Unintended [closed RP]

A

Amarkov

Junior Member
Ethan McArthur could scarcely go a day without thanking gods he did not believe in that high school was almost over. While for some people the first day of their Senior year did not necessarily constitute “almost over,” to Ethan it was good enough. He couldn’t deny that the sight of the familiar building brought back bitter feelings from the reminder that he had not placed quite high enough in all the needed subjects to graduate early, but that was behind him. In less than a year he’d be off to Princeton and an internship for either Apple or Microsoft. He hadn’t quite decided if he was a PC or Mac guy, but either route was utterly assured to him. Plus, it hardly mattered what your user interface preference was when you were training to skip all that technical stuff and jump right into upper management.


Brooding over his computer company management destiny (as was usual these days), Ethan’s gray eyes roamed over the tiresomely familiar faces of the classmates he had not missed at all over summer break. There were the hipsters hanging out with their oversized headphones firmly in place, each lost in their own world of music no one had heard of before. There were the D&D nerds, timeless and present at all schools, playing on their phones and portable devices. Ethan brushed past them all and returned to his usual locker, dropped off the items he didn’t need, and headed straight to his first period of the day. It did not bode well that it was chemistry, the very class that had single-handedly held him back from taking off to college right about now.
 
As Greg's alarm broke the silence of his bedroom, shrill and methodic, he groaned and opened his eyes. He had only closed them for the last time 4 hours ago and the bags underneath his radiant green eyes weighed his body down. He very greatly did not want to go to school or face his classmates. Except for the small group of kids that were considered too eccentric or smart for their own good and called Gregory their friends every one at school resented him. His mothers had tried to talk him into calmness (and hopefully sleep as well) the night before by saying that it was his senior year and soon he'll be in college with more open-minded and educated kids, such as himself. He tried his best to fake a smile and promise he would sleep but still hid under his covers and watched the neon green numbers on his clock slowly ascend to 12 and then descend to 2, when he finally slipped into sleep. He sat up and massaged his neck, stiff from sleeping on his pillow the wrong way. He got ready for school as slowly as he could without breaking the schools strict lateness codes. Before he left his house he inspected himself in the mirror. Wavy brown hair, green eyes and a feminine physique. He inflated his cheeks with hot air and looked himself in the eyes, promising himself he would make this year's memories last. Or if that failed he would at least try to keep his yearbook free of harsh comments.


Gregory was greeted by his friends the moment he stepped out of the student parking lot and into the school hallway. Compared to these kids, clothed in t-shirts with humorous quotes and insanely dyed hair, Greg was normal. It seemed he could never escape this feeling of not belonging but he regarded his friends in the same warm way they did him. After quick small talk about summers and comparing schedules Greg found that he would be separated from his friends all day. This only added to his hatred for the school and watched his friends leave as waves of jealousy washed over him violently. He jammed his schedule in his messenger bag, which was odd for him since he was a neat freak of sorts, and stomped away to his first class: Chemistry. He had done well in chemistry but always needed to remind himself not to raise his hands or make his projects too extravagant, because that was just asking for a swirly. Greg could almost feel himself choking for air as he sat down in the first empty seat he could find. He pulled out a notebook, an old textbook that his mothers needed to borrow from friends because they couldn't afford one themselves and a pen. He sat the books on top of each other in size order and placed the pencil parallel to the small mountain of books. Once he was satisfied with the appearance of his part of the two person desk he leaned on his elbow and looked out the window to his left, wishing he was one of the birds outside.
 
Ethan didn't bother looking up as more students filtered into the classroom until one sat at the other empty chair near him. Ethan glanced over at the boy sharing the table with him, nonplussed, but almost at once recognized him as Gregory, the unfortunate kid from the family of lesbians his dad often ranted about. On some level Ethan felt sorry for the guy; it had to be rough coming from a family like that, who would choose to be social outcasts and flaunt their lifestyle so far as to inflict it on any kid they'd raise. Still, they each had their own obstacles to overcome, and this boy was not known for trying very hard to rise above the status of his two mothers and seek acceptance by trying to remove himself from those bad ties. Ethan himself had a drug-abusing, alcoholic uncle he shunned and never spoke to, and he certainly would never be proud of less-than-ideal family members. His brief sympathy for Gregory fled as he looked him over. Then, spotting his obviously hand-me-down book, a question popped into his mind that he couldn't resist voicing out loud.


"What is it, exactly, that your mothers DO for a living that they can't even afford to buy you a respectable book?" Though his words were blunt and rude, his tone was strangely curious rather than hostile, as if he had no idea of how hurtful his question could be.
 
Gregory sucked in cold air through his teeth audibly. It hadn't even been the beginning of his first period class and already people were making comments about his mothers. They were wonderful women who always pushed Greg to speak up more and even tried to start a gay-straight alliance at his school. After he had failed to recruit members and came home with a black eye his mothers had realized what an impact they were making on his social life and that he wasn't shunned because he was just a quiet, introverted kid. He didn't recognize the voice through the jumbled mess of snappy tones he had remembered over the years. He rested the hand he was leaning into on top of his textbook and made a fist as he turned towards the voice next to him. The boy's name was muddy in Greg's memory and he stared at him for a bit involuntarily as he figured it out. Oh! Greg thought, Ethan.... oh. This boy's father was one of the biggest homophobes in the city and every parent-teacher event became a living hell for his family. Even so much as a glance between the women and Ethan's father would grit his teeth, shaking his head and looking at Greg sympathetically. Greg never took it as a bad sign at first, but when he realized Ethan's father was looking at him as if Greg was the unluckiest boy in the world the name McArthur rooted itself negatively deep in Greg's heart. He swallowed, millions of comebacks running through his head at once. Of course Greg never had the confidence to say these things out loud and he opened his mouth to reply weakly, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat and tried again.


