Clyde, distinctly feeling called out and his secrets acknowledged, ate the rest of that evening in silence, thinking about what Zeke said. Roy...definitely was a bit different today. He behaved differently, he seemed more sensitive, more eager to respond to the sort of erotic signals that showed up to him during those close moments in the field and in the locker room - whether they were real or not. Clyde however as much as he wanted to try and change his partner choice, he just couldn't bring himself to fully commit to the idea of leaving Roy. There were...perks to being Roy's lieutenant.
Perks that someone as likewise closeted and intent on keeping it that way as Clyde was intent on keeping. At least until the two of them could get to college. As far as he'd heard, collegiate sports was a lot less based on a social hierarchy and full of this sort of behavior. He could be himself - and he trusted Roy to eventually be that brave when the time came. They could be open then.
Clyde could have a girlfriend and a boyfriend, and delight himself as his genitals needed. He would not need to adhere to some archaic norms about what was and was not normal.
It was the next day however when things started happening that tested Clyde Lansing's confidence that everything could...ultimately be trusted to go alright. He got up that morning as usual, seeing a text from his girlfriend, [Hey babe, how's your morning?]
[Great.] He then sent her a picture of his abs, his chest, and his face showing a casual smirk. Clyde never treated her as less worthy of his attentions than anyone else - while he still intended to have sex with Roy whenever his bro needed the stimulation, he largely preferred women as opposed to most other men. Put some random John or Peter in front of him, and Clyde could be challenged to get an erection. Put Roy there and...well. While it was complicated, and their relationship was far from ideal, it definitely got a rise down there out of Clyde.
[You're so hot baby. I love how cocky you can be :)] And with that he suspected she needed to get to school herself. Clyde got dressed in a very light blue stringer tank top, one of his jock jerseys, and a pair of tight, skinny jeans, meant to show off his glutes and legs. Let everybody admire the work that kept Clyde Lansing the most ripped guy on the linebacker line up. A lot of the other guys went into dirty bulks to make sure that they had the fortitude to deal with the opposition.
But Clyde had the strength, and didn't need the additional cushion in order to be a bruiser.
By the time he had his breakfast - a set of protein pancakes, almonds, an apple and a protein shake - he was out the door before long. Clyde was the kind of guy to prep his meals the previous night. The bushy blond haired jock was on his way out when he saw the first hint that things weren't going to be going the same speed he was so used to. He was used to an encounter and a coy, playful and deniable sort of flirtation between him and Roy on the way to school. Send the messages between them, but able to be denied should anyone up and accuse them of homoeroticism.
Today however, Roy's 275 lbs of sheer, huge girth looked slightly...thinner. Most people would fail to notice it. Most people would just think Roy was putting in more cardio work, maybe, and thus was looking a little better than usual.
Clyde was not most people.
Roy was probably about 10 lbs lighter, but that was not the only thing that had changed. In tandem with it, his pendulous gut looked a little less prominent in his shirt, tighter, less pronounced. Not gone by any stretch of the imagination, but when a guy spends that long guiding you into his room for some rough sexual encounters, you learn his appearance to a good degree. And Clyde could tell that Roy was looking a little less big today. Also? A degree less rough in the face.
His facial hair seemed to be smoothed, his skin seeming slightly softer today. His buzz cut hair looked a little thicker, like he was letting it grow out a bit...and it looked a little lighter today too. Was Roy of all people starting to color his hair more toward blond? It made Clyde tilt his head. What made Clyde really wonder if something was going on was when Roy outright wrapped an arm around Clyde's shoulders and pulled him tight - so tight - and said, "Heyyyy man, how's my favorite bro doing this fine morning?"
"Woah, woah dude," Clyde awkwardly chuckled as he registered what just happened. "I...think," Clyde whispered, "This is the most affectionate you've been in like, forever." He was whispering just in case, even though nobody else was walking alongside them yet.
