Luckily for me, it's Pride Month, so, starting with this chapter, the rest of the story was about the LGBTQIA+ representation of the Bad Guys. Pride will be also mentioned in this chapter.

I hope you like this new chapter. Get ready!

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Intro

Mr. Wolf: Yeah! I'm bad!

Mr. Snake: You're bad!

Ms. Tarantula: He's bad!

Mr. Hornet: She's bad!

Mr. Piranha: We're bad!

Mr. Shark: Who's bad?

The Bad Guys: Yeah!
We're the Bad Guys!

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In the Bad Guys' hideout, Webs and Hornet were taking a day off as they sat down on the couch to watch TV. They were watching fun facts about the LGBTQIA+

The TV host asked her special guest, "During this Pride Month, is it difficult with finding love with the opposite sex? You know that this is something you need to clear up as yesterday-"

The guest then answered, "Look, I'm not pointing out any names or certain categories. I agree that loving someone, not the opposite gender, or having a different sex or gender identity can be the same way as being in a straight relationship. There are a lot of things that can come up unexpectedly. However, being in this type of relationship is just not easy. That's just it. It's not. Some people might not even take it well when it's not vital to learning. I mean, we already got a lot of noise from government protests; do we have enough?"

Watching this made Hornet begin to think about himself... about his sexuality. Ever since his sudden feelings for Piranha started to show, things got complicated for Hornet.

Seeing Hornet looking down like that after listening to the TV, Tarantula quickly turned the TV off with the remote, and looked at her friend, "Boy, you don't think you would listen to what the TV said, huh?" But Hornet didn't say anything. His silence has confirmed his answer, "That is flawed."

"I know, Webs, but what if those guys have, in their own stupid way, a point?" Hornet said.

Tarantula gasped, "Shush!"

"I mean, what if there is something wrong with me, Webs?"

"'Cause you're not dating anyone?"

"I'm weirding everyone out! They see me on TV, robbing, stealing, scaring around, and of course, as a member of the Bad Guys, I have a reputation like the rest of you. It's a vivid image.

"Hornet, you are a strong, independent bug. Anybody afraid of you is not worth your time.

"Yeah, maybe, but what if they're right? What if I'll never find anybody?"

"Hey, what about Piranha? You and he are buddies for a while. You two were so close. And you accidentally dated each other online," Tarantula chuckled, recalling the event of Hornet's blind date incident.

"That is because I didn't know my date was him. It's a blind date," Hornet admitted before clarifying, "Look, Piranha and I are just friends. Nothing more."

"Suit yourself, Hornet. But you better hurry. As you said, you know your own sexuality, and whatever that is, you should follow it," Tarantula shrugged as she placed a hand on Hornet's hand, "You already dated me, and it didn't work out, so I know someone out there will like you for you. Don't give up."

After that quick pep talk, Tarantula jumped off the couch, leaving Hornet alone with his thoughts. Hornet was on his own, thinking if Tarantula was right. What if he won't be himself if he won't find someone soon? He's pansexual. A person who would have feelings for someone regardless of their sex or gender identity. If he won't find someone, then what sexuality would he have?

Just then, his thoughts were interrupted when the elevator door opened, and the rest of the Bad Guys came out, laughing and chattering. Hornet hit behind the arm of the couch, but his eyes were still peaking.

"Nice work today, Piranha," Wolf commented.

"You should see the looks on those cops' faces! Priceless!" Piranha laughed.

The sight of Piranha made Hornet's time go in slow motion. Seeing Piranha laughing before looking forward to where he was walking made Hornet imagine him with sparkles and pink and yellow clouds covering the corners. Hornet could see how cute Piranha is while he was walking and his expression made the insect swoon. Hornet smiled dreamingly with small arts just came out from his head.

"Hey Webs, Hornet," Wolf's voice snapped Hornet out of his daydream as he quickly hid completely behind the armrest of the couch, "What are you two doing on your time off?"

Tarantula answered while she was standing on a drawer beside the couch, "Well, just talking about stuff. Not too important."

