I am SO sorry for the late update! Im not holding my fic hostage, I swear! I've just been under some stress, like most of you are, Im sure. You know, end of the year, finals, all that good stuff. So, Im sorry!

Note: To a 'Coral T,' who didn't leave an e-mail, I think I have all my facts in order. I refuse to apologize for anything distorted. If there are discrepancies you cannot cope with, I ask you to consider the fic AU, which means alternate universe/timeline. And another thing, I think Jack would be sad, because he's a person and people get sad. I don't think he's happy go lucky 24/7, especially during the painful experience of being a teenager. And I said it would be dark. And it will only get darker from here on in. Try to understand. Feel free to read and review again.

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Someday My Prince Will Come

Chapter 6

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Im starting to think, that if I close my eyes and wish hard enough, all of this crap will turn into gold. Its been like that lately. I've been doing nothing but wishing. Wishing that Will would feel more comfortable with himself. Wishing that my mother would stop acting so normal. Wishing that I could just go through a day of school without getting jumped. At least I have my play. I convinced Mrs. Coopman to let me work backstage with the costumes and makeup. I guess its better, I wouldn't have been able to pull off Prince Charming anyhow. And if our piano player is sick, I can fill in for him. Rehearsals begin next week, but I won't be needed until the dress rehearsals.

So until then, Im bored and useless. I guess I can have fun other ways, manage to sneak into a bar with my fake ID or something.
Will and I have been having a blast. He finally got the dancing down, but he's still working on his weight problem. And I got him a guy at a bar. I paid him actually. Hopefully Will can learn a lot from this little relationship. Poor boy.

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The afternoon clouds hung in the sky, waiting on something that would not come. January was ending, and the winter was colder than ever. A stinging wind escorted Jack down the road towards his friend's house. In an never-ending state of nervousness, the young man turned to make sure no one had followed him.

Darting up the stairwell, Jack relaxed a bit. He felt safer in the company of his friend Frank. Hopefully he would be home.

Jack knocked and jumped back, as a bedraggled Noah answered the door, with a hard look on his face.

"Oh, uh is-" Jack started to ask.

"No. Go away." Noah said brusquely and started to close the door.

"Why?" Jack scowled.

"Im busy."

"With what?"

Just then a shorter man came from the room and embraced Noah from behind. His blue eyes met Jack's for a moment, and then he gave a haughty grin.

"Nothing you would know anything about." Noah smirked and closed the door.

Bright red with fury, Jack cursed and descended the stairs. 'I know plenty!' He huffed and recalled the recent brief escapade with a young man he met at a bar. It was the exact same bar that he'd gotten Will a date. A satisfied little feeling stirred in him as he remembered the happiness in Will's eyes as the man had said 'yes'. Jack's thoughts returned to his own date.

They had done some inappropriate things, but had not done anything drastic, thankfully. Jack smiled to himself. 'Im so bad!'

'''''flashback'''''

Jack watched Will from across the bar, simpering shamelessly. Although he had paid they guy to go out with Will, it was still gratifying to see the new spring of confidence in his formerly closeted friend. But he couldn't help but feel impatient and heartsick at the sight of Will getting to know someone.

Jack's eyes glazed over, and he let out a wistful sound. 'Will is so... nice. He's just so beautiful, and nice... I wonder if I should tell him... ' The teenager could feel himself heating up as he thought about it. If he did tell him, he risked losing a great friendship; probably the only real friendship he had established since... ever. 'If I don't tell him, I think I'll die.' He thought as a small pain clutched him. He continued to watch the college student.

Will laughed awkwardly as the man he was with placed a hand on his knee. He turned frantically, seeking Jack for guidance. As he caught the sight of his younger friend's gaze from across the bar, Will immediately relaxed. Jack's soft blue eyes held a subtle hint of approval and it comforted him.

Jack watched, his heart catching as Will smiled at him and nodded. 'It wouldn't be fair to him if I told him...'

Will let out a much more confident laugh. Jack dropped his look of sadness.

'I'll just wait a little longer... '

"Hey, what's a cute little thing like you doing all alone?" Uttered a rich voice from behind him. Jack turned and smiled at the man.

"Just waiting for someone."

Before he knew it, he was up against the wall of the restroom, having the most intense pair of lips he'd felt on him since his last boyfriend. And thought men crooned and snickered as they passed through. The older man merely smiled at Jack.

"Don't you think its raunchy to be doing this in a bathroom?" Jack whispered with a devious little smile.

