Homecoming Week - 1. Homecoming Week

Thursday, Oct 10, 2024 Dorchester, Pennsylvania

Kieran Hawkins removed his football helmet to release his shaggy dirty-blond hair. The fifteen-year-old was on the JV football team as a freshman. He was sweaty from morning football practice despite the chilly fall weather. The other guys on the team were talking and laughing on the way into the locker room. Kieran, being relatively new in town, wasn’t as close with the other boys that had known each other since first grade. The hills and mountains surrounding the town were covered in fiery orange trees that Kieran didn’t get to see back in California. The grey cloudy sky gave the air a dull feeling despite Friday’s exciting homecoming game and Saturday’s homecoming dance. Speaking of, Kieran still didn’t have a date to that dance. All his teammates already had a girlfriend or boyfriend to take to the dance.

Kieran quickly showered and put on a t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie for the school day. He stopped by his locker to grab his geography class notebook. In the locker was a note that must have been slipped in through the little slots in the metal. Kieran opened up the folded paper. The handwriting was cursive enough for him to know it was definitely from a girl.

“Dear Kieran,

Would you like to go to Homecoming with me? ❤️

~ Autumn”

Kieran blushed. Autumn Grant was one of the cuter girls in the freshman class.

“What’chu smiling about, bro?” Kieran’s brother Dustin came up from behind, startling the triplet.

“Uh, nothing!” Kieran tried to hide the note. Dustin was gonna tease him all day if he saw the note.

“What did you put in your pocket?”

“Just a piece of paper. It’s nothing, Dusty.”

Kieran ended up sitting next to Autumn in his third period ELA class after second period geography.

“Hey, Kieran.” She blushed.

“I got your note,” he responded quietly. “I’ll go with you.” Kieran smiled. The lecture from the ELA teacher about George Orwell was boring, and Kieran and Autumn passed notes back and forth to pass the time. One of the messages Kieran got was about the teacher looking like a penguin. Kieran laughed a little too loudly.

“Mister Hawkins, is there something humorous about the novel 1984 that you’d like to share with the class?” the teacher asked the football player, adjusting her glasses resting on her nose.

“Uh, no, Miss.” Kieran folded up his girlfriend’s note and got it in his notebook.

“Pay attention, please.” She shook her head.

At lunch, Kieran sat with his brothers, Dustin and Oliver. Oliver’s boyfriend, James, was also at the table so he didn’t feel bad for inviting Autumn to their spot.

“Autumn, here.” Kieran smiled and patted the seat next to him.

“Who’s this?” Dustin, the oldest triplet, asked, getting his sandwich out of his lunchbox. Oliver, the youngest triplet, wasn’t paying too much attention, as he was making out with James.

“She’s my homecoming date,” Kieran said plainly.

“Since when?” Dustin laughed.

“Since this morning, knucklehead.” Kieran laughed. “I don’t see your date anywhere.”

“I told you, Jaden is taking me!” Dustin retorted. “You don’t talk much,” he said to Autumn.

“Ignore him.” Kieran nudged her, shaking his head. He turned back to Dustin. “Jaden’s on my football team, and he’s straight.”

“Sounds like you’re fibbing,” Autumn said under her breath. Kieran laughed.

“I AM NOT!” Dustin stammered. “I’m going to the restroom. You guys are so annoying.”

Kieran rolled his eyes. “So, Autumn, how was your volleyball game yesterday? I didn’t make it ‘cause I had to go to Oliver’s soccer game.”

“Oh, uh, we lost like 5-3. It was bad.”

Kieran realized he didn’t really know too much of his new girlfriend other than the fact that she apparently liked him and played volleyball, and that she was in his ELA and chemistry classes. She was quiet like he was, so it seemed to be a good match in his mind.

Lunch passed with small talk between the two. Oliver and James also introduced themselves to Autumn, who was amazed at the fact that the Hawkins triplets were the first set of triplets she had met in her life.

