wish I was more like him.”
Rob’s mouth fell open, and as he stared at Nelson’s back, Eric expressed both their thoughts.
“What the fuck…oops, what on earth are you talking about?” Even though they were alone, Eric looked around for any teacher who might have caught him swearing in school. He turned back to Nelson. “You’re always the first to confront any bigots and stand up for gay rights.”
“Oh, I can do so if I’m angry or upset. But getting up in front of a crowd and addressing them like Trevor does, now that takes guts. He wanted me to run for GSA president, but it won’t happen. In any case, it should be a freshman or a sophomore, since I’ll graduate next year.”
Afterwards, Rob would swear he saw the lightbulb go on over Nelson’s head. Maybe Eric did too, because he stopped and turned to face his boyfriend.
“Oh, nonono, don’t you dare—” he began.
“Why not? I think it’s an excellent idea, bro.” Rob caught up and clapped a hand on Nelson’s shoulder. “You’ll make a great GSA president, Eric, if you put a bit of effort into it. Nelson and Jasper will back you up, and so will Dad. He’s good at all those ‘how to motivate people’ tactics.”
“But…but…” Eric stammered, and to Rob’s amusement Nelson leaned forward to shut him up with a quick kiss.
“Let’s talk about it later, babe. It was just a random idea.” He pulled on Eric’s hand to get them walking again, and Rob followed with a smirk on his face. Oh yeah, Nelson had already found out how to deal with Eric. He had to get used to new suggestions or plans gradually, but once they’d settled in his head, or he’d thought them over for a while, he usually gave in. Rob would make sure this great idea would not be forgotten.
Before they entered the coffee shop, Rob gave Eric a bunch of money. “You know what I like, bro, and I guess Nelson can order for Jazz and his girl. Get whatever you want for yourselves too.”
“Thanks, Rob. We will.” Nelson nodded at him, and Rob knew his promise covered the unspoken part of the plan too.
He turned and entered the shop, making a straight line for the back of the room where the baseball team, their girlfriends, and a few other supporters always gathered. Their noisy greetings and congratulations attracted the disapproving attention of a few morning-grumpy customers, but Rob didn’t care. He gave high-fives and backslaps to various guys and smiling nods to everyone else.
When the eyes of several teammates were pulled away from him, he knew Eric and Nelson had entered the coffee shop. He didn’t turn around, but locked eyes with Jasper.
“Hey Jazz, you’re up early this morning. How’s your wrist doing? I hope you gave it a rest last night.”
“Very funny, Rob. My wrist is OK, and I expect I can start training tonight. The coach has promised to help me with some strengthening exercises.”
“That’s cool; we miss you on the pitcher’s mound, right, guys?” Rob included their main catcher and the senior pitcher, Mitchell, in the conversation, and both of them made appropriate and genuine affirmative noises. By now most people’s attention had returned to the group, so Rob snagged a chair and sat down. While he did, he flicked his eyes towards the counter and as expected, Eric and Nelson were in the process of ordering. He relaxed and waited.
Mitchell, who was seated next to him, leaned in and spoke in a low voice. “Your brother and Nelson look cool together, holding hands like that at the counter. Don't take my word for it; a lot of people up there think so too.”
Rob let his eyes rove across the other customers in the coffee shop. Some were seated at tables near the windows, and others were waiting near the counter for their to-go coffees. By now, most of them were ignoring Eric and Nelson, so he was unable to confirm Mitchell’s observation. But he did see a couple of young women giggling and nudging each other as they ogled the teen couple.
“I don’t know what it is with girls and good-looking gay guys. Amy was all ‘Awww, adorable’ after the match, and in the Mall too.” Mitchell’s voice held good-natured laughter rather than irritation.
“Shit, that’s right. You and Amy were at the Mall when Jazz went off at those idiots.” Rob suddenly recalled seeing them in the background. He turned his head to look at the pitcher, and they both repeated ‘shameful stupidity’ and burst out laughing.
“Oh man, the look on their faces! Priceless.” Mitchell was shaking his head in admiration. “Ahh, your brother’s on his way.”
Rob had shifted his gaze to the group of baseball players who ignored his arrival, in time to observe their reaction to Eric and Nelson. Chris turned his back, most of the others looked surly but resigned, and only Ryan had dared to voice any objections. Speaking of which, it looked like the idiot was trying to garner some support amongst the others. Time to act, but first he needed to get rid of the lovebirds.
Rob caught Eric’s eyes and gave a small head toss and a nod, meaning ‘Get out of here, if you want to.’ Eric didn’t acknowledge him, but a couple of seconds later he leaned sideways to whisper into Nelson’s ear. The junior nodded and said something to Jasper, who grinned and held up his hand to high-five his best friend.
“So, I guess you’re not taking Melanie to the prom?” Mitchell asked, and Rob gave an affirmative grunt, his eyes moving from his brother to Ryan to make sure the jerk didn’t say anything before Eric and Nelson had left.
“I promised Amy I’d ask if you might consider taking her sister instead. Apparently, she has a crush on you.”
“What the fuck, dude?!” Rob’s attention was wrenched away, but he registered the lovebirds leaving, hand-in-hand, out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t even know Amy’s sister. Is she at West High?”
“Uhmm, yeah, I think she’s a freshman. Eric might know her.”
“No fucking way, jeez Mitch, what were you and Amy thinking?” Rob shuddered at the thought of taking a fourteen-year-old girl to the Prom. Her parents would kill him – so would Mom and Dad, come to think of it.
“I know, I know, and Amy tried to tell her sister. But at least now she can say I asked. And honestly Rob, you’re suddenly single, so all the unattached chicks are gonna come running. Don’t tell me you’re surprised?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.” Rob lied.
“Yeah, right,” laughed Mitch and punched his shoulder. Rob shrugged and turned his head to make sure Eric and Nelson were gone. Now he was ready to deal with Mr. Who-Invited-You and any other bigots lurking around.
Next chapter will be devoted to Nelson and Eric.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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