Andy's Circle - 6. Meet the Winchesters

Hopping on my trusted bike, I sped off down the street, excited to finally get my new pet! It turned out Jackson’s home was a few blocks away from mine, which was great because I didn’t have to ask dad to drive me by car. I actually liked his street a lot, it was wide, with a lot of space to ride bikes. I had often taken rides there, either alone or with Mark, passing by Jackson’s house many times without even knowing who lived there. Well, now I had another reason to go there.

When I arrived, Jackson was in the backyard, shooting hoops. He was wearing a yellow tank top and gray shorts, probably the first clothes he got out of his closet. For a gay guy, he didn’t seem like the type to pay too much attention to what he wore – or maybe that was just a stereotype on my part. Not that he didn’t look good, on the contrary. He was a year older so he was already more developed than I was. Also, his long blond hair really suited him, not everyone would be able to pull it off.

Seeing me approaching, he grinned and dropped the basketball, letting it bounce off to the other side of the yard, coming to greet me.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Andy, hi,” he waved and came over, giving me a fist bump. “How was your first day of high school?”

“Not bad! Met some new people, joined the LGBT club, and now I’m getting a new pet!”

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” he patted me on the back. “When the classes start for real, it’s gonna get hectic.”

“Gee, thanks,” I chuckled. “Way to raise my spirits!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you in on the teachers. Some of them are really laid back, not checking for homework or even letting you copy it from others. But some, like Mr. Coyle, you don’t wanna mess with.”

“Oh, thanks. You’re gonna have to tell me all about them.”

“Yeah, later. Wanna shoot some hoops first?”

“Sure,” I said, following him to the concrete patch that served as a makeshift basketball court. There was only one hoop, but there was plenty of space to play.

I still wasn’t really interested in sports, but I didn’t want to reject him right away, on the first day that we met. So what if I wasn’t really good, and he was at least three inches taller than me? It’d be an easy victory for him, but hey, it’s the bonding that counts, right?

After about twenty minutes, we decided to take a break and get something to drink. He came into the house and returned with two bottles of water, sitting down next to me on the concrete steps.

“You’re not bad, but you don’t play a lot, do you?” Well, that was a nice way of saying I sucked. I appreciated that he sugar-coated it, not wanting to make me feel bad, though.

“Not really,” I said. I had a feeling he was playing worse than usual on purpose, just so I wouldn’t feel embarrassed. “I’m not really that into sports. Unless you count e-sports,” I chuckled, taking another sip of water.

“So why did you say yes? We could’ve done something else.”

“It’s ok, really. I don’t mind playing here and there.”

“But if we ever play a serious game, I probably shouldn’t pick you on my team?” he teased.

“Yeah, unless you really wanna lose,” I grinned and shook my head.

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

As we sat on the steps and chatted, I realized I’m probably going to rather like having Jackson as a friend. He seemed really chill and easy to talk to. Some people are just high maintenance and drain all of your energy when you’re with them, requiring you to adopt a certain mindset when you’re talking to them. Not Jackson – I felt like I could just be me, without any pretense or having to try hard.

After we cooled off and our heart rates returned to normal – especially mine, since I wasn’t really in tip-top condition – Jackson suggested that we go inside so he’d show me the puppies. I followed him into the house, eager to see my new pet.

“Hi, you must be Andy,” Jackson’s mom came from the living room and greeted me as we entered the house. At first glance, she seemed nice and polite. I don’t know if she was strict with Jackson, but she seemed pretty easy-going.

“Hi, nice to meet you, Mrs. Selleck,” I shook her hand.

“Jackie said you’d be coming for the puppy.”

“Yeah, my parents finally let me get a dog, I’m super pumped,” I smiled, unable to hide my excitement.

“That’s nice. They’re in the back, your dad is feeding them,” Jackson’s mom told him and we went to find them.

When we entered the room, I saw two Jack Russell Terriers jumping around, with Jackson’s dad kneeling down, playing with them. Their bowls were almost empty, so I assumed they had already eaten.

“Oh, hey guys! Is this Andy?” Jackson’s dad turned around and greeted us.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Jackson replied and we moved in closer.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Selleck,” I offered my hand and he shook it. He looked younger than I imagined. He had a light brown beard and untidy hair of the same color. I could see where Jackson got his good looks from – not that his mom wasn’t attractive.

“You too, young man! What do you say about the puppies?”

As I opened my mouth to reply, Jackson quickly interjected.

“The one with the black spots is mine, just so you know,” he grinned at me.

“Ok,” I chuckled. “They’re both really cute,” I said honestly. I really didn’t mind having either, but of course Jackson had the right to pick first, they were his dogs after all.

“So I get the one with the light brown spots. Hmm, I have to come up with a name for him… Or her? Is it a boy or a girl?”

“They’re both male,” Jackson’s dad said.

“Mine is called Sam,” Jackson said as he played with his puppy.