"Well, I'm glad you both enjoyed your time off. Turns out we didn't need our tech wizard and our lookout in today's heist," Wolf teased.

"Hey, watch your words, or you'll never see us again," Tarantula warned.

"Alright, alright."

Meanwhile, Piranha was looking for Hornet as he went to the couch, and found the little insect hiding behind an armrest, "Hey, Hornet," He was caught! Hornet didn't have to hide anymore as he sat down casually, and faced Piranha, "Watcha doin'?"

"Oh, nothing. Just talking with Webs, and that's it," Hornet answered.

Piranha nodded, "Well, I better get to my room. I still have a couple of recipes to read," he held out a book of recipes as he headed straight to his room.

Piranha might not like reading, but reading for recipes is his thing. Hornet sighed in relief that Piranha believed him. Hornet couldn't tell Piranha that he was imagining him so dreamingly. The latter might think the former was so odd. Having a crush on a male piranha? Who would think a male hornet would feel that way?

Ugh! Hornet really needed to stop thinking about his feelings for Piranha! They are just friends! That is all...! Or so he thought.

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It was laundry time, and the Bad Guys had to dump their dirty clothes into their baskets. When Shark deliver the basket full of dirt into the laundry room the next floor blow their hideout, Hornet was in charge of doing laundry today. It was his turn.

When Shark left Hornet to do laundry after bringing his dirty clothes to him, the insect threw away the dirty clothes into the washing machine. When he threw a couple more, he found Puranha's shirt. It was still white, but it was kinda stinky. Before Hornet could throw Piranha's shirt into the washing machine, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He looked around to see if no one was in the room, Hornet took a deep sniff on the shirt. He didn't care how stinky it is, it did smell like his best friend.

"He might smell stinky, but this exactly smells like Piranha," Hornet smiled before sniffing the shirt again.

Just then, the elevator door opened, and Hornet was startled. In a panic, he only put his arms behind his banc while still holding Piranha's shirt.

Piranha came out of the elevator, and found Hornet next to the washing machine, "Hey, Hornet."

"What are you doing here, Piranha?" Hornet asked sheepishly, still holding his friend's shirt behind his back.

"I came here to see how was the laundry doing," the little fish answered.

"Umm," the insect quickly threw the shirt into the washing machine, and quickly threw a couple of more, "Just work-in-progress."

Seeing that Hornet might be too slow to work fast, Piranha stepped in, and said, "You know, what if I'll do laundry for you? You're too small to do this all by yourself."

"No thanks, Piranha. I'm good."

"It's okay. I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" Hornet stared at Piranha. Why does he have to be such a gentleman for a little rowdy guy? Piranha nodded smilingly. In that case, Hornet gave the laundry he had on his arms to Piranha, and headed towards the elevator,

"Alright. I'll see you upstairs," Piranha said

"Sure," Hornet answered quickly without looking back at Piranha before he entered the elevator and the doors were closed.

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When Hornet arrived back at the hideout, it was empty. Probably the rest of the Bad Guys were in their rooms. Finally, a bigger space for him to be alone with his thoughts. He was passing around in panic after what he did back there in the laundry room before Piranha found him.

"What am I doing? Why do I still have feelings for my best friend? What do I like about him anyway? That little childish..." Hornet started to describe Piranha with a dreamy sigh, "sharp-teeth, cute waddling, strong, macho fish?" Realizing what he was doing, Hornet slapped himself with his hand to snap out of his dreamy thoughts about his best friends, "Snap out of it!" He then sighed sadly, "Oh, who am I kidding? I don't think Piranha would like me back because I'm a bug... and a guy. A handsome fella like him would like and flirt with girls, and his own kind," Hornet sighed once again. He thought he had no chance for Piranha, and his sexuality was complicated to understand. Looking at the window, Hornet thought that thinking inside the hideout won't do him better, "I gotta go out for fresh air," he flew towards the windows, opened one of them, and flew out of the hideout.

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Hornet was flying around, humming a little song, until he noticed a convention where a lot of people ran inside excitingly.

Curious about what was happening, Hornet flew down, and saw the sign beside the door.