"I like my book just fine, thank you. It has sentimental value." he said, scratching at the cover of his textbook slightly and avoiding Ethan's eyes. Like his mothers said, he couldn't blame the boy for being so rude. Even though he did ask an extremely intrusive question it didn't seem like too much of a personal attack on Greg. "It's a family members." Greg looked at Ethan's books and pursed his lips. A new, shiny, perfect textbook that Ethan probably wouldn't use sat in front of him. The light from the window reflected off of the cover and an uncomfortable knot formed in Greg's stomach.
 
Ethan lifted a blonde eyebrow at Greg's answer, frowning at the textbook and then back at the boy. He shrugged, not entirely satisfied with that response but willing to look past the fact that he hadn't really answered his question. The other students were almost all assembled around them and he knew class would start soon. He cast Greg one more look, briefly wondering about his parentage and whether he'd been adopted or one of his mothers had been his biological one. Those green eyes certainly had come from some lucky combination of recessive genes. Ethan's father fretted about homosexuals reproducing, though Ethan never failed to point out to him that his father also believed that no one was "born gay," so therefore the children of gay parents were not at any risk for genetic predisposition. His father would usually counter with "Yes, but nurture is as important as nature, and being raised in a house like that will rub off on anyone."


Pushing those troubling thoughts from his mind, Ethan glanced around the classroom. Behind glass cases were vials full of colorful liquids, though Ethan highly suspected that they were mostly for show. What chemical could possibly glow that bright pink, or that neon green? Most were covered in a considerable layer of dust as well and Ethan frowned at that, not wanting to think about what creatures had probably made their homes in those vials of who-knew-what.


The teacher bustled in, a harried looking woman with coffee stains down her shirt and an abominable mess of papers that Ethan hoped were not the course calendars. He turned out to be sadly correct in his prediction as she gave the stack to one student to pass them out to the others. Ethan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, talking to himself in a quiet, mutinous mumble out of habit. "Can't believe... this one class... only one stopping me... chemistry of all things... such a waste of time."


"Well, class, I hope you like whoever you're sitting next to, because they will be your lab partner for the rest of the year," the teacher said, further dashing Ethan's mood into the dust-caked floor of the science lab. He frowned at her as if not quite believing what he'd just heard, though there were little mutters of "yesss!" and high fives around the room as more advantageously placed individuals found themselves paired up with friends. Ethan's mind snapped to his father's reaction. He wondered if he would make a scene to try to get Greg removed from Ethan's team. As much as Ethan's father felt that Greg was a victim in his family, that still didn't mean he was okay with his son being hunky-dory with the son of two women.
 
Greg had tried desperately to read the expression on Ethan's face before it faded completely. A nervous feeling he had always known since he first came to the school brewed in his stomach until he clenched his abdomen in painful anxiety. Had he said the wrong thing? Maybe the subject change was a bad move. One of his mothers was a medical assistant at the Presbyterian hospital closest to the school. She was a petite, delicate woman who always spoke in a quiet voice and never voiced her opinion until it was craved by others. She was always being flirted with by the male doctors at the hospital and many arguments had started because of it. Of course one would think that a nurse would at least have the money to buy her only son a textbook but she had only finished medical school recently. The medical school expenses used up most of the unemployment checks and only recently has the family been able to focus on Greg's schoolwork and supplies. Greg offered to get a job many times to help the family out but his second mother was too proud. She was the kind of mother that interrupted her son's studies so he could fetch a beer from the kitchen or expected her wife to cook once she got home instead of taking the initiative to welcome her family back from a stressful day with warm meals. The only time she wasn't shuffling around the house was when she was attending gay pride parades or rioting. Greg always liked to imagine that she was his father instead of his second mother. He could almost hear her raspy voice in his ear, berating him for even letting the thought cross his mind.


Doing as his auditory hallucination said he took his papers warmly and stopped thinking about his home life. The teacher was a messy woman and he smiled, unclenching his stomach slightly. She looked like a fun woman and he was looking forward to see her method of teaching. His smile broke once he heard Ethan mumble. He looked at his table partner, who was obviously stressed out about something. Greg could feel his eyelids get heavier as the idea that he would have to sit next to someone who would cheat off of his own tests again dawned on him. If Greg covered his test, or finished it too quickly, he was always promised some kind of physical torture during passing or a free period. If he let the student cheat and Greg failed he would be promised the same thing. Hell, Greg even figured he would be abused if he let them cheat and passed! Some kids began to hiss their happiness and hands met. Greg obviously missed something important.


"What did she say?" He whispered to Ethan.
 
