Beta'ed by Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay

Reminder: this work contains homophobia and homophobic remarks

Chapter 8

Kid woke up on Saturday, feeling like utter crap. Not only was his head pounding from his hangover, he also felt a stab of pain in his shoulder when he tried to sit up in his bed.

According to Killer, who was being annoyingly cryptic, someone had hit him with a bottle outside the bar last night, and they had gone to the hospital.

Kid didn't remember much, just that someone had touched his hair and that he had liked it. Who he would allow to do such a thing he didn't know, because he could only think of few people he would let touch him, and he doubted Killer had stroked his hair. Or had he just dreamt it?

Killer helped him change his bandages, but he wasn't allowed to shower or swim for a couple of days, doctor's orders. Kid was extremely annoyed about that, especially the latter, and he hoped that he had given the culprit what he deserved.

Not that Kid was feeling like swimming right now. After the bandages were changed, he dove back into bed. He should study, as his exams would start soon, but he barely managed with his headache and instead ended up gaming with Killer.

Saturday night, however, Killer announced he had to go, because apparently he had entered a chess tournament. He impressed upon Kid that he knew Kid would find it boring so he didn't have to go. Kid was just surprised that there would be chess tournaments on Saturday evening.

He didn't care, though, as he had agreed to meet up with Bonney.

Until she texted him that something had come up and she couldn't come over tonight, but they would definitely hang out on Sunday.

Kid cursed and let himself fall back on his bed, cursing again when his shoulder stung. He needed new friends.

He ended up Skyping with Heat, who was studying abroad at the moment. He had known Heat since he had started college, while Kid and Killer went even further back. Heat had soon become a close friend.

On Sunday, Kid woke up again, feeling less lousy than the previous day. Apparently, he hadn't heard Killer come back, because he hadn't been home when Kid drifted off. Those chess tournaments got intense.

"So, did you win?" Kid inquired as they made their way to the cafeteria to grab breakfast.

"Win what?" Killer asked absent-mindedly.

Kid raised his non-existent eyebrow. "The chess thing. The reason you ditched me last night."

Killer probably rolled his eyes. "Don't act like a child. And no, I didn't win."

"Do I need to beat someone up?"

"That's not how chess works. But thanks for the offer. Not that I'd need it."

They sat down with their breakfast when Bonney joined them, her tray already half empty.

"Sorry I couldn't hang out with you last night," she said with her mouth full.

Kid was used to it by now.

"Perona had a family emergency, so I went with her," Bonney continued and took another bite before she was finished talking.

"Whatever," Kid muttered. "I'm just glad it's not because of chess."

"Chess?" Bonney inquired.

"Yeah, Killer went to a chess tournament last night."

Bonney frowned. "I didn't know there were chess tournaments here– Ouch!"

Kid looked confusedly from one to the other.

"It wasn't on campus," Killer said calmly, as if nothing had happened.

They finished their breakfast – Bonney a little faster the other two – and went to Kid's and Killer's room afterwards.

"So what do you wanna do today? I ditched you twice, so it's your choice," Bonney said and slapped Kid jovially on his shoulder.

Kid winced and barely held back a curse.

Bonney watched him with a frown. "That hurt?"

"I doubt his wound had already healed," Killer said.

"Wound? What wound?" Bonney pulled back Kid's shirt by its collar, almost choking him, so she could look at his shoulder. "The fuck did you do?!" she called out when she saw the bandages.

"I got into a bar fight," Kid replied.

Bonney huffed. "Ugh, men! You can never leave them to themselves!"

Kid was about to retort, but then Bonney poked him against his wound again.

"I highly doubt you got smacked unprovoked, so don't even bother."

Kid huffed, but didn't contradict her. While he didn't remember, it was very likely it would have gone like Bonney said.

They started playing a videogame. Killer was sitting on Kid's bed while Kid and Bonney were on the ground, with Bonney leaning against Kid's healthy side.

Kid couldn't focus on the game much and got his ass handed to him by Killer and Bonney both. They teased him about it, but the only thing Kid could think about was that he still had to discuss the marriage thing with Bonney. He didn't want to do it with Killer present, however. He would just try to talk him out of it again, though Kid didn't understand why. It would be the perfect solution.

So when Killer got a call and left the room to answer it, Kid took the opportunity with both hands.

"Hey, you're not seeing anyone, right?" he started, trying to be subtle.

Bonney, who was still lying against him, turned half around. "You're kidding, right?" she said, obviously unsure if she should laugh or not.

Kid didn't understand why that was a weird question, though. "No, why would I be?"

Bonney sat up and turned around to face him. "You know I have a girlfriend, right?"

"Girl…friend?" Kid stammered.

"Yeah? Perona? You've been hanging out with her?"

Kid stared at her, forgetting to blink. "Perona? You're dating?!"

"Well, yeah. You didn't get that?" Bonney laughed a little awkwardly. "I thought you knew."

Kid jumped up. "How the hell am I supposed to know that?!"

She stared up at him. "Well, 'cause it's kinda obvious? What did you think we were doing Friday?"

"What the hell were you doing on Friday?!"

"Oh God." Bonney rubbed her face with her hands. "Never mind, okay? But yeah, Perona's my girlfriend. I'm a lesbian."

Kid gaped at her.

Just that moment, Killer came back in, putting away his phone.

"Did you know this?!" Kid pointed accusingly at Bonney.

Killer stared at him deadpanned. "That's she's a lesbian? Yeah."

"What?!"

"You don't actually have a problem with this, do you?" Bonney asked, and she had the nerve to sound indignant.

"Of course I have a problem with it! It's unnatural! Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" Kid turned to Killer.

