Their next practice was the following Thursday. Orion had cancelled all of their other ones that week, presumably so that he could figure out what they should do about Portman. The entire school day, all of the Ducks were in a far better mood than they had been lately. It was looking like there was going to be a bit of light in the dark place that had been the past week.
Connie was eating lunch with Russ, Dwayne and Ken. In all of the fuss over Portman, she'd completely forgotten about her promise to Julie to get revenge on Averman and Goldberg. She figured that this was the perfect opportunity – all three boys loved pranks, and even though Dwayne was a bit dim he still knew how to have fun. She never ate with them, and they were all a little confused as to why she was there until she put down her sandwich and said, "Look, I know you all knew about what Goldberg and Averman were doing to Julie and I'm not going to yell at you about it, but I need your help,"
They all exchanged looks. Russ spoke first. "What do you mean 'help?'"
"I want revenge. No one fucks with her and gets away with it," she flipped her long hair behind her shoulder. "And I know you three love a good time,"
"And what makes you think we'll go against our boys?"
She laughed out loud at that. "Oh, stop with that shit. It's not gonna be that bad. Just embarrassing for them and funny for me – and you, if you do it,"
Ken raised his eyebrow and put his hands on Dwayne and Russ's shoulders. "Let's just say that we are up for this. What do you have in mind?"
"It's got to be something related to sex. That's how this whole thing started – because they're two horny bastards, right? I say we expose that," Connie crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair.
Dwayne giggled. "Yeah, that'd be funny! Let's do it, guys! It was pretty wrong what they did to Julie. She's such a nice little lady, it ain't fair that we just stood by and let them get away with it,"
Russ rolled his eyes. "C'mon, dumbass, they weren't gonna get away with shit. Julie never would've slept with them,"
"Regardless," Ken sat up a little straighter. "I want to do it. It'll be fun, I think we could all use a good laugh right now, plus, I think I've got an idea,"
When Russ and Dwayne didn't argue doing it, Connie motioned towards herself. "Well, go on! Tell me,"
Ken looked around to make sure that neither Averman nor Goldberg were around. "Okay, well, you know the movie Heathers? Winona Ryder tells those two assholes to meet her somewhere so they can have a threesome and they get naked and then her boyfriend kills them? Something like that, minus the murder,"
"So you're saying we get some girl to ask them to have a threesome, they get naked and then what?" Russ asked.
"We could all by there. The whole team – like in the closet or the next room or whatever, and we walk in and embarrass them and laugh at their tiny dicks," Connie's face lit up in excitement.
Both Russ and Dwayne laughed and Ken high fived her. "Yeah, but we kinda need a girl," Ken brought up. All of their eyes moved to her in suggestion.
Connie shuddered and shook her head. "I've known those guys since we were five. They see me as a sister, they'd never be interested in that with me,"
They all cracked up again. She stared at them with a dirty look until they quit it. "Moreau, c'mon. You're a hot girl and they're idiots. Even if you were their sister, they'd still fuck you if you asked,"
She considered it for a moment. She had made a big point of not showing romantic or sexual interest in her teammates (aside from Guy) and even if it was a joke, she didn't really feel all that comfortable with it. There'd probably still being a million jokes about how they all thought that she had higher standards than sleeping with those two, even if she actually wasn't. But still – the reality was that she would be doing this for Julie and that alone could get her to do anything.
She sighed heavily. "Fine. But no stupid jokes. I'm not actually going to do anything with them,"
Russ rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Even you have higher standards,"
Connie shook her head, internally kicking herself for always being right and stood up from the table to walk away and go find Julie. She was probably off with Adam somewhere, she had been more than usual lately, but before she could even start looking, she ran right into Guy.
"Oh – God, I'm sorry," she put her hands on his arms to balance herself and patted him gently on the shoulder. "Hey, sorry I haven't been around the past couple of days, I've had a lot of homework,"
Guy didn't have his usual goofy smile on his face, he actually looked kind of sad. He also wasn't looking her directly in the eyes, scratching at his neck. "Yeah . . . uh, it's fine. Listen, I got to go –"
She stopped him from walking away by grabbing his arm. "Hey, are you alright? You seem down,"
"I'm fine. Connie, I'm really busy –"
"Are you sure? Guy, if something's up we can talk,"
He turned back to her and let out a deep breath. She was beginning to get worried, Guy was never upset. But then again, maybe it was just about everything with Portman. Guy took her by the arm and walked her across the hallway to sit down on a bench.
