Starcrossed - 1. Chapter 1

I locked my bike in the bike rack in rush. The bell rang about three minutes before and I didn’t want to be late. I ran to class as if it would prevent me from being late, but I knew that it wouldn’t.

Before I walked into the classroom, I fixed my tie. My tie, one of the many reasons why I hated The Ashworth Academy for Boys. Uniforms, but I won’t get into those right at this second.

I walked into the classroom. A sea of burgundy blazers hit my eyes. I moved through the aisle of desks and found a seat in the back corner.

“Late again Mr. Snow.” ticked Mrs. Drake, eyeing my down.

“Sorry.” I mumbled.

“One more tardy and I’ll have to send you to Dean Grady’s office for punishment.”

The entire class ooh’d and looked back at me in amusement.

“Yes, Mrs. Drake.”

I put my head down and in shame and tried to stay off of Mrs. Drake’s radar for the rest of her English class. She babbled on about William Shakespeare, and then suddenly I heard the phrase: “Senior Class Play”.

Mrs. Drake was also head of the drama department. Everyone in her class was obligated to participate in it one way or another. This is what I was dreading coming into her class.

“Romeo and Juliet.” she said. “One of Shakespeare’s most famously known plays.”

She started to shuffle around the class, handing out fliers for the play.

“Auditions are Thursday after school. All of you are expected to be there. I will be keeping track.”

She started to pass out another sheet of paper.

“This is the audition monologue for Thursday. Study it, but don’t memorize it.”

The monologue was Hamlet’s monologue in Hamlet; Shakespeare’s other most famous play. I sighed as I saw the length. It was pretty long, but I guess I had to deal with it.

The bell signaling the end of the class rang. I started to gather my things. All of the other guys in the class quickly left. Once the room was empty, Mrs. Drake walked up to my desk.

“I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on you, Billy, but I wanted to let you know that I’ve had you in mind for the part of Romeo.” said Mrs. Drake.

I looked up in shock.

“What?” I asked with my eyes wide open.

“I’ve been an actress and a director for a long time. I can spot talent when it’s in front of me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said, standing up from my desk. The roar of the outside commotion filtered through the door.

“You don’t have to know.” Mrs. Drake smiled. “Just be at the auditions on Thursday.”

I threw my bag over shoulder and walked out of the classroom. I pushed through the crowd of noisy teen boys. Suddenly I was on the ground. My bag was broken and my things were scattered across the hallway. I looked behind me and saw Tommy Roberts and Ryan Harding.

Tommy looked back, laughing calling me a faggot. Then Ryan looked back. He wasn’t laughing, but I could see it in his eyes. He was calling me a faggot in his mind.

Shit, no matter how badly Ryan and his friends treat me, I can’t help but think that he’s the sexiest guy to ever walk the earth. He’s tall and athletic. He has this beautiful pink and white skin with dark brown hair and beautiful ocean blue eyes.

I looked back to my things and Kevin was bent down with me. Kevin is the only friend that have at Ashworth. He was helping me cradle my stuff into my broken bag.

“Not again. You should start standing up for yourself.” said Kevin.

“Oh yeah, that’ll work out well.” I said sarcastically, standing up.

He stood up with me and smiled at me. We had our next class together so we started to walk.

“So what did he yell at you this time?” asked Kevin.

“Kev, he yells the same thing at me everyday; faggot, fag, queer, fairy.” I said.

“I still don’t understand why you had to come out. You were so much better off when you were in the closet.” said Kevin.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t happy. Anyway, I can’t go back in the closet now that I’m out. It’s impossible.”

We walked into our history class and Mr. Carey sat at his desk most likely going over what the lesson for the class. Kevin and I sat at our desks and the classroom started to fill. Then, suddenly Ryan Harding walked in. He and Mr. Carey whispered a few sentences back and forth. Then, Mr. Carey addressed the class.

“Class, Mr. Harding is going to join our class for the rest of the semester.”

I looked to my left, saw the only empty desk in the class and cringed. I looked to my left where Kevin was and he laughed in my face, knowing of my major crush on this guy. To say this was a disaster was an understatement.

* * *

Going to change for PE was always like the walk of terror. I’m gay, so let’s face it, me getting half naked in front of twenty-odd other half naked teenage boys isn’t the best idea. Things happen that I don’t really want to happen, but I just try and keep my head down and change into my burgundy t-shirt, black basket-ball shorts, and tennis shoes.

