Chapter 31

Thanksgiving Day 2024

Derek's POV

Well, it's been a few days since I've seen Adrian because of Thanksgiving Break. I have been texting him nonstop, telling him how I've been doing, and he seems concerned for me. I myself am concerned for me. I am in a house with two people that hate me for who I am without knowing who I really am. I just know they would hate me if I ever came out.

My mom was super welcoming to me the first day I came back, and it confused me a lot because she's never that nice. She's been slowly getting more and more hostile daily, and yesterday her boyfriend said the f slur. So that's how it's been going.

I have not been socializing with either of them outside of dinner and even then I'm giving them very dry answers and trying to make it obvious that I have no desire to talk to them. They have no idea I'm dating a boy that I'm falling in love with rapidly and who means the world to me. They can never know that. And I'm totally fine with that. I don't give a fuck if my homophobic mom and her asshole boyfriend don't know about me dating a boy. It would just be a disaster that I don't want Adrian or I to deal with.

It's really early in the morning right now, and I know neither my mom or Chad are awake, so I'm gonna hold out hope and pray that Adrian is awake so I can call him. I want to hear his voice so bad and just pretend that he's here next to me.

I press call next to his contact info and he picks up in a heart beat.

"Hey Derek, I was about to call you," he says. I can hear his smile through the phone.

"Hey Adri. How have you been?"

"I've been good. I'm gonna tell my parents about you tonight. I really hope they approve of you and let you come with me to Hawaii. It could be our first trip as a couple."

"Yeah. I would love that so much. You have no idea how much meeting your parents would mean to me. If two people raised their son to be you, I'm sure they're amazing people," I tell him.

"Thanks. Should I show them a picture of you?"

"Show them a picture of us. Like the one you took when we were eating in your room on Saturday. That's a good picture of both of us and I clearly have my arm around your shoulder like a good boyfriend," I point out.

"Yeah, that's true. What should I tell them about you?"

"Tell them what you want to tell them. Be honest about how you feel. Do you like me a lot? Do I treat you well? Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes to all of that. I'll tell them all of that. How have things been for you?" he asks me.

I groan a little bit before answering. "Not great. My mom and her boyfriend are still homophobic assholes and I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon. I should really cut them off soon, all they're gonna do is keep me down, whether they know I'm gay or not. Only because I hang out with you, Aaron, and Cameron. They hate the three of you just because of your sexualities, and I'm sure they would hate me for being gay too."

"I would cut them off if I were you. Your dad isn't a problem, right? I mean, Damian's openly gay and doesn't talk about his dad being homophobic to him, right? You could just hang out with them more," Adrian suggests.

"You're right. What are you wearing?"

"Huh? Are you horny right now?" he asks, laughing.

"I vowed to never masturbate in my life when I was like 13 and I've kept that true so yeah, I'm basically always horny unless I'm sad."

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather not do phone sex. I'd rather do something real," he states.

"Same. But still I would like to know what you're wearing so I can compliment you for looking beautiful in it."

"You can't see me."

"I know. But I also know there's nothing you could wear that you'd look bad in," I tell him, aggressively flirting with him over the phone at this point.

"Okay. Well, to be honest, I'm just wearing boxers right now."

"Damn. Same."

"I bet you look hot," he chuckles.

"That's what I'm supposed to say to you. I bet you look amazing."

"Thank you."

"Can I use the pet name I have on you now?" I ask him.

"Derek, not everything you do needs my consent. Please use the pet name, I would love to hear it."

"Okay. Well, I bet you're the most beautiful person in this city, my angel," I say, smiling like a maniac as I wait for his reaction.

"That's my pet name?"

"Yeah. What do you think about it?"

"I love it so much! I'm your angel?" he asks.

"Of course you are," I laugh. "You're my whole world."

"Same with you."

I hear my mom start to move around the house. I can tell it's my mom because the entire house isn't shaking when she walks the way it shakes when Chad is walking around the house. That's my unfortunate cue to tell Adrian that I can't talk anymore.

