Secrets
#2 of Trials
Finally! A year after Bruises was done, we now have the sequel! Enjoy!
Scott sat at his desk after his last class left. He started going through and organizing the homework they turned in when he noticed a young wolf still sitting in his seat.
"Something the matter, Mister Evans?" Scott asked him, wondering why he hadn't left. Brian Evans was on the football team, he knew, and football practice started a half hour after classes today.
"Well, kinda. I wanted some advice, from an adult." The wolf's ears flicked nervously.
"Okay, then. Come over here, sit." Scott motioned to the small chair that sat near his desk, usually reserved for kids who caused trouble. The wolf nodded and sat in the seat, but never really met Scott's gaze. "What's wrong?"
The wolf took a deep breath before beginning. "Well, it's... I'm... gay." His voice grew soft at the last word, even though there was nobody near who would be able to hear them. "I'm thinking of coming out, but... I'm scared."
Scott nodded. "Scared you might be ridiculed by your friends, beat up and all that?"
Brian shrugged. "I don't think I'll get that with many of my good friends, but..."
"The football team?" Brian nodded, eyes still on the ground. "So what made you want to talk to me?"
Brian looked down sheepishly, blushing beneath his fur. "Honestly, Mr. Bower, mainly because you're my last class of the day, and I've been putting it off."
Scott chuckled. "Well usually I would send you to the counselor, but I happen to know a bit more about your situation than he likely does."
At that, the wolf finally looked up at Scott, inquisitively.
Instead of an answer, Scott just took the small picture frame that stood on the desk between them and turned it so that Brian could see the picture it contained. It was a picture taken during Scott and Trey's wedding, as they were saying their vows.
Brian almost jumped out of his seat. "Coach Coleman!? But- he- I-" Scott almost laughed at the reaction. Not many people knew about them, even though they weren't hiding anything, and had declared their relationship to the board. It seemed no one expected the tough, mean, football coach to be in a relationship with a man.
"Yes, Coach Coleman is my husband. We're a gay couple."
"He doesn't seem the type." Brian said after the initial shock wore away. "I mean, everyone on the team is so scared of him."
Scott chuckled. "Well, in his defense, I think intimidation is kind of in his job description. Anyway, about your situation. I'm not going to sugar-coat it. You will probably lose some friends, maybe a lot. More than likely, you'll have a few snide remarks thrown your way. You might even get bullied, or beat up. I've taken a few beatings in my time, as well. On the other hand, you'll be able to be yourself. You'll be able to stop hiding everything, and the friends you keep will be friends that understand the real you. You could even make more friends because of it, and these friends will be truer than any you've ever known. Heck, the only reason I met Coach Coleman is because he helped me after a homophobic tiger broke my snout. Sometimes good comes out of the bad."
The wolf listened intently. "So... There's a good and a bad either way I choose."
Scott shrugged. "Welcome to life's big decisions. It really is up to you. I can't tell you which way is going to be better, because both choices have their challenges. I will tell you one thing, though - despite what your classmates say, high school is not your whole life. I don't even remember a quarter of the people I went to high school with, and I'm sure they don't remember me. Anything that happens with your choice will only last until you graduate. Besides, I'm sure you can take whatever gets dished your way. You're not a pushover."
"Yeah. I could probably dish it back out, too." Brian smiled.
Scott leaned forward. "Let me give you some advice. If someone punches you, take it. Don't give them the satisfaction of punching them back. They'll be the one in trouble, and you'll be the one waving at them and laughing as they sit in detention or get suspended. They're just trying to provoke you to do something stupid. Don't stoop to that level. You're better than that."
Brian nodded. "Thanks. I'm glad I picked you to talk to about it. I think I will go through with coming out. Just to finally know someone else who went through it helps a lot."
"Alright. I'll talk to Coach about it, too. You can talk to him if you have any problems." Scott could see the wolf's tail reflexively curl under him when Scott mentioned Trey. "He won't yell at you or anything. The tough coach personality is just one side of him. He knows what you're going through, too." He looked at Brian reassuringly, but he could still sense his trepidation. He was going to have to talk to Trey about how much he scares his students. Scott looked at his watch. "You should probably hurry up and get to practice or you'll be late."
