Ray Fon

From the mirror of my locker I spotted Reid, Erin and that a$$h- Blake's mother, Mrs Silverstein. Haha, Silverstein. What a funny last name. Makes me think of a silver Frankenstein. Kind of suits Blake. Silver describing his rough toughness and Frankenstein for his stupidity.
The teacher said something I couldn't hear, but then Reid did that sassy flick of her hair and left Erin's locker. What a strange girl, Reid is.
"B!tchy-Blake, Lotus-Laura, Rock-Hard-Reid....what should I title Erin...?" I asked myself. I kept staring at the mirror, this time looking at my own reflection. My mask was all I could see. It was an interesting mask, I would say. Everyone else said that it looked creepy. Good. Stay away from me. The less the better. Less people to miss, less people to blame, less people to love-
"Mister Fon, didn't you hear the bell?" I jumped when I heard Mrs Silverstein's icy-cold question. I knew she wanted the answer but I chose to say nothing.
"Admiring that mask of yours?" She asked me with a dark glare. "If so, I hope you admire having detention. Or would you rather run to class?" She turned around and walked away, not wanting to hear my excuses. Like most teachers, she was as strict as a law. Grabbing what I needed I closed my locker's door. Silently I took the opportunity to give her a title.
"Stupid-Strict-Silverstein."
I ran through the deserted hallways. Seems like everyone ran to class already. What did I have again? ...Maths class, right.
I burst through the doors of the classroom I needed to be. As soon as I did, all eyes were on me. The classroom fell ghostly silent. I could feel the atmosphere getting colder, and it wasn't because of the flood's remains. Or the weather.
The teacher coughed to break the silence. "Ray, sit down. You're at least two minutes late." Without saying anything I quickly walked to an available seat, which was, of course, at the back. I organised my desk. Place that there, put this here....at the same time people started to whisper quietly while the teacher wrote on the blackboard, talking about the area of the circle. I decided to listen to the students since I already know this maths sh!t. Half of the diameter is the radius, bla bla bla. I stared at the blackboard as I listened to the others.
I heard some people say, "Why the hell does he wear that sh!t?" "I know, it's so weird and creepy!"
Good.
"He's ashamed about his face, isn't he? Ha, what an idiot." "Don't be like that, maybe he's self conscious."
Damn right, I'm self-conscious.
"Hey, Julika! Look at that dude! That dude is such a loner. What a loser. Bet that he doesn't have any friends." "Well I think he looks so cool and mysterious! Oh, I wish I could be his friend! I'm going to try!"
Yes, I'm a loner and yes I don't have frie- wait. Oh, hell no, Julika wants to be my friend.
"And that is how you solve the area for a circle!" The teacher's loud statement caused all the talking to vanish. The return of silence. "Now, to determine wether you've been listening or not, I'd like to see you finish this sheet in the time given." He lifted a piece of paper from his desk, showing it to the class. "That's right, don't think I wasn't hearing you chattering! But, since I'm a nice old man I'll let you work in partners!"
Oh, no. Oh hell no. Oh, please, nononononononono.
As soon as she got a work sheet, she left her seat and quickly approached me. She outstretched her arm, wanting to shake my hand, "Hi, I'm Julika! Want to be work partners?"

Reid Keegan

I didn't know how long I could spend hiding in the toilet stall until someone found me, with my mascara running dry along my cheeks and my lips chapped and dry. I could still taste the blood in my mouth and my heart was pounding a thousand times a second. I screwed up so much, I had my chance to actually talk to Laura, and what did I do? I ranaway... I wonder if she could smell the fear off of me.
It was hopeless, all of it. I was prisoner to this town, cursed to marry one of Blakes cronies at 20, take a job at a supermarket checkout and my nightmares would have nightmares every night. The tiles of the stall were old and dirty, the walls covered in inappropriate pictures and old writing,
Kate Owen!
JL SM Friends 4ever
Blake S, hot or not?!?!?!
the temptation to circle not was over whelming, and I probably would have done it had the circumstances been different. I heard people come and go, they'd light their cigarets and gossip, unaware of the girl choking on her silent sobs. "A cigarette, just one. Even a vape would do for Christ's sake!" I felt like i was committing a crime listening in on these conversations. But I'd committed so many in my lifetime that i did it anyway.
One conversation in particular had captured my attention, a gaggle of girls I didn't know, they were probably unpopular, mentioned something about "The Social Awareness Society."
Their voices had been uneasy, exchanges of whispered words and phrases along with nervous laughter. They disbanded shortly. Their secret rendez-vous over. Leaving me with thousands of questions.
The social awareness society...
I didn't know what it meant, or if it meant anything at all. But it was worth looking at. I lifted myself from the cold tiles, my legs numb and wobbly, and I cracked the stall door open. Standing in front of me was Ms. Tanner, who wasn't really a teacher and no one knew what exactly she did other then shout at people in the hall. I didn;t hear her coming in and I was caught completely by surprise. I braced myself for a whopping, my eyes shut tightly and anticipating.
"My goodness Keegan! You look so unwell!" I open my eyes to see her lined face heavy with sympathy. An unexpected reaction. "Off to the nurses office with you!" She exclaimed, her old, shaky hand holding out a tissue. I took it along with a pink sli.p and made my way down the empty corridors, the words F@G written crudely across Archie's locker. Looked fresh.