"Adri, I think I should go. I hear my bitch mom walking around downstairs. I'll talk to you later, yeah?" I ask.

"Okay. I'll get back to campus on December 1st, what about you?"

"Isn't that a day before class starts again?" I question.

"Yeah. But I just want a full day before we go back."

"I'll go back that day too. I want to see my angel in person."

"I want to see my favorite man in the world in person too," he says.

"Okay, well, I will talk to you later. Have a great Thanksgiving, okay? Good luck telling them about me. I would really like to meet you."

"I'll talk to you later. See you on December 1st, babe."

My soul leaves from my body after he says that to me and a massive grins breaks out.

"What did you just call me?" I ask, a huge smile on my face.

"I called you babe. Cause that's what you are to me. You're my babe."

"Thanks. You're my angel. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

He hangs up and I stare at the ceiling with a big grin. We're getting closer and closer to each other somehow, and I am so happy about that. I think we're getting closer and closer to having the sex talk. I think that we should start out not going all the way just doing a few smaller things and getting comfortable with each other's bodies before doing anything more. I don't want to rush into it and ruin things. I want things to be taken slow.

We've been together for almost a month now, and I think we should start talking about getting intimate.

I spend all day in my room, avoiding any interaction with anyone else while me and Adrian continued to text. His texting has gotten bold. At the start of our relationship he would never say something like 'I bet you're packing' but we've gotten super comfortable now so he's saying shit like that. And he is not wrong. I am definitely packing.

"Derek! Dinner is ready!!" my mom yells.

"Okay!!" I yell back.

I take a deep breath as I walk out of my room, not ready for a dinner where I actually have to talk to these assholes. I guarantee the topic of my not straight teammates will be a big talking point in this dinner. They're always finding a way to ruin things like this. No matter how well a meal is going, they always have to go back to the fact that I have teammates that like dudes and can't control it.

I take a seat at the dinner table, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. Eye contact is a bad thing when it comes to this family, I've come to learn. Eye contact, for whatever reason, means that there's something that should be discussed. I don't know where that came from, but it's very annoying and confuses me all the fucking time.

"So, Derek, are you still spending time with those queer teammates of yours?" my mom asks, my blood already a few degrees under boiling temperature.

"I mean, they're my teammates. I can't really do anything," I reply.

"Are you at least trying to avoid them?"

"Not really, mom. Unlike someone, I'm unbothered by people's sexualities, it really doesn't hurt me, it doesn't hurt you, it's legitimately not a big deal. I don't know what your problem is regarding them, but it's a little weird how obsessed you are," I fire back.

"What? I'm not obsessed, I'm trying to do what's best for the youth. And seeing all these queers on their TV while they watch football is just going to spread homosexuality to young children. And that's not good."

"In what way will that genuinely hurt kids? Watching a gay person play football, of all things, will do absolutely nothing to a kid."

"How? They're being influenced and told that being gay is okay," she argues.

"And it is. There's genuinely nothing wrong with it. I don't know what happened to you when you were younger to make you hate people for being different, but people are different and you can't really control when people are different."

"Don't talk to your mother like that!" Chad finally speaks up.

"Shut your bitch ass up. I don't know you," I scoff.

"Don't talk to him like that!"

"And what if I do?"

"Whatever. Anyways, they're very influential to young children. They will make kids think that being gay is better than being straight, and that's not true. Gay people are unnatural, they'll just prevent reproduction and generation extension," she says.

"You're right that being gay isn't better than being straight. But not because of them being unnatural, but because of people like you constantly making them feel like subhumans, making them feel unloved and leading them to hate themselves. Everyone deserves love, no matter what their sexuality is. It doesn't matter at all what genders they like, that's what they like, they can't control that. I would really appreciate if you would stop talking about my teammates in such a hateful way."

"Well, they deserve the hate," she yaps.

"Why?"

"Because they aren't fulfilling their duties in making children to make this world a place where people can be able to live in in 20 to 30 years."

