Tj

Finally, the game began at eleven that night. Since games had been played all day, there were no specific sections or sides for either team. So, supporters for each team were all sitting next to each other. Which would have been fine; until I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Oh, my god! Is that TJ sitting next to Scott? What the hell is that faggot doing here?"

I knew that voice. I knew it well. It tried to torment me for years. It was there encouraging Scott as he threw me out of his house and kicked me while I was down. I didn't like that voice. That voice belonged to a certain bitch named Kim.

Scott tried to stop me from turning around to face the bitch, but it was too late. I pasted on an obvious fake smile, made eye contact with her and said, "Hey Kim! How have you been? Still being a heinous bitch?"

She narrowed her eyes and glared at me. "You're pathetic enough to try to get back with him in front of his boyfriend?"

Before I could respond, someone else spoke from the other end of our row. "Ha! If you think TJ would even consider cheating on his boyfriend, you obviously don't know him."

Then, another voice from the sidelines in front of us added, "He landed the homecoming king and who would be the star quarterback for us if he hadn't been injured. Trust me when I say he isn't trying to get with anyone else. Besides, who the fuck do you think you are calling someone that?" Rachel added to John's comment.

I gaped at them. I was truly at a loss for words. I wanted to say something, but my brain was not communicating with my mouth. Someone else finally added, "Young lady, I find your use of that offensive word abhorrent. Now, I don't know what you possibly have against my young friend, TJ, but I will not sit by and have you talk down to him." Doris was just getting started. She continued, "Even if I am still a bit miffed about him referring to me as an octogenarian on Thanksgiving, but that's neither here nor there. I believe you owe TJ and his good friend Scott an apology."

"Look old lady, I don't care if you have eight genarians or whatever, but I'm not going to apologize to either of them."

Doris smiled at her pityingly. "Bless your heart. You're not the brightest crayon in the box, are you? Not even the prettiest. So maybe you should just shut the fuck up and try to look pretty, because even though it's not much, it's all that's going for you."

"Are you saying I'm not pretty? Who the hell do you think you are, you old bitch?"

Doris' eyes were eerily cold when she smiled and said, "I'm the bitch you wish you could be. Now be a good girl and do as you're told, or I can have you leave the stadium after I call Jerry and let him know I'm here and someone is bothering me."

Kim scoffed. "Who the hell is Jerry? Am I supposed to be scared or something?"

Doris shook her head and pointed at a huge box suite just above us and said, "Jerry would be one of my late husband's old friends and he is currently sitting in the owner's box right there with his family. I personally can't stand the alien-looking pompous ass who thinks he knows how to manage a football team and has had way too many facelifts, but I don't have to like him to know him."

Kim turned to Nick and said, "Come on, let's find somewhere else to sit. I don't like it here."

Nick crossed his arms and looked at Kim and said, "Naw. I like these seats. Plus, I haven't had a chance to talk to my friend Scott and tell him how sorry I am about not standing by him when everything happened last summer. Who knows? Maybe he'll forgive me for choosing a hateful bitter bitch over so many years of friendship. Besides, you're not as good as you think you are. I mean, Joey sucked my dick better last night than you ever did."

The guy sitting next to him, who I knew was Joey, laughed loudly and responded, "You also said I was tighter, don't forget that."

Kim screamed, "Oh my god! Are you all fags? You disgust me. I'm leaving." She then stood up and practically ran up the stairs to the exit.

Nick waved and said, "Fine with me. Good luck getting home since you rode here with us. I was getting tired of your nagging anyways."

Joey side hugged Nick and said, "Thank god you finally got rid of that toxic bitch. So can we actually apologize to Scott now and beg his forgiveness and offer up our eternal gratitude if he would only grant us this one wish?"

Scott looked at them and stated, "That didn't really happen between y'all, did it."

Joey waggled his eyebrows and said, "You know I don't kiss and tell."