After Coach Fillmore took attendance, it was time to run. Ugh, I hate running. So, I just tentatively jogged through the running track as the other boys ran passed me and over lapped me. The weather was a bit damp, but still warm. It was overcast, but the sun peeked through the light grey clouds. I looked to my side and suddenly Ryan was running beside me.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey…” I said back a bit hesitantly. The deep huskiness mixed with his soft tender look.

“I just want to apologize for my friend Tommy. He’s just a little close minded.”

“A little?”

“Okay, a lot…I’ll try and get him to stop.”

“Um…thanks…I guess.” He was up to something. “Why are you saying this?”

“Well, I’m not really that good with history. I have a horrible memory. I was hoping that you were. Since…since you sit next to me, maybe you can help me.”

“Um…I’ll see what I an do, I guess.”

Concentrating on what had just happened with Ryan, I didn’t even hear the running footsteps right behind me. I heard “FAG!” and suddenly felt hands on my back pushing me forwards.

I fell face first into the track. My face slid into the track, cutting my cheekbone. I looked up and saw Tommy Roberts running in ahead of me. I got up painfully. Then, I felt a hand on my elbow. I threw it off.

“I can handle it!” I hollered.

I got up and Ryan was standing next to me again.

“What were you saying about Tommy Roberts again?” I asked Ryan.

“He’s an asshole, okay.”

“Then why are you friends with him?”

“I don’t know. Habit. I’ve been friends with him since the fifth grade.” said Ryan. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“I can handle it, Ryan. I’m not three years old.”

I limped to the bathroom, leaving Ryan on the running track. I grabbed paper towels and damped them to wipe of my face and knees. It stung a little, but I took it.

By the time I walked out of the bathroom, everyone was going back into the locker room to change. Thank God that PE was my last class of the day.

As I was changing, all of the asshole’s taunted me. They mocked my cuts and bruises. They threw their dirty jocks at me and they taunted me. I waited to change until everyone was gone, I wanted to spare myself the embarrassment of exposing myself to them.

When I walked out of Ashworth Academy, my surrounding were empty. All of the students were gone and the only sound around was me unlocking my bike.

I got on my bike and started pedaling to my house. Then, I decided to put off going home for a while. I wanted to prepare myself for my dad freaking out when I got home with my face scratched and bruised.

I rode my bike to the lake. When I got there, I leaned my bike against a tree and laid out on the stoned shore of the lake.

“Sup gay boy…”

I looked up, but immediately knew who it was. Out of all of the people that call me names at school, none of them call me ‘gay boy’. There’s only one person who does that; Ace, one of my best friends. I got up and faced him. He’s tall and athletic with curly blond hair and dark green eyes.

“Sup, Ace.” I said.

“Dude, what happened to your face?”

“Tommy Roberts happened to my face.”

“Dude, you gotta start sticking up for yourself or he’s never going to stop giving you a hard time.”

“How am I supposed to do that? Compared to me, Tommy Roberts is the Terminator.”

“Come on. You just have to remember that you are A MAN. Just man up and kick him in the nuts.”

“Yeah, that’ll do me a lot of good.” I said. “I’ll get suspended. Then I’ll get behind in school, and then I won’t graduate. Nice advice there, best friend.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to keep you from getting creamed in that fancy school of yours.”

“Well, I don’t need your help. I’m surviving.” I said, sitting back down on the ground.

Ace sat next to me. His plain white t-shirt hugged his tight biceps. I used to have a huge crush on Ace, he’s really hot, but I don’t think of him that way any longer. He’s like a brother to me now. That’s one of the only reasons I tolerate him calling me ‘gay boy’.

“I’m worried about you, kid.” Ace sighed. “Out here, I can make sure nothing happens to you. But when I see you like this, it just makes me crazy with worry. What if one of those assholes really crosses the line and something really bad happens to you? I won’t be able to live with myself knowing that I wasn’t there.”

“I’ll be okay, Ace. You don’t have to worry.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

I put my arm tightly around Ace’s strong shoulders. We both looked out to the lake and the birds taking small fish from the surface.

“Hey love birds!”

We heard a voice in the distance. We turned around and there was Kendra Ross; our mutual best friend. We stood up again and faced Kendra. She’s a bit short with brilliant red hair and green eyes. She had this bubbly aura about her that would probably be some cheerful color maybe purple or yellow.