Ethan tried not to grit his teeth as he looked over at Gregory. It didn't bode well that his new partner in Chemistry, his weakest subject by far, had missed the first announcement of the day. Feeling himself slipping into an increasingly foul mood, he growled back, "Evidently the teacher saw fit to pair everyone together based on who they are sitting beside." He scoffed and leaned back against the back of his chair, annoyed at the teacher for not giving them an option, annoyed at the fact that he was in this class in the first place, and annoyed at his new partner for no real adequate reason.


The teacher didn't seem to realize there was dissent at at least one of the tables, and instead smiled at the happy faces of the other students who had been favorably matched up. "Well, I'd like you all to really get to know each other, if you're not familiar with the person you're sitting beside. Ask each other five questions of your choosing, but it has to be more in-depth than 'what's your name?' or 'how old are you?'" She shuffled papers around on her desk, apparently looking for something, then added as an afterthought, "You'll be presenting on your partners to the rest of the class when you're done."


All around them others started happily chatting with one another, and even the few people who hadn't known the person beside them were seemingly fine with starting up friendly conversation. Ethan turned to Gregory and raised his eyebrow, still in a deeply sarcastic mood.


"So, did you catch what the teacher said that time or will I have to repeat it for you?"
 
Greg flinched, not so much because of how Ethan had said what he did, but by the news he had just received. He looked at the teacher, his old enthusiasm over her teaching habits fading away. Maybe, if she knew him better, she wouldn't have paired him up with some one like Ethan? No, Greg decided, she would have paired them up anyway to reinforce the no-bullying laws rising all throughout the nation. It was stupid, but the teachers thought that if they forced two kids to interact for an extended amount of time sooner or later they would become great friends and skip off into the sunset hand-in-hand. In reality the teachers were only putting the goat in the tiger's cage, and in this case Greg was horrified to know he was (as usual) the goat.


Greg was okay with presentations and opened his mouth to offer questions and a chance to let Ethan sit back a little but was interrupted by another rude remark. Greg swallowed the ball in his throat and his eyes darted from Ethan's face to his notebook and back quickly. Before he could make an even bigger fool of himself he grabbed his notebook from the top of his textbook and clicked his pen, eyeing the teacher. He hoped that she would sense him and make eye contact with the boy whose green eyes begged for escape. He cleared his throat after the teacher's hair fell over her face as she bent over to look for papers she had lost. He cursed her messiness as he turned back to his partner and faked a laugh. He had dealt with short-tempered people before and knew that as long as he had time to cool off Ethan would be fine eventually. It didn't mean that Ethan wouldn't still snap at Greg occasionally, but it was a start.


"I heard alright this time, thanks anyway." Greg said after cutting off his own shaky laughs. "I'm going to take notes on you, okay?" He didn't wait for an answer and began with his first question. "Where are you from?" It was a weak question, but what was he supposed to ask? What kind of ice cream do you like?
 
Ethan leveled an assessing stare at Greg, a little thrown off by his response to his insulting remark. He wasn't sure if he had brushed it aside because he was trying to be the bigger person here or if he was used to being a doormat. Feeling even more annoyed for some reason he couldn't quite place, Ethan gave a loud, testy sigh and finally leaned forward against the table. He rested his elbows on it and his chin atop his interlocked fingers, which were together in a tight fist.


"I'm originally from Silicon Valley. My family relocated here for business reasons four years ago." Though his foul mood made him want to give extremely truncated answers, he knew that impressing the teacher early on would help him prove that this class was a cake walk. Perhaps he'd be permitted an early graduation date mid-year or something like it.


Making up his mind in a split second, he cut off anything Greg might have wanted to say next. "I'd like to ask you the same question, actually." He flipped open his own notebook and poised his pencil over the lines. Though it would take up the same amount of time either way, he felt like this inane exercise might feel like it went quicker if they both took notes about one another at the same time.
 
Greg took notes as quickly as he could, his writing beginning to look like a messy cursive. He wrinkled his nose in distaste at his handwriting and made a little note at the top of the page reminding him to re-write them. It was a brief answer but Greg wanted to make sure he didn't miss a word. Giving the class false information about his new partner would prove to be fatal for his social status, which was dying off as it is. Greg tried to run the names of towns through his mind in hopes of finding the one Ethan was referring to. Maybe if he said some positive things about his partner's hometown he would get bumped up a little in Ethan's goodwill. He repeated the name under his breath a little before hissing it a little louder.


"Hey, that's in the San Francisco bay area, right? I've heard about that place. How was growing up there?" Greg asked. He remembered that Ethan had also given him a question and became momentarily flustered. He tried to do something good, and almost ignored an already pissed off kid.


"I-uh." Greg looked at Ethan's notebook. "I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida for the first 5 years of my life. I moved here because I was adopted." as he watched Ethan write notes he realized he had given Ethan an answer just as short as his was. He decided to leave out the details, like the shootings and lesbian mothers, just in case there were new students in the school (which was rare, but possible) that hadn't judged him yet.
 
Ethan frowned at Greg as he muttered under his breath about Silicon Valley, not sure what he was doing. The other boy asked his question about Ethan's hometown and a mere moment later seemed to remember that Ethan had made the executive decision that he, too, would be questioning Greg. Greg seemed flustered and Ethan wasn't sure if it was because of the tension between them or if that was his natural state of being.


