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Timothy’s Terrible Prompt Stories - 36. Prompt 433 Where did all of that come from?
Another Nelson POV chapter
“Where did all of that come from?”
Rob looked at Eric, who shrugged. Jasper and I exchanged glances, but neither of us said anything.
This time we congregated in Rob’s room, and I was interested to see the similarities and differences to Eric’s room. The furniture and color scheme were the same, but that could be the influence of Mrs. Perry. They both had a few posters of baseball players, but I suspected Eric’s had been chosen for their looks rather than their fame. Rob’s shelves held more sports trophies than books, but I was intrigued to see a complete set of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series and a few other SciFi novels. Another surprise came in the form of biographies and memoirs of various influential politicians and successful businessmen. Hmm, there might be more to Rob than just the popular jock.
A simmering confrontation between Rob and Eric brought me out of my distraction. I’d missed the first low exchanges of words, but Rob suddenly growled out loud.
“Come on, bro, you know something.” He had a curious mixture of glare and entreaty on his face. Eric sighed, and I drifted back to his side and took his hand.
“OK, but don’t get mad at me. You know how Dad says allegories are a good way to describe human motivations?” He pulled me closer, and I slipped my arm around his waist. Rob’s reaction was to groan and facepalm himself as he sat down on his bed. Jasper went over to the beanbag in the corner and sprawled on it. We were all waiting to hear where Eric was going with this.
“Umm, well, Dad said to me you’re like the Knight or the Champion, always looking for a just cause to defend… or someone in need of help.”
For a second I wanted to burst into laughter at the idea and the look on Rob’s face. I don’t think I’ve seen him blush before. But the silence in the room was too tense. Rob’s voice was almost a whisper, but no less intense for that.
“When did he say that?”
“A couple of months ago.” Why did Eric tense against me?
“Let me rephrase: Why did he say that? And to you, not me.”
“He… I was… Well, does it really matter? We were talking, and he was trying to explain to me why you… Anyway, he said you had a lot of positive energy, a great heart and a good soul, and you would never be satisfied until you found a cause to devote yourself to, a direction to charge off in, to Do Good like a Knight in Shining Armor.” We could all hear the capital letters on his last words.
“Sir Rob the Brave, I like it. We’ll be your faithful squires in the quest against bigots and ignorance.” Jasper’s chuckle was more admiring than mocking, and when I looked at him, his eyes were lit up in a way which only Carolyn, Firefly, and a couple of other important matters could achieve. But Rob was still focused on Eric.
“So, you’re saying Dad is trying to make me commit to the GSA and champion their cause?”
“Don’t you think they’re worth it?” I did my best to sound neutral and not accusing.
Rob waved the matter off. “Oh certainly, I’m fine with his suggestion of a ‘worthy cause.’ But I’m pissed off at him stereotyping me like that, trying to push me into a certain behavior. And why didn’t he talk to me about it?” He stared at Eric, who tensed up once more. Okay, time to intervene more firmly.
“Don’t be dense, Rob. The whole point about being a Knight is that you act from the Goodness of your Heart and not because others expect it of you. If you’re always conscious of ‘doing the right thing,’ it becomes contrived, and people around you will see you as fake and stuck-up. Your dad is not trying to modify your behavior, well, except for not punching guys, and trying to think before you act.” This got a chuckle from Jasper and Eric. “He’s only trying to give you a target for your idealism and enthusiasm. Or rather, a larger goal than just protecting and helping your brother.”
This time Eric didn’t just tense up, his hand clutched my hip in an almost painful grip. I’d guessed correctly, the Knight issue had come up, because he’d been upset at something Rob had done, and their dad had tried to make him understand why Rob acted the way he did.
Rob’s eyes flicked from me to Eric, and I think he saw something in his brother’s face which made him pause. I used the hesitation to follow up on Jasper’s idea.
“So, Sir Rob, what do you require of your squires? If you take on the world on behalf of the LGBT community, you will earn my loyalty and gratitude at least. Go forth and slay the dragons of bigotry and ignorance.”
I struck a pose with one hand on my heart, and Jasper jumped up to shout “Go forth, Sir Rob!” and imitated my hand-over-heart gesture. We all cracked up and started laughing like mad. Eric grabbed two of the sports trophies, a figure of a baseball player and a small cup, and presented them to his brother and Jasper.
“For your valor in defending our honor, Sir Rob and Squire Jazz.”
