Hey everyone!
This story is a one-shot that I've been thinking about writing for a long time, and it went through a lot of editing before I posted it, but here it is! I'm making this a separate story from my Heronstairs compilation fic, partly because this story deals with slightly sensitive topics, and partly because I think if I'm going to make anymore Heronstairs one-shots, they'll each be their own story. I may or may not post more onto the compilation fic, but I do plan on posting some more one-shots as their own separate stories.
Hope you enjoy!
- Plerfstacks :)
Jem sat in the living room of the apartment that he shared with Will. He held the TV remote loosely in his hand, pointing it at the menu screen of the movie that they'd rented from the Redbox outside the grocery store where Will worked. They'd been just about to press play when Will's phone had vibrated and he'd glanced at the screen and run off, looking slightly panicky.
"Will?" Jem called from the living room. "Where are you, love? Are we still going to watch the movie?"
"I'm in the bedroom," Will replied. His voice sounded shaky and uncertain. Jem, now slightly worried, stood up and walked across the hall to the bedroom. He raised a hand and lightly tapped the wood of the door with his knuckle.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Will began, but cut himself off with a sigh. "Ah, who am I kidding? I can't lie to you. Could you come in here, please?"
Jem opened the door and stepped inside. Will was seated on the edge of the bed; his phone was cradled in his hands and his shoulders were slumped. His face looked paler than usual in the bright reflection of the screen. Jem sat beside him, wrapping an arm around Will's waist and hugging him close. He looked down at Will's phone, trying to understand why he was so worked up.
"It's a text," Jem realized, feeling even more confused. "From your mum."
Will nodded, as if that was supposed to clear everything up.
"Why are you so upset?" Jem asked. "It's just your mum, Will."
Will snorted incredulously.
"Just my mum," he repeated. "Jem, I don't think you understand."
"That's what I've been telling you," Jem sighed.
"My mum and I…. Well, it's complicated," Will said.
"It looks like a very sweet text, Will. She misses you and she's heard that you're dating someone, and she wants to meet me. I really don't see how this is a problem."
"It's a problem because she thinks you're a woman!" Will finally snapped. Jem felt his mouth form an O as he finally understood what was going on.
"Ah," he finally murmured. "I see."
Will raked his fingers through his messy black hair.
"I never came out to her when I was younger," he admitted. "I was too scared. My mum is very firmly against this kind of thing, and I didn't think she'd react well."
"How'd you hide it?" Jem asked. "Someone as amazing and nice and hot as you are— surely she would've gotten suspicious."
Will looked over at Jem for the first time, completely ignoring the not-quite-hidden flirty comment, his expression miserable.
"I got my friend Tessa to pretend to date me so my mum wouldn't think anything was going on. We did that for at least five years."
"Oh, Will," Jem said, his heart melting at Will's confession. "Oh, love, I'm so sorry."
Will looked back at his phone screen.
"And now she wants me to come over and bring you with me, and she thinks you're a woman. I don't know what to do, Jem."
Jem thought for a moment before answering.
"We're just going to have to drive to your mum's house and meet her. You're going to have to come out to her. There's really no other option."
Will, as expected, frowned and looked up at Jem once more.
"I can't," he said helplessly. "You know I can't."
"I'll be right there with you," Jem promised. "You're twenty-two years old now, Will. She has no power over you anymore. If you don't let her hurt you, she can't."
Will took a deep breath.
"Okay," he said after a long moment. "I'm finally going to do it. You're right."
Jem nodded. When Will's miserable expression didn't fade, Jem reached up and placed two fingers under Will's chin, tilting his head up so he locked eyes with Jem.
"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "I promise."
Will nodded slightly.
"Alright," he murmured in response. Then, after a moment, "I love you, Jem. Nothing my mum says will change that."
"I love you too, sweetheart." He kissed the tip of Will's nose. "Do you want to go back and watch the movie we rented now?"
Will sighed.
"I guess," he replied. "We paid for it, so we're gonna watch it."
"That's the spirit."
The next morning, Jem woke up on the couch in the living room with Will cradled in his lap, fast asleep. He smiled as he looked down at the utterly peaceful face of his boyfriend, completely free of the fear and uncertainty of the previous night. He yawned and blinked blearily as he absentmindedly shoved his silver hair out of his eyes. Will made a small, sleepy noise from Jem's lap, and his face scrunched up adorably as he yawned and blinked in the light.
"What time is it?" he asked. Jem glanced at the clock.
"Eight thirty," he replied. "But it's alright; we don't have work today. You can go back to sleep."
Will shook his head, frowning as he seemed to remember the events of the previous night.
"No, I need to get up. I texted my mum and told her I'd come visit today, remember?"
"What?" Jem asked, feeling suddenly ten times more alert. "No, I don't remember."
"I replied to her text," Will said. "You told me I should go over to her house, so I told her I would, okay? I'm just following your advice."
"I didn't mean today," Jem sighed. "How far away does she live, Will?"
"I dunno," Will replied. "An hour or so? Not too far."
"Well, we'd better get going, then."
An hour and a half later, Jem was sitting in the passenger seat of the beat-up old car that he shared with Will. The radio was turned up full-blast to the alternative station that Will always insisted on listening to. Jem was more into classical music, and occasionally found a soft rock song that he liked, but he decided not to argue over the radio in this particular situation.
