Even though it was only the second day of school and I'd seen Keelan a few hours ago, it was now lunch time and he wasn't there. Neither was Nat and Corlan, Cal didn't know what was happening either but didn't seem near as worried as I'd been. But, he kept me company for much of the day.

Brock was still being verbally abused at lunch, but again the table of friends that supported him booed at whoever walked by with the insult and sometimes other people around the cafeteria joined in too. "Seriously, I love this table. These people are amazing people, thank you for joining our table Brock. You're a welcome addition. Can I ask you and Cal something? Did Keelan ever go out with Maggie?"

They looked at each other in a cryptic sort of way, which piqued my interest even more.

"Don't let anything that Maggie says get to you, like you're more than she ever was. I feel like, even though Keelan and I never really got along that I'm betraying him by telling you this. But yeah, they went out for a while. She was always a b*tch to him, always demanding perfection and all that sort of stuff. You could see it was doing something to Keelan but he never said anything and Maggie kept at him. And then one day...I don't know, they just stopped. Then you walked into the picture and Maggie was forgotten." It was Brock telling me the story but my attention was on Cal, he and Keelan were close friends so I figured if he knew anything real about Keelan and Maggie then he'd tell.

For a few moments though it was like Cal wouldn't talk,there was this battle within him that I could clearly see playing out across his face. Until finally, one side won and he looked up at me.

"She nearly ruined him, it was so messed up how much he worried about other peoples opinions of him. Like, no sh*t. That's why when he confessed that he liked you I was all for him asking you out, you're the opposite of Maggie. You don't care what people think, you live the way you're comfortable and not by the way other people see you. He needs that sort of normal, when Maggie found out about his birth dad and birth mom she flipped her sh*t on him and claimed HE was a murderer because his dad was. She made up the rumors to go along with all that stuff too," The more Cal talked the angrier I became, I had heard talk about a murderer in our school that I should keep my distance from him but I hadn't realized that the rumor was about Keelan.

The thought of Keelan suffering at the hands of such a person made me angry and sad, he'd suffered enough as it was and was still suffering. But to have something as huge as a circulating rumor take hold while going through that trouble would have been worse. I looked at Brock and understood some of what he was going through now, though I guess for him it was worse because all those friends that he had considered close really had proved that they weren't.

"Nat just said they wouldn't be at school today, they were dealing with a family problem." I was kinda surprised. Was it the same problem that had driven Keelan to Martin's house late last night? Most likely, so I left my worrying for later and quietly passed lunch and the rest of the school day making sure not to dwell too much on what Keelan and Natty were doing.

"Oh well, we'll see them eventually." I knew that much to be true, the Poller family were fairly open and honest with each other. That much I had come to learn since really starting my relationship with Keelan. It wasn't odd, really it kinda felt normal because it was what aunt B and I used to do and what Martin and Laura were trying to do as well.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Do you need a ride home after school today? I can drop you off, or if you were going around to see Keelan then I can drop you there. Brock, you sweet for a ride today?" Brock shook his head at the question, I figured Cal would drop him home too while we were at it. I guess Brock was at his most vulnerable when he was alone, it was okay for people to stand up for him at school but I'd forgotten about after school.

When it was time to go home Brock jumped in the back seat of Cal's car and we headed over to his place to drop him off. I noticed he had a freshly cut lip and bit the inside of my cheek to stop from saying anything, it was times like now that I really hated small minded people and wished they could accept that Brock liked guys and it was totally fine.

But I guess some guys thought that Brock would just randomly start hitting on them, of course it was fear that drove them to think like that and being uneducated. Their views on sexual orientation was like we were sitting back in the 60's.

We dropped Brock right at his front door, his mom was standing out at the door waiting for him and waved us off after speaking with Brock for a few moments. I guess she was as worried about him as we were, I wondered if his parents supported him but seeing the look of relief pass his moms face said enough about her views on the situation.

Cal drove back to his place and parked in the driveway, his dad was out in the garage tinkering around. I'd heard from Natty that Cal and his dad were doing great now that his mom wasn't around. Apparently she used to drive them both nuts with her nit picking and pestering, now they were free to do whatever they wanted to do and act however they wanted to act without her being there to tell them no.

"Hey dad, this is Keelan's girlfriend Ilyse. We're just going to head over there and see what they're up to, be back later." Keelan's dad just waved him off as we crossed the small strip of lawn and walked through the gate that had been cut into the fence a few weeks ago.

"Your dad seems really happy," I commented, Cal made a sound of approval as he waved to Nat.

People were blind to how pretty Natty really was, right now she was walking towards us with the biggest smile on her face. Her hair was down,she was relaxed and totally focused on Cal. When I looked over at him I felt a twinge of jealousy at the look of awe on his face, he too was totally focused on Natty and I really couldn't blame him.

I watched the door that Natty had come out, half expecting Keelan to come out with as big a smile on his face as his sister had. But the longer I watched the more disappointed I became, my disappointment grew slightly when Keelan did finally emerge. There was no smile on his face as he walked towards us but acknowledged us all as he approached. Instead of coming towards me first Keelan went to Cal and greeted him with their usual handshake, it wasn't until they completed their greeting ritual that Keelan even looked at me and offered an awkward half hug.

"So did we miss much at school today?" Keelan asked, instead of asking me though he was talking to Cal. I was being ignored and I didn't know why, it hurt like hell to be this ignored after coming so far. What had I done to cause such a reaction?

The worst went through my head as I stood there awkwardly, Natty had a sympathetic smile on her face when she glanced my way. But she had nothing to worry about, Cal had his arm around her so even though his attention was focused on Keelan he was still in touch with Natty.

I on the other hand felt like the awkward third wheel, even though there were four of us standing there.

Sighing deeply I adjusted the bag on my shoulder and cleared my throat, "I'm just going to head home, Martin wanted me home early today." It was a lame excuse, one I was sure Natty and Cal could see through. But it was then, when I excused myself that Keelan seemed to notice that I was actually standing there.

"I'll walk you home Ilyse," Keelan offered but I gave a small smile and shook my head, I'd manage walking home alone.

"See you guys tomorrow." I kind of expected Keelan to follow but he didn't. He just watched me walk out of the front yard, headed home to Martin's.

The question of what I had done kept playing over and over in my mind. Then came the question of how to fix whatever had been broken and then finally when I closed the door to my bedroom the only emotion playing in my mind was anger. What had I done to be snubbed so badly by my boyfriend?