Chapter 2
The next week went by in a blur. Reggie had been accepted to Los Feliz performing arts school two days after he had applied, and he was very nervous. He did all he could to pack up his stuff, but in the end only a fraction of it could fit in his two suitcases. The flight to LA was quick, but unpacking of his stuff took forever. Kayla couldn’t find a chance to skip out on her chores to help, so by the first day of school he still hadn’t seen her in person, even though they had facetimed a lot.
The Covington mansion was only a few blocks from the school, so Reggie and Willie had to walk. It wasn’t bad, since the excitement of seeing Kayla and the nerves about school gave him energy. Still, by the time they got to school Reggie was a bit out of breath, having had had to keep up with Willie on the skateboard.
“I’m telling you man, you’re gonna love Loz Feliz,” Willie was telling him. “All the teachers are really supportive, and everyone’s super accepting.” He paused for a second. “You know, now that I think about it, a bunch of kids are LGBTQ+. Huh.” He nudged Reggie’s shoulder, a devious smile on his face. “Who knows, maybe you’ll find someone.”
Reggie jokingly glared at him. In reality, he wasn’t actually opposed to the idea, but it was fun to disagree with Willie.
“I’m going to ignore you now.” Reggie stared across the parking lot, where students were rushing to greet friends and introduce themselves to the new kids. “Do you see Kayla?”
“Over there!” Willie shouted, pointing across the parking lot. Reggie saw Kayla heading towards a group of people standing near the front of the school. “Do you think we should sneak up on her?” Willie asked.
“Nope.” And with that, Reggie barrelled through the crowd. Chuckling, Willie skated after him.
***
Kayla would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. She had been going to the same school district her whole life, and had no idea what it was like to be new. Add on top of that the guilt of not being able to see Reggie, and her anxiety levels were over the top. She had filled Nick in on the situation after they had left the pier, and he had been surprisingly sympathetic. She was excited for her boys to meet.
On the first day of school, her mom dropped her off in front of the school. As Sharpay kissed her cheek and said goodbye, Kayla felt a bit of her nerves disappear. She climbed out and scanned the parking lot. She didn’t see Reggie or Willie, but she did spot Nick and his friends. She took a deep breath and started walking towards them.
As she got closer, Flynn and Alex noticed her and waved. The others turned to see who they were looking at and waved as well. She smiled at them.
When she was about twelve feet away she heard someone shout her name. She turned, and out of the corner of her eye she sees the rest of the group turning as well. She barely had time to register who was running at her before Reggie picked her up in a hug and swung her around.
***
Flynn had spent her last week of summer preparing for school. Both physically and mentally. Half her time had been spent with Julie, going school shopping and getting her things in order, and the other half was spent trying to sort out how she was going to deal with everything.
By the morning of the first day though, she had figured out some semblance of a plan. Well, it was more of a coping strategy. She would take up meditation, as a way to relax, and every day after school she would go to the beach and scream. It was solid, as far as Flynn could see.
With this new strategy in mind, she met up with her friends on the first day, and felt remarkably confident. Julie picked her up, and they spent the short drive laughing and singing along to the radio. When they got there, they made their way to where Alex, Nick, and Luke were standing, laughing about some stupid sport joke Luke had made. Well, Nick and Luke were laughing. Alex was watching them with an expression that was somehow both concerned and dismayed at their dull sense of humor.
“Hey bros,” Flynn said in a ridiculously low voice. Alex laughed at that, but Luke and Nick just looked confused, not getting that she was making fun of them. “So, how was your weekend? Anybody else have a breakdown?”
“Ayyy,” Alex said, high fiving her. She intertwined their hands and stood next to him. They might make jokes all the time about their mental health, but they were also always there for support.
The group stood there for a minute, chatting aimlessly and dreading every minute before the day officially started. Flynn glanced around the parking lot, trying to spot people she recognized, when her gaze landed on Kayla, who was making her way towards them. Flynn nudged Alex, then smiled and waved. The others turned to see who she was looking at and waved too. Julie gave Flynn a knowing look, but lifted her hands in surrender when Flynn glared at her.
Flynn’s heart started beating faster as Kayla got closer. She was preparing to say hi, when someone shouted, “Kayla!!!!” and a blur of black jeans and a flannel rushed forward and scooped Kayla up into a hug. Kayla burst out laughing, and Flynn felt her heart simultaneously soar at the sound and drop, wondering who this guy was.
***
When Reggie’s situation started, Willie had been confused and worried. Reg’s parents had always been fighting and ignoring him, but they had never done anything as neglectful as send him away. But, after the initial shock of the news, all Willie felt was determination. He would be there for Reggie the entire time, and her would do everything he could to make him feel at home.
He did everything in his power to get Reggie excited about Los Feliz on their way to school, talking about all the extra curriculars and activities. When he spotted Kayla, Willie felt better about the whole thing. As a trio, they had always been able to cheer each other up.
