Adam shook his head as he watched Becky walk away, snapping himself out of his trance. Becky homophobic Baker was volunteering herself to sit in a room with all sorts of members of the LGBTQ community and was actually willing to listen to what they had to say? What different dimension of the world had Adam walked into?

Drawing his cell phone from his pocket, his eyes grew wide as he noticed he only had a couple more minutes to get to class. He buried his phone back into his pant pocket and scurried along to make it on time to his first class. The last thing he needed was a possible lunch detention when this could be his only chance to open the mind of someone he found so incredible.

Adam had an insanely difficult time making it through the four classes and one break he had prior to his lunch date with Becky. Well, not so much date, more like a teaching experience but a guy was allowed to dream, right? His time in class consisted of incessant finger drumming on the desk, the tips of his writing implements hitting the wooden surface as well, and him gazing out the window to focus on his daydreaming, only to be called out by teachers and forced to automatically respond, 'Huh? Oh sorry, I don't know'.

What felt like a millennium later, lunch rolled around. Adam was running a little late, having to quickly finish up his class work last minute do to his short attention span today. As soon as he finished a couple minutes after the bell, he gathered up his things, shoving them into his bag in a disorderly fashion, zipped it up and nearly sprinted to the LGBTQ room.

As he rounded the corner, he slowed his pace and took in several slow, deep breaths. This was his one shot to have Becky realize that he was mentally and emotionally no different than any other guy. Between the ears, where it mattered. If she gave him a shot, they could cross the bridge of his complex physical aspect when they got to it and he would be patient with her knowing that it was a lot to take in especially being a foreigner to the community.

After shrugging his shoulders, straightening his posture and twisting his neck to stretch it out, Adam felt like he put aside the nerves as best as possible at that moment. He cautiously placed his hand on the doorknob, his heart racing and mind flooding with 'what ifs'. What if she didn't show up? What if she was in there making herself look like a fool? What if she's in there passing out her father's therapy fliers? A lot was on the line right now, but Adam wouldn't allow himself to live with his own 'what ifs'.

Swinging the door open, Adam confidently stepped inside a little more relaxed as he took in the familiar, welcoming environment. The desks were in a circle, stools in the middle for the advisor and leaders of the club. Adam's eyes shifted around until he caught sight of Becky, sitting at one of the desks more secluded from everyone else. His heart nearly stopped, unable to predict the outcome of this situation. Instead of running however, Adam made his way over to Becky and took the seat beside her as she laid out her lunch on the desk.

The scuffle in the seat beside her caught Becky's attention which was mostly focused on the desk in front of her. She lifted her gaze to Adam, genuinely smiling brightly at his presence. "Hey!" She said enthusiastically. "I almost thought you wouldn't show up." She joked, knowing that Adam was aware of his tardiness and that he knew she was always prompt and timely. Adam just laughed softly as Becky took out half of her sandwich, handing it to him. "Here, take it. I can never finish a full one."

Adam didn't resist, taking the half of the sandwich as Becky placed down a napkin on his desk so he could have a semi clean eating environment.

As the last few people strolled in, the club continued with their agenda. As Becky and Adam ate, they mostly were quiet as they paid full attention to whoever was speaking at the time. The advisor opened things up for discussion, asking if anyone had anything to share. Some people talked about how they went on their first dates since coming out, some people talked about their relationships and the directions those were going in. Adam conspicuously turned his gaze to Becky whom he could see was fully attentive but was near cringing at some of the details people brought out about their personal lives.

The club continued on as the student leaders took over, lightening the mood more as they played some name games, some trivia games to get to know each other better and a question-response section where everyone just talked about their goals for the day, week or even the year. All which Becky participated in whole-heartedly.

Near the end of the club meeting, the leaders opened things up for discussion. Some people asked what they should do about asking someone out, or how to identify if someone may be part of the community so that if they found them attractive they would flirt with them without making things awkward or having the person cause a scene if they weren't. They quickly got through those questions, the teacher advisor and the student leaders practically being pros at all of the subjects.

Just as the meeting was about to be dismissed, a hand shot up. It was Adam's.

"Yeah so what's your opinions on people who don't agree with this. With us. People who don't understand and protest against it. People who think it goes against nature and say it's all wrong? People who try to have us conform to their ideas of normal and believe that things like therapy can supposedly 'fix' us?" Adam looked at Becky from the corner of his eye as he drew his question to an end. She shifted uncomfortably, even squirming a bit. However, her eyes and ears remained on the speakers, interested in their response.

