Lancelot had the reputation of being one of the most handsome boys in high school. He was a pretty face alongside his athletic skill and family ties just accentuated the qualities that made him stand out from the crowd. He was a star player in his school’s football varsity and he was recognized beyond the regional level. In addition to this, he was also the son of the famous politician and activist, Lucy Auros which only extended opportunities for his talents and fame. Lance was the highest of the elites in the high school social caste and glided with privilege in all aspects of his life.
Jacob Lover disliked him. Jacob witnessed how terrible Lance and his friends could be against anyone they didn’t favor. Hence, he made it a decision to distance himself and sit the farthest from them in any of their classes together. He deliberately avoided them and stayed away from anything that could involve Lance and his friends. He hid inside the oversized hoodies he wore to school and kept his head down at all times. For a year that they were classmates, Lance never looked at Jacob with interest. Jacob was a nobody. He just sat at the farthest corner, staring at the window with music blaring to his ears. In the melody of his anthems and the spacious sweater he isolated himself in, Jacob pretended as if he never existed.
In his own social circle, Jacob’s friends knew him on a much deeper level. Jacob was shy but he was cheerful and bubbly. He never failed to give the loudest laughs and the softest of hugs. He was a sunflower hidden underneath his hood who rarely turned his head for anything but shallow happiness. He had simple dreams; his own small space filled with books, perfumed by coffee and overlooked the beautiful horizon. Jacob was friendly, but he did not love having so many people around. He was always welcoming to the three closest people he had in school but aside from that, Jacob kept his head held low. He was a small sunflower with so much sunshine yet upstaged and drowned in the prairie of flowers all around him. He preferred it to be that way anyway. He found solace in a small tight-knit good company and a delightful song as he drank coffee at the quiet side of the school.
He was simple and he always meant well. As the flowers all around him raced towards the sky, erecting monuments of their own names and legacies in high school, Jacob strayed far from competing with the over-achievers nor pushed himself to fit in with the average guys, let alone through Lance’s popular clique. Jacob was in the world of his own grandeur. However, Jacob also aspired to deliver more for his parents. He knew that good grades would always be the best way to repay their love and hardwork as they have put him through private education consistently since elementary. In all honesty, it wasn’t hard for Jacob to excel. He may not realize his potential, but he got good grades despite playing online games and other recreational activities most of the time. Teachers eventually noticed his competence and encouraged him to be more active during recitations. Hence, he’d always raise his hand since then, do board activities, achieve high test scores and present reports effectively in front of the class with an obvious enthusiasm. Because of his sheer effervescence, he instantly caught Lance’s attention. He saw Jacob to be the cutest boy who lived inside his large hooded sweater but he could never tell anyone that.
Despite his teachers’ recognition and the respect of his three close friends, the attention and reputation worried Jacob of being on sight by bullies. He didn’t want to be pushed around in the hallways nor be heckled in the middle of a report. The possibilities gave him anxiety and all he could do was to hold himself together as the ground he was rooted in wobbled in fear was to drown the tremors in the treble of his songs. After his literature teacher asked him to write a spoken word poetry and deliver it for the class, he knew it would finally cement him on the spotlight which would attract all kinds of attention both good and destructive. Moreover, Jacob was right about his fears. That same day during lunch break, he noticed Lance’s group of friends whispering and giggling as they would look to his direction and mockingly wink. Jacob’s friends suggested that he ignore them instead, but Jacob knew worse. He couldn’t brush off the fact that things would escalate exponentially to more horrifying things other people were capable of.
In fairness, Jacob never retaliated against them. He did not even have a thought of doing so. He kept firm and strong because he believed that violence was never the answer. Instead, he continued doing a great job at school and avoided the Lance and his troupe as much as possible despite the unavoidable torment he faced on a daily basis. He wished for things to go back when nobody paid him attention, but he knew very well that it wasn’t a possibility to look forward to. He was a sunflower planted on a deteriorating prairie of depressed teenagers and hateful bullies. There was nothing optimistic about that ecosystem. Jacob just kept in mind that if he could hold on for a couple more years, high school would finally be over. But for the time being, he had to rely on his nifty pair of worn-out earphones to protect his self-esteem from withering out of life.