"Is this about Portman? Because I know things are really hard right now with him but I talked to Fulton this morning and he's doing alright, don't worry –"
"No, Connie, it's not about Portman," he shook his head and put his hand on top of hers gently. "It's . . . it's about us."
She stayed silent.
"I just . . . I . . . I'm sorry. You know . . . you know you're special to me right?"
Connie once again, said nothing. She nodded just a little bit when he waited for her to. "Okay, well you are and I want you to know that but . . . God, this is hard . . . I have a girlfriend now. A new girlfriend, Alexa and she's really great and awesome and I really like her. And – I – I care about you, I do but . . . I don't think that we can . . . hang out like we used to,"
She pushed his hands off of her and stood up. "We can't be friends anymore? Why? Because you have a girlfriend?"
He closed his eyes and nodded.
"Guy, I know I said I love you but I'm not gonna act on it, I just – I shouldn't have even said it, I just said it because I was sad. I swear, I'm not gonna fuck things – wait, that's what this is about, isn't it? You don't want to be friends not because I said I love you, but because Alexa told you not to be. Right?"
Guy stood up as well and shook his head again. "Connie, listen –"
He shoved him away from her. "No, no – I don't get it, we've been friends practically our entire lives! You've known Alexa for what – a few months? I'm mature enough not to try and sabotage a relationship that you're happy in!"
"I know that, I'm just doing what she says – I don't want to lose her. It's not like we won't be friends, I mean, we'll still see each other at practice and stuff,"
She was trying her hardest not to cry. "That doesn't matter – I – I – why can't we – we're just friends! You're my friend, that's all I see you as. I mean I know I said I was in love with you, but like, I – it'll never happen again and I'm seeing someone anyway and –" Connie paused, finally realizing the real reason that Alexa didn't want Guy seeing her. "That's it, isn't it? Alexa doesn't want you near me because I'm such a slut I'll seduce you?"
Guy's silence was the only confirmation that she needed. The tears welled to her eyes quickly and she turned to walk away but Guy grabbed her. She turned back around and shoved her finger in his face. "Get off of me!"
"I didn't say anything!"
"You didn't need to."
"Connie, I don't think you're going to sleep with me but you know, you are a bit . . . promiscuous," He saw the horrified expression on her face and instantly realized he'd misspoken. "No! I mean, that's what Alexa thinks I!"
Connie shoved him so hard away from her that the few people in the hallway turned to stare and their whispers began. Her cheeks were stained with tears and she couldn't even bear to wipe them away. "You were the one person I thought would never call me that,"
"Connie! I didn't – I mean –"
"Fuck you!"
She ran down the hall into the nearest bathroom and looked herself in the handicapped stall, falling to ground and holding her sweater to her mouth to silence the sound of her crying. She knew that Guy hadn't actually had said the word, but it'd been implied. She knew what he'd meant and the worst part of it all was that he was the only person in the whole world who she truly opened herself up to. Guy was the person who knew all of her darkest secrets, her deepest fears; all of the little things that no one else knew and he'd betrayed her. He'd judged her. This is why she didn't trust people, this is why she was so guarded, everyone always lets you down in the end. You can love someone more than anything, and that's not enough.
Adam had been in the locker room before everyone else. He'd had a free period last period of the day and he'd been meaning to get some extra practice in, but he hadn't been able to move from the locker room bench since he'd arrived.
This was it.
He was going to do it today – come out to the team. Come out to Charlie. It was by far the scariest thing he would ever have to do, his heart was in his stomach and the only thing that he could think was "What if they hate me?" Adam had been weighing the pros and cons to himself for the past few days and while there were more cons, he figured that maybe this would be for the best in the end. He'd be able to be more comfortable with himself and that was what was the most important. And even if everyone did hate him, he would still have Julie. And he'd still have hockey. He knew that Charlie would make sure he didn't get like kicked off the team or anything.
He stared at the clock on the wall until it hit 3:15 and Coach Orion walked in and muttered a hello to him. "Oh, um, hey coach," Adam stood up and stopped him before he could walk into his office.
Orion looked up from his clipboard.
"Um, do you think I could maybe talk to the team before practice today?" he said awkwardly. Orion didn't seem to think much of it. Adam was his hardest working player, he never caused any trouble minus a few weeks ago.
He shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Make it quick though,"
Just as Orion turned to go into his office, the sounds of the other Ducks showing up for practice reached Adam. He turned bright red, his nerves from before coming back.
"Hey what's up, Banksy?" said someone. He was pretty sure that it was Goldberg, but he was too on edge to be sure.
He got dressed in silence, hardly listening to the usual loud noise of the locker room. Charlie's presence at the locker across from his was the most frustrating; he was so worried about his reaction, even though he knew it would be okay. Charlie's opinion was the most important to him.
Orion came back into the locker room at 3:45, which was the time their practice was timed to start. He knocked twice on the connecting door to the girl's locker room like he always did, signaling to Connie and Julie that it was time for practice. They both sauntered out, but Orion stopped everyone from going into the rink. "Before we start, Banks would like to say something,"
He knew that it was coming fast, but not this fast. His heart had moved from his stomach to his throat and as the team sat down and he made his way to the front of the room, he felt like he was going to vomit. He'd never been good at talking in front of crowds. Julie, thankfully, seemed to know what was going on and sat down right in front of him. Seeing her reassuring smile managed to calm him down just a bit.
Adam hadn't realized that he'd just been standing there awkwardly until Luis said, "Get to it, man."
"Oh, right," he cleared his throat and looked down at his crossed hands. "Um – I just have something to say . . . and I guess I . . . wanted you all to know because you're my, well, you're like my family and I just want you to know . . ."
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "It just – you know, it doesn't change anything, what I'm gonna tell you and I just I guess, I'm um, I'm gay and I'm sorry and I'll change somewhere else if I have to and I just wanted to get this out there because that's why I've been super angry lately and I just –"
Adam hadn't realized that he'd basically been talking at top speed and no one had heard anything he'd said until Fulton interrupted him. "Wait? Did you just say you're gay?"
"Um, yeah. I did. I'm um, I'm gay,"
The entire locker room fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was Luis playing with his skates. Adam's face was red again because saying nothing was worse than saying anything.
"But you have a girlfriend," said Dwayne.
"Um, yeah, I did. We broke up,"
"But you fucked her! How does that work if you're into dudes?" Goldberg furrowed his brow.
"Watch it, Goldberg," Orion commanded, unbothered by this whole situation.
"I um, yeah, I did – it was – I still like guys,"
"Like us? Do you like any of us?" Luis looked disgusted when he said it.
Adam felt scared that maybe he knew that he liked Charlie, but avoided Charlie's glance like he had been this whole time and just shook his head. "No. You're not my type. None of you are,"
"Racist," Russ noted, but the smile on his face showed that he was kidding. He stood up and patted Adam on the back. "Well, thanks for telling us, buddy. I certainly have better things to do than sit around and listen to this, so I will be doing whatever else there is to do,"
Adam tried to hide the smile on his face because Russ was one of the last people he expected to be accepting. He hadn't outright said he'd accepted it, but if Russ didn't like something, he'd say he didn't like it.
"Yeah, man," Charlie spoke for the first time and the smile left Adam's face because of how terrified he was by his voice. "It means a lot that you would tell us. And as your team, your friends and your family, as you put it, we support you. Don't we guys?"
Charlie was standing next to Adam, waiting for an answer from the rest of the Ducks. There were a couple of 'yes's and a couple of shrugs.
No one really said anything else and when they didn't, Orion led them to the rink. Julie lingered behind and stepped on to her tiptoes to hug him tightly. She put her hands on either side of his face so she could bring his forehead to her lips. "This is the proudest that I've ever been in my life of anyone,"
"That was the scariest thing that's ever happened. Ever."
"Why? No one said anything bad! Everything's good, right?"
"They're gonna say bad stuff behind my back. They're probably saying it now!"
"Yeah, but Charlie didn't. Charlie's okay with it. That's good, that's like best case scenario," Julie put her arm around his back.
Adam knew that. He was way happier than he was showing about Charlie being okay with him. But that happiness was overpowered by his worry that everyone hated him. And still, he was relieved that he'd gotten that off of his chest. He put his arm around Julie too and walked with her towards the rink. Julie sensed his worry. "Well, honey, you still got me,"
"Always,"
Goldberg and Averman left that night's practice together. The practice itself had been uncomfortable, what with Adam's big confession weighting down on their shoulders. Averman didn't really care. You know, it was whatever. He wasn't that close with Adam anyway and Charlie had said they all supported it, so he'd do whatever Charlie said. Goldberg, on the other hand, didn't really know how he was supposed to feel. He'd never known anyone who was gay before and his first gay person being Adam, his friend Adam, was just bizarre. He couldn't understand how any guy could like guys. It was just . . . gross. He didn't even want to talk about it, if the team never talked about it again then that would be okay with him.
