Age & Birthdate: April 14th, 1992 (25)
Birthplace: Limerick, Ireland
Occupation: Bartender at Lounge
Length of Time in Newshore: 4 years
August James Cleary was born in Edinburg, Scotland during its coldest winter to date. His parents lived simple lives; his mother Elspeth, a teacher for the deaf, and his father Hamish, a postman. They lived in a modest house, identical in exterior to every other house on their street. All his life Gus was very quiet; he rarely made a sound as a baby, and hardly could be heard as a child. In that awkward phase between childhood and the teenage years, Gus discovered an old guitar in the attic that once belonged to his grandfather. From the moment he laid eyes on it, Gus knew he wanted to know everything about it. His father was more than happy to pass on this piece of family history. Music became a huge part of Gusâs life, it brought him out of his shell and gave him the courage to be a bit bolder and outgoing. This new sense of confidence came in handy when Gus started middle school and met a boy named Peter. The two boys became best friends right off the bat. They were inseparable, and completely unaware that there was more between them than just friendship. Neither really understood Peterâs parents were furious the day his mother found a love letter from Gus in Peterâs room. They were both thirteen, on the cusp of becoming men, and beginning to realize what it meant to love someone. His mother burst into tears, begging God to help her son, while his father ordered Peter to stay away from Gus. Gus didnât understand why his best friend suddenly wouldnât talk to him, why he ignored his calls, why he wonât even look at Gus. He cornered Peter one day, desperately looking for answers. In a panic, Peter hit him. He punched Gus, leaving his eye black and blue. As if that werenât enough, he kicks Gus while heâs down, again and again until Gus could barely breathe. Peter calls him names, horrible, cruel names. He tells Gus he never wanted him, never loved him, and leaves him bruised and bloodied on the ground. The rumors start shortly after that, and Gus Cleary becomes a pariah at school. They call him terrible things, they call him gay, but it wasnât true, not really. Gus had always liked girls, he just happened to like Peter, too. It didnât matter, though. His feelings were more than enough for the kids at school to use against him.
Gusâ father suggested changing schools, but in the end the Cleary family relocated to New York. The city was quite possibly the best place for someone like Gus. He needed an escape, a chance and place to start over, and New York was full of people just like him. So Gus threw himself into his music and his art, and over time it became easier to forget the pain heâd come to know. He met Kieren Parker a month later, and Kierenâs parents ended up hating Gus too, and again, itâs over things that Gus cannot change. The only difference is Kieren doesnât listen. He doesnât care what his parents think, he likes Gus, he gets on with Gus. âDonât worry about them. My parents hate everyone, even me.â Kieren told him with a shrug. Through Kieren, Gus met Anna, Kierenâs lifelong friend. Sheâs wonderful, and she is kind, and never once does Gus even consider either relationships as anything more than platonic. He wonât make that mistake again, heâs smarter this time, heâs careful. He wonât let things end the way they did with Peter. However, as time passed, Kieren and Anna prove their worth. When Gus finally opens up to them about his past, about his sexuality, and what heâs been throughâ nothing changes between them, and Gus knows that this time itâs for real. This time heâs found a group of friends that he knows heâll have for life.
They form a trio, an unbreakable bond, an unstoppable team. The three of them enter high school together, and Gus earns the reputation of the silver-tongued Scottish kid, the one in the leather jacket, the one who smells of smoke and danger, and drives all the girls wild. He somehow manages to be a bad boy and still maintain his heart of gold. And through all these years, Gus watches as Kieren and Anna find happiness together, and his faith in love is slowly restored. If the universe can put together the two people Gus cares most about, then surely it canât all be bad. Following graduation a proposal comes next, and not long after that their trio becomes a quartet as Kieren and Anna welcome a baby into the world; a little girl by the name of Edith. And all the while, Gus is happier than heâs ever been, and more grateful than ever to be living such a wonderful life with people heâs come to call family. Three years pass, and Gus works hard to stay in the country, to stay in New York with his friends and his new, nearly perfect life. His parents return to Scotland to retire, Â when his parents are forced to return to Scotland. Living in a new place is hard enough, but living in New York was enough to put a guy in the poor house. Still, it doesnât matter. Gus would do anything to stay right where he is, and even though itâs a struggle, itâs worth it to him.
Things are always prettiest just before the fall. Gus learns this in the middle of the night when the sound of a phone ringing jolts him awake. When a phone rings in the middle of the night itâs never anything good. This was no exception. When later asked about the details of that phone call, Gus couldnât say. He was certain he blacked out somewhere between âheavy downpourâ and 'fatalâ. Nothing really mattered besides that. Kieren and Anna, his best friends, his family⊠they were dead. They were gone. Things moved pretty fast after that. A week later, Gus watched as Kieren and Anna were buried together in a plot near the city. Gus watched as Kierenâs parents moved on without a word, they had parted ways with their son years before his death. Anna didnât have much in the way of family, her parents had died when she was little, and her grandparents were in a retirement home somewhere in Florida. In all the madness, in all of the unforgiving heartbreak, Gus nearly forgets the one thing that was left, possibly the most important thing of all: He was Edithâs god-father. It was all Kieren and Anna had made plans for in the even that something were to happen to them. It seemed like such an innocent arrangement at the time, one that Gus agreed to over drinks with Kieren after he told Gus that Anna was expecting. Even if Gus didnât know the first thing about being a parent, he wasnât going to shy away from the challenge. He owed everything to Kieren and Anna, looking after Edith was the least he could do. Sure, heâd never be half the parents they would have been, but he was going to do whatever it took to make sure Edith was taken care of.
Unwilling to drag his parents into the chaotic whirlwind his life had become, Gus took Edith across the country to the town of Newshore to live with his aunt Lucille. Sheâs a lovely woman who is more than willing to help Gus in any way she can, and happily takes on joint custody of little Edith. Gus finds a place ten minutes from Lucilleâs flat, and picks up a job at a bar in town. Itâs a decent income, in an alright house, in a town where he can start over with Edith.
Triggers in biography: Homophobia & Death
First and foremost, Gus is a quiet guy. Thatâs not say he canât be big and loud, but that usually only happens once he really gets to know people. However, he isnât the most outgoing either. Relationships, be they platonic or romantic or whatever, havenât really gone well for Gus. Despite everything, Gus is a genuine person, with a big heart, and good intentions, but no one would guess that by his rugged appearance. Fatherhood, or god-fatherhood in Gusâs case, has definitely changed him for the better. Sure, he still smokes, he still drinks, he still goes out, but never to the point of it being detrimental to himself or especially to Edith. Gus is very conscious of his actions, what the result of them could be, and how they might affect Edith. He is constantly living with the voices of Kieren and Anna in his ear, guiding him along, helping him out, but mostly serving as a reminder of what Gus fears heâll never live up to. He is very self-deprecating, and extremely hard on himself about everything. He knows he wouldnât want Edith in the care of anyone else, but Gus canât help but feel wildly inadequate. And not just with raising Edith, but in general. Gus often doesnât care for the opinions of others, but occasionally feels the weight of the insecurities heâs stashed deep down. When things get too heavy, Gus goes back to his music, drowning out all the noise and the mess that fills his head.