"Yes." The man replied and resumed attacking Jack's neck with his mouth. The two managed five minutes of groping and fierce, wanton kissing; until Jack recognized the overzealous ambition in the man's eyes. He had to put an end to it before it was too late. And he was still uncertain with that disease floating around.

"You know how I said I was waiting for someone?" Jack asked, pulling away.

"Yea?"

"Well, sorry, but that person wasn't you." And he smiled, because he knew what he was waiting for.

'''''end fb'''''

Jack flopped onto his bed, heaved a sigh and absently began fingering a moderately large bruise on his side. He had been in gym class, and was cornered by James again. 'I should learn to close my mouth once and a while.' Jack smirked ironically and thought of what he'd said.

"What was it?" Jack asked himself. "Oh yea; 'You're all so tacky, I could care less about what you say'" And he was thrown against the rail that lead up the stairs to the boys' locker room. The pain was dull but hardly severe.

Jack wandered over to his desk pulling out his journal and logging in. He jotted down the date, and then blanked out.

A bad thought entered his mind. 'Will it be like this forever? Will the heteros always tell me I have this disease and then push me over a fence and into a trash-can?' He was scribbling. 'Or will those angry closeted freaks keep blaming me, and telling me Im wrong?'

He was always a good writer when he was upset. The words came naturally as if all the emotions inside him were taking form on the paper. Jack's pencil moved across the lines. Sentence after sentence, his frustration fueled him, and he finished; gazing down at the page, Jack felt lonely.

'Will... Will it always be like this?' He asked himself. 'Or should I wait?'

'''''''''''

Jack barred his teeth in anger as the principal scolded him.

"It wasn't my fault! He's the one who-"

"Mr. McFarland, you don't expect me to believe that James did this to you, a third time. He would not risk his basketball scholarship, just to prove a point of his to you. Honestly, Im starting to think that you are causing all this... "

"Mr. Antonopolous," Jack could barely protest as his swollen lip began throbbing.

The school official eyed him warily, fully aware of his student's situation. And he was fully aware of the danger he posed.

"Jack." The principal said, finally using Jack's first name. "You need to speak to the school counselor. Im making it mandatory. I cannot have you disrupting the order in this school anymore." His mouth went grim and he drew his eyebrows together. "Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Jack grumbled before exiting the office. He walked past his reflection in the windows and glass of classroom doors, and he screamed inside. His shirt was completely ruined; torn beyond repair, and his hair looked awful. Jack stalked past the theater and glared at his gym teacher.

"I was in Mr. An-"

"Already know. The bell's gonna ring McFarland. You best run the mile now or you'll have to make it up along with an extra mile tomorrow."

Jack rolled his eyes and hurried into his gym clothes. He actually needed a run, to shake off the judgements and sentiments of his conspiring teachers.

'They're all against me.' he thought about his peers and his superiors, and he despaired as he remembered the way his english teacher had purposefully singled him out, to humiliate him.

"Mr. McFarland, please tell us in your own words what Beowulf truly wanted when he entered his last battle, and do you think this was important in the emphasis of the theme?" she had asked, an evil glee dancing about in her eyes.

"Uh, I-" Jack had been paralyzed. He could barely manage memorization, much less critical thinking. All eyes had been on him, waiting and anticipating what he would answer with. "Beowulf , uh, he wanted to fight for a last time and-" His throat went dry.

Their eyes. All probing, all evil, all wanting to see him go down. And his instructor; the most eager to see him fail, the most complacent with his incompetence. He hated her.

Jack finished his mile, with an angry bruise and an aching jaw.

''''''''''''

He ran into James again, taking in that smug countenance with all the patience he could muster.

"You got nothing, fag. You can't do anything but shut up and take what you deserve."

Jack could only glare as the bell rang.

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Jack was walking down the hall towards the exit, amid the pelting crowd. He was just about to make his escape when:

"Jack McFarland, please report to the Nurse's office." The voice boomed over the speaker, and Jack groaned.

"What now?"

He turned and began to make his way back towards the administration section of the school. Moving against the students streaming from the building, Jack suddenly felt nervous.

"What could the nurse want with me?" He fretted and began gnawing at his lip.

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I know I know. Pretty much nothing in this chap. I just wanted to show you that Im still alive. But this chapter is meaningful to me so, please review. I am very grateful for all your reviews so far. Im not trying to keep you from the fic, Im just very slow, and I apologize once again.

I promise I will come out with at least 2 more chaps this week. Once again, thank you all! Kisses!