I knocked on the nurses door, tugging down my skirt before she could do it for me. She opened it with a slim finger pressed firmly against her lips and I followed her inside.
Bleary eye's and moist cheeks. The cunning twinkle from his smile gone. Something i never thought I'd see on Blake Silverstein. But there he was, sitting on the nurses desk, pouring his eyes out.
He saw me and his crying grew worse, the nurse tried to calm him
"F-F-F.ucking hell Ge' her out!" the sentence was barely audible through his sobs. A scenario like this would have been funny had Blake not looked so small. So vulnerable. How many times had i dreamed to see him cry? How many times had i wanted to see him hurting while I pretended to like him? How awful i felt now... Almost guilty.
To think that this boy was the same one chasing little Donny Carter in the yard yesterday, shouting "I'm gonna getcha ***face! And when I do I'm gonna break your glasses!" with Brendan and Jake laughing behind him, like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves. "Gonna getcha four-eyes!"
"Hey buddy." I hopped up beside him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" I try to keep my voice as gentle as possible. As if everything was going to be okay. In reality, the whole school was going to somehow know about this by Period 5.
"M-m-my Bruh-brother." His breaths were so shaky, and his sobbing resumed.
His brother.
A dawning of understanding came over me, and I hugged him tightly, my eyes almost as wet as his.
When I was little I was closer to Blake. Best friends. I'd only ever went to his house a couple of times, because his older brother was living there and he was
sick.
He didn't have a disease or a virus, Mrs. Silverstein tried to explain, but he was hurting. He was just sad. He stayed in bed all day. He couldn't bare to get up. He didn't like visitors, It made him nervous she said. He couldn't get a job. He couldn't leave the house. Back then I didn't understand what it meant, I thought he was just lazy.
I mocked him then. So did Blake. Now I didn't need to guess what happened to him.
The look of grief on Blake's face was all to familiar to me.
We cried together for what felt like a lifetime. Enough tears to salve a small african village from thirst.
People peered in through the windows. They laughed and took pictures but we didn't care.
Blake was an a.ss. A sick minded hot-head. A bully and an animal. But for that moment he was my friend.
I wondered if he'd still be my friend if I told him about who I really was inside.

Deirbhile (Or D)

OOC: Just some background for y'all, Robyn is non binary, and ***ian, and is one of the founders. They have dark brown hair, pixie cut style, and tanned skin. They are also pretty funny and sarcastic.

I take some books out of my locker, before shutting the cold steel firmly, to see Robyn facing me, a smile on their face. "Hey, D."
"Oh god." I sigh.
"What?"
"You have that look on your face again. It means you're about to do some serious shi.t."
Robyn laughs, "You know me too well."
"So what are you trying to convince me is a good idea this time?"
"So," They begin, as we walk to Biology together. "You know how we're. . . Not Hetero?"
I glance around anxiously, making sure no-one overheard her. Some kids in this school are real biggots. "Yeah."
"Well there has to be more people like us. But they're too scared to come out, or be open about their s.exuality and gender."
I frown slightly, processing what they're getting at, "So what are you suggesting?"
"We make a group, a club, a society , where g@ys, bi's, pan's, demi's, trans', ace's and even Allies can come along to this, this safe environment, and we can just be supportive, and open, and ourselves." They finish desperately, eyes wide, tanned cheeks tinted a pale pink from excitement.
"That would be a great idea, if we somehow manage to pull it off. We can't exactly call it 'Gathering The G@ys', can we?"
Robyn laughs, "Nah, but we can call it Social Awareness Society."
I mull this over, "Okay, call me bat shi.t crazy, but that may be a good idea."

