Carter's Army - 13. Chapter 13

December 6th

The day just seemed to be getting longer for Will, lunch time he had planned just to find a quiet corner and hide, but for some bizarre reason seniors kept saying hello to him. There were still dirty looks, even a few snide comments thrown at him by kids in his own grade and lower, but the seniors seemed split. Some openly acknowledging him warmly, some with looks of pity and others with outright hostility.

As a group of senior girls said hello to him and walked away giggling and throwing looks back at him over their shoulders, he felt that all too familiar flush of embarrassment sweep over him.

"Well that's just strange!" Lisa observed reaching into her locker to retrieve her lunch, she looked at Will and noted he hadn't brought a lunch with him. She gave him a worried maternal look as she closed the locker. "Do you have money for your lunch?" she asked in concern.

He nodded absently as his head turned to follow a couple of seniors that had greeted him as strangely as the others had. "You think they put something in the water today?" he craned his head around her to look down the hall.

She looked him up and down and shook her head, "You're just popular all of a sudden."

He winced, looking at her as if she had told him he had grown a tentacle out of his forehead that was waving a Norwegian flag and screaming un-boring... "Look I don't know much," his voice dipped, "But this isn't supposed to happen..."

She shrugged at him leading the way down towards the cafeteria, "Well if it makes you feel any better there's still a lot of people that dislike you." She shrugged, "Maybe it's just the clothes, you do look good..."

She drew up short and Will nearly collided with her, he stared at her a moment the looked around to where Charlene blocked their path. The cheerleader had her gaggle of Harridans with her. The popular girls that seemed to flock together out of some kind of mutual need to stroke each others egos.

Charlene had a round face that wasn't so much pretty as it was... soft. She had a mass of curls that built up on top of one another in a very eighties style of volume hair. But she pulled it off with her own style. Her cousin and best friend Marie-Lynn clutched her books to her breast standing as ever at her right hand. The two were as inseparable as twins. Both in his year, Will swallowed as he felt Lisa tense.

"We were looking for you Lisa." She said in a matter of fact tone. The kind that said 'I'm popular so you will do what I tell you.' She smiled prettily, "we were going to eat and I," the way she said 'I' it was as if she was taking sole credit for the decision, "Felt you should join us."

"Well I was going to eat with Will..." she said nervously, glancing at him.

He smiled, "I'll be alright, you go, we'll catch up later."

She looked at him for confirmation of his decision before Charlene swept off with her arm around Lisa. And he smiled, circle jumping as Lisa had called it last week. He was glad for her; she had always wanted to be one of the in-crowd. He stuck his hands into his pocket and sauntered down to his locker to get his new jacket.

He didn't feel like eating in the school cafeteria, but there was a store just a half block away he could pick up some lunch there. Something that wouldn't hit the plate with a cold hard splat as it was deposited there by a lunch lady that looked as if she hated her job.

He had just crossed the lobby to the front doors when Jared caught up to him. "Hey the guy everyone's talking about."

Will chewed on his lip as he scratched his temple, "I don't get it, this morning it was as if I had some incurable disease and now..."

"Apparently Greenwood had a debate today about homosexuality, and you were the case study."

Will's jaw dropped open, "what?" he choked. He suddenly felt ill.

Jared patted his buddy's shoulder, "Don't worry it wasn't like that. Apparently Todd brought your name up, and both Captain Amazing and the Ice Queen shot him down."

"Captain Amazing and the Ice Queen?" Will asked in open confusion.

"Andy Highmore and Robin Doyal," He grinned as he followed Will out into the snow, the pair walking down the hill towards the store together. Jared continued his description of events, "so Todd was being an ass, no surprise there, and Andrew gets up and asks him if he ever actually asked you if you were gay. And Todd was like, uh errr...and Andrew went on to blast him about being prejudice, and then Robin gets up... and we all know what a tongue she has on her, and she tore strips off of him. Basically from what I heard, they said 'get to know him before you judge if he's gay or not'."