Nick laughed and shook his head. "Naw, it didn't happen. Sorry to get your hopes up,' he added with a wink. "I just knew what would piss her off. She came to me right after all that shit between you two happened. The way she made it sound, she was the victim and then she told me you used to say a bunch of shit about all of us behind our backs. She told all of us some pretty nasty shit you supposedly said. Recently though, her stories weren't adding up. What she told me you said about Joey one time became something you said about me later. Finally, on the way here tonight, I made up something and asked her if you had said that about me or Joey. She told us this long-ass story about what you supposedly said and when. I didn't call her out on it, but I knew she was a lying bitch. I was going to break up with her tonight on the way home and hit you up tomorrow. I didn't expect to see you here at the game.

"Can I just say, I'm really fucking sorry I abandoned you. If I could go back and tell my past self to not think with his dick and trust you, I would. I wanted to rush to the hospital as soon as I heard about the accident, but Kim was whispering lie after lie to me and everyone else. The stuff TJ said on Facebook and shit didn't help either. She used that as evidence against you. She told me you scared her the day you kicked him out of your house. She said she was afraid you were going to go off and hurt her too. I don't know why I believed her. I know you.

"I know I fucked up big time. I'm just asking if it's possible to maybe make it better." He then turned to me and continued. "I also owe you a big apology. You might not have ever heard what was said about you directly, but I'm sorry for anything I said about you the past few years." He looked back at Scott and said, "And I'm sorry for saying that shit period, but especially in front of you. I thought I was being funny and making everyone laugh. I'm sorry if you were uncomfortable and that's why you never told us."

I noticed Scott looked at Ryan before answering. When Ryan shrugged slightly and nodded once, Scott said, "It's going to take time to get back to where we were, if it's even possible to get back to that level of trust again. I know I should have trusted y'all more and told you the truth a while back, but I didn't. And you hit the nail on the head when you said I didn't tell you because of the shit that was said about other people. I didn't want to lose my friends. The only reason I started going out with Kim was because you all kept asking when I was going to finally get me a girlfriend.

"Anyways, I want y'all to meet my boyfriend Ryan. Ryan, these guys were...are...could possibly be...my friends." He looked back at the guys and said, "Oh, and neither of us drinks. At all. Ever. I personally don't even want to be around it. So, if all y'all still do is hang around getting drunk, we won't be hanging out."

Nick smiled and shook his head. "Dude, we stopped drinking every time we could after your wreck. We all kind of decided it wasn't worth it. We still do drink a bit, but never in a situation where we aren't at one of our houses for the rest of the night. I'll personally make sure there's no trace of any alcohol around if y'all want to hang out. So, why are y'all hanging out with TJ and whoever else is with y'all?"

I looked at Nick and said, "Would you believe I moved from our old high school to Port Neches. So my old high school is playing against my new school in the fucking state finals."

We all turned our attention back to the field as soon as the game started. While we were cheering our teams on, I couldn't get something out of my head. What was that shit earlier with John and Rachel and both of them saying something nice about me? Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I moved to the end of our group and planted my ass in a seat right in front of Rachel and next to John.

As soon as I sat down, she rolled her eyes and asked, "Is there any way we can just pretend nothing happened and not do this?"

"Hell, fuck no! What was that bullshit about?"

John spoke up first. "Fuck TGay. It's because you're ours the same way we're yours. We might not like each other or get along, but I'll be dammed if someone else is going to hate on you while I'm there. We're the only ones allowed to fuck with you; and I know you'd do the same for me at least. I definitely won't let some dumbass-Karen-bitch try to say anything about you."

Rachel added, "Did I sound that fucking ignorant when I was saying that hateful shit to you at the beginning of the year?"

John and I answer simultaneously, "Yeah, you did."

She nodded. "I figured. Oh well, can't do shit about it now. Besides, I couldn't bring myself to say it again after I talked with Kevin and found out how serious he is about Josh. I love my cousin too fucking much to hurt him."

