Page 78 of Pride High 3: Yellow

“Do I have a pimple or something?” Anthony asked. “You’re looking at me like I’m one of your restoration projects.”

“No,” Cameron said. “You’re perfect. It’s everyone else that needs to change.”

Anthony shook his head. “How so?”

Cameron rolled off to the side and considered his bedroom ceiling. “It isn’t fair.”

“Not this again,” Anthony said with a chuckle.

“I’m serious,” Cameron insisted, looking over at him with concern. “Why would you get two weeks of detention when Graham only got one?”

Anthony rolled over on top of him, propping himself up on extended arms. “We each got a week for fighting in the cafeteria. I got an extra week for being a militant homosexual.”

“All you did was pass out an article you wrote! If you’d done the same thing and it was about baking, do you think you would have gotten in trouble?”

“That depends how colorful my descriptions got. Kneading dough, glazing buns, basting meat… There’s potential there. I’m sure I could make it hot enough to be controversial.”

Cameron dodged a kiss. “For real. I’m worried about you. Maybe you should let me walk you to all your classes.”

“Omar already thinks he’s my bodyguard,” Anthony said. “Besides, we should get used to people not liking us because of who we are. I want a thick enough skin that, when someone calls me a fag, I don’t even react. That’ll take the power away from all the assholes out there.”

“And what about this?” Cameron said, reaching up to gently touch the mottled bruise on Anthony’s left cheek. “Are you hoping to get used to that too? Because I already can’t handle it. The thought of someone wanting to hurt you…” He swallowed and shook his head.

“I’m not going to pretend it was all my fault,” Anthony said, “because you should be able to start a food fight without getting punched in the face. But I’ll be alotsmarter in the future.”

“You won’t throw french fries at people anymore?”

“I didn’t say that!” Anthony smirked. “Next time I’ll simply make sure to run away right after.”

Cameron was unable to find humor in the situation. “I wish I could protect you.”

“You can’t,” Anthony said. “Not all the time. No matter how bad you might want to. This is a big bad scary world, and we each have to learn how to survive it. But what youcando is balance out all the hate with love.”

“Okay. Let’s make some.”

“Finally!” Anthony said, grabbing Cameron’s shoulders before rolling over again, so their positions were reversed.

“You prefer it when I’m on top?” he asked.

“Let’s find out.”

Cameron pulled back in surprise. Then he grinned and resumed kissing his boyfriend. Their hands were beginning to explore each other’s bodies when shouting from the other room interrupted them.

“You’re crazy! You know that?” Cameron’s father, Trevor, sounded pissed. “You just make shit up and treat it like a fact.”

“I’mcrazy?” Brenda shouted back at her husband. “Fine! Tell me how it really is. What keeps you away on business for so long? And how come I can never reach you at night? Another emergency with one of your clients? You sell price scanners, for god’s sake!”

Cameron looked into green eyes that were wide with shock. “Umm… Maybe we should put some music on.”

“Good idea.”

As soon as Cameron rolled to the side, Anthony got up and went to his boombox. “Mixtape?” he asked.

“Sure,” Cameron replied.

Trevor wasn’t done shouting. “Maybe it’s because I like being out of town and getting away from your bullshit!”

“Then why do you come back at all?” Brenda demanded.