Author's Note: The song played by Amnesia at the start is 'Arm' by The Feelers, not an original song.
Part1
Teaser
It was a clear night at New Rawley. The early spring evening was sufficiently warm and relaxed enough for the kids to wander around to some of the small town's popular hang-outs, the diner, the ball park, Joe Peterson's house and the like.
However, those places were all virtually deserted, for the vast majority of the town's teen population - both that of Edmund High and Rawley Academy - were packed onto Edmund High's football field, where a temporary sound stage had been set up. This was the school's fundraising concert for paediatric cancer, and several bands from around the state had been invited to play. It was getting late and onstage was Amnesia - a band based in the outskirts of Boston and the closing act. They were at the end of their set, the night drawing to a finish.
Standing centre stage, the lead guitarist and vocalist of Amnesia was a boy who looked younger than his age, fully clad in black, chin-length dark hair dangling stubbornly in his eyes. It was hard not to notice how effeminate he was, extremely compact and fragile-looking.
To one side stood a taller guy who played back up guitars, and to the other side, the bass player. She had her hair done up in hundreds of tiny braids and her nails were painted a deep glittery purple. The drummer sat behind them on an elevated platform with the drum kit, taking a quick drink from a water bottle in the break between songs. They all wore thick black eyeliner, serving to emphasise their features that were otherwise whitewashed by the harsh overhead lights.
After taking a sip of water from the bottle that the drummer tossed him, the singer looked up for a brief moment to scan the audience, the light flickering in his eyes, which were a startling pale blue-green.
" Okay," His voice could only be described as truly indescribable, feminine but not overtly so, both clear and raspy - like tweed mixed with velvet, only vocalised. So it was perhaps unsurprising that it suited his features that were equally confusing in the gender stakes, " This is going to be our last song for tonight. We hope you've enjoyed the show."
Biting his lip slightly, he and the other guitarist began to strum vigorously, which was immediately supported by the others, the bassline working with the drums to pump out a steady rhythm that transmitted and pulsated across the field. Leaning into the microphone, his voice blasted out of the speakers.
--'A young girl / With her arms outstretched / She saw everything / And my heart reached for her�'
The crowd roared its approval, and it was obvious that this was one of Amnesia's better-known songs. A fresh bout of energy seemed to have filled the collective group of youths, many of them singing along with the lyrics.
--'The rush, the thrill / To my eyes, love included / It�s taking time�'
The violent music suddenly slowed, almost to a standstill. The boy sang on unaccompanied, his eyes downcast as he worked his guitar pick over the strings, his voice a breathy whisper.
-- 'I�m alone with you / You feel for me�'
The drums burst forth again, and the guitars followed suit. Another tremor of excitement shot through the crowd, and the guards at the front of the stage kept having to toss people off the stage, those who had been excited enough to clamber up in the first place. The singer took small notice of the commotion that was only taking place a few feet in front of him, only occasionally looking up to glance out to the audience, his long dark lashes lifting and fluttering like miniature fans.
-- 'A cry from the crowd, I forgot where I am / But wrapped around my arm / The needle of gone / Well it�s complete silence now / As I drift away / Yeah it�s complete silence now / Alone with you, you feel for me�'
The sounds suddenly muffled once more, and he smiled lazily against the microphone, abandoning the melody for a second as he spoke with seeming fatigue.
" Let�s go."
The volume of the music increased still and the crowd cheered. The singer walked back a couple of steps, shifting his weight onto his left heel as he focused on playing, watching almost detachedly his hand drifting over the fretboard of the sleek blood-red Fender Jaguar. His long slender fingers were also tipped with purple nail polish, giving people much room to mistake him for a girl� and they often did, that was a fact.
But he liked it. The androgyny. The chance to confuse and intrigue people. The power - or at least the layer of self-protection - it brought.
Having taken the small instrumental bridge, he walked forward again and leaned closer to the microphone, his voice resonating around the air.
--'Well I heard you complain / But it sounds so distant / It�s a chance I had, I don�t regret it, no / If I broke your soul, I'll relive it / If I broke your heart�'
The music suddenly gave away to silence, and the boy closed his eyes as he whispered into the microphone, voice shadowed and husky.
-- 'I regret it� I�m with you / You feel for me�"
The noisy melody burst forth again, as though impatient for this moment of contemplation. The singer grinned and opened his eyes, yelling out loud, "Let�s go!"
Amidst frenzied music and overzealous rhythms, the song finished with a flourish. The crowd went wild and he smiled again, tapping the microphone, " Thanks guys! All right, that's all for tonight, we are Amnesia, don't forget that we have an open-house gig in Boston in a couple of weeks, there're are flyers being handed around, and we'd love to see you there. Thank you, and good night!"
The crowd was noisy and reluctant, but as the band ran off the stage they slowly began to disperse, the multitudes of teens spilling out onto the quiet streets.
However, a small group standing by the bleachers did not go in the general direction of 'away' but rather inched toward the sealed off area that was watched over by a couple of security guards. A group of girls had already congregated there, trying to get past and into the 'backstage' area, having become fans of this band that was becoming increasingly popular around the region. The guards held firm.
Faye Archer, the head of the little group that consisted of Scout Calhoun, Hamilton Fleming, Jake Pratt, Bella Banks and Will Krudski, approached one of the guards and waved her wrist at him. A plastic tag was fastened to it, which the guard scrutinised, nodding as he let her through. The rest of the group followed the procedure and the girls behind them watched in noisy jealousy as they threaded past the guards in single file.
'Backstage' was the Edmund High gym, which at the moment was littered with audio equipment. Sound engineers and lighting crew walked around lethargically, tripping over the leads and cables that snaked along the floor in all directions, trying to summon the strength to start cleaning up.
Jake glanced at Hamilton, grinning from ear to ear, " That was a great concert."
" Yeah." He agreed, " It's so cool that we get to meet the band."
" Thanks so much, Faye." Bella chimed in, craning her neck to look around, " You know, for getting us backstage passes. I really wanted to meet them."
" No prob." The girl walking ahead of them replied, her voice raised as she strained to hear herself over the ringing in her ears, " Will told me you're kinda obsessed with them."
Bella blushed, whacking Will lightly on the arm. He grinned back, " What? It's true."
Faye laughed, " It wasn't exactly a hard task to get these passes�" She stopped suddenly when she spotted who she was looking for, abandoning the rest of the group and running forward, " Josh! Hey!"
The band, having just come off stage, was gathered around a few fold-out chairs, sweaty and exhausted from the concert, but fully hyped and chattering away noisily. The singer was sprawled on one of the chairs, turning to see who was yelling at him. He looked disoriented and his eyeliner was smudged, all wide-eyed and strangely haunting.
Breaking out into a huge smile when he saw Faye, he hauled himself out of the chair to launch himself at her, " Read!"
Grabbing him in a huge bear hug, Faye squealed with uncharacteristic euphoria, " I missed you so much!"
The boy was even smaller up close - standing only a little taller than the bottom of Will's chin, and a full inch shorter than Jake. Having had taken his shoes off, he was in his socks, raising up onto tiptoes as to pull back slightly from the hug, grin and kiss Faye squarely on the lips.
Jake couldn't help noticing that Scout was staring open-mouthed at the affectionate greeting. She nudged Hamilton, and the two of them exchanged a look at his dumbfounded expression, his eyes as big as saucers.
" First, you were amazing," Faye told Josh when he broke the kiss, seeming not to think of it as strange in any sense and hugging him again, " second, you forgot again that I'm not called Read anymore, and third, it's so good to see you! How long are you planning on staying at Rawley? When do you have to go back to Andover?"
The rest of the band, who were watching Josh and Faye with interest, groaned loudly. Josh turned to them, laughing, " Guys, this is Read�"
" Faye." She corrected him.
He shrugged, " Okay. Faye�" He raised an eyebrow at her for confirmation, " � Archer?"
" Archer." Faye nodded, grinning at the band. They grinned back, and Josh introduced them, pointing to each band member in turn, " This is Alex, Ben and Emily."
" Hey." The band chorused. Emily, the bassist, added, " Josh has been raving ever since he realised we were coming here for a gig. He's told us so much about you."
" Nothing too brain-numbingly boring, I hope." Faye grinned, and Josh hit her on the arm, " Like I'd ever."
She laughed, taking his hand and leading him towards the gang, who were hanging back timidly, " Come on, I want you to meet some of my friends. Josh, this is Scout, Jake, Hamilton, Bella and Will." She introduced them as they walked up, " Guys, this is Josh Sutherland."
" Hey." A smile lit up Josh's eyes, a little more than pretty, a little less than angelic. " Nice to meet you." A jumble of hellos ensued from the gang, and Will had to laugh when he saw how flustered Bella had become, knowing full well her obsession with Amnesia.
Jake, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice that Josh paused as he looked at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. She stared back, slightly thrown by this unexpected interest. He blinked, realising that he was staring and recovering quickly with a smile, looking away again and busying himself with more introductions.
Jake exchanged a glance with Hamilton, but her boyfriend only shrugged, tightening his hold on her waist.
" So, when are you going back?" Faye asked again, " We so need to catch up."
Josh grinned, throwing a look over his shoulder at the band. They rolled their eyes in a collective dramatic gesture.
Faye watched with amusement, " What does that mean?"
Alex, the drummer, yawned, " He got kicked out of Andover."
" Really?" Faye was surprised, " Why?"
Josh grinned sheepishly, " Trust me, you don't want to know."
Faye raised an eyebrow at him, and he tucked his hair behind his ears absently, " Seriously."
" Seriously." His bandmates echoed behind him, shaking their heads in exasperation. " It's the lamest story you'll ever hear." Emily added.
Faye grinned, looking at Josh with one of her famous 'you're not going to get off that easily' expressions, which he had to laugh at, " I'll tell you later, okay? It's a bit embarrassing with so many people around."
Faye sighed, hugging him again, " When will that 'later' be? I've missed you so much."
" Sooner than you think." Josh raised an eyebrow back at her.
" What do you mean?" She asked. He only grinned without answer.
She narrowed her eyes at him, " Is there something you're not telling me, Joshua?"
He smiled again, his prettiness so hard to ignore that often an unfamiliar sort of ache could creep up and overtake the beholder, just because.
" He got kicked out of school." Alex repeated, grinning.
" He gets to choose where he goes from here." Ben winked, " And the money to make sure he gets there."
" You are here." Emily added.
