Alex grew up in a very religious household. Church every Sunday, Sunday school with Pastor Tony, Wednesday night services, playing drums with his dad in the Church band (his dad started teaching him to play before he could even walk), Bible camps over the summer... you name it, Alex did it.
Alex never really had a problem with it. He didn't love how much of his time it took up, but it's not like he didn't like church. He found it comforting.
The one thing that Alex had a problem with, though, was that his parents didn't want him being friends with anyone who didn't go to their church, so that excluded his two best friends (were they still his best friends if Alex didn't really have any other friends? It didn't matter) Luke and Reggie.
Alex and Luke met in kindergarten when their teacher sat them next to each other on the first day. His parents didn't hate Luke in the beginning, but as he got older and more mischievous, they started to disapprove more and more.
They met Reggie in middle school. He was in their band class, and Luke sat next to him in the guitar section. Reggie was quickly introduced to Alex, and their duo quickly became a trio.
Reggie and Luke were constantly getting in trouble and getting detentions, which Alex's parents hated. They forbade him from hanging out with them, but he did anyway. Who else was he going to hang out with? The kids from church that he never got the courage to talk to? No way.
Alex first heard the word 'homosexual' at Sunday school. The pastor was reading a Bible verse when the word came up, and he had never heard it before. But, when he said the word, no one in the class seemed to be able to look at each other.
After class, Alex went up to the pastor.
"Excuse me, Pastor Tony?" Alex said as the room emptied out.
"Yes, Alex?" Pastor Tony replied, smiling sweetly at him.
"The word homosexual..." Alex started, but he saw the pastor physically cringe when he said the word. "I've never heard it before. What does it mean?"
"Well, son," Pastor Tony said, putting his hand on Alex's shoulder. "All you need to know is that it's a sin that one never recovers from."
"But-" Alex tried, but was cut off.
"Have a good day, Alex." Pastor Tony said, leaving the room swiftly.
After church, Alex went to the library and looked up the word 'homosexual' in the dictionary. All it meant was that you were attracted to the same gender instead of the opposite. Alex started to think back about his life. He never really found any interest in girls the way Luke and Reggie did, and the thought of kissing one grossed him out. But the thought of kissing a boy... it seemed kind of appealing.
Alex started to worry after that. Could he be gay? He didn't want to be a sinner, but sometimes he just couldn't help it. If he wanted to kiss boys instead of girls... he didn't know what to do.
So, he just tried to live as normally as possible. He went to school, went to church, hung out with Luke and Reggie, had jam sessions with them when his parents weren't home. When Luke floated the idea of starting a band, all of them were on board. They just needed a fourth member.
Eventually, they found Bobby. He was a good guitarist. But not much of anything else. He was just not a great guy. But he let the band, Sunset Curve, practice in his garage, so it was ok.
A few weeks after starting the band, Alex had started to come to terms with the fact that he was probably gay. How did he know? Well, he was kind of embarrassed to admit it, but it was Luke. He had a crush on Luke and was pretty sure he had one for a while. He finally understood what they were talking about when his friends talked about girls. His heart would flutter whenever he heard Luke sing. But, Luke was straight. Nothing would ever happen between them.
Eventually, Alex got tired of keeping it a secret. He didn't one hundred percent accept himself yet, but he figured if his friends supported him he might get one step closer to feeling better about himself.
"Hey, guys?" Alex approached after practice one day while everyone was packing up. "I need to tell you all something."
"What's up, Alex?" Luke said, not really paying attention.
"It's kind of serious," Alex said, grabbing the attention of Reggie and Luke, who lightly punched Bobby's arm, making him pay attention.
Alex took a deep breath. He knew this was going to be hard, but now under his friend's gazes, he just wasn't sure he could do it.
"Never mind," Alex muttered, looking down at the floor.
"Alex," Luke started, "you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but I hope you know you can tell us anything."
Alex nodded and took another deep breath. "Ok, I can do this." He looked at Luke's supportive gaze and finally said the words out loud for the first time. "I'm gay."
Luke didn't even miss a beat. He just walked up to Alex and pulled him into a hug, and Reggie joined him a moment later.
"Thank you for telling us," Luke said, and Alex smiled.
Bobby hung back a little bit, looking kind of uncomfortable, but when Alex looked at him, he smiled. Sort of. Alex didn't really care what Bobby thought, anyway. All he needed was his best friend's approval and he was happy.
About a month later, he and Luke were hanging out together in Luke's room. They had a big test to study for in their biology class, so they decided to do it together.
They were both sitting on his bed, just close enough for their fingers to touch. If Alex was telling the truth, he wasn't getting much studying done. He could only think about how Luke's hand was touching his. It's not that it hasn't happened before, they had been friends since grade school, after all, but today it was just different for some reason.
He kept sneaking glances at Luke, who he swore darted his eyes back down to his book every time Alex looked up, though he could have just been imagining things.
At one point, Luke tried to get up but slipped and fell so he was lying flat on the bed. Alex wordlessly tried to help him up, but they ended up with their faces just barely an inch apart. They stayed like that for a moment, unsure of what to do, then they closed the space between them and pressed their lips together. Alex wasn't sure who started the kiss, but he was sure he never wanted it to end.
After a few moments, he came to his senses and pulled away. "Wait wait wait." He said, "What is this?"
