Gage's POV
Having never been interviewed, I was sort of excited, even though the reason behind it sucked. Devin looked incredible and I knew he would look amazing on television, but I wasn't so sure about me. Compared to the Devin, Jack and Jeremy, I was almost miniature in size. An image of me standing among giants flashed in my head and I giggled.
"What?" Devin asked me.
Embarrassed, I just shrugged. Like I was going to tell my hot, sexy boyfriend I was afraid I would look like a little kid on television.
Devin opened his mouth to say something, but I looked past him and noticed a woman in a teal business suit standing next to a man with a camera.
"That has to be them, Devin," I whispered and nudged him with my elbow.
He turned and looked across the lobby. "Yeah, I can't imagine any other reason they would be here."
I froze in my tracks, my old insecurities catching up with me. But Devin wasn't having any of it. He grabbed my hand, gave me a smile and pulled me along with him until we were standing right in front of them.
"Hi," Devin started, offering his hand, "I'm Devin and this is my boyfriend, Gage."
The pretty woman in the teal suit smiled and shook his hand. "Good to meet you guys. Sorry it's under such awful circumstances." She let go of Devin's hand and reached out for mine. "My name is Susan Winder and this is Gus Miller, my camera man." She glanced around the lobby. "I had wanted to interview you guys outside, on the campus, to play up the college angle, but it's pretty cold and windy out there. This lobby looks too busy. You two have any ideas?"
"What about the basketball arena? I mean, since three of the men you're interviewing are on the basketball team." I blushed when she glanced at me. "Yeah, I'm not one of those three."
She laughed and tossed back her perfectly coifed blonde hair. "That's actually a great idea, Gage. Lead the way."
"Wait, what about Jack and Jeremy?"
The second the words left my mouth I heard Jeremy.
"Hey! We're here." He jogged over to meet us, Jack trailing close behind.
Once introductions were made, we all headed over to the arena, chatting along the way. Luckily, Jeremy curtailed his emotions and didn't maul Jack as he usually did.
I ended up walking next to Susan, so I pulled the locket from my pocket and showed it to her.
"Wow! That looks like an antique. Very pretty."
Since she seemed interested, I decided to just jump in and tell her about finding it.
Susan listened and seemed interested. When I finished, she smiled at me. "Look, let's do another interview with you two about the locket today, too. That way, if we can fit the story in, we can add it to the news. But, let's not show them what's engraved on the back. That might be the only way someone can prove it belonged to them."
It sounded like a great idea to me. I pocketed the locket again and smiled over at Devin.
By the time we reached the arena, we had all discussed the interview about what happened last night and sort of knew what was going to happen. It turned out that she and Gus had already taken some footage at the bar & grill. They were heading over to the impound lot where the car was being held right after meeting with us.
In the arena, she had Devin and I stand under one of the basketball goals and had Gus start recording.
Devin grasped my hand and squeezed and I felt my nerves evaporate.
Susan spoke straight to the camera.
"I'm standing here with two men that attend college here. Devin Walls, a member of our basketball team, and Gage Milton, who were unfortunately on the receiving end of a hate crime last night." Susan turned to us. "Thank you for joining me tonight and sharing your story. Why don't you tell us what happened last night?"
Devin smiled. "Sure, thanks. Umm, well, we, me and my boyfriend, Gage, here...we went out to a late dinner to celebrate our team's first win last night. Our friends, Jack and Jeremy joined us."
"That's right. And they are both on the team, as well?" She waved the other two guys over to stand with us and then held the microphone back out in front of Devin.
"Yes, they both play for the college, too."
"And you two are dating, correct?" She asked them.
Jack blushed bright red, while Jeremy answered. "Yes, Jack is my boyfriend."
"So, Devin, you drove last night?"
"Yes, we took my car out to Sheila's Bar & Grill, out on 49th. Gage and I had never been, but Jack and Jeremy like it a lot and I know a lot of college kids like it."
Susan nodded, waiting for him to go on.
"Well, when we came out, we found that someone had slashed all four of my tires and spray painted... I'm not sure I can say the word out loud..."
"Safe to say it was a hateful word, correct?" Susan asked.
"Yes. Definitely. It was all over my front windshield."
"Who noticed the damage first?"
Jeremy spoke up. "I did and I couldn't believe it. In this day and age, well, I know there are hateful people, but this was just so unexpected."
Susan turned to me. "Gage, do you know if the police have any idea who may have done this?"
I took a deep breath. "No, I don't think so. What has us worried is that there are a lot of LGBT students here and if someone is making us their personal mission, where will we feel safe? Where can we turn?"
Susan nodded sympathetically and turned back to the camera. "I will be meeting with the police tomorrow, but for now, this hate crime remains unsolved. I'm Susan Winder. Thank you for watching."
Gus stopped recording and the four of us collectively took a big breath. Whew, I was glad that was over.
We talked a little more with her and she did a quick recording of us with the locket and asked that anyone who has information about it to contact the station. She couldn't promise it would air, but she said she would do her best.
By the time we were done and parted ways with Susan and Gus, we all decided we were hungry and headed over to the pizza place on campus. I couldn't believe how many students had already heard about what happened, many stopping at our booth to ask questions, or tell us how sorry they were.
I had just taken a bite of my pepperoni pizza when I saw Travis standing in front of one of the glass entrance doors. Even from where I sat, l could see the fury in his eyes. I nudged Devin's leg with my knee until he looked up and over to where I was staring.
"Damn! He looks pissed. Maybe you were right, Gage. I just really didn't want it to be someone I knew."
I turned to Devin. "I know. It makes it even worse, doesn't it?"
Devin didn't answer. He and Travis had begun some sort of stare-down contest. Travis finally looked away and hit the door with his fist, sending it flying open as he left.
"Fucker!" Jeremy cried out. "I bet Gage is right. It
was