AN: Time for a big, very emotional chapter! I won't keep you…just read on…

And this chapter features Depressed!Dutchy, but I promise, he will get less depressed. I know it's a downer to have a depressed character, and that's mostly in this chapter. He gets better.

                                                                                                                                               

Blink

            It was time for the first person to arrive. I had agreed to sit with Mush in the bedroom- he didn't want to greet the people at the door. I could understand why. I heard the doorbell ring, but I only tightened my grip on Mush's shoulders with one arm and grabbed his hand in mine.

            Less than a minute later, a figure appeared in the door. I immediately recognized the curvy silhouette and the shiny brown hair, and the way the figure leaned against the door frame.

            "Reno." I said, simply as a greeting that basically said, 'stay the hell away from me and Mush'.

            "Hello, Blink." She said, a hint of disgust in her voice. "I see you've made yourself right at home."

            "Yeah, well, I've been here for quite a while. May as well call it home."

            Her seductive gaze fell on Mush. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"

            "Now's not a good time."

            "Well then, make it a good time and introduce me. I'm not going to wait for you to decide it's a good time."

            I felt Mush tense up against me; he was like a wolf, able to sense conflict in the air.

            "He'll introduce us when he feels like it, bitch. Get out of here." He snapped, and I looked down at him in surprise. Reno stood and fumed for a moment, but she just had to have the last word.

            "You'll get yours, Mush. Both of you. You just wait." She hissed before stalking out of the room.

            "You cursed. I mean, without being forced to." I said to Mush, and he just shrugged.

            "I just hate this. I hate it."

            "I'm gonna be right here. I'm not leaving you. We'll be fine."

            I checked my watch- 25 minutes before the next family member came. I needed to do something to get Mush's mind off this- the more we sat here and waited, the more nervous he would get. I stood up and pulled him to his feet, tugging him close to me and kissing him.

            "Come on. Let's go swimming."

            "What? No!"

            "Okay. We'll do it the hard way."

            I grabbed his wrist and started dragging him to the backyard, ignoring his protests and not letting him out of my grip. I dragged him right past a mildly amused Skittery, who happened to be sitting in a chair by the pool reading a magazine.

            Mush's eyes were wide as I grabbed him by the waist and pushed him to the edge.

            "You wouldn't." he said, and I smiled and kissed his neck.

            "Oh, believe me, I would."

            With that, I shoved him into the pool, soaking Skittery as well.

            "Thanks Blink. I needed that." Skittery said, shaking the water off his magazine. I reached over and grabbed the back of his beach chair, and then I flipped him forward into the pool as well, chair and all.

            This was getting very fun, very fast.

            But then it got very bad, very fast.

            Skittery and Mush gave each other one look, and I knew I was in trouble. I didn't wait two seconds before I took off running for the house, two very wet and very mad guys chasing me.

            I burst into the house, and Reno's mouth dropped open as Mush and Skittery came in after me, and quickly caught up. Mush grabbed my arms and Skittery grabbed my legs, and I struggled in vain as they carried me back outside and to the edge of the pool.

            "You boys got the floor in here soaked! And he's not even wearing swimming trunks, you barbarians!" Reno yelled from the door. Mush just smiled.

            "That's the whole point!" Mush yelled back.

            Skittery laughed. "And if you stay there, you're next!"

            Reno quickly disappeared into the house, not wanting her top-of-the-line miniskirt compromised by pool chemicals. And with that done, Skittery and Mush threw me into the pool.

            Now I could see why they were so mad.

Dutchy

            When the doorbell rang, I once again ignored it. Spot groaned and dropped his sandwich on the plate, running to the door and opening it.

            "Hi there." I heard him say, but I didn't turn to look. I didn't want any of these people here. There was only one person I wanted here, and he couldn't be here.

            "Hi Spot."

            Penny?!

            No. Don't look. Just ignore her, she'll go away. She'll disappear, like a bad nightmare.

            "Hi Dutchy."

            Damn.

            I looked up at her and forced a smile. "Hey Penny. Fancy seeing you here."

            She laughed. "I understand if you don't want to talk yet. I'll go say hi to your friends."

            One good thing about females- they can always tell when you don't want them around. I thought I was free until she turned around after just a few steps.

            "So you're really sure you're gay?"

            That was the Penny I knew. Smart girl, but asks the stupidest questions known to man.

              "No, of course I'm not gay, Penny. I just kiss Specs because I mistook him for a girl." I snapped, and her smile disappeared.

