Neal

A young man struggles with his identity

Neal was gay. He knew it, his best friend Sarah knew it, and everyone else didn't. Not even Neal's mother knew. But Sarah did.

Neal had known Sarah since they were 5. When sixth grade came around, and Neal realized who he was and who he was attracted to, Sarah was the first person he told; he told her everything, and vice versa. They were freshmen in high school now, and today had been the first day of classes.

In all of their classes and in homeroom, students were seated in alphabetical order. Thank God Sarah's last name is Carter, thought Neal, as his last name was Cartman; he would sit right behind her.

But that wasn't the problem; the boy behind Neal was the problem. Meet Steve Darling.

Steve Darling was known as the nastiest kid in the neighborhood since third grade. He "accidentally" knocked a kid down the stairs that year, and he had gotten worse since. Now, he stood at 6'1", tallest in the class, and acted like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Neal had begun to wonder how he could come out appropriately. He didn't want any awkwardness to arise in his class, so he began researching stories of how others had come out. He was reading a story online about one person's self-titled "coming out party," when Neal was alarmed by a sudden laugh right in his ear.

"Dude, you're gay?" sneered Darling, practically spitting the words at Neal, "What the f**k?"

"Please, Steve, please," Neal begged, "Don't tell anyone! Please!?!"

Darling answered "Tomorrow morning: a hundred bucks, or everyone finds out."

The bell rang, and everyone shuffled off to class. Neal ran to the bathroom to vomit.

Neal went the rest of his day feeling sick. More than once, Sarah had to turn around and poke him with a pencil to make sure he was ok. He was really a nervous wreck.

Mercifully, the 2:30 bell rang, and Neal bolted home, not even thinking to wait for Sarah. He got home, and made a beeline to his bedroom. He threw his face into his pillow and cried. What was he going to do?

Neal sat, alone, on his bed, and pondered what to do. After hours of internal deliberation, Neal decided tomorrow was the day.

He walked into the cafeteria in the morning, over to the area where his class sat. He saw Sarah seated in a corner, giving him a wary look. He returned it with a smile, reassuring her that everything was ok.

Suddenly, a hand gripped Neal's shoulder from behind.

"Got something for me, f****t?" Neal could feel Darling's slimy breath on his neck.

He turned to face this ruffian that stood over him. Neal looked him in the eye, and said "I'm gay."

Darling was stunned, "What'd you say, fairy?"

Louder this time, enough for everyone to hear, Neal answered "I'm gay."

People began to look over, and Darling snickered, "I can't hear you, princess!"

At last, Neal exclaimed, loud enough for the whole room to hear, "I'm gay!"

Darling burst out laughing. He couldn't believe that he had gotten Neal to embarrass himself that way! "Way to go, twinkletoes!"

Neal was red-faced and angry. Suddenly, he felt an arm intertwine with his right arm; it was Sarah. Another arm locked around his left; it was Paul, a classmate.

Suddenly, the entirety of Neal's class stood up from their tables, and locked arms. They all stood, facing down Darling. Neal couldn't hold back a laugh.

Darling was stunned.

Neal was out.

The world was at peace.

Author's Note

This one is dedicated to a close friend of mine, as well as the entire LGBT community. May they find the courage to stand up to Steve Darlings everywhere.

Reviews

[Baby Ricochet]

The Darling's of the world are f*****g dinosaurs. Stand up, be proud and own your frame. You'll get plenty of support. Great story.

[Will]

This was for a friend of mine, and he absolutely loved it, so I'm happy. Hopefully, someone who is struggling through a similar situation will see this and have some faith.

[Marie]

Very good story. I wish your friend well.

[Careline]

hahaha "greatest thing since sliced bread?" lol

[Careline]

Still a very good story! Maybe I'll show it to "Alphonse" :P

[Andie]

Oh wow. If I were you, I would be so proud of this story. I love everything about it. I 100% support equal rights, so this was amazing to read. I hope you've helped someone by writing this. I hope they see it and it gives them hope. :')