Disclaimer: I do not in ANY WAY own Modern Family.
A/N: Be prepared for a lot of advancing plot details. I know; I kind of went overboard with the development here. Still, I hope you all like this chapter!
Also, please review!
I wonder what's going to happen on Monday. I don't even want to think about all those cans of worms right now.
Right now, it's time to go home and spend some time with my cat. And eat some cereal. And go to sleep so I can finish my homework tomorrow. And a shower tomorrow morning…
…Yeah, that sounds nice.
Influence (Chapter 14)-Week 39 Begins
I wasn't too surprised when I woke up this morning with a text from Reuben with a slight change of plans. Instead of going to the counselor, he first wants to tell Manny what happened and to apologize to him in front of the library. Can't say that I blame him. Summer is in two weeks and he probably wants to start hanging out with the both of us again.
Upon receiving the new plans, I quickly send a text to Manny to meet me in front of the library. Unsurprisingly, he says okay without question, knowing he will get the answer then. My family has learned over the years that questions will be answered in due time and that asking anyone anything is almost always a waste of energy.
I also wasn't surprised when I got there ten minutes early and Reuben was already there. I sat with him at the table, giving him a nod.
"Good morning." I say to him, and he looks unfazed.
"I don't what's so fucking good about it; it's Monday." He says, and I have to admit that I am a bit taken aback by the language. I guess this is just a result of the assault… "Good morning." He says after a few seconds, smirking at me. That cheeky bastard…
It also wasn't much of a surprise when Manny showed up a few minutes later and scowled when he saw Reuben sitting next to me. He didn't say anything, but he did sit down with a lot of anger in his movements.
"I'm sorry, Manny." Reuben says immediately, making sure to get a word out before this meeting goes south. Meetings like this usually do end up south almost instantaneously.
"Huh?" I could tell Manny was not expecting that, just like I wasn't when Reuben and I made up the day I came out.
"Before you leave or yell or something, can I explain? Please?" Reuben asks him, and Manny looks at me. I nod.
"Sure, dude." At least he's using 'dude;' that implies there still some sort of acquaintanceship that could be salvaged.
"I was an asshole, I know that. I blamed the two of you for something that wasn't your fault. I blamed you both for telling me to go to that damn party. I shouldn't have because you were just being good friends. You didn't know what was going to happen. But, I was assaulted. You know…sexually. This dude was messing with my junk after I passed out drunk. I'm sorry for blaming you, and trying to get back a bit, especially at you, Luke. But my actions and the subsequent results of them are inexcusable. I just hope you can forgive me, Manny. And I hope you still do, Luke." Reuben glances over everything he told me, but I think Manny will get the gist.
"Holy shit…" I hear Manny whisper, and I can't help but chuckle. I've never heard him curse before.
"I'm not sure how to gauge that…surprising choice of words for you." I'm glad that I'm not the only one who noticed that.
"It means…you're forgiven. I don't know what else to say, except that…I've really missed you, dude. Besides Luke, and considering he's family, you're my only real friend. And, I've missed your nerdy ass." He says, jokingly. What is this new Manny and where has he been?
"And I've missed your chubby, Latin ass." Reuben says and we all have a good laugh. Finally, our trio is back together. That's one friendship repaired, but I have another one to save in a few minutes.
"Come with us so I can go to our counselor?" He asks Manny, and Manny just gets up and waves his arm to tell Reuben to lead the way.
"When did you find out?" Manny asks me as soon as Reuben steps inside the Freshman office. At our high school, each grade level has its own office.
"The night I came out. It was just a coincidence that I ran into him when I left, but it happened." I say, and Manny hums in acknowledgement.
"Let me guess, Sam?" He asks as soon as I look towards the choir room as we walk to our class near it.
"Yes. I don't what to say to him, dude! It's like we just met, but we clicked immediately. I don't want him to feel guilty or anything. I want us to be friends!" I say in exasperation, and Manny laughs. "What's so funny?" I ask Manny.
"Dude, it sounds like you have a crush on him." When he says that, I just roll my eyes. This is a new Manny today.
"Shut up, dude." I say with humor in my voice.
"Well, tell him what you just told me. Tell him that you don't blame him and that it was just a freak accident. Come on, that should have been easy for you to figure out." He says, and I have to admit that my mind isn't functioning at its best right now.