Josh turned back to Faye, peeking at her through his lashes, halfway serious, " And you're my favourite person in the whole wide world, Read Forrest."
" Faye Archer." She corrected him automatically, but as the facts sank in, a slow smile crept up her face, " No way�"
He grinned, " I'm not leaving."
" Are you saying�" She breathed, " Seriously?"
" Seriously?" He repeated, laughing out loud, " I've enrolled at Rawley!"
" My god!" Faye shrieked and wrapped him in a huge hug yet again, " I can't believe it!"
" I know!" Josh yelled, hugging her back, " I'm here to stay!"
" You're here!" Faye buried her face in his shoulder, " You're really coming to live here! God, this is�"
" Isn't it great?" Josh asked, swinging her around, " We are going to have so much fun!"
The others could not help but laugh at their abundance of joy and laughter and the sheer amount of noise that these two were making. Except Scout, who stood unsmiling, slightly apart from the rest.
His blue eyes fastened on Josh's slight frame, and suddenly seemed to be very troubled.
Part 2 - Opening credits and theme song
Rawley Boys' Academy
" So." Josh began, looking around with interest at the polished wood floors, the fireplace, the numerous couches scattered around the place, the TV sets and video games, and the large windows that let the morning sunlight stream into the spacious Common Room. " This is the common room."
" Where we end our tour." Hamilton told him. Leading the way to one of the couches, he nodded to acknowledge Will, who was in one of the loungers in the corner, journal open and deep in thought, as always. Will smiled and turned back to his writing, chewing on his pen.
*Will's voiceover begins*
�Reaching out, one simple gesture that could say so much. A hand offered is a hand that leads us, befriends us, helps us. You might wonder where I'm going with this, and to be honest, I'm not quite sure. But then, that's to be expected for the future, which is so full of surprises. As we continue along the paths of our lives, expect to be lost and found again and again, because even though we'll stumble, there'll always be people who'd reach out, lend a helping hand, and show us the way."
" Nice, isn't it?" Commented Faye, who had been following Hamilton and Josh for the duration of the tour. She flopped onto one of the couches, and Josh sat down next to her, nodding, " Impressive."
" Really? Better than Andover?" Hamilton asked, " You know, I always wondered what it's like. It's supposed to be the best prep school in this country, right?"
" No, I think Rawley is." Josh shrugged, " Andover's pretty much like this, actually, except bigger, and co-ed."
Hamilton nodded, watching the slender boy with undisguised interest. He could see immediately that Josh was to become something of an abnormality here. His slightly aloof attitude, unorthodox appearance and the ethereal prettiness aside, he wasn't exactly what you'd call your conventional Billionaire Boys' Club guy. Like Faye, he was dressed in head-to-toe black, wearing a slim coat that reached his knees, neat trousers tucked into chunky army boots, with matching nails to finish the look.
Josh caught Hamilton's scrutiny of his fresh coating of black nail varnish, and held his hands up with a small laugh, " I guess I'm not really the norm here, am I?"
Hamilton chuckled, " I'm afraid not. I've got to warn you, some of the guys here are pretty� uh," He paused, searching for the word.
" Prejudiced, narrow-minded, homophobic, and have massive problems seeing another guy wearing nail polish and makeup?" Josh finished for him, smiling.
Hamilton sat back with a grin, " Yeah, that just about covers it. Even if you do have some sort of coolness immunity that comes from being in a band."
Josh laughed, " Don't worry, discovered that a long time ago, believe me. But the thing is, I like nail polish, and wearing makeup makes me feel better about myself, and I don't really plan to conform anytime soon." He smiled sweetly, " So everyone who think otherwise, in my opinion, can just go to hell."
Hamilton couldn't help but laugh, " Point taken. But you're not wearing makeup now."
" No�" The other boy replied slowly, " I'm normal in that respect, I daresay. When I say I like wearing makeup I don't mean 24-7. Anyone who does that is just plain freaky, progressing from a need to look attractive into the obsessive-compulsive."
" Word." Faye remarked, smirking.
Hamilton grinned again, eyeing Josh carefully, "So� this whole prejudice and homophobia stuff, how much of that is going to be a problem to you?"
" Ham's our resident spokesperson for gay guys at Rawley." Faye informed the other boy, catching an amused glimmer in Hamilton's eyes. " Well, him and Jake. That's why he's so keen to find out your sexual preference. Recruitment, Joshie boy."
" Cut it out." Hamilton laughed, " You're making me sound like a sex-crazed gay maniac."
The corner of Josh's lips curled up in a lopsided smile, " Jake, I met him after the concert, right? Quite thin, dark hair?"
" That's him." Hamilton smiled back. " I'm sorry, I'm probably intruding. It's just that, you know, we've been through some tough times here at Rawley, and some of these guys are pretty hard to deal with, so if there's trouble�" Seeing Josh and Faye exchange a look between them, he hastened to add, " Hey man, I'm not trying to imply anything here."
" Hey, I don't mind." Josh laughed, " That's one of the downsides to looking like a girl, everyone just automatically assumes I'm gay."
" Oh." Hamilton felt himself flush with embarrassment. This wouldn't be the time to say that he did indeed automatically assume that Josh was gay. He couldn�t help it; the guy was just too damn pretty. Plus, the whole thing with the nail polish and the makeup was definitely misleading.
Josh paused for a beat before adding, " I'm not."
" Oh." Hamilton said again, genuinely surprised, " Um�"
Josh cut him off with another enigmatic smile, turquoise eyes catching the sunlight, " At least, not exclusively so."
Faye chuckled, sneaking a peek at Josh, then at Hamilton.
Hamilton furrowed his brows and opened his mouth, forming the beginning shape of a 'what?' but never getting around to vocalising, since Josh beat him to it.
" I'm bi." He told Hamilton with studied nonchalance, tilting his head a little, " I like guys, I like girls, and I make no secret of it." He shrugged, " I mean, I trust that you understand that sexual preference is not a path that you're free to choose to go down, and I don't plan to hide this fact even though I've heard some horror stories about how they treat non-straight guys in an all-boys' school like this one. So," he laughed, " I'm free to take my pick from the gender pool."
Faye grinned at him, " You know, this is actually more interesting than if you just told them you were gay."
Josh tossed another half-smile her way, then turned back to Hamilton, who blinked a couple of times. " Wow." He finally said, wide-eyed, " That's�"
Josh chuckled, " You seem surprised."
" I guess I am." Hamilton admitted, " It's just�" He grinned suddenly, " You're very diverse, you know that? Especially for a place like Rawley."
" Welcome to the land of the rich and faceless." Faye unwrapped a stick of gum, " Vanilla, as they say. Top-of-the-line vanilla, no doubt, but vanilla all the same."
Scout chose that moment to walk in the door, just as Josh's lazy smile stole over his face again, like some distant, foreign dream, " You know, I live to defy vanilla."
" Vanilla?" Scout repeated, looking confused.
" Ah, speaking of." Faye grinned, shuffling closer to Josh so that a spot was cleared on the couch, " Come have a seat."
" Thanks." Scout smiled uncomfortably, sitting down next to Hamilton instead.
There was a moment of awkward silence as everyone seemed to lose whatever it was that they were going to say. Faye gazed at Scout quizzically; Hamilton was still examining Josh with interest; and Scout looked down at his hands, ill at ease.
" Scout, right?" Josh smiled at him, " I remember being introduced after the concert."
" Yeah." Scout nodded. After a moment's pause, he added, " You guys were great."
" Thanks." Josh answered automatically, while Scout looked away again. Josh raised an eyebrow at Faye, who merely shrugged, looking a little confused herself.
The silence settled around them, and it was all too painfully noticeable to Scout that his entrance seemed to have caused it. Uneasy, he noticed Will sitting off to one side and in a bid to break the hush, raised a hand in greeting, " Hey, Will."
Will looked up from his journal with a jolt. " Hi!" He exclaimed, a small - albeit confused - grin breaking over his features as he realised that Scout was speaking to him. It was not so much a rare occurrence these days and it was nice to know that Scout didn�t hate him so much as to completely ignore his presence� something he did regularly a while ago.
Scout managed a smile in Will's direction. Although it felt more than unnatural after so long, it also felt nice acknowledging each other again. He was just wondering whether to say something else to the other boy when Finn walked into the common room with Jake in tow. " Miss Archer," he shook his head at Faye, smiling, " You know the rules."
Faye jumped up, " No girls allowed in the dorms, gotcha. I'm gone." Sharing a small knowing grin with Jake, she touched Josh on the shoulder, " Talk later, okay?"
" Sure." He grinned up at her, and Faye waved liberally to the other people in the room, " Later, guys."
" See you." The others chorused, with the exception of Scout, who jumped up, " I'll walk you over." He offered, " I need to talk to you anyway." Faye nodded and the two of them headed out.
Jake walked past Finn and sat down next to Hamilton, brandishing an envelope. " What's that?" He asked, leaning over to have a closer look at it. The envelope only had 'Jake Pratt' printed on it and nothing else. He glanced up at her, " What's inside?"
" You get your own copy, Hamilton." Finn told him, handing him an identical envelope with 'Hamilton Fleming' written on the front. Hamilton took it from his hands without a word.
Finn took no notice of the cold treatment from Hamilton, having grown accustomed to it. Instead he smiled at Josh, offering his hand, " You must be Josh Sutherland. I'm Finn, and I teach English here."
Josh shook his hand, standing up, " Nice to meet you, Mr Finn."
" Just Finn would be fine." The older man grinned, " You're a junior, is that right?"
" Yes." Josh nodded.
" You're probably in one of my classes then." Finn told him, " Not co-ed, unfortunately. Only one of the English classes in the whole school�" He pointed at Jake and Hamilton, " Theirs, as a matter of fact� is mixed-gender, I'm afraid you'll find that the boys' and girls' academies are a lot more segregated than Andover - that's where you're from, right?"
" Yes." Josh concealed a smile, " And I'm sure I can deal, sir."
" Oh, there's a letter for you too." Finn handed him another envelope like those of Jake and Hamilton. Josh took it, bewildered, " For me?"
Finn nodded, " It's not from admin, just letters some of my students have been getting me to distribute because I know most of the kids here." He nodded at Josh again, " Well, it's very nice to meet you, Mr Sutherland, and I look forward to seeing you in class."
" Me too." Josh smiled, " Thanks."
Will looked up to see Finn turning away, and he called, " Do I get one of these letters, Finn?"
The teacher turned around and held up his empty hands, " I'm afraid not, Mr Krudski."