Will shook his head in dismay, "Oh no..."

Jared nodded, "Yeah I know fucked up isn't it." He glanced at Will, "so are you?"

Will balked, staring at Jared's bold question in shock.

Jared shrugged, "I figured I'm your friend, and since I stick up for you I could ask..." he suddenly realized how his question sounded and he shook his head, "No... no... I mean, its like I don't care if you are or not, and I won't tell anyone or anything if you were... I was just curious."

Will stared at the half inch of snow he was trudging through, wondering at how he should answer that question. It wasn't that he didn't trust Jared, he did, Jared was good to him, and had been absolutely amazing to him since the start of the mess.

"I don't know," he said choosing the truth, "I'm confused right now..."

Jared nodded sagely, "We've all been there." He punched Will's arm playfully, "you'll figure it out...now me I like the ladies," his eyes sparkled as he grinned, "just in case you got any ideas."

Will grinned in return, as they both pushed their way into the store.

* * *

Andrew sat watching the basketball team run through its daily routine, small scrimmage games in the gym that really served no point other than to kill time. Half of his team were out there was well bouncing balls around, and he sat at the table normally set aside for the scoreboard controls. It was his right to sit there while everyone else lounged on benches or on the floor. It wasn't like it was a written rule; it was just that he usually sat there on his lunch hour.

Greenwood's class had bothered him, and he had skipped his lunch instead choosing to watch the basketballs bouncing around. Across the way Bruce Guitard was playing badminton with one of the junior coaches. Bruce was up for a regional tournament and was practicing whenever he could. He was agile, quick and dominated the game.

Andrew didn't feel like participating, sometimes he did he could play basketball, but it wasn't as much fun as hockey could be. He was looking forward to his game on the weekend. And idly speculated that they would play well, he had a practice after school and intended to work his team hard.

Coach Thorburn was refereeing the basketball scrimmage, he was everything a football couch should be except that he lived and worked in Canada where High School football was just impractical. He was a good coach, sharp witted and protective of his team. But that meant most of them felt they could get away with anything. Guys like Todd Gadreau who, since earning his jacket had become a major asshole.

Andrew looked at his watch, glancing about him at the group of people sitting chatting about nothing in particular. He noticed Charlene and her friends were clustered around that waify friend of Will's. The Red head that looked almost elfin in her appearance. They seemed to be talking like they had been friends for years. It was amazing what a rumour, even a bad one, could do for a person's popularity. Greenwood had been right about reputations.

He got up, noticing the shift of some of his teammates getting ready to come with him. He shook his head as he motioned for them to keep sitting, "I've got to go to my locker." He said indicating he wanted to be alone. Generally most people respected that, though sometimes there were a couple of the juniors that hadn't learned to leave him be.

Today they stayed where they were. He nodded to himself in satisfaction as he sauntered across the gym. His calm rolling gaits letting him amble through the other kids. He never appeared to be in a rush to get anywhere, why hurry. His Mother had always taught him that he would get there eventually.

He wasn't heading for his locker, he had finished his homework the night before, but seeing Lisa had given him an urge to track down Will. It was irrational and he knew it, what could he possibly say in school? And some one was bound to notice eventually that the Captain of the Team was being so friendly with a sophomore.

Reputation, reputation, reputation.

Greenwood's deep baritone voice rang in his ears, as he entered the Lobby attached to the Cafeteria, taking a moment to stop and nod hello to a few people that had done the same to him. He glanced around the brick pillars that separated the lobby from the main cafeteria and saw no sign of Will. He continued on past the office and leaned in the doors of the Library. Still nothing. He sighed a little in frustration as he continued through the school, glancing into the classrooms that were like carbon copies of each other, square magnolia with chalkboards and cheap desks.