A student leader took the question, drawing in a deep breath before they spoke. Surprisingly, none of the leaders knew Becky so they weren't going to sugar coat their answer. They didn't assume she was part of the community automatically, but they were uninformed on her and her family's efforts to go against the so-called chosen lifestyle. "Well Adam, that's a loaded question. I'm sure I can speak for the rest of the leaders when I say we can't judge them. We don't always know how they grew up but sometimes we do know that some of those people grew up in religious households. Which isn't a bad thing, it can make people outstanding citizens. However, some people take some things too literally, or sometimes I do think they lack to realize that they are judging and bullying when that's definitely not condoned in the Bible. It just depends on the person. Some people can change their view, some people can't. The only thing that really matters though is that everyone respects each other's opinions. They aren't wrong how they live and we aren't wrong for how we live."

Becky's face was soft at the response. As the leaders asked if there were any more questions and no one responded, everyone began packing up. Just then, one last hand shot up.

It caught the eye of the advisor, who had everyone calm down and relax one again before bolting out the door. "Wait, one last question. Yes, go ahead. State your name again too sweetie."

"Becky Baker." She said quietly, uneasy about all the attention drawn on her. "I came here today with Adam and I'm just so confused. I come from a religious household, my dad is a minister in church. All my life all I ever knew was the Bible and that living by that, I was ensured to go to heaven when I passed. We're told being gay or anything else like it is wrong, but after being here today I realize that you guys are all wonderful people who really aren't doing anything wrong. I just don't know what to believe. You're all so nice, warm, friendly and welcoming. My kind just shuns you and tries to…fix you. I just need to understand how this wasn't a choice, that being gay or…" She said, looking at Adam, "transgendered wasn't a lifestyle choice."

Everyone was set in silence as they stared at the blonde girl whom they've all never interacted with until today. Adam bit at his bottom lip, looking at Becky so sympathetically. The girl was lost, she was sheltered so she doesn't understand. Adam just hoped that someone could somehow get her to understand because he was sure he couldn't.

"Well Miss Baker…" The advisor began, smiling at her. "I'm in the same boat as you. I came from a strong Christian home. 'Gay' was a word that wasn't even said in my home or in the church. Gay and straight weren't even used as labels. All we knew was that boys and girls fell in love and married each other. Then I was told this: why would anyone choose to put themselves through the torment that people of the LGBTQ community face everyday? They don't ask to get their belonging vandalized, or ask to get bullied and beaten, or ask to have people harassing them. They know what they feel, and some people do go through those programs and supposedly come out straight afterwards, but I can tell you right now that they are not happy nor fulfilled. And those people who try so hard to be 'normal' sometimes kill themselves when they can't make themselves love who society believes they should love. It's difficult to understand, I know, especially coming from a background such as yours. But you'll understand someday. I already believe that you are that much open minded just because you came in here today, and we all commend you for that."

An applause filled the air just as Becky felt like she was about to faint. She took in the faces of all the people in the community – some of them she could have sworn were actually straight. As the clapping ceased and everyone exited the room it just left Adam and Becky standing and gathering their things. Becky remained silent as she slid her purse onto her shoulder and hurried out, Adam swinging his backpack on his shoulder as he followed her out.

Adam traced her trail which consisted of the clattering of her heels and the noises left by her soft whimpers and weeping. Adam almost lost sight of her, trying to keep up with her every step. Before he knew it she had disappeared. He turned a few corners, jerked his head in every which direction but kept his feet moving. Luckily, Adam could sense her which ultimately brought him to a secluded hallway, away from virtually every person in the school.

Becky was leaned against the wall, sobbing softly. Adam slid his arms around her, drawing her in for a tight hug. Becky threw her arms around his neck, holding him close and breathing him in. Adam's heart sank.

"I'm so sorry I put you through that. I know that was a lot to take in. I shouldn't have made you go in there." He apologized, gently rubbing her back in a comforting motion.

"No Adam." She sniffled, shaking her head as tears streamed down her face. "That's just what I needed. I know it seems so unrealistic but I get it now. I'm just…confused still. Confused that I think it wasn't a choice. I feel bad though, parts of it are still so…weird to me. But it's hard. I know you are all good people who essentially were born that way. It's just that my family won't get that…and I feel like I'm going against what I was raised upon."

"I don't know much, but I do know that God doesn't make mistakes Becky." Adam consoled. "So people like us are around for a reason. You may not get it now but it's got to be part of His plan. He's doing His job perfectly. You're not going against anything, just discovering what He's put out there for you."

Becky slightly withdrew from Adam, using her hand to dig through her purse to find a napkin as she sniffled softly. Adam just pulled her in close so that her body pressed against his, looked into her eyes and brought his hand up, wiping away the tears that stained her perfectly rosy cheeks.

Becky's red, tear-filled eyes just stared into his, her hand against the back of his neck, ruffling his hair. She pulled her other hand from her purse, bringing it, too, onto the back of his neck, lacing her fingers.

Before Adam knew it, her face crashed into his, her lips locked with his as she kissed him ever so softly but ever so passionately at the same time.

No questions asked, Adam wrapped his arms tightly around her petite waist to get a good hold on her, returning the kiss tenderly.