A/N 1: Okay, this is the second and last part of the previous upload. I definitely went on an absolute rant on this one, and this part is like double the words of the last. I didn't even expect it to be this long. Anyways, onward!


TW: homophobia, transphobia, violence, swearing

Part 2:

All the others were waiting for them when they arrived. Let's just say that some of them may have gone overboard.

Sean and Anthony were wearing the same socks and jeans. Sean's vest said 'I ain't gay but my boyfriend is'. Anthony's was the same as Davey's. Sean was, impressively, wearing a pair of heels, and Anthony was wearing rainbow Vans. His blonde hair had been coloured with temporary dye in the colours of the pride flag, and Sean had the bisexual pride flag on his shoulder in the same manner as Sam's flag.

Elmer and Albert had their flags pinned to their shoulders like Nick. Elmer was wearing a rainbow skirt and a white shirt. Albert's red hair was gelled up into a mohawk and was sprayed with rainbow glitter, which matched his sparkly trousers. Both had face paint on their cheeks of their respective flags.

Henry and Finley were both wearing rainbow shirts and cargo shorts. They both had speakers strapped to their rainbow belts like Nick, and Finley's was playing 'Girls like Girls'. Henry held a sign that said 'Why be homophobic, transphobic, racist or sexist when silence is an option?'

"I feel underdressed." Jack sighed, looking down at his clothing, then to Zachary. "You guys are all fancy-looking. You've got speakers, flags, signs and shit, and all Zack and I have is these bowties and colour-coordinated clothes."

"Hey, wait a second!" Sean reached into his bag and pulled out two flags, the bisexual and asexual ones. He also handed them a box of safety pins. "Here. Do what Elmer, Albert and Nick did. Then you won't feel so 'underdressed' as you're saying, Jack. Keep these, by the way. I don't know why I even have them."

"Shut it, Conlon." Jack rolled his eyes and pinned his flag to his shoulders, Zack copying him. He then gave the safety pins back to Sean.

"Are we ready to have fun or what?" Katherine hollered. All of them yelled in agreement as a response.

"Let's go!" Sam declared.

All of them walked into the venue with their heads up high. In school, it was near impossible to represent themselves with the strict uniform they all had to wear. On the rare occasion that they had days where they could wear casual clothing, wearing flag colours wasn't an option with the prohibition of pride displaying in school for some odd reason.

But this was their first Pride parade. They could wear whatever they liked and not be bothered about it. And they were all excited to finally show who they were without the fear.

They all split up, agreeing to go in groups of two, with one group of three (Jack, Zachary and Davey), and meet up back at the car park later. After making sure they could all message each other if need be, they went their separate ways.

"So… now what? None of us have been to Pride before." Zack stated, looking around cautiously.

"No shit, Sherlock… What do we do?" Jack marvelled. There was so much music he could barely hear himself think. Rainbows were just everywhere. There was the smell of alcohol, although none of them could drink just yet, alluringly hanging in the air.

"Go around and talk to people?" Davey suggested. "Maybe see if there are any protestors around that want to see some action?"

"That would work, I guess." Jack shrugged. Just then shouting came from a few yards away. All three teenagers turned their heads to see another large group of people making their way into the venue. But they did not come with good intentions.

A throng of middle-aged to elderly people with anti-gay signs were now invading the area. Several people that were at the parade were already moving out of the way to let them through, fear in their eyes.

"Jack, Dave, hide me." Zachary panicked. Both of the other boys complied, although Davey was confused. But Jack knew what he was talking about and explained.

At the head of the crowd was Zack's grandfather. He was holding up a sign that read, 'God Hates Fags!' Every person he encountered that wouldn't move away received the f-slur shouted in their face.

"What're we going to do?" Davey asked, panicking. "He can't see that he's here!"

Suddenly, a large portion of the crowd of parade-goers moved aside, forming an open circle. In the midst of them all was Nicholas, his flag-cape now dirty from the asphalt. Zack's grandfather had shoved him down to the ground in a rage.

"You disgusting freak!" the man yelled, kicking the much smaller boy in the gut. "You are defying what God wanted for you! You were born a girl and should be a girl!"