Ethan wrote Greg's answer down, but nodded to his paper absentmindedly as if something had clicked into place. His reply to where he had been born also answered his earlier, unspoken question about Greg's parentage. When he was done writing he glanced up, debating about whether or not he should answer the question about Silicon Valley.


"It's a very up-and-coming area for new technology. Lots of young people and jobs. So, you were adopted, then? How old were you when that happened?" He put his pencil down, not intending on taking notes on this subject. His curiosity was piqued and he allowed himself to diverge from their assignment for a moment. He tried to imagine any adoption agency willingly giving a child to parents who would only serve to make the kid's social life a living hell. Still, he supposed it wasn't all that shocking. The liberal agenda was sweeping their nation and he figured it wouldn't be long before kids were tossed around to anyone who would take them. He frowned at that idea, disapproving deeply.
 
((You know, now that I think about it, I had to write an essay about one of my classmates way back in the seventh grade. He was a very shy kid and I cornered him one day at recess to interview him. No wonder this was familiar!))


Greg put his hands under the table and wrung them together nervously. Ethan had been nodding down at his notebook and Greg strained his neck to see what he had written, hoping it wasn't something completely unrelated to what Greg had originally said. Maybe he was even faking being interested in Greg to impress the teacher, who had found what she was looking for and tried to adjust her clothing and hair as she inspected the kids around her. Her eyes met Greg's and she used her free hand to motion towards his partner sternly. He couldn't see Ethan's handwriting and stopped trying to look as Ethan answered his question suddenly. Greg wrote the words technology and people idly in his notebook and met Ethan's inquiring eyes.


Ethan's pencil was no longer in his hand. Even though Greg could be put under the category of people who were socially clueless he considered himself quite intelligent, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that this wouldn't be put in his presentation. Greg decided there would be no harm in answering the question, since he couldn't see why this moment in his life would be particularly traumatizing. "I was about 9 when I was adopted. For four years I lived in a foster home with other boys and girls, you know co-ed. The nuns were nice and always slipped me extra desserts because I behaved. Usually the desserts meant stale chocolates but it helped..." He was going to say ease the pain but knew that would require further explanation and he didn't feel like sharing that with any one, especially Ethan. "Anyway, parents could come and tour the foster home and if there was a kid that caught their eye they could request an interview. Usually the trick to getting an interview was to pretend like you worked well with everyone else and behaved well. I didn't get an interview for four whole years but I didn't mind." Greg remembered that day perfectly. His mothers were the first same-sex couple to come to the foster home and they both tried their best to ignore the nun's glares. His mother, the nurse, had seen a little strawberry blonde girl that offered her a picture. His other mother found Greg, crouching in the corner and munching on chocolate. He always wondered why they chose him over her but now he knows it was because they saw through the charade that little Keira had put up. That and she pulled Greg's hair after the interviews were over, whispering threats into his ear.


He hadn't realized he was looking into Ethan's eyes and averted his gaze. "So, what about your life as a child?" he asked quickly, hoping to change the subject.
 
Ethan found himself intrigued in spite of himself. He tried to wrap his mind around a life like that but couldn't even begin to. Growing up with every comfort and as an only child to boot, life's high points definitely hadn't been random bars of chocolate. He didn't realize he was frowning during the story until Greg asked about his own childhood. Smoothing his expression out and running a hand through his ruffled blonde hair, Ethan responded quickly and with no outward sign of discomfort. After all, he had no reason to be ashamed of his life.


"My parents were always well-connected so for the most part they were very busy and I was very easily entertained by whatever they tossed my way. I was also enrolled in many extracurricular activities... archery, horseback riding, chess." He left out the part about being no good at chess. He spoke flippantly but hurried through the explanation. Though he would never admit it, something about hearing about Greg's life left him distinctly uncomfortable. Eager to turn the conversational tide back to Greg, he blurted out, "Honestly though. What did your mothers expect when adopting you? Surely they must have known how you would suffer. To me it seems all quite selfish."


He wasn't sure what made him say it, and it was only after he was done that he realized he sounded just like his father.
 
Even though Greg had been studying his notebook he listened to Ethan steadily and hung on to every word he said. He had always been taught not to listen to stereotypes but Greg couldn't help imagining Ethan in one of those clubs that only rich, white men joined. Ones where the common hobby among every family was sailing at their lake house in some exotic country a middle class citizen could never afford to go to. Greg could imagine Ethan in a light blue polo shirt with a pink sweater tied around his neck, white shorts and sandals to top off the whole look. He always wondered what kind of people those children became. Without the life experiences that most kids had how would their character build? He had almost let concern for Ethan into his heart, but upon hearing Ethan's question the feeling was replaced with one of violent hatred.


Greg was never one to stand up for himself, and allowed others to walk all over him as long as they never said a thing about his parents. Usually he was given rude comments about them, but they always followed with harsh punishments inflicted on Greg. This was how he would stand up for what he believed in. His mothers were good women who never deserved being judged and he would rather receive the violence that often killed homosexuals. There was something different about Ethan, though. He didn't seem to be interested in actually causing Greg physical harm and instead harmed him emotionally with seemingly genuine questions. Greg could always put ice on a bruise, but emotional damage would take a while. The confusion he felt over Ethan's true intentions made Greg angrier. He turned his head quickly, his wavy brown hair twisting with him and his green eyes burning with anger.