" Oh, okay." Will replied, slightly thrown. Finn grinned at him, walking out the door.
Hamilton tore open his envelope and took out a letter. Jake and Josh did the same. Will watched from his chair, curious and a little anxious, wondering why he was singled out.
Josh scanned his letter quickly and looked up with a smile, " Man, word travels fast around Rawley. I�ve hardly been here for a day."
" Things are gonna get interesting." Hamilton remarked slowly as he looked up, more than slightly bemused.
Jake stared at the letter in her hand, " Yeah, I'll say so."
" What is it, guys?" Will asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Josh smiled and handed him his copy.
The letter read:
'Dear Josh,
The plans to establish a gay alliance at Rawley Boys' Academy has been debated upon in the past years, but few things have been done due to the strong prejudice that is inevitable on these grounds. However, this is precisely the reason why we feel that it is our duty to bring this plan to a start, and will be running our first meeting on Monday at 4pm in Finn's classroom. You are most welcome to join us.
Regards
Lance Brixton and Jesse Thomas'
Will handed the letter back, laughing, " I was wondering why I didn't get one of these."
* * *
Bella's Gas Station
Bella slid out from under the car she was fixing, her denim overalls covered in engine grease. She fumbled to her feet and peeled off her rubber gloves, wrinkling her nose and uttering a short laugh as she caught a glimpse of herself in the side mirror, with a big streak of black right across her forehead.
Heading back into the house to take a shower, she noticed Sean McGrail trudging down the street and towards her, looking troubled. " Hey!" She waved at him, " What's up?"
He smiled feebly at her, " Hi Bella."
" Is everything okay?" She asked, peering at him.
He shook his head quietly, " Not really."
She grabbed a towel off the bonnet of the car and wiped her face with it, " Want to talk? Why don't you come inside?"
He shook his head, " No, it's all right."
" What's wrong?" She frowned with concern.
He took a deep breath, " It's my school grades. They're� um," he paused, " Well, they're beyond bad."
" Oh, Sean." She sighed, " You really shouldn't have skipped that history paper. That would've been why�"
" I know." He interrupted her, breathing out heavily, " I know. It's not just that history paper either, I'm doing pretty bad in quite a few subjects. It's just all gone down the drain, basically."
" Well, can't you just study really hard for finals?" She asked, " That should at least pull your GPA up enough to�"
He shook his head, " No way. I'm too far gone, there's just no way to make up for it now." Running a hand through his hair, he sighed, " I'm truly screwed this time."
" God, I wish I could help." She said with concern, " Look, if you need any sort of tutoring or whatever, feel free to come to me any time."
" It's too late." He replied forlornly, " I'll have to go to summer school if I don't want to repeat the year. And any sort of sport for the rest of the year is out of the question. There's no way I can get on the baseball team now."
" My god, this really sucks! I feel so bad." She exclaimed, laying a hand on his shoulder, " Can I� can I help at all?"
He tried to smile at her, " Thanks, but I don't think so."
" Well," She paused, not sure what else to offer, " If you need anything from me, you know you could�" She shrugged, " You know, just ask."
He nodded, " Yeah." Beginning to walk away, he added as an afterthought, " Thanks, Bella. I'll see you later."
" See you." She waved, watching him thoughtfully as he walked down the street, his shoulders stooped.
* * *
Rawley Academy
" So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Faye asked Scout, the two of them taking the long route around the lake to get to the Girls' Academy.
He looked down for a moment before looking up again, grinning, " Actually, I lied. Just wanted to walk you over."
" You could've just said that, you know." She laughed.
An embarrassed smile was plastered onto his face as he maintained a self-conscious silence.
" Anyway," She watched him out of the corner of her eye. " I noticed you said hi to Will."
He nodded, " Yeah, I did."
" So�" She prompted him, " What does this mean?"
" Speaking to him?" He repeated, and after a pause added thoughtfully, " It just felt like�" He shrugged, " I should've done that. You know, a long time ago. I mean," He shook his head, trying to get the words out, " Everything happened a long time ago."
She couldn't resist a small smile, " So you're saying�"
He shrugged again, " Lately I've been feeling as though I can't be bothered with it anymore. I mean�" He paused, chewing on the inside of his cheek, " This whole hate, anger, betrayal thing? It's just not worth it anymore."
" You sure about that?" She asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.
He looked up again, their gazes connecting.
" I don't know," He said softly, " You tell me."
She stared at him, noticing that she seemed to be doing that more and more lately, but she couldn't help it. He surprised her more often than not, these days.
He smiled and she realised she was still staring, quickly withdrawing her gaze and feeling a slight blush colour her cheeks.
They strolled on without speaking, his hand occasionally brushing against hers as they walked but never lingering.
* * *
Bella's Gas Station
Jake pulled her bike to a stop next to the gas pumps, where Bella was sitting. " Hey." She smiled, taking off her helmet, " How's it going, Bella?"
" Good." The blonde girl replied, getting up, " What about you?"
Jake paused, glancing at her friend with a smile. Bella laughed, " Okay, okay, stupid question."
" Great." Jake admitted, looking down for a moment, " Really great.� She filled up the tank as she spoke, " I can't even begin to tell you how amazing these couple of weeks have been. It's just such a relief to�" She shrugged, " To have my life back to normal, you know?"
" Yeah�" Bella trailed off, " So everything's fine? You know, like Hamilton� ?"
Jake grinned a little bashfully, " Yeah�"
" So you guys are okay?" Bella asked, though she knew the answer already, " Made up and everything?"
Jake nodded, putting the nozzle back in place, " We're good. We don't really� um, talk about it.� She glanced meaningfully at Bella, and the blonde nodded, knowing what �it� was referring to.
Jake had come back from winter break drained - very much psychologically - by an incident in London that nearly led to her rape. Thankfully, she wasn�t raped, but the shock and stress that the event inflicted upon her meant that she had held everyone at arm�s length, trying to figure out where her life stood without total breakdown.
Hamilton was without doubt the one person who suffered the most from her self-inflicted seclusion, Jake having broken up with him in a desperate search for control as soon as she arrived back at Rawley. The two had only recently reconciled after much misery during the past month or so, and Jake�s secret was shared in confidence amongst the close-knit group of friends.
Jake shrugged, continuing, � You know, much. I mean, we talk about it, sure� but it's not exactly nice." She shook her head, " It's going to take us a bit of time to get over it, so we're just trying to stay away from it for a while, not to make too big a deal out of�� She trailed off, � God knows we�ve been doing that for too long.�
" Mmm hmm." Bella nodded, " So I take it you're not leaving anymore."
Jake shook her head, " I was never going to leave. I mean, I got as far as the airport but found that I couldn't go through with it anyway."
" It gave me a hell of a scare," Bella commented, " When I got home that day and found the note you left me? I was like, 'okay what do I do now?' You don't just walk out on people like that."
" I'm sorry." The brunette was contrite, " About leaving you in the dark for so long about this whole thing. I just didn't feel comfortable talking about it."
" But you don't mind talking about it with Will." Bella didn't mean to sound accusatory, but Jake looked at her with alarm, " Bella, please don�t take that the wrong way�"
" I'm not." Bella was quick to reply, " I'm just curious, that's all."
Jake nodded slowly, sitting back down on the bike and folding her arms over the handlebars. " It was just� easy talking to Will." She admitted, " I'm not saying that talking to you or Hamilton or anyone else is hard, but Will�" She shrugged, " How can I say this? I wanted to tell him things, I guess he's just�"
" Will." Bella supplied, smiling.
Jake grinned, " Yeah."
Bella nodded, " I understand."
" So you're not mad that I didn't talk to you instead?" Jake asked tentatively.
" Of course I'm not mad." Bella shook her head, " I was just� a bit overwhelmed, I guess. We didn't really get to spend that much time together lately either, and I felt like I was losing you. Losing all of you."
" You're my best girlfriend," Jake told her, " Of course you won't lose me." Shrugging, she continued, " I admit that I was pretty self-absorbed in the past month or two, but all that is behind me now, so we can go back to however we were." She peeked up from her lashes, extending her hand with a small smile, " Friends?"
" We've always been friends, Jake." Bella took her hand, " But I'd like to go back to how it was, too."
Part 3
Bella's Gas Station
Hamilton wandered down the street, coming up to Bella and Jake, who were engrossed in conversation. Planting a small kiss on top of Jake's head, he smiled when she turned around. " Hey boy." He greeted her.
" Hey boy." Jake grinned at him, taking his hand. Bella giggled at the exchange, " Hi Hamilton, how's it going?"
" Good," He stood behind Jake, who was now sitting on one of the concrete slabs next to the gas pumps, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, " Everything's great."
" I can see that." The blonde replied, smiling at the way Jake leaned back into his embrace, relaxed and content, " It's so good to see you guys back together."
" It's good to be back together." Hamilton admitted. Tilting his head so that he could see Jake's face, he commented, " It's been too long."
She smiled at him, reaching up and winding an arm around his neck to pull him down for a small kiss.
Bella watched them, " You two have to be the cutest couple."
Jake glanced at Hamilton and they exchanged a tiny grin. " Hey," Jake suddenly said to Bella, remembering, " You'll never guess what Finn gave to us this morning."
" What?" Bella asked.
Hamilton chuckled, " Invites to the Rawley gay society."
Bella's jaw dropped, glancing at Jake for confirmation. The latter nodded with a slight smirk, and Bella pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle the giggles, " Oh my god."
Jake and Hamilton tried to hold in their own laughter to no avail. " I know." Hamilton replied, shaking his head, " This is just too weird."
" So what are you going to do?" Bella asked, " Are you going?"
" Of course." Jake left no room for doubt, " Why wouldn't we?"
" Well, for starters you're not gay." Bella pointed out.
" Something that is obviously overlooked at Rawley." Jake shrugged, " Anyway, as long as I'm still a 'guy' there, I should do something productive."
" By joining a gay society." Bella deadpanned, not bothering to hide the amusement from her voice. Looking at Hamilton, she asked, " So� you cool with this, Hamilton?"
He shrugged, " Hey, I'm over the whole reputation thing. I was the one who suggested we 'come out' in the first place, remember?"
" Well, you've got guts to do that." Bella commented, " Must be hard for you."
Hamilton smiled, " It's not that bad. I mean, you still get shoved around once in a while, but that's about it, you know? Plus, being the Dean's son does have its perks� most of the guys can't really afford to be too violent to me." He stressed the word �most�, remembering a not-so-average person by the name of Kevin Bryant, who was kicked out from Rawley last semester for doing precisely what he said most guys could not afford doing.
