Connor arrived home after spending most of the afternoon at Ryan’s house talking with Ryan and Tad about the recent struggles he’d had to face regarding his sexuality. Initially, he had no plans on telling either of them until he had figured things out himself, but when the two Weres revealed that his recent behavior had started to worry the two of them, Connor felt like he had no choice but to come clean. To Connor’s relief, both Tad and Ryan were accepting of his struggle, and they were more than willing to help him in any way possible, starting with how and when Connor should tell his parents. After Tad had left, Ryan gave Connor a few tips about how he should tell his parents about what he’s been dealing with recently. Connor took these tips to heart, and on his walk home, he began planning what exactly he wanted to say to his parents.
When Connor arrived home, he found that his parents were just finishing setting the table for dinner. His mom was putting the plates on the table while his dad was putting the silverware down. He greeted them both before setting down his backpack, taking off his shoes, and moving to help his parents set up for dinner. Connor grabbed napkins for each member of the family before taking a seat at the dinner table. As his dad began walking over to the stairs to call his sister down for dinner, Connor suddenly said “I need to talk with you…”
Connor felt his heart begin to beat a million miles a minute as both of his parents stopped what they were doing to give him their undivided attention. Suddenly, all of the planning that he had done while he walked home was gone.
“Is something the matter Connor?” Diana asked.
Connor tried to speak, but he found himself tripping over his words. “Well...I...um...I wanted to....uh...talk...a-about….”
Kent walked away from the bottom of the stairs and towards where his son was sitting at the family dinner table. He put his hand on his son’s shoulder and knelt down a bit so he could be at eye level with Connor.
“Take your time bud,” he said in a reassuring voice, giving Connor a slight boost in confidence.
“Th-thanks…” Connor said before taking a deep breath. “For the past few months, I’ve been doubting...my sexuality…”
Neither Kent nor Diana said a word as Connor hung his head low as to avoid eye contact with either of them before he continued to speak.
“When I was younger, I liked women exclusively. But as I started to get older, something inside me began to change. Suddenly, I started looking at men the same way I look at women. At first, I thought that this was just a phase that I would grow out of. But as time went on, I found myself beginning to like men more than women. Right now, I feel like I’m an utter mess because I can’t figure out what the hell is going on with my emotions. My head is telling me one thing while my heart is telling me something completely different.”
Connor stopped as he began to feel tears running down his cheeks.
“I...I just...I just don’t know...whether I-I’m straight or gay or bi…a-and it’s just been…eating me up...i-inside…”
Connor then felt his dad pull him into a tight hug, catching Connor slightly off guard. Before he could say anything, he felt his mom join the hug.
When they finally released Connor, he began to wipe his tears away, asking “Y-You’re not mad?”
“Mad?” Kent repeated. “How could we be mad?! You’re our son, and we love you no matter what gender you’re attracted to.”
“Coming out is something that takes a lot of courage,” Diana said. “So the fact that you had the courage to tell us about how you’ve been doubting your sexuality is something that your father and I are both so proud of you for doing.”
Connor gave his parents a small smile. “So you don’t care if I end up falling in love with a man instead of a woman?”
“Not at all son,” Kent said, ruffling Connor’s hair. “As long as they’ll be a good influence on you and won’t lead you down the wrong path, then you can love whomever you want.”
Connor smiled as he hugged his dad again.
“Thanks Dad.”