Jacob’s story was not meant to be a redemptive one anyway. It wasn’t the narrative Jacob wanted to tell. High school was just a town he had to pass to get to a destination that shouldn’t be far. However as piqued by the littlest joys in life that Jacob had always appreciated, he didn’t want to let go of the chance to marvel at the sights he passed by. He enjoyed his classes, empathizing with different kinds of depressed students, fantasizing about a fairytale love story and shuffling through books in the library he will never read. A small sunflower in the prairie wasn’t that much of a sight to behold nor it was meant to go distances or to be centerpieces in a flower bouquet. It was pretty of a flower as it was.
Despite being an insignificant pixel of color in the grand scheme of high school, Jacob was attractive enough to reel the bullies nearer and question the imperfection that he was. Jacob was an anomaly, the enemy of those who never cared. He may had simple joys that made him smile everyday but Jacob still cowered when winds turned against his direction. While Lance had never actively picked on him, Jacob feared to be subjected by such a huge guy. He was a threat, but had never done anything directly targeting Jacob as a victim. While Lance’s friends were the winds that bent Jacob over, Lance was the tail that lingered like a soft breeze.
Like hurricanes that swept grasslands, Lance’s group always came in full force. It was rare they get separated that even the teachers honored their unspoken code. After all, every single one of their group came from a very prestigious background like Sharpay being the daughter of the most influential fashion designer in the world and Lance being the child of one of the pioneering female politicians. Their group was a brand and everyone recognized who they were. When one of them could fall off or be absent, it was unusual and obvious. One afternoon, Lance was absent in history class and it was instantly noticeable. His other friends were quiet and inattentive, almost bored and uncaring. On the other hand, the rest of the class was lively and energetic. This encouraged Jacob to participate more and give all his energy to ride the wave of enthusiasm. However after all the socialization and critical thinking, Jacob was extremely exhausted and drained. Jacob needed a breather. Before the last class of the day, he went to the restroom to freshen up. He cautiously checked the cubicles in case someone was there to prank him but to his surprise, he found Lance inside the corner cubicle, shocked than Jacob ever was. He stared at Jacob speechless and astonished to be witnessed at that condition. Lance, the symbol of machoism, was nested and curled on top of the toilet seat with his eyes red from all the tears.
Jacob wanted to leave and motioned to go out, but Lance grabbed his arm and begged him that he should never go public with what he saw. Jacob felt a surge of empathy but fear at the same time. He did believe that Lance’s group, if they knew, wasn’t a place that would tolerate that expression of weakness but it also frightened him what could come out of the fortuitous encounter. Jacob promised to keep the incident a secret and forget it ever happened. However, he felt Lance needed beyond something than erasing that memory. Jacob offered his alternative email address so that Lance could have an “anonymous” friend to talk to about his troubles. That moment, Jacob felt Lance was no threat at all. He was small and defeated, asking to take pity on his fractured pedestal. Lance refused the kind gesture but Jacob was insistent. The both of them could keep the incident a secret, but it didn’t mean having another friend couldn’t be on the same box. Jacob had a hint of faith that empathy was necessary for a shot at redemption and he didn’t deprive Lance of that.
Lance was in gratitude. Before Jacob left the restroom, Lance had already calmed down. In a turn of events, he asked Jacob out for coffee after class if it was possible to talk about his struggle in person. Despite being skeptic about his intentions, Jacob still accepted as he rooted himself to hope and understanding. That afternoon, Lance opened by firstly apologizing to Jacob for his behaviors in the past few years. He did not ask for forgiveness, but saying his apology was the least he could give for the things he and his friends put Jacob through. To show his sincerity, he told Jacob about his turbulent family life that put him at high altitudes where he felt too pressured to even breathe. That was why he’d sometimes retreat in the afternoon and cry alone when he couldn’t handle the heaviness that built up.
