Title: Something New

Rating: PG-13 for themes and language

Characters: In this chapter: Marco, Dylan, Marco's parents, Carlos, Paige, Ellie, Sean, Jay, Towerz, Tom

Pairings: Marco/Dylan, Spinner/Paige, Ellie/Sean, not sure of any others.

Disclaimer: I really don't own a thing, sadly.

Author's Note: I had no idea what the Michalchuk, nor the del Rossi, parents names were, therefore I made them up. This chapter is pretty harsh and incredibly Marco-angsty, but I assure you… it's all going to go uphill from here. I hope you think this chapter is all right! Maybe there's too much angst? Let me know! Okay, wow. I lost like all my enthusiasm for this story for a while. I'm telling you now, I sort of hate this chapter. I rewrote it many, many times but… hopefully you'll think it's okay. Anyway, I'm so sorry! Anyway, I decided to also stray away from only the MarcoDylan and SeanEllie scenes, and add a PaigeSpinner and maybe others.

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"H-he said what?" Marco stuttered nervously, staring with disbelief at Paige. Biting his lip, he snuck a glance at Dylan - who looked a bit confused, and a bit angry.

"Maybe you should just come downstairs," Paige said, her own voice shaking a little. Her older brother had told her he was a large fellow, but she hadn't been expecting this. And the fury in his face - she hadn't seen anything like it.

"Yeah," Dylan agreed in a hollow voice, and Marco gaped at him. The last thing he wanted to do was face his father.

"Yeah, I have a better idea," Marco scoffed slightly, terrified. "How about I throw myself out the window?"

Looking pained, Dylan tried to laugh - but failed. He knew Mr. del Rossi could be violent if he intended to. Shaking his head to bring him back to reality, he turned to Paige and asked, "Is anyone with him?"

"Um, there was someone in the car but they didn't come inside."

"All right. Look, go get Mom and Dad, and… explain to them what's happened - what's happening. Okay?" Paige nodded and started to leave the room at once. "We'll just go talk to him," Dylan continued, now looking towards the younger male.

Despite all of the many reasons he could think of to not go downstairs, he allowed Dylan to grab his arm and guide him out of the room. When they got to the top of the stairs, Marco could see his father's face, boiling with rage, and Spinner, quietly staring at Mr. del Rossi.

"Get down here right now," he barked when he spotted his son, gripping something in his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"W-why're you here, Pa?" Marco questioned him in a small, shaky voice. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dylan nod to him, as if to tell him to keep asking questions.

"You know damn well why I'm here," he spat, his already red face growing hotter by the moment. "You've brought disgrace to our whole family," he continued in a sleeker, colder voice.

At that time, to almost everyone's relief, Paige hurried back into the room, followed quickly by her parents. "Hello!" said Mr. Michalchuk loudly, rushing forward. The color in Mr. del Rossi's face slowly drained as he surveyed him with a falsely cheerful face; he obviously thought anyone who allowed their son to partake in such a disgusting lifestyle wasn't competent of being a parent at all. Rather than returning the greeting, he let out a small grunt.

"I'm Joseph Michalchuk," he introduced himself, thrusting a hand forward.

Rather than shaking his hand, he said simply in his strong accent, "Charming." Mr. del Rossi then turned his attention to Marco, "Let's go." Marco, however, stayed put.

"I - I think we should talk," Dylan's father continued, sitting down on a couch and pointing at one near him. Mr. del Rossi, with a great look of distaste, obeyed.

There was a silence in the house for a few moments, as Paige and her mother also settled themselves in couches while Spinner, Marco, and Dylan remained standing.

"Our sons are getting rather close, aren't they?" Mr. Michalchuk finally said tensely, hoping to break the ice. Almost everyone else in the room knew that was a horrible mistake. While the boys merely blushed, Mr. del Rossi's face grew redder than it had ever been. "I - I mean they've become good friends now," he improvised, with a slight stutter.

Mrs. Michalchuk glared at her husband slightly, before picking up the conversation. "Look, Mr. del Rossi, as much as you'd like to deny it, and as much as you hate it, there's nothing you can do to prevent your son from being gay. And, you'll have to live with the fact that our boys are…" She paused here, searching for the right word. "Together."