Jake nodded slowly, a frown settling over her face. Catching sight of her sudden change in expression, Hamilton asked, " What is it?"
" Josh." She admitted, " You know, this thing about being shoved around."
Will opened the door of the diner and strolled across the street, coming up to them just in time to hear Jake�s comment, � What about Josh?� He asked.
Bella grinned at him, " Finish your shift?"
" Yeah." He nodded, sitting down next to her and grinning at Jake and Hamilton, " What's up?"
" What's this about Josh?" Bella was interested.
Jake sighed, " He's little, he's pretty, and he's bi. Rawley is not going to be exactly a comfortable place for him, you know."
" He's bi?" Bella asked while Hamilton tried to reassure Jake, " That's why the gay society is being set up, right? Trying to stop all that from happening. He'll be fine."
" Yeah." She looked unconvinced. Turning back to Bella, she smiled, " We spent a bit of time hanging out with him, just talking. He's, uh�" she paused.
" Different." Will supplied from beside Bella, " In more ways than one."
Jake glanced at Hamilton and they both shrugged, " Sums it up." Hamilton agreed.
" So," Jake changed the subject, looking at Will and Bella, how she rested her head lightly on his shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world, " I noticed Scout said hi to you this morning."
Will smiled, " Yeah. I'm pretty happy about that."
" You think he's coping better now?" Hamilton asked.
" Definitely." Bella nodded, " We've got Faye to thank for that. She's been such an amazing influence on him, if it weren't for her�"
" If it weren't for her a lot of things wouldn't have happened." Jake interrupted, " I guess all of us owe her some sort of thanks."
" Yeah, Scout most of all." Will pointed out, " I don't know what she's doing or saying to him, but it's working. Can you remember what he was like by the end of last semester? It was like it hurt too much to even look at us.�
The others nodded slowly, recalling Scout�s reaction when he first found out that Will and Bella were a couple.
� Look at him now.� Will continued, � I know it must�ve been hard for him to come to grips with all this, but it looks like he's finally getting over�" he gestured to Bella and himself, " Us."
* * *
Rawley Lake
" I'm totally over it." Scout stated flatly.
*�We Haven�t Turned Around� by Gomez plays in the background*
He and Faye were sitting by the lake, whiling away the lazy Sunday afternoon just talking and enjoying each other�s company. Spoken fair, Faye would�ve spent the time catching up with Josh, whom she hadn�t seen in a while, but he was off for one last practice with the band before Alex, Emily and Ben left town.
--�We came, we came, we came again / To stem the tide and point the blame / Came back for more, came back to see what you had in store / Everyone join around, everyone��
� I remember you saying something along these lines some time ago,� She reminded him, picking absently at the blades of grass by her side, � And we both knew that wasn�t the case.�
� That was a month ago.� He said softly, � Things� have changed since then.�
She stole a quick look at him, noticing that the tips of his ears were turning red. Or maybe the sun was doing that, she wasn�t sure.
� Changed� how?� She asked again, and felt wrong to interrupt the moment with words.
There was a small smile from his direction, � I�ve really gotten over it this time.�
There was a long pause as both of them pondered this, gazes cast out towards the water and really not even seeing, not wanting to watch only the lake but both too timid to cast their eyes elsewhere� on each other, for example.
" Then maybe you should do something about it." She said tentatively.
" Like what?" He asked, taking a quick sideways peek at her.
" I can't tell you what to do." She said softly, " You'll have to decide for yourself."
He was distracted by the sight of her hand twisting and tugging on the new grass shoots that had just sprung up in these spring days. The tender green and the paleness of her skin formed a startling contrast. " You think I should go talk to Will and Bella?" He wondered, " Get all of this out in the open, make it stop?"
She paused for a moment, contemplating his words. " Are you ready to?"
He let out a long breath. She glanced at him, her heart skipping a beat as she waited for his answer.
" Yeah." He finally said, nodding, " I can do it now."
She smiled a little, looking down again, only to start when he laid a hand over hers, his palm surprisingly warm against her cold fingers.
--�So you want to spin the world around / So you want to spin the world around and everybody else, come on down / So you want a big catastrophe / Won�t you send it right over to me / I got some time, everybody running high��
He stared at her intently while she looked away, a little annoyed at the realisation that she couldn't seem to stop blushing.
" I�" He found himself suddenly grappling for the things he wanted to say, " I want to� be friends with them again."
She closed her eyes briefly when she heard those words, knowing what he had gone through in order to get to this point where he could actually say this, sitting here with her, the late afternoon sun tipping the waters with gold.
She opened her eyes again and was dazzled by the light that bounced off the ripples.
He was still talking, " I� I feel like I need to. It's like, closure." Shaking his head, he continued, " I can't move forward without all of this behind me, Faye. So I guess I have to tell them that�" He shrugged, " God, I don't know. That everything is fine? I know I have to say something."
" Your life is on hold until you do," She whispered, lifting her lashes a fraction so that she gazed into his eyes, � tell them, I mean.�
He swallowed, nodding quietly.
Her violet eyes searched his, and he could feel a strange sort of tightness in his throat as he looked back.
" Hey!" Josh called from a distance, walking up to them. Scout and Faye tore their gazes from each other quickly, and Faye grinned up at the pixie-like figure, shielding her eyes against the setting sun, " Hey."
Josh didn't miss the stealthy movement as Scout reluctantly withdrew his hand from Faye's own. He hid a smile, � Hi, Scout.�
" Hi." Scout said without enthusiasm, miffed at the interruption. Turning back to Faye, " Look, I've got to go anyway, okay? See you later."
She nodded, " Bye."
" See you." Josh said as Scout scrambled to his feet and walked away. Turning back to Faye, he frowned, " He doesn't like me."
Faye shrugged, " I get that impression too. I don't know why."
" Sure you don't." He threw a lopsided smile her way, holding out a hand and pulling her to her feet. She glanced at him with a small grin, choosing not to answer. They walked along the water's edge, heading for the docks. " So�" She began, " We haven't gotten a chance to really talk yet. How have you been?"
He shrugged, " Okay, I guess."
She smiled, looking over the water, " Just okay? How is your family taking your being kicked out of Andover?"
He pushed a tendril of hair out of his eyes, " You know they don't give a fuck about my whereabouts. They're happy enough, as long as I'm not at home�"
She nodded thoughtfully, " Things still that bad? I mean, it's been�"
" Four years, I know." He finished for her. " But nothing has gotten better. They don't�" He looked away, " They still don't want to know me. As far as they are concerned, I don't exist."
" You still get a massive allowance from them?" She asked, � Last time I checked��
� It�s their way of making sure I stay away.� He laughed quietly, " More money than I could spend in this lifetime. But�" He shrugged, staring right into the sun, the light setting his turquoise irises on fire, " That's all."
--�The same, the same, the same again / To steal the time and haunt the place / Just because it�s there don�t mean you see it anywhere / Maybe it�s a trick of the light, maybe, yeah��
She rested a hand on his shoulder, and he turned slowly to face her, the warm orange light of the sunset silhouetting them against the sparkle of the lake.
" I don't know what I could say to make it better." She said slowly, " It's been so long, and�"
He smiled suddenly in a bid to lighten the mood, " Doesn�t matter, I'm used to it. They don't want to know I'm alive, fine. I haven't seen them in years."
She raised an eyebrow, " Really? What do you do for the holidays?"
He shrugged, " Go places, travel, have a look at�" He uttered a small laugh, " the world. I spent Christmas break in New York."
" Really?" She was surprised, " So did we! I was actually going to go to Boston to visit you, but�" She trailed off, her eyes searching over his with apprehension.
He smiled ruefully, " Ryder, huh?"
She opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words.
The lake's soft lapping was tranquil, and the sun was losing its light as it diminished rapidly over the horizon.
--�So you want to spin the world around / So you want to spin the world around and everybody else, come on down / So you want a big catastrophe / Won�t you send it right over to me / I got some time, everybody come alight��
" Yeah." She finally whispered, the two of them walking out over the wooden planks that made up the docks, out towards the water, " Ryder, he�"
The corner of his lips curved up in a scornful smile, " Yeah. I know." Breathing out softly, he repeated, " Believe me, I know."
" No, I don't think you do." She insisted, " You've got to understand that he didn't mean to� It wasn't supposed to happen that way.� Looking at him imploringly, she continued, � The whole thing screwed the lot of us up, him probably most of all."
He glanced at her, his gaze hardening, " Please, I don't want to talk about it."
She sighed softly and nodded, changing the subject, " So� a band, huh? How� I mean, when did all this happen? I know you mentioned in some of your letters and stuff that you were playing around with music, but I never imagined�" She shrugged, " This."
He raised an eyebrow as she continued, " I woke up this morning to my roommate's hysterical shrieking because she just found out that you were coming to Rawley. And then I told her I know you." She rolled her eyes, " Big mistake, she nearly burst my eardrums."
He chuckled, and she carried on to say, " She wants me to get her a photo of you. Hopefully with the rest of the band in it as well. Holding your instruments. You with your red guitar. And black nail polish. And eyeliner. She loves your black nail polish and eyeliner." Grinning, she added, " I think she's fast becoming a groupie."
" A photo." He nodded offhandedly, " Does she want it autographed?"
She glared at him incredulously and he burst out laughing, " I'm kidding. Jesus, you're like the person who knows me best in all the world, did you actually think I was being serious there?"
She blushed, " Look, Josh, I just don't know what to think with you anymore. It's just been so long since we spent substantial time together, you know?"
" I know." His smile disappeared, " I've missed you."
She nodded, " I missed you too."
They glanced at each other, and she laughed, holding out her arms, " Come here."
He smiled and hugged her, planting a small kiss on her cheek. " Love you." He whispered.
" Always." She promised, wrapping her arms around his neck.
--�So you want to spin the world around / So you want to spin the world around and everybody else, come on down / So you want a big catastrophe / Won�t you send it right over to me / I got some time, everybody learning how��
They stood there immobile for a few moments before she suddenly chuckled, " You know, no wonder Scout gets weird every time you're around. This doesn't look exactly like a platonic relationship, does it?"
He smiled, " Confusing everyone is all the more fun, I say."
" Agreed. Anyway, I was asking you about the band." She asked as they parted from the hug.
" Yeah." He nodded, " Well, when I first came here�" He waved his hand dismissively, " you know, after."
" After� England." She said softly.
