Filler chapters, already?! Geez, I suck. I'm sorry it took so long for this. I was completely lost and my writing streak just kind of died. I'm back, though, I think. Updating once a week, hopefully.

Enjoy. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY REVIEWERS! :) You guys are fucking lovely.

-o-

The first day had been torture for Val and I, so when we got home that night we immediately curled up in my bed and snoozed. Yes, snoozed. There is no other word for it, because when I woke up the expression on Val’s sleeping face was too fucking cute to be attributed to napping or dozing.

I reached across and ran my fingers through his hair, feeling a great deal more relaxed than before.

I had realized on our first day that Christian schools weren’t a great deal different than public schools. Meaning there were still stupid, annoying people and a multitude of idiots just waiting for me to snap and knock them out. I hadn’t hit anyone, though. I was a little proud of that. Val had been a comforting presence at my side the entire day. He even seemed to be fitting in well with the people who ventured to become our friends.

Mrs. Marsh decided to cancel on catching us up for a bit, so we went to lunch. Ariel and her boyfriend Lucas had been the first two to introduce themselves, followed by a tall girl named Leah. I found that they weren’t bad people, and it was surprisingly easy for me to be civil to them. Val was practically jumping out of his skin, he was so excited. I had found myself smiling at him as he talked about anything and everything with them.

Then there was Jeremiah.

He was loud. He was obnoxious. He was also short, skinny, and in love with clothes. He and Val had hit it off almost immediately. It seemed, as I watched him fritter between conversations, like Jeremiah could make anyone like him.

I didn’t like him. I had watched as Val warmed up to him, laughing nervously at his jokes and going pale when he poked fun at me. Like he expected me to spaz and stab his new friend in the heart.

“Ryan, how come you’re so cold to me?” I remember Jeremiah asking when we walked back from lunch, his large green eyes full of crocodile tears and the sound of his sniffles echoing in my head. I had wanted nothing more than to become the old-fashioned asshole and go find a garbage can to stuff him in. Maybe gag and tie him up for good measure.

Instead, I worked hard to keep my mouth shut and keep walking.

I shivered, realizing then just how cold it was to be out of bed. Bah. I grabbed my neatly folded pants off of the dresser and trudged in to the bathroom to get ready.

-o-

Being in our math class that early in the morning was starting to kill me, even though it had only been two days. I loved Mrs. Marsh to death, God-forbid I ever admit to caring about anybody other than Val. I faintly heard Ariel and Val talking, both laughing at something I didn’t quite catch.

“The other day, why did that guy say you were having an affair with the floor?” Val asked. I looked at them briefly, interested in the answer.

“Ah, well...”

Val smiled brightly. “That’s okay! You don’t have to tell me.” When he realized I was trying my best to listen in without being noticed, he playfully smacked my head and giggled. “You need to work on your sneakyness.”

“S’okay,” Ariel said softly, “I trust him to hear. See, I’ve kind of got this reputation for being addicted to sex.” I watched as Val’s mouth dropped open and I grinned. “No worries, hun! I wouldn’t jump you or Ryan. You both set off my highly-developed gaydar. And while that’s some people’s cup of tea, it isn’t mine. Usually.”

I reached over and shut Val’s mouth. “I’m undecided, really. I hate a great deal of people from both sexes, so I don’t really bother finding out which I really prefer. Though, you’re right about Val. He’s as gay and girly as they come,” I cooed, pinching Val’s cheek. He snapped at my fingers and I yanked them away.

“Uh huh. I still say you’re both gay. Though, two different breeds of gay, it seems,” Ariel nodded to both of us and winked. “Val’s feminine and Ryan, you’re ‘I’m tough, but I’m still not sure what keeps me from getting my skinny ass bent in half before I come out of the closet’ gay.”

“That was a mouthful,” Val muttered.

“Right! Now, back to what you wanted to know. Whenever Lucas isn’t around, I start feeling really lonely. Then really horny. And so I have sex with someone,” she chirped, looking quite proud of herself. I blinked.

“Lucas doesn’t get upset about that?” I asked. She shook her head.

“Nah. We’ve got a mutual understanding thing going. See, he’s got some pretty interesting kinks. I play along, and I keep my almost always horny boyfriend and get to feed my addiction anytime I feel like it! It’s a genius set up, really.”

Val looked like he was going to be sick, the poor thing. I just grinned from ear to ear. Our school was turning out to be more interesting than I had originally thought it would be.

-o-

I quickly learned that our principal loved to hold assemblies. Somebody beat someone in sports, let’s celebrate! We need to boost school spirit, let’s pack hundreds of children together! It seemed like we couldn’t go a week without something ‘wonderful’ happening. For what reason, I wasn’t too sure. I was sure of one thing, however. One very crucial thing.

After two weeks of school, if I had to hear the fight song one more fucking time, I’d explode.

I leaned over and buried my face in Val’s shoulder. He was slouching and his head turned slightly as I grumbled incoherent shit about headaches and perky blood covering my hands before the assembly ended. And wouldn’t it be funny to fling a condom at someone right then? Oh, no, wait. That was Jeremiah whispering in Val’s ear on the other shoulder.

Jeremiah had successfully become the bane of my sanity. First it was acting innocent and doing small things to irk me. Then it was calling me by pet names. By that day, he’d moved on to trying to make me jealous of the relationship he was building with Val. It was funny, really. With how heartless I am, a two week friendship wasn’t even enough to touch me. Val and I were still as close as ever, and would be no matter what that bastard was trying to pull.

I perked up as Mrs. Marsh gave us the signal to leave, and I grabbed Val’s hand, hardly able to get out of there fast enough. Freedom! Glorious, glorious freedom!

“Assemblies suck,” Jeremiah said, yawning. “Don’t they?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, momentarily forgetting who I was answering. He gave me a small smile and started walking towards our next class.

Val popped up in front of me, eyebrows well in to his hairline. “You were actually civil to each other,” he said, looking astonished.

“Us? Civil? Never. You must’ve been imagining things again.”

“Ryan, have a heart and at least try to get along with Jeremy?”

I blinked. So he had already shortened his name. Next it’d be stupid things like calling each other pet names and before I’d knew it they’d leave me behind in my little emo corner of doom.

Maybe it was getting to me. Just a little bit. I’d never let him know that, though.

“I can try, I guess.”

-o-

Yuck... short chapter. Sorry.