Ace and I both hugged Kendra as she approached us. She had a big smile on her face as usual, but her smile faded as she saw my face. I frowned back at her and then sat back on the grass.

“What happened?” asked Kendra.

“Tommy Roberts.” said Ace.

Kendra sighed and gave me a concerned look.

“Before you say anything, I already got the lecture from Ace, here.”

“We’re just worried about you, Billy.”

“I don’t need you to worry about me. My dad goes through enough worry for everyone. What I need is for you two to be my best friends.”

The three of us hung out there for a while talking about little things; the latest musical trends, movies, things teenagers normally talk about. I don’t really have a big family, it’s just me and my dad most of the time. So, I feel like these two people are my family, but for some reason, it bugs me when they worry too much. Even though I know I would be just as worried if any of them were in my situation.

* * *

My dad is all I have when it comes to family. My mom died when I was really young, I barely remember her. I don’t even know how she died. My dad never wants to talk about her. And since he lost her, he’s always paranoid about loosing me. So, every time I come home with even a tiny scratch, he freaks out. I wasn’t looking forward to this one. My face wasn’t only bruised, it was cut and still bleeding a little.

“Son! What happened! I’m getting the first aid kit.”

Before I could even say anything he had disappeared into the hallway and most likely into the bathroom where the first aid kit was located. He came back with the kit and pulled me to sit on the couch. He started to wipe my face with antiseptic.

“What happened?”

“Dad, I can do this for myself. I’m not five anymore.”

“Sorry…” he said, giving me the wipe. “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about.” I told him, wiping my stinging face.

“You’re my son. It’s my job to worry about you. Tell me what happened.”

“I was pushed onto the track in PE.” I told him, knowing that he wouldn’t let up.

“By who. I’m calling the dean.”

“No, you’re not because I’m not going to tell you who.”

My dad sighed. “Look, I know what it’s like to go to that school and to be the butt of every joke. It’s hard. So if you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

“Did you wanna talk to your dad about your personal life when you were eighteen?”

My dad laughed. “No, I guess not.”

“I can take care of it. It’ll be okay.”

I got up from the couch and walked into the hallway. I walked into my room and closed the door behind me. I loved my room. It was the one place where I could always be myself. The walls were painted my favorite color, dark purple, but they were also littered with posters and small cut out picture collages of me, Ace, and Kendra, also magazine cutouts and paintings.
I jumped onto my bed and it squeaked as I bounced up and down. I grabbed the GQ magazine that was on my nightstand. It was a month old, but I still loved to go through it. My cell phone rang, it was Kevin.

“Hey, Kev.” I said.

“Hey, whatcha doin?”

“Nothing, just sitting around. I was about to start my homework.”

“Hey, can I come over. I’m having trouble with the History study guide.”

“Um…sure, I guess. Are you gonna have dinner here at my place?”

“Why?”

“So I can tell my dad.” I said.

“Um, sure…thanks.”

“It’s cool.”

I hung up the phone and left my room to go find my dad watching Discover Science on the TV.

“Hey” he said.

“Hey, um, Kevin’s coming over for dinner.” I said. “We’re gonna study.”

Dad smiled. “Okay.” I started to walk away, but my dad interrupted. “Hey”

I turned around to face him again. “What’s up?”

“Is there…something between you and Kevin.”

I couldn’t believe he asked me that. Even if there was something between me and Kevin, I wouldn’t tell him in a million years. There’s just things that you don’t discuss with your parents. I think any teenager can agree with me on that, not just the gay ones.

“Dad, Kevin and I are just friends.” I assured him.

“Are you sure? Because I would be okay if you two were more.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love that my dad is so accepting of me, but it’s just weird to talk to him about this stuff. I know I’m lucky to have a dad like him, but…I just can’t talk to him about…gay things.

“I know, but we aren’t. Trust me.” I said.

I turned around and walked back into my room. It wasn’t for long though, because before I knew it, Kevin was at the door. I grabbed the door and brought him in.

“Hey Mr. Snow.” said Kevin.

“Hello, Kevin.”

I pulled Kevin into my room.

“Wait here, I’ve got to change out of these clothes.”

I grabbed some regular clothes and disappeared into my bathroom to change, when I came out, Kevin was already sitting at my desk.

“Okay, so…what did you need help with?”