I Think Ive Flipped

Disclaimer: First of all, I was above the age of 18 when I wrote this story and I own all rights to this. Any resemblance to actual living persons and places within this story is purely coincidental. If you are underage or it is illegal to view this story in your area, please hit the back button now. This story includes scenes of male teenagers engaged in male/male sex when permitted in the narrative. If you are uncomfortable with this, kindly exit now as well. Anyway, here goes:

Author's note: There's a certain song here titled 'I Feel Wrong' by Glasvegas that plays an important part in creating a certain mood within the narrative. So at this moment, I'd like you to hit up your browsers, head on to Youtube and search for it and load it. When the song gets mentioned in the story, play it immediately and continue reading. You won't regret it!

I Think I've Flipped. Chapter 7.

(Will's POV)

It's Tuesday morning and once again, I am stuck in History class. I haven't heard a word my teacher, Mr. Jones is talking about. Good Lord, I think I am going to fail this class. History has never been one of my best subjects and I don't think this will ever change. However, I did promise myself that I would do better. It seems harder for me to concentrate with so much on my mind.

"Will!" a voice sounded breaking me from my private thoughts as Rocky was giving me the eye. I asked him to keep an eye out for me and not let me doze off. UGH! I'm kind of regretting ever asking him now.

I sat up straight in my chair upon the sudden mention of Tyler's name. I looked over in front of me. Two girls who seemed to be friends were whispering to each other.

"No! No one has seen him. I heard he even skipped football practice yesterday," the girl on her right whispered.

I swear if only looks could kill, they'd be dead already as my eyes looked right through them.

"Wow, then it must be really serious. You don't think he did anything drastic, do you?" the girl on the left side of me asked.

"I don't know.... I heard he was doing drugs at home.... and that he was kicked out by his parents," the girl on the right side of me answered.

I was tapping my pencil furiously on my desk, as I was getting angrier and angrier by the second. Honestly, these girls make me so sick. They were spreading gossip around the school like wildfire. Tyler shouldn't be subjugated to this type of cruelty. I can tell you all about it since I've been there myself.

I'm so worried about Tyler. I know it's only the second day of the week, but I'm concerned about how he's doing. The news of Dana leaving Ridgemont spread faster than a match thrown into gasoline. Everyone knew what had happened before school started this week. I couldn't believe how they were still talking about it.

I expected Tyler to skip school yesterday; however, I didn't think he'd drag it out this long. I'd picture him strolling around school today acting like nothing even happened. I guess I was mistaken. It's just that I'm worried, because I know how much it hurts when people talk about you behind your back in the cruelest of way. Since yesterday, I heard enough of them. I guess people love it when the mighty fall.

"Will, I know what you're thinking... Let it go," Rocky muttered at my right as he followed my gaze to the two bitches in front of me.

I glared towards Rocky telling him to back off. He must have read my mind because he stared down at his notebook in response.

At last, the bell rang. I grabbed my books to go outside. In all this haste, I scratched my knee on the side of my desk. Shit! That really stings as I looked down at my knee and saw a bloody scrape forming. This is what I get for dressing too casually in a grey t-shirt and some khaki shorts.

When I saw Rocky grab his books, I scampered towards the door. He gave me a weird look. I hated treating him like this, but I need to talk to someone first. I made my way through the hallways and found Jason Harrington, the person I was looking for. The only problem is that he's not alone. Two other football players who were bigger than him surrounded him. The two football players were talking to him, or rather trying to talk to him. He wasn't really paying them any attention as he barely saying anything at all. I couldn't hear anything of what they were talking about, but from what's going on around school, it's obviously about Tyler.

A few seconds later, the two football players said goodbye and left for the cafeteria. I guess they must have realized they weren't going anywhere.

I walked up to him when the two jocks disappeared around the corner. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to say to him, so I just tapped him on the shoulder. I know this seems lousy and a wimpy.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not talking about Tyler?!" Jason said when he felt the tap on his shoulder!" Then he turned around to face me with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Er... Hello," I said, making a small awkward wave.

"Oh Will! I didn't know it was you," said Jason with a surprised look.

"I imagine a lot of people have been bothering you, huh?" I asked.

"You have no idea. So many people have pestered me since Tyler's absence yesterday. And on top of that, there's been chaos within the football team too," Jason said with a sigh.

"How is he by the way? I know you're getting tired of being asked by the same questions over and over again. It's just I haven't seen him leave his house since Saturday evening," I replied as I began to worry once again.

"It's okay. It's you after all. I don't know man. All I know is that he's in a deep hole that I can't pull him out of. I've tried, but nothing's working. He's so depressed right now. He barely said a word to me when I visited him. On top of that, coach has given the team some shit lecture about Tyler's absence in practice yesterday. After all, there's no team without the quarterback," Jason said as he rubbed his eyes in weary frustration.

I stayed silent, digesting this new bit of information.

"Say, why don't you try and visit him?" Jason asked with a hint of hope in his eyes.

"Me?.... What can I do?... I barely know Tyler as it is," I explained to him.

"I don't know. It's just I couldn't get through to him. Maybe you can. Who knows?" Jason said.

"I don't know Jason. I might make things worse," I replied with apprehension. Okay, maybe I'm totally frightened. When I was depressed, I really just wanted to be left alone. Whenever someone bothered my moments of solitude, well let's just say I can be a real bitch. I know that someone needs to help Tyler snap out of this funk because this behavior isn't good in the long run. I'm not convinced the right person is me.

"Oh well.... it was worth a try," Jason shrugged as he walked to the cafeteria leaving me alone in the hall.

I sighed. Why do I always find myself in the thick of things? I followed Jason to the lunchroom shortly thereafter.

When I got to our table, Rocky didn't waste any time and suddenly asked, "Why'd you leave so suddenly during history?"

"Gee whiz guys... I haven't even sat down, and here I am getting interrogated already," I said as I laid my lunch tray on the table. I could feel all of my friend's eyes staring at me. I certainly got enough stares last week and I don't need them now.

"Did you go anywhere Will?" Claire asked as she took a bite from her pasta.

"I went to talk to someone," I nonchalantly answered as I took a bite out of my pasta as well. Hmm.... I think I better keep my answers as vague as possible... Yuck! Was this supposed to be pasta? It tasted like crap. I swear the lunch menu is getting worse and worse every day.

"Oh really?" Rocky asked, as he crossed his arms on his chest. He had an annoyed look on his face. I don't like where this is going.

"Yes, really," I said coolly at him as I opened punched my straw into my juice carton.

"So who'd you go see?" Claire asked once again. Taylor and Sterling were pretty silent the entire time. Oh I know where this is going. Claire's questions may seem innocent enough, but sooner or later, if you continue this charade you're bound to slip and she'll eventually figure it out. I don't want that to happen.

"If you all must know, I went to the nurse. I went to have her look at this scar on checked out," I announced as I showed them my knee, "I got this when I stood up at the end of history class. I had the nurse make sure it wasn't infected or something." I did my very best to control myself from snorting. Claire says it's a habit of mine whenever I lie.

"Oh..... That's a pretty nasty looking scar," Taylor interjected as she leaned forward to take a better look at it.

"How'd you get that?" Claire asked. Good she bought it. I need to be aware of this snorting habit of mine.

"I must have scraped it on my chair when I was about to leave," I answered, this time again controlling myself to be silent and not make any unnecessary noises.

"Sorry Will," Rocky said as he clasped my shoulder. Ha. I Fooled him too.

"It's nothing," I said with a fake chuckle. Hey, I'm getting good at this! I should be in the drama club now. Okay, maybe that's exaggerating too much.

We continued eating peacefully afterwards, making small talk here and there. That is until we saw a small commotion over at one of the tables. We saw Scott and his posse as well as a few cheerleaders tormenting a small looking male student.

"That's so sickening.... Just because Dana and Tyler aren't here, they find it perfectly okay to bully people," Taylor said as saw them finally dump the student's bag in the trash and left the lunchroom.

"Speaking of Tyler and Dana, have you heard anything about Tyler yet?" Rocky asked, looking back at me. That caught me by surprise. Rocky would have been the last person I would be expecting to ask about Tyler's condition.

"No. I haven't seen him," I said.

"Huh," Rocky just said as he finished the rest of his food.

"I still can't believe it. Dana is actually gone? I mean Will and I went out with her last Saturday and everything seemed fine," Claire said as she glanced at me and asked, "right?"

"Maybe that was her way of coping? You know, act all sunny and cheery?" Taylor asked.

"Who knows? All I know is that Tyler never saw it coming," I said as I played around with my pasta. Sterling just watched me from his corner of the table.

"No shit! You think he'll come back to school at all this week?" Rocky asked.

"I hope so because the team needs him. He can't miss too much practices or coach might bench him." Claire answered.

A few minutes later, we left all together towards our afternoon classes. Claire, Rocky, and Taylor walked to the far of the building. They had science together. On the other hand, Sterling and I had Calculus so we hurried to class.

"Hey....are you okay? You were pretty quiet back there in the cafeteria." I asked Sterling.

"Why did you lie?" He muttered. He didn't even look at me.

I stopped walking and stood still looking at him. How the hell did he know? I knew for a fact I didn't snort during that conversation in the cafeteria. He stopped a few steps ahead of me and turned around.

"You didn't go to the clinic because I saw you talking to Jason Harrington over at his locker," he told me. "Why'd did you do it Will? I am having a hard time understanding why you would lie especially to your friends!"

I just looked down at the floor with shame. I was cold busted. I did not count on the fact that someone could see me talking with Jason.

"Bloody hell Will, what's so important with Jason that you had to lie to us?" Sterling asked again as he made his way towards me.

I looked up at him and found him pissed. I could see a little anger in his eyes. Honestly, I couldn't find the words. I was taken aback with his accusation and I couldn't speak. The only words that I could mutter were, "I... I-"

"Figures," Sterling muttered as he rolled his eyes and stormed off.

"Sterling wait," I cried out to him as he ignored me and kept walking.

This is just great....Sigh.... For some unknown reason, the universe refuses to give me a break.

I followed Sterling to class. When I arrived in the classroom, I found Sterling sitting in our usual seats. I sat down beside him and looked at him.

"Sterling..." I called out to him, but he just kept looking forward or towards the other direction. Okay great, the silent treatment I guess I deserved it.

Sterling ignored me for the rest of the class. No matter how much I stared at him or called out to him, he never once looked back in my direction. He's mad that much I know. This is the last thing I needed. On top of that creepy message last week, the last thing I need is more enemies.

The teacher gave us a dozen of problems to solve. I quickly breezed through them. Out of all the subjects, math is probably one of my favorites. I know that's weird, but I find math to be extremely easy. Guess that makes me a nerd, huh?