"You're right. I don't know what's wrong with me. There's just too much stress these past few weeks and I think it's all finally getting to me." I tell Manny as we stop in front of his advisory classroom.
"You have been through a lot lately, man. Just relax." He tells me before waving and walking into the room. So much for a goodbye; making me think is not helping me relax. I guess it's time to go to my own advisory class. I can use the time for thinking.
*BEEP* I wonder what the announcements are going to be today.
"Students, faculty, staff. Welcome back." Holy shit; that tone is menacing. I guess this internal drama isn't over yet. "But, enough of the informalities. First, because of the time off last week, Finals will start in two weeks from today rather than Wednesday of next week. As you all know, we have to meet New York state law in instructional minutes, and this makes up for those three days. And two, there will be a new system for finals. Now, as an experiment for this year, finals will be held by subject department rather than period. These will take place in the PA, MPR, Oral Arts room, the Library, the Band Room, and the Theater. More information soon to come. And lastly, study hard students. Goodbye." The last word she spoke made me glad that I'm not working at this school, that's for sure.
"Well, the voice that speaketh has definitely spoken." Our advisory teacher starts talking. So much for thinking about what to say to Sam. I have to listen to a rant about the start of affairs of my school. Great. "You know she's doing this for revenge, right? She's making our finals system a chaotic, disastrous mess for both the students and the teachers for our coup. And the coup itself completely failed. We almost lost our jobs, and she is still cheating us. The principal and the entire administration are trying to make our lives now a living hell." The teacher continues and I sigh, putting my head down in my arms.
Screw this, I'm going to 'relax' like Manny told me to for an hour.
Lunchtime. It's now or never.
I walk into the choir room, which remains open for students at lunch to hang out and/or practice, and everyone just kind of looks at me. I guess I would stare at someone who I almost saw die as well.
"Luke!" That his voice coming from behind me. I turn around and get caught in a strong hug. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to call but I was afraid." He says, and this is too much. There needs to be some calamity in this situation.
"Sam. I'm glad to see you too." I say instead and just hug him back. My friend lets the hug go after a few more seconds. "Let's sit and talk, okay?" I ask with a smile, and he nods. We take the chairs in the most private corner of the relatively-populated room.
"Sorry I was acting like that. I blame this body. That damn estrogen!" He opens with a joke; that's good.
"Haha, no problem. Look, I don't blame you. That's the first thing I needed to say. It's not your fault. Nobody blames you." I say, and he shakes his head.
"But it was my fault. If I had asked you or just told you what was in it-" I cut him off. I will not have my friend play this blame game.
"Don't do this to yourself, please. I'm fine. Everyone's fine. And the tacos did taste pretty damn good." I say, and he takes a deep breath.
"Soy crumbles. I used them instead of ground beef because they are supposed to be healthier, not deadlier." Damn it, dude! Stop this!
"Come to dinner with my family tonight, please? Maybe this will help you feel better. My family isn't mad." I say, and he lifts his head up in surprise.
"Really? Nobody's ever invited me over before…" He speaks softly, but I heard it.
"Of course! You're my friend!" I smile at him, and he nods.
"Fine, fine. You win. What a sucky reason to invite me over tonight, though." He says, and I chuckle.
"Oh, and just so you know, you can tell my family you're transgender if you want to. They're awesome! My mom's brother is gay, and they know that I'm asexual. So don't feel like you have to hide anything or anything. Just be yourself." I say, probably figuring he might have been worried about that.
"That's a relief, actually. I'm afraid that new people, especially adults and stuff, might find out and…you know." He says, and I do get it. I absolutely get it!
"Yeah, I get it. But you don't have to worry about anything like that with my family." I reassure – he needs to know that he's welcome.
"Thanks, Luke. I've only talked to you like twice in two days but you're already like my best friend." That…really makes me happy.
"Thanks, Sam. That means a lot." I say and give him a hug. We just remain sitting and talk for the rest of lunch.
He's been out to his parents for about three years, since the beginning of seventh grade. He said he's known since he was a small child in around second or third! Likewise, I told him that I knew since the beginning of the year and came out as bi-emotional as well just last week. He also said he's been out at school for a few months, but not everyone was as accepting. That's why he auditioned for choir; he befriended many people currently in it and started hanging around.
