You're One of Those!?

By William F. Gilreath

What if you discovered your best friend, Christian brother at church is gay? The closest neighbor in the world, and is LGBTQIA+ and the closest human being to you in the world. Two friends about to go off to a major university and get on with their education, and lives face that question. Only with supernatural help does one friend come to realize how much the other friend means, beyond being gay.

• Language: English
• Publisher: William F. Gilreath
• Release date: Jun 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005827243

William F. Gilreath

Mr. William F. Gilreath "Will" is a software development engineer, computer scientist, mathematician, and writer. William is a writer of code, equations, poems, text, and lover of cats. Contact him via e-mail at: [e-mail] has written various articles and book reviews, as well as other technical articles and research monographs. Will's technical interests include the Web, software development, mathematics, distributed systems, algorithms, data structures, compiler theory, minimalist computer architectures, and programming languages.Medium: https://medium.com/@will.f.gilreath

Book preview

You're One

of

Those !?

BY WILLIAM F. GILREATH

[e-mail]

Dedication: To my dear puppy dog Nikita. Cruelly taken from me too soon, loved and missed forever.

Copyright © 2022 by William F. Gilreath.

All Rights Reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [e-mail]

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cover by William F. Gilreath

ISBN: 9781005827243

1st Edition. Published by William Gilreath at Smashwords

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Friends

Chapter 2. The Secret

Chapter 3. Dane

Chapter 4. Choice

Chapter 5. Enigma

Chapter 6. The Past

Chapter 7. Futures

Chapter 8. Now

Chapter 9. Vow

Chapter 10. Consequence

Chapter 11. Dirk

Chapter 12. Bargain

Chapter 13. Forgiveness

Chapter 14. Love

The End

Chapter 1. Friends

It's about time, said Dane to his friend Dirk. Dirk, after searching through the sea of people at the student union, had joined his best friend Dane.

Dirk sat down at the table. After putting his backpack next to him, he realized the source of Dane’s ire. Dane had not gotten anything to eat, and it was well past lunch.

Sorry Dane, said Dirk with an indifferent tone. You could’ve grabbed a burger or something...

I decided to wait, Dane said with a smile, and I’m only kidding with you, Dirk.

Dirk sat back and looked at Dane. He’d known him since they were kids...even younger when they were in a pre-kindergarten class. Dirk was his middle name, otherwise, he’d be Milton or Milt as his family called him—Milton Dirk Hall.

Your disdainful behavior, Dirk said in verbal pun to Dane.

Dane looked at Dirk and shook his head. Both friends had their sense of humor. But both agreed about going by their middle name. Dane was Elliot, or Ell as a few addressed him—Elliot Dane Jones.

Both friends had moved as toddlers to the small town, almost a village of Waveside. A small sleepy town along the coast, sandwiched between two larger towns.

A large part of the land between the village and bigger towns was in trust. Deeded to the village’s trust, provided it remained intact and the same. Waveside squatted in a mix of forest, and some grasslands. The buffer kept Waveside a small inward village of a most a few thousand people from annexation. Worse, absorbed by the larger towns.

Only a few miles down the road, in the small town was Trelawney College—a small community college. Both, Dane and Dirk, had opted for the community college. Live at home with their parents, and then transfer to a major university in the state later. The university was several hundred miles away. Both planned to be roommates. Dane wanted to study engineering, whereas Dirk was in pre-med.

Both friends had grown up in the same cul-de-sac neighborhood. But they had connected at the Waveside Church. Both now in their early twenties were like brothers. Despite living a few houses down, both Dirk and Dane had met at church. It was in a class for gifted, smart kids their parents had enrolled both of them in for the summer. Soon they had been inseparable, others calling them D and D after the game. Both of them had been passionate about role-playing games in high school. Now both of them were ready to transfer to start their careers.

I asked my guidance counselor. I wondered if there was any point in an associate's degree before transferring. She said no, Dane stated.

Oh yeah? Dirk said. I thought many of those pre-engineering courses that don’t transfer. That they would count to an associate's degree in engineering technology.

Dane smiled and then gestured to one of the women behind the counter for service.

Yeah, I’d have to delay transferring for some more semesters, Dane said. I’m ready to dive into my actual engineering coursework.

What will you guys have? asked a woman in a blue outfit with a name tag that said Ask me my name in bold lettering.

I’ll have my usual Beatrice, said Dane having eaten at the student union and the food court for her to know his favorite. It was a bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese, onion rings, and a vanilla milkshake.

My usual too beautiful, Dirk added as Beatrice looked at him. Smiling at Dane, expecting his obvious flirting. Dirk liked the chili with crackers and cheese sticks. Along with a diet soda that Dirk always claimed he liked for the taste. But Dane found it nauseating—tasting like paint thinner. Dirk thought Dane liked greasy food way too much. Yet found the overabundance of onions repugnant.

It’ll be up soon, Beatrice said, writing down both orders although she knew them by heart.

I’m going to miss her, Dane said with a wistful tone, prompting Dirk to chuckle.

Me too, Dirk said in glib humor.

Dane smiled and then laughed at Dirk’s antic humor—it was more his way of saying things than what he said.

Dane looked at Dirk. Dirk was about five-foot-eleven in height. But his lanky, almost gangly, appearance made him seem much taller. Dirk had some scrub on his bare, smooth face, but it seemed still never got a five o’clock shadow. His youthful face makes him seem much younger in appearance.

His dark brown hair was usually unkempt, hidden underneath a ballcap. As usual, Dirk was in some dark athletic clothes that were black and shiny, his black ballcap matching. The black athletic shoes with silver trim, Dirk’s desire to color coordinate showed in what he wore.

Dirk wore sweatpants or an athletic wear dresser. Only on rare occasions would he wear slacks and a sports shirt. His warm brown eyes gazed out from a boyish face with a somewhat olive complexion skin. His thick dark eyebrows peeked out from under the top of his ballcap. Dirk usually turned his ballcap sideways. Although on occasion wore it backward. Even more rarely with the visor facing forward.

Dirk was often called a skater although he’d given up trying to skateboard when he was a younger kid. Dane thought Dirk could fit in like a beachcomber or bum. Dirk seemed to have a perpetual smirk on his thick reddish-pink lips, his own Cheshire Cat grin.

Dirk saw the long stare from his friend and quirked an eyebrow in wonder.

Something Dane? Dirk asked leaning forward, putting his chin on his crossed hands. Dirk had an intense intellectual pose.

Oh nothing, Dane replied.

Dirk looked at Dane and smiled at Dane’s evasion. Even as his best friend and Christian brother, Dane was shy about revealing his emotions. Somewhat reserved, long thinking, Dane had a natural caution about expressing his feelings.

Dirk took in Dane, wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans that were a bit faded, and brown loafer shoes. All contrasted with his sandy brown blondish hair. Dane shaved, as he got stubble well before five o’clock. He was tall, over six feet, and his short but cropped hair gave him a stockier appearance although he was husky. His green eyes often seemed oblivious. Yet behind those green eyes was