I let everything they said settle in. "Okay. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't in some alternate universe in the multiverse. You know there's one out there where we are actually friends." All three of us thought about that for a moment and shivered at the thought. "Okay, I'm going back to sit with my real friends. Don't die or something awful on the way home. Oh yeah, Rachel, Kevin, Sean, Jacob, and maybe Aaron will be spending Christmas at our place. I know Kevin mentioned he's used to seeing you on Christmas and spending the day with you, so if you wanted to come over and hang with him, and I guess the rest of us too, that would be okay. John, you could probably come too if you wanted to torment me and make my day absolutely horrid. Lori will be there too. So, yeah. There's my generous deed of the year done. Now, fuck off and be somewhere else," I finished with a slight laugh and a barely visible smile.

They glared at me, both were trying to not smile back and failing miserably as I turned and walked away. Just before I sat down, I looked over at them and added, "I accept gift cards as presents. That way I can buy what I want and don't have to worry about fake liking some shitty thing you picked out for me."

Josh wouldn't stop looking at me and grinning his full dimple smile at me. Finally, I barked out, "What are you so fucking smug about?"

If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it was possible, but his grin got bigger. "That was probably the nicest thing I've seen you do, like ever. I know it will make Kevin happy."

I played ignorant. "I have no fucking idea what you're talking about."

"Don't try and pull that shit with me, Teej. You know damn well what I'm talking about. You inviting Rachel over will make Kevin's day. I think having his family, especially his closest cousin, will normalize the day for him some. I know there's no love lost between him and his dad, but this will be the first Christmas without him around. They used to spend all Christmas day at Coach Wilson's. Of course he would spend it hanging out with Rachel. I know you don't care for her much, but she does care about Kevin. And you care about him too. So, I just wanted to say thank you for trying to make his Christmas a little better."

"If you haven't figured out by now, I would do anything for you, Sean, or Kevin. Now, can we stop all of this heart-to-heart bullshit? Halftime's about to start and we can go see Sean and Kevin in the locker room." I turned to Scott and Ryan and asked, "Do y'all want to go to the locker room with us to see Kevin and Sean or are y'all going to stay up here?"

They exchanged a look before Scott said, "I think we'll stay up here. I'm going to talk to Nick a little more and see what, if any, kind of friendship can be salvaged."

"Okay, that sounds good to me. We shouldn't be too long. Coach Wilson probably doesn't want us distracting them too much." I turned and looked at the scoreboard before turning to Josh. "Alright, let's go. At least they should be in a good mood since we're winning; even if it is a close game." The score was 17-14.

Robert and Lori walked us to the steps that led to the sideline area. He showed the security guard a badge, which I later found out was mailed to him during the week, allowing us to go down and join the team just as the clock ran down to zero.

We followed the guys down the tunnel and then into the locker room. I was in awe. It was the nicest locker room I'd ever seen. Everything was made of high quality wood, the floor was a stained concrete, and further back there were some ice baths and hot tubs set up next to the showers.

The mood once we entered was energetic and happy. I could tell the team was enjoying playing tonight's game. Some of the guys were admittedly tired since it was about twelve thirty in the middle of the night. We hung out and talked to Sean and Kevin and the rest of the gang for about ten minutes. Finally, Coach Wilson got everyone's attention and told them to gather around him. He then gave them some generalized notes on where to focus during the second half before he handed the meeting over to Sean.

Sean stood on a bench, grinning widely at everyone. "Y'all have played an awesome first half but so have they. We can't let out guard down now. If we do, they'll take advantage of it and run all over us. We're only leading by three points, and we didn't have the lead the whole first half. This has been an amazing season. I wish things had happened differently and I had gotten the chance to be on the field with y'all for my senior year, but Patrick has stepped up and done an amazing job. He kept the winning streak going and we are undefeated. Let's keep that up and go out there and win this one for a perfect season. Bring it in!"

After he said that, the whole team and coaches huddled around him. Kevin saw Josh and me standing there and pulled us both into the huddle too. I had Kevin on one side of me with Josh on the other side of him next to Patrick. On the other side of me, I had Pauly and Mark, with Castro just on the other side of Mark. I swore I could feel some sort of energy build up as the team stood there, arms thrown over the shoulders of the person next to him, slowly rocking side-to-side at first. There was a soft hum coming from everyone that got louder and louder the faster everyone moved. The hum eventually turned into a yell and finally ended on a roar that sounded like some ancient battle cry. We followed the team through the tunnel again and returned to our seats while they gathered in the entrance getting ready to run out for the second half.

