I'm back!

So, it's a pretty short chapter 'cause it's just a set up chapter for what comes next. It's titled "Andrew" because I couldn't think of anything else, and most of the chapter revolves around the growth of Andrew and Lottie's new friendship.

Okay, so let's get into the chapter shall we?

~Andrew~

Mrs. Rushing was an ageing woman with brown eyes sunken into her head and poorly died hair. She didn't say much more than, "Be quiet." the entire fifty minutes, until she caught a girl in the front row texting five minutes before the bell, and was inclined to hold them two minutes over so she could share her thoughts on cell phones.

Andrew was waiting outside the classroom for her, smirking. "Hello, again."

Lottie paused uncertainly, staring at him. "Um. You're back," she observed for lack of anything better to say.

"I noticed you had gym next period, and what a coincidence, so do I. So I figured I'd show you to the gym."

Lottie hugged her waist tightly, and said in an uncertain voice, "Um, thanks?"

"No problem," he replied as though he hadn't heard the question in her tone. "So, the singing thing. How long have you been doing it?"

"Uh, my whole life," she replied. "I've-um-only ever sung to the radio though. Or just to myself. I mean, I've never had vocal lessons or anything."

"Impressive," Andrew told her with a warm smile. "Do you write songs too? Or just sing them?"

"I've thought about writing songs," she admitted, avoiding his eye, "but I've never really done it before."

"Well, thinking and doing are two very different things, aren't they?" They were out on the flatlands now, the sun high in the sky, but the wind still making her nose sting. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Cold?" Andrew asked, eyes glancing down at her arms.

"No, I'm fine," she assured, taking a step away. Lauren's words from earlier rang in her ears. She didn't want to give him a chance to make her like him.

She heard him exhale loudly through his nose, then felt his hand on her arm. He spun her around to face him. "You know, despite Lauren's beliefs, I'm not that bad of a guy."

"I didn't...I mean, I don't think-" Lottie stammered.

"You do." He laughed a little. "Lauren said I was a pig and so you think I'm just trying to play you or something. I get it of course, but I'm allowed to make sure the air is clear."

Lottie said nothing for what felt like ages, then, "What about what you said about her friend? That was pretty bad."

"What I said was true," he answered after a long pause. "Almost no one wakes up from SBS. I don't want to get my hopes up when I know what the reality is, but it's really hard not to when everyone around you is." She finally looked up to meet his eyes, and what she saw took her off guard. There were tears glistening in his dark-brown eyes. "Maybe that makes me selfish, but doesn't it also make me a little human?"

Lottie wasn't much of a hugger, being that close to people made her feel like they knew her every flaw, but she felt like hugging this boy now. It occurred to her that this may have been part of his act, but what happened next made her rethink that assumption.

"You had better not tell anyone this happened," he snapped, turning away as he realized she was staring. "In fact, forget it happened. Go back to thinking I'm a pig, or a man-whore, or whatever."

"Wait!" She jogged to catch up. "I'm sorry I made the assumption." He kept walking, not looking at her. They had reached a squat, rectangular building, and Andrew had one hand on the door before Lottie thought of something to follow up her previous statement. "Maybe I can remember the part where you told me you weren't that bad of a guy and forget the rest."

Andrew stared at her for a long moment. Then, he cracked a grin, and said, "You're a little slow on the draw there aren't you?"

"I'm...what?" Now she was thoroughly confused.

"Something my uncle used to say," he explained, pulling open the door and gesturing her through. "Little bit of southern humor."

She still had no idea what it meant, so she changed the subject. "Sorry. I don't talk to people enough to offend them, so I'm not very good at fixing it when I do."

I'll teach you."

She laughed a little, and turned back to face the room. What she saw made a small squeak escape her throat, and she pulled Andrew in front of her. "What?" he asked, head sweeping as he looked for the cause.

"Its the boy I met in the front office. I made a total fool of myself in front of him!" Then, on an afterthought, she added, "Also, I think he used to be a girl."

Andrew let out a bark of laughter, and turned to face her. "You mean Becks?" She nodded, his amusement not helping her issue. "Dude, you don't make a fool out of yourself in front of Becks."

"Well, I did," she argued, crouching a little so she was better hidden, and peeking around Andrew's arm. Beck was talking to his cousin, Chris, and, to Lottie's greater horror, the girl who's ID cards she had seen in the front office. The one she had decided she wanted to avoid.

"No, you don't get it," Andrew explained. "You can't make a fool out of yourself with Becks. He doesn't see things like that. He's too nice."

"I think I know what it looks like when I make a fool out of myself. I've been doing it for a while now," she retorted, ducking down when Beck looked their way. "Don't move."

"Fine." Andrew threw back his head and called out, "Becks! You're back! Why don't you come over here and give a bro a hug?"

"What're you doing?" Lottie hissed, ducking lower and hoping she was hidden.

"Not moving," Andrew replied in a low voice, and she could practically feel him smirking at her. The boys clapped hands and gave each other one armed hugs, and Lottie straightened hurriedly, realizing her cover had been blown.