He confessed that the pressure of following his mother’s footsteps and the standards his family’s reputation imposed on him brought him to the brink of his mental health. He admitted that he wanted a quiet high school life, but he wanted to make a reputation for himself rather than just be the son of a living legendary politician. Associating himself with popular people wasn’t his choice, but it felt like the easiest route to go through. Jacob disagreed. He pointed out that even without being part of Lance’s circle, he managed to be a name of his own. He just needed to lay low on the ground and take the rest from being carried around by the winds that took his name. And when he would do so, Lance could find home on the ground where he could befriend so many others who resonate with his feelings.
He believed that Lance could be better for the coming months ahead so he promised Lance that he could be a friend instead of his unaccepting social circle. Lance deeply appreciated this and that newfound kindness reminded him of how great a person Jacob had always been. Despite the rough days that challenged Jacob to the core, he remained the warm and loving boy that Lance assumed he was. He had his eyes on Jacob as he stole his heart when Jacob delivered his emotional spoken word poetry in front of the class. It was a piece on sexuality and love that reflected feelings Lance hid from anyone else. The opportunity to come out clean and honest never came because it would entail that Lance should also truthfully acknowledge his feelings to himself. He didn’t want to fall off the high precipice just because he was gay. Furthermore, he also did not want for his first genuine conversation with the first and only man he had eyes for to be the time to profess his feelings. At least, he had his foot out the closet and that was more than he ever expected of.
After several months of constant communication through social media, Lance felt stronger feelings for Jacob. The things he could never say or feel in front of his friends were free to be expressed in the safe haven Jacob offered to him in email. As more days and weeks passed, Lance actively steered his friends’ attention farther and farther from Jacob. He wanted to give Jacob a safer space like what Jacob gave him in his closet.
Last year of high school came and Lance did not want to let go of the next ten months to be wasted not being able to pronounce his feelings for the only person he could ever be honest with. He wanted to go to his senior prom with the man he liked despite never actually telling him yet how he felt. It was a big risk both for his reputation and for the truest friendship he had but if there was something he learned from Jacob’s bravery to believe in him in those times, it was to believe in the goodness of the world. He may not be accepted, not easily at least, he knew there could always be a place for him on the plateau.
Lance came out as gay to the entire school after winning the football championship mid-year He ran up the bleachers lifted Jacob in the air and kissed him in front of the whole crowd. He couldn’t be more proud of himself for landing on the ground and standing tall for who he was. His parents, his mother, especially, was proud for the pride and conviction his son had all along.
The next year, Lance’s dream came true when Jacob agreed to be his date to the prom. They were the only gay couple in the set of prom pictures posted on the walls of the gym and that gave them the spotlight to let them shine for who they both really were. Jacob was a sunflower, staring at his sunshine, as they slow danced to the breeze of the troubled prairie. For the past year, Lance was his new ray of light, his wind and his rain. Lance was the season who changed his world ever so often from the stagnant wasteland high school had come to be.
Jacob bloomed further than just being a small little flower. The seasons themselves harnessed the conditions optimal for him to grow and blossom to the earthly sunshine that he was. Above all that Jacob grew out of, the most distinct was evolving the simple dream that he always had. From a destination that he endeavored to reach, he found purpose in walking alongside Lance and discover come what may the journey had to offer. The cycle of life devoured their previous selves as it gave birth to them both with freedom to traverse life together as two individuals who knew love, who knew courage.
For the last couple of quarters in high school, Lance was able to make up for the bad grades he had. Not only that his mental health weighed him down tremendously, his reputation as one of the popular kids also discouraged him from having grades that could put him in the nerd table. Funnily enough, it was the time that he sat with Jacob in the nerds’ table when his grades were able to catch up and let him graduate with above decent grades. For even some of the subjects, Lance was even able to exceed Jacob’s grades which his teachers commended him with.
