Entry by IlonaHelianthus

~Winning entry of the Pride Month Flash Fiction Party Contest~

Remington had done it. He had finally managed to tell his father he was trans. However, nothing had gone as expected. Or rather, it did—his father had reacted badly. Of course, he knew it would not be easy to announce it to his father... but not to this extent.

His father had told him things he wished he'd never had to hear. And now Remington had nowhere to go, and he felt more alone than ever. He was lost, and completely devastated.

It was already late, and it was getting dark. Remington sat down on a bench. He had been wandering aimlessly for about an hour in the deserted streets of the city. Would he have to sleep under the stars? He was not pleased with the idea, but he would probably have no other choice anyway.

"Remy? What are you doing here?"

Remington turned quickly as he heard the voice of the person who'd just called him; it was Landon, his best friend whom he considered almost a brother. Remington suddenly felt a little better as Landon approached and sat down alongside him on the bench.

"You don't seem to be doing so well," remarked his friend. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Remington's gaze wandered as he remembered his father's violent words from earlier in the evening. Did he really want to talk about it? To have to think about it again? Yes, he desperately needed to talk to someone, and that someone was Landon. To him he could say anything. Anything at all. With Landon, Remington felt listened to, understood, and, most importantly, supported. His friend's presence warmed his heart, and he realised it now.

Remington took a deep breath, as if to give himself courage, and finally replied in a slightly shaky voice, "Well... I tried to come out to my dad—I mean, I did—but... he didn't take it well. Not at all."

"I see," Landon whispered, placing his hand on his friend's forearm, to comfort him. "What did he say to you? Or maybe you'd prefer to wait a bit before telling me?"

"No, it's fine. At least I think so. I just... He told me that... that I was shaming him. That he hoped I was just playing a bad joke on him. And then he said he would never think of me as his son, that there was no way he would call me Remington and that instead he would continue to use my dead name... Then he said he was too upset to talk to me and wanted me to leave. Which I did, as you can see."

"Oh, Remy, I'm so sorry for you..."

"I should never have told him. It's all my fault."

"That's not true!" exclaimed Landon. "You did very well to tell him. I even think it was the best thing to do. Okay?"

Remington nodded weakly and forced a smile. Then Landon continued to talk; "If things went wrong afterwards, it's his fault, not yours. Okay?"

He nodded again, but said nothing more for a while. Landon remained silent too. His hand was still on his friend's arm, who found this reassuring. Several minutes passed, during which neither of the two friends pronounced a single word. The streets had grown darker since then and it was now almost completely dark. Remington shivered.

"Where were you planning to sleep tonight?" Landon suddenly asked, having just realised that he hadn't thought about that and felt a little bad.

"Well, I... I definitely can't go home tonight, so... I thought I'd sleep out, but I have to admit... I mean, I don't really want to. But I'm just so, so damn lonely, and..." Remington's voice was broken. He was so desperate and so exhausted by the day he was about to burst into tears.

Landon silenced his friend by wrapping his arms around him. "I know it's hard to believe, especially right now," Landon whispered, "but it's all right. Things will get better. You'll see. Uh?"

Remington nodded weakly for what seemed like the umpteenth time, and his friend continued, in the softest possible tone, "And never forget that you are not alone. Never. I'm here, you can count on me no matter what happens. And you know you can count on the others too. We support you and love you, all of us," he concluded with a smile, loosening his embrace a little.

Remington didn't know what to say, as his friend's words touched him so much. What would he have done without him, really?

"For tonight," Landon said, "you can come and sleep at home. And every night after that as well if you need to."

"Are you sure? Won't it bother you?"

"Of course not!" he assured. "You'll always be welcome at home. Besides, my parents and sister love you, so they'll be glad to see you," he added winking.

This time it was a real smile that found its way onto Remington's face—he was sincerely touched. Landon stood up and held out his hand to help his friend do the same.

"Shall we go?"

Remington nodded, and the two of them began to walk through the streets that were now lit by lampposts.

"Thank you so much. For everything. Thank you for being there for me and helping me whenever I need it."

Landon smiled. "Hey, that's what friends are for, right?"