" Yeah." He nodded, " I was� you know," He grimaced, " God, this subject just keeps coming up, doesn't it? Well what did you expect me to do after everything that had happened? I was only twelve years old, for god's sake!"
Faye looked up when he suddenly fell silent, narrowing his eyes at the setting sun.
" I did some stuff, let's just leave it at that." He said finally, " It's not history that I'd like see repeated."
She bit her lip, " You� never said anything about that in your letters."
" I didn't want you to worry, what could you have done anyway?" He looked away, " The point was that I finally made some friends and eventually got myself out of the rut I found myself in, so everything turned out all right in the end." He smiled, " One would hope. Anyway we were just basically hanging around with nothing to do, and�" He shrugged, " We just thought it'd be cool to be a band, even though none of us could play any instruments."
She laughed out loud, " So you guys just formed a band."
" Yeah." He grinned, " I went out, bought myself guitars, amps, the whole deal - hurray for the family's hard cold cash - and we started teaching ourselves from scratch. And three years later," He held out his hands, looking slightly lost, " Here we are."
" You were always a special case, Joshie." She grinned.
He dipped the toe of his left foot into the water, watching the cool liquid flow over the smooth leather of his boot. " Yeah."
" But what's going to happen now?" She asked, " Now that you're at Rawley, what's going to happen to the band?"
He glanced at her, surprised, " Nothing. The others don't even go to Andover. It's actually easier for me to travel from here than there." He nodded to himself, suddenly noticing that the sun has set and darkness was fast descending, " It's going to be a lot more convenient for practice. In all, my being kicked out is a good thing for the band."
" That reminds me." She said, remembering, " Why did you get kicked out in the first place?"
He smiled at her cryptically, looking like fragility personified standing there in combat boots, eyes shining, dark hair slightly ruffled by the wind.
--�So you want to spin the world around / So you want to spin the world around and everybody else, come on down / So you say we haven�t turned around / So you say we haven�t turned around, just everybody else goin� round��
" Hey!" Scout called, running up to them.
In truth he had been watching them from a distance, having never strayed far, and finally he couldn't stand it anymore. It was more than disconcerting to see Faye drape herself all over Josh and he drape right back. There was something - god there was something - between them, and he realised that he was fiercely unhappy with that fact.
" So," he smiled broadly at the two of them, pretending not to notice that he had interrupted the conversation, " wanna go to dinner?"
* * *
Will and Scout's room
Scout was just cramming the textbooks for his morning classes into his bag when Will walked into their room, having come back from his breakfast with Bella in town. " Morning."
" Hey." Scout responded readily, which caught Will off guard, since he didn't expect a response. Quickly glancing in the other boy's direction, he asked tentatively, " So� how's it going?"
Scout shrugged, " All right, I guess."
" Oh." Will nodded, not sure what else to say. But the relatively new experience of continued conversation with Scout was attractive, so he decided to find more things to say, just to keep it going.
Thinking for a moment, he settled on, " So� we have English first period today, right?"
Scout glanced at him with a small laugh, " Will, you don't have to make conversation for the sake of making conversation."
Will chuckled, running a hand through his hair, " Yeah�"
Scout smiled, looking down again and zipping his bag. Picking up his own bag, Will asked, " Let's go?"
" Sure." Scout nodded, and Will opened the door. Turning back around, he started to say, " Look, Scout, I�"
At the same time Scout began to speak, " Look, Will, I�"
They stopped and stared at each other, small smiles creeping back up their faces.
" Jinx." Again their voices were simultaneous. And this time, the smiles turned to laughter. Scout shook his head, " Will, I have to say�"
" ATTENTION STUDENTS." Dean Fleming's voice roared out of the room's PA speaker, along with screeching feedback. The boys winced at the sound, glancing at each other quizzically.
A moment later the intercom cleared, " Sorry about that, folks." The Dean apologised, back to normal volume, " We haven't used this system for quite some time."
Scout grinned to himself, remembering the last time the PA system had been used. It had involved some clever rigging on Jake�s part, Faye�s brilliant acting skills, and an unsuspecting 'victim' of sorts.
" What's this about?" Will wondered, walking up to the tiny speaker that was fixed to the foot of the wall, and the source of the Dean's voice.
" I have been informed that someone has been hacking into the school's record systems and generally wrecking havoc with some Rawley files," The Dean continued as though hearing Will's comment, " we suspect school grades in particular have been tampered with. As of yet we do not have any leads as to who this person may be, but I would like to issue an official warning. Once this person has been found, he or she will not only be immediately expelled from Rawley, but also handed over to the authorities on charges of criminal offence. This is an extremely serious matter and I urge any students, who think they may know who the hacker is, to come forward and aid the school in uncovering them. That is all, good day."
* * *
Finn's classroom
" Hey, it's not you hacking into the system, is it?" Hamilton poked the back of Jake's neck playfully.
She turned to him with a dirty look, " That's not funny."
" Well, what am I supposed to think?" He asked, though it was obvious to the observer - and to Jake - that he was not taking himself seriously at all, " I mean, one of the first things you ever said to me was 'wait until I hack into your dad's database'."
She laughed, " Oh yeah, I forgot about that. All right, guilty as charged, you've found me out."
He smirked, " But really, who do you think it could be? I mean, you'd have to be pretty good at computers to do this, right?"
She frowned, toying with her pen, " Not really, not with the school system."
He raised an eyebrow. She grinned, shrugging, " Hacking is not as glamorous as some people make it out to be, you know. It should be pretty easy if you know what you�re doing."
" Hmm." He made a non-committal noise, sitting back when Scout and Will walked in the door and Finn began the day's lesson.
Part 4
Rawley Academy
" Hullo, can I speak to Sean?" Ryder walked out of the building, checking his watch and holding his cell phone to his ear. School was over for another day, and he felt like hanging out. And as much as he hated to admit it, hanging out with good ol' Townie Sean McGrail was more fun than being here with all the loser-sheep-minion-guys of Rawley who seem to cling to him like a bad smell.
He surprised himself to realise that someone who kept to the straight and narrow could still be found interesting. Maybe he was getting soft. Grimacing at the thought, he rummaged around in his jacket pocket for his daily nicotine fix. " Sean?" He said when the Townie got on the phone.
" Oh, hi Ryder." Sean's tone was flat and lifeless, but Ryder chose to ignore it, " Hey, what are you doing this afternoon?"
A slight pause, and Sean replied, " Nothing."
" Well, do you want to go do something then?" Ryder asked, sticking a cigarette in his mouth.
Sean sighed, " I'm not really in the mood, Ryder."
" Wotschrong." Ryder mumbled out of the side of his lips, holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder, his hands occupied with lighting the cigarette.
" What's that?" Sean didn't understand.
Ryder took the cigarette away from his mouth, " What's wrong?"
" School. Life. Everything." Sean complained.
Ryder fought the urge to roll his eyes, " Don't be so melodramatic."
" I'm not. Life SUCKS." Sean replied forlornly.
Ryder sighed as he walked toward his car, " I don't know if it's because I'm bored or because I'm turning into my sister, but wait at home, okay? I'll come find you and do something about it."
" Look, you can't do anything." Sean told him, " It's my school grades, there's nothing you can do to help."
" Rethink that before I get there." Ryder told him then hung up, getting into the car. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of his sister's distinctive ice-blonde hair, and he turned to see her walking into the boys' dorms, side-by-side with a girl� or was that a boy?
He squinted: it wasn't anyone he thought he recognised from school; yet the slender frame entirely hidden in a long dark coat seemed familiar somehow. In fact, it looked like�
" You're starting to see things." He chuckled to himself as he started the engine.
* * *
Rawley Boys' Academy, Josh's room
" So, this is my room." Josh waved his arm about dismissively, showing Faye inside.
She looked around the immaculate surroundings, " A single?"
" I'm lucky." He shrugged, tossing his book bag on the bed.
" You know," She started, turning to him, " You still haven't told me why you got kicked out of school."
" Yeah." He smiled, " We got interrupted."
" By Scout." She nodded.
He smiled again, suggestively this time, " he's really cute."
She laughed, " You're trying to divert my attention. Come on, was it really that bad? What did you do?"
He ignored the question and instead scrutinised her, " You like him."
She blushed, " Now you're totally trying to divert."
" And you totally like him." He challenged, surprised at her uncharacteristic bashfulness.
She paused, looking down for a moment. He watched her, a slow grin spreading over his features.
" Very." She admitted, smiling.
" He's jealous of me." He told her, heading over to the window.
" For being so very modest." She teased, walking over to stand by him and the two of them looking over Rawley Academy's lush grounds.
He smiled, " I'm serious."
She nodded, lightly tracing patterns on the windowpane, " I know."
" So why don't you say something to him?" He asked, " I'm not usually this nice and helpful, you know, but I don�t' understand why you�"
" String him along like this? Make him feel threatened?" She supplied, narrowing her eyes slightly as she contemplated, " It's complicated, okay? I don't think he knows exactly what he wants."
" And you're trying to force it out of him." He concluded, shaking his head, " Look, Read, if you really like the guy, you shouldn�t be playing a game with him."
" It�s Faye, and I do like him." She corrected-and-protested, " And it's not a game anymore." Smiling wryly, she noted, " It was un-game-ified a long time ago."
" Whoa." He remarked softly, turning to look at her, " This doesn't sound like you."
" I know." She grimaced, " It's very disturbing."
He grinned, " God forbid the day that Faye Archer should discover feelings. But you're serious, you are just going to keep on doing this? Seems kind of�"
" Cruel?" She shrugged, " If it gets the point across, yeah. And of course if you don't mind being the pawn."
" I'm your boy." He smiled.
" Thanks." The gratitude didn't carry over in her voice but both of them knew her well enough to understand anyway. Looking around, she changed the topic, " Where are your guitars? Last time I went to visit you, you had three or four tossed around the place." She pointed to an acoustic that was leaning against the wall, " That can't be the only one you brought."
" I took all the other ones down to the music rooms, since I'm accustomed to making a lot of noise when I practise and these dorm walls aren't really soundproof." His half-smile was fast becoming a trademark, " Hamilton helped me, and he asked me about three times if I was sure he could carry the Jag downstairs. It was like he couldn't quite believe that I'd trust him with the job."
She laughed, " You really don't care about wasting your parents' money, do you? I don't know much about guitars but I do know a Fender Jaguar doesn't come cheap."