"I have a question, mom. How many kids does your boyfriend Jabba the Hutt have?" I ask, pointing at Chad.

"None..."

"Exactly. So maybe think a little before saying something that stupid. Back to my teammates. They have something you could never fathom having in your life. They have genuine love that they will treasure for the rest of their lives. People like you will continue to give them grief, but they have support from people around them that will make your bullshit have less of an impact."

My mom shuts up and Chad shuts up as well. I grab a bunch of the food on the table and put it on my plate before I walk upstairs and eat it on my desk. Being gay isn't unnatural. Sure, it's less common than being straight, but there are gay animals in the wild.

I really wish people would stop this hate. Gay people are killing themselves because of what some people say, and instead of facing consequences for causing something this egregious, they're encouraged by all the dumbass straight white blonde kids to keep doing it.

No one deserves any of it unless they've actually done something horrible, but still, going after them for being not straight instead of what they've done is not okay.

I know damn well Adrian doesn't deserve any of it.

Adrian's POV

"Can you pass the gravy?" my mom asks. I pass her the gravy and she thanks me.

I've been so fucking stressed about telling my parents about Derek. I'm terrified of their reactions. I've never been in a relationship at all, and I don't know how they'll take it. I'm in college, I feel like if their reaction is bad, they can't really do anything to prevent me from seeing Derek. It's my life to live, not theirs.

"You've been quiet, Adri, is anything wrong?" my mom asks.

"No, everything's fine," I smile.

"Good."

"I've been seeing that football's been going very well for you and the rest of the team. Have you had a good time this year?" my dad asks.

"Yeah. Things are going very well."

"Have you met anyone yet?" he asks, grinning at me.

I hide my face and realize I am not ready to do this yet. I do have to do this at some point. It's very important and I want them to know that I'm with someone that I really like.

"Maybe?" I grit my teeth.

"Tell us!!!" my mom says.

The thing about having young parents is that they're young enough to still be acting like they're caught up with all the school gossip and shit like that. They're both 20 years older than me. We're lucky my mom comes from a lot of money because 20 year olds generally aren't fit to raise a kid, especially considering that they were both in college when they had me. I love my parents, and I think that them being younger makes them more open to the LGBT community and being more inclusive to all minorities in general.

"I don't want to," I tell them.

"Why? Do you think we wouldn't approve of him?" my mom asks.

"No, I think you would really like him, I just don't know if I really want to yet. Maybe, but I don't know."

"We won't push to know, Adrian, don't worry. We're glad you've found someone to make you happy," my mom says, smiling at me.

"Yeah."

A few minutes of gaining confidence goes by and I finally feel ready to tell them that I'm with Derek. I think they know of him because we went to the same high school.

"Okay, I'll tell you guys," I announce.

"Yeah, please tell us!" my dad says excitedly.

"Okay. His name is Derek. We went to high school together, and he's on the team with me. We weren't on the best terms to start the year, but after a few games, we became friends again and were very close friends. When I got jumped by the Florida State football team, he picked me up and consoled me on the sidewalk for like 30 minutes. Just him hugging me for 30 minutes. He knows all the ways to calm me down and make sure that I'm doing well. He finally asked if he could kiss me in late October and I said yes, but I was the one that ended up kissing him. He was my first kiss and I couldn't have asked for a better person to have a first kiss with. Things were a little rocky after that, because he's not out, and I want to be with someone that's open so I'm not alone in this whole situation, but eventually I realized that my feelings for him were too strong to just pass on this opportunity. I've been helplessly crushing over Derek for years by the way. Anyways, yeah. That's the main things you should know about him," I ramble.

"You're smiling like you're insane," my mom laughs.

"That's a good thing," my dad specifies.

"Yeah. It's a great thing. We're so overjoyed you found someone that can take care of you, Adrian. Does he spend a lot of time with you?" she asks.

"Yeah. He spends almost all day with me outside of a few classes we don't have together. Do you want to see a picture of him and me?" I ask.

"Sure."