"Hmm, 'Don't know who you are? Join our program for free'," Hornet was unsure of this, but he started to have complications about himself lately, including his sudden awkward feelings for his best friend, and his sexuality that he wasted on his life, "Hmm, I can give it a try," Hornet proceeded to fly inside while no one was looking at him.

The meeting room was almost full, and Hornet found himself a space to sit.

A host came in front, and announced to all comers, "Alright, settle down. Settle down, everyone. Okay, so you're all here because you're wondering who you are and what you want to be. For this theme, we're talking about our sexualities."

"Well, I'm in luck," Hornet said in his mind.

The host then continued, "All of you wondered what your sexuality is. Are you born with it? Did you grow up learning what you think of yourself? Have you experienced falling in love with anybody or nobody? This is where you got so confused. You started to feel different about yourselves. The first feeling was something was not right with you. And the second one was mostly about romantic feelings. You guys fall in love with someone who was the same and/or opposite gender, or someone who had the same insecurities as you are in this room."

While the host was talking, Hornet knew this was what he was feeling today... or, at least, the whole year. Whatever the host said was just like how Hornet was feeling. This is the place where he should go. Glad that he found it. This must be the place where he could get his solution.

"Well, that's the whole point. Not everything should be based on your romantic feelings for someone. You should think of yourselves first. Is this really how you've been feeling? Is this what you wanted as you grew up? It's hard to find yourself and know who you are at first, but when you continue to grow and feel comfortable in this kind of life with your new sexuality, you've got nothing to worry about. The first thing you do is embrace yourself, and accept who are. Straight, bisexual, pansexual, all of it. When you do, you can finally find someone really special who likes you for you, no matter what your sexuality is."

This was it. This was what Hornet needed after all. He has to accept himself first as he is right now. He just needed to adjust his life to his new sexuality before he could end up with someone or be single for the rest of his life. But deep down, he had to find someone so he won't be alone again. He was only doubting himself that he could find the right person he could spend his life with, and won't regret it. He doubted himself about being in love with someone who was his best friend...

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Speaking of best friend, before he knew it, Hornet turned to his left, and saw Piranha among the crowd at the lower part of the seats. This surprised Hornet. Piranha was here the whole time! He was here in the program! Oh, stinger. This wasn't what Hornet expected at all. He thought he could get out of the hideout to be alone with his thoughts and away from Piranha. But no matter where he went, that fish was there nearby. By staring at Piranha long enough while thinking, Hornet didn't only see his best friend, but a dreamy fish that is so cute enough to steal his heart and the glow of his life gem.

Hornet then snapped to reality as he felt it again. The one he had been trying to understand with his identity. Hornet couldn't stay much longer as he quickly flew off without finishing the meeting.

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Late at night, Hornet hadn't been coming home since he left. He needed more time than he thought. Hornet made it back to the hideout at 12:30 am as he took the opening window that he used earlier. When he arrived there, none of the Bad Guys were in the main room. They were probably in their bedrooms sleeping..., and he should be too. It's been a long complicated day for him. Hornet slowly flew into his room, and closed the door.

When closed the door, Hornet leaned his back against the door, and slid down. After what was happening today, it felt so wrong and so stressful. The TV reminded him about his sexuality, Tarantula's advice gave him a hard time accepting it, the Identity Program gave him solutions to accept himself, and finally, he could get his eyes and thoughts off of Piranha. Whenever that fish was around, the insect couldn't help but have these feelings for him. But he shouldn't. Even trying to get away from his best friend, he was also there at the Identity Program.

Though, that was the point, Piranha was in that program too. That was strange for Hornet, especially since the program was for people with identity crises, and the topic was sexuality.

"I can't believe it! Piranha was here too? Why is he there?" Hornet wondered why Piranha had to go to that program. Did he have an identity crisis too? Did he have problems with his sexuality? Oh, it didn't matter to Hornet anymore. The only he could think of was his sexuality. He had to think for himself first before thinking about his feelings for Piranha, but... every time he did, it was his best friend... or, in this case now, the crush he could think of. Hornet sighed in shame as he fell onto his bed, and stared at the ceiling, "Why every time I see him, I started...?" He couldn't finish his sentence. He was ashamed to accept feelings. Hornet sat right up on his bed, and all of a sudden... he sang.

