Dave was totally ruined, he knew this when he woke up this morning and couldn't find his shades.

"Bro, do you know where my shades are?" He yelled, poking his head out of his room. His brother smirked at him and nodded.

"You're not getting them though. Not after you set my Smuppet's on fire." He replied before walking back into his room with an air of smugness. "By the way, you still have to go to school!" Dave groaned and flopped down on his bed. He didn't want them to see his eyes…But still he got up and dressed himself. No matter how much he dreaded this, he wouldn't let anything get to him. Or that's what he told himself. He walked out soon after and waited for the bus like usual, only now he had his head down. What would they think of his eyes? Would they think it was cool? Or would they call him demonic? Being lost in his thoughts, he felt as if he jumped a foot in the air when the bus honked loudly in front of him. He walked onto the bus and sat in his usual place next to John.

"Hey Dave!" He said excitedly. Dave looked up at him, watching as his eyes widened.

"Yo." He mumbled in reply.

"Dude, do you have contacts in or something?" He asked curiously and lent in a bit.

"Nope. They are my real eyes." He forced confidence and pride to his voice, even though it was the exact opposite of what he was feeling. Truly, he was afraid and shameful of his eyes. He never liked them when he found out that he wasn't like the rest. He didn't like being different.

"Look! The fag is trying to hit on Dave!" A kid from the front of the bus yelled, causing a bunch of older kids to laugh at him. Dave forced a small laugh, even if he did find it offensive, he had a rep to keep up. He even made gay jokes and laughed along with the ones people made. He was at the top of the school. He was a Strider. He may be gay but that wouldn't stop him from being cool. No only his eyes would stop him from that. He learnt that the hard way.

-One week later-

He finally had his shades back but what's done was done. A week of horrible name calling and everything, he didn't even wear them to school the day he got them back. It wouldn't matter if he wore them or not, they still knew his eye color. They would still call him demonic. Nothing would change that now.

"Now you know what it feels like to be put down because you're different." John said the morning he sat next to him as usual on the bus.

"Yeah, I've known for a while. Not the first time I'm being bullied because I'm different." He shrugs, not really caring. He was used to it; his last school did the same thing to him for being gay. He really didn't care anymore. They weren't his real friends anyway.

"Do you want to sit with me at lunch?" John asked as they exited the bus. Dave looked up in shock, why was he being nice to him?

"Why?"

"I've seen you sitting alone outside, dude. I mean it's cool if you don't want to hang with the homo." He sighs and begins walking away. Dave rushes over to him and gives him a slight smile.

"I'll sit with you." Is all he says before the bell rings and Dave rushes off to class, leaving a confused and happy John standing in the hall. When Dave entered the class and got in his seat safely he began smiling with his head down. He didn't know why the nerdy boy made him feel like this, but he liked it. He hadn't smiled in a while because of someone. But he still didn't understand it; he never really knew the guy. He only sat next to him on the bus and shared a few classes with him. Why was he feeling like this? Dave could only hope he wasn't falling in love again. First his eyes ruined his rep for being demonic; he can't have his rep go lower than low because he was gay. Not again. But if he really was falling in love he wouldn't really care, now would he? Dave had always been the type to put his lover before his reputation.

"Mr. Strider! Class is over!" The teacher yelled in his face. He must have zoned out while thinking again in his half hour homeroom class. He muttered a quick apology and left the class, heading to his other classes until lunch. His heart picked up as he opened the doors to the cafeteria and his eyes scanned for John. Once he found him, he avoided getting tripped and ignored the name calling and sat across from him.

That was the beginning of two things, his first true friendship and that start of Dave falling for him. And falling hard.