His head was kind of spinning but when he really let himself think about it, it definitely made sense. There had been moments where he thought so over the years but then she would flirt with him or hold his hand. He closed his eyes and put his head in his hands for a moment or two. Sure it hurt to hear that his girlfriend didn't feel that way about him but that was nothing she could have helped either way, gay or straight.

He reached out and took her hand without looking at her. "Alright..." he said his voice shaking. "It's okay," he was quiet at first but he knew he had to show her that it really was okay.

"You're not... you're not an asshole Tate but you had to know that like... pretending with me aint gonna change you. Aint nothin' gonna do that."

"Come here," he said finally picking up his head and holding his arms out to her for a hug. "Come an' gimme a hug girl. I still love you, always will."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Tatum waited with bated breath for him to blow up, scream at her, do something. When his head went into his hands, she took a sharp inhale, already starting to shake but then he was taking her hand and that was better, even if their eyes weren't meeting. That part wasn't good, but it could have been worse. When he spoke, she looked away as well, chewing her lip.

"Of c-course I knew, I just-- I thought e-even if I wasn't like, in love with you, I still l-loved you and like.. my dad, I just.. I w-want my dad to like me and there's just-- it's n-not really likely that he'll.. like me. B-Being me. I d-don't think he's down, so I thought.."

She trailed off, exhaling shakily. "I thought i-if I have to be with a boy, I s-should at least pick ones I like, so I-- y-you and Shelb, I mean.. I love my f-friends so it was easy to a-act like I was in love with them. I didn't c-care about me, as long as my dad didn't know what I t-think when I look a-at a girl," she swallowed thickly. "At Mack."

Once his arms went up for a hug, she rushed into them, her head still tucking automatically under his chin. "I-I'm just glad you didn't want to like, h-hex me into oblivion. I-I'm so sorry."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

"S'alright now Tate, you aint gotta lie no more," he tried to reassure her, rocking her back and forth. He kissed the top of her head. "If someone don't like you for bein' you... then it's their loss cause yer amazin' and yer gonna make Mack a happy woman, ya hear me?"

He sniffled lightly, cuddling her close. "I'd never hex you, you gotta know that," he laughed lightly. "I'm... Ina says I'm like a big ole teddy bear," he chuckled. "You aint got nothin' to apologize for honey. I got yer back, always will okay?"

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

"D-Do you really think it c-can be that easy?" Tatum asked genuinely, without any of the usual malice she put behind it normally. She had demanded it of Mack many times now, asked if the blonde really thought things could just be good, but with Sam.. well, she really did want to know what he thought. He was one of her best friends, and she realized his support, his belief that she could fix her life, meant a lot to her. "I d-don't know if I can do it, I'm so-- I hurt e-everybody somehow just b-being dumb."

Settling comfortably against him and exhaling heavily, the redhead chewed her lip thoughtfully for a second before speaking. "If you wanna just cast o-one hex, I'd understand," she assured him, smiling weakly. "I don't like.. I n-never should have dragged a-anybody into anything until I knew I was.. l-like, you know, one way or the other and I just-- my d-dad is gonna be so mad. I f-feel like I did something bad but I guess I d-didn't."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

"It might not come as easy as that but I do really think yer gonna be okay," he said, a genuine warmth in his tone. "I jus' think it'll be easier on you not havin' to lie about yerself no more. Don't matter what anyone else wants or thinks. It's who you are that's important."

He laughed gently. "Nah, hexin' ya wouldn't make me feel no better. It'd make me feel worse, like... you cryin' is the worst thing on the planet and I don' wanna be the cause of it, ya hear me?" he reassured her. "You didn' do nothin' bad and I don't know how yer dad is gonna take it but you gotta be honest with yourself from now on no matter what anyone has to say about it," he kissed the top of her head again. "An' you let me know if you need anything. Anything at all."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

"I-It does feel good to.. uhm, like g-get it off my chest a little more," Tatum replied, managing a weak smile. "B-Baby steps I guess I'll have to t-take."

It wasn't going to be easy, being honest with herself and everyone else, but she could get there. She had made a big enough mess now that it was time to just own up and fix whatever mistakes she could. She had to try to do what she wanted for once, even if it was hard. "W-Worst thing on t-the planet? Try maybe the m-most annoying," she murmured back, bowing her head a little sheepishly as he kissed the top of it.

"I g-got this.. maybe."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

"Yeah girl, it's all about baby steps. Aint no swan divin' into this shit," he smiled warmly.

"It's not annoyin' at all," he laughed. "It's heart breakin'," he swayed her a bit more and sighed gently. "And you do got this. Aint nothin' to it," he grinned.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Tatum had always been so busy anxiously trying to please everyone around her, that the idea of just being herself and making herself happy was just setting in. She would need to take it slow, but she was on her way to getting there. "I feel like I-I should do something d-dramatic like join the p-pride club tomorrow," she half-joked.

"It's t-totally annoying, like.. all h-high pitched so only d-dogs can hear me.. but it's n-nice of you to t-try to make me feel better," the redhead insisted, letting him sway her and feeling surprisingly better. "Thanks, man. F-For everything.. seriously."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

He grinned. "Extreme!" he said in a goofy, joking voice. "Hey man, if that's what you wanna do then that's whatcha gotta do," he grinned. "Even if it's not like exactly, immediately tomorrow."

"Aint no thing," he said easily. "Like I said, I always got yer back."

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

"Y-Yeah. I'm just.. I'm the baby step type. I'll j-just baby step my way right through," she laughed weakly. Smiling when he reminded her again that he had her back, the redhead sighed softly and leaned in, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, just.. e-everything, okay? No matter what, you're.. y-you don't know how much it means that y-you just want me to be me, like.. a-all I ever wanted I guess was to b-be accepted and b-be me," she admitted softly, without looking up at him.

"B-Baby steps.. baby steps t-toward acceptance. I'm like a little g-gay trailblazer already," she giggled.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)