“My pleasure, Squire Eric,” was Jasper’s playful reply, while Rob punched his arm and growled ‘Cut it out,’ but the grin on his face revealed he enjoyed our antics. Every time our chuckles faded out, someone would say ‘dragons of bigotry’ or Go forth’ or ‘Sir Rob’ and we’d start laughing again. Jasper kept the joke going by making up difficult or absurd tasks for Rob to accomplish in order to earn his Knighthood.
“Put rainbow stickers on your car (Rob: ‘No Problem’), on your locker (‘Only if I’m a GSA member’) and on your baseball bat (‘No Way’). OK, I’ll let you decide the third location.”
“Convince three closeted guys it’s OK to come out, and yeah you can count Eric as the first.” (‘Not a chance if they’re as stubborn as him.’)
“Dance with at least three GSA members at the Senior Prom, and one of them should be a guy.” (‘Piece of cake, you’re a member, right?’) “Duh, I mean a gay guy.” (‘OK, Trevor is quite good-looking, and he’ll see it as a GSA Presidential Duty.‘)
“Let each of your Squires ‘rescue’ us from a confrontation instead of you handling it. You can count the Mall as mine if you want to.” (‘OK, but I get to deal with the baseball team.’)
“Drive Eric and Nelson to and from the Junior Prom and make sure they’re safe.”
“Jazz!” My shout and the pillows which hit him from the Perry brothers sitting on Rob’s bed, made him pause and scowl.
“What? I want to be with Carolyn and… Oh, shit! No, I didn’t mean ‘safe’ as in use protection—although that’s a good point too—I meant Rob could be part of the seniors who keep an eye on matters during the Junior Prom, and he could focus on the safety of the same-sex couples.”
“You’re as bad as Rob, when will you two understand that Eric and I don’t need you hovering over us?” I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, calm down, Nel. I think the LGBT kids should be able to enjoy the same privileges of dancing and kissing as everyone else without having to worrying about bigots, and having Rob as well as Trevor around as GSA representatives will do the trick. I know you two can deal with any problems, but that’s not what going to the Prom is about.”
“Duh, it’s about showing off your handsome boyfriend or pretty girlfriend and getting laid,” was Rob’s contribution. He and Jasper high-fived each other and I couldn’t help chuckling along with them. I suppose all guys, straight or gay, can agree on the wanting sex part. And I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about Eric and I having a ‘traditional’ prom experience in that respect.
“Will there be any same-sex couples apart from us?” Eric sobered us up by asking in a low voice. I hesitated, because while I knew of a couple of LGBT juniors, and of course Trevor and several other seniors who were also out, I wasn’t sure how they would deal with the proms. Trevor inviting me to the Junior Prom last year as his official date had been a first in the history of West Hill High, as far as I knew. I’d expected to go stag this year, since the boy I wanted to ask was straight, or so I’d thought. But now I was proud and thrilled to take my boyfriend to the Prom.
“So you’re definitely going to the Prom with Nelson? Awesome, bro!” Rob’s glee was unmistakable, and he held his hand up for Eric to high-five. Rob was sprawled across the end of the bed, while Eric and I were sitting next to each other, leaning against the headboard.
“He asked me today, and I accepted. But I hadn’t thought about us being the only gay couple at the prom.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach at the slight note of worry and uncertainty in Eric’s voice. Did he regret saying yes to being my date? I would be devastated if he didn’t want us to go as a couple, but on the other hand I could recall how Trevor and I had been very much the center of attention last year. I had no doubt the same would happen this year, particularly if we were the only same-sex couple. Could we deal with it?
Back then I’d overcome my shyness by telling myself this was for the LGBT kids and their rights to be part of the mainstream high school experience. And since we’d been surrounded by Trevor’s friends and the GSA crowd, and he had danced with them as much as with me, and I’d made a point of asking every female Drama Club member for a dance—much to my surprise most of them said yes—we had been ignored apart from the start and end of the Prom. Arriving together, arm in arm, and doing the last slow dances up close and personal did cause a stir and a few murmured comments, but we had ignored them. Trevor hadn’t kissed me on the dance floor, I think he knew I was too shy for that, but I wanted to be able kiss Eric the same way straight couples could.
I couldn’t stand the awkward silence and got up. Jasper gave me a compassionate look, but didn’t say anything. I heard Eric’s voice behind me, “Babe, where’re you going?”
“Bathroom,” I managed, and it wasn’t a lie either, I did need to go after drinking too much soda earlier. I made it to the door, before he caught up to me.
“Nelson, what’s wrong?”
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22
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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