I pull out my phone and show them the picture of me and Derek, with his arm around my shoulder and both of us grinning at the camera. I watch their reactions and their lips turn up looking at how happy I am with Derek.

"He's very handsome," my mom says.

"Thanks. I have another question. I really want to go on a vacation with Derek, because it would be nice, and this is my idea by the way, not his, but could he come with us to Hawaii? I want the whole family to meet him. He's literally my world and I don't know what I would do without him. Can he come with us?"

My dad looks at my mom and she nods.

"Yes, of course he can. I would love to meet him in person," my mom says.

"I'd like to make sure he doesn't hurt my son. Make sure he doesn't break your heart," my dad says.

I smile and breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you both. You'll love him."

"I bet we will. Are you making sure to practice safe sex?" my dad questions.

"Dad! We haven't done anything yet."

"Really? You've been together for almost a month."

"Well, I think it's good to take our time with this relationship. This is both of our first times actually being in a relationship, so we want to savor the time we can have just chilling with each other before we actually start getting, um, intimate, I guess?" I say awkwardly.

"Hey, that's a really good thing to do, Adrian. Don't listen to your father, you're doing a great thing. That's another reason to like your boyfriend," my mom states.

I smile at her. "Thanks. I appreciate you guys not being totally weird about this."

"No problem," both my mom and dad say at the same time.

The rest of dinner goes very smooth and before I know it, it's time to go to sleep. I texted Derek to see if we could call tonight again, and he said he would love to.

"Hi Adri," I hear Derek's voice from the other line.

"Hi Derek."

"How was dinner?"

"It was great. My parents would love to meet you. In Hawaii. Over Christmas," I tell him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I told them all about you, from the bottom of my heart. How good you are to me, how you protect me, how you make me so happy, all of that stuff."

"Wow. I'm so excited," he states. "I can't believe I'm about to meet my boyfriend's family."

"I know. I'm so excited for them to meet you. How did dinner go with your family?"

"What family? Oh, you mean the lady that gave birth to me and her 600 pound boyfriend? It was rough, but I have no regrets. I stood up for you, Cam, and Aaron for what feels like the millionth time after my mom kept saying stupid bullshit about you guys."

"Thank you," I say.

"Of course."

We sit there in silence for a few seconds, just waiting for someone to say something.

"I know what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving," Derek states.

"I think I know what I'm thankful for too."

"Tell me," Derek says.

"I'm thankful for you, babe."

"Aww. That's nice. Do you wanna know what I'm thankful for?" he asks and I'm practically twisting my hair and kicking my feet listening to his voice, knowing what he's thankful for.

"Yes please."

"Well, I'm thankful for this absolute angel that's fallen from heaven and made my life have meaning again. I'm thankful for this angel because he's shown me what it's like to care about someone more than anything else in this world. He's proven to me that I could still experience romance no matter what my mother has tried to push onto me. He's shown me what it's like to be cared for, and what it's like to care about someone. My angel is what I'm thankful for, and I hope he knows how important he is to me," Derek says, making me smile so much.

"You're talking about me, right?"

"Yes, of course, Adri. You're my angel."

"Are you gonna go back to the dorms early?" I ask.

"Yeah, I think I probably should. I'm gonna leave tomorrow. You'll be back December 1st, right?"

"Yeah. I'll see you then, Derek."

"I'll see you then, Adri. Goodnight, my angel," he says.

"Goodnight, babe."

He hangs up and I go to sleep with a huge smile on my face.

A/N: Smut next chapter!! This was an important chapter to the story in my opinion. Derek is (fortunately) distancing himself from his family. Adrian's family wants very much to meet Derek, and the end of this book will be that Hawaii trip. I went to Hawaii over the summer, and I really enjoyed it. I drew a lot of inspiration from that because it really seemed like a romantic place. There were all these two seat little canopy things(?) that were overlooking a beach and it was just so beautiful. I feel like it kind of represents Adrian and Derek's relationship well because they are really a romantic couple compared to how Aaron and Cam got together. Thanks for reading!!!