Author's Note: Sadly, I don't own RENT but honestly, I don't think anyone would want me to. c: Please read and review!
Promises of Spring
He was watching a beetle make its slow pursuit up his window screen. If he reached out a slender finger, he knew he would touch its legs and the little feet would dig into his flesh. He never did like that feeling but let the skin below his blue fingernail graze the bug's legs from behind the screen anyway.
Hot tears pierced dark eyes. His eyes hurt. His stomach hurt. His head hurt and now his finger stung from where the bug's feet dug into his skin. Things tend to hurt when your mother finds female clothes in her son's closet. Things tend to hurt when she shows your father and he calls you a faggot. Things tend to hurt when he tells you he wants you out in two weeks.
He pulled his hand away to wipe his eyes. What was he supposed to do? Where was he supposed to go? He had a feeling the neighbors heard his dad's shouts of disgust. His screams in Florida. The Bible Belt. Not a place forgiving towards people like him. People like him. People who wanted to be her but were stuck in his body. People who were afraid. People terrified of uncertainty.
He had no high school, much less college, diploma. Who in their right mind would hire a seventeen-year-old for more than minimum wage? Sighing, he buried his head in his hands. His parents had finally stopped yelling. Had finally stopped ripping their son apart. Aren't parents supposed to love their children through thick and thin?
There were too many thoughts rushing through his head. Too many things getting mixed and jumbled together. So many things it was hard to concentrate on just one.
Job. Hurt. Dad. Apartment. Money. Rent. Why? Confusion. Fear. Mom. New York. New York? Where did that come from? He raised his head up in surprise. A faint smile flickered across his face for a brief moment. There was opportunity there. There were people like him there. Gazing back at the beetle and past it, he saw the beginnings of spring everywhere. Birds chirped and trees' leaves were slowly returning. Spring was a time for new beginnings. Spring washed away winter's coldness.
Wasn't New York supposed to be beautiful in spring?