The Thanksgiving Day game was approaching fast this week, and considering how poorly Point Place's team had done this year, that meant the end of the season for football, and a longer break between now, and hockey. He huffed, shoving his practice gear in a bag, and sniffling away the runny nose he had from the workout he was just doing.
Football had taken up a majority of his time, and he had been missing his friends like crazy. Especially Jackie, even though he saw her often, since they practiced at the same time every day. His beard had been faltering.
His back was turned, and he heard the boys in the back whispering to each other, as he dug through his locker, pulling the random items that he had left in there over the season. Socks, a picture of him and the gang, an old bottle of apple juice with mold growing in it. He shuddered, throwing it in the trash.
The beige walls of this smelly old room had become an escape from reality. Did he fit in with the football boys? Absolutely not. They were crude, rude, and unruly. They were disrespectful and got away with it because they could, and yet were still painted as golden boys. But being able to tackle people and throw things around on a regular basis was a fantastic outlet for frustration and anger. He looked at the clock, the day wasn't nearly over, it was just starting.
His exhaustion was growing more potent by the day but he kept putting one foot in front of the other. Because that's what you're supposed to do, right? Keep it down, keep chugging, until one day you snap. And run away.
Buddy Morgan's offer was becoming far more appealing.
"You could just stay." He told him. "You don't have to go back." He told him one night, before he had come home.
"I know, but I think if I just stay, my family would understand eventually. If I just push it hard enough."
"Merengue." Someone finally called his name.
His perfect dream shattered around him.
He turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?" Chip looked him over, and Jason realized quickly that it was him that had called him.
"Jackie Burkhart really isn't all that interested in you is she?" He asked. He coughed.
He kept his composure, scanning his eyes across the room of boys, and suddenly realized that they were trying to out him. An overwhelming feeling of panic washed over him, and his eyes glazed over. The door was behind him. He could just leave, but his keys were on the hook in the other room. He put his bag in the locker, and swallowed. "No, man, we're just friends. Been that way since we met, actually."
"You and Fez too, right?" Jason snorted.
"Whatever it is you're trying to start, leave them out of it." He barely got his sentence out before he was shoved into the locker.
He almost fought back. He was strong, he was tall. Him and Chip head to head was an easy one and done. But all ten guys surrounding him? They would all put up a fight. He could. But realistically, it was a no brainer. Of course he couldn't win like that. But then remembered that he was the fastest one there, and he was severely outnumbered. Weighing his options, he scanned the room. He recognized his situation was dire.
And so what did he do? He ran. And, to this day he looked back and was glad that he made that decision.
Clambering out the back door as they shouted at him, his strides long, and took a detour into the woods. He knew those woods, he lived there, hiking with the boys and climbing on the water tower. He heaved, maybe not from the strain, but from the anxiety, as they followed him, hot on his heels.
Out of the tree line, he stopped at the backed up freeway, before making his decision and swaying through the traffic, and sprinting down the hill towards Jackie's house.
How fucked up that he couldn't go home. How fucked up that he ran across a freeway instead. How fucked up that his father would probably join them if he knew.
If only he knew.
"You can't run forever! Go cry to Fez, I'm sure he'll treat you real nice." Came the taunt, and he sped up, hurdling a fence, and running through the Pinciotti's backyard, catching Donna's attention.
He flew through the sliding door he had become so familiar with, and crouched behind the kitchen counter, startling everyone. His hair was a mess, pupils huge, face red , as he had been running for at least seven miles now from across town. His breaths came out in wheezes, as Mr Foreman crouched in front of him.
"Sir, I-I didn't mean to run." He told him. "But I couldn't take on ten other athletes." He was listening to them screaming in the driveway, as Donna filed into the kitchen to check on her friend. Red stood, walking to the sliding glass door.
"Oh look! The moron parade, in my driveway." He smiled, walking towards the garage. "Back in the day, I would have shot you morons." He told them. "But, since my wife sorta needs me around these days, I'm gonna warn you to get the hell off my property."
Chip stepped forward, balls bigger than his face.
"Or what? You got an illegal foster kid in your house, so you can't call the cops on me." He told the man. Red cleared his throat. "My Dad's a lawyer."
He was right, legally, Steven wasn't supposed to be there. The thought of Steven going into the foster system made his stomach flop. Not only because of his feelings, but the family. Steven walked out of the kitchen. "Oh look, there's the orphan now. Where's your parents, Hyde?"
"One just threatened to shoot you, and the other one is making me lunch. Where are yours? Cheating on each other?" Was his response. The football player spit on his shoe.
He looked up, lips in a pin line, before he punched Chip in the face. Chip fell over. "Ow!"
Most of the football team was gone, only a few remained. "Damn, Jackie." He laughed. "You're really invested in this orphan, hmm? What about Veterans Day?"