"They expected to raise a son that other straight parents didn't even think of looking at. They taught me what life is like and now I'm going to be a better person because of it. They knew I might suffer a little now but who doesn't hate their high school years? They knew that when I got older I would be a better person than... than people like you!" Greg's voice had started out at it's normal volume but it raised into a yell that made most of the class fall silent. "Quite frankly, unless I don't plan to take over my father's business and do absolutely nothing in life except fire people who don't deserve it then maybe I should also take up archery and horseback riding. You know, the useless things that I can flaunt around at school to people who silently resent me for being such a stuck-up assho-"


"Gregory Moore!" The teacher snapped, her voice making Greg jump. He wondered how she even knew his name, considering she hadn't even taken attendance today. He quieted down and looked at his notebook, blushing fiercely. That sudden outburst was unlike Greg, and he was ashamed for letting himself get down to Ethan's level. Besides, Ethan didn't know better! "I was going to ask what you do in your free time but I got that already. What do your parents do?" He knew the question would spark something else but under the teachers watchful eye he would keep his temper in check.
 
Ethan stared at Greg in absolute, stunned silence until the teacher cut him off. Even after she intervened and the other boy asked his third question it took Ethan a long time to figure out what had just happened and what he should do next.


After what felt like an eternity Ethan managed to unclench his jaw and unstick his tongue. "My father... is the CFO at Dell. My mother handles his schedule and correspondence."


He was strangely silent, not sure where to go from there. Anger had snapped through him along with shock earlier, then a sort of dull disbelief. There had even been something that felt momentarily, and horrifically, like shame.


That realization was what finally galvanized him into action. A flush of pride and anger replaced his momentary indecision and Ethan's formerly stunned, confused expression melted back into an aggressive one. "You know, up until now I'd felt sorry for you for your situation, but I can clearly see that it's already too late to turn you into a respectable member of society."


Though Ethan had kept his voice at a normal level, his timing was off. The teacher, wary of their corner now, had caught enough to surmise that the skirmish between the two boys was nowhere near over.


"Mr. Appleby, Mr. Moore. Disrupt class again and you'll be sent down to the office to work out your differences there." She frowned at them, disapproving, and Ethan felt his ears heat up. The class was paying rather close, unpleasant attention to them now and a thought entered Ethan's mind almost unbidden: this must be what Greg feels like every day.


((Oh man, your last post was phenomenal! I'm thinking about having the teacher send them off to the principal actually... maybe we can stick them together in after-school detention sessions just to force even more interaction time?))
 
((That's perfect! Keep those good ideas coming. Ah, halfway through this I had an idea! What if the arguing get's so bad that while they're in detention both Greg and Ethan's parents are called in for a meeting about the two boys. Just an idea, and if you think it's too much then you can disagree.))


Greg waited impatiently for Ethan's answer and felt joy swell inside of him. He smiled, trying to hold it down but failing miserably. Now he knew why his mother's encouraged him to stand up for himself. This incredible, new feeling washed over Greg and he was sure there was no word in the English language to describe it. The notes on his paper danced and swelled with his heart and he almost blocked out Ethan's answer. Greg's pen didn't move and he sat back in his seat, peering at the teacher through the top of his glasses. She was shaking her head and snapping her fingers so that other kids would stop staring at them and get on with their assignment. Greg found it astonishing that she didn't force him and his partner apart yet and figured she was new to teaching. It wasn't uncommon for people who are new to certain jobs to take things too far, and she must not have been told what to do if the bullying prevention methods the school established didn't work.


Greg's eyes had stayed locked on his teacher while his head turned towards Ethan. The sudden snap coming from Ethan finally tore his eyes away from the teacher. Greg was calm and had not reacted right away, but he knew he could not let Ethan trivialize everything Greg had just said by getting the last word. "A respectable member of society? Oh, I apologize. I'll try harder to kiss the asses of every man with a college degree that I meet and when I get home constantly correct the errors of my mother's ways. I should also buy some better clothes but I don't know of any designers that don't live in America." Gregory stood up upon hearing the teacher's heels clicking towards them hurriedly. "You, my friend, are full of shit."


Their teacher wrapped her hand around Greg's arm and signaled for Ethan to get up. Her brown eyes burned with fury and she snatched Ethan's forearm up too, towing them into the hallway. Kids giggled and a chorus of "OOOH!" passed through the classroom. This was always something that the other kids enjoyed doing, even though it was never funny when you were in the spot Greg was in. If he had been in either of the three years before him he would have minded very much but this year many people developed what was nicknamed "Senioritis". Basically, now that every year is out of the way, seniors got lazy and only put in an effort in class when colleges they wanted to go to asked for grades. One bad mark on Greg's otherwise clean record would not matter much, and his mothers would argue that it was for a good cause. Once outside the teacher began to lecture the boys so loudly that some teachers poked their heads out of their classrooms to see if there was a drill of some kind going on. Greg blocked her voice out and inspected Ethan, half expecting a snappy response.
 