It's 2 A.M. but I'm still here, awake
Your beautiful face keeps flashing on my mind
I hear your voice and the way you say my name
It's like reality and make-believe combined

I recall the time when I sat right beside you
And you talked about how good your life has been
When your eyes met mine, my voice and hands started shaking
And everything I am starts caving in

I feel like crashing, drifting
Sinking way too deep
I feel like flying, dreaming
Even though I'm not asleep
And I pray to God to give me strength
'Cause your beauty makes me weak
But I'm not lying
I feel like crashing right into you

Hornet took out a photo of him and Piranha laughing together that was placed in a picture frame. He flew back on the bed while staring at it.

It's 8 P.M. and we go out for coffee
I feel the pain of the truth you try to hide
You tell me that your heart's owned by nobody
And a part of me begins to die inside

I feel like crashing, drifting
Sinking way too deep
I feel like flying, dreaming
Even though I'm not asleep
And I pray to God to give me strength
'Cause your beauty makes me weak
But I'm not lying
I feel like crashing right into you

Hornet stared back at the photo, and hung his head down hopelessly. He hoped he had a chance with Piranha, but how long would he have to wait?

Yeah, it's 3 A.M. and I'm still here, awake
The shining stars remind me of your smile
And though I know that smile is not meant for me
This heartache's gonna linger for a while

I feel like crashing, drifting
Sinking way too deep
I feel like flying, dreaming
Even though I'm not asleep
And I pray to God to give me strength
'Cause your beauty makes me weak

But I'm not lying
Even though I'm hurting
I'll be here waiting
And I'll keep crashing right into
You

Hornet put the photo down, and sighed sadly. But the longer he felt this way, he felt tired of pretending to control his feelings and feeling insecure about his sexuality. He couldn't hold this feeling of denial anymore.

"Okay, that is it! I can't hide it anymore! I just have to accept myself. This is what I am, and this is what I've been feeling with Piranha this whole time!" Hornet started to tear up as he was now accepting his real feelings for Piranha, "I can't deny it anymore. I just need to accept it. I'm in love with him. I'm in love with my best friend. I need to tell him the truth... maybe someday," He was ashamed that he was falling in love with his best friend. Piranha is just his friend, but then again, Hornet was in love with him. He wasn't sure if Piranha felt the same. He couldn't let the fish know yet. Their friendship would be ruined and filled with awkwardness if Hornet would tell. He had to take the risk.

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Unbeknownst to him, outside Hornet's door, Wolf was outside, leaning an ear against the door. He heard everything that was happening inside Hornet's room, and he could hear what the bug was saying. Wolf didn't sleep either. He was awake in his bedroom, waiting for Hornet to get home as he was worried. But he had nothing to worried. Hornet is fine... but not emotionally. When Wolf found out Hornet returned home, he wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to check on his bug friend, but he was listening behind the door. And now, he found out. Wolf was right. Wolf was right about Hornet's feelings for Piranha. It was all true. Wolf held a fist, and whispered excitingly, "Yes."

Without letting Hornet know he was outside of his door, Wolf decided to head back to his room to be alone with his thoughts of this interesting and surprising discovery from his bug friend.

From there, Wolf sat on his office chair, and spun around. He just loved it when he was right.

"I guess there is a news that needs to be spread after all," he held a pen, and pushed the push button, making a loud sound of a "click".

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Credits:

Rhenzy Feliz - Mr. Hornet

Anthony Ramos - Mr. Piranha

Sam Rockwell - Mr. Wolf

Awkwafina - Ms. Tarantula

Catherine Taber - TV Host

Colman Domingo - Special Guest

RuPaul - Program host

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Author
Rally9933

Co-Author
TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3

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Finally! I made it to this chapter, and right on time for Pride Month.

Special thanks to TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3 for helping me with this chapter.

The song doesn't belong to me. This song is called 'Crashing' by Kyle Juliano.

I hope you like this chapter. The next chapter will be up soon!