I have kind of an order to go about this. First will be Camp Campbell, then Woodscouts, the Flower Scouts, then Daniel, then a special minor character who I'm simply going to refer to as 'surprise character'. But I know the fans love him/her :)

This chapter is called: Behind the Mascara

This is Ered's story

Since she had been little, Ered's fathers had always stood up for her, even though they had a tough time with work, money and society as it was. Nowadays, Ered seemed to always be returning the favour.

She still remembered the day she had become their daughter though, over ten years ago now, that day when her life had changed. She'd been a shy and withdrawn girl back then, still scared from her first home with her real parents.

She still remembered that too.

The lady who had run the orphanage (Ered had long since forgotten her name) had invited her into her office and told her: "Meredith, we've found you a home to go to with kind parents who can take care of you. Isn't that nice?" She was always too over excited and happy, a bit like that councillor at the camp she kept getting sent to, David or something. Upon receiving the news, had simply nodded. The lady had gestured over to the corner where too men were sitting, both wearing friendly smiles and identical, stoic outfits.

"These are Simon and Alistair. They're going to be your new dads."

Ered had kept quiet on the car ride home, but she was a little confused. Simon and Alistair didn't look like brothers, and they acted like a married couple. She saw the rings and managed to deduce that they were. This confused her still. She remembered one night when her father had been watching TV and an advert had come on where two men were feeding a little boy some soup. It looked like a nice family scene, and Ered had smiled. Her father had thrown his shoe at the TV, and when he saw his daughter smiling, he had yanked her from the floor and dragged her into another room.

"Those people are EVIL, you hear me?!" He yelled at her. "They are MENACES to society!"

Ered had still been young and stupid enough to ask why. She'd had that black eye for a fortnight.

The house they arrived at was so much nicer than the orphanage; huge, with a swimming pool and Ered's very own bedroom! This was a luxury she'd never had in her life, only a dorm to share with other kids, and a smelly cupboard to curl up in before that. But this was nice and sunny and looked comfy. Ered had given her first smile in AGES and Alistair had taken her on a tour while Simon made dinner. Pizza had been her favourite food at the time, so it was pizza she got; good homemade pizza, not the cheap stuff that got served at the orphanage. Ered spoke to her new fathers for the first time.

"Thank you."

They then thanked her for being there, being the daughter they had wanted for so long. This made Ered happy. She then worked up the courage to ask the question that had been on her mind ever since they were introduced.

"Are you married?" She caught a slight look of discomfort passed between Simon and Alistair. Then Alistair answered:

"Yes, Meredith. We are." Ered tried to think of something to say that wouldn't be quoting her birth father. Simon filled the silence.

"I know it's different from what you are used to and expect, Meredith. But it's the way we are and, yes some people don't like it very much. But we hope you can be OK with it?"

"My real daddy says gay people are evil." Ered muttered. Again, that look.

"And, do you agree?"

Ered spoke the truth. "No. He never made sense. You're nice and I like it here." She gave them a wide smile, which they happily returned.

Now, over a decade later, Ered had grown out of her shell by a LONG way, and had already experienced a lifetime of snarky, homophobic comments from people she knew nothing about and who knew nothing about her, and her peers, alike. And she was sick of it, sick of everyone rejecting her family because of her fathers' sexuality! Honestly, what was the DEAL?! Homophobia was just... there was no other word for it really, uncool!

Ered knew she was one of the 'cool' girls at school. Never really paying attention in lessons, always a bit of a rebel, wearing too much make up to fit in with the rules. At first, being popular was exciting, but it had quickly become a drag. Now Ered was constantly anxious that someone would notice the flaws in her pretty, pink armour, such as her love for Disney movies, or her old habit of sucking her thumb while she slept.

Or her gay dads.

Ered was exactly embarrassed by the fact that her parents were of the same sex, but she hated the double take people always did whenever they saw them together, the look in their eyes when Ered introduced her friends. Even if they weren't homophobes, they still had the same look, the look that singled out the Miller family from anyone else's.

So Ered covered it up, most of the time, but sometimes, she had to stand up to people, the way her fathers had once stood up for her.

"Hey, fag girl, wait up!" Ered scowled as the annoying, younger boy caught up with her as she walked down the corridor to her next lesson.

"Don't you dare call me that, you little dick." She snapped. "Or I'll hit you in the face so hard you'll be grinning out your ass!" He laughed.

"You kiss your mum with that mouth? Oh yeah, I forgot, you don't have one. Or is one of your dads the 'feminine' type?"

Ered had already been suspended once this term, and she didn't want to be again. But this guy, Brendan, was just pushing ALL of her buttons today. Ered wasn't afraid to give him a slap, but in a crowded corridor, this wasn't really plausible.

"Don't you DARE insult my dad like that!"

"Which one?"

That was it.

Ered punched him so hard he was knocked back into some younger kids, who yelped in surprise. Brendan gasped, and gently touched a bleeding nose. The entire corridor stopped and stared.

"You FUCKING DARE talk about my family like that again and I'll, I'lll..." Ered gasped, and flushed red.

"Meredith Miller!" She heard a teacher yell her name. She'd fucked it all up, again! Goddamn it!

Ered turned and ran, away from the teacher, away from all the kids, away, far away...

AKA, the drama studio. No one was in there yet, so Ered curled up behind a curtain and sobbed, at what she'd just done, at her life, at the way she'd always have to hide who she really was from everyone else. Being cool was a curse, because it meant normal, kind people didn't want to talk to you or be your friend. And you had to hide your insecurities from those who did want to hang out with you.

Ered just wanted to be free of this reputation, free from all those stares, sneers, people like Brendan. That the world wasn't filled with people like her birth father. There was no way to put homophobia behind bars. It was just... there, horrible and ugly and Ered couldn't stand it a moment longer.

Why did being accepted have to come with such a heavy price?

The last bit felt a little like Heathers the Musical, but you have to get inspiration from somewhere!