"Thanks, Mr. Bower." The wolf nodded and headed out of the classroom quickly. He hoped the wolf wouldn't have all the problems he had when he came out, but he also knew that was wishful thinking.
Trey was in his office when his phone started to ring. He looked at the caller ID and smiled when he saw Scott's number show up.
"Hey honey." He said when he picked up the phone. "What's up?"
"Hey. I just wanted to call and let you know I just had an interesting talk with Brian Evans."
Trey sighed. Most of the time when another teacher called about a player of his, it wasn't good. "What happened?"
"Well, nothing bad. He wanted some advice about coming out of the closet. I told him about the good and bad that could come of it, and I think he decided he would. I just wanted to let you know; maybe you could talk to him too."
"Hmm, yeah I could. I should probably talk to the team as well. You know these jocks; they can get a bit homophobic sometimes."
"Well not all of them." Scott chuckled over the phone. "I did marry one."
"Yeah, but you also got your snout busted by one, in case you forgot."
"How could I? I should let you get going. I'll see you at home. Love you."
"Love you too, babe." They blew each other a kiss before Trey ended the call. Just as he set the phone on his desk, he heard a loud bang coming from the locker room. It sounded almost as if someone was thrown into one of the lockers.
Please just let it be roughhousing, Trey thought, not a reaction to Brian's news.
Brian looked up from the floor after being shoved into the locker by Brick, the bull linebacker on the team. He thought Brick was a friend of his, but it didn't seem like he would be any more. Mr. Bower was right.
"Ain't no way I'm gonna play on a team with a faggot!" The bull yelled at Brian, with some shouts of agreement from the rest of the players around them.
"Hey!" a deep voice came from the other end of the locker room. "What the hell's going on here?" Brian looked up to see Coach Coleman walking up with a stern expression on his face. "Who said that?"
Brick raised his paw. The huge bear's presence made everyone else shrink back as he held out a paw to help Scott up from the floor.
"And who here agrees with him?" Brian saw a few timid paws go up, but he knew there were more. "So why can't you play on a team with a 'faggot'?" A multitude of answers greeted the coach.
"He'll look at us in the showers."
"All the other schools will laugh at us."
"It's weak."
"Really?" Coach said at the last remark, given by Brick. "Weak, huh? Who here thinks they can take me out?" No one moved. Most of them knew he had played professionally as a linebacker until he was injured. Not one of them here was even near his size. "No one? Well so much for being weak."
The only response was that of confusion, aside from Brian.
"Oh, that's right. Y'all probably don't who I'm married to. Brian, I know you know. Tell them." He said, looking at Brian. The wolf looked at him, eyes wide. He looked at the other players, who all stared at him. They all looked confused.
"M-Mister Bower." Brian thought he could hear jaws dislocating, but that could have been his imagination.
Coach nodded. "That's right. We've been together since we were in college. Now, anyone want to throw me into a locker?" He waited. "No? Strange, you seemed eager to do so to Brian over here."
Brian looked around at the rest of the team. The majority of them were still in shock. He knew that most of them could never see Coach with another guy. Brian himself was still having trouble with the thought. Of course, he never really could sense gay people unless they were flaming. Everyone talked about gay people having 'gaydar' or something, but Brian had no such thing.
"So," Coach continued, "we all know that Brian is a good wideout, right? That's the only thing that should inhibit a person from playing on this team - skill. If you have a problem with Brian being gay, or me, then feel free to leave the football team. I'm sure it'll look good for those of you who want to play in college. If I see so much as one hint of mistreatment toward Brian, I will remove you from the team, and I know for a fact that the principal will back me on that. Now, those of you who raised your hands can go run laps for the rest of practice. The rest of you, suit up and get outside to run some drills."
Scott sat at his desk after the last period left the next day. There wasn't football practice today, so he and Trey took the same car to work. He hurriedly gathered his things so he could meet the bear at the car - Trey was always there before Scott - until he looked up and abruptly stopped his gathering as he saw the wolf once again staying behind. His head was down, staring at his desk, and he made no move to look at Scott.
"Brian? Something the matter?" He asked, startling the wolf, who just looked back at him.
"Well... I..." He hesitated.
"Did one of the football kids do something?"
Brian shook his head, "No. I'm pretty sure Coach scared them away from doing anything. It's just... Well after coming out at school yesterday, I felt..." the wolf sniffled, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I came out to my parents... And they kicked me out."