Jackie looked up at him. "You better get the hell away from my family's house!" She yelled, tears hot on her cheeks. "Steven isn't an orphan, he's family!" She told Chip. "And so is Jason. We're all family. And I don't like it when people mess with my family, Chip Starling."
Chip was the only one by now.
"And what are ya gonna do if I don't leave?" He taunted.
"There's way more of us than you. We can chase ya back in the other direction, if you'd like." Steven stepped forward again. "That's what you did to my friend Jason, isn't it? People like you are cowards, Chip. And you aren't gonna win this one."
He walked back three steps.
"This isn't over. Tell your faggot friend to watch his back." He spat, turning over on his heels.
Red sighed. "I really wish your mother wasn't pregnant so I could have shot him in the balls."
Jackie coughed, laughing slightly. She cupped her boyfriend's face. "Are you alright, Puddin' Pop?" She asked. He grimaced. "Puddin' Pop?"
"You're my Puddin' Pop." She smiled at him. He resisted the tug at his lips. "Let's go check on Jason." He dragged her into the kitchen.
Jason sat on the couch, wearing a pair of Red's sweatpants, and one of Steven's t-shirts. His cheek was scraped in the transport, which Kitty had bandaged nicely. His adrenaline was still pumping. Beside him sat Jackie and Donna on either side, Eric on Red's chair, Steven on the floor between Jackie's legs, and Fez and Laurie were perched on the piano bench. Kelso had disappeared into the bathroom.
He came in through the kitchen door. "Eric, your mom bought this new stuff that turns your toilet water blue!" He smiled. "How cool is that?"
Jason smiled at the kid in front of him. It was weird, not being in the basement, but Kitty insisted a family meeting and for everyone to stay upstairs. It had been months since they had all hung out like this. The circumstances were not his favorite, but he began to relax again as he listened to the familiar voices of The Brady Bunch, and sipped on his soda.
His stomach stayed twisted in a knot, though. He knew what a family meeting meant. He knew his beard had been shaven clean off. He knew that they knew. But he wasn't sitting outside in the nippy wind, so he assumed that nobody really was against it. Maybe they were just confused.
"Jason, sweetheart!" Kitty called, her voice somber, and heels clacking. "I finally got my parents to take a walk, so why don't we sit down and have a conversation. All of us, family meeting." Red was behind her, both of them sitting down on the coffee table. Jackie looked into her father's eyes, and he gave her a light, reassuring smile.
"I think after today's events," She didn't get to finish her sentence though, because Jason cut her off. "I'm gay. It's true." His voice was quiet and heavy, but lacked doubt. The room stayed silent.
"And that's okay." Red told him. All eyes looked surprised, except Kitty and Jackie.
"Really? That easy?" Hyde asked, eyebrow raised.
"You act surprised. I just threatened to shoot someone in our driveway for calling him a faggot." He told them. "Red! There's more to the story than that!" Kitty scolded! "Remember what your counselor said." Red sighed, before clearing his throat awkwardly.
"I have another brother." He told them after a moment of silence. The Foreman house stayed heavily silent. "He would probably still be alive today, if he had masked who he truly was. He really did try his hardest. It was just hard for him. We were always so different, but we both loved hunting. We bonded over it." He told them. "He was a year younger than me. The same thing happened to him in high school, he was chased just like Jason here was. Only difference was, Teddy never made it home. So no, I don't care that Jason is gay. Just like I told Kitty, and just like I told Jackie." He told them. "And if your father gives you any shit, tell him to come visit me. I'll shove my foot so far up his dumbass, that I can wiggle my toes out of his mouth like teeth." He told Jason.
The room stayed silent. The kids knew of Uncle Teddy, and how much their father loved him, but they never knew that he was gay. Or that he was murdered. Grandma always said he was sick. "Grandma always just said he was sick. That's why you called him Little Teddy." Eric frowned.
"Eric, your Grandmother did whatever she could to avoid coming to terms with Gay rights. Her own son, and she didn't care. We all knew. And I loved him anyway, and if he was alive, he would probably be my best friend." His voice was somber. "We never found who killed him, and I will always miss him. That's just that."
"Jason sweetheart, we will never, ever, turn you away here. Everyone in this room is family. Even though sometimes I wanna hit all of you with my spoon, I love each and every one of you." Kitty told him. Jason engulfed her in a hug. "My real parents told me that if I pull some faggot shit again, I'm going straight to East Side Boot Camp." He whispered into her shoulder. "It's not the military."
"We ain't gonna let that happen." Kelso told him, as they all came forth to hug their friend. Group hug minus Red. However, it was okay. Because the support was overflowing.
And for once in his waking life, he had found people that made him feel safe.