The Kinsey Scale

By Degrassi-Doll

Marco x Ellie

I'm so freakin' weird for doing this. But their hookup in "Don't Stop Believin'" made me fangirl all over the place. Don't hate me. I love Marco and would never want his sexuality changed, because then he wouldn't be Marco. But, really. Him and Ellie are hot together.

P.S. This scale stuff is legit. I didn't make it up. Promise.

On a scale of zero to six, Marco Del Rossi is a five.

Zeros and sixes are actually very rare, even though most people identify as one sexual orientation or the other. In reality, straight people are most likely ones, and homosexuals are most likely fives. The numbers are all in accordance with the Kinsey Scale.

According to the Kinsey Scale, everybody has a number, from zero to six, that identifies his or her sexual preferences. Completely straight people, those who have never thought once sexually or romantically about someone of the same gender, are zeroes; those who are completely gay are sixes. The ones and fives are those who are mostly heterosexual and homosexual, respectively, but are comfortable enough with their sexuality to try out, or even feel a slight and fleeting attraction towards, someone of the gender that they wouldn't normally feel attracted to; ones are the heterosexuals with slight homosexual tendencies, and fives are the homosexuals who have a little bit of heterosexuality in them. Twos and fours are also predominantly heterosexual or homosexual, but may feel a bit more strongly than a one or a five about someone that's of their non-preferred gender. Threes, last but not least, are the completely bisexual ones.

Marco knows he's gay. Completely, though? It can be doubted.

He tried very hard to like his best friend, Ellie Nash, when he first found out that she had a crush on him. He really did. He wanted so, so much to be straight, but he knew that he was not. He knew that Ellie would never be anything more to him than a close friend, and he knew that he'd never be able to give his parents a grandchild. How could he change the way he felt, though? Marco didn't feel right the first time he kissed Ellie, and the right feeling hit him the first time he kissed Dylan Michalchuk. After coming to terms with his sexuality, Marco acknowledged that doing what felt right, and not what seemed right, was right.

Not only was Marco more self-confident once he accepted the fact that he was gay, but he also became more outgoing. He was more lively and sociable towards his friends, feeling a sense of ease and openness that he hadn't felt before. Finally, Marco was able to have fun and talk to friends in his lie without the constant paranoia that would rush through his head - the paranoia that someone would find out his secret. Coming out of the closet did a lot of good for Marco.

Ellie, he knew, was a big part of helping him accept himself. He felt he owed it to her for helping him become the person he is today. She would always be his best friend, and he would always be hers - they were able to tell each other everything, and nothing would be uncomfortable between them. So he invited her to live with him once they entered university, because it was his way of helping her (and, he admitted, it was very difficult not to see her as frequently as he had before college). The two best friends were thrilled to still be in each other's lives as much as they were, and they were still able to have the movie nights, long and ice-cream-filled venting sessions, and homework cramming together.

In fact, his level of security and solace would increase so much around his best friend that, one night, Marco did something he never, ever thought he would.

It happened after a huge surprise came upon him, Ellie, and Marco's then-boyfriend, Eric. The new editor of the university paper, The Core, was to be decided, and everyone believed that Eric was a shoo-in for the position. Naturally, though, Marco was thrilled for Ellie when she was given the honor, which didn't go over too well with Eric. Bitter, Eric called it quits with Marco. Marco was disappointed, but he did acknowledge that Eric wasn't worth it if he would get mad at him and Ellie over something that none of them had control over; also, he recognized that his friendship with Ellie was more important than his romance with Eric.

At the same time, their other roommate, Paige Michalchuk, was moving out. Ellie was, as well, and Marco hadn't been so dejected since he could remember. One night, when Ellie came into Marco's room to have a heart-to-heart with him about Eric and the fact that they'd be friends no matter where they lived, she gave him a goodnight kiss. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary - Marco was comfortable enough with his sexuality to give his best friend a peck, and Ellie clearly didn't have anything against the action. When the simple goodnight peck turned into a full-on makeout session, though, Marco wasn't sure what to think.

