Fate is a sneaky Bitch

Author's note: I know, I know. I challenged everybody to make a story with an older protagonist, and then I went ahead and made a story about teens. What can I say? My muse is her own woman.

No matter what anybody else tells you, Fate is a sneaky bitch.

Take me, for instance. Up until today, I was Jay Carter, drama lover, geek, and wimp.

Until one day I bumped into Thomas (the tank) Anderson - Safety and defensive captain for our football team.

Not that I was aiming for him. Far from it. I was just trying to get away from Marcus Carol, our school’s resident stereotype bully. A guy who liked to throw his weight around, and there was a lot of weight to throw.

I sat on the ground, rubbing my head and looking up at Thomas, wondering if he was gonna pound me or just let Marcus do it. They were teammates, after all, with Marcus being the team’s center.

He ignored me for a moment, and called out “Marcus, you trying to wail on this kid?”

“Yeah, sissy freak needs a pounding.” Marcus said as he got closer.

“Well, you better not.”

“Why not? You gonna stand up for the sissy?”

“I wont have to, dumbass. The half dozen students who just recorded you threatening a student will send copies to the principal. And then, you’ll be suspended, maybe even expelled. And you know Coach doesn’t take kindly to anybody from the team getting into trouble, so you might also lose your spot on the roster.” Thomas said.

“Okay, you got a point. I guess the sissy walks.” Marcus said to Thomas, then he looked at me and said, “Just stay out of my way, fag.”

With his threat made, Marcus walked off, leaving me looking up at Thomas.

“Need help getting up, kid?” He said to me, gently.

I took his hand - much larger than mine, and got back to my feet.

“Thanks” I said.

“No worries. You’re ... Jay, aren’t you? Jay Carter? I saw you in last year’s musical.”

“You did? I didn’t exactly have a leading role, or anything.”

“Yeah, but the bit you did playing the kazoo at the wedding was really funny. Was that scripted, the part where you came back out to give the guy one last blast on your kazoo?”

I blushed. “No, I just did that in the moment.”

“Well, I laughed my head off, so it worked. Listen, why dont you sit with us at lunch. I’ll introduce you to some of the team, and show you we aren’t all jerks like Marcus.”

So that was the start of things.

Before I knew it, I was spending a lot of time with Thomas. He’d come and watch something the Drama club put on, or he’d talk me into coming to a game and joining the team afterward.

The opinion of most of his teammates was “If the Tank says Jay’s okay, then Jay’s okay.”, so even Marcus got the hint and laid off me.

Anybody in my shoes would have liked Thomas. He was strong, smart, kind, funny, and his teammates respected him.

But the more time I spent around him, the more I realized I didn’t just like him.

I was falling for him.

Finally, after one game’s victory party where he gave me a hug while shirtless, I realized things couldn’t go on like this.

A couple of days later, we were studying at my place, and I said, “Tom ... I think I need to talk to you. About me, and some ... changes I’ve been going through.”

“I’ve noticed some of those changes, I’m glad you trust me enough to talk about them, though.”

“Say what?” I exclaimed.

“Not a dummy over here, remember? You were pretty tense when we started hanging out, maybe you thought I’d turn out to be like Marcus. But as you relaxed, I started to notice the difference. After a while it was so obvious, your mannerisms, your walk, your voice, just ... everything. If you think you’ve been hiding it, sorry, you might as well been shouting ‘I’m a girl!’ So let it out, I’m not gonna come down on you for it.”

“I’ve been ... acting like a girl? And you didn’t say anything?”

“Figured you’d talk when you were ready. It was soon clear you weren’t trying to do some kind of imitation, like a drag performer. It was like there was something you couldn’t help showing once you felt safe enough around me. A girl inside, starting to come forward.”

My head swimming, I tried to look back at how I behaved around Tom. How I had moved, how I had held my hands, even the fact that I had giggled - giggled! At some of Tom’s jokes.

“I ... think you’re right, Tom. But it’s even worse than that. If I’m a girl, I’m a girl who has ... feelings for a boy. You.”

“Well, that’s a relief, since I was afraid the feelings would be one way.”

I gasped. “You mean ... you ?”

“Yeah, Jay. Me. The more time I’ve spent with you, the more I wanted to ... protect you. Care for you. Sweep you off your feet and announce to the world ... how much I love you.”

I smiled, and joked, “And maybe done stuff with me I’m not equipped for just yet?”

Tom held up a hand, and said, “Only if you were ready, able, and willing, promise.”

I was floored, but I tried to recover.-

“Tom, if I do this ... there are gonna be a lot of steps to take. My parents will have to be on board, and yours too. Then there is the school, and your teammates ...”

Tom took my hand and held it. “I know it wont happen overnight, Jay. But it can happen, if you want it to, and I’ll be with you every step of the way, if you’ll have me.”

We shared our first kiss, and I said, “That answer your question, Tom?”

****

That was a couple hours ago. Its now past my bedtime, but I’m still awake, and thinking about things. And why Fate is a sneaky bitch. If Tom had been coming around that corner a couple of minutes sooner, or later, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Oh sure, I’d probably would have clued in to the girl thing eventually, but I have a distinct advantage because of that lucky break. I have Tom. And he’s given me enough courage to start my journey ....

End.