It was a typical high school a little older than most, built in the late sixties and modernized several times since then. But it was clean; there was no peeling paint. All the lockers were the same shade of deep magnolia and all the doors were a drab olive green, pretty dull. He walked until he wound his way down into the shop area of the school. Huge bays for auto shop, wood working, there were even a welding class held down there once a week. It wasn't Andrew's area of the school, but he figured find Brody and he would probably find Will.

But other than some determined guys wrestling with an engine block Andrew was disappointed again. It was turning into an empty quest and he stuck his hands into his pockets as he walked back the way he had come. Will was about somewhere, but was proving elusive, and it was getting close to the end of the lunch hour, so Andrew felt he might as well just get his books and go to class.

Something made him walk down into the basement where Will kept his locker, that quiet corner of the school no one bothered with. Sure enough Will was sitting at the foot of his locker, nose tucked into a book. He didn't seem to notice Andrew approaching until the senior crouched down beside him.

"Must be a good book." He observed with a smile.

Will glanced up from it a surprised smile on his own face. He set the book across his knees, "Its all right." He confided after a moment, "what are you doing down here?"

Andrew looked at the darkened hallway and shrugged, "Looking for you, you're a difficult guy to find."

Will shrugged, "I felt kind of uncomfortable with all the attention so figured I'd hide down here." He turned slightly to face Andrew, "though I think I have to find a better hiding place."

Andrew shifted to sit down beside Will, "I'll hunt you down. You know us Canadian's great trackers."

"Ahh," Will said with a grin, "How does it go, a Mountie always gets his man?"

Andrew chuckled, "Mission accomplished." He said with a wry grin.

The bell rang and Andrew looked up at it in annoyance, so much for his alone time with Will. He smiled a moment watching as a couple of students hurried to their lockers, not even acknowledging the two young men sitting on the floor. The vanished again as the second bell rang a couple of minutes later.

Neither of them bothered to stand up, even though they were now both late for class.

"We're late." Will observed.

Andrew nodded, "Detention for sure."

"I plead innocence your honour." Will said blushing slightly.

Andrew laughed as he got to his feet, "We should get to class." He extended a hand to help Will up, and as he pulled the younger man up, he looked about him up the hall, confident no one was about he leaned in to touch his lips to Will's.

Will blushed a furious shade of red, "We can't do that here," he protested around Andrew's mouth touching his. Andrew ignored him and gently brushed his nose under Will's.

He felt Will relax, and begin to return the kiss, his hands reaching up into the warm jacket to touch Andrew's back through the thin cotton shirt he wore under it. And then Will stiffened up, his eyes widening in shock. Andrew broke his kiss and looked puzzled at Will a second before he turned.

Mister Greenwood stood in the hallway, a look of shock mirroring Will's own on his aged face. He looked first at Will and then turned his head to Andrew before turning back.

"Mister Carter I presume." Greenwood said regaining his composure, watching as Andrew hurriedly stepped backwards, he looked over at Andrew, "And you must be the mysterious man from the park."

"Um..." Andrew stuttered, Will looked like he was about to suffer a complete heart failure; he was a shade of mortification white, his eyes wide and glassy. And Andrew felt his heart go out to him.

Mister Greenwood looked between the two of them, the absurdity of the situation finally became too much for him and he began to chuckle. "You two are going to get to class," he said making his mind up, "And I am going to forget I saw this today." He coughed in his own embarrassment, "And I am going to give you both the same lecture I give to... other people I find... kissing in the halls." He shook his head in wonder, "Though this is the first time... well anyways... this is a place of learning, and you do that in a classroom, not... err... in the halls..."

Andrew nodded dumbstruck. Will just continued to stand there, frozen with terror. "It won't happen again...Mister Greenwood..." He added afterwards, "I'll just... well make sure Carter here gets to class..."

Greenwood shook his head, "I think Mister Carter is in need of a glass of water, you go Mister Highmore, I will ensure Mister Carter gets to his next class."

"Y-yes sir..." Andrew said nervously, throwing a final apologetic glance at Will before he jogged off as fast as he could.