            "You didn't have to be nasty about it. I just don't quite understand you, that's all." She said before walking out.

            "Just shoot me now…" I muttered, laying down on the couch and covering my face with my hands. I suddenly had an overwhelming urge to ask the next head of household to nominate me…I wanted out. I didn't want to stay. This was a living hell now.

            But I had promised Specs I'd keep going.

            Specs…I love you…I miss you so much…I can't take this… 

            "Dutchy…are you okay?"

            Spot sat down beside me on the couch, and I nodded and sat up again, wondering why he would care how I was feeling.

            "Look, I know you miss Specs, but you've gotta cheer up. You've done nothing but mope around since he left."

            "I know." I said. I didn't want to argue with Spot right now, I just wanted to wallow in self misery.

            "Do I need to 'pull a Blink' and throw you in the pool?"

             I looked up at him, and I'm sure I looked pretty panicked. But then I was just annoyed. "You couldn't if you tried."

            "Yeah, guess not."

            He stood up and left me sitting there alone, and I sighed with relief. I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to imagine that Specs was here, sitting beside me, and not halfway across the country. Or further.

            Quite suddenly I felt something snap down over my head and I opened my eyes, realizing that all I could see was cloth. Hands grabbed at my limbs, lifting me off the couch and starting to move me.

            I started yelling as much profanity as I could get out in one breath, kicking and fighting but unable to break free. I heard the guys laughing, and then I heard the back door open.

            Oh, shit.

            I finally broke a leg free and got in a good kick, and I heard someone moan and the thud of them dropping, but someone else got a grip on my leg before I could do more damage. I was swung backward once, and then I was flying through the air.

            I hit the freezing cold water, and I quickly pushed myself back to the surface and pulled the bag off my head. On dry ground stood Spot, Skittery, and Race, laughing hysterically.

            "You guys are sick. Sick, sick, sick." I snapped, pulling myself out of the pool. "Who did I nail, anyway?"

            Race stopped laughing long enough to answer me. "Blink. Right where it hurts most, man."

            Oh. Whoops. No wonder I'd heard a loud moan- I would be crying if I got kicked there. And Blink was nowhere in sight. Neither was Mush, for that matter. I looked through the window and spotted them sitting on the couch, and I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that Mush was laughing and Blink was sending him bad looks- when he could. He was doubled over, still recovering from the pain.

            I quickly decided to go in and apologize. It was funny, but I had the feeling Blink would hate me for weeks on end if I didn't apologize to him.

Race

            The doorbell again. I walked to the door, and upon opening it, I wished I never had.

            "Hi Race! Oh my gosh, can you believe I'm actually here? This is great! I mean, like, I get to meet Skittery and all the guys! Aren't you excited?"

            "Grace-"

            "I knew I'd love it here!" She squeaked, walking past me and into the house. I sighed and took her bag, almost dropping it due to the fact that it felt like it was filled with bricks.

            "I'm gonna go meet the guys. You can take that on to my room." She said, and I scowled as I dragged her bricks through the house to the bedroom.

            Of all the people big brother could've picked…

Skittery

            "Oh. My. God. It's you! It's actually you!"

            I turned around and found myself face to face with a small girl with dark, curly hair, tanned skin, and deep brown eyes, a girl who was practically vibrating as she stood before me.

            "Um…and you are?"

            "I'm Grace. I'm Race's cousin."

            "Oh…hi."

            Wasn't she supposed to hate me? I mean, I beat up her cousin!

            "Can I touch you?"

            Spot burst out laughing, and I was busy being absolutely floored. "Excuse me?"

            She suddenly reached forward and touched my chest with her fingertips, and with that, she burst out into giggles and spun around and ran back into the house, yelling for Race and saying something like "He's real, Race! I actually touched him!" It was hard to decipher anything through all the giggles.

            "What…was that?" I asked Spot and he laughed again.

            "That was probably the leader of your internet fan club."

            "Internet WHAT?"

            He sighed and walked over to me. "You're famous now, buddy. You probably have thousands of girls who would give anything to have a date with you. She…" he gestured toward where Grace had gone, "is just one of the more obsessed of those fans."

            "I don't want people to be that obsessed with me! THAT was fuckin' scary!"

            "Yeah, well, get used to it. And just hope you have a strong writing hand for giving out autographs."

            With that, he patted me on the back, and left me alone with my own thoughts. But I didn't get much peace before Grace was back outside, sitting beside me on the grass and starting up a one sided conversation. I only had to nod once in a while, or say 'Yeah', and she was satisfied.

