A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! -drumroll- ANGEL/COLLINS PRE-RELATIONSHIP FLUFF/ANGEL ANGST! WOOT! Enjoy this chapter!

Tom Collins sat in his room doing his homework. They were a month into school and he was bombarded with homework. Mrs. Wright wasn't very sympathetic. He was finishing up his math homework when the phone rang. He glanced at the clock. It was already almost 8 PM. He sighed, hoping that one of his parents would answer so that he could finish his homework. Sure enough, the phone had stopped ringing and he heard his mother talking downstairs. Just as he finished up his last math problem, he heard her calling up to him:

"Tom, dear, phone for you!"

Tom picked up the phone on his desk.

"Hello?"

A sniffle. "Tom, is that you?"

"...Angie?" Tom asked.

"I'm scared," was the reply. Yes, it was definitely Angel. Another sniffle. Tom realized that Angel was crying on the other line. Tom wondered how Angel could just let himself cry like that, as if it were nothing...Tom always tried to hide his tears.

"Are you crying? What happened? Why're you scared?" A bunch of questions came out of Tom's mouth at once.

"I'm scared," Angel repeated, his voice quavering.

"Angie, calm down. Why're you scared?" Tom asked again, his voice calm.

"My dad...he won't stop yelling at me...he told me I'm worthless...and stupid...and..." He stopped to let out a little cry.

"Oh, God, Angie, I'm so sorry..." Tom didn't know what else to say.

"Tom," Angel said, "My dad doesn't want anyone calling me Angie."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's a girl's name...Tom, what's wrong with me?"

Tom was silent.

"Tom? Are you still there?" Angel sounded frantic and the sound of his voice caused a big lump to form in Tom's throat.

"Yeah, I'm still here, Angie."

"Don't call me---"

"I'm calling you that, and I don't care. All of us have called you Angie for the past five years...the beginning of the sixth, actually, countin' kindergarten...since when does your dad care now?"

He sniffed again. "I don't know...but I'm scared, Tom. I'm afraid he'll hurt me or something...He doesn't love me anymore...he used to, but now he doesn't. He loves my brother. My brother plays football and likes sports and watches games on TV with my dad."

"But why doesn't he like you anymore, Angie?" Tom honestly didn't understand.

"Don't you get it?" Angel said, his voice in almost a whisper, "Sometimes, I act a lot like...like...a girl. Remember when I used to wear nail polish? And I sometimes put makeup on when I'm home alone...and when I do, I feel like a girl. Why can't I be normal like everyone else? Like you, or Mark, or Roger?"

Tom knew that he was right. Angelo Schunard had always been a little...different from the rest of the boys at school. But that had never mattered to Tom or any of the rest of the boho kids. Of course, Roger would occasionally ask questions, but Angel would simply answer them and go back to whatever it was he had been doing. But now, after all these years, Angel had finally broken down from all the pressure.

"Angie---" He began.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT ANYMORE!" Angel cried. Tom could tell that Angel had started to cry again.

"Angie—I mean...what should I call you now? Angel? Or..."

"Yeah," he sniffed. "Angel. I like that better than Angelo."

"Then 'Angel' it is. You can stay on the phone with me until you feel better, 'kay?"

"Okay..."

They talked quietly for a little bit until suddenly, Tom heard a loud noise on the other line, like a door opening.

"Angel? You okay?" he asked. He heard voices in the background.

"Angelo, put the damn phone down!"

"Dad, leave me alone!"

"I said put the damn phone down!"

"No!"

"Don't you dare..."

There was some shuffling, and he could hear Angel shouting, "Give me the phone! Give it back! Tom's still on the other line! Give it---"

Click. Dead silence. Tom gulped, slowly hanging up the phone. He began to put his schoolbooks and notebooks in his backpack, and blinked back the tears forming in his eyes. Why he was crying, he wasn't exactly sure. Thomas B. Collins couldn't even remember the last time he'd cried until now. He hated to cry. He always thought of it as a sign of weakness.

But now the tears were falling down onto his notebook page. He roughly wiped them away with the back of his hand.

Crap...

Tom was sure of the reason he was crying then.. He was crying for Angel.

A/N (contd.): Was it stupid? Did you guys like it? Or HATE it? R&R please!