This is a two-shot. It's my return to the wonderful world of SoR fandom, as an attempt to create a movement to bring all of the "old crowd" back. Seriously, we had so many good writers back in '04, and some of these kids might not even remember them. (coughswimmerkitticough). That's not to say that some of these newer ones aren't so bad, I particularly like Frosh and Live but to be honest, it's just not the same.
Anyway, that's not the point, so here's my long-awaited comeback!
Billy sighed as he paced his room; this had to be, without doubt, one of the hardest and scariest things he'd ever had to do. Kenny, his boyfriend, sat on the bed, watching Billy with amusement. Six years had done a lot for Billy – the younger boy had acquired an actual sense of style, and lost the falsetto tone to his voice. His brown hair sat just above his shoulders, and his also brown eyes were fringed with strangely feminine lashes.
"Calm down," said Kenny soothingly, leaning forward to take Billy's hand. "Believe me, sugar, it's not that bad. They won't kill you."
Billy stopped pacing and turned to look at the older boy. "Oh, they will," he said, with the utmost conviction in his voice. "That's why I want you here. A witness, and all that."
"And here was me thinking it was the moral support," Kenny drawled sarcastically, leaning back on the bed. Billy sighed, and sat down next to him.
"I don't know." Kenny knew the younger boy was going to explain, so he waited patiently for him to say something. "I guess it's not my parents that I'm worried about, exactly," Billy continued, "it's my sister. She's... very conservative, you could say."
"Is she in?" Kenny asked cautiously, his hands resting lightly on his tight fitted jeans. Billy narrowed his eyes, but relented.
"No. She's out riding. I think she'll be in later, though... that's when I'm planning to tell them."
"Can I see her room?" Kenny asked hopefully, and Billy gave him a suspicious look.
"You're with me, right? Not getting any cravings for girls?"
"Take my word for this, honey, I'm about as straight as a roundabout and I don't hold with all this bisexual nonsense, either. It's greedy if you ask me: boys or girls, but you can't have both." Billy reluctantly told his partner where Janey's room was, and Kenny made his way towards it, Billy following a little way behind.
It gave him the opportunity to admire his boyfriend, something he loved doing, and he couldn't help thinking all over again how lucky he was. Kenny was hot, and a lot of girls had been broken hearted when he 'came out', but everyone had known. His black hair was always perfectly styled and messed up just right, his dark brown eyes set off his pale skin wonderfully, and his taste in clothes was impeccable.
Seriously, he was like the gay best friend. And Billy loved him. He hadn't said as much, but he thought Kenny knew, it was something in the eyes and the way he looked at him. "Voila!" Kenny said triumphantly, throwing Janey's bedroom door wide open as he entered, and Billy couldn't help praying that Janey didn't come home early. She hated 'invasions of privacy' and Kenny was very thorough, whatever he did.
Billy hovered in the doorway, not feeling comfortable with being in his sister's room, but Kenny was quite happy just to sit on the bed and examine everything. Her walls were covered with posters – Billy could see Van Gogh's Sunflowers and an advert for one of Shakespeare's plays (which they'd picked up on a tourist visit to Stratford-upon-Avon) from here – and a dog-eared script was lying, tattered, on the floor.
Janey was nothing if not opinionated, she fought tirelessly for animal rights, but a lot – if not most – of her other views were definitely more conservative, for want of a better word. The door slammed, and Billy jumped a mile. "She-She had a rehearsal after riding," he quavered, "there's no way she should be home yet!"
"Well, let's just say she is," Kenny said lazily, "I guess we should get out of here." Taking his boyfriend's hand, Kenny led him gently out of the room and into Billy's room. He seated himself on the bed, looking up at Billy who had gone white.
"I... maybe..."
"Don't tell me you're thinking of changing your mind," Kenny said sharply. Billy glanced down at him in fright, hands shaking, and Kenny softened. "Look, I know how hard this is going to be, sugar, but it's for our own good. Mine, because I'm sick of sneaking around and being introduced as 'a friend' to your parents. Yours, because I know you hate keeping secrets from your parents and it's killing you trying not to be a queer. It's natural, but they just think you're 'a bit camp', and you can't hide the fact that you need just as much time in the bathroom as Janey. Look -" he said gently, as Billy tried to interrupt "- I think they'll at least have suspected by now, so chances are it won't come as that much of a surprise."
"B-B-But..."
Kenny sighed and, standing up, took the other boy over to the closet. He gently pushed Billy in amongst the many different cloths and fabrics Billy kept for his fashion designing, and shut the door. Sitting back down, he watched as Billy emerged, puzzled, and sat down next to his friend.
"There you go! See, coming out of the closet isn't that hard," he said cheerfully, with a wink, and Billy grinned.
"Not if it means I get to be with you," he said softly, then blushed. Kenny smiled, kissing him on the cheek, and Billy stood up determinedly. "I'll do it. I'll tell my parents – and Janey."