Luke has never viewed himself as special. He’s a normal kid. He likes matchbox cars and action figures and hates pink things and ponies. He has a mom and a dad and a little sister. He has cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. He’s normal.

Luke thinks his family is normal too. But he knows that other people don’t think so. They don’t think that having a total of fifteen different sets of aunts and uncles is normal. And in reality it’s only fourteen, because the fifteenth isn’t an aunt and an uncle, it’s an uncle and an uncle. Luke knows people think that’s not normal, but he does. Two men together isn’t bad, is it?

“Yes, it is!” someone told him when he asked one day. “Two men together is very, very bad!” Luke regrets asking now, because he had asked Kyle’s mother and Kyle’s family are very staunch Catholics, and when he asked them Kyle got in trouble because his mother thought he was hanging around with gays. Kyle forgave him, and then asked what gays were anyway.

“They’re people who like people that are the same kind as them,” Luke had explained. “Like boys liking boys and girls liking girls.”

Kyle had frowned. “Dad says that’s a sin.”

Luke shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s only a sin for some people, because my parents don’t think so.”

Luke knows know that it’s not a sin, but some people think it is. He’s never thought so, because he was actually delivered by his gay uncle in a cabin in the middle of the woods. He supposes that’s why he feels so close to Uncle Robert and Uncle Jake.

At school, Luke observes everyone in what he thinks to be a normal way. He looks at Kyle and sees his best friend. He looks at Holly and sees his favorite cousin. He looks at Moby and sees a really good soccer player. He looks out the window and sees Diego and Kurt playing in the falling leaves, and he sees a pair of best friends.

But Luke also sees things a little differently. When he looks at Kurt, he sees someone that acts like Uncle Jake, except more innocent because he’s younger. When he looks at Sam and Nikki, he sees two girls who are a little closer than friends, even if they don’t realize it. It’s not that he thinks they are gay, it’s just that he doesn’t rule out the possibility that they aren’t. It’s how he was brought up; his parents, even though they too belong to a religion, never taught him prejudice against homosexuals. His Minister at the church (Luke’s family is Protestant) says that he personally doesn’t view being gay as sinful, but a lot of people do. Luke likes his Minister a lot for saying that he doesn’t mind. He knows for a fact that Uncle Jake and Uncle Robert are well loved by everyone at the church because they help out so much.

So when Luke walks into the classroom on Monday, he sees everything as he normally would. Except that Ms. Eddings looks sad and nervous and… Angry? Luke is surprised. He’s never seen Ms. Eddings angry before.

When the bell rings, she calls for attention and everyone is quiet. “Class,” she begins, “Mr. Fredrickson, our principal, has asked me to talk to you about an incident that happened after school on Friday.” She sits on the edge of her desk and sighs deeply. “Two children, both of them boys, were caught in the bathroom sharing a kiss.”

There’s a unified gasp in the classroom, but people don’t talk.

“Now, according to the boys they were just joking, but Mr. Fredrickson has asked me to tell you that behavior like that will not be tolerated at this school. It’s…” She pauses, and Luke can tell she’s really angry now “Well, he says wrong and anyone who repeats it will be expelled.”

Luke raises his hand. “Why is being gay wrong?”

Ms. Eddings sighs and gives him a small smile. “It’s not, Luke, and I want everyone to know that. You kids are beginning to grow up now, and you’re beginning to notice each other. I want you to know that it doesn’t matter who you like, but while Mr. Fredrickson is our principal, you need to be careful about saying it aloud.” She stands up and smiles even more. “Just remember that you’re safe in this classroom and that I will help you if you need it.”

People smile back at her, and Luke notices Kurt looks a little more relaxed than he did a second ago, and that Nikki is smiling even more widely than normal.

Luke looks out the window and sees Mr. Fredrickson walking against the wind, drying leaves smacking him in the face and leaving red marks. And Luke’s looking at him like he does everyone else he knows doesn’t like gays; like he should be punished; badly.

And for Luke, that’s normal.

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A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up. My computer was at the shop for several days. Nest chapter will be Halloween, and probably a bit longer than the others