Mr. del Rossi had heard enough. He leapt to his feet, his hands positively shaking with rage. "If you want to let your son live a sinful life and go straight to Hell, then let him!" he bellowed, taking everyone else by surprise. "But my son will not be like that! He is not going to be a fag!"

"Yes, Papa, I am," Marco replied forcefully, staring him down. He marched down the steps as he spoke, towards his father who was glaring at him loathingly. "I'm going to be as fag today. I'll be a fag tomorrow. And you know what? Twenty years from now - I'll still be a fag."

The house was silent once more, and his dad almost looked dumbfounded. That was, until he raised his fist and brought it down, hard, against his son's cheek. Marco tumbled backwards, and into the couch. "You're forgetting whom you're talking to," his father said, in an oddly calm, yet icy cold, voice. He looked down at his son, showing no sympathy towards him.

Shocked, Dylan stared at his boyfriend, whose eyes were now glistening with tears and had a red handprint stamped onto his cheek, and then turned to Marco's father. He opened his mouth to say something horrible, but before he could Mr. Michalchuk rushed forward.

"He's a boy, for God's sake! He can't control his feelings!" he shouted, helping Marco back onto his feet. Trembling, Marco avoided his dad's gaze by staring at the carpet. He couldn't ever remember a time when his dad had hit him, or even Carlos. His father never used to be violent at all.

"Well as long as he's under my care, he'll have to learn to. I'm warning you: keep your son away from mine." He turned to look at Marco, and grinned nastily. "Oh, and good news. Your aunt and uncle have decided to take you in. You'll spend the rest of the school year there, in Italy, with your cousins."

To say Marco was horrified was an understatement. No matter how much he loved Italy, and most of his family that lived there, his aunt and uncle were two of the most unpleasant people he'd ever met. They were strict, they were rude, and they were extremely traditional. He could remember one time, when he and Carlos were staying with them for Christmas; their cousin had gone on a date without permission from his parents, and got busted. The next morning, in front of the whole family, his uncle took a belt to him until he couldn't sit straight for a week.

"No," he said nervously, trying his best to ignore the stinging in his cheek. "Ma wouldn't… she would never…" He was uncomfortable to see Dylan, Paige, Spinner, and Mrs. Michalchuk still gaping wordlessly.

Mr. Michalchuk, however, had seen and heard enough. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to get out of my house right now. Marco will be staying the night but we'll make sure he comes home eventually."

"I'm not leaving without my son."

"I'm afraid you will be," he continued, raising his voice. "Either on your own free will, or you could wait until the police arrive, where they will be informed of everything that has happened tonight." Mr. del Rossi looked like he had been punched. His face red, he threw a look of hatred towards Marco, and then turned and stormed out the door.

The longest pause of silence that any of them had ever experienced took place right then. After what seemed to be hours, Mrs. Michalchuk finally said in a soft voice, "Marco, are you all right?"

He looked up at her, surprised by the concern in her tone, and nodded slightly. His cheek still throbbed, but with everything that had just happened, he was able to push the pain aside.

"Okay, then, I want you four to go upstairs," she continued, in a grave voice. They obeyed quickly, as Spinner and Paige went silently filing up the stairs, with Dylan, taking hold of Marco's arm, and following. They all went into Dylan's room and sat down, looking at each other.

Marco was fighting back tears. He thought of his parents shipping him off to Italy. He thought of having to say goodbye to Dylan. He thought of never being able to kiss him again… And suddenly, the tears came like a waterfall. They rushed out his closed eyelids, leaked down his cheeks, and dropped every which way off his chin. "I hate this!" he sobbed in frustration, banging his fist on the bed. "I hate everything about this! I hate my dad, and I hate Carlos, and I hate being gay!"

Dylan didn't look exactly surprised by the sudden outburst; at least, not as surprised as Spinner looked. He drew Marco into his arms and let the younger boy cry into his shoulder, murmuring soft phrases to him to get him to calm down. Paige, too, put her hand on Marco's arm, and even Spinner managed to tell him it was "okay".'