"I love this song," Will practically yelled over the music. Jem turned to face him.
"Could you turn it down some?" he asked. "I can't hear myself think."
"No," Will replied. "It's my coping mechanism. If I don't drown out my nervousness with Fall Out Boy, I'll freak out and turn the car around."
"Fair enough."
A very long hour of alternative rock music followed, most of which Jem spent with his hands held over his ears and his eyes trained on the road in front of them. After what felt like forever, the music turned off and the car pulled up in a very cute little suburban neighborhood filled with buildings reminiscent of gingerbread houses.
"Your mum's neighborhood is adorable," Jem commented, glad to finally be able to hear himself talk.
"It's alright," Will said, shrugging. "Nothing too special, really."
Jem turned to look at Will. His face had gone an ashy pale color, and despite the confident look on his face, Jem could see the apprehension in his features. Jem reached over and took Will's hand, lacing his fingers through Will's.
"You okay?" he asked. Will glanced at him, his mouth pressed into a tight line and his bright blue eyes wide.
"Yeah," he answered stiffly. "I'm fine. Let's do this."
Jem nodded.
"I'm here for you," he promised softly. Will's hand tightened around Jem's, but he gave no other sign of having heard.
Jem and Will slowly made their way up the driveway to Will's mum's front door, Jem periodically glancing at Will to make sure he was alright. They finally made it to the front door, and Will pressed the doorbell with his index finger. He glanced down at his other hand, intertwined with Jem's, and quickly let go.
"I don't want her to find out on her own," Will explained. Jem nodded.
"That's a good idea."
Their brief conversation was cut short by the door being flung open, revealing a very happy-looking, slightly overweight woman seeming to be around the age of fifty.
"Will!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. Jem stood there awkwardly as Will stiffly embraced his mother.
"Hey, mum," he said once they broke apart.
"Who's this young man?" she asked. "Your friend?"
"Ah," Will stuttered, blanching. "Uh… Y-yeah. He's my friend."
Jem glared. Will looked at him, eyes wide, shaking his head slightly. Will's mum didn't seem to notice his silent panic, however, and continued smiling widely at the two of them. Suddenly, she looked over at Jem and blushed, saying,
"Oh! How rude of me. What's your name?"
"Jem Carstairs," he replied politely. "Pleasure to meet you."
"But Will," she went on, "Where's the young lady you were telling me about?"
"Mum, she's not…"
"I'm right here," Jem stepped in. Mrs. Herondale looked at him incredulously.
"Don't be silly, dear. Will told me he found a girlfriend! I've been so worried about him, you know, since he and Tessa broke up, and—"
Will surprised both of them by speaking up.
"Tessa and I never broke up. We never even dated, Mum. Jem is my boyfriend, and I never told you because I knew how you'd react!"
Mrs. Herondale suddenly turned cold, and looked slightly confused as well.
"So you… You're gay?"
Will nodded.
"Yes, Mum. I'm gay, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"You were my only son," she said stiffly.
"Were?" asked Jem, feeling anger boil up inside of him. "If I'm not mistaken, ma'am, he still is your son."
"You stay out of this," she snapped at Jem. "You did something to him. You've done enough damage already."
Jem took a deep breath. He didn't get angry often, but when he did, it wasn't pretty.
"Mrs. Herondale," he began diplomatically, but she cut him off by raising a small, long-nailed hand and slapping him across the face with as much force as she could muster. Jem's eyes widened involuntarily and his mouth dropped open as he raised his hand and lightly brushed his fingers across the stinging mark she'd left on his cheek.
"I've had enough!" Will shrieked, snapping Jem out of his stupor. "Mum, if you're not going to accept me for who I am, the least you could do is refrain from physically harming my boyfriend!"
He turned on his heel and stormed out the door. Jem shot a glare at Mrs. Herondale before running out after him. The door slammed behind him, narrowly missing the heel of his shoe. Jem ran back to the car, where he knew he'd find Will.
He found him sitting on the curb behind their car, his head hidden in his arms and his knees pulled up to his chest. Jem sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Will looked up. He hadn't been crying, as Jem had initially thought, but the look on his face was of such betrayal and agony that he might as well have been.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked softly, taking one of Will's hands. Will shook his head.
"No," he replied bitterly. "There's nothing. She was my mum, Jem. She was the one person in this world who is supposed to love me unconditionally without judging me on who I am or what I want. I guess I just wasn't that lucky. We used to be super close, and…" He broke off. Jem reached over and tucked a strand of Will's black hair behind his ear.
"I love you unconditionally," Jem murmured. "I'm here for you always, Will."
When Will looked up, a single tear spilled over his eyelashes and dripped off of the tip of his nose.
"Thank you, Jem," he said. "I love you too."
"Now let's get you back home," Jem said, leaning over and gently kissing Will's cheek.
As Jem drove them away from the neighborhood that Will had grown up in, he subtly glanced over at Will. Seeing his still slightly shocked and hurt expression, Jem wordlessly reached over and pressed the radio button on the dashboard. Will looked up, surprised.
"I— I like this song," Will murmured. Jem smiled at him in the rearview mirror.
"I know you do."
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