"Hillman's back?!"

"No freakin' way!"

"I heard that he showed up during Bader and Peavey's art session for their project and is now good friends with Demario! And Cat-Lady McNeese was livid!"

"This mess right here! I can only imagine how Blake and Kendricks are going to react! They're the ones who put Hillman in the hospital last year!"

Those were some of the whispered conversations that flowed through the halls and classrooms of Pacifica Glades High as word of Artem Hillman's return spread like wildfire. And with him now on my team of friends, I was one of the trending topics alongside him and Ryan (who didn't look happy to see Artem as much as McNeese wasn't). By lunchtime, my friends and foster brothers were all ready to get to know more about the REAL reason why he returned.

"Damn, Hillman, you sure know how to make waves," Serenity commented, taking a sip of milk. "And you arriving during Ryan and Demario's bonding-time session set up by McNeese only accelerates what might happen next."

Artem smiled thinly as he reached into his lunchbag and pulled out his meal. "Well, McVeigh, I just had to see what Ryan was up to after hearing about what's going down," he commented as he caught a glance at me and Oliver. "And I'm glad that I came at the right time."

"Theo Blake and Jillian Kendricks" I deduced.

Artem nodded. "Exactly," he said. "And with Ryan now setting his heart on you, Demario, it's more the reason for me to return and make things right. but let me focus on you for a few moments, Bader. When Ollie told me all about you a while back when you two started dating while I was taking online classes, I thought about two things: your late parents and siblings were rotten people who had a gem in their home yet treated you like garbage. And the second was how you managed to survived being orphaned and rejected after burying them and having your relatives cut you out of their lives. The world is a cruel place these days and people who don't deserve to suffer have to while everyone else keeps fighting to be on top."

I huffed a breath. "Well, there are times that I don't feel like a survivor," I admitted. "But it's people like my friends and foster family who tell me to keep moving forward and learn to lean on them in times like this."

"That's good to know," Epiphany pointed out. "You know that we're not going to let you fall back on depression and let you suffer alone, Demario. You have us to help you through the worst times, but you gotta learn to help yourself and reach out.

"Definitely," Javi agreed.

"That's pathetic," spat the voice of one Theo Blake as he swaggered towards us in his Depeche-Mode, steel-toed-booted glory with a sneer on his face. "He ought to save himself the embarrassment and just end his life already. Why should he bother to make a fool out of himself when he's always going to be a poser?"

"Blow it out of your ass, Theo," spat Antonio, eyes narrowed in silts.

"Fuck off, slut. I'm talking to Bader the Bony-Maroney here."

"And whatever you say in front of him can be said in front of us," Evan shot back.

Theo grunted before turning his attention to both Ollie and Artem, the latter keeping a neutral look on his face. "Shit, one tranny in my domain is bad enough, but two of you is a nightmare," he said. To Artem, "And why are you here again, Hillman? Are you a mascochist to show your face again after Jillian and I piut you in the hospital?"

Artem just keep a cool facade. "No, but I can still tell that you're still a closeted little bitch," he said plainly.

Everyone at our table gasped.

"What did you just say," Theo growled, fists clenched at his sides.

"You heard me loud and clear, Blake," Artem replied, nonplussed. "I said that you're just a closeted little bitch who's just mad that he got scorned by one Ryan Peavey back in middle school when he came out to you. You went from Marlowe Middle School's star student to the hell-raiser who's one step away from either a rubber room, a prison cell, or in a casket. And don't think that I haven't heard about your little affairs with some of your fellow Goth friends who are just along for the ride. You like to hide the fact that Ryan doesn't give two shits about you and team up with Jillian to keep him away from everyone else. It's all just a matter of time before graduation and we all go our separate ways when you'll realize that your hate parades and whatnot are all pointless and that you're still going to be alone and without a fucking clue. Grow up, Theo Antoine Blake, and smell the coffee. Ryan Peavey is not the guy in your life just like he's not for Demario, Oliver, or even me."