Killer sighed. "Because I hoped that by the time you figured it out, it wouldn't bother you. And it would make telling you easier."

"Telling me what?!" Kid snapped.

Killer sighed. "That I'm bi. The person I just talked to on the phone is my boyfriend."

Kid could only stare at him. Bonney being gay was unexpected, but Killer… He had known Killer since secondary school! And now he dared to tell him, out of the blue, that he was dating a guy?!

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" he roared.

Killer sighed again. "I'm not. Law says hi, by the way."

"Who?!" Kid spat. He really wasn't in the mood for games.

"The guy from the train. Apparently, he's friends with my boyfriend."

Kid stared at his supposed friends. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? You're fucking disgusting!"

He wanted to punch someone, but even in his anger, he realised he wouldn't win againt Killer and Bonney both. He couldn't stay there, though, not right now, as he doubted he could control himself for long. So he stormed out of the room.

He couldn't even go fucking swim because of his bloody shoulder!

He just started to run in a random direction. His aggression needed to go somewhere.

When he was finally beat from running nonstop, he let himself fall into the grass on the side of the road and stared up at the sky. What the hell was happening? First that guy on the train, Law, apparently, whatever the fuck kind of stupid name that was, then Bonney, and now even Killer?!

He groaned as pain shot through his shoulder again. He knew Killer had had girlfriends, contrary to himself, but he had never seen this coming. Just the thought of him with another guy…

Why did the image of Law come into his head?

Kid shook his head violently. Killer had said that his boyfriend – Kid pulled a disgusted face – was friends with Law, so it was not Law himself.

Not that Kid cared.

And then Bonney! She had been dating Perona all this time? What the hell?! And act like she's surprised that Kid didn't know. How the fuck was he supposed to know, anyway?!

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Could he keep sharing a room with Killer? Would Heat know about this?

"There you are. Geez, you were gone so fast, I barely saw in which direction you went."

Kid groaned. Bonney was the last person he wanted to see right now. "Fuck off."

"Not likely." She sat down next to him after having placed his bicycle on the stand. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but I honestly thought you knew."

Kid opened his eyes. "And how the fuck was I supposed to know that?!"

"Because… You know what? Let's not get into that. I should have told you. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry." She plucked at the grass. "That doesn't justify the way you treated me, however."

"It's not my fault you're an abomination."

She looked at him, her eyes glistening with anger. "Say that again and I'll rip your balls off." Then she sighed. "I just don't see the problem. Would you have preferred it if I liked to ride big, hairy men?"

Kid pulled a disgusted face. "Yuck, no."

"Then do you want to have sex with me?"

"Eh?! Where the hell did that come from?!" Kid looked at her shocked and appalled.

She snorted. "I don't know. Why the hell is it a problem I like to sleep with women? And remember what I said about your balls."

"It's just… disgusting."

She looked at him amusedly. "Sleeping with girls is disgusting?"

"Yes! Wait, what?"

She chuckled, but then got serious again. "So why is it a problem who I choose to sleep with?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but couldn't think of anything to say. "It ruined my plan!" he eventually said.

"What plan?"

"You were supposed to marry me."

"Eh?!" Bonney looked at him shocked. "You just said you weren't interested in me."

"I'm not. Not like that, anyway. That's not the point. I need a suitable wife to get money from my parents, and you're one of the few women I can stand," Kid explained.

Bonney looked at him, blinking, before she burst into laughter. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! You think if I wasn't gay, I would just marry you? What the hell, Kid?"

"You could do a lot worse!" he snapped indignantly.

She calmed down, though an occasional chuckle still escaped her. "You're right. If I was straight, I would definitely give you a chance."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, and Bonney nudged him in the ribs playfully. "Though, seriously, Perona? She creeps me the fuck out."

"Yeah, she does that," Bonney said with a smile, as if that was a good thing.

They were silent for a moment, before Kid asked, "Did you know about Killer?"

"Not before today, no. He does feel bad about the way he came out, though."

"Whatever," Kid muttered.

"Come on, he's your best friend. You can't dump him because of this. Because then I'll have to ask again, why is it any of your business who he sleeps with, as long as he's happy?"

Kid stared into space.

"You should talk to him."

"I didn't even want to talk to you," he growled.

"Do you feel better now that we did?" she asked.

Kid shrugged.

They sat in silence for a while again, when Kid asked out of the blue, "Can I touch your boob?"

"Excuse me?"

He shrugged again. "Just wanted to see what the fuss was about."

"You never touched one before?"

He shook his head.

She smirked. "Fine. You can touch mine if I can touch yours."

He snorted, but agreed and placed his hand on her breast as she did the same with him. Her breast was soft and squishy, he thought as he weighed in his hand. He wasn't sure what he should like about it, though.

"I don't think I'm into large tits," he concluded as he retreated his hand.

Bonney smirked. "No? I'm not picky. But then again, your abs do nothing for me."

He hummed.

Finally, Bonney rose. "I have to go now. You need some time to let it sink in, but it's gonna be okay, Kiddo." She ruffled his hair. His mind flashed back to Friday night, but he was pretty sure it hadn't been Bonney who had stroked his hair then.

"Promise me to talk to Killer, though."

"Whatever," Kid muttered.

"Promise me!"

"Fine! Happy now?!"

The way she smirked triumphantly, Kid took that as a yes.

Bonney started to walk away, but suddenly seemed to remember something and turned around again. "Are you straight?"

"Of course I am," he spat.

She shrugged. "Okay. But just so you know, I'd accept you with whatever sexuality." With that, she left, leaving Kid behind with a gnawing feeling of guilt.