Scott's ears folded back as his eyes went wide. "Do you have a friend you could stay with? Other family?"
The wolf shook his head again. "I don't have anywhere to go." The sentence was almost cut short as Brian buried his muzzle in his arms and started to sob.
Scott had to do something. "I'm going to step out and make a phone call. I'll be right back, ok?" The wolf didn't make any hint of responding, but Scott stepped outside of the room anyway, and shut the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and hesitated after he selected Trey's name on his contact list. He pressed 'call.'
"Heya, hon, what's up?" Trey's voice answered after two rings.
"Well, Brian got kicked out of his house last night."
"What?" Trey almost yelled.
"Yeah, um... Well I wanted to ask you if you'd be alright with bringing him home for a couple days."
"Scott, no. We can't get too involved." Scott could almost see the stern look on the bear's face. He was glad he didn't have to face that look right now.
"Trey, we're already involved. We're his teachers. We're supposed to be helpful and supportive."
"Yeah, but bringing him to our house? Doesn't he have a friend's he could stay at?"
"No, he said he doesn't have anyone. Trey, I'm the one who helped him come out. It's partially my fault that all of this happened. He's in my classroom right now sobbing his eyes out for Christ's sake. I have to do something, don't you? I seem to remember a certain bear who helped keep a certain fox from getting the beating of a lifetime. What happened to him?" Scott knew trying to guilt his partner was pretty dirty, but there was no way he was going to let the kid sleep on the street if he could help it.
Trey sighed heavily. "Fine. But we need to call child services as soon as possible."
"Thank you so much, Trey. I love you." Trey only responded with a grunt before they both hung up. He knew that the bear wasn't happy about it, but he also knew that it'd didn't mean he wasn't willing to help. Scott walked back into the room. Brian still had his head tucked in his arms, but he was only sniffling now, not actively sobbing.
"Get your stuff." Scott said. Brian looked up at him with a confused look on his face. "You're coming home with us."
Brian felt awkward sitting in the back seat of the car. Most kids don't think of their teachers outside of a school setting - even thinking of them wearing anything but business casual was odd - but here he was, riding in two of his teachers' car, about to go to their house. It definitely wasn't what Brian thought was going to happen when he opened up to Mr. Bower about being kicked out. He thought the older fox was going to refer him to a shelter or something at the most. He was prepared to rough it, and just wanted someone to vent to.
Most of who he thought of as his closest friends ended up not being so much after he came out. It was an instant shift, and Brian wasn't prepared for the staggering amount of his "friends" that couldn't take him being gay. He wished he hadn't said anything, but then he looked at the bear and the fox in the front seat.
Coach Coleman was driving, and would occasionally glance at Mr. Bower and smile. They were holding hands on top of the center console, and Brian noticed how they lightly rubbed their fingers together. The love they had for each other was palpable, and Coach seemed like a completely different person here. Brian wanted that. He wanted that love, and the only way he could find that was to be open.
They eventually pulled up to a modest, non-descript house. Brian couldn't help but think that it was a bit low-key for someone who had played professional football, even if only for a few years.
"Well, we're home." Mr. Bower said, turning to look at Brian. "You doing alright back there? You've been quiet the whole trip."
"I was just thinking." Brian replied, not really wanting to expand on how he was staring at them the whole time. "Kinda wondering if I made the right choice."
"Look, Brian," Coach said as they got out of the car, "no decision that's really worth making is easy. Honestly, you're braver than me. I didn't come out until I was out of my parents' house and in college. I know Scott here came out in high school, too, and I've always wondered how he did it." The bear put one of his massive paws on Brian's shoulder. "Even so, I wish I had been that brave. Going through high school with that kind of secret sucks. I was distant to everyone because I didn't know who to trust. I didn't have any real close friends."
Brian looked down, dejected. "I don't know if I have any friends left."
Coach lifted Brian's chin so they looked eye-to-eye. "Hey, quit with that melancholy bullshit. You'll get new friends, and these friends will actually care about you. Will they be the popular kids? Probably not, but who cares? Look at Scott." He motioned toward the fox watching the conversation. "He was the gay math nerd in high school, and now he's a successful teacher who's married to the hot, studly man of his dreams."
