It was the night following our first game.

We won

and decided to go to BWW and celebrate.

Barbecue sauce covered my fingers

as I bit into the spicy chicken wing.

They were all chatting and laughing,

and a small sense of welcome enveloped me.

That was,

until someone decided to speak up,

and my whole demeanor fell.

Oh shut up, Peyton.

You sound gay.

My ears perked up at that,

and my eyes snapped up to Lola.

If anyone were to hear you talk that way,

you'd be dead.

Probably like that guy years ago.

What was his name?

My heart thumped loudly in my chest,

and my breath got caught in my throat.

Dale? Dominic?

My head throbbed

and my eyes burned.

I thought it was Damion or something.

Peyton spoke up with hot sauce painting her chin.

And before I could stop myself,

I spoke up, too.

Daniel.

They stopped their conversation and looked at me.

What?

Peyton asked,

and I gave her a sad smile.

His name was Daniel.

And as if that didn't matter,

they just shrugged

and continued on with their discussion.

Tears threatened to escape my eyes,

but I forced myself to suck it up.

I'm not a kid anymore;

I'm not weak.

As thoughts of Daniel continued to invade my mind,

my appetite shrunk to nothing.

Setting down my food,

I wiped off my fingers

before looking up to connect eyes with Virginia.

A frown settled on her face

and she mouthed

Are you okay?

I didn't think I could answer that question honestly.

So I did the only thing I could do

and looked away.

~Sarah