“Kieran, where’s Dustin?” Oliver asked, tossing his trash into the trash can a couple of yards away, earning a glare from one of the teachers supervising the cafeteria. James laughed and congratulated his boyfriend on making the shot.

“I’m not sure. He left in a huff a bit ago and hasn’t come back. It’s not like him to not finish lunch. I’ll go check the restroom and see if he’s ok.” Kieran got up. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He smiled at Autumn.

Kieran made his way to the boys’ restroom in the hall outside the cafeteria. “Dustin, you ok, bro?”

He looked around. It was pretty quiet except for a flush in one of the stalls where there was… THREE pairs of shoes, one of which was unmistakably Dustin’s purple converse sneakers. What the F is going on in there? Kieran mused.

“Dustin?!”

There was a muffled voice from in there and another flush. The door then opened. Jaden emerged with Gavin, another of Kieran’s teammates. Dustin was sitting on the gross tile floor, leaning against the wall. “Dude, what the hell did you do to my brother?”

“He’s a faggot. He got what he deserved.” Jaden laughed. Kieran shoved him out of the way and rushed over to his soaked brother.

“Dustin, what happened?!”

“They flushed me,” the nerdy teen said, getting his glasses from his pocket and getting them on so he could see. “I can get to the nurse’s office. Thanks, Kieran.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Dustin smiled.

“I wanna kick Jaden’s ass now.” Kieran gritted his teeth.

“No, don’t.” Dustin shook his head. “Violence doesn’t solve anything.”

“I’ll go report him at least.” Kieran texted his brother a code for his gym locker. “There’s a change of clothes in my gym locker. Looks like you’ll need something.”

“Thanks.” Dustin slightly smiled and left the bathroom while Kieran went to the teachers on duty in the cafeteria.

“My brother was just bullied in the restroom. He was flushed.”

“Oh my!” The old lady’s eyes widened. “Do you know who?”

“Yeah, it was Jaden Williams.”

“Ok, thank you for telling me, young man,” she said. “I’ll let Principal Walker know after lunch about this.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Kieran nodded.

That afternoon, after chemistry class, Kieran had to go outside to a side building behind the school for his algebra class. They had built a separate building for math classes since the school had grown in size several years back. Kieran was already running late since he and Autumn talked too much, causing them to be a little late in finishing their chemistry experiments. He swore under his breath when the tardy bell rang.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the little snitch.” Jaden crossed his arms. “One little prank and now I have to go meet with Principal Walker.”

“You idiots soaked my brother.” Kieran growled as he continued walking in the opposite direction.

“You’re the idiot for getting me in trouble.”

“Whatever, loser.” Kieran rolled his purple eyes and rushed into the side building to avoid further interaction with Jaden.

At home, the triplets' dad and his husband Ross were considerably upset upon learning that Dustin had been bullied again. It happened a few times in 7th and 8th grade as well, due to his lanky frame and bisexual orientation like his father.

Kieran had showered off and changed into a tank top and athletic shorts to relax while doing homework before dinner when he heard a knock at his bedroom door.

“Come in,” Kieran said, plopping down on his bed.

Dustin quietly stepped in with Kieran’s shirt and shorts in hand. The lanky teen was in nothing but his boxers. “Thanks for letting me borrow some clothes,” he stuttered. “And thanks for helping me.”

“No problem, bro.” Kieran smiled as Dustin threw the used clothes into the hamper. Dustin wasn’t very athletic, and was more nerdy and artistic, so he was often a target for bullies.

“I can’t believe I trusted that jerk,” he said with tears starting to form in his purple eyes. “I got in too deep.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jaden asked me out for a study date. I helped him with some homework at the library after school before Ollie’s soccer game, and I asked if he wanted to go to homecoming and he said sure. During lunch, I went to the bathroom, because he offered to, well, uh…” Dustin blushed. “Be at the receiving end of a bl…”

“Dude, you don’t need to explain it.” Kieran blushed.

