A/N: This is just a little non-supernatural AU ficlet I threw together to celebrate Bi Visibility Day. Frankly it's kinda heavy-handed and shamelessly reflects my bi-agenda, but hopefully someone gets a chuckle out of it or finds it at least a bit cute.
Bi Visibility Day
"Fuck," Corey muttered under his breath as he swiped at something on his phone.
"What is it?" Liam asked, leaning forward as much as his seatbelt would allow and trying to peek at Corey's screen. They were in Mason's car on their way home from dinner.
"Huh?" Corey's cheeks darkened and he shifted in his seat, holding the phone against his chest. "Nothing." He laughed. "I just fell into Theo's thirst trap on Instagram."
"Ooh, let me see," Mason said as he pulled up to a red light.
Corey held his phone out to his boyfriend and Liam finally got a look as well.
"Damn!" Mason sighed and licked his lips.
"Yeah." Corey eyed the screen wistfully. "Too bad he's in Hell with his sister."
Mason laughed and backhanded Corey's bicep. "Don't say it like that."
"What?" Corey's eyes went wide and he affected an innocent expression. It was undermined as the corners of his mouth twitched with amusement. "He went to Hell with Tara. They're in Hell together, just them and a few other poor souls."
Liam rolled his eyes. "He moved to Hell, Michigan."
"That's what I said!" Corey insisted, snickering and folding his arms.
Liam shook his head at Corey's antics. Theo's sister, Tara, had gotten a job in Ann Arbor over the summer, and since the properties costs were lower, she had bought a house in the tiny, nearby community of Hell.
The light changed and Mason drove through the intersection.
"Lemme see that new post again. That was pretty hot." Liam had only caught a fleeting glimpse, but in the picture Theo had been in a pair of athletic shorts, his body tan and glistening as he snapped a selfie in a gym mirror.
"Wait what?!" Corey whipped his head around to look at Liam.
"What?" Liam shrugged at his friend. "You thought it was hot too."
"Well yeah, I'm gay."
"And I'm bi," Liam answered with a slow nod. It wasn't like this was news to Corey.
"What?!"
...Or maybe it was.
"Did you seriously not know that?"
"Uh no!"
Liam tapped Mason's shoulder. "You never told him I was bi?"
Mason glanced at Liam in the rearview mirror. "Of course not. I wouldn't out you."
"Tuh!" Liam waved his hand. "I'm already out."
"No, you aren't," Corey answered. "You were dating Hayden for almost a year."
"Yeah." Liam didn't see what the big deal was. "She's a girl. I'm bi. It fits."
"Well, I just assumed you were straight since you were dating a girl."
"That's a silly thing to assume." Liam's stomach dropped in disappointment. "Would you just assume I was gay if I had been dating a guy when we met?"
"Well yeah."
"Dude!" Liam huffed and crossed his arms.
"What?" Corey shrugged.
"You know bisexuality is a thing, right?"
Mason cleared his throat. "There's no way for people to know you're bi unless you tell them, Li."
Liam frowned and stared out the window, falling silent until Mason dropped him off at home. Corey apologized as Liam was getting out, and he told him it was fine...but it wasn't. Liam didn't like being misunderstood on such a fundamental level by one of his friends, and now he was freaking out that apparently jumping to conclusions about someone's sexuality without taking the time to ask was just a normal thing people did.
That night Liam did some research. Apparently what he was experiencing was called bi erasure, and it seriously sucked. Biphobia was also a huge problem. He read personal accounts of people getting dumped by their same or opposite gender partners when they came out as bisexual.
Liam dug deeper and explored resources for bi activism. It turned out bisexuals even had their own flag. It was pink at the top and blue at the bottom with a smaller lavender stripe in between. His chest filled with excitement as he clicked on a page about Bi Visibility Day. It was the twenty-third of September, less than a week away. This was it; this was when Liam would make a point to set everyone straight about his sexuality and let them know that bisexual people existed.
He went on Amazon and purchased a bi-pride wristband in the same pattern as the bi flag, and also bought a couple of pins and a pair of socks for good measure. Now all he had to do was wait.
hr /
Liam hopped out of bed early on the morning of Bi Visibility Day. It felt like he had an entire community to represent and he wanted to look his best. After showering, getting dressed, and styling his hair, he slid on his bi-pride wristband (Corey had suggested they call it bride for short, but Liam was adamant that would be counterproductive unless they could come up with something else that groom could stand for...and they couldn't), pulled up his bi socks, and clipped a bi pin to the front of his shirt and another to the back of his backpack.
Liam laughed as he looked himself over in his mirror. He looked kind of ridiculous, but he didn't care. Today was special. Besides, everyone always dressed up and made a big deal about Gay Pride Month and Pride parades, and yeah, regular Pride technically celebrated bisexuals too, but then again it also sort of didn't, and Liam was eager to participate in something specific to his subset of the community.
Once he was ready, he ran downstairs and–
"Happy Bride!" Liam's step-dad declared as Liam walked into the kitchen.
"We're not doing Bride, David," Liam's mom said as she set a pink, lavender, and blue cake on the table between Mason and Corey, then kissed Liam's cheek. "Happy Bi Visibility Day, baby. I'm so proud of you."
Liam's step-dad frowned at Corey. "You told me we were doing Bride."
"Go again," Corey whispered.
"Happy Bride?" he said to Liam.
"Or Groom!" Corey chimed in with a bright smile as he spread his arms over his head.
Mason rolled his eyes and stood to give Liam a hug. "Happy Bi Day, man." He grabbed a gift bag off the table as the embrace ended. "We got you this."
Liam's eyes lit up as he reached past the decorative colored paper inside and pulled out a book. "Bisexuality in the Ancient World! Dude, this is gonna be so much fun to read!" Liam hugged his best friend a second time and sat down to eat his cake. It wasn't a nutritious breakfast, but Bi Day only came once a year.
hr /
Liam spent the school day explaining what his wristband meant and making sure that everyone he talked to knew how he identified and that they were welcome to spread the word.
Everything went smoothly until school ended and Liam was making his way to lacrosse practice.
"Looking good, Liam."
Liam flinched and stopped on the sidewalk to turn and glare at his rival, Brett Talbot. Leave it to Brett to be an ass on Liam's special day. "What do you want?"
A cocky smile spread across Brett's face. "A date."
Liam furrowed his brow. "What?"
Brett grinned and held up his arm.
Liam gasped. Around Brett's wrist was a band that matched his own. "Wait, you're..."
"Waiting for an answer." A hint of vulnerability flickered in Brett's eyes, but then it was gone. "Dinner tomorrow night? You pick the place."
"But..." Liam blinked, trying to catch up to the conversation. "You're a dick."
"And you're a jerk." Brett smirked and winked. "A dick and a jerk, sounds like a fun combination to me."
Liam cracked up and shoved Brett's shoulder with the heel of his hand. "They'll be no dick jerking until at least the third date. We're not perpetuating stereotypes about bi people being promiscuous."
Brett chuckled and laced his fingers with Liam as they resumed their walk to the gym. "I think I can live that."
-000-
End Notes: Happy Bi Visibility Day! To be clear, I myself identify as bi/pan, kinda either or since I'm potentially attracted to people anyone on the gender spectrum, not just the binary ends. But as someone in a long-term same-sex relationship...yeah, that part of my identity does tend to get a bit 'erased' if I'm not careful.
Anyway, I hope the story wasn't too preachy even though I did want to touch on some issues and spread a bit of awareness. Feedback is always appreciated if you feel so inclined :)