My (slightly NSFW) thoughts about ShittyāsĀ āheterosexualityā below the line. And yes I do believe that Shitty and Jack hooked up their frosh year. (If youād like to skip the NSFW, just skip the first paragraph.)
I am quite a big fan of the idea of Freshman Shitty and Freshman Jack having a late night, one-time-only make out sesh after parentsā weekend when theyāre still getting to know each other, which ends with a young and completely straight (obviously) Shitty on Jackās lap, humping Jackās firm thigh, panting and whimpering into Jackās neck while he shudders through an orgasm still fully clothed, his mustache tickling the skin just behind Jackās ear.
Jack doesnāt cum, but he does feel really good about helping his new friend de-stress after watching him be ridiculed by his uptight father all throughout parentsā weekend. He feels useful, like he was able to finally do something right after the pressure of playing college-level hockey in front of his professional-level father. He smooths one hand down Shittyās back over and over in the aftermath, the other hand still firmly gripping Shittyās ass beneath his pants. Thereās no stress in any of his actions when heās with Shitty, no pressure in whispering quiet reassurances in Shittyās ear and lending him a fresh pair of boxers (which Shitty does not put on) after his shower. They curl up in bed and fall asleep in each othersā arms for the first time that night.
They donāt talk about it the next day, or the next week, or the next few months, but they are noticeably closer (if thatās even possible.) And Shitty thinks he understands when Jack shuts him out for a few days after Kennyās first visit. He doesnāt ask questions like their other teammates, just lets Jack come back to him on his own time and doesnāt push no matter how badly he wants to know. (In truth, he really doesnāt want to know.)
And Shitty thinks he understands when Jack starts washing his bedsheets more frequently after starting a checking clinic with the cute Blonde frog in their Junior year. Actively tries not to understand when Jackās showers take too long in the morning, or when Jack starts locking his door on Shitty for the first time since they moved into the Haus. Itās a little bit like watching your teenage son declare independence, which is actually a pretty weird comparison considering that one night after parentsā weekend, but it rings true.Ā
For the longest time, Shitty had rationalized. Heās not queer, heās just a damn good ally. He knows that he isnāt queer because heās thought about it so much, and he would be fine with being queer, obviously, but heās not. That night with Jack was a fluke. They hadnāt talked about it, and Jack hadnāt cum, so it wasnāt, like, sex. It was two soul-bonded best bro friends who were platonically comforting one another after a harrowing weekend with a sexual act which was not queer by nature, honestly, because it was so⦠platonic. Right? That orgasm was a vessel of bro-love that needed to be expressed in order to break down the heteronormative walls that were keeping them from reaching their full best-bro potential, obviously, and it filled its purpose! And never happened again. So obviously, no, Shitty is not queer. Because Jack is not queer, really. Heās just a bro who likes to help his best bros out on occasion. Like with Kent.Ā
And his sexual tension with Bits was easily explained away when you take into account the actual non-sexual tension that Jack shouldered in response to the perceived threat that Bitty was in Jackās eyes. It was obviously just, like, a weird crossed wires moment of hormones and pent-up fears of failure and lost potential and whatever else was brewing in Jackās head. So Jack couldnāt be queer, because if he was, then the night they spent together wasnāt just a bromance bonding moment but rather a thing, and Shitty doesnāt have things with other men because heās straight.Ā
But then, Jerryās happens. And now Jack and Bitty are out, and Shitty shuts down for a moment out of fear and confusion and Jackās queer? Jackās queer and I came on his leg. And I liked it? And then heās just running on autopilot, doling out congratulations and support and kicking himself for being the very thing heād been campaigning against for the past four years- a heteronormative dickwad. Why did he keep asking about Jackās girlfriend? Seriously? After everything? Is he that fucking stupid? Oh God, heās just like all the assholes he hated at Andover. Heās just like his dad.Ā
But Jack trusted him with this highly-confidential knowledge, and that has to count for something. Shitty can be a good friend. He knows how to do this, everyone comes out to him. He can make things right.Ā
Which might start with apologizing to his best friend. And being honest with himself.