Reid Keegan

Not long after our touching moment, Blake's mother came bursting into the nurses office. Her face was pale, her mouth was a thin line but her eyes gave her poker face away. Fear.
"Blake baby!" She cried and rushed over to him, I had to jump back to avoid being crushed by her motherly hug. Her face was red and swollen from crying. But she was trying to be brave for Blake I think.
"I-I-Is it true?" He asked when she let go. He looked younger by years. Six rather then sixteen.
Mrs. Silverstein tried to speak but her words got caught in her throat and she doubled over, gasping for air. I'd never seen a grown woman cry before. My mother didn't even cry when my father died.
I later learned that Blake's brother, Aiden Silverstein had hung himself using a belt and his ceiling fan after years of battling depression. Blake was taken out of school and I was forced to continue my day with a heavy conscience. And tear smeared makeup.
It was lunch when i got out of the nurses office. As I walked across the canteen I couldn't help but notice people looking at me, like a caged monkey.
My distant friend Rhiannan ran up to me, phone in hand, a wicked smile stretched across her pretty face.
"How's Blake?" She asked slyly.
I kept walking
"I think there's something you need to see." She said and grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to a stop. She showed me a post from a girl called Hera Zhang. A freak last year, but ditched her glasses and ten pounds and was suddenly a prom queen. I wasn;t exactly nice to her then. Once at a party i burned her with my cigarette butt and she never quite got over it. Her newest post was of Blake and I hugging in the nurses office, taken from outside the window. The angle made it look as if we were kissing. The caption read

Blake's an a.sshole, Jake's an a.sshole, Brendan's an a.sshole too,
Reid's the sl.ut queen, sleeping with Silverstein, singing the a.sshole blues.

"Pretty much everyone has seen it." Rhiannon says, her voice high-pitched with fake sympathy. Maybe Hera thought she was acting as some sort of angel of justice by posting this. Maybe she thought Blake and I had it coming and maybe she was right. But if Blake saw this, it wouldn't be long till he joined his brother in the earth. I grabbed the phone, strutted up to Hera and gave her a piece of my mind. Told her it was disgusting to say things like that about another girl. Told her that Blake and I did not like each other that way. Demanding she'd take it down, because it was insensitive to the things blake was going through.
She just sat there smiling, her girl squad giggling beside her.
"SOooo you're saying your a queer and a slu.t?" She smirked.
I was so shook, I did't know what to say.
"I bet she's a queer!" Said Suzie Baker, so I boxed her ear and left.
I decided to sit by myself during lunch.
It didn't feel like school anymore. It felt like punishment, perhaps for thinking about Laura in such an unnatural way. Whatever it was, I never felt so alone

Reid Keegan

The whispers were the worst.
I wish I could be like the boys. They were simple beasts. when they had beef with someone it was out to the field with them and they'd box and beat each other until one is defeated. A loser, with a bloody nose and a ripped up jumper. And after that everything's forgotten. Everything's settled.
So much easier.
But that's not how girls sorted things. They were toxic like snakes, their vemon slow-killing. They whisper and snig.ger and it never ends.
I wish I could take them to the field and knock the shi.t out of their pretty, fake faces.
But that wasn't how things worked.
I sighed, my lunch untouched. I could feel the eyes of the lunchroom settling on my shoulders. The notifications on my phone buzzed like crazy, new rumours circulating probably.
I cast my eyes across the canteen, spotting Laura sitting with Archie and quickly looking away.
This rumour's better then the truth at least.
Then I remembered something I'd heard in the bathroom,
a club called the "social awareness society."
Brandon had mentioned Robyn and "A club for queers."
Perhaps they were the same thing? Something I should look into for sure.
Despite everything, I found myself smiling.