Ethan was not one for violent back-and-forth arguments, but he had been right about to snarl a cutting retort when they were both scooped up by the teacher and escorted outside. Affronted at being man-handled in such a manner, Ethan almost started struggling but managed to refrain. His reputation and pride had been wounded enough for one day, most of the damage being his own damn fault for not picking his battles better. Feeling humiliated, full of regret and very bitter, Ethan stood stock-still and allowed the teacher to lecture them to her heart's desire. He figured she would get her anger off her chest and send them back inside, but when she yanked out a pink slip from the folder she'd brought with her he knew he was mistaken. His mouth fell open as she scribbled on it angrily with a pen that barely worked.


"You two clearly have some serious issues to work out with the school guidance counselor, or--or the principal, or whoever they see fit to send you to. I will not tolerate this, and on the first day of class, no less! What's gotten into you?" She shoved the pink slip at Greg and pointed in what Ethan thought was a rather over-dramatic fashion in the general direction of the front office. "I'll send one of your classmates to give you your homework assignment as I doubt you'll be back for the rest of class."


Ethan made the mistake of glaring sullenly at her, and earned himself another moment of snappy reprimand for his attitude. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes and started off at a brisk stride to the office, not bothering to see if Greg was following.


((Ooooh I like it! Watching their parents go toe-to-toe will definitely stoke the flames... mwahaha. I'm thinking Ethan's mom is probably way less of a bigot than the dad, but is a "yes, dear" sort of woman and tends to keep her real thoughts to herself for the sake of avoiding arguments. If Ethan and Greg start to spend more time together though I think she'd be quite fond of him ^^ And oh, for this immediate scene: I figure sometime during recess, once they're done with the office and have received their sentencing for detentions, the classmate will come to them and give them the news about the chemical analysis assignment... then they can come together to the class and hastily select their vial of chemicals?))
 
Greg hadn't recognized the hot pink sheet she pulled out of her blue folder and held her gaze a bit until she turned to Ethan. As Ethan and the teacher stormed off in opposite directions Greg's eyes widened, the sloppy words slowly forming a death sentence in his eyes. After school detention until 4:00... misconduct... the specifics were lost in Greg's mind and he involuntarily made a fist, crumpling the paper in his hand. He sprinted up to Ethan just as he was opening the door with the words Main Office printed on it in big, intimidating block letters. He opened his mouth and closed it over and over until he decided to just slam the note against Ethan's chest and walk inside. He was too weak to hit Ethan hard and momentarily hoped he didn't.


Unlike most schools the principal had no secretaries and the main office was his office. Greg sat himself in one of the two blue cushioned seats the principal had in front of his desk and leaned his head back on the chair, closing his eyes. The principal grunted his confusion and Greg moaned. The principal had salt and pepper hair with unnecessarily long side burns. He was overweight and he always wore brown suits. Greg imagined he belonged in an 80's high school, but upon standing the principal was quite short and the kids at school were always highly amused watching him walk around on his stubby little legs.


"Are you sick, kid? We have a nurses..." The principals gruff voice trailed off and Greg opened his eyes, following the principal's gaze to Ethan. "Ethan, my boy! What brings you here?" He asked, unnerving amounts of kindness and familiarity washing over the principal's formerly impatient expression. This whole meeting was going to be biased and Greg went back to his original position in defeat. His brave streak was over just as suddenly as it started and the whole ordeal made Greg emotionally exhausted.


((Sounds great! c:))
 
Ethan smiled beatifically at the portly man and gave him a "this is regrettable" sort of expression. "Sir, how are you? I hope your morning's been going well."


"Well, as good as can be expected, my boy. But what brings the pair of you here?" he inquired, bushy brows furrowing.


Ethan cast a glance to Greg, intending to throw him under the bus, but hadn't quite worked out how to do that just yet. He stalled in the meantime, waiting for a sudden brainwave. "Well, sir. There was an unfortunate event in Chemistry class earlier today, but I'm sure we can just chalk this up as a misunderstanding and go on our way. I'm more than willing to overlook the provocation and abuse of Mr. Moore here to save us all some time."


He'd almost played off his "good student trying to be the bigger person" routine without a hitch, but the principal didn't seem to appreciate being told how to do his job. The congenial air diminished slightly, and while he was still very polite to Ethan, the son of some of the school's most generous donors, his voice was a little more authoritative when he next spoke. "Be that as it may, Ethan, I will need to hear a full account from both of your perspectives to get a sense of what to do about this."


Ethan was a little put off by this, but didn't figure he was in too much trouble either way. He could simply press upon his innocence and surely the principal would be inclined to decide in his favor. Trying for another saccharine display of generosity, he turned to Greg. "Why don't you tell your side first?" he offered, and got a nod of appreciation from the principal. He smiled at Greg but in the undertone of the expression was deep smugness.
 
Greg's let his whole body shut down besides his ears, which heard every bit of Ethan and the principal's conversation. He was a bit disgusted at how easily the principal could be won over by Ethan, but on the other hand, what principal worked in a school for the good of the kids any more? It was all about the money, and the more money you get the better teachers you get, then the better students and so on. This whole pyramid could be tracked back to Ethan and his "people". With this knowledge and the way the principal greeted Ethan, Greg had already been ready to give up. He would let Ethan call their little argument an 'abuse' on Greg's part and silently agreed with Ethan when he said they would save every one time.


