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“Hey, Dec? How come mom and dad don’t like you much?”

Dropping onto the couch, I sighed. “Did they say that?”

“No. But they don’t have a lot of nice things to say. Did you fight?”

I tipped my head back and forth. I’d been debating when to come out to Ollie. I planned on waiting until he was thirteen and a little more mature. But if my parents were talking shit behind my back, I didn’t want him thinking I’d done something to them.

“Technically, no. But it’s complicated. They’re mad because I’m not straight and that bothers them. They think I should try harder to be with women. And they don’t want me tainting you with my queerness, either.”

His brow furrowed tightly. “You can’t taint someone. Being gay isn’t catchable. Wait. I didn't ask. You’re gay, right? Or bi?”

A little tension eased in my shoulders. I hoped Ollie would take it well, but he was raised by our parents. They could’ve influenced his judgment.

“Gay. Women don’t do it for me. That disgusts Mom and Dad. If they didn’t need me to watch you, they wouldn’t come visit anymore.”

“But… You’re their son. They don’t love you because you’re not into girls?”

He looked legitimately worried, which made me wonder if he didn’t fall into the strictly straight category either. He was a little young, but then again, I knew by his age, too. Had a big crush on a boy in my class. He’d been nice enough to turn me down gently. One of the very few times that ever happened. I put my hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

“I’m sure they still love me. If they didn't, they would’ve cut me outcompletely, regardless of needing a babysitter. They still trust me with you. They just don’t want me telling you about it. So do me a favor and keep this between us. They don’t need to know you know. I’m not ashamed of it, but I don’t want them causing trouble for you either.”

“Okay… but for the record, there’s nothing wrong with being gay.”

I chuckled, ruffling his hair. “I know that. They just don’t agree. How’d you learn about this stuff anyway? I figured they’d want to bury your head in the sand as long as possible about this kind of thing.”

He made a face, kicking off his shoes and pulling his feet onto the couch. “School. They talked about it during health class last year. I think they were getting everyone ready for the new kids.”

That made sense. Showing the kids there are differences in humans, too, would make the shock of paranormals a little less jarring. I loved that they were teaching that, and I had high hopes for the next generation. When I was in school, the only thing they talked about in health class was hetero-normative bodies and sex. I had to wonder if my parents knew about that lesson.

I shook off the stress of my mom showing up here, loading up Ollie’s favorite game. “Az told me Dante wants to come play again. Are you two getting along?”

He nodded quickly, his eyes glued to the screen. “Oh yeah. He’s cool. Kinda grouchy around other kids, but he’s nice to me now. I want to introduce him to some of my friends, but not all of them.”

“Yeah? Why not?”

He lifted a shoulder, glancing over at me. “Some of them are kinda jerks about the paranormals at school. I tell them to knock it off, but they don’t listen. I don’t want them to treat Dante badly. He hasn’t even met them, he didn’t do anything to them.”

Pride lit up in my chest and I reached over to grip his shoulder with a smile. “You’re a good friend, Ollie. Dante is lucky to have you. I don’t think there's anything wrong with being picky about who you introduce him to. You’re protecting him. But maybe don’t hang out with people who like to discriminate against others.”

“Yeah, I know. You should probably pay attention though, otherwise I can do this.” He used my distraction to his advantage and attacked mycharacter. I didn’t have a chance to react before he killed me and knocked me out of the match. His cackling ended the heavy conversation, and I spent an hour trying to get back at him. The kid was good, though, and I didn’t stand a chance.

“Dec? You up there?”

“Hey, Ben! Yeah, I’ll be right down!” Tossing my controller onto the cushion beside me, I sighed. “Alright, you evil mastermind. I’m gonna get ready for work. Are you gonna stay up here or come down with me for a while?”

He pursed his lips thoughtfully before shutting the game off. “I’ll come down with you until Dante gets here. He’s never played before, so I’ve been teaching him how.”

“Sounds good. I bought extra snacks so both of you can go nuts. Just don’t spoil your lunch. Aziel is buying, apparently.”

He tipped his head, following me down the stairs. “Are you guys friends now?”

“Pretty much. I like having someone to chat with while you two are playing.”

“Good. You need more friends than just me. That’s just sad.”

Shoving his head playfully, I rolled my eyes. “You’re a butthead. Go set up the front desk for me.”

“What’d he do?” Ben asked, already setting up his station.