Ray Fon

Last session was....difficult.
It was hard being silent around her. Julika kept trying to get me talking. At least she did help me finish the work sheet, despite the fact that I could have done it myself. Luckily she talked more about work than me and the session appeared to be quick. Immediately, after the bell rang, I ran through the doors and towards my locker to put away my belongings. I waved my hand at Julika as I ran and soon arrived at my locker. I heard many people laughing and chattering, phones in their hands. I heard the word, "Loser", "sl.ut", and "Blake and Reid". I ignored this for a while. That is, until...
My phone got a notification.
I quickly grabbed it and turned it on, seeing a picture on the screen. It was a picture of Blake and Erin...in the nurse office....kissing? No, they can't be. Erin's head is too low for their mouths to be together. And is Blake....crying? I can barely spot a wet line running down his cheek. What is this?
Then I saw what was written with the photo. I read it, each word getting me feeling....agitated. Who would call someone a sl.ut? It makes sense that they called the trio a$$holes, but on social media with this photo? In school? During school hours? At lunch time where all the students would be free? Who the hell would do that?!
I walked towards the cafeteria, phone still in my hand. I scrolled up just a tiny bit before seeing the name of the poster.
Hera is a such a motherf.ucking b1tch.
Such a b1tch, she might as well become one and cause a ruckus and act like the alpha of the pack.
I ordered some food and grabbed my tray before trying to find an isolated table. I sighed. Seems like I have to sit with others. I inspected the cafeteria once more before seeing a table with only one person on it. I shrugged. Better one person than a group.
I walked towards the student who was on the table, realising that it was non other than Erin. I dismissed the thought of her being a sl.ut. She can't be. She's a strong, independent woman who can knock out a man in an instant. Right?
"E-excuse me..." She slowly turned her head to look at me. I felt my face grow warm. I was getting nervous. Again. "C-can I sit here?"
Erin shrugged and nodded before looking down to stare at her food. I was surprised. I thought she would say something about my mask. I chose to sit across her rather than next to her, thinking that she may need some personal space.
It was awkward, the silence between us two. I've never sat next to someone while eating at the cafeteria. Especially after I've spoken to that person.
She looked so sad. She didn't even touch her food. That post must have really hit her hard. I wonder why Blake was crying in the first place. That is, if he was crying. That photo was well angled, so I wasn't certain if tears were running down his face.
I decided to do something that I thought I would never do. I decided to try and start a conversation. I took a deep breath then started to talk fast. "Hera is a ***ing b!tch who would care less if someone was teased or hurt and would deserves to die in a fire and continue to burn in the depths of hell and die a virgin and her sins being shown right in front of her as she burns and after that she would continue feeling the burn but instead of being in fire she will take the place of the people she has been mean to and discover their suffering and continue that cycle for all eternity." I took another deep breath. I heard Erin chuckle.
"That's dark, masked loner." I heard her whisper. "Hey, you just talked to me. That's new of you."
I smiled, but then realised that she couldn't see it. So I ran my finger across the smile on my face.
"If I could punch her, I would," I said quietly. Erin chuckled again. It was nice, talking to people. You just need to talk to the right person.

Erin

I enjoyed my talk with a Ray. Although I was still ***.ed about that photo. I hated being called an a$$hole or a $lut. Blake was CRYING. What could I do? I was comforting him. Now Me,Reid and Blake are the trio A$$holes. Sometimes I just wished I could punch Hera in the face.
"Oi! $lut!" Someone Called across the canteen. I heard a big chuckle and walked away.
"Sissy!" Someone else chuckled. I felt a tear run down my face. I fled as fast as I could into a corner of the playground. Hopefully where someone wouldn't notice.
"Hey...Erin? What's up?" It was LJ...
"I'm fed up." I sniffled. "Everyone's teasing me on that photo. LJ Looked at me Sympathetically.
"You weren't kissing right?" She asked. I burst into more tears. "Sorry, I know you weren't."

(This isn't part of the RPG, but to clear things up, I accidentally got mixed up with Reid and Erin.)

Reid Keegan

The day after the bullying incident was a Friday and for some wild reason I had decided to attend school after all.
Perhaps it was a bold move to stand up against bullies, to show them that I wasn't weak. I liked the sound of that idea, but it was untrue as I went to see Laura.
Not that she'd talk to me since I was now "the sl.ut queen."
The circulating rumour was almost both a curse and a blessing. Now I was so straight I was a sl.ut. No one would suspect the exact opposite.
I slid my bag stra.ps over my narrow shoulders, just covering the gaping whole in my jumper. The bag was light, from homework left unfinished in my room.
As I walked down my damp, flood ruined corridor and towards the exit of the house I hesitated,
"I'm going now ma!" I called out,
I recieved a grumble in reply, and from somewhere deep within those depressing walls my mother turned up the volume of the tv. At least she responded.
The wind outside was cold and bit and my throat every time i breathed in. Autumn leaves as red as my hair billowed about and I considered turning back.