“Ugh he’s so cute I couldn’t say no to the offer! Anyways, that's when he overpowered me and dunked my head in the toilet. I tried to fight back, but, well.” The 100-pound teen shrugged.

“That asshole…” Kieran muttered.

“Anyways, I told Oliver during study hall, so I figured I should tell you too.” Dustin left to go get dressed.

A smirk came over Kieran’s face, and he walked down the hall to Oliver’s bedroom and knocked.

“Hey.” A shirtless Oliver answered the door.

“Bro, we need to get back at Jaden for what he did to Dustin.”

“DEFINITELY!” Oliver laughed.

Friday, Oct 11, 2024

At school the next morning, Kieran had study hall first period since there was no football practice with the big homecoming game that afternoon. Gavin and Jaden had gotten a month of suspension from extracurricular activities for what they did, so Kieran’s other teammates were a bit pissed that two of the best players wouldn’t be able to be on the field. Oliver was in study hall with Kieran.

“You got the stuff?” Kieran asked his brother.

Oliver simply nodded with a mischievous smirk. The previous evening, Oliver had walked down to the corner store for a bottle of super glue. One could only imagine what they planned to do with it, much to the dismay of Dustin’s protests against retaliation.

The three triplets had ELA class during third period with Jaden, James, and Autumn. Oliver was the first to enter class. He sat near Jaden and put some of the clear superglue on his seat when the teacher wasn’t looking and quickly hid the super glue in his string bag. Oliver snickered when Jaden took his seat.

“What are you laughing at, queer?” Jaden scoffed.

“I’m gay, not queer. And none of your business, bully,” Oliver replied. Jaden rolled his brown eyes.

Jaden didn’t get up at all during class until the bell rang to end third period. Oliver looked on as Jaden tried to get up.

“What the hell?! I’m stuck!”

“You want some help?” Oliver asked, swooping his dirty blond bangs out of his face.

“No.” Jaden growled. He finally freed himself, but his jeans, well, they ripped. And unfortunately for him, he was going commando that day.

The whole class laughed at what happened, except Autumn. She looked at Kieran, who was laughing his ass off. “I thought you’d be more mature than this, Kieran.” She shook her head.

“Come on. How is this NOT funny?” Autumn left the room. “Wait up!” The boy grabbed his backpack and caught up.

“Did you do that?”

“Maybe,” Kieran answered sheepishly. Autumn scoffed. “Oliver and I wanted to get him back for harassing Dustin! It’s just a harmless prank!”

She reached up and slapped him across the face and stormed off. “I thought I asked out a sweet guy, but apparently not.

“Ugh…” Kieran groaned. He wanted to run after her and apologize, but he figured it was best to let her cool off.

Throughout the day she gave Kieran the silent treatment. She sat somewhere else during lunch and ignored him during chem class. Dustin caught wind of his brothers’ plot and thought it was funny. He thought the glue on the chair was an accident at the time, but he appreciated his brothers fighting back for him. A nurse ended up having to get a towel for Jaden so he could hide himself and go get a change of clothes from the locker room.

After school was the homecoming football games. The JV team played first, and then Varsity played immediately after. Kieran was a kicker on the JV team and helped score some field goals, including the field goals used as a bonus point after a touchdown. Without Jaden and Gavin playing, the JV game was a lot closer than it should have been, but the Dorchester High School Dolphins ended up winning. Kieran left to change and shower while the Varsity team prepared for their game.

He got out of the locker room shower in his flip flops and a towel around his waist. He quickly got dressed as it was a chilly night, putting on a t-shirt, shorts, a pullover hoodie, and some colorful sneakers.

He emerged from the locker room to find Autumn there. Kieran’s eyes widened. “H-hey.” A blush crept over his cheeks. She looked really pretty in the dim moonlight.

She reached up and kissed him on the lips. After a few seconds, their lips parted. “Woah…” Kieran blinked. That was his first kiss. “You’re giving me mixed messages.” He blushed and scratched the back of his neck.

