TRIGGER WARNING IN THIS CHAPTER FOR VIOLENT BULLYING.

I thought the day would be normal. I went to school, sat in a row, ate white bread, looked at the floor a lot. You know. The whole "Supremes" thing. I thought I'd just get shoved around a little, maybe get a few rotten words thrown my way, and then go home. Guys like me- guys who do choir and theatre and spend their lunchtimes in a practice room writing songs and have a mop of curly Medusa hair- never get through high school without a little bullying.

Thank God, I always thought. Thank God I haven't come out.

Ha.

I was just taking out my scooter when a couple of football guys came up behind me, shouting, "Hey, Anderfag!"

"Oh, that's very creative. Did you come up with that yourself?" I replied quietly, not looking at them. It had been a long day. They all were. I just wanted to go home.

"Not so fast, Anderfag," another one growled. "We've had enough of your prancing around like a stupid little fairy."

"Yeah. We think it's time to teach you a lesson."

I just tried to get onto my scooter and get out of there, but my hands were shaking and my blood was turning cold. I pushed off, but one of them grabbed my backpack and pulled me around to face them. I stared at the ground.

"I don't think I said you were allowed to leave."

"Yeah, we're not done with you yet, Anderfag."

I couldn't help myself. "Do you start every sentence with 'yeah,' or just the idiotic ones?"

"Oh, you'll pay for that, Anderfag."

Then there was pain. Lots of pain. It seemed to stretch out for an infinite amount of time. It spiked again and again in my stomach, my back, my head. My brain was fogged. Finally, there was one big shock, and then I passed out.

-o0o-

When I woke up, I was in the hospital. My mom was there, and though it seemed that my eyes were swollen nearly shut and it was hard to see, she was obviously holding back tears. It broke my heart to see her like that. Ever since dad died a few months ago, she's had to be so strong, and now I was causing her even more pain. I tried to smile at her, but my face felt stiff and swollen. "Hi, mom," I said blurrily.

"Blaine? You're awake? How do you feel? Are you in pain? –Nurse! He's awake! Nurse? –It'll be okay, honey. Do you know what happened?"

I thought hard. It seemed as though all my thoughts were hidden behind foggy veils. "I… I was coming home… and these guys came out and… and jumped me… And the next thing I knew… I was here…"

Mom let out a little squeak and covered her face with her hands. I tried to reach for her, but my arms were covered by casts. Oh. I looked down- or tried to. I was in a neck brace. One leg was held up by a strange rig. "Mom… Can you tell me what… what they did?"

Slowly, she explained it all to me. Two broken arms, four cracked ribs, one broken leg, a broken nose, two black eyes, some internal bleeding, and a minor concussion. The doctors said I'd be fine, but that it would take a long time for me to recover.

A nurse came in, checked me over, did some tests. I really just wanted to go back to sleep. I told Mom, and she nodded, patting my hand, but before I could doze off, a regal-looking woman glided into the room.

"Where is my grandson?" demanded the woman in an English accent.

My mother's face grew pale. "C-Clarisse. I didn't expect-"

"You didn't expect that I would come to the States when the Prince's life is in danger?" she asked icily.

Mom shot a glance in my direction before hissing, "We shouldn't be talking about this in front of Blaine. He's not in any sort of condition to-"

"Um, excuse me," I interrupted, "but what the hell is going on?"

I have to admit, I was a little pleased by the shocked look on British Lady's face at the use of the word "hell."

"Blaine, don't worry, we can talk in the morning," my mother soothed.

"No. I want to know what's going on now."

"You haven't told him?" piped in British Lady, aghast.

"There was never a good time! I just wanted him to get through school as a normal kid-"

"Mom, I was never a normal kid. I'm a dork. Just tell me-"

"We can talk about this later, Blaine. You need to-"

"No, it's time he knew. He needs to take better care of himself."

"THANK YOU!" I roared, surprising myself. I didn't mean to shout, but my frustration was boiling up inside me. I was so helpless, and I've never handled helplessness well.

Mom finally nodded and stepped aside to let British Lady get a little closer to me.

"Blaine, this is your grandmother. Your dad's mom. Clarisse Renaldi."

"Oh." So that cleared something up. I'd heard a little about her. She lived far away in a small European country called Genovia, which is why I never saw her. Clarisse took my hand.

"Blaine… You knew your father as Theodore Anderson. I knew him as King Theodore Anderson Renaldi… which makes you Theodore Blaine Anderson Renaldi, Prince of Genovia."

I shook my head, laughing hysterically. This couldn't be real. This was a part of the concussion. I was hallucinating. Instantly, Mom was at my side.

"Blaine, honey, are you okay?"

"You've gotta be kidding me, right? Because I can't be-"

"It's true, Blaine," Clarisse said. I turned to Mom, pleading. She closed her eyes and nodded.

"But how could I be a- a prince? I'm just an average, dorky, unpopular, g- glee club kid!" Nice save, Anderson.

"We can teach you how to be a prince, Blaine," said Clarisse. "And we must do it soon. We thought that we could wait until you'd finished your last year of high school before you moved to Genovia, but your safety is obviously in jeopardy, I'm afraid…"

The impact of her words took a moment to sink in. "You… You want me to move to Genovia? And rule?"

"Of course. You are the Prince, after all."

I wanted to get up and run away, but I was trapped. "Okay," I growled. "You were right. I can't handle this right now. Just… go. Let me sleep, please. And tell the nurse my leg is starting to hurt."

Mom nodded quietly, tears in her eyes. Clarisse led her out. The nurse came in moments later and upped my meds. Soon, I was fast asleep.