The school was a large, grey monstrosity that loomed over the soaking yard like a prison. Children swarmed and milled around it like ants around their queen.
Amongst them I saw Blake. Something that surprised me. I thought he would still be in mourning. But then again Blake was strange, he expressed his emotions differently. Mostly through pounding on smaller kids.
Now He was like the queen ant, beaming from the attention of his workers and I found myself bright red with anger. How se.xist could this school be? Where the girls get shamed and the boys get praised.
For something that never even happened.
I marched up to him, hearing "Ooooo's" from the crowd.
"Ay there mate." He said. Had I not seen the state he was in yesterday I would have thought it was his birthday. His face was filled with delight, but I still recognised the raw fear in his eyes. The grief.
Someone shouted "who.re!" And shoved him closer to me.
I held up my phone, showing him the post.
"Yeah, I saw that" He said, his downtown accent stronger then usual. "Funny i'n't it?"
I didn't believe it. I couldn't. We were friends, we smoked together, we hung out together, heck we even cried together. I felt betrayed. The crowd was forming a tight circle around us, like a steel trap.
"Yeah sure, sure." I tried to keep my cool, to be the Reid that everyone knew. If he wanted to play stupid so would I. Not the crying in the bathroom Reid, though I felt tears forming, "How's your family?" I asked. My voice was venomous and caught him off guard. The smug look on his face faltered and I went for the kill.
"How's your brother hanging?"
The word hanging seemed to echo and I cringed.
It was such a low blow. Such a cruel thing to say, I was disgusted with myself the moment the words left my mouth. I was worse then Hera. Still I found myself laughing and everyone was looking around in confusing, but still laughed with me. Once again I was the queen snake, not slu.t. Hera could take a seat and watch the big kids at play.
At first I saw the rage sweep his face like a blanket. the veins on his head pumping once again, then tears, and before I knew it Blake was pushing through the crowd desperately holding in sobs.
I felt victorious. Then I felt shame. So much shame came flooding in it made the water that drenched the school look like child's play. I wanted to call after him and take it back. I wanted to say sorry. But the damage was done. The watchers weren't sure what happened, but they did know who the winner was. And once again I was included, but for all the wrong reasons.
I received a notification from the school website,
Remeber all students wishing to attend the Social Awareness society please meet at Room 1 during lunch for interviews!
Always a silver-lining. 

Archie Harris

"I can't believe she said that." I muttered in disbelief, walking away from the crowd with Laura. I assumed Reid was a b1tch, but I wasn't expecting...that. I wasn't expecting any of it. Aiden used to be my friend, before he cut everyone off. I should have done something, shouldn't have let him just go away...
"I don't understand why it' such a big deal." Laura pondered, confused. I was about to get mad at her (Of Course it was a big deal) but then I remembered she was new- All of the rumours, and the news of what happened to Aiden- travelled through social media, and I bet she wasn't in anyone's contact lists yet.
"Hi brother hung himself." I answered bleakly. What was the point of dressing it up? I pulled up the picture one of the IT Techs had sent me. It was a bit blurry, since it was a screenshot- Like Hera hd the g@y kid in her contacts. Pretty much everyone deleted me when I came out. We didn't talk much on the way to my locker. When I got there I realized it was because Laura had gone in a different direction to me about five minutes ago, and I'd been walking alone since. I didn't mind though. It meant she didn't see the bright pink words someone had used to decorate my locker. My eyes glazed over as I stared at the A, wondering if maybe Aiden had the right idea. I was pulled back to reality when I heard snigg@rs behind me.No doubt admiring their handiwork.
"Nice one, Picasso, but I prefer blue, hot pink isn't really my colour." I shouted over my shoulder, snapping open the locker door, shoving a few books inside then slamming it shut again. They were still laughing at me.