It's just so great that we both found someone we can relate to! Yeah, Manny and now Reuben once again have been my best friends for years, but Sam…he gets it. And Uncle Mitchell is older, so that's just a hurdle right there. Sam is my age, my grade, and my friend! This is so kickass!
Luckily Mom had no objection when I told her I invited Sam during lunch. She said she's happy to meet a new friend, especially because she never met any of Haley's or Alex's.
We walked home without Alex because she has her leadership meetings again, though this is the last week of them. I think they're just working on letters of recommendation and last-minute scholarships before going off to college.
Alex is…going to California. Either UC Berkeley or UCLA. She got into both, but she hasn't decided which school yet; she only submitted both statements of intent to register so she has a choice.
I'm…really going to miss her. I cried when Haley left for college before she got kicked out, and I'm going to cry when Alex leaves. I'm happy for her though, those are two amazing universities and they would be lucky to have her.
We didn't say much while walking. It turns out his house is in the other direction, so my Mom is going to drive him home after. On the way, I pointed out the spot where I found Jess and told him a highly-redacted version of the story. He said he had a dog at home named Luthor because he liked Lex Luthor when he was a child. Go figure.
Mom greeted us as we walked through the door and shook Sam's hand. They talked for a minute before we went up to my room and started up a video game. You can't go wrong with Super Smash Bros. Melee on Gamecube!
The whole time was pretty awesome. We just laughed a lot and talked more about ourselves: what television shows we liked, music, interests in school, and the like. It's been a long time since I've been able to let loose and feel like a kid again. It's one of the best feelings in the world.
In what feels like only minutes, Mom comes up and tells us that dinner is ready. When we head downstairs, we see that Dad, Alex, and Haley have all already gotten home. Jess is laying on the couch sleeping. Why do cats sleep so much? They never go anywhere or do anything. I guess they're lazy like I am…
Dinner starts off kind of silently. We're not used to having other people besides family over, I guess. But leave it to the public speaker and realtor to start the conversation.
"So, is 'Sam' short for anything? Like Samir or Sampson?" I am my father's son; that was one of the first things I asked as well. Sam looks to me quickly and I nod. My family will be cool with it!
"Um, Mr. Dunphy sir, I was born with the same Samantha, but I prefer Samuel as my first name. But Sam for short." He says, voice faltering a bit but still strong. That's amazing for when he's nervous for singing; he can still project!
"Oh! So you're transgender? That's cool! And call me Phil; Mr. Dunphy is my father." I bet Grandpa Frank would say the same thing. My dad is so awesomely -lame sometimes it's amazing. I also kind of love the lack of a reaction (or at least lack of any sort of shock reaction). My family is probably numb to that stuff after me last week, to be honest.
"And you're in choir? What's your line?" Mom asks. I never actually asked him, I just assumed he was a tenor.
"Well, I'm officially a tenor and alto substitute. But I can also be a soprano if need be. I wouldn't mind of either three, actually." Wow. I know that I would be pissed if I had to be a soprano or any girl's part if I was female-to-male. "Everyone, I just have to apologize for…you know. I didn't know and-"
"We don't blame you. Our Uncle didn't know once too. It happens. All that's important is that he's fine and everyone is fine. Don't punish yourself. You sound like a great young man." Alex speaks up and interrupts him, and I couldn't have said it better myself.
"You sure?" Sam asks; hopefully this will be the end of this! I just want this to pass and have my friend stop feeling guilty!
"Of course. You're my brother's friend. And you didn't mean any harm. You're not forgiven because you were never blamed!" Haley exclaims and Sam takes a breath before drinking some of his beverage.
"Alright." He says and continues eating with the rest of us. Hopefully, within a few days max, he will be able to put that incident behind him.
Mom drives him home, with me in the car, shortly after we finish dinner. We barely talk in the car; we just can't talk when our parents are around. It's just so weird! But we slide-five and fist-bump when he gets out and we bid our goodbyes to each other.
Time to go home and start studying for finals in two weeks. Blech.
A/N: Well, that was a long chapter wasn't it? I did warn about all the plot details happening, though I suppose which ones are relevant haven't been made explicit yet. Don't worry, I have mostly everything planned out now, including the sequel. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Also, don't forget to review!