Greg let one eye open as Ethan allowed Greg to take the first turn telling the story. Before Greg started he took a while to inspect Ethan. How would he go about doing this? Greg's mind raced in every direction it could. If he told the truth there would be a lot of tension every Chemistry class for the rest of the year. If he lied and apologized completely then maybe he and Ethan would try to get along... as best as they could at least. Apparently the principal was inspecting Greg as the silence filled the small office and he cleared his throat. "Elena. Your mom no?" He asked. Greg nodded and tore his neutral expression away from Ethan. "Yeah, good woman. Divorced? I haven't seen the mister around."


Greg's throat made a strange, croaking sound and he shook his head. "No Mr... just a Mrs. back home, sir." The principal nodded as if he understood completely and froze mid-nod, thinking. An astonished look flashed over his face and he turned his head sideways, looking at Ethan with a grin that said This guy, eh? and laughed. Of course, denial. Most of the staff thought Greg was bullied for being too quiet and they never really noticed when he showed up at school with two women instead of one, or at least a man once in a while. This little episode helped Greg decide what he was going to do and the principal leaned back in his chair, resting on his elbow and waving at Greg to start his side of the story.


"Sir," Greg began "I'm sure Ethan is a... great kid... but he was making harsh comments about my mothers. This is a very sensitive topic for me and I would appreciate it very much if he held his tongue." Greg pretended he was extremely hurt and tried to tear up. If Ethan would be playing the bigger person role, Greg would be playing the emotionally sensitive role and try to shoot him down. "Like you said my mother is a great woman and she is even more sensitive than me. She would be extremely upset to find that I let him get away with criticizing them for their life choices so I stood up for myself. They can't help being homosexual any more than one can help being short or tall or overweight!" Greg threw in that last sentence to appeal to the principal's insecurities, also tossing in a 'tall' so the principal wouldn't know who he was talking about.
 
((Sorry for the slight delay! Busy weekend. I promise I'll let you know if I ever think I won't be able to post for more than a few days though :) ))


Ethan swore to himself in his head, kicking himself for underestimating this quiet kid. Clearly he also knew how to be devious. Fighting back the urge to shoot him a quick glare, Ethan refrained from interrupting, though the temptation was intense. He waited while Greg finished and kept his face impassive as the principal listened.


"I see, I see." For a time it seemed that was all the principal was going to say, and Ethan jumped in before any more time could elapse.


"That's, of course, Mr. Moore's side of the story," he assured the principal. "What he's failed to explain, however, is that I was looking out for his best interests. Coming from an... alternative family doesn't make life easy among more closed-minded individuals. Gregory here took what I was saying wildly out of context and swore at me in class." He tried to sound more sad about the whole affair than affronted or indignant, but wasn't sure if he was doing a good job. The few times he'd found himself in altercations it had been very easy to pin the blame on another, and he wasn't used to having to fight for his right to come out on top.


“This does say that you were arguing with one another in class and being disruptive,” the principal noted, staring at the scribbled pink slip. Ethan was momentarily shocked that he could read it at all. He looked up at Ethan, frowning slightly, and sighed.


“Well, it would seem to me that, good intentions or no, there is still a problem between the two of you if this was cause enough to interrupt Chemistry class. Ethan, if you’re so concerned about Gregory here, perhaps it would be best for the pair of you to spend more time together to work through these issues. This isn’t ‘detention’ now, as this is the first serious offense for either of you. Think of it as an opportunity for after-school studying and social bonding.”


Ethan’s mouth dropped open. Carried away with his shock, he stumbled into his next protest without thinking it through. “Sir! Forgive me for saying so, but that sounds precisely like detention. Will this be going on our permanent records? You can’t be serious!”


The principal looked rather shocked and affronted by Ethan’s sudden outburst and lifted a finger to him, shaking it. “Now, now. None of that. I’m going quite easy on the pair of you! Surely you must see that.”
 
Greg sat back in his chair, enjoying his performance immensely. It wouldn't be fair to say that Ethan was struggling to keep up with Greg, but he certainly wouldn't make it as easy for Ethan as kids in the past must have. He was a bit shocked that Ethan was acting as if he was only looking to help and was rejected. In a way it could have tied into his first argument and Greg thought it would be a nice challenge. The only thing that shocked Greg was the detention. Even though the principal scolding Ethan should have made him feel better Greg felt himself slip up just as much as Ethan had. "W-what? We aren't going to be able to get along! We come from completely different backgrounds! We don't have one thing alike! I'm sorry but it just won't work." The principal's expression turned from shock to anger and he looked from Ethan to Greg as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.


"You are both boys, and you are both seniors! Now you will get along or..." The principal stopped himself and sighed before he began to yell. "It looks to me like your problems seem to be linked to your families. If this goes any further I will need to call your parents here to get to the bottom of this. I'm sure they can handle this as mature adults." Greg had never been so overwhelmingly opposed to an idea before and shook his head, leaning forward in his chair and ready to voice his opinion when the school bells outside rang shrilly.