Reid Keegan

I was pretty sure I had ruined any chances of me being included in the S.A.S club. I'd spelled disaster for myself the moment I made that awful, cruel joke. It was a step too far, even for me, and I was sure that if I paid a visit to the nurses office I'd see Blake crying there once again. Only this time it would be my fault.
But at least people were talking to me again. In fact, the b!tch Hera invited me to study with her after school.
I stooped to their level, something I'd always done, so why was it so different now? Why all the hate? People die anyway...
I grimaced. Those were not the kind of thoughts to be having.
I declined Hera's offer. I refused to be awarded for my behaviour.
Wary whispers followed me as I walked down the hall to class. I knew they weren't singing my praises, their tongues were probably black with hatred for me, but at least they respected me. Or maybe they just feared me?
It was a question of whether or not I wanted to be the butt of their jokes or the one who made the jokes. Neither were appealing. Neither would appeal to Laura anyway.
Not that that mattered.
there was a good chance I was beyond forgiveness, that this one stunt was something no one would forget. But I still wanted to redeem myself. Which was selfish of me. I wasn't the one with a brother lying six feet under. I deserved whatever coldness I received.
Just then I saw Archie, his blondie head down as he tried to get his things out of his locker. Three girls stood behind them. I recognised them as people I hung out with a couple of times but none of their names came to mind. They were laughing their heads off, crying out "did you see the look on the f@gs face??" And "Dance for us you queer!"
My head started spinning, my vision went red with rage.
"I'd be shut up if I were you, we can smell your breath from all the way down the hall."
They stare at me. One of them whispered "F@ggot.." So I punched her in the nose.
I much preferred this line of attack to arguing. Gets the works done.
"You crazy B!itch!" the bloodied girl screamed, hand clutching her nose, little red droplets hitting the ground.
"Say hi to Blake when you get to the nurses office." I reply. They weren't busting so I raised a fist and they slinked away. Good.
I turned to Archie. He surprisingly looked mad at me.
"What the hell was that for!"
"They were bullying you."
he slammed his locker angrily. What was his problem? "I didn't need your help."
He said "your" like how people normally say "Dog sh!t."
He marched off in a huff, I followed him.

Archie Harris

I didn't need Reid Keegan protecting me from a group of teenage girls. I didn't need a hallway of people staring at me. I didn't need tears threatening to fall. I want to go home. To just,be alone. To not be the g@y kid. God, how I hated being the g@y kid. I almost hated my existence more than the rest of the school did, and it was too much. I was tired. "Leave me alone!" I hissed over my shoulder, sounding more pathetic than threatening. Could she go chase after someone else? I looked so dumb, stood in the corridor while Reid keegan fights my battles. I was ignoring them, like the rest of my problems, hoping they would go away. They weren't going to go away now. She was calling after me, and I wanted to stop, because she sounded guilty- she was trying to help, I guess- but If I stopped I'd burst into tears in front of everyone. Stumbling blindly through crowds of people, I ducked into a storage closet. She could talk to me in there, or she could carry on walking and i'll cry alone. I paused for a second, considering the implications of a storage closet- if someone saw us...
If someone saw us, maybe a rumor that I'd f@cked Reid Keegan In a storage closet would get out, she'd hate me forever and I wouldn't be the g@y kid anymore. What did I have to lose?

Reid Keegan

Archie Harris slammed himself into a storage closet.
It occurred to me that maybe he mistook it for a classroom and was now too embarrassed to get out, or more probably, waiting for me. I followed him inside, it was dark so I switched on the light. the place smelled like Kleenex and mothballs. I'd never even talked to Archie before, especially not when he came out. This was a whole other level of awkward. His eyes were moist like he was about to cry or something.
"You know, normally people say thank you." I muttered.
He rolled his eyes. "Well I'm not thankful am I."
"You should be! I totally just helped you out there!"
I really wanted to wipe that smug, disbelieving look on his face.
"Oh give up the ghost Reid! You don't think I don't know this is you trying to redeem yourself to the school? Your not an avenger your a mean girl." His voice cracked, he definitely sounded like he was about to cry.
I take in what he said. Most of it had rung true, which just made me angrier.
"Your talking like this is some sort of tv show." I snorted
"yeah and your acting like it! You don't say things like that Reid, decent people don't do that. So you can stop pretending because we all know what your really like inside. I'm not going to be your free ticket back into people's hearts. We all know that if you hadn't said those things to Blake you would have probably joined those b!tches."
We just stood there in silence. The bell rang, I jumped at the sound of it. Maybe he was right, but I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted to forget the Blake thing.
I considered leaving, coming out of the closet. How ironic. For some reason the thought of it tugged at my emotions.
So right there, in the storage closet I started crying, unsure if they were genuine or just crocodile tears.

