This is unbeta'd and not pre-read by anyone. All mistakes are my own.

MA: This story will have explicit and lemony scenes. If boy x boy relations offend you please don't read any further.

Characters belong to S. Meyer.

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[year: 2002 – Jasper age 15]

When I reached the school property I slowed to a walk on the track and checked out the football players running blocking drills. Tracey noticed me right away and waved a greeting. He was an offensive lineman and he had once been the player who stopped the other teams from tackling me before I could throw a pass when we still played Pop Warner. Now he was on the high school team and one of their most talented players. While I had pretty much completely obliterated all ties to my old lifestyle, he was one of the few who hadn't let me throw away our friendship without a fight.

I nodded back, not wanting to draw attention to our interaction. The guy may have been huge and physically intimidating, but anyone can become a pariah if they became affiliated with me.

I flipped my middle finger at one of the receivers standing around listening to the offensive coach spew instructions, he was a punk prepster who'd tried to dunk my head in a toilet last week. He wasn't successful because he didn't expect me to hit him below the belt. His mistake.

"Hey Jasper," Coach Jones called out to me. "Come on over here, I have someone I want you to meet."

I glanced Coach's way and I saw he was with Mr. Shulman, the new teacher I'd noticed at the last school assembly. The new teacher was young and hot, and I didn't want anything to do with him. Half the girls at the school, heck more than half, were probably fantasizing about his grey eyes lighting upon theirs. It was sickening. The guy probably had a wife and kids.

"Later Coach, I need to go shower," I brushed him off. Coach was an okay guy, hell he put up with my emo, jackass attitude and hadn't kicked me off the team…yet. But, I didn't kiss anyone's ass, and I didn't want to meet Shulman.

Like the girls, there was something about the guy that stirred me up and the last thing I needed was to start lusting for a teacher.

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"Mr. Whitlock."

"That's my name" I mumbled under my breath, not moving out of the chair.

"MR. WHITLOCK," principal Marchetti intoned. "My office…NOW."

My office now. I mouthed to myself in imitation of the man's stern tone as I stood up and stretched. What a fuckin' wanker.

"Mr. Whitlock, this is the third time in a month you've been caught smoking on school property. You know the rules. A three-day suspension this time."

Three days, okay I'll take the vacation. I immediately began to plan the next Warcraft campaign I could play.

"Your mother has been called and she will be arriving to pick you up momentarily."

"Thank you SIR!" I shouted as if he were a drill sergeant. Marchetti looked like he wanted to lose it. Gee, I thought it was funny.

"A suspension also means you can no longer participate in any extracurricular sports. You will not be allowed to travel to State next month for cross country."

That hurt – a lot. I'd been training for State with a dedication I didn't put into anything else in my life. Heck, it was the only sport I'd kept after I'd come out as gay. I loved to run and I was good at it. Good enough to be the only Northbrook student to qualify this year. Coach Jones would be disappointed.

My face remained stoic with the news. I never let anyone see me upset.

"Well, if ya don't wanna representative at State," I shrugged as if missing the race didn't bother me either way.

"I have one alternative," led Marchetti.

An alternative? Okay fuck head, I'll bite.

"What is it?" I asked with as little inflection as possible.

"Mr. Shulman has requested volunteers for the Trivia Team. When you get back after you serve your three day suspension, you join his team. They go to their first competition in three weeks. You give your full effort as a Trivia Team member and I don't see you in my office again, I'll grant you permission to attend State. How does that sound?"

Ya gotta be fuckin' kidding me? Me and the Geek Squad? No fuckin' way!

"He'll do it," Momma volunteered. When did she get here? "It sounds like a good deal to me honey," she added as she squeezed my arm hard enough to send me the message.

Okay Momma, I hear ya loud and fuckin' clear.

"Fantastic!" Marchetti enthused. "I'll let Mr. Shulman know."

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"You have to do what?" laughed Tori, nearly spitting out her Diet Dr. Pepper. "Fuckin' Trivia?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Momma overheard Marchetti and I'm now a member of Dork Crew. This is really your fault Tori, I wouldn't have been smokin' if ya hadn't handed me your cigarette to finish when ya took off after Leo. I'd purposely stopped bringing my smokes to school," I whined.

"Oh fuck off Jazz. You could have butted it out – I didn't force it between your lips," she smirked.

I knew that smile. She looked way too pleased with herself.

"No ya didn't ya dirty tramp. Please tell me ya didn't blow that poor boy? He has a girlfriend!" Leo was a senior, on the football team and an honor student. He was considered a generally all-around good guy.

Tori shook her mane of flaming red hair and laughed. "I don't care that he has a girlfriend. Good for them. I wanted a taste test and I was right, it was delish." She ran her tongue over her lips and I cringed.

The girl had no fucking morals and took great pleasure in seeing what normal, upstanding guys would fall for her freaky offers of no-strings-attached sexual favors.

Even I could see she was up to her ears in daddy issues.

Still, she was one of the few that didn't act as if being gay was a contagious disease and what was that saying - beggars can't be choosers? I'd definitely been demoted to the beggars category and I had the bruises to show for it.

"So, do ya know anythin' bout Shulman?" I asked, fishing for the inside scoop. It was just my luck that the one guy who'd caught my eye in recent months was the teacher I'd be spending my time with every day after school.

"Shulman? Nada. The bimbos all swoon whenever he enters a room and junior Economics has a waitin' list for the first time in the history of Northbrook, but I haven't heard a thing bout him beyond the superficial. He the one in charge of Team Lamos?"

"Yeah, I hope he's not too much of an asshole. Talk to ya later Tor."

I pushed up from the picnic table and sauntered away, not waiting for her to acknowledge my departure. She could be a bitch that way. I was about ten feet away when she suddenly shouted out a name. I thought at first she was calling the person whose name she called.

"James!" Tori suddenly shouted. "Jazz, his first name is James."

Why the fuck would I care what his first name was? The girl was even more of a freak than me.

I looked around to see several people staring at her with undisguised loathing.

Mind your own fuckin' business assholes.

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Thanks for reading!