Ok, here I go...But before I begin:

I'm dutch, and my mother tongue is not english, nor have I ever spent any time in a foreign country where my knowledge of english was required...well, save for those three days I spent in England...anyway, if you happen to read this and see some major errors in spelling and/or grammar, don't turn away to read something else. I'm pretty confident about my english, but I am by no means an expert. And, if you would like to/have the time, you might point out a few to me, so I don't make any more of them. Thanks .

The chapters might not be too big. That's simply because I'm having a hard time deciding what to put in chapters, and for me, less is more. Don't fret, however, because if the chapters are smaller, the updates follow each other in more rapid succession .

Okay, this is my first attempt to write anything like a novel, and my first attempt to write anything in english. Criticism is good, but if u could keep it constructive, that would be very much appreciated.

Right, the beginning of this story is set the morning after Marco tells his mother that he is gay. (Season 4, Episode 3, King of Pain). Everything that has happened before is like in the show, but after...you'll just have to wait and see.

And last but not least, I certainly hope u like it. Please review after reading. I don't care whether you review positive or negative (though I'm hoping for positive, of course), as long as you can tell me why. Nothing like a good review to right my wrongs. Enjoy!

Right, one more thing: talking is always between quotation marks (""), and thoughts are in italics(Italics). Just so u don't get confused.

Chapter 1

Slowly but surely, the teenage boy awoke from a deep slumber. The first rays of sunlight reflected beautifully in his brown eyes, but he quickly rose his hand to shield them from the orange radiance.

His other hand went to his face, instinctively trying to wipe something off. Something that wasn't there anymore, but whatever had been there had been replaced by parts of his skin that now felt raw and rough. It made him confused, curious, and certain he'd forgotten something. Still shielding his hands, he rose to his feet and stumbled over to his mirror.

I look like I've been crying my eyes out, he thought. Moreover, he was still wearing the outfit he'd worn to school yesterday. Then it occurred to him that he really had been crying, for almost the entire night. He must've fallen asleep at a certain point, which explained why his curtains weren't drawn.

His mind was still a bit foggy as he tried to remember what he had been so emotional about. A tear welled up in his left eye. Now he remembered. He'd done what had been asked of him. Well, half of it, anyway. Even though that was true, he wished he hadn't done it, but what else could he have done? The love of his life had told him that it couldn't go on like this, and Marco would not be the one to end this relationship. Well, not at this point, when everything was going so well.

Marco wiped his eyes and the rest of his face, and tried to style his hair into something that could at least remotely pass for decent. He didn't succeed.

Still a bit upset about last night's events, he put on some new clothes as the ones he was wearing smelled like someone had been sleeping in them. For a week. In a blur of motion, he put on his jacket, put the neccesary items into his backpack and took that with him.

He rushed down the stairs, ran through the kitchen, grabbing something off the kitchen table, and went out the front door about as fast as he could. He was hoping his parents, at least his mother, were still in bed. Minor relaxation washed over him when he realised they were both still sleeping, but in the back of his mind he knew that he would have to confront her sooner or later. Later would be good, he thought, but that wasn't going to happen. Tonight he would have to talk about it whether he really wanted to or not.

The morning breeze and the empty streets calmed him down. He loved this part of day, especially because he could get some work done when everything was so quiet and peaceful. He decided to sit down somewhere near school and he took out the sandwich he'd snatched off the kitchen table just now. Staring at it, he knew he was hungry, but he just couldn't get himself to eat anything. Thoughts about what had happened with Dylan, and then with his mother, kept occupying his thoughts.

So much had happened in so little time. He just, he couldn't handle it all. Not now, not this soon. Besides, he had this whole school president election thing to worry about, not to mention the piles of homework he still had to do. Normally, he would've finished it ages ago, but his relationship with Dylan had taken up some more time than he'd anticipated, and the school president elections required some good attention as well. He'd hoped to get a lot of things done last night, but that plan had gone down the drain in an instant.

'As always, perfect timing,' he said to himself, releasing a monumental sigh. At this point, I might as well wait for everything else to wrong as well. No, I shouldn't be thinking like that. Everything will be just fine. Well, almost everything, I hope...

Meanwhile, the rest of town hadn't been standing still and people were getting out. Cars started to fill the streets and children were starting to go to school. Marco, however, was too occupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice anything of that. He just kept staring at the sandwich in his hand, which was still untouched.

A tap on the shoulder brought him rushing back to reality. 'Marco!' He jumped up and turned his head around quickly, revealing a face that was on the brink of being terrified. 'Marco, calm down. I'm not here to beat you up. Well, I wasn't planning to, in any case.' Staring back at him was the face of one of his best friends Ellie. His facial muscles relaxed and he sighed.

'Would you mind not scaring the living daylights out of me next time?' Ellie looked puzzled. Undoubtedly, she she was dying to find out wat was wrong with him. 'That depends. What are you doing here? You usually take an other route to school, and you never sit down until you're in class. What happened? Is it something about Dylan? Or is it that hag from hell, Alex?'

Great, just what I needed, the Spanish Inquisition. 'Ellie, please. It's nothing, I'm just a bit swamped right now. I have tons of homework, I'm running for president and I have a really bad rel...wait a minute. Why would Alex be bothering me?' That didn't make sense. He didn't even really know her, and he was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

'You haven't heard?' Ellie seemed pleasantly surprised, being able to tell him something he didn't already know for a change. 'Heard what? Ellie, what is it?' Her smile spread to a facebroad grin. 'Alex is also running for president.' Surprised by Ellies newsflash, he couldn't help blurting out 'What? That hag with the manners of a cavewoman? What is she thinking?' Ellies smile faded. 'Okay, now I'm seriously suspecting something is wrong with you. You always know what's going on, especially things concerning matters you are involved in, like this election.'

Great. What am I going to say to her? I have to think of something, quick! 'El, listen...we have to get to school. I wouldn't want to be late now that I'm running for prez. You know what, I'll tell you at lunch, okay?'

Before she could even reply he was already bolting past the school fence. Reluctantly, Ellie followed. She wanted to know, she really did. Looking down, she noticed a sandwich lying on the ground. That was the last thing she needed to be sure of it. Something was definately wrong with Marco. It just wasn't like him to skip breakfast, let alone skip it outside.

Besides, it was more than obvious to her that Marco was trying hard to avoid the matter. It must be something important, and getting it out in the open was the best solution. She had learned that the hard way. Today, she would find out what it was, whether Marco wanted to tell her or not...