Archie Harris

B1tch, this is where I came to cry! I watched as tears poured down her face, and a thought ***ped through my head. It was there for a second, but the image of Laura, smiling down at me at the picnic table outside, yesterday in the rain was stuck to the inside of my eyelids. I closed my eyes and focused, pleading with my memory to be useful at least once-Sh!t I forgot to do that chemistry homework-
There! I held the image in my mind for a second longer. Behind Laura, Reid, sat with Blake and co. staring dreamily at Laura's back.

She was g@y. She was like me, Would she want to be my friend? Is that why she stood up for me? Does this mean I won't be lonely anym-

I stopped abruptly, and watched the tears spill down Reid's arms as she pushed her palms into her eyes, trying desperately to stop. Her skin was red, her breath ragged. She didn't want to be like me. She was ashamed to be like me. People avoided me like a disease that they were afraid to catch.

The one part of me that felt brave. The little bit that was proud for being myself. It shattered. The tears that had been pushing to escape were gone, replaced by complete hatred and anger. If she wasn't so damn proud, popular, perfect, I could have a friend. An actual friend, who wouldn't mind sitting with me at lunch, and who would care when I didn't eat because I'd gotten four detentions in one day. But Reid could never be that.
"Stand any closer and you'll catch depression off me too." I spat, shoving past her into the hallway. She had loads of people that would crowd round her in the hallway, asking if she was ok, if they could help. How dare she hide from it? When, if I broke down in a corridor, I'd just get called by different pronouns, and get a whole lot more pink spray paint on my locker. F@ck this. I didn't want to be the g@y kid anymore.

Reid Keegan

People swarmed around me, asking if I was okay. The same people who called me a slu.t but that didn't matter because I wasn't okay.
Stand any closer and you'll catch depression off me too...
I was afraid to think about it. To think that like glass he had seen right through me, that he punched a hole in my disguise and saw me for who I really was. It was impossible, right? I mean how could he know?
I managed to see Archie's blond head bobbing down the corridor before it disappeared. No one came after him, probably because no one cared. I frowned at the thought and again considered going after him. But history didn't need to repeat itself.
Rhiannan handed me a tissue to blow on, her soothing words going in one ear and out the other.
Brandon offered to beat Archie up for me, which was ridiculous since I told them he didn't do anything.
"then why are you crying?"
They all said.
How could I ever tell them? They'd turn on me like a pack of hungry pirañas. Jake offered to bring me to the nurses office but Blake would be there. Heaven knows what Blake would do to me.
Or what I would do to Blake, since it was my fault he was there, wasn't it?
Because I'm a Mean Girl.
My classes went by in a blur. I managed not to look at Laura, Archie knowing was bad enough.
It wasn't soon till it was lunch. The Social Awareness Society as meeting in room 1 for interviews, so I touched up my makeup and headed there.

Deirbhile (Or D)

I check the time, and nudge Robyn, "Hey, it's time for the interviews."
"Sh.it." Robyn curses, standing up, "Yeah, we'd better go."
"If you want you can come to the interviews." I tell Luna, "Allies are welcome, and if you're Questioning or whatever, feel free to come along."
Luna pauses, chewing on her bottom lip for a second, "Maybe."
"Cool." Robyn grins, before swinging their bag over their shoulder and beginning to walk away.
"Catch you later, Luna." I grin, before grabbing my bag and hurrying after Robyn. We pass Kira, walking by, and when she sees us, she grins, "I'll come for the interview in a few minutes."
I do finger guns at Kira (something I do far too often), and walk on.
We walk down various halls, before coming to a stop outside Room 1. I glance nervously as Robyn, "And you're sure this room is free?"
"No." They state, and I roll my eyes, "But if any teachers or ho.mophobes come in, we talk about recycling. Everyone loves recycling."
"Fine." I laugh, as we sit down at one of the desks. God, I hope some people turn up.
"What should we do if someone comes here thinking there is an actual Social Awareness Society?" Robyn asks.
"We say we'll get back to them, and then we don't." I state, just as the door opens, and Reid Keegan walks in.
Instantly I bristle, unsure what to think about her after everything that's happened recently. She smiles tentatively, "Hey." And sits down. Wow. Is this the Reid the school knows?
I glance down at my sheet of questions:
Name:
Age:
Hetero or Queer:
Views on the community:
"Well," Robyn begins, "Let's start with your name."
"Reid Keegan."
"Age?" I ask.
"Fifteen."
"Hetero or Queer?" Robyn asks, and Reid pauses.