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That morning, DJ was as quiet as he was at dinner time. Becky was making eggs, when Dan walked in. "How do you want your eggs, dad?"

Dan sat at the table. "I don't."

All of his kids looked at their dad. "Since when do you not like eggs?" Darlene asked.

Dan didn't want to answer. "Since I decided I didn't like eggs."

DJ looked at the clock. "I got to go. Bye." He said as he rushed passed Jerry in his chair.

Becky watched him. When he was gone, she said. "Is it just me or has he been acting weird lately?"

Darlene looked at her sister. "He's always weird." Dan had a sense of de ja vu again.

"Becky I'm not hungry. Thank you though." Dan said and took his lunch box and thermos from atop the fridge and started to fill both of them up. When he was done he waved to both his daughters and hugged his son and then was on his way.

"He seems happier these days." Becky said.

"Yeah, he looks happier."

The girls and Jerry ate and then Becky went to work. Darlene took Jerry into the living room and was playing with Jerry on the floor when she heard a noise like someone was walking around the house. She turned around slowly…

"DJ!"

"Hi, Darlene." DJ said knowing full well that he would have to buy Darlene's silence.

"Cutting school again? You know full well that didn't work out well last time…" Darlene said, handing Jerry a small foam ball.

DJ walked into the living room and in front of his sister. "Darlene I need to talk to you."

Darlene leaned back so that her back was to the bottom of the couch. "Oh yeah? You get suspended and failed to tell it to dad?"

DJ shook his head no quickly, "No it's not that. "

DJ went quiet and Darlene got annoyed quickly. "Then what is it Dee Jay?" She said, stretching out his name on purpose.

"Xavier told me he loved me." DJ said this fast to get out in the open.

Darlene went quiet but the when she talked it was like it was no big deal. "And you love him?"

DJ blushed and got mad. "No!"

Darlene laughed slightly. "Gee Deej, it's okay if you feel the same way. "

DJ stood up straighter with his fists balled up. "I'm not gay…"

Darlene cocked her head. "Okay you're not gay. No need to get so defensive."

DJ sighed and then moved his hands behind him and to the side so that his weight was supported by his hands. "Now, I'm afraid to see Xavier again."

Darlene laughed slightly. "DJ what are you afraid that he going to take you by the cheek and kiss you passionately?"

DJ stared at his sister disgustedly at the thought. "NO! I don't want to hurt his feelings."

"Tell him how you feel. He'll understand and leave you alone."

DJ thought about this and realized that he still liked being Xavier's friend. "You won't tell dad I skipped today will you?"

Darlene shook her head and then DJ ran up to his room.

At work, Dan was walking down the plumbing aisle, looking for two missing employees, when he heard the phone ring. He answered it. "Four Aces Hardware. How can I help you?"

The woman spoke clearly and professionally. "I'm calling to speak to Mr. Dan Conner?"

Dan felt himself getting nervous. "Speaking."

"Hello, Mr. Conner. I am calling from Lanford High school. Your son DJ didn't show up for class today."

Dan put his hand on his forehead. "He didn't?"

"No. He didn't."

"Okay I'll talk to him. Can I ask how you got this number?"

"I called the Lanford Lunchbox; Ms. Harris gave me this number."

Dan listened. "Okay, bye."

"Bye." Dan hung up and sighed. DJ was getting worse and worse as he got older. When it came time for his lunch break, Dan drove home.

He found DJ and Jerry in the living room. DJ was playing Super Mario Brothers.

"So you're not going to school anymore?" Dan said standing under the arch between the living room and kitchen. DJ jumped, his dads voice had scared and caught him off guard.

DJ looked at his dad like a deer in headlights. "No. I just didn't want to go to school today."

Dan stared at his son. "Get your shoes on, you're going now." Dan said motioning with arms out towards the door. "Darlene!"

Dan heard Darlene from his room. "Yeah?"

"Do you need anything?"

Darlene shouted. "No."

Dan looked up at the ceiling and yelled. "Good. You should have told me DJ skipped today."

Darlene shouted. "Shoulda, coulda, woulda, didn't."