            I was only saved when the doorbell rang again, and I took the opportunity to get away from her and go answer the door.

            "Hello there." The boy at the door said as he adjusted his tie. That's right- his tie.

            "Um…hi."

            An awkward silence. "Well, aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked, and I opened the door wider and gestured for him to come in. He surveyed the front room, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

            "When was the last time this filthy house was cleaned? Or are gay people too busy with other things to keep a clean home?"

            Okay, that was it. I was tempted to shove him back out the door now. But instead, I slammed the door shut as hard as I could and then grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up against it.

            "Take that back before I make you a part of the flooring." I hissed, and he swallowed hard.

            "Okay, okay, I take it back! Please put me down!"

            I didn't oblige him quite yet. "The next time I hear a peep out of your snotty little mouth about the people in this house…or homosexuals in general…I will make sure that you are missing a few body parts when you leave that I'm sure you would rather keep. Do you understand me, you little piece of shit?"

            He whimpered and nodded, and I dropped him and turned around only to discover that everyone in the house- and I mean everyone, even the new people- had seen the whole episode. And for a moment, everything was silent.

            "Go Skittery! That was great, Skitts!" Blink said, slapping me on the back with a huge grin on his face. Everyone else either sighed in frustration or agreed with Blink- and surprisingly no one seemed interested in helping the boy whom I had just threatened.

            "Who are you, anyway?" Race asked, staring the boy down.

            "My name is Austin Theodore Jackson. I'm Spot's best friend from home."

            All eyes landed on Spot. "You're kidding, right?" Dutchy said, looking from Austin to Spot and then back to Austin.

            Spot shook his head, and then grabbed Austin's bag and motioned for him to follow.

            "Come on. You and me need to talk."

            "You and I, Spot." Austin corrected, but Spot just ignored him. They left, and I started to do the same, but someone grabbed my shoulder.

            "Skittery."

            I turned around and faced Dutchy, wondering if he was mad at me for something. He sounded awfully somber.

            And then, quite suddenly, he hugged me. At first I wasn't quite sure what to do, but then I realized that he was crying, and I wrapped my arms around him and just let him cry on my shoulder. It took me a few moments to relax, being that close to someone, but all he needed was someone to be there for him when Specs couldn't.

            And that I could do.

Spot

            "What were you thinking?!"

            Austin continued unpacking his meticulously folded clothes, not looking at me as he spoke. "I was thinking about the inch thick layer of dust on the shelves."

            "And you somehow found that as a reason to insult half the people in the house?"

            He shrugged, something he only does when he's really off-balance because it's so 'improper'. "Father told me that gay people didn't tend to clean often."

            "You know that's a bunch of bull shit."

            "No, actually, I don't. Because I don't stay with the likes of homosexuals any longer than I have to."

            "Well, get used to it. Because Skittery will have your head if you so much as let one word slip about the homosexuals in this house."

            "Yes, I noticed that. I should've expected that reaction from a poor, abused, suicidal child. He can't be right in the brain."

            I growled. "Don't ever speak like that about any of my friends, or I'll have your head myself."

            His eyes widened. "I thought you were my friend. Surely you have more sense than to become 'friends' with the likes of them!"

            "They're better friends than you'll ever be. You watch your mouth, because when Skittery makes a threat, he means it. Just ask Race."

            With that, I stalked out of the room. I couldn't stand to be around him right now. In fact, I couldn't quite remember how I could ever stand to be around him in the first place.

            "Hey Spot…interesting friend you've got there." Race said.

            "Not exactly a friend. Not anymore, at least."

            "That's good. Cause he didn't exactly make a good impression, you know."

            "He never does. He's very homophobic."

            "Obviously."

            I sighed. "How much longer till the next one?"

            "Ten minutes."

            "Who's left?"

            "Skittery and Mush. Mush ain't doing so good. He's really nervous."

            "I would be too."

            I grabbed a bag of Oreos out of the cupboard and started snacking, something I tend to do when I'm upset. And for ten minutes, that was all we did. We just sat in silence…well, except for Race yelling at me when he realized that I was eating the icing out of the Oreos, putting them back together, and then putting them back in the carton. I ignored him though.

            The doorbell rang. And when Dutchy opened the door, I just about ran from the room screaming.

            A boy stood in the doorway, wearing jeans ten sizes too big and covered with chains and leash-looking things, and a skintight black shirt. He had crosses painted on his face, and he had a foot-tall bright green Mohawk on his head.

