Bisexual American Man

"Thank you." said Ted. "I have been honored by this award. I take this opportunity to thank my parents, friends and teachers." he said. "I would also like to take this opportunity to tell you something that I have kept from you for so long." he said. He took a pause and looked straight ahead. Titus was perspiring like a white man in the Sahara.

"I am Gay." said Alan Ted. Titus gasped. He was not the only one to do so. "Thank you." said Ted.

He got off the podium. After an initial silence, everyone applauded the young man.

"Bravo!" said someone.

Titus made himself small in his seat. He didn't believe this shit!!!

After the student assembly was over, the whole school was talking about Alan Ted's public Outing. He was so fine and masculine-looking. Many people had trouble believing that he was gay. Girls were fawning over him. Titus saw Ted, surrounded by a lot of people who were asking him questions. Their eyes met. Ted smiled. Titus walked away. He walked away quickly, feeling sad and angry. Why did he did do this? Why did Ted have to come out?

When Titus got home, he found his family gathered around the dinner table. His mother Alexandra Edwards was reading the newspaper. His father Steve Edwards was reading his book. His brother Curtis Edwards was checking out FHM magazine. It was his sister Rhonda Edwards that brought up the subject of Alan Ted coming out at school.

"Ted's gay?" Alexandra asked incredulous.

"As gay as you want, no wait, gayer." said Curtis. Titus listened to his family talk. He was scared to talk. "I never knew that he was a faggot." said Curtis.

"Me neither." said Alexandra Edwards.

"You think you know someone and then they surprise you." said her husband Steve Edwards.

Titus felt angry. Yesterday, they thought of Alan Ted as the cool kid next door. Now, they thought of him as some nasty homosexual. He couldn't take their hypocrisy anymore. "ENOUGH!" Titus shouted.

That got everyone's attention. They all turned to look at Titus. Titus's heart beat in his chest. He summoned the courage to speak. "Ted is my friend and I love him." he said. "I don't care if the whole world hates me for this. I won't stand by and let you ridicule him. He deserves better than that." He looked at his family defiantly. They stared at him.

"Dude, lighten up." said Curtis Edwards.

"He's just some queer." said Rhonda.

Titus looked at his sister. He wanted to strike her. "Why are you always against gays?" he shouted. "Are you a self-loathing closet dyke?" Titus shouted.

Rhonda glared at him.

"Titus, stop this!" said his mother.

"Why do you defend fags?" said Curtis.

"Yeah, that's what I would like to know." said Steve Edwards. "Those gays and lesbians are unnatural and weird."

Titus summoned the courage to speak. "I support gay people because I might be one of them." he said.

"WHAT?" shouted his father.

His whole family looked at him like he had two heads. Titus looked at them. He saw shock, fear and revulsion on their faces. Suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore. He just took off.

He ran out of the dining room and took off, escaping into the night. Titus ran and ran. He didn't know where he was going. He was scared. He was lonely. He couldn't believe that he just told his family his secret. He couldn't believe it! He took off and ran as fast as he could, not caring where he was going. He ran until he felt exhausted and stopped on the road. He took refuge under a tree to shield himself from the rain. He almost didn't feel it when lightning struck the tree he was hiding under and a large tree branch fell on him. Titus felt the impact, and then all went blank. He welcomed blissful oblivion...

Later...

Titus Anthony Edwards woke up slowly and painfully. He was... somewhere. The young man lay on a hospital bed. He looked around and saw that he was in a sterile white room. There were people around him. He recognized his family. Steve and Alexandra Edwards and their children Curtis and Rhonda. He smiled. How perfect they looked... he was the flawed one. Always the joker and the prankster, the class clown and the guy who could barely pass his classes. And now, he was the tragic bisexual lying in a hospital bed...

"What happened?" he asked.

The doctor told him that he was struck by a tree branch that fell from a tree struck by lightning. "You're lucky to be alive, young man." said the doctor, a tall man with red hair. "You're gonna be with us for a few days."

The doctor excused himself and left him with his family. Titus fully expected them to curse him for being gay or bisexual or whatever. He was quite surprised by how nice they were.

"We understand that you've been through a lot, son." said Steve Edwards.

"You were shocked by Ted's revelation." said Alexandra Edwards.

"You projected him onto yourself." said Rhonda. She was so sure of herself, his older sister.

"You started to think that you were a homo because you felt loyalty to your homosexual friend." said Curtis.

Titus threw his head back and laughed. They stared at him. He looked at them. They were all so sure of themselves. His picture perfect family. He glared at them. "Get it through your heads, I am bisexual. I've been with both men and women, and I liked it."

His father winced. His mother covered her ears.

"Titus, stop it." said Rhonda.

"Quit the homo shit." said Curtis.

"Never." said Titus. "This is what I am."

They looked at him, shocked. His mother looked at him. "This is not going away, it it?" she asked.

"No." said Titus.

His father shook his head. "Why can't you be normal, son?" he asked.

"No way." said Titus.

"What about Lauren?" said Rhonda.

Titus looked somber.

"Yeah, bro." said Curtis. "She loves you and you know it."

Titus looked away. He didn't want to think about how he felt when he came out to his beloved ex-girlfriend Lauren Jacobs. She had changed into something he didn't know she was. A hate-filled monster that tried to harm him. He felt both pity and anger toward her. Pity because he felt bad that his second coming out hadn't gone too well. Anger because she tried to hurt him. What in hell gave women the right to hurt men when they were angry? Men didn't hurt women when they were angry. Titus found the double standard ugly and unfair. He didn't want to think about her anymore.

"We are sending you to a very good shrink." said Steve Edwards. He looked at his wife. "He'll become our little boy again."

Rhonda and Curtis looked at Titus.

"The doctor is gonna make you all better, bro." said Curtis.

"You're gonna be normal again." said Rhonda.

Titus looked at them. "Get out!" he said. "Nurse, get these people out of my room!"

After they left, Titus fell asleep. He had dreams. He dreamed first of Lauren. They were on the beach and made love. Then, Lauren went into the water and turned into a horrible monster that tried to swallow him whole. Titus ran from the monster. He ran into the arms of a tall, handsome and heroic-looking youth. He found himself looking into the face of Ted. When Titus looked back, Lauren was standing there. Once more she was in human form. A beautiful girl whose eyes sparkled with love for her man. He found himself drawn to her but knew that no matter how great she looked, something evil lurked beneath the surface. He ignored her and instead looked at Ted. He felt safe... safe after all.