" It'd be wrong to care." He grinned, " I got really pissed one day and decided to go out and buy the most expensive thing I could bother with, not that I�m anywhere near good enough for it.� Smirking, he continued, � It�s just nice to know I�m wasting their money. Anyway, Hamilton finally gets it into his head that he is allowed to touch it, and you should've seen him carrying it downstairs. He looked like he was holding a time bomb."
She grinned, " He's cute like that."
� Yeah.� Josh looked as though he wanted to say something else, but decided against it.
Faye caught the look and asked suspiciously, � What?�
He shook his head with a small smile, � Nothing.�
� Joshua,� She said menacingly, � I know that look and you�re hiding something. What�s going on?�
He shrugged, � I don�t know� I�� He shook his head slightly, � It�s just this feeling I get.� Shrugging again, he grinned, � I�m probably just being paranoid.�
She contemplated him with narrowed eyes, � What are you talking about?�
He tilted his head, � There�s something about Jake.�
� What?� She demanded, her eyes widening as she recalled just how intuitive her childhood friend could be at times.
� I don�t know.� He ran a hand through his hair, � I can�t put my finger on it, but there�s definitely something strange about him. Not strange-bad,� He hastened to add, � Just� peculiar."
Faye couldn't help a smile.
* * *
Friendly's
The bell above the door tinkled and Scout walked in, heading straight to the counter. A plump middle-aged woman was busy ringing up a customer. " Hey, Vicki." He addressed the woman, smiling.
The owner of the diner looked up. " Scout! Hi! What can I do for you?"
" I was wondering if you'd be able to give me my job back?" He asked tentatively, " I know I kinda quit at the end of last semester, but if there's a place available, I'd love to take it back again."
" Oh, I'm sorry." Vicki smiled apologetically, " but your position has been filled. I put out a help wanted ad and someone answered it, so�"
" That's too bad." Scout shrugged. " Thanks anyway."
" I'll call you if a position opens up, how's that?" Vicki offered.
" Thanks, that'll be great." He grinned.
* * *
Finn's classroom
" This feels wrong." Jake said to Hamilton, the two of them pausing outside the door.
" This is a meeting for gay guys, you are a straight girl who's pretending to be a guy, and I'm a straight guy who's pretending to be gay." He replied in a whisper, craning his neck and trying to take a peek through the crack in the door, " Of course it feels wrong."
She glanced at him, " Should we go in?"
" I don't know." He murmured dubiously, " What do you do in a gay society anyway?"
" Do you have like a special handshake or something?" She wondered, furrowing her brows, " or be initiated?"
" Jake, it's a club for queer high school kids," He had to laugh quietly, " not the KKK."
" But what if they�" She furrowed her brows, " What if they can tell?"
" Tell that you're a girl?" He asked, " How can they?"
She shrugged, " I dunno. I thought they'd just be able to tell if you're really gay or just pretending to be gay�"
He stared at her, " What are you talking about?"
" You know, like on TV." She whispered, " The gay guys always know if another guy's gay."
" Jake," He shook his head, " This is real life, not some cultish episodic TV that has a club of psychic gay people."
She chuckled, " That's not what I meant."
" I know." He nodded, getting off track for a moment as he contemplated his analysis, " You think there is a TV programme out there somewhere like that? Psychic gay guys?"
She glanced at him with a slight smirk and he shrugged, widening his eyes, " What? It's a possibility."
She only shook her head and went back to pondering, " What are we doing here, Hamilton? We're not gay! Heck, we're not even guys!"
" Excuse me?" He waved a hand in front of her face in alarm.
She grinned and rolled her eyes, " Sorry. I meant of course that I'm not a guy while you are most definitely a guy, the manliest of all men, my manly man."
He laughed, " Better."
"But gay." She couldn't help adding.
He sighed with resignation, turning back to the subject at hand, " Well? Are we gonna go in?" Hearing footsteps coming up behind them they swivelled around, guilt written all over their faces.
It was Josh, who smiled at them, " Hey."
" Hi!" They chorused with false cheer, darting nervous glances at each other.
" Well�" Josh stared at them, " Are you going to�" He paused, looking at them expectantly. They stared back with blank looks, and he smiled quizzically, " � go in?"
" Okay." Hamilton repeated, nodding vigorously and pushing open the door. Throwing another look over his shoulder at Jake, he inched forward with her following close behind, Josh tagging behind the two of them. Narrowing his eyes at Jake again, he wondered what in hell it was that made him think the other boy so peculiar.
A dozen or so people were in the classroom, sitting on desks and chairs which were arranged in a circle. All heads turned when the door opened, the three of them walking in.
" Hi," A guy with short curly hair called from his seat on Finn's desk, " have a seat, we'll be starting soon."
Jake and Hamilton obliged, sitting down and looking at each other again, more bemused than embarrassed. Josh sat down next to Jake, looking around with interest. Most of the other people in the circle did the same, smiling tentatively at each other, all of them looking somewhat bewildered. Jake and Hamilton were surprised to see a couple of guys from their classes.
The guy on the other side of Josh stuck out his hand with a friendly smile, � Hey, I�m Malcolm.�
� Hi.� Josh took his hand and shook it, � I�m Josh.� As an afterthought he added, � Sutherland.�
� I know.� Malcolm replied, grinning.
Josh raised an eyebrow but did not get around to answering, as a guy with blond spiky hair got up from his seat, " Well, that looks like everybody, so I guess we should start. Um�" He paused, looking around, " I'm Lance Brixton, and this�" He indicated the guy with the curly hair, " Is Jesse Thomas. We're both seniors. We organised this society-alliance-meeting thing just so we could get to know each other a bit more, so�"
Jesse jumped down from the desk, coming to stand next to Lance, " We're as confused as you are, we have no idea what we're doing." He confessed with a grin, " Just thought it'd be good to have a club like this, you know? Make people at Rawley more aware of all the homophobia and stuff that's going on. I was hoping that, if we work together, we could make a few changes around here." He glanced at Lance, who shrugged, " That's about it, really. Um� why don't we start with introductions or something?"
Part 5
Finn's classroom
*Placebo�s �Nancy Boy� plays - a little bit naughty for a general viewing show, but relevant - no negative/sleazy connotation intended for the club, either. Having said that I�m still not going to quote the verses, but it�s a damn good song nevertheless*
� Well everyone�s bisexual to some extent.� Lance remarked, hauling his long legs up to rest on one of the tables.
� I second that.� Josh grinned.
The initial awkwardness of the meeting was wearing off, and the guys were fast becoming friendly with each other. Jake and Hamilton found that they were enjoying themselves more than they thought they would, listening to everyone's stories about realising, coming out, adjusting, accepting, generally all the things about being gay in a perceived straight world.
� It�s a continuum rather than boxes of hetero-bi-homosexuality," Lance gestured, " it's just that we head more in the other direction. I mean, what was it that they said in Trainspotting? You�re heterosexual by default, not by nature.�
� Hey, I don�t think you need to convince anyone here.� Jesse pointed out, shoving Lance�s legs off the desk so that he could perch on it more comfortably, � Though it might make a good slogan for us.�
� Speaking of slogans,� Malcolm said, � Should we like, have a name or something? You know, instead of�� He paused, � 'that Rawley gay guys� club', which is probably what's going to get stuck on us."
The others laughed. " You're right." Lance agreed, " We should talk about what to call ourselves. Have a proper name."
" Why can't we just be the Gay Guys' Club?" Someone else asked, " It's easy to remember and easy to refer to, like 'That 70s Show', you know? Direct."
Josh raised a hand and waved it around, " Hello, non-homosexual person here. I'd rather not have the word 'gay' in the name, it's kinda constricting." As an afterthought he added with a laugh, " Almost elitist, if you will."
Lance chuckled, " Fine. Um, how about�"
" An acronym." Jesse interrupted, " Something snappy that stands for something actual when written out in full."
" Yeah." Lance nodded, " What I was going to say."
" GAY." Malcolm suggested, " G, A, Y. Should be an easy enough acronym to make up, and it makes sense. Plus," He added, glancing at Josh, " you don't have to have the word 'gay' in the actual name."
" Suits me." Josh nodded, � So what sort of acronym can you make up that says �gay�?�
" G�" Hamilton mumbled, turning ideas over in his head, " Guys� Are�"
" Young?" Jesse supplied.
" Guys Are Young." Another guy smirked, " That's gonna be what we call this club?"
" First of all it doesn't make sense," Lance shot the idea down, " Second of all, does anyone else get the feeling that we sound like a bunch of paedophiles?"
The was a second's silence following his remark before everyone else burst into laughter, " What's your idea then?" Someone else grinned, and he shrugged, blushing, " Guys� Are� Y��
Everyone stared at him expectantly and he scratched his eyebrow, � Y� yeah, I don't know." Pointing a finger at Josh, � He�s a songwriter, should be good at�� He faltered for a moment, � �words and stuff, why don�t you ask him?�
� Hmphh.� Josh made an unintelligible noise, � I write lyrics, not jingles.� Frowning, he added, � Not even very good lyrics at that.�
� Maybe we should ask Will.� Hamilton murmured to Jake.
� You write good lyrics.� Malcolm said to Josh before getting back on topic, � Any ideas?�
� So what am I supposed to do here?� Josh wondered, smiling at him, � Think of a word that starts with Y, and actually makes sense in context? What is the context anyway?�
Hamilton thought about it, " Is it like, 'hey, we're not heterosexual but not necessarily gay either'?"
Ignoring everyone else's sniggering, Malcolm suggested, " Or is it just, 'look, we like guys!'?"
Josh laughed out loud, " That's my point! How the hell do you make something like this into an acronym?"
--�And it all breaks down at the role reversal / got the muse in my head, she's universal / spinnin' me round, she's coming over me / And it all breaks down at the first rehearsal / got the muse in my head, she's universal / spinnin' me round, she's coming over me��
Jake had been quiet through this whole exchange, but suddenly perked up, " Guys Are Yummy."
All conversation ceased as everyone turned around to stare at her.
Hamilton choked back a laugh, � Dude, that is the gayest thing I have ever heard.�
� I thought that was the point.� Jake shrugged. Noticing the fact that everyone else was still staring at her with barely contained laughter, she grinned uncertainly, � Obviously not. Never mind.�
� It kinda makes sense�� Malcolm tried to save some of her dignity by stating valiantly.
� Do you want to be in a club that calls itself �Guys Are Yummy�?� Jesse asked with a none-too-discreet snigger.
Jake blushed, " Okay, okay, so it's lame extending into scary. What's your brilliant idea?"
