In the halls of a high school in Los Angeles, California, it can be pure madness. There’s lots of stereotypes, drama, tea being spilled, and it can be scary. According to the sources in this school, I’m considered the most different student, currently attending. It doesn’t bother me, but at the same time it does. Everyone whispers behind my back making me uncomfortable every minute of the day. My name is Noah, I’m 17 years old and I’m gay. I have a crush on this guy named James, but he’s straight. James shines like a star, he’s your classic, all star, football jock. He wears nike compression pants. I just wear regular tight pants that cut into my blood circulation. He sometimes wears his captain varsity jacket. I wear my old, torn jean jacket every day. I like to stare at him in the halls when he’s talking to his buddies until one of his friends sees me and sticks up their finger at me. The weird thing about that is that he doesn’t really mind my staring, like he doesn’t find it weird at all. Yesterday, I was proved wrong on so many levels. In the locker room after gym class, I was taking a shower because I was actually sweating in gym class today. I thought I was alone in the locker room until I see him walk up to my shower curtain. His ripped, sweaty body just coming up towards me. I freeze in my position, flabbergasted. My mind took a round trip to the moon trying to comprehend what was happening and what was about to happen. He casually gets in the shower with me. With me, scrawly, pale, little Noah. He leans in for a kiss and I kiss him back. In a matter of 2 minutes, we’re interrupted by most of his football team. They see us, we see them and I stand there, expecting the worst. To my surprise, the worst never came. They all started shouting at him, cheering him on. It felt scripted, almost like a trap. They hand us a towel, James and I go down the line exchanging high fives with all of the guys. At that moment, I understood everything that was going on. James was a popular guy and I wasn’t. If James could be gay, everyone else could accept it. He made LGBT students feel normal. As James and I walk down the hall, he squeezes my tiny, little hand and all I can say to him was, “Thanks James”.