Merlin parked his Honda blue-green SUV in his designated spot in the Student Lot at Cambridge school. He yawned and rubbed the sand of sleep from his eyes. It was Monday, the seventh day of the month, and twenty-fourteen-a New Year. He would be officially graduated, dressed in a cap and gown and walking the aisle in as little as five months. The days could not come fast enough.

If only I could have graduated early, Merlin mused as he slung his tan Polo Ralph bag over his shoulder and slammed the CRV's door with a thud. Oh how he had tried to graduate early. He had gone as far as going to the school board and asking, begging them, but it had been a fruitless effort. He had scored too low on the ACT test he had taken his junior year last spring. Just five points too low on math. Just five points. He sighed and as he hunkered down into his jacket and pulled his navy knitted scarf over his mouth and wished he had been as smart as Gwen and had taken her advice and studied last year with her. He knew it was not Gwen's fault and it was wrong to be jealous but now he was stuck in school and his only friends that had been left was gone.

Merlin was the kind of guy that just didn't fit in with people his own age. He was too bookish, too sociably awkward, too clumsy for his own good, and has had too many bad experience with people that he just closed himself off from people. The friends he did have were few, but they had all graduated the year before Merlin's junior year making Merlin's junior year a whirl wind of depression and the young man had all but lost his true self much to his friend's and family's concern. Now Gwen was gone and he was utterly alone.

Merlin opened the door that led into the English wing of the school and was blasted with warm air. He yanked the door behind him closed and shivered off the cold that clung to him. He checked his phone and saw no text messages. Everyone was still asleep.

He let himself be swallowed by the sea of people and made his way to the main office. He looked around at the students that clung and mingled in their little groups as if they were bees. That's what Merlin had always called them: Bees. For they buzzed around and collected useless gossip then came back together in their little swarm to pick over what was hot and what was not. Merlin had the wicked luck of meeting with the Quarter back Tyler's gaze as he turned the corner.

The seven foot and three inches of pure muscle smirked at Merlin and nudged his friend Corie in the arm. The pair snickered at Merlin as he walked past.

"Hey faggot? Have a nice Christmas?"

Merlin bit his tongue and forced himself to ignore them and kept walking. The other students in the hall way had taken noticed as they turned from their metallic steely lockers and looked at Merlin with either pity or mirth or both.

You've dealt with this before and you can do it again. Remember what Gawain said? It doesn't matter what other's think I'm loved by the right people and that's all that matters.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and was turned forcefully around. Merlin's vision was filled with Tyler's jade green eyes. "I was talking to you. Didn't your mama tell you it was rude to ignore people?"

Merlin stepped backwards and swallowed. "Yes. I had a nice Christmas. Thank you."

Merlin began to turn and make his way to the office. He was so close. Just a few more feet and he would be there.

One step

Two step

There was the door…

Three steps

Four steps

Merlin was slammed against the wall. He let out a yelp as his left arm was pinned to his side and the golden buckle on the strap of his bag pushed into his soft pale skin. He felt Tyler's breath on his cheek. He scrunched up his nose as a foul smell of eggs went into his nostrils. He tried to shrug the boy's grip off but was only pushed harder against the wall.

"You're a god damn faggot. A shame to be carrying the dick you have, a shame to man. You never walk away from me again? Got it? Now…you love that ass of yours being fucked don't ya? Well me and my friends are going to fuck it up really hard after school. That's a promise." He let Merlin go and Merlin stumbled away. The group of football players smiled and Dustin, the oldest one out of the group, puckered his lips at Merlin and then singled the boys to follow. They left Merlin shaken in the hall.

Merlin lowered his head and curled his fist. Why couldn't he just once stand up for himself? Just once he wished he could be brave and not….some loser. It was reason like those young men that he didn't want to be at school. But he was stuck here.

Ignoring the smirking from the others around him he went on his way to the Main Office. Merlin entered through the single door and found he had to wait in line to talk to the office administrator that was in charge of the high school students.

She was a young woman with brown long hair that was always in a fish tail braid down to her lower back. Her complexion was smooth and pink with a light pink blush that laid high on her cheek. She always wore green or pink eye shadow to go with her always white or pink cloths. Today she had on a white simple sweater and had a glow around her as she took a white envelope from a girl with black hair and amassed it in a wire basket that sat next to her Apple computer. She was a nice lady… always polite to Merlin and had a smile ready for him. She also always smelled of coffee much to Merlin's amusement.

Merlin stepped up to the desk and she greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Merlin. Did you have a good holiday?"

Merlin smiled and nodded, "Yes. My mother and I went to go visit my uncle Gaius in Wales. He has a winter cottage down there. Did you have a nice break, Miss Winter?"

The brown haired lady smiled and held out her hand and Merlin saw a golden band on her fourth finger. "Scott proposed!" she exclaimed happily.

Merlin now understood her extra glow of happiness around her and congratulated her. After a few more seconds of polite chit chat he asked for his Time Table. He was handed a white paper and he looked it over. He couldn't help but smile even though the confrontation of Tyler and his gang still was in the forefront of his mind. At least one thing he was able to look forward to now.

Last semester for about three months he had fought and fought for his right to be able to go over and volunteer at the public library. While it was already an option Merlin had, with passion, fought for him to be able to be at the library for two hours instead of one. At first, the school wouldn't budge. But when Merlin had pointed out that he had all of his credits except for one semester of English, he had taken all the classes that would help him with his future (to become a librarian) and no other classes would prepare him, and that he was miserable at school, and when Merlin finally played his…romantic choice and the feeling of other's at school, and the fact he had an IEP for being in special education for math and that they were to meet his individual needs, they finally granted him two hours.

"So I just come in every morning and sign out then when I come back I sign in again?" Merlin asked impatient to go.

Miss Winter nodded and handed him the blue clip board with a sign out sheet. Merlin wrote him name and began to leave, for once his mind far from trouble and sorrow that usually came with school.

"Oh and Merlin?" Miss winter called out to the young man.

Merlin turned and titled his head in question.

"There will be a young man there by the name of Arthur. He's a student from one of the neighboring schools. He will be coming back with you because he is taking half day here."

Merlin nodded and raced off to his car not giving one thought about this Arthur.

Little did he know…this Arthur would change his whole look at the school year and impact Merlin's life…

Please review so I know in if should keep going or not...