Author's Note: Have stolen extra energy from my evil twin…actually, she's the good twin. Either way, I stole her bubbly extra energy to bring you a new chapter of a fanfic. This just proves either 1. I'm a workaholic 2. I really am EVIL or 3. I love my stories. Self-absorbed as it may seem. And for Teh-Drabbler…you got a 1/362 fan into 1/Lizzie…as a result of GIRLFRIEND? Am I reading that right? ….Am I the only one confused by that? …TATU makes me want to write on this one or She Loves Me Not. The Di came up on an even number. So here we are.

Timothy found himself being very cautious the next few days. He wasn't sure why this instinct had kicked in, but whenever he was walking in the hall with John, he'd try to speed his friend along. In truth, it was kind of silly. John's long legs made his pace twice that of Timothy's fastest, but Timothy was not concerned about that. He wasn't thinking about what he was doing. He just sort of did it.

"Hey, Annie," He whispered to the teenage girl who was doodling a cowboy on the side of her paper. She glanced up. "Do you know anything about some guys trying to attack John?"

"Were they adults?" Timothy groaned. He found Annie to be very pretty, and he had to admit, he had a bit of a crush on her, but sometimes her obliviousness was just irritating.

"No…I don't think, anyways," he admitted. John was refusing to tell him details, saying it didn't really matter. "Have you heard anything about it? Or about anyone wanting to hurt him for uh…reasons?" he finished lamely.

"You mean cuz he's gay?" Timothy blinked, thrown off for a moment. Perhaps Annie was not as oblivious as he'd always assumed her to be….

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "What do you know about it?"

Annie glanced around, then leaned in. "A lot of people down like it," she whispered. "They don't think it's natural. I've heard rumors there are other people in town that are gay, but…nobody knows for sure. Most kept it quiet. John actually tried to lead them into one of those rallies..you know, like you see on the news sometimes? Well, they all deserted him," she growled, "Stupid yellow-bellied cowards…he was the only one who showed up, so he was the only one ousted. But he didn't give up who the other people were. Some people are kinda mad about that…they wanted to know who else was…that way."

Timothy closed his eyes, envisioning it all. He could clearly see John Wink standing in the middle of a stage, all alone. He was admitting what he did, the only one with the guts to stand up and say 'This isn't wrong. It's just who I am'. He thought carefully as he examined the scene in his mind's eye. It was so easy to see John standing there with his head held high.

For that moment, at least. Something must have happened, Timothy decided. John was still a strong person, but he was so much more stoic than he had once been. He was quiet, rarely saying anything. It gave his words much more weight, but it was not quite the John Timothy had been best friends with.

"So…when did they start in on him?"

"That same day," Annie answered, finally abandoning her drawing. "Darn varmints…tried to tear him to pieces. He was really loud about how some in the crowd were being hypocrites, and for a month after that he got really caught up in the whole gay movement thing…then…I guess he just sort of broke down. He stopped talking and he wouldn't eat for a while."

"Is he getting better?"

"Well, he only said about four words a day until you moved back," Annie said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "So I guess he's pretty happy about that."

Timothy nodded and went back to his work, but his mind remained on John. On that image of him standing alone. He wondered momentarily if John had cried that day, but he immediately realized the answer. No. No, John had been even stronger in those days. Timothy suddenly felt as though he'd become all the more frail…if people could break down someone as strong as John, force him to change…

What all could they do to him?

The whispers had started, and it was no secret that some of the jocks thought that he was 'with' John. He had tried to stand up for himself, but it had backfired. He still had the bruise to prove it. Once more, just like when they were little, John had come to his rescue. But Timothy didn't mind it.

Deep down he wondered about the possibility there was something to it, but he always dismissed it as his own imagination playing tricks on him.

They were just friends. That was all.