Willie skated behind Reggie in amusement. While he had seen Kayla just a few days ago, for Reggie it had been almost a month. He laughed as Reggie shouted Kayla’s name and swept her off her feet.
“Reggie!” Kayla exclaimed, laughing as well. “I can’t breathe!” Reggie gently set her back down, grinning like a maniac.
“What can I say, I’m excited to see you. Its been forever,” he said, dragging out ‘forever’. Willie laughed. Kayla turned to him and grinned, pulling him into a giant hug.
“How you been skater boy?” she asked as she pulled away.
“Oh, you know,” he chuckled. “Pretty good.”
Someone cleared their throat, and the three turned to look at the group of people Kayla had been heading towards. Willie grinned and waved at them, recognizing all of them from school. He caught the eye of Alex, a boy he had met when they were assigned as partners for a science project, and smiled even wider.
“So, who’s this?” said a boy wearing an orange beanie, gesturing towards Reggie. Willie recognized him as Luke, one of Alex’s friends. “Your boyfriend?” he asked Kayla.
Kayla laughed a little at that. “Nah. This is Reggie, one of my besties. He just moved here from upstate,” she said, slinging her arm over Reggies shoulder. “And this is Willie. You guys might know him, since he already goes here.”
“Yeah, uh, we know Willie,” Alex said, blushing furiously. Willie bit his lip and smiled at him.
“Hey hotdog,” he chuckled. Somehow, the blush on Alex’s face got darker.
“Hotdog?” Kayla whisper hissed at him, and Willie mentally cursed himself. He had told Kayla about the boy he called hotdog. He had just never told her his actual name. Willie elbowed her, hoping she would get the message to shut up. He hoped he wasn’t blushing.
Kayla rolled her eyes and gave him a look. But graciously, she moved past the subject. “Reggie, this is Luke, Alex, Julie, and Flynn. And, last but not least,” she pulled Reggie forward to stand next to her cousin. “Nick. You guys have met over facetime, but now you get to meet in person.”
“Hi!” Reggie said cheerily, waving at everyone. He smiled at Nick. “Kayla’s told me a lot about you!” He didn’t seem to notice the faint blush on Nicks cheeks as he reached out a hand to shake.
“Uh, yeah,” Nick replied, taking the hand. Willie made a mental note of how Nick was looking at Reggie. Maybe…
***
Reggie smiled at the group around him. He had been worried about the people at his new school, but meeting these guys gave him a sense of security. They had a welcoming energy that reassured him. And god, did he need reassurance.
He smiled widely at Nick as he shook his hand. Kayla had never shied away from talking about her cousins, so Reggie knew a lot about the boy. Seeing him in person did nothing to squash the crush he had developed after meeting on facetime a few years ago.
Suddenly, Reggies phone rang.
“All I am, is a man, I want the world, in my hands, I hate the beach, But I stand, in California with my toes in the sand.”
“Eyy, Bi pride stand up!” Flynn exclaimed excitedly, raising her arm in a fist and revealing a bracelet with the bi colors.
“Eyy!” Kayla, Julie, Nick and Reggie repeated back, raising there own fists and showing off similar bracelet. Reggie felt a burst of happiness as they all broke out into laughter. His smile somehow got even bigger as he realised how many of these people he could relate to, and he dug his phone out of his back pocket.
When he saw the caller name, his smile immediately dropped. Everyone who had been laughing a minute ago quickly quieted, and he felt Kayla grab his arm.
“You all right Reg?” she asked gently, the concern evident in her expression as she saw the screen. Willie hopped off his board and jogged forward, placing his hand on Reggies shoulder and leaning past Kayla to see.
“Yeah, I’m good. I just- I have to take this.” He turned and walked a few steps away. “Hey mom,” he mumbled into the phone.”
“Hey hon. How are you?”
“Good. What-”
“Oh thats nice,” she interrupted. “Hey, I was wondering, did you happen to take the green headlamp with you?”
“What?”
“You know, that bright green headlamp your father got you for christmas last year. Do you have it?”
“Uh. No, I don’t think so.” Reggie’s voice started to fade out, and he felt any hope he had had trickle away.
“Well do you have any idea where it might be? My girlfriends and I are going on a camping trip and I really don't want to go to the store.”
“No, I don't know where it is.”
The line was quiet for a moment. Then, “Okay. Bye,” and she hung up.
Reggie let out a breath as he put away his phone. Strangely, he felt a feeling close to relief. It hurt like hell that his mom only called him to find one of his possessions, but at least she had stopped pretending to care about him. No more forced ‘I love you’s added on as an afterthought. He was finally free from the suffocating cage that had been his parents.
“What’d she want?” Kayla asked tentatively. Reggie smiled. It was weak, and it was timid, but it was real.
“Nothing that matters,” he answered.
The warning bell rung out, and the big group of people turned to walk through the doors. Kayla stuck by Reggies side, but he was happy to note she wasn’t looking at him with as much as concern. She opted instead to hold his hand, and he smiled as he watched her strike up a conversation with Flynn.