036 Veneer

Character: Luke

Luke scrolled through the selections of videos, trying to decide which one to download. It was all part of the show he had to put on. The kids at school might know the truth about him and so might his support group but his family was still in the dark and he wasn't ready for them to know the truth. To keep them off his trail he was putting on a veneer of being straight.

He had made his tablet's wallpaper a female swimsuit model and had chosen a half-naked picture of a celebrity for the background of his phone. He had hidden away all his actual porn and was now trying to create a file on his system with heterosexual porn as a final touch. Luke hated having to hide; his support group had made him so much more comfortable with himself. Still he feared how his family would react if they found out the truth about him.

Luke clicked on one of the videos and checked to be sure that his tablet was muted. He sped through the video until the man showed up. He scowled, not finding the man as very attractive so he went back to the selection. No one would really notice that he was choosing based on the man, his parents would just be glad a woman was involved.

Luke furrowed his brow as a chat request opened up. He closed out the site and opened the chat. He recognized the man as Ralph, another member of his support group. "Hey Ralph."

Ralph seemed uneasy, his hand running over his orange hair. "Hey, Luke, having a pretty bad day." By the way he said it Luke knew what he meant.

Luke moved over to his door quickly and locked the door before sitting down on his bed. "Tell me what happened, Ralph." An important part of their support group was being there to support each other. They didn't have people in their homes that could turn to so they had to be able to trust each other.

Ralph hesitated, looking away from the screen for a couple seconds before he started. "I was down town, getting some new clothing at Sercy. I was looking at shirts when these guys from my school, the ones I've been talking about in group, came up to me. They started to pick on me, call me names and push me. I had no idea what to do. I sort of panicked and did nothing. I didn't even walk away, just stood there and let them assault me."

"Ralph, what they did was wrong. Sure you could have walked away but they likely would have just followed you until you were chased from the store. Standing your ground is better; it shows that you can't be chased away. You need to learn to ignore them, let it run off like a river over stone."

Ralph sighed and shook his head. "I just don't do that well, Luke." Ralph fidgeted a bit. "I just don't know how to ignore people or the things they say."

Luke considered the situation and wished that Tyler was on. He was better at this kind of thing. "You know how I handle people that get under my skin, I hit them. If you want I can offer to come with you next time, pretend to be your boyfriend, and knock them out cold to teach them a lesson."

"Tyler says we should try not to use violence," Ralph countered. "I don't want to have to use violence, that's what they're doing, though I do appreciate the offer."

"Yeah, I know most of you prefer the nonviolent options, they just come easier to me. Listen, I'm not really good at this, Ralph, but if there's a way I can be a help I'll help."

"Thanks, Luke, it means a lot." Ralph smiled slightly. "Well, I'll let you get back to whatever it is that you were doing."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later," Luke said, closing out the chat window. He looked at the file of videos he'd gathered and sighed. He deleted the file, suddenly feeling ashamed. Here he was telling Ralph to stand up to those that hated who they were but at the same time he was trying to hide it himself. He tossed the tablet to the side and crossed his arms to sulk in his frustration.