“So should I call mine Dean?” I teased, waiting to see if Jackson would get it.

“Oh, like the Winchesters? That’d be cool,” he laughed and nodded.

Ok, so he was a Supernatural fan. Once again, I thought he seemed like a cool guy, just like Nico, and I couldn’t help but wonder why they broke up. Maybe they just weren’t right for each other.

“It’s settled then, I’ll name mine Dean,” I nodded and knelt down. “Hey, Dean, come here.”

The pup ran toward me as soon as I got down on my knees and outstretched my arms. We started playing and I already felt attached to it.

“Wanna go outside and let them run around in the backyard?”

“Sure,” I replied, grabbing Dean and following Jackson and Sam.

As the pups ran around and played together, I couldn’t help but feel bad that we’re separating them. However, I lived close enough so Jackson and I could take them for walks together – at least that’s what I hoped.

--

Nico and I got in the routine of having lunch together every day, often joined by a few other kids we had some classes with. Jackson would also sometimes come and sit with us, when he wasn’t with his friends from the sophomore year. I also saw Mark a few times, but he would usually just wave at me and go and sit with his group of friends. I didn’t mind that, I had my own friends so I didn’t need to be sitting with my brother during lunch as well. Not like I wouldn’t see him at home.

It was nice to always have someone to hang with, especially since Nico was a proper chatterbox so it was never a dull moment with him. From time to time, I would notice a few people giving us a weird look, maybe from having seen us at the LGBT club and because we were spending a lot of time together. They probably assumed we were boyfriends, but I didn’t really care, and neither did Nico for that matter. I just hoped nobody would say anything to Mark, at least not until I figure out a way to come out to him. Even if someone had, he never mentioned anything to me, so I assumed we were good.

Nico was telling me about some new video games he wanted to try and I was listening intently. Whether or not we had the same taste in games didn’t matter – if you were talking about them, you had my undivided attention!

“I’ve been saving up to buy Dead Cells, but it’s still in early access, so I’m not sure if I should wait,” he said seriously, as if he was discussing world politics. “I mean, I bought a few early access games years ago and they still haven’t been finished, so I don’t wanna get fucked over again.”

“I’ve seen people play it, it looks super fun! I mean, from what I’ve seen it already looks almost finished. I think I’ll get it when I have the money,” I replied, taking a bite of my meatballs with tomato sauce.

“Cool. Maybe whoever buys it first can let the other try?” He suggested, drawing circles with his fork around his plate, some mac and cheese still left on it.

“Sure, that’d be awesome!”

“Seriously, man, you need to come to my place and see my collection,” Nico said.

“Yeah? You have a big one?” I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows.

“So big! Probably bigger than yours,” he nodded and pursed his lips, before we both started laughing.

We would tease each other like that all the time, and I gotta say, it felt great to have someone I could talk to like that without them thinking I was a pervert or something. We could just be ourselves and have fun. Sometimes I wondered if I could talk that way to Rex without making things awkward between us. I wasn’t ready to test that just yet.

“What about tomorrow after school?” I suggested. He’d already been at my house a few times, but I still haven’t been to his. I was pumped to see his video game library and getting to borrow some of them.

“Sure. I’ll have to ask my folks today just in case they have something planned, but I think it’ll be fine.”

“Cool. Also, I wanted to talk to you about something,” I said, lowering my voice. We were at the end of the table and there was no one near us, but I still didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing us.

“Sure, what is it?” he asked, smiling curiously as he saw me ducking my head and whispering.

“Well,” I started hesitantly, “you’re out to your brother and sister, right?”

“Yeah. And to my parents,” he nodded confidently.

“Really? Fuck, lucky you!” I almost shouted and he burst out laughing. I couldn’t help but laugh along.

“I mean, you already did the hard part and here I am thinking of just coming out to Mark. I’m really nervous,” I said, bringing my volume back to whisper level.

“You think he’ll be ok with it? Has he ever said anything homophobic?”

“No, not that I know of. The thing is, we never talk about that stuff. I don’t mean just sex, I mean crushes, liking boys or girls, that kind of thing.”

“Really?” he sounded surprised. “When my sis had her first kiss, she immediately told me. As I did to her. And I can’t even count the number of times my brother talked about the girls he was seeing and fu…”

“Ok, no need for details of straight sex!” I quickly stopped him, making him laugh. “See, that sounds normal to me. But we never talk about that stuff at home. I know he dated some chick last year, but he never brought her home or talked about her. But I don’t think he’s a homophobe.”

“What about your parents? Do you think he’d tell them if he found out?”

“No, I don’t think so. He’s not a tell-tale and we get along great,” I said confidently.

“Well, I can’t really tell you what to do, but I think you should go ahead and do it. I mean, you’re gonna have to do it sooner or later. Plus, he’s gonna hear rumors in school, you know? Better to hear it from you.”

“Yeah, you’re so right. I’d already almost made up my mind, but I just wanted to talk to you too. Thanks.”