There was a knock at the door and the principal flashed Ethan and Greg stern glances before calling the person in. The door opened slightly and a girl in a pink turtleneck shirt leaned in. Her hair was held away from her face with a tight yellow hairband and a cross dangled off of her neck, reflecting the lights in the office. "I have a message for the boys." She said, her voice was even and high pitched. "For homework they need to pick out a liquid from the classroom and write a report about its physical properties. It's due next Monday." She spoke to the principal as if it were his assignment and not the troublemakers and waited to be dismissed from the office. With a nod, the principal shooed her away.


"See? Even without me you would need to spend time together. Now you will not fight any longer, am I clear?" He asked, turning to Greg and then staring at Ethan.
 
It was all Ethan could do to keep himself under control as he nodded stiffly to the principal. He barely heard what the other student said when she got in, but his brain wrapped around her news eventually and his teeth slammed together in his head. How could he be so deeply unlucky? Ethan stood from the table and grunted a rather rude affirmative to the principal, not caring that this would not win him points with the man. In his book he couldn't be reasoned with in the first place. Surely only someone either touched in the head or deeply sadistic would come up with the action plan he had.


Ethan lead the way wordlessly back to the Chemistry room, not bothering to look if Greg was following. The only thing on his mind was to get this assignment over with as quickly as humanly possible, and Greg had another thing coming if he thought Ethan would cede any control over the homework to him at all. Ethan was a control freak on his best days, and when working with someone who'd, in his eyes, gotten him written up on the first day of school, it would be tenfold.


Once back in the classroom Ethan took note that the teacher was gone. Relieved, he spied a messy scrawl for them on the blackboard: Pick the chemical you want and close the cabinet when you're done. At least, that's what he thought it said. The woman's handwriting was truly abysmal.


Not wasting any time, Ethan crossed to a random cabinet and yanked it open. The chemicals in here did indeed appear to have remained untouched since this project was given to the last class of students a year ago. Dust and husks of dead insects littered the bottom of the shelves and Ethan wrinkled his nose at the sight, disgusted. Searching for the least offensive bottle, his eyes fell on a small flask of purplish-pink liquid that looked considerably cleaner than its brethren. Something about the little vial made him hesitate a moment, but the sheer fact that the others were coated in god-knew-what prompted Ethan to snatch up the small bottle.


"We're doing this one," he said unnecessarily to Greg, his face still set in a scowl and his voice a low grumble. "And we will be meeting up at neutral territory to do this homework assignment. I don't think I need to state that neither of us is likely to do well at the other one's home."
 
Greg sat in defeat until Ethan got up and left the room. In a desperate (and futile) attempt at changing the principal's mind he turned to the man and opened his mouth to speak. The principal only held up one chubby stump of a finger and waved Greg out of his room in an I-can't-take-any-more-of-you-two kind of manner. Greg got up and left the room, shuffling along behind Ethan slowly. The silence between the two boys made every thing more awkward and Greg crossed his arms in an attempt to hold in the nerves that seemed to want to rip his stomach in two. Once inside the room Greg stood by the door and waited for Ethan to move, not daring to take his eyes off of his feet.


He heard a cabinet open with a loud clang of bottles. Greg looked up and Ethan was looking through a cabinet in the room. As Greg walked towards his partner he gave a quick glance at the board behind him, not even attempting to decode the teacher's strange scrawl. He inspected the glass bottle his partner held up and tilted his head to look at it from another angle. It was a strangely hypnotizing kind of purple and he almost asked Ethan what he thought it was before remembering that he was supposed to be mad at Ethan. Since being angry at someone was not something Greg was used to he always seemed to forgive people very quickly. He was unsure of whether or not Ethan would even let himself stop being mad at Greg without an apology, which Greg was not going to give any time soon.


"Yet you said it anyway." Greg mumbled and sighed, looking at Ethan and hoping there was no emotion on his face. "Where would we do the project then? Library?" Perhaps in the library there would less of a chance of them arguing, but then again the strict librarian probably wouldn't even let them open their mouths in the first place. Greg crossed this off in his mind but waited for Ethan's response anyway.
 
As sour a mood as Ethan was in, Greg's retort to his statement made the corner of his mouth quirk ever so slightly. He did appreciate comebacks like that, but he quickly returned to his former dismal and surly temper. He thought of the library, wondering if it would serve well as their neutral ground, but then another thought came to him.


"We'll meet at the park behind the shopping center," he said, referencing an area that was within walking distance of the school. Many of their classmates enjoyed hanging out at the coffee shops and food court in the area, but few bothered to go and enjoy the sun and breeze out at the many picnic tables in the adjacent park. The choice was very deliberate on Ethan's part, as it severely reduced the chances of running into classmates who would be giving them weird looks. They could also yell at each other in peace if it came to that, and from the looks of their track record, it probably would.


Ethan considered holding onto the vial of whatever-it-was just to continue exerting control over their experiment, but his desire to do so faded as he considered the stuff might spill in his bag. He held it out to Greg instead. "Here. Don't mess this up, my grade's counting on it too. Let's get this over with as soon as possible. When are you free?"


((I forgot if we were gonna have this incident happen sometime after school, or during the weekend? I'm cool with fast-forwarding however much we need to until then, stopping if we feel there's a good scene to write :) ))
 
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