Chapter 3:

My next class was P.E, A class I really wasn't looking forward to. There's something about getting changed in front of people that just scares me. I look at everyone to see if I see anyone from this morning that I was introduced to- No luck. I get my set of PE clothes and go to the bathroom stalls to change. I go to one of the stalls but I'm blocked by an arm. I look over to see the other strider. Not Dave, but the other one with the pointy glasses. He smirks at me. "Why you going to the stalls to change.-" He got real close to me "you got something to hide?"

I gulped and frowned at him. I shook my head and tried to get out of his way. All of a sudden a tall tan kid walked up behind him. His voice was timid but his body language was brave. "hey. Leave the new kid alone, dirk."

The guy-apparently his name is dirk- grunted and looked at me with a smirk. I got suddenly self conscious as I nodded at the tall guy to thank him and went into the stalls to change. When I came out the tall guy smiled softly at me. "What's your name?"

I smile a little. I might just have found another friend. "I'm John."

He nodded and i smiled "And yours?"

"Tavros."

Tavros… that's a really unique name. I like it. "Well, nice to meet you Tavros."

He nodded and I looked around the locker room. If you really looked and paid attention, you can see all of the little cliques and groups. I see the Goths, the athletics- who, by the way, take this class way too seriously- and the thug kids. The thug kids are easy to spot because they are the ones with the bandanas and the tattoos. Tavros' voice pulled me out of my daze. "john? You okay?"

I jumped a little and nodded. He smiled softly. "Come on. You can hang with me and my friends if you want."

I nodded and we walked to the back corner of the locker room. I saw two other guys. One of em had on a bright red turtleneck over his PE clothes and the other guy had cut his PE shirt into a tank top. Tavros smiled at me a little. "Okay john. This is Kankri" He pointed to the one in the red sweater. "-and this is Equius." He pointed to the one in the tank top. They both nodded at me and Kankri smiled.

"I'm john. Nice to meet you!"

"Dirk was trying to get in his grill. I stopped him."

Kankri groaned "why is that guy always harping on everyone?"

Kankri's voice was slightly deep but not really. He talked in proper English, which I noted. Equius spoke, his voice low and slightly raspy "He does it for the attention. I guarantee if no one paid attention to the hoof beast he would calm down."

Kankri nodded in agreement and stood up "well, I'm going to go and get some snacks. Do you guys wa-" He was interrupted by a kid yelling from the other set of lockers. The kid's voice was deep and snarky-like.

"Hey kankri, I have somethin you can eat!"

Kankri blushed furiously and frowned. "Cronus… n-not now!" he tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down. When he walked away I looked at Tavros.

"Who's Cronus?"

"Kankri's lover. Cronus and he began to date about six months ago. Cronus isn't ashamed of it-except with his friends- and kankri… well, he tries to deny it to basically anyone. Kankri's parents- super religious. They hate even the slight mention of gays."

My dad's voice played in my head. EEW! Homosexuals? John please tell me you're not one of them. Please. Do you know how they have sex?! It's vile.

I nodded and sighed a little. "I know the feeling. My dad's like that too. Not religious- but he hates homosexuals."

Tavros shook his head. "It's a damn shame."

Equius joined in. "I feel indifferent towards ones sexuality. My best friend is a lesbian. I, myself, am straight. That doesn't stop me from hanging out with anyone."

I had totally forgotten that equius was there. He's so quiet. He reminds me of karkat. I smile a little at the thought of him. I wonder how he's doing without me. Is he with someone? I really should text him. Tavros' voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"You really do space out a lot, huh?"

I chuckle and nod "Yeah. So I've been told."

There was something about Tavros' voice that was warm and inviting. Maybe it's because the first time I heard it he was defending me against that dirk. I can tell that me and him are going to be good friends.