Josh sat in class. He couldn't seem to get himself to pay attention to what his teacher was saying. Not that it really made a difference on the first day of school, but he wasn't exactly thrilled with where his thoughts were going.
To say the least, he'd been stunned when he'd found out Lance was actually James. That just blew his mind. The shy little boy who'd looked to feminine for his own good had grown up, and he had grown up well from what Josh could see. He just couldn't believe it was the same person. How the hell could all of that happen over three months?
And he didn't like it that that was the only thing he could think about. He knew he was bisexual, had known for years. So did everyone else in the school. They all knew James, or Lance as he was calling himself now, was gay. And he knew that those months of hell for the boy were due to him. He'd been the one to over hear Justin and James' conversation about it one day, and he'd been the one to tell the whole school. He'd listened those first few months as other students had called him names and made jokes at his expense. He had been one of them more often than not. He was just glad, at the time, that they were messing with James about it instead of him
He knew that all of that was wrong. And he couldn't even explained what it was that made him play those pranks and jokes on James. His reputation would have kept him from becoming the center of those same joke, should he have taken James under his wings, accepted him a little. So why couldn't he have done that, instead of making his life a living hell?
And that was yet another thing. Josh had never thought on how it made the younger man feel. Josh had never though of him as a person with feelings, just something to pass the time away on, to have a bit of fun with. He'd never considered what he'd be doing to someone else's feelings. But now he had to, because he knew. He knew what it had done to James, anyone could see that now. He would have hated to have had someone pick on him so mercilessly that he changed everything about himself just so he wouldn't be recognized, to include his name.
So now, where James had once been, there was now Lance. Lance, with his spiked blonde hair, other worldly green eyes, and buff build. Lance of the deep, DEEP voice, where James' had been squeaky with puberty. So much the same person, but so incredibly different. And Josh didn't know how to treat him.
He knew he couldn't go back to the way things were. It was just something that he couldn't do anymore, knowing what it had done to James. Maybe Lance would give him a chance, where he'd never given one to James. Maybe they were that forgiving.
As Josh left the classroom at the end of the period, eyes open, looking for Lance, he hoped he really was that forgiving.
~*~
Lance made his way through the crowded hallways, pushing his way through where the students were gathered too thick. Finally, the day was over. The madness that always accompanied the first day of school had come to an end. And madness had been what it was. He had never expected this sort of a response to his personal changes.
Throughout the day, he'd been patted on the back for speaking his mind. He'd been talked to by some people who wouldn't have given him the time of day the year before. He'd been complimented on the changes he'd made, and he had actually gotten invited to a party the next weekend. He didn't know where all this was coming from.
And of course, there had been the usual snide remarks and jibes made at him. The normal jokes towards his sexuality. Sarcastic comments surrounding his changes. The status quo that he had grown to expect from some of the more ignorant and stubborn people that attended his school. He'd grown used to it over the years, and though they still stung, he'd learned to ignore them for the most part.
All in all, it had been a very strange day.
Pushing his way through the doors to the parking lot, Lance breathed in the fresh summer air that would be around for nearly three more months. That was the one thing he hated about being at school, other than the people, was being indoors all day. He was more of the outdoor-y type person. If every other student was mute, and they had class outside, Lance would never leave school. That thought made him smile.
"Hey, Bass"
Lance's head jerked up as he heard himself addressed. He laughed out loud when he saw what was waiting for him in the parking lot. There was Justin, just as he'd expected, waiting by his car. But unexpectedly was Sam lounging sensually on the hood of the small car. Joey and Josh by her side.
The picture they all made was enough to earn his laughter, besides the fact that Josh was standing slightly behind Joey and looking rather uncomfortable about being there. Lance saw this as his opportunity to show Josh a thing or two. Josh may have had the popularity to make his life miserable in the past, but Lance knew he had charisma and class.
"Well, it's not everyday I have a beautiful girl on my car." Lance said, leaning his elbows on the car and looking down at Sam. "Why don't you guys get lost. Come back in an hour or three." Lance joked, winking at Sam.
"And here I thought you were batting for the other team." Sam said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
"Sam, you just look so good, you could make any gay man a switch hitter." Lance chuckled.
"OK, I'm gonna have to do something if you decide to start swinging both ways, Bass. I'd loss all my girls." Joey said, laughing and slapping Lance on the back as Lance stood.
"Well, that seals it. Sorry Sam. I couldn't possibly take Joey's women away from him. That would be criminal." Lance said, opening his door and throwing his back pack into the backseat of his little car.
"Damn. Well, I guess I'll just have to settle for your taste in guys then. You are gonna come out with me Friday right?" Sam asked, slipping off the hood to stand beside the driver's door.
"I suppose so. Besides, if I didn't, I'd hear it from you all weekend I'm sure, and poor Justy over there would feel obligated to stay home with me, which would leave your sister dateless. That is if Justin got up the nerve to ask her." Lance said, shooting a questioning look towards his best friend.
Justin grinned broadly. "I asked. I'm gonna be busy Friday, so you better go out or your gonna be home alone, cause I have a date." Justin said emphatically.
"You know, I'd be happy about that if I didn't have to hear about it all week from my sister." Sam said, laughing.
"So, why the party at my car. Not like it's the best car in the lot to huddle around." Lance said, leaning back against the side of his car, arms crossed.
Josh cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Actually, their kinda here to see me make a fool of myself. Hi, James. Shit, I meant Lance." Josh said, looking everywhere but at him.
"Josh. So, to what do I owe this Great honor." Lance asked, mildly sarcastic.
"I just�I�um�.damnit. I wanted to apologize for the way I've treated you in the past. Your kinda like, a new person and you're pretty cool like this." Josh said, swiftly flowing into his smooth talking persona.
To bad Lance wasn't one for smooth talking. "You think that changes anything. I'm the same person I've always been. This is me. Nothing's changed. I thought I went through this at lunch. Just because I look different doesn't mean I am. And neither are you. So let's leave it at that, try to be civil to each other, and maybe we'll both make it til ya graduate." Lance said, sitting down in his car and closing his door, as Justin did the same.
"Call me later this week Sam. I'll see ya Joey." And with that Lance pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Josh to kick himself.