Albeit having to curve his trajectory upwards, Lance still struggled to figure out his career track and future plans. He felt as if whatever path he chose, it would always be laden with high expectations from everyone who knew his mother. With Jacob’s reassurance and support, Lance pursued medicine, the long-time suggestion his mother had offered. Luckily, they both got accepted in Britechester where Lance took up Biology, and Jacob enrolled in Psychology. The pre-med course was immensely difficult for Lance and there were times he had almost given up. However, Lance was always motivated to continue to move forward as Jacob made strides for them both himself. They traversed routes in their sweet little van, taking turns on the wheel but importantly moving together at the same time. There were bumpy roads, sharp turns and sketchy highways that challenged their mettle and determination. But as their own dedication to maintain the safe space forged by their relationship motivated them to keep going, Lance and Jacob reached milestones beyond their expectations.
With the end goal imagined as a quiet life together in a cozy place for themselves, Lance and Jacob raced to reach the finish line together. Jacob earned honors when he graduated and Lance wholeheartedly decided to be a neurosurgeon. Through each others’ support and guidance, they left the college track and set sail to the wide ocean of the world to find their place. The stars that carried their wishes paved the way for them to find the patch of earth meant to be their home. A two-story house covered in flowering vines in the Windenburg village was where they saw their story would carry on. In the same house decorated by flowers and the whistling breeze of the meadows nearby, Lance and Jacob tied the knot, promising a lifetime of love, support and faith. It sealed what had been in the past through the vows to be for each other for the future to come.
Not long after, the next phase of their lives started with a white fluff of fierce sweetness Jacob named Blossom. The furry white little cat was the first baby they both had as Jacob and Lance agreed to get proper footing first before considering surrogacy. The ladder through the medical field was tougher than his college education so Lance had to weigh his choices effectively. Jacob’s first job as a high school instructor paid decently but Jacob wanted to write books instead of presenting each day to a crowd of rowdy teenagers. The end goal did not seem to be the happily ever after they both thought it would be, but it was still the fairytale they believed it so. It may be the island in the middle of a puzzling and vast ocean, but it was still the patch of land that sheltered the best thing in both of their lives.
In a couple of years, Jacob managed to publish his first collection of poems which immediately caught the public’s attention thanks to his friend Enid’s husband who publicized it in his gigs and concerts. Through his book, Jacob earned a growing audience that attracted the attention of literary magazines to include him in their roster. One particular mag pursued Jacob for a spot in their folio that allowed additional income and a stable medium for his writing. It was a great thing for him and Lance because it enabled them to save more money for a baby soon enough.
A couple of years of saving was enough to convince themselves that they were ready for a new addition to their family. Despite having some inkling of doubt and fear, Lance found a surrogate mother to conceive their baby. A year after came Violet, a sweet little girl with a curious mind. She was joyful as Jacob and fun as Lance. At first, it was difficult to balance work with the new set-up in their home. It became messier and louder inside but that was the call to be parents than just being husbands. Anyhow, Lance and Jacob welcomed this music and let it harness them to grow further as individuals. Like how they lifted each other up to reach both of their potentials, they wanted to do the same for their daughter they love as much. They hoped that Violet would thrive in their love as much as they did for each other in the past. Jacob and Lance’s story wasn’t a fairytale that Violet could read in books, but they both aimed to give her the fairytale life as if she was the princess raised by two kings.
From being high school students living in the opposite poles of the social spectrum, Jacob and Lance became princes and then kings of their own royal narratives. However, at the bottom of their hearts and at the back of their minds, their presences in each other lives would always be golden reminders of who they were before and what made them dream beyond the borders of adolescence. Jacob will always be the sunflower, the symbol of joy and enthusiasm as Lance will always be the personification of the seasons who moved time to change the course of their story. Theirs wasn’t a fairytale nor a redemptive narrative, rather, Jacob and Lance’s story resonated an ode meant for either lovers who were proud to love and who were faithful to happiness. Each chapter celebrated and glorified joy for the little things in life that paved way for bigger things that could unravel. For them both, it was all the minutes they spent together that unfolded their way to the bigger constructs in life.The simple smiles, the unspoken fondness and the constant appreciation that came along the way brought them together to the center where their stories married for a lifetime of happily ever after.