Disclaimer: I don't own Band of Brothers. I mean no disrespect to the actual men who fought in Easy Company. I've based this on the actor's portrayals of them men in the HBO production. I do however own all the girls except Helen McCrory and Kitty Grogan.

Chapter 3- Study Hall

Dick's last class of the day was Study Hall with David, Nix, Johnny, Lipton, Don and Roe. He decided it would be there that he would talk with Nix. The others, with the exceptions of Roe and Lipton, hung out with Nix quite a lot, either through sports or school publication activities. Even if Roe and Lipton didn't know Lew that well, Dick knew that they would still be supportive and willing to help his best friend.

Dick arrived to see Lipton and Roe already at there regular table- the one they used for lunch- joking about something. Dick joined them and was soon followed by Johnny and David, who were busy arguing over whether or not they should share photographers. It was an argument that happened every year, and resulted, every year, with the yearbook having a shortage of photographers while the newspaper had plenty.

Dick let them duke it out; Johnny was making David look like an idiot. David was a great editor, but better at writing things out than phrasing an argument on the fly. It was quite entertaining to watch him fail against Johnny, who looked equally amused by David's blundering attempts at making a point.

Don and Nix came in after them, joking about something. When they sat down, they were still laughing and laughing so hard that the teacher in charge of Study Hall glared at them and only the threat of detention quieted them.

Roe was the first to ask, "What's so darn funny? I've known both of you for years, and I've never thought either of you were that funny."

Both Nix and Don started to giggle again, earning them another glare, before Nix said, "Well, it started when Sobel caught Janovec and some getting all hot and heavy with some sophomore chick in a deserted hallway."

"Somehow I'm not finding this as funny as you do. That's typical of Janovec."

"Patience, Gene", Don replied, "We're getting there. Anyways Sobel starts freaking out cause the girls got one hand down Janovec's pants. Sobel, being the idiot he is, yells at them loud enough that Coach Strayer comes out of his classroom to see what's going on. He sees Sobel pitching a fit in the middle of the hallway and Janovec's trying to buckle his jeans and the girls trying to sneak away, and asks. "Herbert, what the hell is going on?"

Nix jumped in and said, "So Sobel's like, 'I'm assigning two students detention for public indecency.'

"And Strayer, being the awesome guy he is replies, "Herbert, get your ass back to your own classroom, and leave the punishment of my students to me. You should know better than to yell so loudly that everyone in the school can hear you."

"So Strayer turns to Janovec and the girl and says, "Mr. Janovec and Miss Burns, get to class. I'll let you off the hook this time but don't do it again."

"Sobel's face was so red! And the best part was Strayer just rolled his eyes at him and went back to his classroom. We'd been on our way to class when it happened. Sobel stormed off loudly, kicking lockers in frustration. Once he started kicking the lockers, you could hear Strayer laughing his head off. I've never seen Sobel that angry or embarrassed."

"Sobel will take it out on the drama kids. Skip, Alex, Popeye and Luz'll have to watch it. Small mercy Floyd's sick today or he'd get it too." Roe commented.

"What's wrong with Floyd?" asked a puzzled Don.

Roe replied, "He's got swine flu. I told him to just blame Obama. It's easier that way." The others laughed. They all knew the Obama joke about the swine flu. (AN: For anyone who isn't familiar with what I'm talking about… the joke is as follows: People said pigs would fly before we would have a black president… well… a 100 days into Obama's presidency… the swine flu.)

"Poor Tab! First his girlfriend dumps him then, his parents tell him they're getting divorced and now he gets swine flu." Lipton said talking for the first time making the others have to turn to notice who said the comment.

David looked confused and said, "I knew about his girlfriend but his parents getting divorced… I had no idea. When did it happen?"

Roe sighed and said, "The day after his girlfriend broke up with him. I've never seen Floyd that sad before. Right after they told him he left and ran the three blocks to my house. He stayed there all night on my couch. He told me his dad was leaving and that he'd be staying with his mom."

Everyone at their table had no experience with their own parents divorcing. They all knew that Tab's parents fought often, but they were also very religious people that didn't agree with divorce. Something must have changed for the worse for them to turn to divorce.

Dick decided it was time to confront Nix. He turned to his best friend and asked, "How are you doing?"

Nix turned towards Dick to see nothing but concern in his eyes. Nix knew Dick wouldn't let it go so he replied, "I'm dealing. I don't know why I'm here instead of by his side asking why he did it, or drowning myself in booze. I can't stand it!"

The others were paying attention now. Nix had buried his head in his hands, shaking it from side to side. Lipton, the official "Mother Hen" of the group asked, "Nix what's wrong?"

When Nix didn't respond Dick told the group what had happened. Once he was finished, the group sat silently in shock. They were all friends, or in Don and David's case teammates of Tom. They also knew about Tom's parents. Particularly his severely homophobic father. Adam Meehan was a bigot and crazy to boot. He hated homosexuals so much that he'd made some suggestions to the school board about not allowing them to be open about themselves, without having to speak with the school counselors frequently about their choice of a "bad" lifestyle. Some of the board members agreed they should talk to a school counselor every once in awhile, to check on them mainly, but they disagreed that the sessions should focus on attempts to turn them straight.

A lot of their friends had been through those "counselor" sessions including Nix, Ron, Roe, Lip, David, Liebgott and Hoobler, who was bi but favored girls. He'd even had a girlfriend at the time. They had all been ratted out by other students or Sobel. Everyone knew Sobel was good friends with Tom's dad, and was equally homophobic.

Johnny was the one to break the silence, saying, "This is pure crap! Why does that bastard have to be so cruel to his own son? He needs to realize that he could lose Tom forever. Either that boy will stand up to him and never talk to or see his father again, or he'll succeed the next time he tries to take his own life. Tom's never been fully stable, mental-wise, because of his dad and his bigotry. The fact is, though, that he might hate all gay people, but he hates Nix most of all. He's known Nix was gay for awhile now, and strongly advised Tom to not be friends with him because he would "turn him" gay. Now that he found out about their relationship he thinks that's what happened. That man is hate… just plain hate."

Nix suddenly looked up and said, "We can't do anything about it. The fucking system follows his rules. He's on the school board and the church board. He's friends with a lot of higher ups and not to mention he is one of the richer people in this town. A lot of people are scared of him…. Especially Tom. What can we really do?"

All of the guys just sat there in silence. They didn't know what the could do. Tom's dad was a hated man to most students at Easy but no one knew how to stop him. Finally David said, "We need to ask the others. They may have some ideas."

The others all agreed. They decided to meet up at Nix's house after school to discuss ideas.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the delay but as much as I'd love to rest and relax my last summer of high school before I become a senior it is not to be so. I had to tutor at my high school during summer school to get two free years of college paid off. This ranked higher in my mind then any story I could ever write. I do however still love writing this story and for anyone who's also reading Femininity… I'll post the next few chapters in a bit. And finally I'd love to thank my amazing beta of both stories… Scratchy Wilson. She's been over in France studying abroad and has gladly taken the time to help me with my many writing conundrums. It's because of her this story is as good as it is. Any mistakes you may notice are of my fault… not hers. Well… I'm off! Valkyrie-Chick