“No problem,” he smiled and waved his hand, as if to say ‘no big deal’.

“Damn, when did you get so smart?” I teased as we got up to go to our next class.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet, boo,” he winked and grinned at me.

--

When I came home after school, Mark was already in the backyard playing with Dean. When I first asked mom and dad to let me get the dog, they agreed to it but under one condition: if I wanted a dog, I had to be responsible and walk him every day and take him out to do his business. I readily agreed, but it turned out that Mark was more than willing to help me out. He enjoyed spending time with little Dean, walking and playing with him.

Since mom and dad hadn’t gotten home from work yet, it was just the two of us, so I decided to bite the bullet and finally do it. I didn’t even go to have lunch first, not wanting to waste any more time. I just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible no matter the outcome. I wanted to get it off my chest and have one less secret, one less thing to worry about. Of course, unless I’ve completely misjudged him and it all goes horribly wrong. Well, I was about to find out.

I waved at Mark and slowly came over, trying to calm myself down. My stomach was turning and my feet were refusing to cooperate, but I willed myself to go over. Mark threw a tennis ball, trying to teach Dean to fetch it. The puppy ran after it and Mark turned toward me.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey. You managed to teach him anything?” I asked, stalling for time.

“Yeah, I think so. Look, he’s coming back with the ball.”

“Nice!”

Mark threw the ball again and after a few seconds of silence, I spoke again.

“I gotta tell you something.”

“Sure,” he turned to me and frowned.

“Uh, you know the school has an LGBT club, right?” I could hear my heart pounding like a gong.

He nodded.

“Well, I went to check it out the other day… And I joined it.”

Well, there it goes. I jumped off the cliff. No turning back now. I prepared myself for this moment – the most dramatic moment of my life, as I imagined it. In reality, it was anything but.

Mark crouched again as Dean returned with the ball, took it from its mouth and threw it again.

“Oh, ok,” was all he said.

“You realize what that means?” I asked, not sure if he was really listening to me.

“Yeah,” he nodded. I kept my eyes firmly on his face, trying to gauge his reaction, but there was none. What was he thinking? Why wouldn’t he say anything, for God’s sake?

“And… Are you ok with it?”

“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” he said as he finally looked me in the eyes and nodded. A second later he turned to look at Dean again.

“Ok, I just wanted to tell you,” I replied, feeling both relieved and confused.

Relieved because he didn’t get mad, disgusted, or threatened to beat me or tell mom and dad, and confused because he was awfully quiet about it. It was as if I told him we’re having chicken for dinner. Was he really ok with it… or was he actually thinking of ways to embarrass me and ruin my life?

Fuck, my brain was seriously messing with me, coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas, none of which turned out well for me. I needed to get something to eat and then go to my room and play some games. That always helps me relax and escape reality for a while.

“Well, I’m going to have something to eat, wanna come?” I asked, not expecting him to say yes.

“Sure, I’ll be right there,” he nodded and I went inside.

I had barely sat the table when Mark came to the dining room, helping me. As I took the meal out of the microwave, he cut the bread and made fresh vegetable salad.

“Did you see the video I sent you today?” Mark asked as we were sitting and eating our meal.

“Yeah, I almost died of laughter! I had to show it to Nico right away,” I replied, remembering the funny clip he sent me of people getting scared by animals.

“I thought I’d piss my pants when that old woman got knocked over by that goat,” he exclaimed and I had to stop eating or I’d choke from laughing with my mouth full.

Just like that, any awkwardness that might have been there was gone and we continued eating and chatting about everything, just like we normally would. After lunch, we went outside again and played with Dean, without mentioning my coming out to him. It seemed that nothing had changed between us, but I felt relieved that now he knew and I didn’t have this big secret hanging over my head anymore – at least when it comes to him. As for my parents, I wasn’t ready for that step yet.

As I rolled Dean on his back and started giving him a belly rub that he loved so much, Mark came over with his phone in his hand.

“Hey, Rex just sent me a text, he’s coming next weekend with his folks.”

“Oh, really? Cool,” I replied.

He didn’t text me, but that’s fine. Not like we’re best friends or anything, right? Yeah, I was jealous and disappointed, so sue me.

I mean, when did Rex and Mark become joined at the hip all of a sudden? I know Mark’s been hanging out with us more and more, but still, it was Rex and I, right? We were the main duo, and Mark was just the sidekick.

When I got back to my room, I realized I’d left my phone in my backpack. I took it out and saw two new messages. One was from Nico, telling me it’s ok to come by his place tomorrow to see his ‘big fat collection’ – his words! That made me laugh, but seeing the other message made me even happier. It was Rex, letting me know he was coming the next weekend.

So he did remember to text me! I know it wasn’t a big deal, just a text message, but I was still happy, even more so since I knew I’d see him again so soon. My heart felt warm and I threw myself on the bed, thinking how I could hardly wait for next weekend!