Nick was trying his best to stand up, but the kick had knocked the wind out of him. On the side of the crowd surrounding the scene were all the other boys plus Katherine and Sam. Jack could see Spencer struggling to fight his way out of Henry and Anthony's arms, trying to get to his boyfriend.

No one stepped in as the violence between Nicholas and the elderly man got worse. They were scared that they would get hurt by the man's flailing punches and kicks. At this point the man had punched Nick hard enough that he was bleeding.

Jack was seeing red. With all the strength he could muster, he charged through the crowd in front of him and pushed Zack's grandfather off of Nicholas. He gave the elderly man a punch in the jaw to try and buy some time.

"You okay, bud? Did he break anything?" Jack turned to Nicholas, who had a bloody nose. The smaller boy nodded, then shook his head. Good, Jack though. The damage hadn't been that severe. He helped Nick up and hurried him to where his other friends were standing, then turned back to the man.

"You think that you can try and put us all down?" Jack yelled.

The elderly man spat, walked over and got up in Jack's face. "What do you faggots want? You already have this 'Pride' and shit, what else is there?"

"A lot, actually!" Jack yelled indignantly, ready to run his mouth. "What we want is for there to no longer be hate crimes against our community. We want for us to be able to adopt children without the struggle. We want to not get beat up while walking home. We want for conversion therapy to be illegalized in all states. We want transgender people to have easy access to hormone therapy and surgery. I could go on, but I've made a point. Being LGBT+ is NOT a choice! No one chooses their gender, or their race, or their sexuality, or whether they have a physical or mental disability. What people DO choose, however, is to be bigoted assholes like YOU!"

With the last sentence, he gave the man a hard shove, causing him to stumble backwards. The entire crowd went silent. Jack could feel himself calm down, but he was still angry.

Then, unexpectedly, Zachary stepped out of the crowd and shuffled towards Jack on his crutches. He stood his ground, not caring whether his grandfather saw him or not.

"This community of people is more than a community!" he declared, raising his left crutch to the air. "We are a family. A second family for those who were rejected by their first one, which surprises me, by the way. All those mothers who carry the baby for nine months and go through so much pain to bring the child into the world only to refuse to care for them later in life just because they were born a different gender or have a partner of the same gender. Why, I have to ask, would you do such a thing? You would have just destroyed one of the most valuable relationships you will ever have in your life!"

After Zack had finished speaking, Sean stepped out to join them, then Finley, then Sam and Katherine. Eventually, all of Jack's friends had joined him in the circle the crowd had made. All of them were ready to have a go at this hater if they got the chance.

Jack felt an arm grab his shoulder and turn him around. It was Davey, his face so close to Jack's. The shorter boy could feel his heart start pounding, but he knew what Davey wanted him to do. Jack reached behind Davey's back, drew him in and gave him a deep kiss.

The roars of the crowd drew them apart a few minutes later. It was so thunderous that Jack could barely make out what Davey was saying. He turned back around to see all his friends cheering and hooting.

"That's my brother!" Sam squealed, applauding and pointing to Davey. Anthony and Spencer were yelling, "Get 'em, Jack!" All his other friends were just cheering and applauding, with no words to say.

Jack turned his attention back to Davey and gave him another kiss, this one lasting longer than the first. When the two boys separated for air again, the crowd had finally died down enough for Jack to hear what the taller boy was saying.

"I love you, Jack. I always have, ever since you and I came out or even before then. But I didn't think you loved me back." Davey gasped, a broad smile across his face.

All Jack could say back, his heart pounding in his ears, was, "I love you too. And that's all that matters."

And it was true. The two boys kissed a third time, and all that mattered in those few moments was their love. Not the haters, not the fight, just love.

Love was all that mattered.


A/N 2: Whoo, that was a lot! A majority of Jack and Crutchie's rants were my own opinions, considering that I'm part of the queer community. This one started out a bit hateful but ended happy, so there's that! Next one is probably going to be a bit sadder, so... beware of that. I hope you enjoyed!