Mr. Bower rolled his eyes as Coach laughed. Brian couldn't help but chuckle. This really was a different side of Coach than he had ever seen before. He saw the way the bear looked at the fox, and knew that that's what he wanted with his life. Now he was actually kind of glad that he chose to talk to Mr. Bower. If he had chosen anyone else, he wouldn't have found these two guys he could actually look up to. Well, at least he wouldn't have known that he could.
Trey hung up the phone after talking with the child services representative. "Well, we have a few choices." He said, looking at Scott. They were in their bedroom while Brian did his homework, not wanting him to be worried about this process.
"What choices?" The fox asked, standing from the bed and walking up to Trey.
"Well, she said that he could file for emancipation, which would make him free of parental guardianship, go into foster care, or go with third-party custody. It looks like it'll have to be assessed in court." Scott pulled his mate close to him and hugged him. He couldn't help but think how shitty the wolf in the other room had it right now.
"Well," Scott said against the bear's shoulder, "We'll have to talk to him about it, and let him choose. He's fifteen; he should have a say."
Trey nodded. They walked together out into the den, where the young wolf was reading for an English assignment. He looked up as they walked through the door.
"We have to talk." Scott started as they sat on the couch next to Brian. "We called child services and told them about the whole situation. They told us that there were a few options open to you, and we wanted to discuss them with you."
Brian set the book down on the coffee table, and looked back up at Scott. "I figured foster care was the only option for me. I'd really rather avoid that, personally."
"Yeah, I understand." Scott replied. "The other two options are emancipation, where you'll basically be an adult, free to live and work as you see fit, and going with third-party custody, where you'll live with someone else. Do you have any relatives that could maybe take you in?"
Trey could almost see the wheels turning in the wolf's head as he thought. Finally after a moment, Brian looked back up to the pair, his eyes almost betraying his sadness at the reality of the situation. "Couldn't I stay with you?"
Trey sighed. "Technically, yes, but are you sure? We've never raised children before, and aside from a spare room, I wouldn't say we're quite set up for it - and this is not counting the obvious problems that a judge might see, like two gay men taking in a gay minor as well as the fact that we're your teachers."
The wolf looked back down, seeming to look through the coffee table, through the floor, not focusing on anything. "Well, honestly, you two are the only people that have even attempted to understand what I'm going through, and you understand perfectly because you've both gone through it. What you two have... Well... It's what I want. I've never actually met any gay people before, much less a gay couple. I can look up to you, and I'd love to have a family I can actually look up to and say 'Hey, that's what I want to be like when I grow up.'" He finally looked back up at them. "I don't think anyone else in my family will take me. They're all pretty conservative, and can sometimes be stricter than my parents. I really can't think of a better choice."
Trey definitely wasn't ready for a confession of that magnitude, and by the fact that Scott was trying to squeeze the life out of his paw, it seemed his mate wasn't either. Trey almost felt on the verge of tears. He never thought of himself as a role model that way. Sure, he was a teacher, but to have someone tell him that he wanted to grow up and be like him? It hit him hard.
"Well," Scott started after a moment. Trey was sure that Brian didn't notice, but he could sense in the fox's voice that the statement hit him just as hard, if not harder. "We'll have to talk about it. Either way, we'll still have to go in front of a judge to get this done, and your parents will have to be there." Scott glanced at the clock, which read ten o'clock. "Let's get some rest. We'll ride to school together tomorrow."
"Okay." Brian said as they stood from the couch. Abruptly, the wolf threw himself into Scott, hugging him. "Thanks, Mr. Bower." His voice cracked as he started to cry.
"Shh, it's no problem." Scott hugged the wolf back, "and please, call me Scott. We're not at school. I've always hated being called 'Mister Bower'."
Trey reached over to Brian's shoulder. "That goes for me, too. Call me Trey. However, if I hear you call me that at school, you get extra laps." He smirked, getting a smile from the young wolf. "Now, get to bed. We've got a long day tomorrow."
Brian nodded and headed into the guest room that, luckily, was already made and set up for company. Trey followed Scott into their bedroom.
"I wasn't expecting that." Trey said as they undressed.
"Tell me about it." Scott replied, shaking his head. "Two days ago I was just another teacher to him, and now I'm a role model?"