Theo opened his mouth to speak before Artem cut him off with a raised finger and took a sip of his bottled water. "And for the record, Demario over here has more class than you or even Miss Kendricks have in your hands combined. Yeah, he's been through shit thanks to his late parents and siblings alongside his ex-relatives who rode on the 'We-Hate-Demario' bandwagon for too long and he almost ended his life. But he has people who want him to live and not survive. He's a hell of a musician and a talented athlete with a great transgender boyfriend who's my best friend. Demario has a lot going on for his life and there's no telling what he can do if he keeps his mind on the right path," he went on. "You, on the other hand, have issues upon issues ranging from a military daddy who realized that it's okay to be gay while your mom left him for her boss to being molested by two aunts and being scorned by a jock back in middle school. And instead of you rising above the pain, you decide that you don't want anyone else to do so and be a part of your hate parade. Where do I see Demario in ten years? I see him thriving and living his life in freedom. Where do I see you in ten years? Nowhere but either in a prison cell, a rubber room, or in a casket. So grow the hell up and smell the fucking tea, Theo Blake. You can either get real or get lost in your bitterness. Just don't drag anyone else down with you if you choose to get lost."

Everyone in the cafeteria was left speechless, Theo's mouth still open as his friends looked petulant. One of them, a slightly-pudgy guy with cropped hair, walked away. "He's right, Theo," he said. "This mess is getting old. I need to break loose from you."

"Same," commented a raven-haired woman with a nose earring. "I was aiming to be a gymnast before I fell in line with you. Maybe I need to let go and regain my life."

And one by one, Theo's followers left the now-silent teen to himself as everyone else returned to their business. Theo looked around to see his group disbanded before shooting me a hateful glare. "This is all your fault," he hissed, getting in my face. "Hillman had to open his big mouth and told me off."

"He said what he said, Blake," I replied. "Yeah, my life is a mess like yours but at least I'm making the decision to clean it up. What about you?"

The brutal punch to my jaw was the answer to my question as I toppled out of my chair before two guards came over to apprehend him. Theo shook them off before storming out of the cafeteria.

"So much for giving Blake a reality check," I grunted, rubbing my jaw. "But at least it ought to set his friends straight."

"Let's hope so," Oliver said. To Artem, "That was pretty badass, bro."

Artem helped me to my feet and to my chair. "Someone had to be the one to say what needed to be said," he commented. "If not me, then who else?"

"Well, I have a feeling that Theo's going to be more driven to get his message straight and want me put out of my misery," I commented. "And unless I do what he wants, he's going to do whatever it takes."

************

I taste your rose-like lips upon mine,
finally inhaling your decadent essence so divine.
   We embrace each other under the light of Selene, lying on the meadow evergreen
     as oblivious to our nakedness as we revel in a spiritual happiness.

Our love's never a fantasy, a hiaku written in Japanese-a word often used and rarely believed;
the love we share is beyond real, omething that we can truly feel.

     I drink in your sweet laughter and your intricate design,
     the dance of the fireflies mixed with our symphony so unrefined.
Your electric eyes are my orchestra, the hair a sweet quartet.
as I recall the serene and lonely lane where we first loved and met.

Let all who doubt of romance see out tryst and finally start to live
as we already have an innumerable amount lof unconditional love to give.

Now our consummation is a finished rhapsody, a delightfully created masterpiece
as we begin a new chapter for a new era here after while it speaks through the rafters.

***********

First off, I needed to write this poem that I'll be sharing in English class tomorrow. And secondly, I just met Artem Hillman, the rumored teenager who was not only to put Theo Blake in his place but also was the factor behind his love affair with Ryan and Jillian. I had heard about what happened and all that, but I never knew the real story. But I have a feeling that there's going to be more than what meets the eye in the days to come. Not only that, I have a feeling that Theo's plans to have me offed won't relent until I beat him to it. With Artem dropping some secrets about him and his Goth friends abandoning him after that, I guess he has nothing else to lose.

For me? Well, I can only imagine what's going to happen next. I have Ryan on my trail and I'm not letting my guard down around Jillian. I just have this strong feeling that I'll be hit with something very heavy in the days to come and it's going to set me back in a really bad place. I just know it.

He's not wrong about that, folks. In the next chapter, a member of Demario's ex-relatives comes by to eat crow and drop a big bombshell on why his family hated him from the start. And here's a hint, folks: it involves one Vivian Ingram-Bader. Ooh, child! The tea is ready to hit y'all with a vengeance!

Dedication: staten8808. Song: "Let the Drummer Kick" by Citizen Cope.

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