“Oh- you know Sugar? Sugar Motta?” Of course he knew Sugar Motta. Sam seemed to know everyone. That, and everyone knew Sugar. She was bubbly and, well, she was Sugar. Sebastian grinned at the compliment, however, and nodded once in a thank-you. Needless to say, Sam informally meeting Sebastian’s father was… both awkward and upsetting. Sebastian didn’t want to just scare this kid away. Sam seemed like a great guy, and Sebastian tried being rational with the fact that Sam seemed like he’d be a really great friend, or y’know… Not a friend. By rational, he meant not getting his hopes up. That’s how Sebastian lived his life. He didn’t expect the best out of anything. In fact, he expected the worst out of everything. He expected everyone to shun him and torment him for the rest of eternity if he came out of the closet, he expected his father to cut his son out of his life if he were simply honest with himself, but now? He expected Sam to think his dad was a nutcase, and Seb clearly had to be one too because his father was.
Right?
Sebastain was completely lost as to what he could do after his father made his grand entrance and abrupt exit. Sam has just witnessed that all fall into place, and Seb barely knew the kid. He wasn’t about to go talk about his past with him or anything, no. Hell, he wouldn’t even bring up the fact that he was homophobic. That was the thing with homophobes, they never blatantly said they were who they were. Sebastian had just always heard his dad trash talking gays and the LGBT community as a whole. Did his dad make good points? Fuck no. Did he have a stance on why he hated gays? Yes. Most certainly. Sebastian had always pondered where this hatred branched off from, like maybe it involved his mother leaving his dad and their little boy so suddenly. He didn’t dare bring it up, but maybe he had to. If Sebastian’s dad was the reason his friendships didn’t work out, it meant there was a problem. “Is he always what, an ass? Sorta,” Sebastian replied in a mutter. “I kind of live with it, though. I mean- it’s just me and my dad around here, I don’t have much of a choice,” Sebastian explained quietly. His eyes moved to the computer screen nervously and he opened PowerPoint to distract himself.
Suddenly, a project didn’t sound so great. But still, Seb could’ve ruined this aquaitencenship. He could use the distraction. “Elizabeth and Stacy? Two sisters?” he guessed, his eyes shifting to meet Sam’s. A small grin traveled to his lips at the thought. There was something kind of fulfilling about hearing about Sam’s family life. He scoffed at Sam’s comment. “Intimidating. I’ll say. It kind of sucks-” Sebastian trailed off, mentally kicking himself for talking. This wasn’t a damn therapist visit, yet here he was, talking about his life. He started typing in the PowerPoint layout in hopes to take away some of the seriousness in the topic he was discussing. “It’s always like that. Awkward. Tense. Quiet. That’s just who he is, I guess.” Sebastian toyed with the fonts as he spoke, but his eyes returned to Sam and he let out a small laugh. “What am I doing? You’re the expert, right?” he turned the laptop to Sam. “Sorry you’re stuck wih me as a partner.”
Sam nodded happily. “Yeah, Sugar’s been my best friend since… well since maybe elementary?” He tried thinking about it, but it all blurred together after their years of friendship. A small smile curled his lips as he thought about them over the years. People in their circles always gossiped about the two of them. Sugar and him took it all in stride. After a failed attempt in junior high to deepen their friendship, they decided to remain friends only. It hadn’t changed their relationship in the slightest. He couldn’t help think of Rachel then and their drunken make out. He ran a hand through his hair before he could dwell on it. You have a project to work on, Sammy boy. The blonde flushed out any thoughts of girls and strange fathers while he tried to recall things about literature. The former disappeared, but he couldn’t help still thinking about the latter since it was fresh in his mind. Sam didn’t know how he expected Sebastian’s father to be. All he knew about fathers came from sources of entertainment or the short glimpses he got of his own. Neither helped him shape a clear definition.
He thought of Rachel’s dads and a small smile came up. They were really awesome men who clearly loved their children. Then he did a contrast between them and Seb’s dad. He didn’t need long to figure out that the relationship between families were extremely different. Sam also didn’t need more time to know that the boy next to him was nothing like the man that just left. For one, Sebastian had a smile that could charm anyone in school. His dad, however seemed like he never smiled at all. Or maybe he did and it was a long time ago, Sebastian had mentioned it was only him and his dad living there. He wondered if that had anything to do with it. He knew it wasn’t his place to ask questions though. Sam felt like he could barely keep his life together, much less anyone else’s. Plus he didn’t think Sebastian would like to be questioned about his family. Sam was used to it, though if he really asked himself, he didn’t like the questions either because they drew emotions from him that were better left untouched. Where are your parents now? They just leave you there with the help? Do they ever come home? Maybe they’re gone so much because they never wanted you. He knew the last remark was his own. But when he thought of it, he would remember the night he came out and he knew it didn’t matter. Even if they hadn’t wanted him, they loved him fully.
Finally drawn out from his musings, Sam blinked and tried to focus on Sebastian’s words.
Nodding his blonde head, he listened to him. He was good at that. “So, I guess you guys don’t get along too well.” He was also good at sticking his foot in his mouth. “Sorry, not my place.” Sam bit his lip and scooted over to get closer to the laptop so he could start messing with PowerPoint. He met the other’s eyes and his mouth made a small smile when Sebastian guessed about his family. It was a common mistake. “No, um. Elizabeth is… well she’s our housekeeper.” His gaze fell back onto the computer screen as red stained his cheeks. Though it was common, Sam still felt weird having to explain. He didn’t think he would ever get over it. “She’s kinda like our mom away from mom.” He poked at the keys as he tried finding a good theme for them. “Stacy is my sister though. I have her and a brother, Stevie. Both younger, 6 and 8. Both troublemakers with adorable faces.” Sam laughed a little as he used Blay’s words to describe his siblings. He quieted as he heard Sebastian’s description of the house. “You’ll have to come over sometime. It’s the opposite at my house, but then again I don’t want you to run for the hills when you meet them.” He cracked a grin, hoping the other would return it.
“Expert? I don’t know about that. I can do wonders on a laptop, but the literature? Not a chance.” Sam’s grin softened and he replied, “No worries. I’m sorry you’re stuck with me as a partner.”