He also wasn't sure he could resist his best friend.

Marco was gay, and he knew it. It was so hard to resist her at that time, though, that he couldn't help but feel confused again. Her soft skin and her beautiful, thick hair...what was he doing? He had never once felt any sort of attraction, sexual or romantic, towards a female, and the thought of being intimate with someone whom he thought of as a sister was a bit frightening. It didn't feel wrong, though - actually, it felt quite right. Almost as right as being with Dylan. Maybe just as right.

His spell of desire for his feisty best friend had to have been brought upon by a combination of the comfort he felt around her, and just the fact that she felt so damn nice. They did do a lot more than he expected to, though. The making out turned into a falling on the bed together, which led to the inevitable removal of shirts and Ellie's bra. He pushed the hair from her eyes and gazed into them, and they resumed their harsh lip contact. After he removed her pants, and after she yanked off his, they mutually came to the silent decision that it was time to stop where they were. They couldn't go any farther. They couldn't do that to one another - especially Ellie, who knew she couldn't give Marco that feeling of uncertainty again.

Obviously, it was unavoidable that Marco would feel uncertain about a lot following that night. They'd fallen asleep together, not quite going all the way but reaching a point where they could have. Hurriedly rushing out of the room, Marco remained as confused as he was before he readily confessed to himself that he was gay. Ellie's not-so-subtle bacon analogy left him able to confess: He'd never felt that way about "bacon" before. Was Marco really falling for Ellie?

After their discussion about food, the two opened up about the actual night. Marco's confusion about his best friend, he found, was approached differently by the girl in question. Her nonchalant, it's-no-big-deal, we-only-kissed attitude about the whole affair did hurt Marco. He wouldn't deny that. If it were with any girl other than Ellie, Marco doubted it would have escalated to the level that it did. But to hear Ellie's shruggish words left him wondering if, had Marco been any other guy, she really felt that the previous night meant nothing. The thought of it meaning so much to him and nothing to her scared him immensely, and the feelings of doubt surfaced even stronger after their conversation.

Neither of them wanted to stop, but did out of respect for one another's feelings. That had to show something.

The final verdict was that, although the night prior was special in every sense of the word, the two were completely and utterly dependent on one another for absolutely everything. This fact did comfort Marco - there was no need to feel quite as confused, because Ellie was simply someone he was dependent on, even for intimacy, despite his sexuality. Ellie agreed with the statement completely. She couldn't deny that Marco was a special person in her life, and that it was possible that the kiss did mean something more than a simple hookup. Because of their emotional bond, nothing they ever did together would be meaningless - not even nearly making love. This, though, was the reason they needed to move on and part ways.

It was difficult, immensely difficult, for both Marco and Ellie. Fortunately, though, they remained the best of friends as they promised, and their ability to move on made their bond even stronger. All anger and frustration about their passionate night had been replaced with acceptance and a certain closeness to one another. Satisfied, Marco was fully positive again that he was gay. Ellie was and still is his best friend, his beautiful best friend whom he will not say he didn't felt some lust for on a certain occasion. She was the only woman he'd ever felt such feelings for, and he knew it, but he also knew that he was comfortable enough with his sexuality to have those feelings for his best friend without obsessing over them.

Yes, Marco was indeed a five on the Kinsey Scale. Dylan, Tim, Eric. They were all proof that he was homosexual, preferred guys. Even so, a part of him would always feel something special for his quirky Ellie.

Most people are, on occasion, a little bit sexually unbalanced, after all.

Whaaaaat did I just write. Whoa. Did that seriously just get typed by my fingers? Seriously, though, please don't hurt me for writing that. I know that Marco is totally gay, but I had to indulge myself in the beauty that is Mellie. It's so, so cute. I don't dislike Marco for being gay, and I don't want to change that, or anything like that. But the irresistibility (is that a word?) of their rendezvous was so compelling and I just had to write this. I might rewrite part of the ending, but I'll probably forget to and it will most likely remain the way it is. :) Thank you for reading! Review and give constructive criticism, if you don't mind. Thanks again!