When we got back to our seats, Scott and Ryan were still talking to Nick and Joey and looked like they were having a good conversation. We settled in to watch the final two quarters of the game and it was a show worth watching. Both teams seemed determined to win. Our defense was equally matched to their offense and vice-versa. Nobody was able to gain and hold onto the lead, so the game came down to the last play of the game.

I looked at my phone to see that it was one forty-five in the morning and the two-minute warning just went off. The score was tied at 24-24. Thankfully, we had the ball, so all we had to do run the ball down the field getting first downs and run the clock down. We couldn't afford to lose possession. If we did, we'd lose the game. It was third down and the ball was on the one yard line. Patrick tried to run it in for a touchdown, but their defense was a solid wall so there was no way he could get over. It all came down to a field goal. Thankfully the clock hit zero just as the ball sailed through the uprights, ending the game at 27-24.

We finally made it back to The Great Wolf Lodge at three in the morning. We were all beyond tired, but it didn't seem like anyone was about to go to sleep. The six of us stayed up the rest of the night talking. We talked about the future and where we wanted to be. We talked about the past and what we had gone through to get to where we were. We talked about our relationships with our parents and how different they all were.

"It's weird because it was just me and my dad for so long," Kevin admitted to Scott and Ryan. "We never really got along. He would always tell me I wasn't good enough, that I could be better if I tried harder. He would then get drunk and pass out on the couch and I'd have to somehow get his ass into his bed. If I didn't, he would yell at me the next morning. I tolerated him because I had to. I had nowhere else to go. He wasn't physically abusive. I just had to make it till I graduated.

"When Sean came out at the beginning of the year, I realized how tired I was living a lie, so I came out alongside him. I knew how homophobic my dad is, but I made the decision to come out and don't regret it at all. Jacob and Sean were nice enough to let me stay with them while everything got sorted. After my dad showed up at TJ's house drunk, screaming homophobic slurs, with a gun, I realized I wouldn't be able to go home again. Jacob took care of everything and applied to get custody of me and basically told me I wasn't going anywhere. That I was home.

"The funny thing is, I actually feel like it is my home now. I'm not just a friend who's staying with them anymore. They've become my family and I love Jacob like he is my father and I love Sean like he is my brother. They tell me the same every day. And do you know who we have to blame for all of that? Mr. TJ Kennedy.

"If he hadn't moved down to Port Neches, he would have never met Sean. Sean would have never had a reason to come out and I wouldn't have met Josh." He turned to look at me and continued, "I know you losing who you thought were your parents is what led to you being in our lives now; however, I'm so glad you are. My life changed the day I met you and I think it was for the better. Having said that, I feel guilty being happy you're here now. Every time I think about it, I'm reminded of everything you lost. And even though he would never say anything to you, I know Sean feels the same. So, I just wanted to let you know, I'm glad you're in my life now and happy I met you, but I'm sorry about how that came to be. If you ever need a friend to talk to, you know you can call me, right? I'll be here for you anytime you need. I love you. Oh, and thanks for inviting Rachel over for Christmas. I was going to try to find a way to get over to their place at some point during the day but wasn't sure how yet. You didn't have to do that for me, I know y'all don't get along, so thanks."

I was trying to not cry and failing. "You don't have to thank me for doing the right and decent thing. It doesn't matter whether or not we get along, I knew you wanted to see your cousin on Christmas so you could have a little bit of normal and it was within my power to do that for you. Don't feel guilty about being happy I'm where I'm at now. I went through that early on. Then, I realized all of the good things that happened you just pointed out. I'm happy, and know for a fact they would be too, that so many good things came from losing them. I swear they had something to do with all of us being here right now. My mom especially wouldn't have wanted any of us to feel sad about them being gone. I'm convinced the first thing she did when they got to whatever's next was seek out some higher power and demand they allow nothing but love to come in the aftermath of their deaths."