Dan nodded, and DJ sat on the couch rushing to put his shoes on. Dan quickly carried Jerry into his room with Darlene and then they left.

In the truck, DJ knew he was in trouble for skipping school, but he couldn't decide if he wanted to tell his dad or not about why he skipped school. Finally he decided he should.

"Dad there is a reason I didn't go to school today." DJ said, studying his dad's body language. He could easily tell Dan was mad. Dan looked at DJ.

"Yeah, you woke up and decided you weren't going." Dan felt his anger welling up and taking over his body. What made Dan mad was the fact that he had been cutting DJ slack since Roseanne died yet DJ was still causing trouble.

DJ shook his head, "No. That wasn't it. Dad my friend Xavier told me he loved him." DJ spoke regularly at first but found his voice trailing with nervousness.

Dan had both his hands on the steering wheel of his truck and his foot on the gas pedal. He froze a second, his mind only focusing on his driving. Dan tried to look his son in in the eyes, and he did but with great difficulty. Dan spoke softly, finding the anger leaving his body.

"And you love him too…?" Dan sounded curious and not at all disapproving or disappointed. This gave DJ relief.

DJ looked away from his dad out the window. "No, I don't think I do."

Dan sighed quietly. "You're afraid to see him?"

DJ nodded and looked back at his dad. "He told me it's okay if I don't feel the same way but I'm afraid to hurt his feelings. He's the best friend I ever had. I like him more than I liked Todd, or George or even Izzie Miller. And we're making this movie and…" DJ spoke, but Dan cut him off.

"And hooking up video games to my new TV…" Dan said all knowingly.

DJ looked at his dad. "How did you know about that?" Dan smiled weakly and said nothing. DJ continued, "Besides what if other kids find out how he feels about me?"

Dan stopped at a stop light, he considered running it for a split second but he was close to the police station. He reached over and touched his son's shoulder, forcing DJ to look at him. "Listen son. If anyone gives you crap about how your friends or anyone else or you feel about other people or yourself you have my permission to do whatever it takes to defend yourself. I don't care if that means you get expelled or suspended."

DJ looked at his dad and felt a sense of pride. "You really wouldn't care?"

Dan kept his hand on DJ's shoulder. "I wouldn't care as long as whatever you did was because you were getting crap and not just because you're using what I just said to justify getting into a fight." This Dan said sternly. "Do you understand?"

DJ nodded, and Dan drove again when the light turned green. DJ looked forward out the windshield. "Dad, did you ever get into a fight in high school?"

Dan smiled. "To be honest, Deej, I was in detention and the principal's office so much that the Coach benched me from the Homecoming game my sophomore year as a wakeup call."

Dan pulled into the schools parking lot and parked. Then he got out and walked to the front doors followed by DJ. They made their way to the principal's office. The woman to whom Dan spoke on the phone was sitting at a desk. "Did I speak to you on the phone?" Dan asked.

"Mr. Conner?"

"Yes, I'm here to drop off DJ."

"Okay just sign here." Dan signed where the lady pointed. Then he quickly waved and left the school without a word.

The women glared at DJ and DJ made his way to Algebra I. He was glad that he and Xavier did not have this class together. In ten minutes, the bell rang and the class rushed out of the room. DJ decided to take the long way to his next class and shuffled down the hall way.

He was right in front of the trophy case when Xavier caught up with him.

"Hey DJ!" Xavier jogged with his big backpack weighing him down.

"Hi, X."

Xavier stopped right in front of the trophy case and then looked inside the glass. "Hey is that your dad?" Xavier pointed at a football picture.

"Huh?" DJ turned around and looked at the picture. He leaned in and sure enough he spotted his dad in the back of the crowd of boys dressed in their pads and uniforms and holding their helmets. His dad looked to be the tallest boy on the team as he seemed to tower over at least eight different guys. One guy looked to be close to his size, but he was still shorter. DJ also noticed that his dad was sporting a roundish black mark around his eye. The picture was in black and white but DJ wondered if that was a black eye he received in a fight. "It sure looks like him. And he did graduate from here in 1970."

"Cool. Listen I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

DJ looked at his friend. "It's okay." From then on, DJ felt like he wasn't gay and was okay with being around Xavier.