Simon sighed and flopped onto the couch. Surprisingly enough, people had reacted well to his confession, and although some girls had started crying, there hadn't been any attacks, be they emotional or physical.. those football players were certainly worrying him though..

He kicked his shoes onto the lfoor and closed his eyes, remembering the club last night. He was never alone on the dance floor and even Stuart looked impressed. He was fast becoming accustomed to this new life. Simon chuckled lowly, arching his back, stretching.

Practice was getting worse now, with the championship getting closer. The team was running drills for an hour straight and they were usually dead tired by the end, and today was no exception. He groaned quietly and stretched again, feeling a pain in his lower back that he surmised would keep him from clubbing that night.

The door slammed shut and Simon opened one tired eye, yawning as he saw his older brother Richard walk in. "Oi, Rich." He said semi-cheerfully. Richard fixed him with a look that could've melted steel.

"What the hell is your problem?" He snapped. Painfully, Simon propped himself up on one elbow, blinking in confusion. "You disgraced the family, you ..you faggot.." Simon felt his heart stop. He would've been stupid to think that everyone would accept his lifestyle change, but he had thought that his own brother would've..

"I beg your pardon.."

"Fucking bloke at college asks me if I'm Simon 'Awke's brother.. I say 'yeah' and 'e says "well thank 'im for the good fuck last night." and gives me a phone number." Richard threw the crumpled piece of paper in his younger brother's face, looking disgusted. "Do you know what people are going to think!?" He didn't wait for Simon to respond, as the boy was still stammering, his wide eyes staring in shock. He and his brother had always gotten along well, and this sudden change of heart was, well, disenheartening, to say the least. "Mum and dad'll bloody disown you when they find out.."

"They know." Simon murmured. Richard snorted. "And they're fine with it."

"They just don't know how wrong it is.. when you get sick, they'll know."

"I don't think a flu will make them change their minds." Simon said, half-jolingly.

"AIDS, you little faggot!" Richard snapped. "Do you have to be so goddamned selfish that you don't care about humilating your family!? It's so fucking disgusting!"

Simon shrugged and lay back on the couch. "What's your problem?"

Richard was practically trembling with anger. "If you want to suck cock, do it somewhere else.. Don't foul the house up." He turned and walked away, muttering "My brother's a fucking fairy.."

Simon felt like he had been slapped across the face, and that night, at the dinner table, he couldn't bring himself to look his brother in the eyes. It was something he'd never be able to do again..


After dinner, he left for the club, deciding that despite his physical exhaustion, he needed to get out of the house before he went insane. He danced for a few hours and was fully drunk before midnight, so he didn't recognize the man who yanked him towards the door. He looked at the man, his steps swaying lightly, and tried to pull away as he was led into an alley.

"Let go of me, you-"

Simon choked on his next word as he saw three other big burly men waiting at the end of the alley, and before he could run, he felt the fist hit his jaw, driving the bone upward, and before everything went dark, he could feel the first signs of rape.

The four football players all had their fun and left him, unconcious and bloody in the alley in the middle of the night, and it wasn't until two hours later that someone found him and called the police.. It would be another day and a half before he would wake up..

He slipped in and out of conciousness in the hospital, and his only memories were going to the club.. everything after that was a blur.. he saw his parents and his friends in the hospital room.. but the drugs that the doctors had him on were making him drowsy as all hell. He felt Mike kiss him once and then slipped back down.