"I hate this," Marco repeated once more, after he stopped sobbing and managed to wipe his eyes.

"I know you do, Marco. I understand," Dylan said soothingly.

"No!" he yelled, pulling back and surprising everyone. "No, you don't! I know you're gay, Dylan, but your older brother doesn't want to murder you, does he?! Your dad doesn't barge into the only guy you care about's house and tries to ruin your life, does he?! You don't know, and you don't understand!"

"Look, Marco, just because my family reacted differently than yours doesn't mean I had it easy!" he said, his voice louder than he intended. "Try having your father ignore you for the first few months! Trying having your mother look at you like you ruined her life! Try being on a hockey team with guys who want nothing more than to make your life hell!"

"Dylan!" Paige said, grabbing her brother's arm. He quickly silenced himself, frowning into the opposite direction.

"You're right," Marco said quietly, his eyes red. "I'm sorry. You're completely right." A few more tears rolled down Marco's face, and he didn't bother to brush them away. He didn't think about making a fool of himself in front of Spinner and Paige.

"It's okay," Dylan assured him, forcing a smile.

"No, it's not. Why does life have to be like this? Why can't my Pa and Carlos just get over it? I'm sorry I'm dragging you into this." He paused a second, and looked at the bruises and scrapes littering Dylan's face. "I'm sorry you have to go through with this again."

"I don't mind," he said quietly, but before he could say another word, his parents yelled up the stairs for him and Paige to come down a second. "Be right back," he said, as the siblings left the room.

Turning around, Marco looked at Spinner, and Spinner looked at Marco. "Your dad's brutal," Spin offered.

"You think?" he retorted sarcastically.

"Look, dude, I know I haven't been the greatest friend but you've got to get over this attitude. I'm sorry about what happened tonight, but I didn't have anything to do with it. And I'm only trying to help," Spinner shot at him.

Sighing, Marco nodded. "I know. Sorry. I'm just a little… stressed."

"You know, what you need right now is just a free day. No dads, no Carlos, no… sexuality, no worries," he said, nodding. "Just you and me, what do you say?"

Marco looked at him. "When?"

Shrugging, Spinner replied casually, "Tomorrow?"

Smiling genuinely for the first time in a while, Marco nodded. "I'd like that. Thanks, Spin." At that moment, Dylan and Paige came back into the room, looking a bit more relieved than when they left.

"Your mom called, Marco. She kept apologizing for your dad and your brother beating Dyl up, and she said there's no way she was sending you to Italy," Paige said, and Marco felt like millions of bricks had been lifted off his shoulders.

"She also said you can stay here as long as you want and that when you're ready to come home, they're not gonna bother you," Dylan added with a smile. "Oh, and that she loves you very much."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired," Dylan said after a hesitation. They all agreed it was time for bed. Paige gave him Marco and her brother a kiss on the cheek, and Spinner did their manly handshake, and then the two left the room.

"I'd say it'd be stupid to think about sleeping on the floor, huh?" Dylan said when they were gone. Tiredly, Marco mumbled something incoherent and nodded. All he wanted to do was fall into a deep, dreamless sleep and wake up happy. He doubted that'd be possible, but waking up with Dylan at his side definitely wouldn't put a damper on it.

Dylan proceeded to pull back the covers, and then paused. "Would you be uncomfortable if I slept in my boxers?" he asked, doubtfully.

"I don't care," he said, a bit too quickly. Blushing furiously, he turned away as Dylan laughed. The older boy then unzipped his jeans and pulled them off hurriedly, revealing plaid boxers. He also took off his shirt, but he had a plain white one on under it that he left on. He got under the covers and smiled at his boyfriend, wondering if this was going to make Marco feel awkward at all.

After a long self-conflict, Marco turned away, and then he too slid his pants off. He was wearing plain red boxers, which clashed so horribly with his bright blue shirt that Dylan had to laugh. He got under the covers next to Dylan, smiling inwardly.

"Your dad really got you good," Dylan said softly, noticing the red, swollenness of his cheek and sighing.

