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Alec is leaving the locker room, bag over his shoulder, when he notices. Two of his teammates are standing in front of another person. Alec can’t hear what they’re saying, but the posture– arms folded– gives him pause. He starts walking towards the group, a little hesitantly. As he draws closer, he recognizes the third person, and his stomach drops. It’s Magnus.
The cheerleaders had been on the field earlier, practicing alongside the football team. Alec had avoided looking over there, but he thought that they had all left already. Alec glances briefly around and sees that most of them are, or are dispersed across the field. There’s no one nearby except Alec. Magnus is in casual clothes, holding his bag– he looks tense, Alec thinks. He pauses when he’s a short distance away, close enough to hear but still removed from the group.
“Don’t you have better things to do?” Magnus is saying.
“I just don’t get why you’re trying to become a guy,” one of the guys says. “Especially if you’re not going to act like one.”
Alec sees Magnus flinch, just slightly, and he steps forward before he can decide against it. “Leave him alone.”
All three people turn to face him at once. One of his teammates snorts. “You have a problem, Alec?”
Alec moves so that he’s standing next to Magnus, facing down the other two. “Back off,” he says. “I’m serious.”
His teammate rolls his eyes, but says, “Fine.” Alec can hear them muttering to each other as they leave, but he ignores them. He turns to look at Magnus instead.
“Are you okay?”
Magnus stares at him for a moment, not responding. Finally, he says “I’m fine,” and turns to leave. Alec follows him on impulse, worried that he’s overstepped somehow.
“I’m going to report them,” Alec says. “Unless you want to do it.”
Magnus turns around, eyebrows raised. “Really? You don’t want to cover up for your friends?”
Alec snorts. “They’re not my friends. You should hear the kind of things they say when they think no one is paying attention.”
“Well, thank you for defending my honor,” Magnus says. He squints at Alec. “But I hear that kind of thing all the time. I doubt the school will do anything about it.”
“You haven’t tried reporting it before?”
“Like I said, it happens all the time.” He shrugs.
He starts walking again. Alec falls into step next to him, and Magnus glances in his direction again.
“I’m Magnus, by the way,” he says.
“Yeah,” Alec says. He remembers now what he had forgotten in his worry: he’s never actually spoken to Magnus before. His throat is dry. He swallows, trying to re-orient himself, and says, “I’m Alec.”
Magnus raises an eyebrow in his direction. “I guess everyone knows who I am, right?” He sounds only a little bitter. Alec is impressed.
“It’s hard not to notice you, you’re–” Alec cuts himself off, clearing his throat. “I mean, I’ve seen you before, you’re very good. You definitely belong on the team.”
“Thank you,” Magnus says. He sounds surprised.
“Yeah, no problem.” Alec runs his hand through his hair. His palms are damp with sweat.
Magnus glances at him again. “You know, I didn’t think that you were an ally.”
Alec can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, that was kind of the point.”
“What do you mean?”
Alec takes a deep breath and stares up at the sky. The campus has quieted down for the evening, and he and Magnus are the only people in sight. Here, the words that he’s avoided saying for so long come surprisingly easily to him.
“That’s why I started playing football,” Alec says. “I wanted to seem normal.” He can’t look at Magnus, he can’t pause for breath– if he stops speaking, he won’t be able to start again. “I didn’t want anyone to find out that I’m gay.”
Alec inhales deeply. His heart is pounding, and his hands are shaking, but he feels lighter somehow. He’s spent so long keeping his secret, he’d almost thought he would never be able to say it out loud.
“I get it,” Magnus says. “Coming out is terrifying. I mean, I have to do it all the time, and it’s still not easy.”
Alec feels his shoulders drop in relief. He finally looks over at Magnus again. “Is it worth it? Coming out, I mean.”
“Absolutely.” Magnus doesn’t hesitate. “It’s worth it to be myself.”
Alec has to glance away from Magnus again. He looks so confident, like he’s honestly comfortable with himself. The lights above them illuminate his face in gold.
“Even when you have to deal with guys like that?”
“Oh, my god,” Magnus says, laughing. “You wouldn’t believe the kind of things that people say.”
“I’m sorry,” Alec says, because he’s spent enough time in locker rooms to know what Magnus is talking about. “You shouldn’t have to hear that.”
“Thanks,” Magnus says. “I really would love to just participate in a school activity without it being such a big deal.”
“Well, I’m sure the football team would win less often if you weren’t there,” Alec says.
“We certainly wouldn’t want that,” Magnus says, and grins. Alec can’t help but smile in response.
They come to a stop in front of one of the buildings. “This is my dorm,” Magnus says.
“Okay.” Alec shoves his hands in his pockets. “See you later, I guess.”
Magnus walks only a few steps away before he stops. “Alec,” he says, turning around. “You should come to a Queer Student Union meeting. You don’t have to participate, or anything, but you might like to meet some of the other members. There are a lot of us on campus.”
“Yeah, I- maybe I will.”
Once Magnus has entered the building, Alec turns to leave. As he walks away, he can’t stop himself from grinning.