Only What the Moon Sees - 3. Chapter 3

Gabe scanned the crowd one more time, though crowd may have been overstating it. Tennis wasn’t the most popular sport on campus. That honor was given to football, then basketball, then baseball. Only a handful of parents and friends showed up for tennis. Gabe was looking for his parents, who had only showed up to one game so far this season. With only a few games left before finals, there was a limited number of opportunities for them to show support.

But they weren't there.

Disappointed but expected, Gabe followed Justin off the court and back over by the team. Even though he had played one of the best matches ever, the weight of heartache was too much.

“Way to go, guys!” Coach X was grinning like mad. The two boys barely scraped by with a win, bringing the Red Hawks and Bulldogs to a tie. “We are literally neck and neck.”

Justin was panting, still drained from his match. Sweat dripped down his face in jagged patterns. “How many more games do we have?”

Coach X replied, “Brian is playing his last match and this is the deciding factor, but he’s playing their twos. It’s a toss up.”

Gabe plopped next to his partner on the grass. Shade from a nearby tree provided some relief from the glaring sun. As May approached, the weather was beginning to get warmer. Gabe hated the heat, hated sweating. Summer was his downfall, though swimming helped alleviate some of the misery.

Most of the Red Hawks tennis team gathered near the court that Brian was playing on. Justin refused to move, though. Instead, he laid back in the grass and put his hands behind his head. Something was off, he could tell. Gabe had been weird the past few months, but every time Justin brought it up he was shrugged off. Being a teenage boy on the cusp of adulthood, he wasn’t really sure how to help his friend, even though he swore nothing was wrong.

But Justin had known Gabe for quite a long time now. The two had shared many adventures together, like the time they drove to the beach illegally. Neither were allowed to have passengers in their cars upon first being licensed, but they wanted to celebrate getting their licenses within a week of each other. Although nothing out of the ordinary happened, the sentimental trip was locked in Justin’s memory. It was one of his favorites. It was worth the two weeks he was grounded for lying to his parents.

Justin opened his eyes and looked over at his partner. Gabe was sitting with his legs pulled up, knees to his chest and arms wrapped around them. He looked like he was deep in thought. Now that they were just sitting in the shade sweat wasn’t running down Gabe’s face, but the edges of his hairline were dark with perspiration.

“You were so on point with those backhands today, bro,” Justin said casually. “I don't think you missed one shot!”

Gabe shrugged. “I wanted to win today. You didn’t let a single ball get past you.”

“I wanted to win, too.” Justin side-eyed his partner. “Seriously. Good job today. We kicked ass!”

For the first time since they had finished their game, Gabe looked over his shoulder at his friend.

“Thanks. And you were, too. Seriously. Think Brian will win?”

“I hope so. I’m starving and Coach promised dinner if we win.”

A comfortable silence fell upon them as they watched Brian battle his opponent. The memory of last night’s strange encounter kept replaying in Gabe’s mind. The beauty of that man was like a glitch in the multiverse. All day his thoughts were consumed by the desire to go back to that gas station and see if he would show up. The only thing stronger that was distracting Gabe was being so near Justin. The lingering scent of his cologne was sending Gabe into a frenzy. He was shocked he was able to stay so focused during their matches. And the way sweat dropped down Justin’s face . . . Gabe just wanted to lick—

“He won!” a teammate shouted.

Coach X called everyone over and congratulated them on their hard-fought matches. As promised, he told the team to meet at his favorite restaurant, which was the tradition anyway.

Once the two teams shook hands, the Red Hawks congregated at the restaurant. The boys were having a blast, picking on each other and sharing random videos on their social media. Towards the end of their meals, the jokes turned to a lone glass bottle of soda that someone had finished.

“Hey, Brian,” Charlie said, “How far can you throat this bottle?”

“Dude, what the hell?” Brian asked.

The team was roaring with laughter, making some of the other diners look over in annoyance. Coach X glanced up from his phone but allowed the jokes to continue for the moment.

“Oh, come on,” Charlie pressed. “How about you, Gerald?”

Gabe laughed along with his teammates, but he had an uneasy feeling churning in his stomach. Any time the gay jokes started he froze up and grew anxious. Being surrounded by his peers in such a setting only made the anxiety worse.

Gerald laughed, and said, “Bro, I’m not a fag.”

And that was the moment that Gabe understood the world wasn’t really different from 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago. He suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable. He just wanted to go home.

“Guys, we don't use that word,” Coach X said, breaking his silence. “Let’s wrap it up, huh? Everyone done eating?”

Justin felt it.

The shift in Gabe’s energy.

Post-match, Gabe was probably just tired, he figured. At the restaurant he loosened up and seemed happier. Then, Gerald went and used that slur, causing Gabe to immediately become tense. Justin wasn’t sure what he himself was even feeling. Why did he feel so protective of his friend? He knew he wasn’t attracted to him romantically. No. There was none of that. There was just something about Gabe that Justin felt connected to on a deeper level. Gabe had no idea of how much Justin relied on him. Everyone else saw the semi-popular, extroverted, and charismatic Justin. Gabe, though, often saw the sensitive side of Justin as well, the loyal side of him. Perhaps that’s what the connection was: he could be vulnerable around Gabe without the fear of being judged or shunned.

Justin wanted to protect Gabe.

The question was from what?

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Thank you for reading! Feel free to contact me with your feedback, good or bad at thedelfinoplaza@gmail.com.