I broke away from Kevin to see many shocked faces of my wrestling family, the guys who respected and looked up to me, and didn't seem to know who I was in that moment. I couldn't look any of them in the eye as my face flushed bright red. Kevin just sat next to me with a faint smile on his face, sitting quietly.

"Did you guys enjoy the cookies?" Kevin asked sweetly.

"Shut up, ." cursed Leon, a disgusted look on his face.

I stood up fuming, ready to punch Leon in the face just as Jay stepped in between us and shoved Leon against a row of lockers.

"Don't you dare talk to Kevin like that!" he spat at Leon. "Have some respect for someone other than yourself or I'll have coach kick you off the team for being an intolerant dumb !" (It helped that our coach's older brother was openly gay, and he ran our school's G.S.A. program.) I was touched to hear Jay stand up for Kevin, even if Leon was taller than him by at least five inches. "I'm sorry Eli, we should go." Jay said, looking to the ground. It was only a small group of guys in the locker room because most of the guys usually went straight home right after practice without changing clothes. About seven or eight of them were staring at me, confused as to if they should keep eye contact or look away.

"It's okay!" Kevin said cheerfully as if what Leon had said hadn't effected him in the slightest.

"Yeah you guys, we were just leaving." I said quickly as I held onto Kevin's hand and tried to lead him to the door.

"Wait!" Ko blurted. "Eli, don't think any of...what we just saw changes how we see you.... You're still our captain, and you deserve our respect." Ko said shyly, which was uncharacteristic of him for being a two-hundred-fifty pound linebacker, as well as the district's heavy weight champion wrestler. The rest of the guys besides Leon nodded in agreement.

"No little girly boy is getting my respect." piped in Leon. "This ain't some Broke Back Mountain." he sneered.

"Then you might as well get the hell out." Ko boomed as he shoved Leon rather hard against one of the brick walls. "We're not going to tolerate your ignorance." Leon flinched as Ko glared in his direction.

"I'm out." Leon huffed, breathing hard from his tussle with Ko. He headed towards the door and out of the wrestling locker room for the last time.

"Don't listen to him, Eli. You either, Kev." said Jay as he placed his hand on my shoulder reassuringly; winking at Kevin.

"Thanks guys." I told them, noticing I still held Kevin's hand in my own. I didn't let it go. Scanning the rest of the faces in the room, I noted that maybe not everyone was a total jerk like Leon. These guys really were my family, and they cared for me no matter what. None of us were perfect...be we still stayed by each other. That's all that mattered.

Awwwh, the story is almost over~ Hope you have enjoyed it so far~^^

To that douche who yelled at Kevin:

Mama Eli is going to kill you~