When class ended, Sterling quickly bolted out of the classroom leaving me behind. I wonder if he's going to tell Claire and Rocky that I lied to the both of them. I guess I'll find out soon. I grabbed my books and walked out the room towards my last class, which is an elective.

During senior year, every student is required to take an elective class. These classes are specialty classes, which are not offered in the standard curriculum. The administration says that it's supposed to enrich our academic experience and we should take it seriously. This is why they allow the students to pick whatever class they want as an elective.

I picked art studies for myself. It just sounded like an interesting subject to take. I'm heading towards the classroom now. Today is technically our first day since we didn't have class last week.

When I arrived in the classroom, I found a few students inside. Most of them were girls. I didn't know any of them though, but they sure knew me. As soon as I stepped inside, they stopped talking and kinda stared at me for a couple of minutes. Guess their fascination with me returning to Ridgemont hasn't completely died down just yet. As if there's anything interesting about me. I am sure they would be so disappointed if they knew that I was a normal teenager. I walked to the back of the class to grab a seat. I did this so it would be harder for them to stare and gossip. I sat down in an available chair and whipped out a book to read. While doing so, my eyes glanced up and found the people in the classroom still looking at me. As soon as my eyes made contact with theirs, they quickly averted their gaze someplace else.

"Cowards", I replied. No sooner had I said that, the teacher arrived.

"Good afternoon class!" he chirped as he placed his things on top of the desk and then faced us. When he did, I managed to get a good look at him. Is this guy really a teacher?! He was good looking for crying out loud! He had a chiseled, square shaped face and very smooth, chocolately, dark, brown hair neatly combed to one side. Even though he's wearing a long sleeved dress shirt, I could make out the muscles in his body. I couldn't help but stare. Holy shit, He's hot as hell. Apparently, I wasn't the only person who noticed. Almost all the girls in the room were whispering to one another and giving the teacher their best x-ray vision.

"Okay class, settle down. My name is Vincent Irons and I'm going to be your art studies teacher this semester," He announced as he sat on the teacher's table. "As you all may have noticed, I am new to Ridgemont High. I just recently graduated and now you guys are my very first group of students. Now before I begin, do any of you have an idea what this course is all about? Anyone?" He looked around the room and found absolutely no raised hands in the air. I shrunk down into my seat to prevent him from calling me.

Mr. Irons laughed as he stood up and said, "I had a feeling none of you would. Now, you would think that we would simply study contemporary and ancient pieces of art such as paintings, sculptors and the like. But that wouldn't be really that fun now would it?"

I raised my eyebrows. What was he suggesting?

"For this class, I am going to chuck the boxed view of art out the window and focus more on what's really important nowadays to you youth," Mr. Irons beamed, "and I'm talking about music! Movies! TV shows! Videogames! Pop culture! We're going to apply the theories used to study art into the modern age. We're going to be comparing what makes a certain thing become art. We're going to be comparing old art with new ones popping out nowadays. We're going to be studying popular culture too and what makes things become fads. We're going to determine who decides what art is and isn't!"

When he finished speaking, he got the class into a buzzing frenzy. People in the classroom were talking excitedly with one another. Heck, even I was! This was certainly different from what I initially expected. And I must say, Mr. Irons' enthusiasm is highly contagious.

"Glad I got you guys talking! Now," Mr. Irons said as he grabbed a piece of paper from inside his folder, "before we start, I'd like to take attendance." He whipped out a pen from his pocket and started calling out names. I'm sorry, but I can't help but stare at his wonderfully, hot creature. Okay wait; did I just call my teacher wonderfully hot?

"Evelyn Banks?" Mr. Irons called out. A petite girl in the center of the room raised her hand in response.

"Okay... Tyler Beaumont?"

As soon as Mr. Irons called out Tyler's name, the room got really quiet before breaking into hushed whispers.

"Mr. Beaumont, are you here?" Mr. Irons called out again, "Hmm... I guess not... Moving on... Bianca Callister?"

I was surprised to find out that Tyler enrolled in this class. I never thought he had the slightest inclination towards art. I've always thought of him as a sporty person. I figured he would have taken economics or something business related in order to make his father happy and now we're classmates. Who would have thought?

"Okay, William Lakewood?"

I snapped out of my daze as soon as I heard my name. I awkwardly raised my right hand in the air. I saw people staring back at me. Will you all please stop?

"Alright. Next... Lisa Marymount?"

Mr. Irons finished the roll call before delving again into the subject. He passed around our course outlines before giving a short lecture about some of the theories art historians used to study art and popular culture.

To be honest, I had a hard time understanding it. Mr. Irons bombarded us with so many names and theories that it kinda made my head spin. He apologized for this "boring" part of the class. He promised that we would be doing fun things in the future, but for now, we had to go through these fundamental theories. As soon as he finished his lecture, I heard the room breathe out a sigh of relief. Clearly, the excitement and enthusiasm we had a while ago has now disappeared. Everyone, including myself, was pretty glad the lecture was now over.

"Okay class. With all the theories we learned today, I'm going to give you an assignment," Mr. Irons stated, which earned him a unanimous groan from the classroom. He just laughed in response, "Oh I know that feeling pretty well. Don't worry it's not going to be as boring as it looks. Now, you'll be working in pairs for this assignment, which is due next week. What I want you to do is to discuss through Foucault's theories on discipline how a house can somehow influence the behavior of a person and how it may or may not mold him or her to the person that they are today. Since you'll be working in pairs, you're just going to have to pick which house you'd like to discuss. Any questions?"

A small petite girl from the center raised her hand.

"Yes Evelyn?" Mr. Irons asked, flashing a really bright smile. I think every girl in the room fainted. I wouldn't blame them though, I nearly did as well.

"Do we get to choose our partner?" she asked with a squeak. Oh Lord, she sounded like a chipmunk.

"Well yes, technically, but we do have to fix up Mr. Beaumont with someone since he's absent today. Does anyone know where he lives?" Mr. Irons asked. Okay, I see where this is going and I do not like it one bit.

"Will lives across from his house," Evelyn chirped as she pointed at me.

"Well... why didn't you say so Will? You're going to be Tyler's partner for this assignment. I'd like you to drop by his house later so both of you could start working on it as soon as possible. Is that alright with you?" he asked me.

"Sure..." I muttered with a small nod. I glanced back at Evelyn who was busy staring at Mr. Irons. I am so going to kill her. It's not that I didn't want to be partners with Tyler, but it's just going to be difficult since I still find him so attractive. Now that we're on speaking terms, it's going to be hard to not concentrate on him. I'm not even sure how Tyler's going to respond to this predicament considering his situation.

After Mr. Irons paired everyone up, he dismissed class. I stepped out to the hallway dreading going over to Tyler's.

A menacing laugh distracted me from my thoughts. I looked behind me and found Scott and his posse knocking a poor student on the floor. His belongings were scattered everywhere. It was the same boy they tormented at lunch. I carefully studied him. He was a short boy around 5'5" or so with mousy brown hair. He had a skinny frame, which made him a perfect target for bullies kind of like me. He was one the floor, trying to gather all his books and papers. He looked absolutely miserable.

I felt sorry for him. I knew what being bullied felt like and it was perhaps one of the most difficult times in my life. I couldn't help but notice how none of the students passing by would help him pick up his belongings. Instead, they merely shared a sympathetic look at him like that would really help.

I approached him, crouched down, and began picking up his belongings. When he turned around, he seemed surprise to see me. He was cradling his books and papers in his arms. They were not very organized to say the very least. Papers and exams were sticking out from the sides of his notebooks.

"Here, you dropped these," I said as I handed him the rest of his papers.

"Oh... uhh.. Thank you," he said as he grabbed them from me and hastily stuffed them into his notebook.

"And here's your... glasses," I said as I crouched down again to pick up his black framed eyeglasses. It was broken in half and one of the lenses popped out. Scott must have stomped on them. "Sorry," I apologized as I handed him his broken glasses.

"Aww Man... and they were brand new too!" he said in frustration as I dropped the glasses in his outstretched palm. He put them down into the pocket of his jeans before looking back at me.

"Thanks Will. You didn't have to do that," he said sadly exchanging glances between the floor and me.

"Of course I needed to. You needed help. It appalls me that no one bothered to help you," I said as I glared at the people passing by. When they caught my eye, they hurriedly scampered away.

"If they did, then they'd be the next target," the student answered, "It would spread over school the next day. Then they would be the ones who would be tormented and treated as an outcast."

"Well, I'm already an outcast so it doesn't really matter," I replied back with a smile.

The boy looked at me before breaking into a smile.

"So I guess I'll see you around," I told him.

"Thanks again," he whispered as he opened up his locker. I left him alone so he could organize his belongings I needed to hurry since I have to visit someone else today.

I pressed the doorbell and patiently waited for someone to answer. I took the moment to look around the porch. I couldn't help but notice the abundant number of beautiful flowers on the windowsills. They looked really pretty and lovely.

I heard the door open behind me and found Mrs. Beaumont looking at me. "Oh Will, what brings you here?" she asked as she was wiping her hands on her apron. She must have been cooking.

"Hi.. Mrs. Beaumont. I was wondering if I could talk to Tyler. Apparently, we're classmates in our elective class and we're sort of stuck as partners for our first assignment. I was hoping we could start on it as soon as possible since it's due next week," I said.

"Oh. Sure, come on in," she said as she opened the door and gestured me to come in.

"Thanks Mrs. Beaumont," I said as I stepped inside and waited for her to close the door.

"You go on ahead to Tyler's room. It's the one on the far left. Tyler hasn't been feeling well these couple of days though. He refuses to come out of his room. I'm really worried. Maybe you could cheer him up or something," Mrs. Beaumont said as she headed towards the kitchen.

She wants me to try and cheer up Tyler? How the hell was I suppose to do that? We barely know each other after all. All I know is that he plays football and that he's really good at Mortal Kombat.

I made my way up the stairs towards Tyler's room. There were a dozen of family portraits displayed on every available surface in the hallway. I couldn't help but stop for a moment to take a quick look. I saw baby and toddler photos of Tyler. I couldn't help but smile. All of them looked incredibly adorable. I noticed how in every photo, Tyler had this big huge smile on his face. My favorite one was this small photo of him in a Power Rangers costume while holding a pumpkin basket full of candy. It was really cute!

Once I was done, I finally made my way to Tyler's bedroom door and gently knocked. I waited for an answer. A minute or so passed there was no reply so I knocked again.

"Leave me alone Jason! I know that's you. I'm not in the mood to talk to you or anyone else for that matter," I heard Tyler shouting from inside his room.

I contemplated for a bit if I should knock again or not. Tyler just said he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, but I was kinda worried about him. This behavior won't do him any good in the long run. Someone needs to get him out of this funk. I slowly turned the doorknob, surprised myself that it wasn't lock, and stepped inside.

I saw Tyler lying down on the bed. He was facing away from the door, but he clearly heard me come in. "Jason, I told you I'm not in the fucking mood to talk," he growled, turning his body around. "Oh...Will.. it's you."

"Hi Tyler," I said as I stared at him. He looked like a hot mess. His blonde hair was flying in different directions. He was wearing sweatpants and a shirt. This seemed to be the typical post-break-up attire for teens. My eyes managed to make their way towards the mess on the floor. There were papers, pens, and notebooks everywhere. Did someone fight?!?

"What are you doing here?" he asked grumpily.

"Well.... we're classmates in our art studies class. We have an assignment due next week and we're kinda partners. I was hoping we could start today," I answered still standing by his bedroom door.

"Look, I'm not really in the mood to talk to anyone right now. You should go," he muttered as he lied back down on his bed, fiddling with his iPod.

"This isn't healthy Tyler," I said to him.

He looked up from his iPod and gave me a really cold stare. "You don't know what you're talking about Will. Just drop it and go."

"Listen Tyler, I know you're hurting right now and probably you're angry ...But this isn't healthy. If you stay like this, it's going to consume you. Believe me, I've been there. You're not going to like the person you're going to become. Jason, the football team, and certain people at school are worried about you." I announced with concern.

"I said I didn't want to talk to anyone, okay?!" Tyler shouted as he threw his iPod across the room. I slightly jumped at his sudden outburst. "Why can't you guys leave me alone to feel miserable for a few days? Am I not allowed to be sad? Am I not allowed to be angry? Dana broke up with me, okay? We've been together for 3 fucking years. Can't I be just a tiny bit upset that we're basically over without people talking shit about me?!"

He stood up and started pacing around in his room. "I don't give a fuck about anyone else right now! I just want to deal with this shit by myself for a few days. Is that a fucking crime?" he shouted.

I remained silent. How am I supposed to answer that?

He stopped pacing. "So everyone knows by now huh?" He asked sarcastically as he stared at me waiting for an answer.

"More or less," I said.

He started pacing again, balling his hands into fists. "Great. Whoop dee fucking doo! I bet everyone's having a fucking good time talking shit about me."

"Tyler, that's not true," I replied.

He just laughed. "Oh don't fucking lie to me Will. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. I'm sure everyone's making crazy shit up about me. I know some of them already! What's the best story you'd heard so far?" He stopped pacing once again.

I stared down at the floor. I really didn't want to answer that one.

"Will!" he barked.

I looked up to him. "The worst one was that you're doing drugs. That's why you haven't been to school."

Tyler looked at me and just laughed. "Great. Fucking great. Who said that? Did Rocky say that?"

"No," I said as I narrowed my eyes at him. "He'd never do that."

"Oh come on Will. You and I both know he doesn't like me. I wouldn't be surprised if he did," he said, rolling his eyes.

"That's out of line Tyler," I said, my hands shaking in built up anger.

"Oh lighten up Will. It was only a fucking joke," he said. "That seems to be the current thing to do nowadays, Make-Tyler-Miserable. Dana sure started off great with that. She didn't even want to give us a chance. Heck, maybe she's found a new boyfriend by now. And now that gossip blog now have loads of new material on me. Look how the mighty have fallen! Stupid fucks! I bet the whole school is laughing at my pathetic ass. Tyler Beaumont being dumped by a girl? Ha! That's such a laugh. Tell me Will, did you laugh about me with your friends? Rocky must have said some really colorful things to you! I bet he-"

"You sound like the old Tyler," I suddenly said, interrupting his train of thought. No sooner had those words left my mouth, I gasped and immediately regretted them.

"What did you say?" he asked me slowly. I'm positive he heard me fine. I didn't know why he was asking again for.

"Tyler, I'm sorry. It slipped. I didn't mean it," I hastily replied, fully regretting everything. He was angry with the school, not particularly on me, but I had been the one catching all the heat. I know he didn't mean some of his words, but I couldn't deny that he hurt me with the venom layered within them. Still, he didn't deserve what I said to him.

Tyler eye's danced with anger. He approached me, hands trembling in fury. He towered over me and stared at me with striking, angry, blue eyes. "Fuck. you," he spat out before he headed into his bathroom. I heard the door slam really hard and loud. He left me alone in his room.

Great job Will. Why didn't you think before you speak the next time?! Stupid! Tyler was upset and you just had to rile him up by saying something you didn't mean.

Knowing that I wasn't going to go anywhere with Tyler today, I decided to leave. I was about to turn the doorknob when I noticed Tyler's iPod was still on the floor. I walked towards the foot of his closet, picked it up and laid it on his desk next to a small notepad. I looked at it, pondering whether or not I should write something to Tyler. I grabbed a nearby pen and wrote on it. When I made my way back to the bedroom door, I took one last look at the bathroom door. Tyler was making no sign or sound.

I let out a sigh as I opened his door and stepped into the hallway. It's time for me to go home.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to no one in particular as I made my way down the Beaumont staircase.

*** (Tyler's POV)

What am I doing? I keep asking myself the same question since I woke up today. Today was Sunday and usually I'm out of the house the entire day. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. It said 3:00pm. So I've been lying down on my bed for more than five hours? This was just Fuck-ing fantastic.

I've been in this position since I had lunch. I wasn't really in the mood to do anything, much less talking to someone. My mother noticed my rather quiet behavior over at lunch and asked me if there was anything wrong. I just avoided he her questions. There was something wrong. Actually, everything is just plain wrong. When Dana dropped her bombshell last night, she added salt to the wound by saying that we needed to break up. She said that a long distance relationship would be too much of a trouble. She didn't even give us a chance to work this out. Fuck.

My phone started ringing again. I think I lost count onto how many times it rang today. This must have been the ninth time today... I think. I could care less anyways. I'm not really in the mood to talk to anyone. I ignored it completely and then they went straight to voicemail.

Beep. "Tye, this is Jason. I know what happened. Why aren't you picking up your phone? I know you're there. Anyway, I'll be in your house in a couple of minutes." End beep.

I turned to my left side and grabbed my phone. I checked its contents. I've had around 23 unread messages and 7 missed calls. I didn't bother going through any of them though. I just nonchalantly dropped it on my bed. I guess half of the school probably knows what happened already.

I was still on my bed when I heard the doorbell ring. That must be Jason. And wouldn't you know it, three minutes later he barges in my room.

"Dude, are you okay? You're not answering any of my texts and calls!" he said a bit exasperated. I think he ran all the way upstairs to my room.

I gave him a dirty look. "You're seriously asking me if I'm okay?" I slowly got up from the bed. "Of course, I'm not okay! Not only is Dana moving away tonight, but she fucking broke up with me as well. Do you honestly think I am fucking okay?" I scowled throwing a nearby football hard towards my closet.

"Dude, tell me what happened," Jason offered as he approached me in attempts to console me.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said quietly as I turned around and look outside my window. Across the street, I saw Will and his brothers sprucing up their lawn. They've begun taking the weeds out and digging up the soil.

"Come on Tye, this is me you're talking to. It'll make you feel better," Jason said behind me as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

I grabbed his hand, turned around to face him and said, "I said I don't want to talk about it." Jason's face contorted in pain as it dawned to me that I was actually twisting his arm. When I let go, he rubbed his arm up and down in an effort to relieve some of the pain.

"Dude... what the fuck? I'm just trying to be your best friend and figure out what I can do to help you feel better," he grimaced through the pain.

"You know what would make me feel better? You and everyone else to leave me the fuck alone!" I shouted at him.

"Tye, you don't have to do this alone you-"

"Harrington... I'm warning you," I interrupted him. Jason immediately shut up after that. Whenever I use his last name, he knows I am serious and I am not playing games. He stared at me for a while longer before heading to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?" he asked as he looked at me for confirmation.

I just waved him goodbye, not really giving him a direct answer. He sighed and left the room.

Fuck. I love Jace as a brother, but I just want to be left alone for a while. Is that so hard to ask? It didn't take long before my cellphone started ringing again. Annoyed, I climbed onto my bed and hastily turned it off. I just need some time to think. Actually I need some time to wallow in grief.

"Tyler, what are you still doing in bed? You're going to be late for school," I heard my mother say to me. She was at the foot of my bed wearing her favorite apron, her hands on her hips.

I gave her a fake pained look. "Mom, I'm not really... feeling very well," I groaned.

"What's wrong? Do you have a fever?" she asked as she placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature. "You don't have any fever though."

"My head hurts really bad. I think I have a migraine," I said and scrunched up my face in pretended pain. "I can barely stand and move, and talk as it is. It's too painful. I think I'll just rest for today here at home."

"But what about football practice?"

"I'll just tell Jace to talk to coach. I'm sure one football practice won't hurt the team."

"Well okay then... You just stay in bed while I get you some aspirin downstairs," my mother said before leaving my room.

Today was a Monday and that meant school. Yesterday didn't really go so well. I had a brief encounter with Jace yesterday afternoon, but I basically told him to fuck off. He left my house that afternoon, a bit dejected. He only called again in the evening to see how I was doing, but that message went straight to voicemail. I didn't respond to him and the other phone calls and text messages I received that day. I think I've gotten over 50 plus texts yesterday and a total of 14 unanswered phone calls. I guess it's safe to say that everyone in school pretty much knows.

I knew that when I get back to school, the coach will be lecturing me for missing football practice today. I didn't care at that moment though. I was kinda... afraid of all the whispers and stares that will happen. I know it's pretty ironic. The big quarterback afraid of something so superficial! I just don't think I can handle it. I saw what Will had to go through when he first came back. All the stares and the constant backstabbing that had happened. Well I really can't deal with any of that shit. Will handled it pretty well though. He held his head high throughout the halls. I wished I had his confidence.

I took my phone and texted Jason that I wasn't coming to school today. I also told him to talk to the coach and tell him that I wouldn't be able to attend football practice today. Five minutes later, I received a response from Jason.

It said: Okay, hope you're doing well. I wished you'd talk to me though.

Once again, I didn't reply. I was still not in the mood to have a conversation with someone about my feelings.

I grabbed my iPod from my bedside table and began listening to some deep depressing shit. I can't really explain it, but depressing songs make me feel better. It's weird I know.

I just lied down on my bed once again. Heck, I haven't even bathed since yesterday morning. I'm still wearing the same clothes: a fitted gray muscle shirt and some black shorts. I'm not even in the mood to change. I just want to escape the harsh reality of this world.

My iPod was on shuffle and when Ellie Goulding's 'Your Biggest Mistake' played, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't realize that I was singing along to the song. That's a major bull's eye.

You're probably wondering how can one girl affect me so much? Truth was, Dana changed my life. Before I met her, I was the typical insensitive, playboy, dumb- ass football player. Would you imagine, I was worse than Scott? Yeah. I used to torment other people throughout the halls. I used to go out with different girls every week. Dana changed all of that.

When she moved here a couple of years back, I tried pursuing her. She didn't bite. I think she saw through my nice guy act because she didn't go out with me until 6 months later. And that first date we had was disastrous. When I tried putting my charm and moves on her, she immediately bailed and went on a tirade about how juvenile I was. I was stunned. I never had a girl blatantly reject me before and she was the first person to ever do that to me. Really! I mean, no one had ever dared going up against me, and here's a small redhead speaking her mind just how much of a douche I was before. I think it's because of that incident, I began thinking of her differently. She wasn't just another girl I could fool around with. She made me work just so that I could talk to her and well, that's when I truly started to act more of a gentleman and more thoughtful. It took two months after that before she agreed to go on a second date. And well, let's just say by that time, I already knew my lesson.

she's gone. I'm not really the type of person to wallow in grief and be all overly sentimental about it. It's just... I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact one of the people who managed to make a huge difference in my life isn't here anymore.

Three emo songs later, I dozed off. Could you blame me? I didn't really get a good's nights rest the previous nights.

I woke up sometime after to the sound of a door knock. I didn't realize that I fell asleep with my iPod still on. I looked at it and saw that it only had 18% of battery life left. Just how long did I sleep for? What time is it? I glanced at my clock. Oh. It's two in the afternoon already? Guess I must have been more tired than I thought.

"Tyler?"

I turned around and saw my mom in my doorway carrying a tray and some food on it. Okay, I'm having a short guilt trip of having my mom bring me food when I'm not really sick at all.

"I hope you're hungry. I didn't wake you for lunch because I figured you'd want to rest. But then I realized, you needed to at least eat something. Here's some hot chicken noodle soup, some bread, water, and some aspirin. Does your head still hurt?" she asked me as she laid down the tray on my bed.

"Ugh... Yeah, it still hurts," I said in mock pain. I really should be in the drama club after this.

"Well just rest for now. I'll come back and pick up the tray later. I still need to do the laundry for now," my mom said with a smile. She then proceeded out into the hallway.

"Mom!" I called out.

"Yes honey?" she asked me as she turned around.

"If anyone comes by to see me today, tell them I'm not feeling alright. I don't want to see any visitors for today," I said as I grabbed a spoonful of chicken noodle soup.

"Even Jason?" she asked.

"Especially Jason," I replied as I gulped down the noodle soup.

"O... Okay," she said, her brows creasing in confusion before gently closing my bedroom.

I'm sure Jason's going to get pissed at me for not talking to him. What can I do? I don't really feel like talking to anyone and Jason's not really the type to just let things go. He's going to ask me how we broke up, how I'm coping, how I'm feeling, and what should I be doing to get over it. Jesus. I have a feeling he's going to set me up with a new girl already. He's that type of friend. I'm glad to have him, but now isn't really a good time to go all brotherly love on me.

I ate my food in silence. Strangely enough, it was quite relaxing to some extent. However, after eating the soup, I was still hungry. I usually eat large portions of food regularly and since I'm not really sick at all, this soup and bread mix didn't even come close to satisfying my hunger. I didn't want to go downstairs and ask for more food or else my mother would know something was up.

I stood up from the bed and made my way to my desk. I pulled out a drawer and grabbed two protein bars, which I store just in case I need some midnight snack to munch on. Hey, it's better this way so at night, I don't have to go downstairs and pick something unhealthy to eat from the kitchen.

I wolfed both bars down in a jiffy. I'm not technically full, but I think I can manage until dinner. I threw the wrappers in my garbage can and looked around my room.

What am I going to do? I looked around my room for something. I can't really open my television or my laptop. After all, I have a migraine and technically when I have a headache, I don't usually use any electronic gadgets other than my iPod or else the throbbing would only get worse. The same thing for reading. I really don't do a lot of lot of that anyway, but you get my point. I need some activity that doesn't require heavy brain cell activity to accomplish.

I raised my arms in frustration as I ran my right hand through my hair in frustration. As I did, I managed to get a whiff of my body odor from underneath my arms. Whew, did I stink! I haven't bathed since yesterday for crying out loud. That's what I'm going to do. A hot shower might be what the doctor ordered.

I chucked my muscle shirt and my sweatpants into one corner and stepped into the bathroom in just my boxers. I turned the shower on and waited for it to warm up enough to step in. While waiting, I looked at my reflection in my mirror.

I looked like shit. Even though I was just in my boxers and I have a good view of my abs and toned body, my face told a different story. The expression on my face was one of dejection. My mouth had a prominent frown. My hair was disheveled, with most of them sticking up and out. But I think it was my eyes that really told the story. My blue eyes seemed to have lost its sparkle. I could see a sense of loss within my own reflection. Well, that was partly true. I could also see heavy eye bags underneath. I guess I need more rest.

When the mirror started to fog up I knew that it was perfectly warm to step into the shower. I stripped off my boxers, stepped inside the shower, and closed the curtains. The warm jets of water hitting my body served some sort of therapeutic relief. I just closed my eyes and let the stream of water fall down on me. I stayed in that position for good five or ten minutes or so. I didn't shampoo my hair or soap my body. I just stood there in silence with my eyes closed.

When I opened my eyes, I grabbed the shampoo and began to wash my hair. I didn't bother turning the shower off as I normally do when shampooing. I just shampooed my hair underneath the jets of water. I grabbed the soap next and rubbed it all over my body. I took some time scrubbing myself from the neck down to my crotch.

I lathered my pubes with soap before making my way downwards towards my cock. When I reached my dick, I tried jacking off to relieve some stress. I haven't really busted a nut for quite some time now so I thought it's be a good idea to have a good orgasm. After a couple of strokes though, I stopped. I couldn't even get it hard for Christ's sakes. I guess this depression is eating at me more than I thought it would have. I just couldn't get myself boned up at that moment.

I finished washing myself before turning off the shower and stepping out. I dried myself using a towel and wrapped it around my waist. I fished out my deodorant stick and applied it under my arms. I didn't even bother looking at the mirror anymore. After all, I was just staying home so there was no need for gel and fixing my hair. I then went inside my room to change.

Not really caring about my appearance, I basically grabbed what was on top of my drawers in my closet. Those were a gray wifebeater and black shorts. Nothing really fancy but really comfortable.

I jumped back to my bed as I grabbed my iPod once again. When mom came inside, I forgot to turn it off. Now it only has 15% battery life remaining. Time to charge! I made my way to the right side of my bed where I had placed my black iPod dock charger on. It wasn't really that fancy. It was as big as a Harry Potter hardbound book, but weigh considerably lighter. You can charge your iPod while listening to your music at the same time. I don't use it to listen to music anymore. A year ago, I accidentally spilled water on it and the speakers have been whacked ever since. Jace tried persuading me to buy a new one, but the new models are just so damn expensive. I didn't have the money to buy myself a new one. Besides, I can still use my earphones to listen to music so I really didn't see what the problem was.

I plugged in my iPod into the dock and waited for the sign that it was charging. Once the lightning shaped symbol appeared, I laid down back on my bed and managed to let out a yawn. I think I'm going to take a nap again. For some reason, I'm still sleepy.

"Here's your dinner dear."

"Thanks mom," I said as I grabbed the tray from her and laid it down on my bed. "This looks good!" I could smell the aroma and boy did it make me fucking hungry! My mom prepared me soup again, but this time she added some home baked lasagna and some meatballs on the side. It really looked yummy!

"Just be sure to eat it all okay? I don't want you to become weak when you go back to school for football training!" she said as she gave me a smile. I watched her shut the door behind her. When she left, I turned my attention back to the food at hand. Time to eat! God, I'm starving.

I chowed down the soup in a hurry. I made my way down to the lasagna and meatballs. I ate them quickly as well. I must be hungrier than I thought. It didn't even take me five minutes to finish my meal.

After dinner, I checked my phone for new messages and calls. Jason called me only once today, but left around five messages or so. He and the rest of the team dropped by this afternoon to come check on me, but since I told mom that I didn't want visitors they had to leave. I got a really angry text message from him afterwards. Two minutes later, I received another text message, this time overly apologizing about his angry text message. Another two minutes goes by and he sends me a message saying how sad he was that I wasn't talking to him about it. I didn't want to come across as a douchebag, so I told him that I was sorry. Afterwards, he tried calling me, but I didn't answer. I couldn't get to the phone. I was in the bathroom when he called me. When I got back, he sent me another text. Ugh... It was so stressful figuring out a way to deal with this without hurting his feelings. I texted back saying that it everything was fine.

I checked through the rest of my notifications page in my Blackberry. Most of them were people from the team and the cheerleaders asking me how everything was going. One particular girl yesterday even asked me if I was ready to date again. Uhh... no... What a heartless bitch. I am definitely not going out with you! Basically it was all from the same people who tried contacting me yesterday, but I almost jumped to my feet when I saw one particular name.

Huh. That's odd... I never thought I'd ever get a message from him... I stared at the notifications page. Will Lakewood just texted me. Curious and rather astonished at this, I clicked his name. My phone immediately showed me his message.

He said: Hang in there :)

I looked up from my phone. Well that was unexpected. I made my way to my window and peered through the curtains. I looked at Will's window and saw that it was lit. I glanced back at his message and then up to his window again. I didn't expect Will to send me a message over this. I never thought he'd be the type to actually contact me off school premises about these things. It was such a nice gesture and perhaps in a way, kinda sweet. I stood up in a jolt and found myself pacing around my room.

Okay... What do I do now? Do I reply back or not? Dealing with my friends in school was easy. They knew that if I didn't reply to their messages and calls, it meant that I didn't want to talk about it. They know I still love them all the same. Will is a bit different though.

Will Lakewood is a rather complex guy. He's perhaps the only person I really can't gauge or read. I mean I try to be a jokester around him, but the truth is he kind of scares me a little. It's bizarre but I every time I'm with him, I feel like I'm walking on eggshells. Maybe it's because I feel guilty over what I did to him four years ago. He says it's all water under the bridge, but I still can't let it go for some reason.

I stopped pacing and stared at my phone. I keyed in my response.

I texted him back: Thanks

I waited patiently for his reply. Five minutes went by, still no word from him. I started pacing again in my room. Shit. Did my answer come across cold? What if he thinks I'm a snob? Oh man. I should have added a smiley emoticon. I mean, he did when he texted me. I should have- Oww!! Motherfucker, I just fell on the floor as I tripped over my football. Dammit. I looked back at my Blackberry. Hell, I should have included a period at end of my reply at the very least! Now he's going to think I don't care. Oh man. What if he-

"What are you doing on the floor?"

I looked behind me and found my sister staring at me with a what-the-fuck look on her face. She was at my doorway and she caught me down on the floor.

"I tripped over my football!" I lied as I kicked the stupid ball away. "Wait... What are you doing here?" I asked as I slowly stood up.

"Mom sent me to pick up this tray from your room," she said as she picked it up from my bed. She gave me a really weird look. It was as if she was studying me. I've been finding her staring at me weirdly lately. Frankly, it's pissing me off.

"What are you staring at?" I asked her as I crossed my arms in annoyance across my chest... "Shouldn't you be at your dormitory now?" I asked her.

My sister attends an all girls' school at the other end of town. My parents specifically enrolled her there because according to them, the school had good academic programs. My parents noted that if I weren't a boy they'd enroll me there as well. Instead, I was enrolled in Ridgemont High. There was an all boys' school near my sister's school, but their tuition fee is expensive to what I pay at Ridgemont. Besides, I wouldn't like it if all I see are guys everyday. That's gotta be a major sausage fest if there ever was.

Emily eyed me suspiciously before responding, "I forgot something at home, but mom offered me dinner before I leave... You don't look sick to me." She stared at me a few seconds longer before heading out my room.

I was about to hurl my phone on my bed in frustration when it suddenly rang. I opened it and saw that it was from Will. My fingers were trembling. I didn't know what he was going to say! Is he mad? Is he pissed? So many questions were running through my mind at that moment!

When I finally looked, all the message said was: Anytime :)

Okay, he gave me a smile so I guess he's not mad... right? I looked up from my phone, made my way to my window, and peeked through the curtains. Will's room wasn't lit anymore. Huh... I guess he's sleeping already. It's still pretty early after all, my clock just hitting 9pm. I can't believe a teenager in this day and age would be falling asleep this early.

I went back to my bed and began reading through the unread messages I've yet to receive. I got a certain text from one of my teammates to check the school gossip blog. Curious, I opened up my laptop and waited for it to load. The school gossip blog isn't really a blog. As far as I can remember, it is being run by Richard Jones, some nerd from school, don't ask. Sure, he may have a few 'groundbreaking' interviews here and there, but all the juicy stuff come from anonymous 'tips' or 'sources' as he called them. It is people writing shit about other people. I've checked it out a couple of times and I must say it's really a nasty piece of work.

When I opened my browser, I didn't expect to see what was on screen. I expected the gossip blog to have picked up on my breakup with Dana and all, but I never expected it to get this vicious and downright evil. Our breakup was the main topic online, and Richard started asking people what happened. Apparently, there was some really nasty shit being said about Dana and me... all coming from grey- faced icons. The more I read, the angrier I became. A lot of people were giving Dana some shit, commenting how they were glad that bitch, their words not mine, finally moved away. They also said how that she was such a fake person and that she had 'problems'. My right hand was balled into a fist and was trembling with rage. Sure I was mad at Dana, but she didn't deserve any of that! I know for a fact who she was and none of the things they said about her was true.

Then the comments were directed towards me. If Dana was basically chewed alive, I was chewed, spat out, trampled on, doused with gasoline, and lit on fire. This was pretty much how I felt about the shit they said about me. Many of them were commenting on how 'refreshing' and 'fulfilling' it was to see the mighty fall... and let's face it, no one was mightier in school than me. I saw that our breakup made a lot of people extremely happy which really made my heart sink. A group of students said that it was divine retribution for all the shit and pranks I used to pull on them. I thought how they were all cowards for hiding behind anonymity.

Okay, maybe I deserved that one. Before Dana came into my life, I was a real asshole. That much I knew, but the other stuff about me was really hitting below the belt.

There was a small discussion about me doing drugs, which is why I didn't go to school today. Another one hypothesized that I tried to commit suicide. This was a bit extreme to say the least .The next one said that I was seeing not one, but two other girls the same time I was dating Dana. Someone mentioned t I had gotten Dana pregnant and her parents found out and they decided to move. The whole school has gone fucking crazy.

I closed the laptop. I couldn't take it anymore. I could see both of my hands trembling. I didn't know if it was from anger or from sadness. I can't believe the fact that Ridgemont High hates me. Well maybe not the entire school, but rather a good chunk of it. It is one thing to know that you probably won't please everybody and that there will be a group of people not liking you back. I mean everyone isn't going to like you for this or that reason. This is pretty much human nature. I'm sure everyone has done his or her fair share of backstabbing in his or her lifetime. However, hearing it or in this case reading what they say about you behind your back. I can't even begin to describe how the pain feels, and how your self esteem shifts to a negative percentage.

I just stared at my hands. They were still trembling. Dammit. You need to stop! I tried shaking the feeling away, but it didn't go away easily. I was still shaking uncontrollably.

How the hell am I going to school now? I can't face everyone knowing now what they think of me. How can I brave a smile when I know they just want me to be miserable and in pain.

Please someone tell me how to deal with this! I need to know.

I woke up Tuesday morning with a numbing pain. Not in my body, but rather in my soul. Stupid as it sounds, it seemed that my entire ego has been destroyed. It felt like someone shot it with a gun leaving a gaping hole. After all, that's what I felt last night reading through those comments about me online. It merely took everyone a minute to shatter my ego.

I sat up from my bed, not bothering to get out from underneath the covers. Do I go to school or not? That was the question of the day. I was contemplating that when my dad suddenly entered my room.

"Dad?" I said in surprise.

"Tyler. Why aren't you dressed for school? You're going to be late!" he barked at me as he crossed his arms over his chest waiting for me to give an explanation.

I gave out a small, fake cough. Okay, I think I just decided then and there whether or not I was going to school. And you already probably know the answer. "I'm still not feeling well." After that, I faked a coughing fit. I'm sorry, but I'm still not ready to go back to school. Especially now that I know how everyone feels about me!

"Are you coming down with the flu?" he asked me as he approached me. "I hope not. It's football season. You can't miss a game! The scouts for looking forward to seeing you play your best." Nice knowing he cared so much about me! He then placed his palm on my forehead to check for my temperature, but it was normal.

"What's going on here?" my mother asked the both of us as she appeared in my doorway. "Honey, I asked you to wake Tyler up. What are you doing?"

"Angie, he's not feeling very well," my dad said as he pointed to me. "He has no fever, but he's giving off some really bad coughs." I coughed up again. I need to keep this little charade going.

"Coughs? Well that's fine. You can still go to school," my mom said as she looked at me. I think I failed.

"Oh no! Tyler will stay at home!" my dad said to my mom.

"Honey, he just has a cough. Going to school won't really make a difference," my mother pointed out.

"That may be true, but I'm not taking any chances. Football season is coming and Tyler needs to be in top condition! I'm not waiting for this cough to worsen. He's staying home," my dad said in his commander voice. In this household, we all know better than to mess when he's in that state. My mom was overruled.

"Fine... Head downstairs Tyler for breakfast. Just don't get anything cold!" my mother said as she shooed my out of my bed.

After breakfast, around 9am, I took a quick shower. This time I got to finally jerk off. It was okay nothing great.

I stepped back into the room naked. There really wasn't any immediate danger of being caught. Dad was at work. Emily left for her school. And mom went to the farmer's market to buy some fruits and vegetables. I was alone at home and it felt great!

I walked to my closet and got a shirt and sweatpants. I put them on and went to my desk to check some mail on my laptop. There wasn't really anything new. Still the same old messages. Oh wait... I got new spam mail though.

I spent around 30 minutes browsing through the web, looking for new sounds worthy of downloading. I spotted a really cool looking band called The Sound of Arrows. Their song 'Nova' was really good... although the video was kinda gay. I didn't mean it a bad way! It's just... well, the video has these suggestive moments that there's something going on between the two male singers. The video was all hipster-ed out though with the clothes and the cosmos shit. So I guess that was kinda good.

After that, I visited the school gossip blog once again. I didn't know why. Curiosity got the better of me I suppose. I wanted to know if there was anything new about me. Wanted to see if people are still commenting negative shit. I wasn't disappointed.

Today's comments were far harsher and more severe than yesterday's. I couldn't bring myself to repeat what some of them have to say, but they were really awful. Instead of feeling sad and pitiful, I was slowly filling up with rage. I think this last batch of comments really ticked me off. I was getting tired of people talking shit about me and not have the guts to say it to my face. My hands were again shaking uncontrollably.

Then I read: Tyler Beaumont is a coward. He skipped school yesterday just so that he wouldn't face the student body. Our football god is nothing more than a pansy. I bet he's wallowing in grief right now. Fucking fag.

I think I totally lost it right there. I snarled like an animal as I knocked everything on my desk to the floor. My pens, papers, notebooks were all scattered around my chair. I stood up, kicking most of them again, the heavy ones flying across the room.. I want to kick whoever said that online. Okay, I'll admit that I did kinda skip school because I was sort of scared, but to call me a faggot?! Where the hell did that come from?! That was uncalled for and damn right insulting! Not only to me but to any other gay person out there as well. Associating vulnerability with homosexuality? How narrow minded can you fucking be?

Fuck you! Fuck you whoever you are. Fuck you Ridgemont High! Just you fucking wait! I'll show all you motherfuckers!

I snarled as I continued kicking stuff around my room. I was fucking pissed! And I doubt that this would disappear so easily.

I slammed my bathroom door behind me. I started pacing around in the confined small space of my bathroom. A couple of seconds later, I proceeded to the sink and began to wash my face. Somehow I thought, I could wash my anger away. Oh, wouldn't that wouldn't be so easy. I looked up at my reflection afterwards.

I was breathing hard probably because of the overwhelming feelings coming over me. Water droplets were forming at my chin and were falling down into the sink. My eyes stared at their reflection, a lost and confused soul found within them.

Will came over and let's just say some words were said and I kinda stormed out of the conversation. Believe me, with all the frustrations I went through throughout the day, Will was lucky that I didn't punch him... No I mean it!

He had the audacity to say that I reminded him of the old Tyler. You know the douchebag a couple years back. That was seriously uncalled for. I was angry that time. Obviously, I didn't mean to say those things about Rocky and some of the others, but I was angry. Don't you say things you don't mean when you're under the emotion of rage? I know it's not the most appropriate thing to do when you're angry, but it comes with the territory... right?

So... I cursed Will out... Was I proud of that? Fuck no. But how else would I handle what he said?

"Shit," I muttered to myself as I wiped the water off my face with shirt. I placed my hands on either side of the sink and leaned forward to my reflection. Is this really me? I looked back at my reflection. I could see my anger in my face and the pain in my eyes.

No. That isn't me. I'm not going to allow my anger issues to consume me. If that happens, I'm going to revert back to my old self. I... I don't want that... I don't want to be the guy who everyone hates or pities. I tried my very best changing my ways the couple of years and that's how I want to keep it. Dana would be ashamed of me right now. I need... No, I want to make her proud of me. I need to prove them all wrong tomorrow... I'm going to prove Will wrong!

When Will popped back into my mind, I hung my head. Aw shit. I can't believe I just told him to fuck off. We were slowly making our way back to being friends and now I screwed it up. Fuck. Can I still fix this?

I looked at the door and contemplated if I this was a really good idea. Sighing, I made my way to the bathroom door and slowly turned the knob. I peeked inside my room to find Will was gone.

He must be pissed at me. Dammit! I kicked my bed in frustration. Probably not the best idea! My foot hurt like hell now. I was jumping around clutching my foot in agony when I heard a knock on my door.

"Honey, is everything alright here? I saw Will hurry home," my mother asked as she took a peek from the hallway.

"I'm fine ma," I said as I limped my way towards my bed.

"Are you hurt?" she asked as she stepped inside and approached me.

"I'm fine mom. Really," I said waving at her that the pain was gone.

"Are you sure? Will looked visibly upset when he left," she told me. She stared at me with her blue eyes, looking back at mine. There was a great deal of love and concern that I couldn't escape. Besides, I think I really could use some advice right now about this entire situation.

"Will and I got into a... heated discussion. I kinda blew my lid at him," I told her as I looked down on the floor in shame. I felt my bed sink. I looked at my left and found my mom sitting down beside me. A little while later, she was patting my back.

"Did you guys hit each other?" she asked.

"What?! No!" I said, standing up in shock and disgust. I would never hurt Will again!

My mom simply looked at me, urging me to continue.

"There wasn't any hitting! I just stormed out of the conversation. When I came back, he was gone," I said as I sat back beside her down again. "I... I'm such a huge fuck up!" I told her, not really caring that I cursed in her presence. I was slightly distraught.

"There, there honey," she said as she began rubbing my back again, "You do know what you have to do right?"

"Huh?" I blurted out as I looked at her.

"Tyler, you need to apologize to Will. It doesn't matter whose fault it was, you just got to find a way to make things alright between the two of you again," she said as she gave me an encouraging smile.

"O... Okay. I'll call him right now," I said as I got my cellphone and started dialing his number.

"No. No Tyler," my mother said as she shook her head. She grabbed my phone and placed it on my bedside table. She then grabbed my hands in hers, looked in my eyes, and said, "You need to apologize to him directly. A text message and phone call will not do. If you do, it will come across as if you're not genuine about your apology. You need to make an effort Tyler."

"But what if he doesn't want to listen?" I asked.

"Well, you just need to keep trying until he is ready to. Once he sees how genuine you are over the entire thing, he'll come around. I know so. Will's a good kid who has a big heart," she said, still smiling.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay good. Now why don't you get ready for dinner? Your dad said he'll be a little later than usual, so he told me we should eat without him," my mother said as she gave me a big hug and proceeded to the hallway.

"... Mom?" I called out to her.

"Yes honey?"

"... Thanks," I said sheepishly. I think I could have blushed a few shades of red from embarrassment.

She just smiled at me and said, "Anytime dear. Now go wash up! I'll wait downstairs! We're having roast beef for dinner."

I stood up and went to the bathroom to wash when I saw something on my desk. It was a piece of paper. That's odd. Where did that come from? I approached my desk first then picked it up. It was from Will. He outlined the rest of the assignment for me, basically explaining what we were supposed to do. I remember him telling me earlier that we were supposed to be working in pairs. Does this mean he doesn't want to work together? Does he want us to work separately? This definitely means he's pissed at me... right?

Ugh, Will... why are you so difficult to read?!?

Tyler, you need to get a grip. You're the king of this school for crying out loud! I gripped my steering wheel a bit too tightly as I tried to compose myself before heading inside Ridgemont High. Today was Wednesday and I finally decided to go back to school. I didn't want to be a coward anymore. I needed to face my fears of gossip and get through this. If Will could do it, so could I!

Will... Sigh. I hung my head down, eventually finding myself resting it on top of my steering wheel. I need to fix this thing with Will and soon.

"Okay Tye, you need to stop moping around and get in there!" I whispered to myself. I needed a bit of a pep talk, even if it was coming from myself.

I took a deep breath, grabbed my bag and slammed the door to my car. I had a little walking to do. I parked at the rear of the school, near the football field to be exact. I wanted to remain as incognito as much as I can before the frenzy begins.

I walked through the sidewalk, not really paying attention to anyone I come across with. I did manage to catch from the corner of my eye, people whispering when I passed by. I'm trying my best to not pay them any attention whatsoever. When I turned around the corner towards the main entrance of the school, the stares and hushed conversations intensified. Okay, Tyler. Get a grip. I just stared ahead, again ignoring everything around me. I could have sworn they were still staring at me as I passed them by. Jesus, is this what Will went through when he came back?! I now have a lot of respect for him.

As I neared the main doors, I took a moment to stop and look at it. "Here goes nothing," I said as my hands reached for handle and pulled. I swear to God, once I stepped inside, everyone in there just dropped everything they were doing and looked at my direction. All conversations came to a screeching halt when I entered. I'm not joking. You could hear a pin drop.

"Holy shit." I heard someone say from my left. I looked there and found a male sophomore, with his mouth agape. When I caught his eyes, he quickly turned away and fled.

When my gaze went back to the room, everyone went back to what they were doing. Or more accurately, tried to go back to what they were initially doing. When I started walking down the hall, I saw students fixing their lockers, girls re- striking a conversation, nerds fleeing the other direction. But in the corner of my eyes, I saw each and every one of them glancing at me every now and then. When I did catch their gaze, they immediately look away. I found that bit a little entertaining. I had a feeling they caught my smirk.

I made my way through the hallways to find Jason and apologize. I haven't really spoken to him or any other of my teammates over the last couple of days. I needed to apologize to every single one of them, but I needed to say sorry to Jason first. He is my best friend after all... and if he found out that I didn't apologize to him first before everybody else, he'd throw a massive fit. I know him too well not to.

When I round through the corner, I saw Jace standing by his locker with one of the other football players. He was talking to Logan, a lean looking redhead from the team. I know Logan. He's a pretty chill dude although not really the brightest bulb out there. I guess that's why he and Jason get along really well. Don't tell him I said that!

Both Jason and Logan were wearing their varsity jackets over a jean which was the typical jock attire. Jason had his back facing me, so when I closed in on them it was Logan who acknowledged me first.

"Holy crap!" Logan said, his wide agape.

"What?.... What? Is there a hot chick?!" Jace said as he turned around with a laugh. When he saw me standing there, a few feet away from him, he immediately shut up. "Tye! You're back!"

"Hey," I said as I raised my hand for a little, pathetic little wave.

They both approached me simultaneously. They patted my back, gave me a few playful punches, and asked a whole lotta questions in ten seconds.

"Wait!" I said a bit too harshly. They both shut up. "Okay, before you guys go any further, I just want you to know that I'm really sorry ignoring all your text messages and calls the past couple of days. I was really depressed and I kinda needed to be alone for quite awhile. Sorry for being an ass!"

"Look Tye, it's all water under the bridge, okay? You were hurt and angry. It's understandable you want to get away from reality for a couple of days," Logan said as he patted my back. I just had to give him a smile.

"Yeah, besides... you can repay your guilt by buying me Mortal Kombat!" Jason chimed in as he gave me a rather painful punch. We all laughed at that moment. Well, that went well. Now all that's left is the rest of the team, the coach, and... him.

The devil must have heard me because no sooner had I thought of him; he comes walking around the hallway. My laughter died down after that. Will Lakewood was walking down the hall along with that British import, Sterling what's-his- name! They were having some deep conversation when he looked up and saw me. I saw his eyes register surprise before turning his gaze away and back to Sterling. He simply walked past me. He ignored me! I caught Sterling catching glances back at me with a suspicious look in his eyes before both disappearing around the corner.

"Problem with the neighbor?"

I turned my attention back at my two teammates who both had inquisitive looks on their faces. "What?" I asked them.

"Logan and I saw how you and Will were looking at each other. There's something going between the two of you. Spill It!" Jason answered.

"He didn't... hit on you, did he?" Logan asked in a hushed voice.

"What?! Nooo!!" I said a little too loudly causing some students to gawk at me.

"Uh-huh," Jason said, not convinced with my answer.

"Listen... Tyler... If you don't want to share with us, it's fine," Logan said, raising his hands up in surrender.

I sighed. "It's nothing like that okay. Will and I kinda had a heated conversation yesterday and I... uhh... kinda blew my top over it," I explained to them.

"YOU PUNCHED HIM?!?" Jason shouted.

"Will you keep your voice down?!" I hissed, gesturing over the students passing by. The last thing I need is some student mishearing this conversation and spreading rumors in school that I beat will up.

"Well did you?" Jason asked once again, this time in a whisper.

I was about to answer this question when Logan interjected, "So he did flirt with you!" I gave him an exasperated look. "What?" he asked me when he noticed I was giving him a good stare down. I shook my head. I told you he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Did any of you see a bruise on Will's face? I didn't hit him in any way. I said something that I really shouldn't have said. We haven't really communicated after that," I said looking at both of them.

"Dang," Logan muttered. Did I tell you he's not really big on words either?

"Are you going to apologize?" Jason asked.

"Of course! I just need to find the right time and the right moment," I said.

"When will that be?" Logan asked me.

"I don't know... I don't have a fucking clue," I whispered as I looked back towards the direction Will walked off to.

*** (Will's POV)

"Morning Will! About time you got down!"

"Good morning mom and everyone else," I said as I stepped inside the kitchen. I was wearing a white band tee along with some black slim jeans as well as some black Converse. I didn't really feel like dressing up today. I've got other things on my mind.

"Uh oh," I hear one of my brothers Blake mutter to his twin as I sat down at the breakfast table.

"What's with the uh oh?" I asked Blake as I gave both of the twins a questioning look. Both of them were sitting across me at the breakfast table. Mom's busy cooking breakfast. And dad... well, knowing dad, he's probably busy redecorating our improved lawn at front. I could hear him hacking away at 6:30 in the morning. He was my alarm clock for today.

Blake just looked at Marco and whispered something in his ear. I saw Marco look underneath the table and then back at me.

"What?" I asked them in annoyance. Ugh. They're doing their twin synchronization telepathy thing again. This is way too early for that.

"Will, what's wrong?" Marco asked, leaning forward across the table and placing his hands in front.

"What are you talking about?" I asked them as I grabbed a bagel from the plate on the table.

"Will do you want pancakes or just bacon and toast?" I heard my mom shout from the stove.

"Just bacon and toast mom!" I shouted as I gave her a wave. She smiled and nodded at me before going back to cooking. I looked back at my brothers and both of them had the exact same expressions on their faces. "Whaaaat?!!" I asked them, annoyance clearly present in my voice.

Blake sighed as he leaned forward, looked at me and said, "You're wearing your black Converse shoes."

I gave him a serious what-the-fuck look. "So?"

"You only wear your black Converse shoes if you're really depressed about something or when you have a really, really big problem over your head," Blake continued as he pointed at my shoes.

"What? Where the hell did you get the idea?!" I asked them.

"Well, the last time you wore that is when you broke up with Ethan. Yes, I perfectly remember that because you wore those shoes for an entire week after your break-up. Before that, you wore it when your pet bulldog, Chester died. You wore those shoes for three days... Even in the funeral when you specifically said to be in formal attire. And then before that-"

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" I interrupted Blake before he got a chance to say any more. He stopped and gave me a cocky smile. I just scowled at him.

"So, are you going to tell us what's bothering you this time?" Marco asked as he took a sip of coffee from his cup.

"I uhh... got into a fight with Tyler," I answered. Immediately after I said that, Marco almost choked on his coffee, causing it to spill a little onto his plate. "Are you okay?" I asked him as he began coughing a bit. Blake just patted his back.

"Did he hit you?!?!" he asked a bit angrily once he gained his composure. "Did he lay a finger on you?!" He looked at his twin with fury. "I told you he was a bad seed!"

"Chill out man," Blake said, annoyed at his twin's reaction.

"He didn't hit me! Tyler would never do that. We just had a heated conversation and we both said some things that shouldn't have been said," I said as I looked down and poked my bagel with my finger.

"I told you," I heard Blake say to Marco.

"Oh shut up!" his twin replied.

"What's this about Tyler I hear?" I heard my mom say as she handed me my breakfast.

"Thanks mom," I said as I grabbed the plate from her. She sat down beside me.

"So... what's this about Tyler?" she said as she looked between me and the twins.

"Will and Tyler had a... disagreement," Blake said to my mom.

"Oh!" she said looking at me. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as she placed her elbows onto the table, raised her hands and rested her chin on them.

"Well... His longtime girlfriend dumped Tyler and I've been hearing from one of his friends that he was into some sort of depression. Well I had to go to his house for a school project okay? Anyways, I tried telling him that he needs to snap out of it because prolonged depression isn't very healthy. He kinda blew his lid. Then some unnecessary things were said from both of our mouths and well... yeah," I said to all three of them. My mom momentarily looked at the ceiling before glancing at my brothers and gave them a small nod. They nodded back.

"What?" I asked them. Don't tell me my mom has the twin telepathy power too?

"Will, will, will... remember that depression phase you went through when we left Ridgemont?" my mom asked.

"Yeah. How can I forget?" I told her.

"And do you remember how you would snap at your brothers every time they try to help and cheer you up?" she asked.

"Yeah, so? Oh... Oh!" I said, realizing what she was getting to.

"Yes. Even though you were depressed, your brothers tried their very best to help you out. You snapped at them because you just wanted to be left alone. You even got mad at some point in time. Tyler must be going through the same thing. He just needs time to deal with this on his own, much like you four years ago," my mother said, giving me an encouraging smile. Thinking about it, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach that she was right. I forced Tyler to snap out of his depression which probably wasn't the most considerate thing to do.

"So... I should apologize to him... right?" I asked her.

"If you think that's what it takes," my mother said as she patted my hand.

I was about to say some more when we all heard my dad cursing from the front lawn.

"What on earth is your father up to now?" my mother asked as she stood up to go to the lawn. Everyone just resumed eating their breakfast.

"It's amazing how much you can hurt someone with good intentions," Blake said as he sipped on his morning coffee.

I just stared at him. "You've been watching Pretty Little Liars, haven't you?" I asked him. The twins just laughed at my question.

"Yes," Blake answered, "although it's not the exact quote word by word, the gist is still the same."

I just rolled my eyes at him as I continued eating my breakfast. "You're such a dork," I muttered at him.

"Says the one who's wearing black Converse," Marco interjected causing Blake to laugh. I playfully stuck out my tongue at both of them causing them to laugh. Older brothers...

Okay, I made a mental note to apologize to Tyler today. The only problem is I don't know if he's going to school or not. If he doesn't go to school, I doubt he'd let me in his home after our little spat yesterday. Sigh. This is getting quite bothersome.

I was at my locker thinking about this situation while absentmindedly re- arranging my things. I tend to be OC when I'm dealing with a problem.

"Locker's a bit messy?"

I snapped out of my daze and looked at my left. I didn't notice Sterling leaning against the locker beside mine. He was wearing a collared teal shirt, some slacks, and brown loafers. He had a smile on his face.

"Oh... you're talking to me now?" I asked disdainfully. I'm quite pissed at him. Yesterday, he was all up my ass over lying to Claire and Rocky during lunchtime and now he's all friendly! One minute, he treats me like dirt and the next minute he's all angelic on me. The whole act is getting on my nerves, to be honest.

He looked quite taken aback with my response. He must have thought I would be begging for his attention after yesterday. Since he didn't say anything, I just continued talking.

"Yesterday you treated me like shit over lunch and now, it's as if nothing happened between the two of us. What? You suddenly had a change of heart?" I scowled at him as I began throwing random shit into my locker.

He looked at me for a long time before he said, "I heard you helped out Mitch yesterday."

"Who the fuck is Mitch?!" I asked totally clueless.

"The boy Scott and his cronies were tormenting yesterday!" he said with a frown. Oh... him! I remember him. Kid with mousy brown hair! "That was really nice of you," he added.

I slammed my locker loudly, causing Sterling to slightly jump. "So is that how it goes? Your anger at me disappeared because I helped someone out? I'm not sure I like this arrangement very well," I said as I looked at him with anger.

"That's not what I mean," he said, looking at me nervously.

"Then what does it mean Sterling?" I asked him as I faced him and crossed my arms against my chest. "Please tell me because I don't have any clue what you're talking about. I don't have a clue why you're always so overcritical with me. Why, on some days, you suddenly have this prissy attitude to me and only me! Frankly, I'm getting really, really tired of the attitude. Do you have PMS or something?"

He looked down at the floor. "It's just... it's because..."

"Spit it out already!" I barked at him. My patience was clearly right over the edge.

"It's because I like you okay!" he said in a hushed whisper. He then looked back at me to gauge my reaction.

... Okaaayy.. I didn't see that coming!

When he noticed I wasn't responding he continued, "I'm sorry, but I like you. Not just in a friendly way. I mean... really, really like you. I'm sorry that I may come across as a douche sometimes. It's just I notice you more than any other person out there. I pick up on your habits quite easily and I tend to react to them in different ways."

"So you're gay?" I asked.

"Yes," he said with a smile, "I was hoping if you'd like to go out on a date sometime. You know, so I can make up for being such a shithead to you from time to time."

I stared at him, wanting to see if this was some sort of evil trick or practical joke. But when I looked at his green eyes behind his black glasses, I saw that he was genuine and sincere about the entire thing.

"Why?" I asked, completely dumbfounded at the certain ways things played out.

"Why what?" he asked me again, confusion etching on his face.

"I mean, why would you want to go out with me? You know my history in this school," I answered.

"I don't give a damn about that. You're different, and funny, and you're cute as hell!" he said with a blush.

It took me quite some time to process everything. Sterling was anxiously waiting for my reply. Now, he's the one making me nervous!

"I... I'm sorry Sterling, but I'm not looking for a boyfriend in my life right now. I'm sorry," I told him. That was half true. A part of me isn't really looking for a boy right now. The other part of it was that I didn't want to ruin Sterling's life because he decided to go out with me... the school's favorite gossip item.

"Oh... I see..." he said, desperately trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. This isn't turning out so well. "Maybe in the future?" I asked him, trying to get his hopes up.

He looked back at me. I gave him a warm smile in return. "Sure," he said as he gave me a smile back. There was an awkward silence between the two of us for a couple of minutes. Both of us didn't really know what to say exactly. I decided to break off the ice.

"Now, why don't you help me by holding onto this while I sort some stuff in my bag?" I asked him as I gave him my books to hold.

He looked at me for a minute before he smiled and grabbed my books from my hand. "Knowing you, this will probably take you around 15 minutes knowing how incredibly OC you are," he teased.

I gave him a playful punch. "Oh shut up!" I said as we both laughed. This isn't going too bad.

"I'll see you guys later! I just need to go to the bathroom!" I said.

"Okay, we'll see you!" Claire said as she, Taylor, Rocky, and Sterling waved goodbye at me.

It was the end of the day and everything went smooth. Well... almost everything. Sterling promised me he wouldn't tell Claire and Rocky about yesterday. I promised him that I wouldn't tell the others that he tried asking me out. There were a couple of times he would awkwardly stare at me throughout the day. When I caught him, he looked away instantly. I just smiled at him, silently telling him that I was fine with it. Both of us were good right now... Hopefully it stays that way.

I still haven't talked to Tyler yet. I saw him at school today. To tell you the truth, I was quite surprised! We caught each other's eyes this morning, but I kinda froze under the pressure and didn't approach him. I guess I was bit of a coward since he had two football players with him at the time. Sigh. He didn't even bother following me. I guess he's still mad.

As I neared the male bathroom, someone suddenly grabbed my hand and dragged me into the janitor's closet.

"What the hell?!" I shouted as I crashed into the shelf, causing numerous bottles of chemicals falling down on me. Thank god, none of them were open! My scalp would have been burnt by now otherwise.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry," my assailant said as that person dragged me up to my feet. Okay, even though we were in a dark room where you really couldn't see a single thing, I still managed to notice that voice.

"Tyler! What the hell are you doing?" I asked, out of breath.

He flipped the switch and I found myself chest to chest with the football player. He was wearing his varsity jacket over some dark denims. His blonde hair was a bit shaggy today. I had no idea why he dragged me into a closet. The only time this happens is when guys want to make out with girls. I highly doubted Tyler wanted to do the same to me.

"Listen Will, I need to talk to you... alone," he told me as he slightly moved back from me. Not that it was a lot since the janitor's closet was pretty small.

"And you figured that the janitor's closet was the best place to do that?" I asked back, slightly annoyed over this situation.

"Well, this is the only place where no one can bother us. You always got your friends with you, especially that Sterling guy!" I noticed he grunted Sterling's name out And my teammates are always tailing me around," he explained.

"Wait, don't you have football practice right now?" I asked him again.

"Doesn't start for another 20 minutes," he said with a sly smile. Oh god. There he goes again flashing his wonderful white smile again!

"Look... Will..." he began, suddenly turning very serious again, "I was such a huge ass to you yesterday! I shouldn't have said the things I said. I said them out of anger and spite. And I know that's a pretty lame excuse, but I'm telling you the truth. I was petty, selfish, and arrogant yesterday over everything that happened and I let it all out on you. I just want you to know that I'm really, really sorry about that. You don't have to forgive me. I just really wanted to tell you that face to face."

I stared at him dumbfounded at his apology. So he's not mad at me then? I thought he'd be furious for sure.

"I forgive you," I said.

"What?" Tyler asked, not because he couldn't hear me, but rather because he didn't understand.

"You forgive me? Just like that?," he asked still in shock.

"Yes and besides, I owe you one as well," I said to him.

"Owe me an apology?"

"Let me finish?" I asked him, my mouth turning into a slight frown. He zipped his mouth instantly. "Listen," I said, "It was also wrong of me of trying to force you out of your depression. It wasn't my place. I knew what those feelings felt like and it consumed me really bad. I didn't want you to go through the same things I did, so I tried talking you out of it. I guess I could have handled it better."

Tyler looked at me for a long time before he stepped closer and enveloped me into a hug. This was such a huge surprise! I was so shocked that I didn't even move. I just stood there like a statue as Tyler hugged me. If you were there, you'd probably see the confusion and utter embarrassment in my face. He let go a couple of seconds later, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"What was that for?" I asked giving him a bewildered look. Did he really just hug me right now or was that a dream?

"I don't know. I just felt like hugging you for being so nice and caring," he said blushing some more.

"You sound so gay," I laughed at him. He laughed at my response and gave me a friendly shove. We laughed for a few minutes, just letting everything out into the open. It felt really good.

"Will.... about that homework assignment?... Do you want to use your house or my house as the main subject?" Tyler asked me once the laughter subsided.

I placed my hand under my chin and began to think. Using my house wouldn't probably the best choice. First of all, we haven't really unpacked everything yet. There are still some boxes left in the guest bedroom, kitchen, and even the backyard that we still need to sort out. That would hamper us from truly exploring the rest of the house. Second of all, my family isn't really your typical American family. We do a lot of things normal families don't really do. So explaining how the house influences our daily activities would be really difficult. The most important thing is that my brothers would be spying on us the entire time. I don't want that to happen!

"We'll do your house. Is that fine with you?" I asked, finally making up my decision.

"Okay great! Swing by my house after dinner. We can discuss how we're going to tackle this homework assignment. Maybe we can actually get half of it done by tonight!" he said excitedly.

"Sure, why not?" I replied trying to hide my excitement.

"Okay, good. So I'll see you later then?" he asked me. I nodded in response. "Awesome," he said as he opened the janitor's closet door and sprinted out into the hallway. Yep, today everything was going smoothly.

*** (Tyler's POV)

"Okay, so we finished drawing up the master plan. Now what?" I asked Will.

It was around 9pm in evening and we were in my room trying to get started on this project of ours for Art Studies. My room is technically much smaller than Will's room so we had to do our work on my bed. I was positioned near the headboard while Will was on the other end. We had my laptop and a couple of papers and pencils between us. It was a comfy set-up and I was glad to hear no complaints from my neighbor.

"I don't know. My brain is pretty much slush right now," he said with a laugh. All this drawing has gotten me a slight headache.

"Do you want a break?" I asked him in concern.

"I'd like that," he said quietly.

"Will don't be shy if you need something, just say it!" I said to him as I grabbed the papers and neatly organized them according to floor plans.

"I think I need some aspirin," he said as started massaging his head with his fingers.

"That bad huh? I'll get some downstairs," I said as I moved my laptop to the side to give him more space to move around on. I went out into the hallway and down the stairs to get him some painkillers.

Everything was going really well. Will and I managed to talk it out this afternoon about our disagreement yesterday. Even though the venue was slightly less than perfect, it turned out pretty well. Although, I wish I could say the same for football practice. The coach pretty much gave me a long, good lecture before making me work out for missing practice out on the field. He didn't like it that I missed school simply because I had a headache. Scott and his cronies were pretty much in heaven watching me suffer. He is such an asshole. He'll get his just desserts soon. Just you fucking wait!

I grabbed a glass from one of the cupboards, went to the sink to fill it out with water. I then grabbed an aspirin in our medicine cabinet and then proceeded back to my room. I carefully jogged my way up the stairs in just my black tank and grey sweatpants. When I entered my room, I found Will lying down on my bed looking at me expectantly. He looked pretty good in his white t-shirt and shorts. I could see muscle build in his arms and his belly. He's definitely changed that's for sure!

"Here you go," I said as I handed him both the glass of water and an aspirin.

"Thanks," he said as he took them from me. I watched him gulp it down. He gave me a smile afterwards.

"So, what do you want to do during this break?" I asked him, "I'm afraid we can't play any Marvel vs. Capcom or Mortal Kombat!"

He laughed at my response. His laugh got me laughing too. You know those people who have infectious laughter that when you hear them laugh, you can't help but join in? Will's very much like that. It's hard to explain through words. You just need to be there to fully understand what I'm saying.

"Well, let's listen to some of your music!" he said enthusiastically.

"Okay," I said as I went around the bed and sat beside Will. I grabbed my laptop and opened my iTunes. "Here, Listen to Glasvegas. I found them out a couple of days ago. I find them extremely awesome, although when I linked it to Jason and a couple of my teammates this evening, they hated the group." I then pressed play.

'Whatever Hurts Through The Night' started playing and I watched Will for his reaction. I knew we had slightly a similar taste in music, but I'm not sure if he'd agree with me on this one. Will was slightly more into indie rock more than synth stuff, so I'm not sure how he'll like this.

I saw him bop his head every now and then. Two minutes later, he turned to me and said, "Tyler. This is great! I'm not kidding. They are a bit different to what I normally listen to, but their sound is pretty rad! Are you sure you're not a hipster?"

I chuckled at him, "I'm glad you like them. You're the first person who told me so."

He then got up and sat in an Indian position and said, "Jason found this bad? That boy has no taste in music! I swear Tyler, your music library is incredible! Don't feel down that no one appreciates it. You don't need someone else' s confirmation to know that this is a great artist."

"Thanks Will," I said, turning away from him because I found my cheeks blushing. That was nice of him to say. Shit. This kid's got a hold on me.

"Tyler, I mean it. Don't let other people tell you who you should like or what you should be. Just do what makes you happy," he said as he reached out and patted my hand.

Glasvegas' 'Dream Dream Dreaming' started playing in the background as I asked him, "I have a feeling you're not talking about Glasvegas anymore..."

He looked at me for awhile, "I know that you're upset about people making stuff about you. You need to know that what they say doesn't reflect you or define you as a person. You alone know who you are and how special your relationship with Dana was. Don't let other people dictate otherwise. Just treat it like your music. If they don't like what they hear, then fuck 'em."

I laughed at that last comment causing Will to frown because he was entirely dead serious. "I'm sorry for laughing," I said as I let my laughter subside, "But thanks Will. You're a great guy. Whoever gets your heart is a lucky guy."

Now it was Will's turn to blush. "Whatever Tyler!" he said as he smacked my shoulder.

"I mean it," I said to him in dead seriousness.

"And what makes me all special?" he joked around laughing.

"Well, for one thing, you're not a pushover. It's like what you said; you don't let other people dictate who you are or what you should do. Take that kid Mitch for example. I heard through the grapevine that you helped him out when no one else would. That shows you just how much of a person you really are. You could have walked away from him, but you helped him out even though he was an outcast. Normally people would just ignore him because they're afraid of being ostracized next, but not you.. You didn't let cliques or popularity influence your judgment or your actions. You also voice your mind without caring what might happen. Do you know you're the only person who had the balls to tell me to my face that I was being a jackass when I treated you badly? You're kind, generous, caring, and funny. Who wouldn't like that?" I said as I faced him.

Will looked at me and his face turned crimson in embarrassment. I guess he didn't expect me to give such a detailed explanation as to why he was awesome.

"Thanks Tye," he choked out as he tried fighting back tears which threatened to fall. He looked away trying to hide them but I saw them clear as day. He was touched.

"Let's get back to the assignment, shall we?" he asked while he was still looking down. I watched him grab the papers from my bedside table. I stayed silent the entire time. He still wasn't looking at me.

At this time, the song 'I Feel Wrong (Homosexuality Part 1)' by Glasvegas started playing in the background.

"So... what should.. We do next?" he asked me as he looked up to me with a smile.

I leaned forward, my hand reaching for the papers containing the floor plans, but I quickly stopped and looked deep in his hazel eyes. I don't know what came over me, but I found my hand going up to his face. He just looked at me as a sea of confusion began to show in his eyes. I touched his cheek pulled him into a kiss. Will didn't make any sort of movement for a couple of seconds. He must have been overwhelmed with shock. A few seconds later, he ran his hand through my hair as he kissed me back. He parted my mouth with his tongue as I leaned forward inching our bodies closer to each other.

We continued kissing for a couple of minutes, feeling each other up, and running our hands through each other's hair. There wasn't any sense of lust. However, there certainly was a passion between the two of us. Will gasped for a breath of air before placing both of his hands on my cheeks and kissing me again. I reciprocated back. I bit on his lip which caused him to moan a little.

When I let go, I opened my eyes to find him doing the same. We looked at each other's eyes searching for some reason why and how this happened. When 'I Feel Wrong' stopped playing, it felt as if the world stood still as we continued to stare at each other.

TBC

Okay, first of all, I will apologize for the time it took me to post this. I said I would be posting this by mid-June after my 3 week vacation in Europe, but lookie here, it's July already. Starting from this moment on, I am not going to tell you when the next chapter is going to be posted because chances are, I'll be breaking that promise and disappoint you guys. I made this chapter really long to compensate for the time it took to post this. Hope you're not disappointed by that at the very least.

Also, I'm thinking of creating a yahoo group for this story because my contact list (I accidentally typed in lust for a while there) is getting too large and it's pretty difficult to add each and every single of your names to the send list. Besides, some of you guys may actually have stopped reading and may be getting annoyed at my e-mails about a new chapter upload. Still not sure whether this option is better and more efficient, what do you guys think?

So, what do you guys think? Hit me up at: flipped100@yahoo.com yes? I'd love to hear from you. There's also the flipped100.wordpress.com site for earlier uploads.

Take care and have fun!

Cheers, Nick