Peacefully

He'd known he was opening a can of worms when he'd asked Jordan about being gay so he wasn't completely shocked by the jock's violent response. Being macho was part of the identity of jocks, especially when they were in high school, before they'd had a chance to go out into the real world and see other models of life... and while they were still very much under the influence of frequently homophobic parents and coaches. So, Matt wasn't about to respond to **** with ****. On the other hand, he wasn't that big on having the shit beat out of him.

"Jordan, do you want to tell me why you're so mad?"

"Are you kidding? You just accused me of being a homo."

Jordan hadn't put down his fists but he wasn't swinging them while he was talking which, Matt thought, represented progress.

"Let's leave the exact wording alone for a second," Matt said. "The way I look at it, either you are gay or you're not. Right? And if you are, you shouldn't be offended. And if you're not, well, why would you care about what I call you. I mean, would you get upset if I called you a skyscraper or something?"

"That's different."

"Let me get a wet towel for my bleeding nose, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I... look, I don't like it when people call me names."

"Sure." Matt found a rag in a drawer, wet it down, and pressed it to his nose. It didn't feel broken, he thought. Although he was going to have to change shirts considering he'd bled all over the one he was wearing. "Nobody likes being called names. I mean, I'd hate it if someone called me a pervert or a jerk, right."

"Yeah, of course."

"The thing is, being a pervert or a jerk is a bad thing. There's nothing wrong with being gay."

"Right. Except fags go to hell, talk funny, walk funny, dress funny, and don't get athletic scholarships."

Matt sighed. "Let's come back to the hell thing, okay, and just deal with the talking, walking, dressing and athletic thing, okay."

"Dealing with God last is a sure way to hell."

"Look, neither of us is going to die anytime soon and we'll have plenty of time to repent and be forgiven for our sins, right? So I think we have a few minutes to deal with the issues before the theology."

Jordan looked uncertain. "I was raised right."

Yeah, sure. Raised to think that poor people should be beat up and that football was the measure of a man. Arguing the point didn't seem smart, though.

"Great, Jordan. Let's talk about it."