"Not nearly as good as Carlos got you," Marco said, looking pointedly at Dylan's black eye.

"Oh, just wait until someone spots our injuries at good old DCS. Not to mention Carlos'. The rumor mill will be up and running," Dylan said, smiling faintly.

"Oh boy." Marco breathed out a puff of air so heavy that a few strands of his hair flew upward and came back into his face. He yawned loudly, and Dylan turned off the lights.

Turning comfortably on his side, Marco thought about everything that had happened that day. "Longest day in history," he murmured, but now that he knew his mother was there for him, he wasn't as worried.

In fact, he was able to flop his head down on the pillow and fall almost instantly into a deep sleep.

[Journal entry 10]
Marco del Rossi


I should have known Carlos would have gone running to my dad. I can just imagine him bursting into our house with a gleeful look on his stupid bruised face, screaming, "Marco's a fag, Papa, for real! He was kissing a boy!" My papa probably asked what had happened to his face before comprehending what Carlos was saying, and Carlos probably told him about how he tried to gallantly stop me from doing something so wrong, but then Dylan pulled a knife on him and thirty other boys - no, men - came along and he only managed to escape alive… but not before doing serious damage to each and every one of them.

You may think I'm exaggerating about his exaggeration but trust me, I'm not. And Papa would believe every word of it. Then probably the words about Dylan and me sank in, and he rushed to his car angrily.

The rest I can tell you are facts. He came to Dylan's house, extremely mad. He told me to leave with him right away, but I'm not that stupid. Mr. and Mrs. Michalchuk tried to intervene, but that only made Papa madder. And he did something I was expecting but never thought would happen. He hit me.

I guess maybe I went a bit too far saying I'd be a fag for the rest of my life, but it was the truth. And he hit me. It hurt, too, but it was mostly the shock of the whole situation. Then finally Dylan's dad threatened to call the cops and he left.

I guess they called my mama after that, and she's the best mother ever. She promised me they'd leave me alone, and I know they'll listen to her. I'm so thankful.

But right now, all I want to do is to forget today. All of it. Ciao.

[/Journal]

-----

"That sucks about Marco's dad," Spinner commented, as he and Paige left Dylan's room.

"Yeah, but he'll be all right with Dylan. Dylan already went through with this, and he's still breathing," Paige responded, nodding slightly.

"Yeah, but was it true… about what Dylan said? I mean, your parents?" Spinner continued, opening the door for his girlfriend and then following her into her room. "Were they really like that when he came out?"

"Totally," she declared. "I was pretty young then, like twelve, but I remember it all really well. My mom would burst into tears every time Dyl walked into the room, and my dad would pick up the newspaper or a book or turn on the TV, and act like he wasn't even there. It was pretty sad."

Spinner thought about that for a few seconds, before sitting on her bed and getting ready for sleep. "Weren't you upset?" he asked thoughtfully, peeling off his socks and flinging them into the corner of the room.

"Me?" she asked, scoffing. "Of course not." And then, after a short pause, "I always wanted an older sister." The two of them laughed quietly, but then she continued in a more serious voice. "Well, I actually was kind of upset at first, but only because I thought I was supposed to be. You know, I was just doing what I thought I should. But then, I saw how sad Dylan was all the time… and it got easier."

"How'd it get easier?" Spin asked, raising an eyebrow. He started to gather the pillows and things he needed for bed.

"Well, at first I just… asked questions. You know, was he sure? Could he try liking girls? He basically sat me down and told me he still wanted to be my older brother, and if I was uncomfortable with him liking boys, we didn't ever have to talk about it."

"That's cool," he replied. They hadn't really ever had a conversation much like this one before, and Paige realized how understanding Spinner was trying to be. She appreciated it a lot. "Then what?"

"Well, I told him that it was okay if we talked about it. And I -" she paused, and laughed "-I asked him who he thought was hot. He said, 'Orlando Bloom' and I knew that him being gay was the best thing that could've happened." She grinned, and Spinner snorted. "It stopped being him being gay, and started being him being the best older brother a girl could ever have."