            He flashed a smile at Dutchy before walking in- and then he promptly slapped Dutchy on the ass as he walked by him.

            "If you ever get tired of waiting on Specs, just come to me, sexy." He said, and I don't think I've ever seen Dutchy so angry before. Skittery pulled Dutchy back, and then he turned to face the Mohawk boy.

            "Ace, now is not the time to start hitting on people. Especially not Dutchy. Got it?"

            Ace held up his hands in defeat. "Yeah, okay, okay. I was just kidding, really."

            Yeah, right.

            "So you're Spot? And you…you're Race?" Ace asked, sitting down between us at the breakfast bar.

            "Yep."

            "Nice to meet you. I'm Ace, Skittery's flamer friend."

            Race snorted. "Looks like the straight guys are still outnumbered."

            Ace grinned. "You sure are."

Mush

            The next time the doorbell rang, it would be for me. I knew it. And I was scared to death. But Blink was right there the whole time.

            "I'm sorry, Blink. I must be a real drag right now." I said.

            "You're never a drag. You couldn't be a drag if you tried." He insisted.

            "I'm still sorry about it…how much longer?"

            Blink looked at his watch. "Five minutes. No…four."

            I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. My heart was beating so fast I thought I might be having a heart attack. Or hyperventilating. Who would they send? Linette? Ashley?

            I could only hope and pray that they didn't send Toby. If they sent Toby, I may as well sign my own death certificate. Maybe Blink's too.

            "Blink?"

            "Yeah?"

            "I love you."

            He looked over at me, a smirk on his face. "You're not going to die today, Mush. Don't start getting all over the 'final words'."

            "I know, I just wanted to say it before the bomb hits."

            He threw an arm around me, his laughter not even the slightest bit strained. "I love you too, Mush."

            Ding dong.

            I pulled him closer to me, held him tighter. Because I might not get the chance to do that for the next few days. Hell was about to take over the house.

            I heard the door open. I heard Race say 'hi', but I didn't hear an answer. Not at first.

            "Where is he?"

            I immediately recognized the gravely voice. Toby.

            "Blink, I'm scared." I managed to choke out.

            "Don't be. I love you. That's all we need to get through this." He whispered as heavy footsteps approached. Toby is only a year and a half older than me, but he's three times my size. He's the star football player at out school, the star track runner, the star weight lifter…basically, the star everything. And he is an intimidating guy.

            "Leave, fag." He said, directing the remark at Blink. Blink stood up, but he didn't budge from where he stood.

            Toby growled. "I said leave. If you know what's good for you."

            "I'm not going anywhere. Whatever you have to say to him, you can say it in front of me." Blink said, slipping his arm around my waist as I stood up. I could tell that that simple move made Toby even madder than before, if that's possible.

            "Get your filthy hands off my little brother." Toby hissed.

            A surge of courage suddenly ran through me. I don't really know what happened. I just know that all of a sudden, I wasn't willing to put up with how Toby was treating Blink. And I didn't want Blink to have to keep protecting me because I was too scared to do anything.

            I grabbed Blink's hand and slid it lower down on my body, a smile on my face. A smile of challenge.

            "He'll put his hands wherever he so pleases."

            Blink raised an eyebrow at me and I smirked as the vein on Toby's forehead began to stand out with absolute rage. He clenched his fists, looking just about ready to pounce.

            "What's wrong, Toby? Something bothering you? Something like this?"

            I grabbed Blink by the waist and pressed myself against him, and then I kissed him more deeply and more passionately than I ever had, excluding our first kiss in the soaked hammock, of course. Blink was surprised at first, but he soon got into it, and I heard Toby's moan of absolute disgust before he leaped forward.

            He didn't get to us, though. Someone grabbed him from behind and threw him back, and an utterly enraged Skittery began throwing punches.

            He shouldn't have been able to take out Toby. Every single law of physics was against him, since Toby had to be five times his size, not in height but in muscle. But Skittery was just plain fierce, and Toby wasn't prepared for it. In fact, it took four of us to pull Skittery off of him.

            "Doesn't this seem familiar?" Dutchy asked as Toby stomped into the backyard and we held Skittery to the floor as he began to calm down.

            "Yeah. But this time Skitts had the right idea."

                                                                                                                                               

AN: Wow, this chapter is long. I know I said the head of household competition would be in here, but this was just too fun and already too long. Next chapter, I promise.