� Society of the Defyers of Sexual convention.� Jesse answered promptly, grinning.
There was a beat.
Josh fell off his chair laughing, � You want to call us �sods�?�
--�And it all breaks down at the role reversal / got the muse in my head, she's universal / spinnin' me round, she's coming over me / And it all breaks down at the first rehearsal / got the muse in my head, she's universal / spinnin' me round, she's coming over me��
* * *
Sean's house
" Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sean asked again, eyeing Ryder suspiciously.
Ryder was typing away on his laptop, but paused when Sean spoke to him, " Look, you want better grades, don't you?"
" Of course I do." Sean replied, " They�re so bad they're beyond redemption, all right? I won't be able to play sports for the rest of the semester. Plus I'll have to go to summer school."
" My heart weeps for you, m'boy." Ryder was largely sarcastic as he resumed typing, " I have to retake 10th grade English for the third year in a row, and you're standing here telling me that you have to go to summer school? For some of us, summer school is a way of life."
" I don't get it." Sean commented, watching Ryder's fingers fly over the keyboard, " Why do you do it? I mean, why did you have to go to summer session if you were repeating English again? I thought summer school was to make sure you don't repeat."
Ryder paused slightly in his typing, " It's true." He admitted, " I didn�t need to be here in the summer."
Sean glanced at him quizzically.
" Look, I have nowhere to go, okay?" Ryder started typing again, striking the keys a little harder than before, " Where am I going to go if I don't come here? Back home? Go to my mother's place?" He sneered, " I don't think so."
" Why not?" Sean asked.
" Because both my parents are right pricks, that's why." Ryder answered, hitting the return key with a loud 'clack'. The screen suddenly glared a bright blue and he smirked, " We're in."
" What are we in, exactly?" Sean asked, peering at the screen. In big block letters right there on the blue screen was the heading 'Edmund High School: Student files'. He turned back to Ryder, eyes widening, " I can't believe you can do all this. What are you, some sort of evil genius?"
Ryder busied himself with scrolling down the page and finding 'McGrail, Sean Andrew', " There are a lot of things you don't know about me."
" Wow." Sean breathed as he took in the list of names of everyone in the school, " So you can really change these grades? Are you sure we'll get away with it?" At that moment Ryder clicked on his name and his grade profile popped onscreen.
He blushed while Ryder whistled through his teeth, " Now I see what you mean by 'beyond redemption'."
Sean sighed, " And you can also see why I actually let you talk me into this. This is my future hanging in the balance here, and I really can't afford to screw it up."
" It won't be after I finish with it." Ryder replied, getting to work once more, " And trust me, I know what I'm doing."
* * *
Bella�s Gas Station
� Hey!� Faye waved while walking up Will and Bella, who were sitting around the gas pumps. � Is it me, or are you guys like, superglued to these gas pumps? I�ve never seen you hanging out anywhere else.�
� Are we supposed to be offended by that remark?� Will wondered.
� Maybe.� Faye shrugged, � But it doesn�t change the fact that you�re still sitting here like�� Failing to find an appropriate simile, she looked disoriented, � Something that�s been sitting here for a very long time.�
Bella smiled while Will raised an eyebrow, � So what brought on this unusual bout of eloquence today, Faye?�
Faye sighed, sitting down next to Bella, � I don�t know. Sorry if I sound funny, it�s just�� She paused, catching sight of Scout sitting inside the diner, � Scout?�
� Scout?� Will and Bella questioned in unison.
Faye started, shaking her head quickly, � No, not Scout. I mean,� She pointed in the direction of Friendly�s, � Scout.�
The three of them stared across the street. � You know, he�s talking to me again.� Will remarked.
Bella nodded thoughtfully, � This is good, right? Maybe we should��
Faye perked up, glancing from Will to Bella, then back to Will again.
� Yeah, maybe�� He said doubtfully, � But I don�t know. He might��
� I know what you mean.� Bella sighed, � I don�t really want to bring the whole thing up again.�
Faye sighed inaudibly.
� I was hoping we could just, you know, slowly get back to normal�� He wondered.
� Yeah.� Bella decided, � Let�s just leave it for a while and hope that the entire thing will just slowly��
Faye rolled her eyes skyward.
� Disappear.� He finished for her, still gazing intently at Scout�s figure in the diner.
� But he looks like he�s okay with the whole �us� thing, doesn�t he?� Bella wondered.
Faye popped her gum loudly.
� Let�s just phase it out.� He decided, � Take the friendship thing slowly, and maybe we can rebuild whatever we broke.�
� Guys!� Faye finally exploded, � Do I really need to hit you over the head with a sledgehammer for anything to happen around here?�
The couple looked at her, � What do you mean?� Will asked.
�I mean, just all of you get over this already!� Faye jumped up, resisting the urge to kick something, � This saga is so old that I can�t even feel motivated to help you anymore!�
Will and Bella stared at her blankly.
� Sure, it was fun at the start, helping all of you to sort out your lives, but I can�t believe that months down the track, none of you have done anything else!� Pointing at Will and Bella, Faye yelled, � You, you, and him�� She pointed her thumb in the direction of Friendly�s, not bothering to look over, �� are going to make up, okay? Forgive, forget, do whatever�s necessary for you to get over it, goddamn it! I�m sick to death of hearing the three of you analysing the CRAP out of the situation, when you all know fully well that every single one of you has already gotten to the stage where you can properly move on, but no, you have to just continue to sit here talking and brooding but never doing anything, and I�m so beyond bored I can�t even remember what excitement is, okay? And if I didn�t have a personal interest in this matter I would�ve given up so long ago!� She stopped to catch her breath, glaring evilly at Will and Bella.
� Whoa.� Scout said softly, coming up behind her, having heard most of her rant since leaving the diner, � I never knew you had this much anger in you.�
Faye whirled around, but before she could open her mouth, Ryder emerged around the corner, applauding with studied casualness, � Good going, sister dear.�
� Stay out of it, Ryder.� Faye told him, although without vehemence.
Ryder shrugged, � I wasn�t being sarcastic, by the way.�
� I know.� She managed a tight smile in his direction, � I didn�t mean to sound like I�m angry at you, either.�
He raised an eyebrow, � Received. Well,� He smirked, glancing around and walking off with a wave, � Have fun sorting this out.�
Faye, Scout, Will and Bella gazed after him quizzically.
� So, uh," Faye turned around, glancing at the other three, " Where were we before my brother interrupted this potentially promising situation?�
� You were yelling your head off at us.� Bella reminded her meekly.
� Oh, yeah.� Faye murmured, � About that.� She looked up, indignant once again, � About you guys.�
� Faye.� Scout said softly.
" Don't get me started on you, Scout." She warned, violet eyes starting to flash angrily again.
He blushed, but placed a hand on her arm, " Please."
She glanced sideways, " What?"
His eyes were gentle, � I'm here to do it.�
She regarded him suspiciously, " it?"
He swallowed, " Yeah."
They held each other's gaze, she looked as though she wanted to say something else, but decided against it.
Will and Bella watched them, a sudden understanding dawning as they glanced at each other.
Scout removed his gaze from Faye with difficulty, and turned to Will and Bella, who stood up as he moved toward them.
� I don�t know what to say.� He began, a small smile on his lips. Looking down briefly, he continued, � Wait, I do know what I want to say, I just don�t know how to say it.� Stopping for a moment, he made fleeting eye contact with Bella before glancing at Will.
Will gazed at him, � You don�t have to say it, man. We��
� We understand.� Bella finished for him, looking up at Scout.
� No,� Scout said, shaking his head, � This needs to be said. For my sake as well as yours. And�� He trailed off, almost subconsciously turning his gaze back in Faye's direction. Catching himself in time, he looked back at Will and Bella, and they shared a smile.
They were waiting but not apprehensive, wanting but patient.
Because nothing needed to be said - Scout was right, it was only for their own sakes that anything was spoken - that words were needed at all.
� I�ve spent way too long just trying to get over this.� Scout continued, sticking his hands in his pockets, � Trying to get over you, Bella.�
Bella swallowed, not knowing what to say.
� And Will, I� I just couldn�t believe it when I realised that you, of all people, were�� Scout trailed off, looking up at the taller boy.
Will nodded, � I know. And believe me, I�m sorry for what I did to you.�
� Don�t be.� Scout smiled, � Don�t be sorry for falling in love with a beautiful, intelligent girl. You have nothing to be sorry for.�
Bella smiled while Will reached for her hand, grasping it tightly, � But I am, Scout. I am so sorry for putting our friendship through this.�
Scout blinked, the grin on his face growing, � But the thing is that we got through it, right?�
Will smiled, � Have we?�
Scout gazed at the two of them for a few seconds before nodding definitively, � We have.�
*�Slide� by the Goo Goo Dolls begins to play*
� Then�� Will held out his hand, smiling broadly, � We�re cool?�
Scout reached out and took that hand being offered to him, � Yeah.�
Their hands felt comfortable in each other�s clasp, strong, definitive, yet co-dependent.
It promised the rebuilding of a friendship, the rebuilding of worlds.
--�Could you whisper in my ear / The things you wanna feel / I'll give you anything / To feel it coming / Do you wake up on your own / And wonder where you are / You live with all your faults��
Bella didn't know whether to laugh or cry, feeling the guilt of the past months lift - finally, in all its entirety. Catching sight of Faye standing a little to the side, she took a couple of tentative steps towards the other girl.
� Well?� Faye asked her softly, still watching Will and Scout, just standing there, hands outreached and taken in each other�s grasp.
� Thank you.� Bella whispered.
The other girl smiled as she shook her head gently, � Why do you always think it's my doing? It's not me who's done all this, it's you.�
Bella looked at her thoughtfully.
" I only make use of what is already there, and give you a push if you need it." Faye continued, her eyes fastened on Scout and his easy, carefree grin, something that she hadn't seen in a while. " I admit, I lose my temper sometimes and I'm not the most subtle of persons� but what happens is still up to you. All of you."
--�I wanna wake up where you are / I won't say anything at all / So why don't you slide / Yeah we're gonna let it slide��
Scout loosened his grip on Will�s hand, � I missed you, man.�
Will grinned, � Me too. I hated not being able to talk to you.�
� Yeah�� Scout nodded, laughing wryly, � It�s been too long.�
� Well, at least it�s over.� Will told him, � It�s all over, right?�
� You bet.� Scout grinned. Pausing for a moment, he remarked, � Well, that was actually surprisingly easy.�
� Though it took us a while to get there.� Will commented, laughing.