"You know, I'm not that bad of an older brother myself," Spinner pointed out, smirking.

"I'm sure Kendra begs to differ. And besides, you threaten to beat up her boyfriend like, every other day."

"Yeah, well, Isaacs deserves it."

"I bet."

"He bought condoms," Spinner retorted, narrowing his eyes. "She was twelve years old! And besides, he hangs out with that loser JT."

"Hey, I happen to like JT," she shot back, putting her hands on her hips.

He laughed. "Yeah, you would like him… for thirty dollars."

"Hun, shut up! That was forever ago!" she giggled, shoving him backwards a little.

"I'm just got glad I got you before another guy could," he said softly, grinning.

Paige smiled up at her boyfriend, and then leaned in and kissed him sweetly on the lips. He kissed her back, and they pulled apart, beaming. "What was that for?" Spin asked her, looking pleased.

"For being the best boyfriend a girl could ever have," she whispered, kissing him once more and then pulling him into a hug. When they pulled apart once more, Spinner picked up his bed things and grinned.

"You know, I don't understand why they can sleep in the same room - no, same bed -- and we can't," he said, pouting.

"Because my parents know you, Spin." She kissed him once more and then pointed at the door. "Good night, sweetie."

"'Night honeybee," he returned, and then left the room to spend the night on the couch. He had a big smile on his face, and no complaints.

-----

Long after his eyes adjusted to the dark, and Marco's breathing became slow and regular indicating he was fast asleep, Dylan lay awake. He knew he should have been sleeping away comfortably, especially after the excruciatingly long day that had just occurred, but he couldn't imagine ever being more comfortable than he was now.

Marco moved around in his sleep a lot; he'd noticed that the first time he spent the night. It was a rather large bed, and the younger boy had fallen asleep near the corner of the left side, a decent distance away from his boyfriend. Now that he'd been sleeping for a while, though, his leg was faintly touching Dylan's, and his arm was strewn across Dylan's stomach. He didn't dare move, because the warmth from Marco was nice.

Rather than attempting to fall into a deep slumber, he shifted his eyes to the window. The sky was lit with stars, and the glowing of the full moon. He searched the sky for consolations that he knew, but he grew bored after finding Cassiopeia for the fourth time.

So instead, he thought about Marco. His mind always drifted freely on that particular subject, and a memory automatically came to his mind that had taken place a few days after Marco's bashing, which he'd gotten full details of after Marco told Jimmy, who informed the rest of the gang, and Paige had instantly told him that night.

Dylan was walking through the halls on his way to class, as usual, books in hand. He glanced up when he reached the door, but paused when his eyes met Marco's. He was looking desperately sad, with a nasty scrape on his cheek as well as over his right eyebrow, and he stopped mid-stride.

Paige had told him what had happened, and he knew what bashings were like, but maybe he wasn't expecting that. Or maybe he just had tons of emotion in his heart for the younger boy. Whatever it was, it sent chills down his entire body.

Marco's stare was blank, maybe even frightened. He immediately adverted his eyes when Dylan opened the door to say something.

"Wow," Dylan said, frowning intensely and raising his eyebrows. "They really did a number on you." Maybe it was an impulse that brought his hand up towards the shorter boy's face, but he didn't have time to think through his action. He'd only meant to delicately swipe away the dark hair that was hanging over his bandage, but Marco had just as quickly pushed it away with his own hand.

"Yeah," he said dismissively, still not bringing his eyes to meet Dylan's. He automatically pushed past Dylan, leaving him confused and sympathetic.

"Marco…" he said, baffled at the cold shoulder he was receiving.

"Look," he replied in an indifferent tone, turning to face him once more. He was now staring him dead in the eye, with as little emotion as possible, so much that Dylan wished he would look away. "I'm fine, okay? So just leave me alone."

With those words, he left Dylan by himself, hurt and still completely bewildered. He continued to watch his retreating back sadly for a few more moments, and then sullenly returned to class.


Dylan snapped back to reality when, once more, Marco twisted in his sleep. Now his leg was intertwined with his, and his head was resting peacefully on Dylan's arm. He smiled slightly, but that memory was nagging him. No, more like tearing at his chest.