Beck smiled when he saw her. "Hey, you're the girl from the front office. Lotus who's friends would call her Lottie."

Lottie blushed furiously, and looked away. "Yep, that's me."

"Good to see you again," he said pleasantly. "What're the odds we'd have a class together, right?"

"Yeah, pretty crazy." She laughed nervously.

A sharp whistle split the air followed by a booming voice. "The boys' class with line up on the wall opposite the girls!"

Beck chuckled. "Well, I guess I had better go before Coach Nutcase blows a gasket. It's good to see you again."

"Yeah...good." She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Andrew laughed. "Wow, you were right. You do make a fool of yourself around him."

Lottie punched him in the arm and hissed, "You are an ass." Andrew snickered as he made his way towards the other side of the room.

"Making friends with the devil himself, are we?" Lottie squeaked, and whirled around to find herself facing Chris, and the other girl Beck had been talking to. She must have been the one to speak, because Lottie hadn't recognized the voice.

"Um, no. I mean, we're not friends." She chewed her bottom lip. "He's just... showing me around," she finished weakly."

"Hey, it's cool," the girl assured, waving a dismissive hand. "Nobody's judging." She then held the hand out to her. "I'm Shaena."

"I'm Lottie," she replied hesitantly, not shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Sorry about before, by the way," Chris said, taking Lottie's arm and leading her towards the wall that the other girls were lingering around. "You know, about leaving you with Julie. I know she can be a little rough sometimes."

"No, she wasn't bad," Lottie told her quickly. "She was very helpful."

Chris chuckled. "Oh yeah, she is that. So, are you here on scholarship or what?"

"Scholarship. I'm a singer."

"Yeah, I could have guessed that," Chris told her with a mischievous grin. When Lottie looked at her with an expression halfway between confusion and panic, she explained, "You told me you're in the choir, remember?"

Lottie let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and said, "Yeah, right. I kind forgot about that." She could feel her cheeks growing warm, and looked away.

"Come on. Come hang out with us," Chris said when Lottie paused by an empty space of wall a few feet from the nearest cluster of girls. "We won't bite."

Shaena put up a hand and looked very serious. "Unless, of course, you have gay-phobia. Then we have to shun you."

Lottie blinked, and replied uncertainly. "Um, well, I don't have a gay-phobia."

Chris shoved her friend(she thought they were friends), and said, "Quit messing with the puppy, Shae."

Shaena laughed a little, regaining her balance. "I'm not messing with anyone. I'm serious. The last time we let someone like that do whatever, all that shit happened with Jazz. I just don't want to see a repeat of that stunt."

"Right, like the school's not going to have twice the security measures to protect us from shit like that happening again," Chris rolled her eyes. Then, when she noticed Lottie was still standing there uncertainly, she said, "Seriously, Puppy, come hang out with the cool kids."

There was that name again. She would have to ask Andrew what it meant later.

The "cool kids" included Lauren and Lilah, and Julie and Rose making a grand total of seven people she'd been hoping never to see again all in one class. There was another girl as well, one Lottie hadn't seen yet. She was older(Lauren's roommate, so they must have been the same age) and looked like she could and would snap Lottie in half with a mere thought. Chris introduced her as Dekka.

She had no idea what to say, so she just stood there feeling uncomfortable, a feeling not helped by the topics being disscused. Lilah was speculating what to buy her girlfriend (her girlfriend) for her birthday, which was apparently in a few weeks.

It wasn't like she had any particular issue with that walk of life, but she'd just never encountered someone who was gay, or at least this open about their sexuality. So she had no idea what was appropriate to say or do. So she said and did nothing.

~Andrew~

After school, she told Andrew, who had offered to help her settle into her room, about her insecurities. "They're all really nice, and they're really trying to help me out, and I don't want to be rude; but I also don't want to do something wrong and offend them." Or worse, give them the wrong idea about her own sexuality.

Andrew laughed, because apparently he found everything she was bad at freaking hilarious. "Quit laughing at me! It's not funny!"

"You think to much, puppy," he told her, flopping onto one of the beds. "Trust me, the GAP Girls are really cool. If you do something out of line, they'll tell you then forget about it." Then, he flashed white teeth at her in a grin. "I mean, why do you think they still let me around?"

"What did you call them?"

"GAP Girls," Andrew repeated. "It means 'Gay And Proud'."

"They let you call them that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I told you: Really cool."

"Uh huh..." she finished placing her cloths in a drawer, and heaved her suitcase up. Then, she looked between the beds. "Um, you don't happen to know which bed she slept in do you?"

Andrew shook his head. "Nah, I never got that far with her. Kissed her once, but never go to test out mini me in he-"

"Whoa!" She dropped her suitcase on the empty bed, and glared at him. "Way to much information."

Andrew chuckled. "Well, you asked. Maybe next time you should choose you words a little more wisely."

