Calum, Jack, Dave and Bryce were four guys of such disparate social standings at Stendmore High and yet such a striking selection of commonalities that their meeting that day in a classroom at lunch was both inexplicable, and yet entirely fitting. Stendmore was a sleepy suburban high school, the kind of place moderately wealthy to "we do in fact have a yacht" wealthy families send their kids. And these four 18 year olds stood awkwardly together, watching the school's first Pride Display be put on by their peers.
It was a little out of the usual season. Mid-September rather than June. But it had been a hot summer, and it had only recently grown more comfortable. And considering the usual administrations of the school, the very idea of a Pride Display had for years simply been untenable.
The Principal, Madison Smythe, had rankled at the idea at first, only relenting when he put it together that they could get some good publicity out of this. And if there was anything that smirking former school athlete liked, it was getting praise without having to do much work to get there himself.
Jack Lambert was one of the jocks on the school's varsity football team, a time honored tradition that even included Jack's own father and uncles going back a generation. He looked by all intents and purposes like the kind of wholesome "aw shucks!" kind of athlete, the kind that would be found in a certain long running comic book. His brown hair combed back and kept stylishly short, his bright blue eyes curiously looking over classmates he had never known identified as queer.
Jack himself had something he kept secret - a desire he did not speak of in front of the other guys - and he especially dared not speak a word in front of his parents. Jack...adored leather. He wore a leather jacket whenever he could get away with it, and adored the rough, biker-like leather aesthetic that he saw in furtive peeks at certain works. Yet while most of the guys Jack Lambert looked at were gay, Jack was decidedly straight - his girlfriend could vouch for the intensity of his heterosexual desire.
As of today, Jack stood by without his usual "bros". His powerfully muscled arms covered by his favorite black leather jacket, making quite an impression even through the leather as he crossed his arms over his muscled chest. His midsection was slightly chubby, but if he flexed he could easily show some abs. His legs were thick and strong, filling out a pair of jeans. "So uh, this is kinda new." He awkwardly commented.
Calum Townsend by all appearances was a typical nerd. Bushy black hair, brown eyes, wore large, unflattering shirts and long, dusty jeans as well as roller sneakers. Standing by a bookcase, biting his lip as he listened to Jack say that. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. It's 2024. Most places are on multiple dozens of Prides by now." Tell the truth, Jack being so nice was a bit of a surprise and even still, Calum was rather wary around him.
Calum didn't exactly show it off often, but underneath the heavy clothes he was surprisingly well built, though not exactly bulky. More built like a champion swimmer - which made sense considering his hobbies. Not many would anticipate that the cheerleader Mandy Chance was dating Calum - nor that the young man kept a carefully guarded fetish. He was very into transformation, specifically into bovine creatures. Something about the raw association with masculinity did it for him. Not that he would tell his girlfriend he was into such things.
Dave Campbell sat by a desk, keeping quiet by himself and huffing at the other two. The son of wealthy religious zealots, Dave scoffed at the display going on outside. Dismissing any idea he might have anything in common with the---with the [i]deviants[/i]! Indeed, Dave mostly sat by himself and quietly judged others on their misdeeds and "sins". Dave cut a pretty imposing posture, sitting there wringing his hands together. He was a tall young man, powerfully built, and perpetually stone-faced. His hair was usually cut down to a buzz cut, and his chin and jawline was always shaved smooth.
Much as Dave sneered at the sins of others, he racked up quite a few when he was by himself. By all accounts, alone, he would loosen up a little bit. As long as he wasn't caught, he didn't have to tell his priest. That was the logic that led Dave to all those videos of androgynous guys having sex with men, women and...and women with dicks? Dave would never countenance even trying to categorize his sexuality, just that it was sinful if it ashamed his witness. He couldn't tell a soul, he figured, that he envisioned a more androgynous version of himself - lest they laugh and laugh at poor, hypocritical Dave.
Bryce Carsten was quite familiar with Dave and his ways - and as of now, was just glad that the guy wasn't wagging his tongue at the folks outside. Bryce had been part of Dave's prayer group, but Bryce drifted away from that kind of life. Bryce was a fellow sportsplayer and knew Jack pretty well too - the two of them were often together at parties, making sure neither ended up drinking anything inadvisable. Blond haired, brown eyed Bryce had a deep, nice tan, handsome features, and a more compact, lean and muscled physique. Fitting for his wrestling as opposed to Jack's football.
The only reason Bryce wasn't out there with the other Pride folks was that he didn't like making a grand show of his homosexuality. It was just part of who he was, and he tended to look at guys the same way the eager, leering jocks tended to look at women. There was a certain kind of understanding there. Bryce likewise entertained certain fantasies - he couldn't very well tell a cute Twink or a curious teammate about his odd fantasy of monstrosity - how the idea of becoming a blob, a monstrous thing of ooze, produced an erotic allure in him.
Standing up from his own seat, Bryce took a closer look at the proceedings going on. A slight smile tugging at his lips, "Looks like they're handing stuff out. You guys wanna go get some free stuff?"
