Demario's POV

Two hours earlier...

The evening air was full of thrill as my caravan and I arrived at the stadium with minutes to spare before the pregame festivities were to begin. "This is some night for a football game," I replied as we found the VIP section where Ms. McNeese and her party were waiting for me. "This is definitely not my kind of weekend fun."

"Mine neither, but here we are nonetheless," Joel hummed as his husband nodded in assent.

"Ah, Demario! I'm so glad that you could come after all," Ms. McNeese cheered as she came forward to shake my hand. "And you brought your family and your friends...alongside the Slade clan."

"Yes, ma'am. And Oliver is my main guest as he is my boyfriend," I said firmly, grasping the young man's hand in question.

"So I see."

I looked around, taking in the giant crowd of people that were finding their seats while Mrs. Bermudez-Estrada was currently getting the band members assembled as the latter group were tuning their instruments. "This is some crowd," I couldn;t help but note aloud. "And all of this before the Homecoming game in two weeks."

"It's the thrill of the Friday night lights," Ms. McNeese noted as she herded me away from my support group. "Demario, darling. I know that this is a bit much for you with your current situation and all, but you must understand that you being paired with Ryan will ensure that not only you'll be a thriving student here at PGHS but also show some school pride. And as for Ryan being your buddy for this project and me supervising you two, this is to ensure that you establish a strong bond as friends. Not only that, you might see Ryan as a future boyfriend."

I raised my eyebrow in suspicion. "No offense, Ms. McNeese, but Oliver and I are-"

The teacher held up a hand to cut me off. "Just hear me out on this, darling. Oliver- or Olivia, since that is HER true identity- is not the right kind of caliber for you. You'll need someone who's not only one of the pillars of this school but can also expand your horizons and even open doors that you thought can't be done," she went on. Slade's too much of a rebel for the family legacy and there's no telling what can happen. No, dearie. Slade is a distraction while Ryan and his family come from good stock and the two of you can be the true powerhouse couple. Take this assignment as an opportunity to get to know each other."

I was pissed the fuck off. Who was she to say that Oliver wasn't meant for me, not to mention being a transphobic bigot?

The stadium horn blared loud with five minutes before pregame was to begin. "Think about my words, Demario," she said as she led me back to my friends and family. "Don't be tied down to a rock, but shine bright like the stars."

I nodded as I took my seat next to Oliver before watching the teacher walk to the other side of the VIP section before small platters of gourmet appetizers were distributed by the FCCLA students. "McNeese is a true ass," I said to Oliver. "She had the nerve to talk down about you and address your dead name."

Oliver snorted, rolling his eyes. "I expected that," he replied. "And I did warn you that McNeese is a total hag from hell that likes to discredit people who changes their gender. She supports gay marriage and shit but hates the transgender communities."

"She wouldn't be able to handle my group-therapy friends," I noted just as the band assembled on the field for the pregame festivities. "But I need to focus on this game and brace myself for what's ahead."

Oliver pointed to the far right end of the home side of the field. "What the hell is Theo doing here?" he asked, confusion on his face.

My eyes went wide as Theo caught my stare of surprise, he and his Goth friends grinning wickedly at me.

I shriveled back into my seat. "I don't like this one bit," I said lowly. "I should've told Callaway this earlier, but he stopped by the bandroom earlier while I was playing the piano and he said that he was hoping that I'd make the right decision. When I asked him which one, he said that I would find out."

Oliver hissed, motioning for my foster dads and brothers alongside Judge McGillivray and her sister before recapping them what I told him. "Okay, now I think that this is a bad idea," Taylor said, turning to the same spot and shooting Theo a killer glare before turning to me. "I say that we go home now and deal with the consequences. Tell McNeese that something came up and we're leaving earlier than planned."

I shook my head. "That won't fly because McNeese expects me to stick around," I told him. "If I do that, she'll think that I'm bailing out on giving Peavey support. We gotta stick things out as long as I can."

"Are you sure?" I can talk to Ms. McNeese myself and arrange for a different pairing," Judge McGillivray offered.

"And who's to say that she'll fail me before the project even began? No, you guys. I might as well stick this out and go with whatever happens next. Besides, I wrote a letter to Ryan and made sure that he got the message."

"And do you think he'll accept what you told him?" Noreen asked.

There were cheers as soon as the football team got onto the field with the band playing the fight song. "We shall see," was all I said as soon as I saw him in his quarterback glory with the jersey number (14) on him. He waved at me. I didn't wave back.

Let the good times roll on!

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

Ryan led the team to victory with a landslide game against the visitors 36-0 and it was time to head home. Of course, I wasn't planning on going to the party at the cheerleader's house since it was unsupervised. I had plans on going back home with plans for group therapy on my mind.

But as the old saying goes, fate had a way of changing plans.

"But Demario, Ryan's been hoping for you to show up at the party tonight," Ms. McNeese insisted when I heard that the assignment included attending any parties that were held by one of the partner's social circle of friends. I had originally told her that I wasn't interested in going, but she wasn't going to have it. "And this could be a way to make new friends with Ryan's company."

"But, Ms. McNeese, I-"

"Just stay at the party for at least one hour. That's all I ask," Ms. McNeese said. "I hate for you to not get any good progress for this project."

I bit back a sigh. "Can I at least bring Oliver?"

"If you must, but only Slade is invited," Ms. McNeese quipped, her tone making no room for argument.

"Fine," I said.

In retrospect, I should've said no and risked failing the grade because what would happen next would turn everything on its head before Theo would make good on his threat.

Don't get too comfy just yet, folks! It's time to head to the party and...well, you'll have to read what happens next to see how everything turns upside down!

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