Page 63 of Ours
“I know.” Cory sighed. “And even after that night, there have been other times where it didn’t really feel like I had the option to say no.” Cory would spare her the details of the other dudes he’d been “loaned” to over the months.
Stephanie was silent for a few moments, leaning back against the wall.
“It’s a lot, isn’t it?”
“That’s an understatement.” Stephanie sat up. “How do you feel about the whole setup now?”
“Good, for the most part,” Cory said honestly. “Sometimes things are a little confusing. The line between friends and the sex stuff can get blurry. And I have no idea what happens in the future. It’s not like either of them thinks of this as a relationship.”
“Are you okay with that?” Stephanie watched his face for his reaction.
“I think so? I’m not exactly mad about not being a virgin anymore. And there are way worse people to lose your virginity to.” Cory was blunt. “I can honestly say I have enjoyed everything we’ve done together, even the stuff I wasn’t sure about at first.”
“But you know you need to talk to them about this, right?” Steph said gently but firmly. “There’s so much about this that is messed up. At the very least, you need to be able to talk to them about how it makes you feel.”
“I know. I’ve needed to talk to them for a while now.” Cory sighed again. “Thanks for not thinking I’m a kinky freak for any of this.”
“Oh no, Iabsolutelythink you’re a kinky freak for all of this,” Stephanie countered with a smile. “I just don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a kinky freak.”
“Thanks?”
“No problem.” Stephanie paused, her face sobering. “You know I’m here to help you however I can, right? Want me to come with you to talk to either of them?”
“No, that’s okay,” Cory reassured her. “I think this is something I need to do on my own… but can we skip second period too? I’d rather not talk to Derekrightnow…”
“Of course.” Steph pulled him into a side hug. “Whatever you need.”
Nic paced the hallway outside of Derek’s first period class, Spanish, waiting for the bell. He had spent the last forty minutes trying to track down the source of the rumor, which turned out to be very difficult when everyone involved was in class. When the bell finally rang a few minutes later, Nic made a beeline for Derek, still standing up from his desk.
“Dude, we gotta talk,now.” Nic looked around to see if anyone was looking at him, paranoid.
“Sure, man. Everything okay?” Derek looked Nic up and down. Something was wrong.
“Not here. Come on.” Nic took off out of the class, forcing Derek to jog to catch up when he made it out of the door. He led Derek outside and around the building, a spot where normally smokers would gather to hide from administrators.
“Leave,” Nic growled at the sole student in the area, a punky looking sophomore with pink hair. The look on Nic’s face alone was enough for him to stub out his cigarette and hightail it out of there.
“What’s going on, bro?” Derek asked once they were alone. “You’re freaking me out.”
“Someone knows.” Nic paced. “Someone found out about me and Cory.”
“What do you mean?” Derek was still confused.
“Someone saw us, man!” Nic almost yelled before remembering that he was trying to be discreet. “There’s shit going around school today. People are saying that they saw me fucking Cory. That I’m gay.”
“Oh, shit.” Derek’s eyes went wide. “Who’s saying that? Who saw you?”
“I don’t fucking know!” Nic dragged his hand through his hair in frustration. “That’s why I’m talking to you. I hoped you would.”
“I’m sorry, dude. I have no idea.” Derek shrugged. “You know I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“So what the fuck do I do, man?” Nic yell-whispered. “I need you help me find the asshole spreading this around and kick his ass.”
“Nic, man… You gotta calm down,” Derek tried to reason with his friend. “You’re just working yourself up. Freaking out isn’t exactly gonna make them seem untrue.”
“Fuck you, dude!” Nic was no longer whispering. “This is all your fucking fault anyway! I wouldn’t have doneanyof this shit if it wasn’t for you. There wouldn’tberumors to spread around!”
“Nic—” It was too late. Nic had already turned away and took off.