"I still can't believe you told Julie," was all that Goldberg could think to say to Averman that didn't involve Adam.
Averman rolled his eyes. "You're still on that?"
"Am I supposed to get over it?" He'd been thinking about telling her himself in all honesty, but he'd do anything to keep this conversation away from anything having to do with Adam and gays.
Just as they reached the front of the school, they saw Connie standing out there, presumably waiting for a ride. She did a double take when she saw them, and both of them ignored it, knowing she'd probably want to talk about Adam too. Connie in reality, wiped one of the tears off of her cheeks and pulled out her compact mirror to check to make sure she didn't look she'd been crying (she was). She tossled up her hair and pulled her top down a bit before walking over to them.
"Hey, boys," she said with a cheerful smile.
They both tried not to groan. "Hi, Connie," they said practically at the same time.
"So, busy day, right? First practice since the incident, that whole shocker with Adam? Who knew, right?"
"Yep," Goldberg muttered. This was the first time that he wished that Averman would start rambling.
Connie didn't know how she was supposed to do this without laughing. She didn't even want to do this, especially after what Guy had said to her today. You're doing this for Julie, she reminded herself and even though she could hardly muster the strength to do it, she was going to have to.
"So . . ." she smacked her lips together, trying to look as sexy as she usually did when propositioning someone. "We've known each other a pretty long time, right?"
Averman raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, why?" Connie never wanted anything from him, and it seemed like that's where this was going.
"So, I've been like, looking for some . . . new experiences lately and I figured that the best two people to help me with this new experience were two of my oldest friends,"
Connie was holding back the vomit in the back of her throat. Just the thought of this was literally making her stomach hurt.
"What kind of experience?" Goldberg asked.
"Let's just cut right to the chase. I want to have a threesome," she was about to her arms across her chest, but she had to settle for putting her hands on her waist to keep showing her boobs.
Both Averman and Goldberg turned to stare at each other. Never, in a million years, in a trillion years did they ever think that anyone would be asking them for sex, let alone asking them for a threesome. And Connie, of all people. Connie Moreau, who they'd played blocks with in kindergarten.
"I'm sorry, did you ask us to have a threesome?" Averman questioned.
Connie nodded.
"Us? There's no one behind us? You're talking to us – Gregory Goldberg and Lester Averman?"
Connie rolled her eyes and giggled. "Yes, you two,"
"Are you on something? It's us, your friends! Your friends who you almost always refer to as – and I quote – disgusting and repulsive," Goldberg reminded her, confused and thinking that today had to be a dream.
Shit. She had said that. Up the sex factor, she reminded herself. Connie pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes. "I know it sounds crazy, but I'm serious. I mean, I've done everything but I've never had two inside of me before. And I figured, if I wanted to try it so bad, I should try it with two people I trust. And I picked you two,"
Her voice had turned sultry, far unlike her usual one. Goldberg tried not to get hard at the imagery. He'd be liking if he said he'd never been attracted to Connie before. When he was in middle school, he'd jacked off to the thought of her when she used to change in the locker room with him. Averman hadn't really thought of her that way, Connie had always been his friend. It was different then with Julie, she'd been his friend literally since they were still practically toddlers.
"How do we know you're being serious?" Goldberg said, skeptical.
Connie sighed inwardly. "Do you really want to take the chance that I'm not being serious?"
"Good point, where do you want to do this?"
"My house. Sunday. Four o'clock," I cannot fucking believed that worked.
Averman blushed. "So, uh, we'll uh, see you then, huh?"
He did some weird thing with his hands and she had to practically scream at herself not to make a face. Connie forced a smile and nodded. She winked and waved and then walked away, rolling her eyes and cursing herself forever agreeing to this.
They waited until she was gone before they said anything. "Did I dream that or did that just happen?" said Goldberg, staring at Connie as she walked away.
"Nope, that really just happened," said Averman, doing the same.
Author's Note: Finally updated this. Sorry for making you wait!