“I was wrong about you earlier today,” she offered a slight smile. “You’re a sweet guy. And your brothers helped me realize that.”

Kieran kissed her again before he led her back to the football bleachers to watch the Varsity homecoming game.

Saturday, Oct 12, 2024

Kieran stepped up to the front door at Autumn’s house. His hands were clammy as he knocked on the door. Autumn had invited him over for dinner with her parents before going to the homecoming dance. This was a big step, and Kieran worried he was in too deep a little too quickly, but he wasn’t going to turn down an offer for dinner.

“Kieran, hey!” Autumn smiled as she opened the door. Kieran enjoyed looking at her in the dress she had on and her wavy golden-brown hair looked incredible.

“You look great tonight.” Kieran kissed her as he entered.

“Ahem…” Her father cleared his throat and pushed Kieran away from his daughter.

“Sorry, sir.” Kieran blushed as the middle-aged man shut the door. “Th-thank you for having me.” He shook the man’s hand.

“Please, come sit down; dinner is ready,” the father said and led the teens to the kitchen.

Kieran thanked the mother for dinner before sitting down. Kieran talked about how high school was going for him, and his extracurricular interests in football and debate club.

“That is all so fascinating.” Mrs. Grant smiled. “So, what do your mom and dad do?”

“Oh, uhm.” Kieran blushed. “My mom was an elementary school teacher in California, but she’s, uh, not alive now.” He felt a couple of tears appear in his eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Mrs. Grant apologized.

“And my dad, well, he’s an accountant, and his husband, Ross, I guess my second dad, or a stepdad of sorts, he’s a meteorologist with the Weather Service in State College.”

“Your father has a husband?” Mr. Grant asked.

“Uh, yes, sir.”

He turned to Autumn. “Sweetheart, I cannot allow you to date a child of a home that isn’t up to biblical standards.”

“DAD!” Autumn gasped.

Kieran had thankfully finished his slice of shepherd’s pie and picked up his plate and set it in the sink. “Young man, you may see yourself out. And stay away from my daughter.”

“Sir, please.”

“I said out.”

“Honey…” his wife pleaded.

“Let’s go.” Autumn led Kieran out of the house.

“B-but… your parents.”

“My dad is crazy. Ignore him. I want to spend my night with you.”

At the dance, Kieran and Autumn had arrived in the school gym before Oliver and James. They had gone on a sushi date. Dustin had already arrived with his nerdy chess club buddies.

Autumn looked around for any signs of her father. He was the type to search for her to take her home.

“What’s wrong?” Kieran asked.

“My dad is going to kill me when I get home,” she exaggerated.

“This is a high school homecoming dance. He can’t get in without a ticket. Just relax and have a good time.” Kieran tried to dance with her, but he’s rather clumsy and messed up a bit and almost tripped with his two left feet. “As you can tell, I suck at dancing.” He blushed.

“It’s cute though.” She laughed.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying tonight.” Kieran planted another kiss on her lips.

Kieran went to get some punch for the two of them, getting some congratulations from some guy friends on his date.

He returned to his girlfriend with the punch. “Do you need to be home by a certain time?” Kieran asked, trying to be a good boyfriend.

“Given that I ran away after dinner with you, probably pretty soon, but I can always say they never gave me a specific curfew.”

“Well, if you want, you can come home with me and hang out with me and the bros.”

“I can’t be out too late, or my parents will accuse you of kidnapping me!”

“Fair enough.” Kieran laughed.

After a couple more slow dances, Kieran stopped by Dustin and Oliver to tell them he was taking Autumn home. The dance would be closing down in thirty minutes anyways.

“Stay here,” Autumn said in front of her home. It was a chilly night with a breeze ruffling the orange trees. Fallen leaves had covered most of the sidewalk. “I had a great time tonight.” She kissed Kieran quickly. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“See you then.” Kieran smiled and pushed some hair out of her face to plant a final kiss. “Goodnight.”