"Definetly." She unzipped the top pocket of her suitcase, and began pulling out socks. "So Jazz wasn't a GAP Girl?"

"Why'd you think she was a GAP Girl?"

"Well, I mean, Shaena was talking like she was," Lottie explained sheepishly. "I just sort of assumed."

"You assumed right," He told her, his mouth quirked up in a half smile.

"Then why'd you make me think she wasn't," Lottie demanded exasperatedly, glowering at him.

Andrew shrugged. "I think you're cute when you're flustered."

She changed the subject. "But I thought you said you kissed her."

Andrew looked at her curiously. "Sure I did, but that doesn't make her straight." Then, mischief passed over his face. "You know, most lesbians have at least kissed a guy before they discover they prefer to swim in the sea of vagina."

Lottie made an uncomfortable noise in the back of her throat and threw a balled up pair of socks at him. He laughed, holding the arm it hit in mock pain.

~Andrew~

The weekend didn't come soon enough. By saturday, Lottie was exausted from sleepless nights wondering if her bed was the same bed her predessesor had slept in. She had spent most of her week avoiding Beck and taking Andrew's teasing for it. If he had made as much of a fool of himself, he would be avoiding the boy too.

The classes were difficult, nothing like at her school in Chicago and she got lost at least five times, even with Andrew's help.

Andrew was a bright side. She'd never had a friend before, so she wasn't sure if that's what they were, but at any rate, she liked his company. He made her comfortable, even when he was being kind of mean.

She came downstairs close to noon, a pre-algebra book tucked under one arm, hoping to go find a teacher to help her.

The lounge was alive with people crowded around the tables, or slouched in bean bags, or gathered around the big T.V, watching a basketball game that she knew instantly was a couple of weeks old. (Her father liked basketball, especially when he was drunk. For some reason, screaming at guys who couldn't hear him was satisfying while under the influence of alcohol.) Other pepole had books strewn across the floor, lying on their stomachs, or hunched over notebooks.

Lottie was almost at the door, when it swung open, and a girl she recognized from class, Jessica, rushed in, wide eyed. A roar erupted from the crowd around the television as Jessica opened her mouth, but what she said cut the noise short. "Adam's back."

Every head in the room spun around, and stared at her blankly. Pencils stopped writing, pages stopped flipping, one girl sitting at a table froze with a cookie(one of the packaged ones you got from the vending machines in the courtyard) halfway to her mouth. No one spoke, or moved. One of Chicago's players scored a goal from half-court, and went completely unnoticed.

Lauren turned backwards on the couch and her face reflected the tension that had suddenly made the air sufficatingly thick. "What do you mean 'Adam's back'?" she demanded slowly.

Lottie looked between the two girls, frowning. Jessica leaned against the wall, and slid to the floor, taking deep, gulping breaths. "I just saw him go into my dad's office."

"Maybe he's there so your dad can tell him he's been expelled," cookie girl suggested half-heartedly, dropping the cookie back into the bag.

"They wouldn't call him all the way up to school just to tell him that. Especially not a week after the semester starts." Lilah countered, crossing her arms. "Sounds to me like he just got suspended."

"How could they do that, though?" Another girl objected, voice cracking. "After what he did? And not just to Jasamin," Oh that's what this was about. "but to Liam, too. His parents took him out of school."

"Yeah, and they're probably spreading a bunch of crap about how we're a fag breeding ground or something."

"Well, that's not really Adam's fault now is it? He doesn't control the number of queers we have."

"We're a school who's population is ninety percent eccentric, and besides that, some people send their kids here because they're gay."

Someone laughed ruefully. "Well, they won't now that this is out."

That was it, the entire room exploded. Girls jumped to their feet and crowded together in the middle of the room, shouting all at once so that no one's words were distinguishable from another's. Some girls were even beginning to shove each other.

Lottie left swiftly not interested in being caught in the middle of this.

~Andrew~

The fight was extinguished quickly by the arrival of a teacher, but the damage was already done. Adam's return had created a battlefield, and lines were drawn in the sand. No one thought what he had done was right, but for many, their tolerance for the GAP community was beginning to dwindle. Some even claimed they were giving the school a bad reputation.

And the anger was boiling over amongst the GAP community itself. Alexander and Noah stopped spending free time in their lobby all together, and Lauren was spitting with rage all of the time now.

But the most disturbing was Chris, who said nothing to anyone.

Then came Monday, and it's events and those that would follow finally snapped the tight rope.

Thanks for reading everyone!

Okay, so the next chapter is going to be tough and I can do it one of two ways. Each day of the week to follow holds several important events, and putting them all together will take a long time to write, and will probably come out with one epically long chapter if I do it all at once. So I'm thinking about doing one chapter for each day, but I'm not sure, so leave you're thoughts on that, and I'll just do whatever seems to be popular demand.

And in honor of Andrew: Trivia questions!

1: What is Andrew's last name?

2: What did Shaena do to Andrew not long after he started the GAP name?

Thanks again for all of your support! You guys are great:)