Why had Marco decided to ignore him? He thought that perhaps Marco was trying to pretend to not be gay. Hadn't he told Dylan himself that he didn't realize he was attracted to men until they met? Sure, that was reasonable enough. He suddenly saw the reasoning. Straight kids didn't get mobbed in parks.

But what was it that made him want to change his ways? Where did the change of attitude, that helped him open up to Dylan, come from?

Sighing without realizing it, he emptied his mind of his suffocating thoughts and instead focused on Marco's face. He was adorable… especially when he was sleeping.

And then he realized that he didn't care why Marco came to him. What mattered was that Marco was laying merely inches away from him. What mattered was that he had gotten to kiss Marco. What mattered was that he was his boyfriend. The handprint on Marco's face was slightly noticeable, and Dylan wanted to rip Mr. del Rossi apart limb by limb to pay for what he'd done.

Instead, he settled for looking at Marco's hand, which was merely inches from his face, and pressing his lips to it lightly. He smiled, then closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

-----

"Good morning, Dad," Ellie said, stumbling wearily into the kitchen the next morning. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, which was understandable as she was outside after two AM. Her dad was sitting at the table, coffee cup in one hand and newspaper in the other,

"Morning Ellie," her father returned, with a secretive smile. She looked at him oddly; he was beaming like he had caught her doing something she shouldn't have.

"What's going on?" she asked slowly, eyeing her father suspiciously.

Her dad took a long sip of his steaming coffee before looking her directly in the eye. "How was your night?"

Her face paled some, and her stomach gave an involuntary flop. "Um, I… I slept okay." She forced a weak smile.

"Oh, I don't mean that," he said; now grinning more broadly than ever.

"What do you mean then?"

"Ellie," he said, leaning forward and putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm a light sleeper, darling. Thought you knew that? I heard the whole thing - from your boyfriend breaking and entering our kitchen, through the window no doubt, to you guys both leaving in the middle of the night, and not returning until later."

Ellie's head was nearly spinning. "I heard your snores…" was the only thing she could think to say, wondering how much trouble she was going to be in.

"It's not hard to fake a good snore," he grinned. For added emphasis, he gave out a loud, convincing enough to be real, snore.

"I - I'm sorry, Dad. I mean, I didn't plan it or anything. I swear. He completely surprised me. And we didn't do anything! Trust me, Sean is nice. He just took me to the park, and it was beautiful, and all we did was watch some fireworks. I promise, we didn't do anything," she rambled, shooting out words a mile a minute.

Mr. Nash gazed at her sternly for a few seconds, as she felt like she was shrinking smaller and smaller, until suddenly he started laughing. She stared in amazement while he gave her shoulder a loving squeeze.

"I know," he admitted. "I had my doubts about Sean at first, but he is a nice boy. And I do trust you."

She smiled, widely and genuinely this time. "Thanks, Daddy," she said, hugging him tightly.

"But," he continued, changing his voice to a stricter tone, "that doesn't mean it's going to happen again. Understand me? If you're going to go off with him, it's going to be during the day. And, you get permission first. Okay?"

She laughed slightly. "I understand. It won't happen again."

"Bring that boyfriend of yours over for dinner again tonight, hmm? I want to have a good talk with him." He flashed her a short wink.

"Oh, I will."

"I'm so glad you're happy, baby," he said appreciatively, still smiling.

"Me too." She smiled back again.

"I love you."

She gazed up at him, remembering how she had admired him for her entire life, and how depressed she felt whenever he was shipped off to somewhere new, and she couldn't help but feel her dad was the greatest man alive. "I love you too, Dad."

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Wow, am I pathetic or what?! It took me forever to get this chapter up, and for that, I apologize. At first I thought to myself, This story is going nowhere and I drifted away from it. I'm glad I got back to writing though, this story is fun. :D

Please, please, please don't be afraid to leave comments and critiques, or just a little note saying you read the story. Thanks so much.

PS: I promise the chapter 13 won't take so long to be put up. Actually, I'm going to start writing right away. :-) Thanks for reading!