Scout looked at him, a smile in his gaze.
� But we got there in the end.�
--�Don't suppose I'll ever know / What it means to be a man / Something I can't change / I'll live around it��
Turning, Scout faced Faye and Bella, who were both looking at him expectantly. He laughed, holding out his arms to Bella, who chuckled and hugged him, feeling more like a sister to him than she had ever done.
--�I wanna wake up where you are / I won't say anything at all / So why don't you slide��
He let her go. Watched her walk away from him, over to Will, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
And for the first time, he couldn�t care less.
When he looked up, he could see Faye directly in front of him, her violet gaze travelling over his features, compassionate, thoughtful, even tender.
Then she reached out, and offered him her hand.
And that was enough.
It really was.
--�And I'll do anything you ever / Dreamed to be complete / Little pieces of the nothing that fall / May put your arms around me / What you feel is what you are, and what you are is beautiful / May do you wanna get married / Or run away��
He took her outreached hand, the feel of those cool fingers interlinked through his own already familiar beyond imagining.
� I�ll see you guys later.� He didn�t forget to throw a grin over his shoulder at Will and Bella, before turning back to gaze at Faye, watching her beautiful eyes light up with a beautiful smile.
--�And I'll do anything you ever / Dreamed to be complete / Little pieces of the nothing that fall / May put your arms around me / What you feel is what you are, and what you are is beautiful / May do you wanna get married / Or run away��
� Walk me back to Rawley?� She asked him.
� I've got a better idea." He grinned, " I'll race you back."
She laughed, " You're on." Without waiting for an answer she sprinted off in the direction of the school, footsteps pounding on the pavement. " Hey!" Scout yelled, running after her, " That's not fair!"
--�I wanna wake up where you are / I won't say anything at all / So why don't you slide��
Bella and Will laughed out loud, watching the two of them dash down Main Street, heading toward the academies in the distance, everything framed by the blue, blue sky.
Part 6
Bella�s Gas Station
Bella was already up and waiting for Will as he strolled down the road, wearing a smile that was identical to hers: big, cheerful and so full of happiness that it was hard to see anything wrong with the day. Yet, it was just another day; when the sun shone upon the roofs of New Rawley and made even that quaintest of all small towns magical.
� Hey.� He greeted her with a kiss, lips lingering upon hers.
� Morning.� She replied once they have parted, running a hand through his messy hair, � How are you?�
� Tired.� He admitted with a grin, � Scout and I stayed up all night talking.�
� Can�t really complain about that.� She answered, wrapping her arms around his neck, � What were you talking about?�
He shrugged, � Just life, really. What happened over the last few months. What we weren�t talking to each other about.�
She nodded before reaching up and kissing him again, losing themselves in the feel of the morning, one of those rare times untainted by guilt� knowing it was going to be the first of many to follow.
Their moment was only interrupted when Sean came across them on his morning run, � Earth to Will and Bella!� He called good-naturedly, jogging on the spot
Will looked up and grinned, � Hey Sean.�
� Sean, hi!� Bella echoed, smiling, � How�s it going?� In a flash she remembered his dilemma the day before, and her expression changed, � I mean, are you okay?�
� Okay? Okay with what?� Will asked.
Sean grinned and shrugged, � Everything�s fine, Bella, thanks for asking though.�
� What�s up, Sean?� Will asked again, and Sean smiled at him, � It�s no big deal. Don�t worry about it.�
� What do you mean don�t worry about it?� Bella asked, � I thought�.�
� No, I�m sorted.� Sean interrupted her before she said more, looking at her meaningfully, � It�s under control now, okay? Bella, don�t worry, really.� With a wave he jogged on, calling over his shoulder, � I�ll see you at school.�
� See ya.� Bella replied absently, turning back to Will, who looked worried, � What was that about?�
She shrugged, � I have no idea.�
* * *
Finn�s Classroom
Class had not yet started for the day, but most of the students were in the classroom already, getting ready for first period.
Scout sat backwards on his chair, catching up with Jake and Hamilton. � Guys Are Yummy?� he laughed, � Trust you to come up with something like that, Jake.�
Hamilton chuckled, � You should�ve seen the looks on everyone�s faces when she just blurted it out.�
� Hey.� Jake poked him, � Shut up about that already.�
� So what are you calling the club in the end?� Scout wondered.
Hamilton grinned, � You can find out once we get the posters up.�
� Wait,� Scout interjected, � You are making posters?�
� Yeah, posters, pamphlets, public speeches, you name it.� Jake informed him happily, � We�re really going to make some changes to this place.�
� Make it a lot more diverse.� Hamilton confirmed, � That way, we can reach out to more people at Rawley. I�ve run the idea past my dad and he loved it. He hates people seeing Rawley as this nest of rich brats - there�s a time for shock value.�
� Your dad wants shock value for Rawley?� Scout asked, disbelieving.
� Well�� Hamilton faltered, � Not exactly. He just said it�d be cool for the school to become a bit more diverse. But�� He exchanged a devious look with Jake, � What he doesn�t know won�t hurt him� for the time being.�
� I�ve got to hand it to you guys.� Scout laughed, seeing Finn enter the room and realigning himself so that he faced forward again, � You really know how to stir things up around here.�
Jake and Hamilton grinned at each other.
� All right, let�s begin�� Finn had only made a start when Will dashed into class, � Sorry, sorry.� He panted, sliding into his seat. Scout glanced sideways, the two of them exchanging a smile.
*Will�s voiceover begins*
�Forgiveness. Diversity. The chance for something new. It�s frightening, sometimes, to go somewhere that you haven�t gone before and never thought you�d go; but it also takes guts to walk back onto a path that you have left behind.�
* * *
Rawley Academy
A giant rainbow-coloured poster adorned the bulletin board outside the academy, smack in the middle of advertisements / announcements / propaganda / publications all to do with the everyday, the functional and the mundane.
" It's a bit crooked." Jake scrutinised, standing back from the board. Josh and Hamilton stood at her side, tilting their heads to admire their handiwork.
" It's his idea." Josh nodded in Hamilton's direction with an amused smile, " It's meant to be hung crooked� it's not 'straight'."
Jake groaned, " That's really lame, Hamilton."
" At least I tried." Her boyfriend defended himself.
" Thanks, you guys." Josh turned to them, " For doing this."
" No problem." Hamilton replied, " It's all for the sake of us, right?"
Jake grinned, " It's time that the gay guys at Rawley did something."
� Hey!� Faye bounded up to them, admiring the poster, � Nice! This is the gay society, right? Who came up with the name?�
Scrawled across the poster were the words: �the Rawley Effort Against Conventional Heterosexuality�.
R.E.A.C.H.
Josh looked a little sheepish, � I did. Sorry about the apparent craziness of it all." He laughed, " At least it provides amusement value.�
� That it does.� Faye told him with a smile, � but I like. So do you have big plans from now on?�
Jake, Hamilton and Josh smirked collectively. � You�re just going to have to wait and see.� Josh said.
� Hey, nice poster.� Scout commented, walking up to them and grinning when he saw the writing, � So you didn�t go with �Guys Are Yummy�? Damn, I was kinda looking forward to that.�
Hamilton laughed, � Well, I don't� think anyone would�ve endorsed that one, except for you, of course.� He ruffled Jake�s hair playfully, and she swatted his hand away with a grin, � You�re never going to let me live this down, are you?�
� Nope.� Hamilton and Josh chorused, laughing. Jake sighed, resigned to her fate.
� We better go put the rest of these up.� Josh said to the two of them, pointing at the big pile of posters by their feet. By the looks of it, there�d be REACH posters all over campus the next day.
Disruptive of the peasant vanilla flavour of Rawley Academy? Absolutely.
Then again, that was the idea.
They were only getting started.
Jake and Hamilton nodded, scooping up an armful of posters each. The three of them threaded past Faye and Scout, and Faye had to laugh when she noticed Scout�s fixed stare on Josh�s back as the boy walked across the quad, eyes narrowed and none too friendly.
When Josh was safely out of earshot she had to remark, � He thinks you�re cute.�
� What?� Scout asked, swivelling around with a start.
She shrugged nonchalantly, turning back to look at the poster.
He stared at her, and she had to try really hard not to burst out laughing, avoiding his gaze.
He gaped at her for a few moments before breaking into a smile, � I guess I could live with that.�
Her first instinct was to take her turn gaping, but she laughed softly instead, running a hand through her hair.
He glanced quickly in her direction before asking carefully, � Well� do you think I�m cute?�
� Of course, Gay Boy.� Her answer came fast.
He was lost for an answer, and resorted back to staring at the poster. Despite its haphazard use of all the colours of the rainbow, it was full of some sort of abstract, intrinsic beauty that led to one�s contemplation of it without ever meaning to.
� It�s strange to think that Jake and Hamilton brought this on� Well,� he rephrased, � helped, in any case.�
� It�s good.� She remarked, � Things like this open us up a bit more. You know, not just the guys in the club but all of us. If a gay society is at Rawley, people can�t ignore it. No matter who you are, you�ve got to acknowledge�� She nodded at the poster, � Things like this. Should make life interesting.�
He thought about that, � You glad that we�re opening up, then?�
� Yeah.� She was quiet for a while before continuing, � We could all do with a bit more opening up. A little bit more truth in our lives.�
He turned to face her, a small smile playing about his lips, � Is that right?�
She did not speak nor look at him, but he watched her.
Just� watched. Noticing for the first time how pale she really was, how delicate.
� I know a few more truths that people don�t know.� He told her.
Her smile was soft, as was her touch when she lifted a hand and gently traced his jawline with one finger. Stepping closer, she whispered in his ear, � So do I.�
� Really?� He asked quietly.
� Of course.� She smiled again, lifting her lashes a fraction so that she could look into his eyes.
They stood there like this for a few moments, a world of her touch and his gaze and there was understanding and there were smiles - all smiles, everything was bright, was lovely.
She suddenly grinned and took a small step back, raising her hand in a half-salute, � I�ll see you tomorrow, Gay Boy.�
Then she turned and walked away.
His hand flew to the spot on his jaw where her hand was a moment ago, the fleeting touch sending shivers up his spine.
Watching her retreating figure, he shakily exhaled the breath that he didn�t realise he was holding, and smiled.
*Will�s voiceover continues*
�We just have to carry on walking down our path of choice, hoping that someone is ahead, reaching out for us, showing us the way of this new world.�
