Crisco is for Sissies[M]

[TruthSayer]

At Marcus' last statement, Raa did an impressive impersonation of a growling lion, eyes on the boy next to him, one eyebrow and one corner of his mouth raised in a smirk.

The group around them laughed, and was quieted by the teacher, who had yet to call the class to order.

"I'm Gwen," one of the braver girls piped up, holding out her hand as she nodded to the pale, timid looking girl beside her. "This is Kansas."

"Raa Hakesh," Raa said, smiling charmingly at them as he shook Gwen's hand. "And despite what Marc says, not all seniors bite. Although some of us do need collars and leashes to keep us in line?"

He leveled Marcus with a playful, questioning glance.

[Tammika]

It wasn't the actual suggestion but what Marcus' mind did visually that made him blush. It was very noticeable on his pale skin and it made one of the girls behind him laugh and exchange knowing glances. He darted his eyes at her in mock anger. "Traitor!" he hissed at her since the teacher had just quieted down the class.

"And you... you just, behave. I'm a humane handler. No collars." Just the thought of Raa in a collar was too much for him to handle right now. He wouldn't be able to think straight if he actually saw that. Smooth wide leather collar, maybe silver studs on it and... No, no no. That needs to stop.


This was going to be a very interesting year.

[TruthSayer]

Raa blinked, watching as though mesmerized the quick crawl of the blush across Marcus' face, staining his complexion a shocking shade of red that reached clear up to the tips of his ears, and wondered for a moment what he'd said to cause that. When it finally came to him, he wasn't quite sure how to sort out the multitude of emotions that sprang from it, a fact that made him quite glad when the teacher called the class to order, and the monotony of the role-call began as the class slipped into bored silence.

First and foremost of the emotions was a certain feeling of glee that Raa was the one who caused that too-pretty face to blush like that. Second, and just as powerful, was the cold wash of unease that followed just behind it.

Raa was not gay. Raa appreciated and looked for the soft curves of a woman's body, jacked off to it almost nightly.

"Here," Raa said as the teacher called his name.

Though, if Raa were to be perfectly honest with himself, something he was not at all comfortable being at the moment, the pleasure he found from looking at nude pictures and lascivious movies came less and less from the women in them, and more and more from the friction of his own hand. In fact, porn had become downright boring, something that was an outlet if only because it was expected of an eighteen-year-old high school senior.

Raa glanced at Marcus from the corner of his eye, tracing the contours of his profile in a much more intimate fashion than mere budding friendship allowed.

Was he beautiful? Was 'beautiful' even a term that could be applied to a male?

Raa wasn't sure, but was certain that if it could be, Marcus would be the dictionary picture of it.

"Oh, crap," Raa whispered to himself, jolting himself out of his reverie. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of slightly crumpled paper, and flipped open his notebook, writing, You left this in the bathroom, in cramped, nearly illegible script, before passing both the notebook and schedule silently to Marcus.

[Tammika]

"Here." Marcus droned in the deadpan voice he had now reserved for the rude biology teacher. He did not like the man and it had only been fifteen minutes in his presence. The way he hesitated when saying young man earlier didn't escape his attention.

He didn't even bother to lift his chin from his folded arms on the table, but that was also due to the guy sitting beside him. Normally he'd be chatting away trying to get to know his lab partner. This guy was different. Stripped of his audience by the start of class and slightly intimidated by the senior next to him, Marcus became quiet. On occasion he propped his head to the side to glance at him while looking like he was staring across the room.

He caught glimpses of thick eyelashes topped with equally thick brows. Naturally dark hair, unlike his own dyed tresses, that looked so thick he wanted to reach over and run his fingers in it. His nose was straight and long, high cheekbones and a deep tan. Don't touch him, Marcus. Keep your hands to yourself. He saw traces of dark stubble where more of that thick dark hair would emerge into a decent mustache. Marcus sighed. The dude probably shaved everyday already where as he only shaved once every other week. That even included all his body hair for swimming. He had so little hair it only took and extra five minutes in the shower.

His thoughts were interrupted by the notebook slid across the table. By habit he grabbed for his glasses, patting the top of his stack of books for his case, but realized they too were in his car. This had happened in every class so far, but this was the only time he actually wanted to read what was handed to him. He glanced down at the notebook and recognized the paper as his schedule, but couldn't read the scrawled message Raa had added. He had to slide it away from him and close one eye before he read the note. As recognition dawned on him he grinned. Leaning over he swiped Raa's pencil and wrote a reply back.

In large flowery handwriting that was so neat it could have been a typed script font, he had written Thank you! You rock!

[TruthSayer]

Raa frowned, glanced down at his own handwriting, and wondered if it was really so hard to read that Marcus would have to hold it so far away from himself to do so; Taylor did often say Raa's penmanship looked as though it belonged to a preschooler, something Raa found himself unaccountably self-conscious about. Taking one look at Marcus' nearly perfectly flowing script, Raa knew at once that Taylor was right.

He nodded to Marcus instead of writing him back, whispered, "Anytime," from the corner of his mouth, and tucked the notebook beneath his folded arms. Setting himself to actually pay attention to what the teacher was saying, he placed his chin on his fist, and felt his stomach lurch when he found the teacher finishing up on setting an in-class assignment Raa knew nothing about.

"One out of your team needs to gather the supplies, while the other needs to set up the work area," the man was saying. "There will be no need to talk about anything that doesn't pertain to the assignment. Get started."

The class jumped to its feet, half of it making its way toward the small supply cabinet behind the teacher's desk, the other half clearing off the tables.

"Did you hear anything he just said?" Raa asked quietly, hoping Marcus had paid more attention that he had.

[Tammika]

Marcus stretched like a cat when the teacher dismissed them to get started on the intro project. Thankfully he could do something hands on instead of fighting sleep listening to the teacher talk more. He had heard most of it but after the man mentioned the guidelines were on the syllabus he tuned him out to continue studying Raa's profile.

"Eh, I heard most of it, but the whole thing is on the handout. " He waved the paper at Raa. "How about you take this and go get the equipment and I'll go get the protection and do prep. I'm not getting iodine on my jeans. My reading glasses are in my car so I can't see the paper without getting a headache from squinting. It's a good thing too." Leaning close he whispered loudly, pointing at Gwen and Kansas. "The girls couldn't handle my sexiness this soon with my glasses on. Baby steps... so they won't faint."

"Keep dreaming Marky boy." Gwen he knew from the year before. Just an acquaintance that he shared a class or two and lots of jokes with. "Only of you my dear." He blew her kisses and hopped up to get the aprons but turned back to Raa. "Make sure you get the droppers with the curved tip, less messy."

[TruthSayer]

Raa grabbed the paper and took his place at the back of the slow moving line.

That stretch, the feline arch of Marcus' back, the slash of white skin appearing beneath the hem of his white shirt as it pulled up and away from his body as his arms rose into the air... It was far more sensual than any girl he had ever witnessed do the exact same thing, even while watching porn.

And the flirting afterward? Raa wondered, displeasure pulling down the corners of his mouth, how one was supposed to tell if and when Marcus was serious in his intentions, then shook his head, resolutely deciding he didn't care.

"Hey," Raa said, snapping out of his thoughts to catch the arm of a junior boy passing by; the boy stopped, arms loaded with supplies for the assignment, and looked at him questioningly. "I'll give you ten bucks for that dropper."

The boy blinked, a surprised brow creeping toward a blonde hairline, then shrugged and held out his hand. Raa dug his wallet out from his back pocket, pulled out a crisp ten, and handed it over.

"Here ya go," the boy said, stuffing the money into his own pocket before fishing the dropper out and passing it over. "Ehm. Why do you want that dropper, anyway?"

Raa shrugged, and turned away, dismissing the boy completely. Because the droppers with the curved tips are cleaner, and they always go first, he thought, fingering it absently.

The line had moved enough so that Raa was able to reach into the supply closet, piling his arms with litmus paper, three control phials filled with indistinct clear liquid and one full of iodine, a small pre-filled packet of five slides, and a microscope. He turned to go, thought better of it, and grabbed another dropper.

Reading glasses. Marcus wore reading glasses. A little young, isn't he...? Raa thought, then gave a mental shrug; Raa, nor anyone in his family that he could remember knowing, wore glasses, so he had no idea how things like that worked. Instead, he focused on the fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach that wanted to believe that Marcus couldn't read his disjointed writing because of that, not because Raa's dominant hand, severely broken when he was six, couldn't hold a pencil without going numb in seconds, an infirmary he'd never mentioned aloud that sometimes made it impossible to hold even a football.

Let Taylor believe it's because I 'don't apply myself', Raa thought with a derisive snort as he dropped the extra dropper off at the boy's table before dumping the rest of his supplies in front of Marcus, watching the slight shift of muscle beneath his tee shirt as he moved.

The bitch can rot.

[Tammika]

Focus Marcus Philip Davenport. You can not pass biology if you spend the entire time gawking at sexy football players. To Marcus Raa was a curious and gorgeous creature. One of those people that made him flirt to no end but he felt he'd never be able to touch. Awesome straight football players don't change sides just because they sit next to gay dudes in their science class, no matter how much the said gay dude wished it were true. He would flirt and talk and hopefully become good friends, but Marcus knew nothing would come of it. He had dated a guy that said he was straight but attracted to 'only him'. Lies. That ended in a disaster so bad he never talked about it.

Since he came to terms with his sexuality he had learned that and many other things the hard way. The best piece of advice he received was from his father, who was not and still is not completely comfortable with this 'gay business'. It was cliched and slightly warped but it helped and Marcus lived by it.

“Be who you are, there is no guarantee that being somebody else is gonna make things better, the other half of the world probably hates that guy too.”

“Who knew you had such sage advice I'm awed by you wisdom, dad.”

“Shut up smart ass and just listen to me, okay.”...

It had been hard for his dad to say that much but he respected him so much more for it.

Class ended without any problems. Marcus thought Raa made a great lab partner, despite his prejudice concerning jock stereotypes. If the partners hadn't been assigned he would have been screwed. Without close friends in this class and with the girls he did know pairing up, no one would have willfully chosen him and that would have been a serious wound in this awesome day so far.

“Please make sure you take your new textbook and actually read it people. Mandatory discussion tomorrow and I want it to sound like you know what you read. All class supplies will be required by next Monday, no excuses.”

The students barely paid him attention as they filed out of the door already engaged in conversations that had very little to do with biology once the bell rang. Marcus gathered up his stack of books exaggerating their weight. It was only five books, his English class was so kind to hand out two monstrosities, but it was more awkward than too heavy.

“Damn, I have got to go to my car or I'm gonna die before the end of the day.”

“Uh, damn is right. Here, throw one or two of them in my bag. You going now or after lunch?” Derrick was in the class across the hall and met him at the door. The tall dark skinned boy was his closest friend despite the risk he took remaining his friend even after he knew he was gay.

“Yeah I'll probably go now. I left my glasses in there too.”

"Damn! How the hell did you make it four classes with out your glasses, you know you're blind as a bat. Man, you are all messed up today.” They stood just outside the doorway shifting books into Derrick's pack. Gwen walked up to join the pair.

"We have been blessed by the aura of the seniors, Der! Marcus even has a senior as a lab partner." She glanced back to see if any seniors were listening. "He gets to share with none other than Raa Hakesh."

"The football player?" His brother was on the football team so he was familiar with the name. Derrick turned a suspicious eye towards Marcus, who in turn began to hum and then sing a popular song.

"La la la la la, la-la la la la la la."

"Oh heeell no. You're singing. If you sing and talk about a guy I am not eatin lunch with you man. My stomach can't handle that. No no no. Promise me or I won't hesitate to leave yo ass at a table all by yourself. Say it. Promise me now or I'll leave you now. And stop that." Derrick swung his leg to kick the now dancing Marcus.

"Ow ! Okay okay I promise. Why you gotta be so violent?!"

"Bye you guys. I'll see you in CA Marcus."

"You actually signed up for that again?"

"Yeah. With the college credit classes I've been taking I had extra hours to fill still, so CA it is. Delicious food and an easy A. You know I have skills in the kitchen."

"Is that a gay joke? Am I missing something?"

"No, you smart ass, now to my car before lunch period is over. I'm hungry." Derrick was the only person that could easily joke about being gay with Marcus.

[TruthSayer]

The breezeway facing the senior courtyard on three sides was full of jocks, preps, drama geeks, and cheerleaders. They lined the white stone benches against the wall and poured out into the courtyard proper to take over the 200'x200' lawn completely. They lounged against large concrete boulders that had been painted to mimic rocks in their natural form, hid from the sun beneath eight ten-year-old elms that spread branches with thick green leaves over the sky. An eight-feet tall marble statue of a mustang, muscles standing out in almost ridiculous relief as it reared, kicking its forelegs into the air at unseen enemy, stood in the courtyards epicenter. Set up on the short brick wall that surrounded the upraised platform of the mascot, speakers attached to an IPod blared out a playlist of songs varying from Nickelback's Next Contestant to Tech N9ne's Worldwide Choppers.

The north side of the courtyard was open to the rest of the campus, offering a view of the sports annex in the distance, the bleachers surrounding the track and football field full of students who were taking advantage of the last of the warm weather. Juniors and underclassmen laughed and flirted with each other just feet from the entrance to the courtyard, but no one passed the five-foot no-man's land that separated the courtyard from the rest of the school.

Raa stood just on the other side of this divide, tossing a football to Julian Graves, quarterback of the football team. Taylor sat beneath the nearest tree, gabbing with friends for once instead of vying for Raa's attention, something he was immensely pleased with. It gave him to think, and the smooth monotony of tossing the ball was like a balm.

Marcus had been an astounding lab partner. Smart, consistent, and careful in his work, all the while lighthearted and joking the entire time. Because of his diligence, they had been among the first team to finish the project, giving them early extra credit from a teacher that was notorious for failing students. It had been difficult, though. Insanely difficult to focus, which meant that Raa had spent a great deal of his time concentrating on the assignment instead of talking to Marcus. He still didn't understand his attraction to the boy, either.

Raa raised a critical eye to Julian. His friend wasn't bare chested, but the white tank top he wore might as well have not been there for all it hid from prying eyes. Toned muscles in his upper arms and shoulders moved fluidly beneath ebony skin that tapered down to wide, strong hands that grasped the football with complete confidence as he readied the ball for a near perfect arch through the air. Deep, almond shaped brown eyes, protected from the sun behind stylish black sunglasses held an intellegence that Raa respected, while full lips beneath an aqualine nose rose on one side in a content smile. Baggy jeans with deep pockets hung low on narrow hips, held up by a thick corded belt with a wide buckle that caught the sunlight and threw it into Raa’s eyes.

At least, that was Raa’s excuse when the ball hit him in the side of the head. Laying on the ground, dazedly blinking up into the patchwork of blue sky between dense leaves, Raa thought that yes, Julian was quite… appealing, but no where near so much as Marcus.

[Tammika]

"There's your brother."

"Marcus, you promised."

"All's I said was 'there's your brother'! I didn't say anything about him, yet!"

"See you said yet. Yet. That means you were thinking it and soon the words would come out and my food would want to follow. Just know that while I'm resisting the urge to release my lunch I'll distract myself by kicking your ass."

"Whatever! I am completely innocent." Marcus had been thinking about Raa, but didn't plan on talking about him. He had managed to sneak back to his car and get his glasses (Getting permission to go to your own car was lame and a waste of time.) and now that he had them on he was going over his biology syllabus while cramming down his lunch. Derrick was aware that reading school assignment during lunch was not Marcus' normal behavior, and correctly ascertained it was because of Raa, but he couldn't make him say it without bringing up the topic himself. All would have been well had Raa not started his game of catch with Derrick's brother Julian.

"Every since they started over there." Derrick pointed with both hands, one holding his taco. "You've been humming that damn song. I know you, man. I - know - you. Okay?" He would have said more but Marcus' eyes got big and he nearly fell of the bench laughing. Derrick turned around an only saw Raa flat on his back on the ground.

"Oh shit, that had to hurt."

"Hey princess, quit your giggling, we're trying to eat over here." Another junior neither one of them knew spoke up from an adjacent table. Most of the students that saw Raa fall were laughing but he decided to single out Marcus. From the looks he kept getting from the guy, he knew it was bound to happen. Marcus and Derrick ignored him completely.

"Hey man, how we gonna make it to the finals if you crack the whole teams skulls with the ball? I told you at the house man, you gotta hold it down some. Don't release all the power in one throw."

[TruthSayer]

“Yeah, yeah,” Julian sniped, throwing Derrick an offhandedly rude gesture before kneeling down at Raa’s side, grabbing his shoulder to shake him lightly. “You still alive?”

“Barely, you asshole,” Raa grumbled, rubbing his forehead tenderly, wincing at the pain that flared. Cursing under his breath, he sat up, supporting himself one handed for a moment to see if was going to get dizzy before he rose to his feet, dusting himself off.

“Hey, you weren’t paying attention,” Julian said, smirk on his face. “You sure you’re going to be ok? I mean, seriously, if you need to go to the nurse or something-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Raa said, waving his friend off.

Laughter still rolled in rises and falls throughout those that had witnessed the event; thankfully, Taylor was not one of them, engrossed as she was with gabbing to her friends. Even Marcus, safely outside the senior zone, was nearly falling of his chair.

Raa’s lips pressed together at the site of this, his eyes narrowing, as he walked toward the table the junior boy sat at, scooping up his backpack along the way.

“Hey! Davenport! You think that was funny?!” Raa shouted, more to be heard over the music than anything else, though at his words and advance toward the junior, the music cut off, and the laughter died as though it had never been born.

[Tammika]

Marcus took a deep breath still waving his hand in front of his face trying to control his laughter. When Raa put him on the spot, strolling over and yelling like he did, Marcus' confidence wavered. To make matters worse he still had on his reading glasses so he didn't catch Raa's face expression. Was Raa the kind of person to roll with the flow? Be nice to him depending on his audience. Being put on the spot made him nervous especially since Raa had caused it.

"Uuuum, let me think." He slid his glasses off and tapped then against his cheek. "Football player gets beaned in the head and falls on his ass. Hmm. Yes I find it hilarious." His normal sarcasm had less bite to it. He was worried he'd actually ticked him off.

"You forgot 'with football'. Beaned in head with a football. Much funnier I'd say."

"I do believe you are right as usual Mr. Graves."

"Thank you, Mr. Davenport, you're too kind."

The way Derrick picked up and played along with him smoothed out his nerves. He grabbed a fry from his plate and held it up to Raa as if nothing had happened.

"French fry?"

[TruthSayer]

Raa stood beside Marcus for a moment, face casually blank, then grinned, grabbing the fry and popping it into his mouth, before grabbing the back of a free chair, flipping into around and straddling it. "I think I will, thanks." He grabbed a generous handful of the pile of fries that was left, and stuffed half of it in his mouth.

Around him, those that had watched expecting to see a fight now had varying looks of shock on their faces, mouths hanging open. Including Taylor, who had finally looked up from her conversation, though her expression quickly turned mutinous.

Raa swallowed his mouthful, then waited patiently for Taylor to make her way over.

"Raakaa, darling," she said, simpering sweet when she reached them. She slid a possessive hand across the back of Raa's shoulders, before bending to give him a peck on the cheek and rest her chin on his shoulder, blue eyes positively gleaming. "Introduce me to your new little friends."

"You already know Derrick," Raa said, watching her carefully from the corner of his eye. "And this is Marcus Davenport."

"Marcus..." Taylor said, eyes fastened to Marcus exclusively, ignoring Derrick. "You're the one who knocked me down this morning. Did you know that, Raakaa, darling? This boy knocked me down this morning."

"I'm sure you'll be able to get the grass stains out of your pants," Raa said, wincing as he usually did at the use of his full name.

Taylor frowned. "That's not the point, Raakaa, darling. The point is that he knocked me down."

OOC: I'm planning on Taylor getting a bit nasty in this instance. Feel free to control her if you wish.

[Tammika]

"You just... that was..!" He really was shocked that Raa sat down with them and was equally surprised when he shoved half his food into his mouth. Marcus protectively slid his monstrous pile of food out of Raa's reach, guarding it with his arms like a greedy second grader. "I needs me calories man, no touch!" He bit into his burger casting glances back at Raa full of exaggerated suspicion.

"I know you're a big guy an all that man but, messin' with his food is a death wish. I have the scars to prove it. I'm just saying." Marcus nodded narrowing his eyes at Raa, but Derrick kept going. "He's a lightweight but when he starts pulling out the nail clippers you better run."

"Nail clippers?!" A long running joke between the two was about to start again but Marcus caught sight of a familiar redhead walking over. Her face expression wasn't pleasant as she practically glared at him. It quickly changed to sugary sweetness as she spoke to Raa. He watched the exchange and the accusation she was not so subtly hinting at without changing his neutral expression. The girl was in competition mode and now knowing she was his girlfriend he was unsure why she acted so insecure she would consider him her opponent. Okay yes I can see why but if the dude had to choose between me and a redhead with perky boobs a plenty...? Nah. Not me. But that sure won't stop me from flirting and dreaming.

Instead of taking the bait he commented on Raa's full name first. "Raakaa?" His 'r' was thick and clicked off his tongue as he spoke the name with it's proper accent. That's your full name? Awesome! My name doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well. Marcus is a boring name." He polished off the last of his fries before Raa took any more. "Oh and for the record, one, you didn't fall over, two, I did ask if you were okay, and three, I apologized. Is there something more you're looking to make out of all of this or do you normally accuse total strangers of abusing you?" Marcus rested his chin in his hand and gazed at her expectantly.

OOC: I'll let you handle her. More consistent that way.

[TruthSayer]

"'Raakaa' is a crappy name," Raa said, and snagged Derrick's last taco since Marcus had barricaded his food, and took a large enough bite out of it to make half of it disappear, shoving his food into his cheek, he said, "But thank you for the sentiment."

Spots of red appeared high on Taylor's cheeks, blue eyes spitting fire. In a show of strength that greatly belied her size, she grabbed the back of the chair Raa was sitting on, and yanked, swirling her boyfriend around to face her, expression a plastic smile that twitched with warning. "Raakaa," she said, voice carefully level as she locked her narrow gaze onto Raa's wide, surprised eyes, "That... boy... just called me a liar. Aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"Ehm..." Raa swallowed his mouthful, set the other half of his stolen taco down, and watched her with trepidation as he said, "No? I mean, Taylor, you aren't exactly known to... keep things in proportion, you know?"

"So you're going to believe that thing over me?" Her nostrils flared, the twin spots of red high on her cheeks spreading in an angry blush to encompass the rest of her face.

Raa's lips pressed into a thin white line as his thick brows slammed together in a dangerous frown. He stood slowly, swinging the chair out of his way with a light kick, and put his face so close to Taylor's that she had to take a step back to see him properly. "You," he said, voice low and shaking, "are a fucking bitch."

Taylor gasped, her mouth falling open. "Did you just call me a-"

"Fucking bitch," Raa said again, pronouncing it very carefully. "And I suggest you leave. Now."

"I will not be sent away!" Taylor shouted, though her voice wavered and she took another step back.

"NOW!" Raa barked, hands balling into fists at his side; he would not strike her, but God, it was tempting.

Taylor jumped, her eyes filling with tears as her bottom lip began to tremble. For a moment, Raa expected her to create more of a scene than they already had, but she merely drew herself up to her full 5 feet, 5 inches, tossed her red curls, and walked away.

Raa looked after for a moment, anger present in every line, then shook his head, and plopped back into his chair, offering Marcus an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that. Taylor's... Well, she's Taylor, crocodile tears and fake sincerity and all."

[Tammika]

"Oh damn. Umm Marcus...?" Derrick's gaze went from the retreating Taylor to Marcus' extra pale face. He knew the buzz word that had caused that face expression and was trying hard to prevent a Marcus meltdown. The whole argument took them both by surprise, but Derrick knew Marcus was extra sensitive to being called a 'thing', even preferring to be called a girl rather than something that sounded subhuman. When the word came out of her mouth he had flinched, but kept his face blank.

"I'm fine, Derrick. I'll be right back. Left something else in my car. I think I can make it there and back again before lunch. If I get caught it will just add to this epic day." He threw Derrick a fake smile and trotted off not even daring to look at Raa.

"See now if you had stayed up there where seniors belong this," He gestured wildly trying to encompass Marcus and Taylor, who were walking in opposite directions, in one, but making himself look silly. "...would not have happened. And keep your hands out my damn food man."

Throwing the last bite in his mouth before Raa took that too he hoped up from the table. "Now I gotta go play psychologist and it's only the first day of school!" He jogged off calling after Marcus.

[TruthSayer]

Raa blinked, shock coloring his expression as he watched Derrick stalk off. A feeling of guilt, heavy and bitter, settled into the pit of his stomach.

Derrick was right: he should never have come over, should never have even contemplated with Taylor just a few feet away; Taylor rarely looked past herself to be actively mean, but when she did, especially where Raa was concerned, she could be an absolute tyrant. And what was worse, was that Raa had known that all too well, but Taylor had gone straight out of Raa's head the moment he heard Marcus' heavy laughter.

He had been a fool, and Marcus had suffered because of it.

Raa lowered his head to the table, groaning.

"That sucked, Hakesh," Julian said as he approached, expression serious.

Raa grunted an affirmative, but did not lift his head.

Julian watched his friend for a moment, seeing more than he rightful should have, and nodded to himself. Reaching a hand out to squeeze Raa's shoulder, he said, "Let's take a walk. We need to talk."

[Tammika]

"Marcus. Man, I love you like a brother but I'll be damned if I'm gonna be seen sitting in the back seat of a car with a gay dude on the first day of school. I'd do anything for you but I gotta draw the line somewhere. You know I gotcha back though right? In a totally non Brokeback way."

"Okay okay shut up I'm getting out." Despite his foul mood Derrick did make him laugh. The smile was short lived though. He climbed out of the car to join Derrick sitting on the ground. It would be epic indeed if they got caught by a teacher.

"I'm not a thing, Der. I can handle all the shit people give me but why thing. If you believe it's wrong it's still a 'person' doing something 'wrong' but... thing? How the fuck do I suddenly become less than human?"

"You don't. They do. Don't let it bother you. First of all Taylor is not Eric, okay? That's all I'm gonna say about that. That chick Taylor was trying to hold onto her trophy. I see her type trying to get with Julian all the time. I could see if they was pros or something but high school? Pa-the-tic." He pronounced each syllable of the word slowly. "Come on, don't even worry about it. Actually you should be hopeful. I am not seeing the love between them two. If he kicks her to the curb..? Well I'm just saying. But right now we got this whole "oh noes! Is he mad at me? I'm not mad at him but I am hurt from being embarrassed by your ho and called a thing' kinda stuff going on." Derrick turned his head back and forth imitating conversation, mocking both Raa and Marcus with a high pitched whiny voice. "You really need to grow up and step away from the bitches and hoes drama. That's so sophmorish."

"Yeah, tell that to queen bitch Taylor. I've known the girl for five minutes and she's all hatin and shit like I'm a rival."

Derrick snorted when he said that. "Dummy you are her rival! Whether either one of you want to admit it or not. Like I want to admit it. I can feel my lunch moving. And the fact that it's happening so fast is even more threatening." He added 'and disturbing' under his breath and Marcus elbowed him. A good sign that he was able to take some jokes at least.

Derrick stood up and brushed off his jeans. "Let's get back before we get caught, just don't worry about it okay?"

"Nah I'm done eating. I'll see you in English. Tell Raa... nah forget it. See you later."

"Suit yourself." Marcus didn't look as bad as he did earlier so Derrick just let it go. He shook his head as Marcus walked towards the main building. His best friend may be gay but Derrick was thankful he wasn't an emotional basket case.

He made his way back to the lunch table, cursing the fact that he would have to carry all the junk that Marcus had left at the table.

[TruthSayer]

"We can't just... leave their stuff," Raa protested, words muffled against the tabletop. "It'll get stolen."

Julian sighed, and glanced around, scanning faces for one that was trustworthy before seeing his brother walking toward them, then changed his mind. "Never mind, Derrick's coming, and he can explain it better than I can."

Raa felt his stomach drop and sat up with jerk; he did not want to talk to Derrick, didn't want to see the righteous accusations in his eyes. "No, that's okay," he said, words coming out in a rush as he stood and raised his hands as though to defend himself, taking a step back from the table that almost caused him to trip over his chair. "I'll pass, thanks!"

"Dude," Julian said, frowning at him, "you really need to talk to Derrick. And I mean really, especially if you want to... ehm... keep getting to know Marcus."

Raa opened his mouth to ask exactly what Julian meant by that, but snapped it shut again as Derrick reached them, eying the junior with trepidation.

[Tammika]

"Disaster averted. Calm has returned. Now what the hell are you two still doing here? I like how seniors just waft on over here cause a little chaos and then sit around to see how bad their shit smells." Derrick didn't sit back down but he started packing up both his and Marcus' stuff.

"Marcus decided to go to class early, you know how studious he is right Julian? Plus he's on a strict, no bitches diet. He wants to make it through at least the first day without being totally humiliated... oh damn wait! That already happened." His face went from fake surprise to a cold blank stare.