Trey chuckled. "Well you're a good role model to have." He leaned in to kiss the now nude fox.
Scott leaned into the contact. "Well, I'm sure you're more of one to him. He is a football player after all." He broke the embrace to get into bed. Trey followed, pressing his chest to the fox's back and reaching an arm around him. Even when sex wasn't involved, he loved being close to Scott. Every touch still felt like an electric pulse even after all these years.
"So what do we do?" The bear rumbled into the back of Scott's head.
"I don't know. He did say he wanted to stay with us, and we both know that foster care generally sucks. Maybe we could be a good influence on him."
"Do you honestly think that we're capable of raising him? We don't have any experience in the matter, and I doubt we're really set up for that kind of task."
Scott chuckled under his breath. "Come on, Trey, he's fifteen. There's not much to 'set up' to take care of a fifteen-year-old aside from a massive amount of food, and we have plenty of experience. We're teachers. We see those kids sometimes more than their parents do. We're practically raising them."
"I don't know." Trey sighed. "I mean, I figured we'd adopt at some point in time, but adopting a teenager? And one we know, at that? It just seems kind of weird."
Scott reached his paw behind him to caress the bear's leg. "I know. It feels kinda strange to me, too, but I can't help but feel responsible for this all happening. I don't want to see his life ruined for some advice I gave him. Anyway, even if we do choose to take him in, we still have to go through the whole court thing and get a judge to agree with it. Like you said earlier, that could be hard."
"Yeah. Well, I'm not sure if I'm 100% on board with the whole idea, but I know that whatever you choose, I'll go with. You always seem to convince me to see your way, so I'm not even going to fight it."
"I think the only reason I convince you so easily is because you like to get fucked too much, and you'd get denied that if you didn't agree with me." Scott chuckled.
"Har har." Trey rolled his eyes. He knew Scott couldn't see it, but he was pretty sure the fox could feel the face he was making. He pulled Scott's body tighter to him. "You know it's because I love you, fox. More than you know."
"Mmm, I love you too, Trey." Scott curled his arms around the bear's arm, hugging it to his chest as the pair drifted off to sleep.
The next week went by in a blur for Brian. It almost seemed as if he just blinked and all of a sudden he was standing in a court room as the judge prepared to give his ruling. He ignored his parents, who were standing beside him, opposite Scott and Trey. It had hurt when he heard his dad tell the judge that he didn't want a "Godless child" like Brian, but it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He really enjoyed staying with Scott and Trey. It wasn't like staying at a friend's house; there were still rules - many of which were the same with his parents, if not as stringent - but they were a lot nicer than his parents. They seemed to care more about how he felt and how he succeeded. He was sure his parents did care - before his revelation, at least - but they showed it by berating him every time he didn't meet their standards, guiding him to what they wanted. Scott and Trey would talk to him about everything his parents wouldn't. He felt he could approach them with any problem he had. He liked that, and even after only a week, grew attached to the couple.
"After reviewing all the testimonies," the graying otter in the pulpit began; Brian couldn't help but lean forward on his footpaws, anxious for the verdict, "I hereby award the custody of one Brian Evans to Scott Bower and Trey Coleman."
Brian heard a soft exhale from the right of him, as if Scott and Trey were holding their breath waiting for the news. He then realized that it was he who was holding his breath. It was over. He couldn't help but feel lucky. Not once did he think on that day, after he was kicked out, that this would get resolved so quickly.
The otter judge leaned over to look at Brian. "Brian, they're your guardians, now. You'll be expected to obey them as if they were your parents, because in the eyes of the law, they are." Brian nodded. The otter shifted his gaze to Scott and Trey. "Take care of this boy, gentlemen. As I'm sure you realize, he's been through quite a bit, and we don't want to put him through any more stress than is necessary. However, if anyone can understand his situation here, it's you two, which is one reason why I made my decision. It's now up to you to help him through this. Good luck and congratulations. Adjourned."
With the bang of the gavel, they filed out of the courtroom. His parents never spared a glance at him, but he didn't really care. He was done with them; he had new parents now.
He felt Trey's paw grasp his shoulder as they exited, and he looked back at the much larger bear, who was smiling down at him. "Come on, Brian. Let's go home."
Brian smiled back as he realized that from now on, it really would be home.