"Eh, sure," Jack said, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets and stepping over to stand by his buddy. He knew Bryce liked dudes, so why he was over here and not over there was a little weird, but eh. Whatever. "You want something, bundle of joy?"
Dave sneered, "Get me something and I'll burn it live on YouTube."
"Whatever you say, dude," Jack rolled his eyes. He wondered how anyone even within Dave's religious community put up with him. People talked about the joy of God, but there seemed to be no such joy in Dave Campbell.
"Let's go, folks, before they run out," Calum hurried to the door, figuring that whatever this was, it was at least a chance to get some nifty new arts and crafts stuff. He figured he could use it for some information for some of his online projects or something.
The trio promptly walked out - Jack taking a curious step forward as he looked at the people putting on their presentation. When he saw one of the gay students was wearing a leather jacket too, Jack froze for a moment, wondering about his own online deeds. He'd joined a couple online chatrooms that talked about the whole leather thing, and most of them were predominately gay - and some people chatting on there were from around here. Jack had shared enough in his online communiques that he was worried now that he saw a fellow appreciator...well, that enough had been said to identify him.
"Pretty uh, interesting company." Jack tersely stated, looking back at his friends.
For his part, Bryce was a little curious why Jack was suddenly a little tense. He certainly wasn't ill at ease with the queer students. Well, maybe his buddy would be down to chat about it at a later date. Bryce for now picked out a Pride Colors Wreath made by a muscular lesbian girl who looked them over after handing each guy a wreath. Bryce readily wore it, and Jack absentmindedly put it on. While Calum looked it over before doing so.
The lesbian girl said, "Wait...Jack, Bryce and Calum, right? Lilah says she wants to talk to you guys."
Lilah was a name Jack knew, and he looked up - though rather confused. Lilah was an ex-girlfriend - not on bad terms by any means, she and he simply had different ideas of where the relationship would end up. A bisexual (though not Out to her constantly absent and distant father) with some odd habits, her interests seemed to include weird witchy stuff. She had long, black hair, astonishingly beautiful looks, and an athletic body. She enjoyed volleyball, and in fact competed on the school team.
Calum shrugged his shoulders and followed Jack and Bryce over to the table occupied by Lilah Lindsey. She wore a black dress today, with a black typical witch's hat with "BAD BITCH / WITCH" embroidered on. Her eyes were purple due to some colored eye contacts, a habit she picked up at the end of tenth grade. "Hey boys," she spoke in a confident tone, looking first at Bryce, "Seen any twinks that have you interested?"
"Well, the day is long. And I'm headed to a party tonight." Bryce could just imagine the fun to be had.
"So uh, what's up, Lilah?" Jack asked, at which Lilah seemed to glance in an odd, knowing fashion at Jack's leather. He---he was pretty sure she didn't know. They broke up before he really got into it. But she was looking at it in a really odd way. He just told himself she was looking at his fashion choice. Of how he always went with this gift from one of his uncles instead of a standard letterman.
"What's up is I have some very interesting gifts." She fished out three small pendants, each one inlaid with a differently colored crystal. "I got these from Madam Marvatski, my usual witchy stuff and curios purveyor. She says these things help people achieve their desires. And it doesn't hurt that the gemstones are real, eh? I'm handing these things out, and I just thought when I saw you guys starting to mix and mingle that you'd be perfect."
Jack for his part palmed the gift - taking it from Lilah in one hand and glancing down at it, feeling somewhat conflicted. Weird she'd talk about desires...but he figured it was just more new agey mumbo jumbo, feel good "this crystal will bolster your chakras" bullshit.
For their parts, however, Calum and Bryce took the pendants from her, and Bryce paused after taking it. "Another, please," Bryce said, "I've got someone who probably needs it."
Shrugging her shoulders, Lilah took out a fourth and handed it to Bryce, who stuffed it in his pocket. With that, Jack awkwardly and quietly walked off, looking at the gemstone pendant...and then just figuring he was again worrying about nothing and slipped it on. Glancing over at the others, Calum put it around his neck, and Bryce did likewise before heading back into the classroom. It didn't take long walking to obliquely hear a bit of an argument going on in there.
Dave was being...well, Dave.
And Bryce was not having how his old associate could be. Then a resigned, "Fine, I'll take your fag jewelry, fine." And then Jack saw Dave storming out of the room. Guy looked like he was blushing for some odd reason. As Jack figured he might want another round of food before going into the second half of school, he waved goodbye to the other guys and started heading off toward the cafeteria - not far from the patio hosting the Pride event.
Yet as each young guy, all now wearing the pendants, went on their separate ways, each one started to feel a certain level of heat as they went about the rest of their lunch. Calum and Bryce sat in the same classroom as before, lightly wiping off sweat from their brow, while Jack stood in line at the cafeteria - breathing heavily and wondering when the summer heat started getting back up.
In a bathroom, Dave stood in front of a mirror, gripping the front of the sink, his arms and face moist with sweat. A strange heat was setting over the guys - one that bequeathed a certain erotic element. Hence Dave's isolation, Jack awkwardly shuffling to try and rearrange his jeans, and Bryce and Calum awkwardly shifting their sitting arrangement - each trying to keep the other from noticing...