"Cooper?"
"Yeah Blaine." He came into my room after school one day.
"What's a fag?"
"A cigarette?"
"Why do boys at school call me a cigarette?"
"Wait, wait, what?"
"Tommy Nelson and other boys told me I was a stupid fag when I was playing with Sarah, Kelsey and Deanna at recess today."
"Did you tell mom this."
"Well kinda." I looked at him confused.
"I was asking her what it was and she said she didn't have time to answer pointless questions like that."
"Oh, look kid if this kid calls you that again tell the teacher or something okay?"
"I still don't get what it is though."
"It's when a boy likes another boy or girl likes another girl."
"So?"
"It's not a nice word."
"I don't see what's wrong with that though."
"There are nicer ways to say somebody loves another person of the same sex and he was saying it in an irrelevant context. If you ask me kid you're doing it right. You're going to have it in with the ladies in high school if you're buddy buddy with them already."
"Okay Coop whatever you say."

Two days later Blaine came home with cuts on his elbows and bruises blossoming on his arms. He didn't look at me in the eye when he came in though. He threw his book bag down and practically sprinted to his room.
"Blaine?" He was on his bed softly crying. I walked over to him and rubbed his tiny back.
"What happened kid."
"Nothing." He sniffled.
"I don't believe that for a second."
"I just feel like crying okay?"
"You can cry, but I would like to know why." He didn't say anything just laid there with his head in the pillow. "Should I get mom?"
He shot up. "No, no, she'll just tell dad and he'll think I'm just a big baby that needs to grow. Plus she's working and I don't want to disturb her." He rambled.
"So then, what happened bud?"
"Well… um… so Tommy and his friends Brian, Spencer and Jeff thought it would be fun to corner me at recess when I was playing house with the girls. They umm.., pushed me down and said I should stop be so gay and stuff like that and it hurt my arms and my feelings."
"I'll be right back." I walked to the pantry and got anti bacterial pads and band aids. I put them on his elbows and sat down next to him and hugged him.
"Why didn't you want to tell me?"
"I just…" his cheeks got red under the tracks on his face. "I was embarrassed."
"You shouldn't be embarrassed with me Blaine."
"I know." He looked down.
I should have done something about those boys then. But I didn't. That is something I will forever regret.