"You complaining? I thought you said you wanted a bit less roughness between us!" Roy said cheerfully. That was another thing. Perhaps owing to how deeply closeted Roy was, he wasn't often a very jovial man, except when he saying some rather profane jokes. Clyde wasn't exactly gonna complain about Roy being in a good mood, however rare that was, but it was certainly something.
"Naah...I was just thinking you...uh," Clyde awkwardly shifted in his position as Roy kept walking with his arm around Clyde's shoulders. "It's just not usual for you. To uh, to really think about that. I appreciate it."
"Ahhah, yeah, thanks man," Roy outright kissed Clyde on the forehead, really pushing his luck here, seeing as they'd be coming up soon on where more of their classmates walked to school. "Just felt I should try and live up to the, y'know, boyfriend part of our secret boyfriends gig, 'kay?" Roy winked, something that Clyde had never known him to do...but aside from deciding to watch out just in case he had, what, made a wish on a monkey's paw - he'd just enjoy it for now.
"How was your night last night, Roy?" Clyde asked.
"Oh it was awesome, thanks for asking!" Roy enthusiastically recalled, "I rebounded at long last. Y'know Melissa?"
"Oh yeah, the hottie from uh, literature class?" Clyde responded.
"She and I made out for a while, and she really got so handsy with my dick," Roy chuckled, "She didn't really wanna fuck yet, but she wanted to get a handle on what kinda equipment I was rocking. So she jerked me a bit. All while we made out by the uh, by the park. After we were done, I thought about you, and going to hang out with you, but you were probably busy."
"You'd be right," Clyde shook his head, "I was at a study session with Zeke."
"Fuckin' Zeke," Roy shook his head, "Stealing my girl AND having such a hot ass? Not cool man."
As they were heading up on a group of their peers, Clyde whispered, "Enough of that now, we have appearances to keep." He hated having to manage it, but there were expectations he needed to adhere to.
For his part, Roy seemed more disappointed today that they'd have to keep it secret. He scowled, looked around, and nodded. He removed his hand from Clyde's shoulders, and from what Clyde could hear, Roy seemed to be grumbling a bit about how none of the others had to keep their lives secret. But ultimately, Roy was Roy, and he as usual seemed to be acting like himself more or less. But occasionally, Clyde could tell something was up.
Roy was enthusiastic today more than ever about self care. He asked the fullback, a buffed out dude named Terry, about how he cared for his hair. Terry usually kept his hair in a bun on the football field, but off of it, the guy let the long hair flow. The nickname for him on the team was Fabio - owing to a legitimate resemblance, and the whole long hair thing. For his part, Terry seemed a little weirded out - probably because it was Roy asking about hair care when he usually kept his short, or that it was Roy in general.
Clyde saw Zeke as he entered school, noting as he walked by that Zeke's eye was on Roy it seemed. A brief frown showed on Clyde's face as he paused in the hallway, stepping off to the side to let people by. Roy went on to his own first class. Clyde just stood there, considering his move, at least until his girlfriend - who he shared a collegiate math class with - shook his shoulder, "Earth to Clyde, Earth to Clyde, we want to know if you're coming to math class or skipping today~!"
"Oh, I'm going, I'm going." Clyde said with an awkward smile.
By the time he looked back where Zeke had been standing however, Zeke was gone. Weird. He remembered the prior day, and the way it seemed like Zeke had so effortlessly sussed out what went on between him and Roy. His more paranoid tendencies, related to his need for status versus his sexuality's status, presented him with an odd and rather ludicrous idea. That this was some sort of "John Tucker" situation.
That Zeke was somehow changing Roy in some way.
But that was ridiculous. The things in that kind of movie just don't happen in that way. And certainly not so quickly. But a seed planted was a seed that grew. Clyde decided later in the day he was gonna check in on Roy Brant. See for himself if anything truly was different. As Clyde went along to his class, he wondered when things became so complicated...