"What do you mean?" Luke asked, running his fingers through his hair.
"You're not gay." Alex pointed out. "Are you? Because if this is just you experimenting with your gay friend-"
"It's not, Alex," Luke interjected, shutting Alex up. "I really like you. Like in a romantic way."
"So you're gay?" Alex asked again.
"No, I'm bisexual," Luke said simply. "I like guys and girls."
Alex smiled. He couldn't remember the last time he was this happy. The guy that he's had a crush on since forever actually liked him back.
"So are you gonna kiss me, or what?" Luke asked. They both laughed and leaned back in and kissed again.
Luke told Alex that he didn't care who they told about their relationship, but Alex wasn't ready to tell people. He hadn't come out to his parents yet, and he wanted to do that first.
Alex was kinda dreading that, though. He knew his parents were homophobic and wouldn't love the idea of him being gay, but they always said they would love him unconditionally, so he was banking on that being true.
He and Luke started sneaking around all the time, though. They would drive out of the city for dates so no one recognized them, they would sneak into the studio at night and just kiss for a long time or cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie.
As much as Alex loved sneaking around with Luke, he knew he needed to come out to his parents at some point.
"I just don't know what to do, Luke," Alex said one night while they were hanging out alone in the studio. They had been together for about a year now and were approaching the end of their sophomore year. "I know my parents aren't going to like it, but I need to tell them at some point. I feel like every time I see them it's just a weight I really want lifted."
"I'm not going to rush you, Alex," Luke said. "But I think you'll feel better once you tell them, no matter how they react."
Deep down, Alex knew that Luke was right. So, on the night after the last day of school, he decided to just go for it at dinner. He and his family were sitting down to eat when Alex brought it up.
"Mom, Dad?" Alex said once everyone was sitting.
"Yes, dear?" Alex's mom replied, not looking up from her food.
Alex wasn't going to wait around like he did with his friends over a year ago. He just needed to get it out or he was never going to say it. "I'm gay."
Both of them put down their forks and looked at him with confused and dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
"I'm sorry, I must have heard you wrong. What did you say?" Alex's dad said, clearly in disbelief.
"I'm gay," Alex repeated, more confident this time.
"No, you're not." His dad said. "I won't allow it."
"This isn't something I can change about myself," Alex said. He looked over at his mom, and he could see tears in her eyes.
"If you're going to insist on being a sinner, you're not going to do it in this house." His dad said simply. "Change your mind, or pack your bags and get out."
Alex sat there for a minute, then got up from the table and walked to his room. He quickly packed as much as he could into his backpack, tears running down his face the entire time. He ran out of the house without another word to his parents.
He walked to the studio, and it was pitch black by the time he got there. Luke was waiting for him on the couch. They knew Alex coming out probably wasn't going to go well, so Luke decided he would wait in the garage in case of the worst.
Alex walked in with tears running down his face, and Luke wordlessly got up and pulled his boyfriend into a hug. Alex collapsed into him and just cried for a while. Luke whispered reassurances in his ear, but he couldn't really hear them. He was just too upset.
When Alex finally calmed down, Luke led him over to the couch. They sat down and Alex put his head on his boyfriend's shoulder and took his hand in his.
"You don't have to talk about it," Luke said.
"I want to," Alex replied, and Luke squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I told them, then they said I couldn't live there if I was going to be an abomination." Alex felt more tears running down his face.
Luke kissed the top of his head and turned on the TV to give him a distraction. Alex was grateful for it.
While they were watching TV, the door opened and Reggie, who was wearing a backpack, walked inside.
"Hey, Reg," Luke said. "What's up?"
Reggie ignored the question. "Alex, are you ok?" He asked.
"I don't know." He replied.
"He came out to his parents tonight and it didn't go well," Luke explained.
"I'm so sorry, man," Reggie said, dropping down his backpack on the floor and sitting down on the chair next to the couch.
"What's the backpack for, Reg?" Luke asked, and Reggie glanced down at it.
"Umm..." He said, "I was gonna stay here tonight."
"What's wrong with your place?" Alex asked.
Reggie sighed. "My parents are fighting. Like, loud screaming at each other fighting. It's been happening a lot lately, so I've been spending some of my nights here."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Luke asked.
"I didn't want to bother you with it." He explained.
"You can tell us anything, Reg," Alex said, and Luke agreed.
They all watched TV for the rest of the night then slept there at the studio.
That summer was the best Alex could remember. Since he had a completely clear schedule, he put all of his time into the band and his relationship with Luke.
At the end of the summer, their lives when pretty much back to normal. School, practice, sleep, repeat. It was hard to get any homework done while living in a garage with his two best friends who were always goofing off any never really cared about schoolwork, but he managed.
Luke running away from home just before Christmas was really hard on him. He talked about dropping out to put all his time into the band, but Alex wouldn't let him. He needed to be around people, and being alone all day in the garage while his friends were at school was the last thing he needed in this state.
Getting the Orpheum gig really lifted his spirits, though. He really got back to his usual self. Alex guessed that was when he started to realize the spark between them had burned out.
So, they broke up. It was mutual. They just wanted to go back to being friends without the intimacy.
Their breakup was one week before their gig. It was a little awkward for a few days, but they got back to their usual groove by the day of their gig.
The last thing they thought would happen last night is die from some bad street dogs.