Over the course of the next couple months, Marshall and Bubba became closer friends, and Marshall soon forgot about the incident on the first day of school. Most people did infact, and Bubba has been pretty healthy ever since. A couple days after the incident, he said all that happened when he got home was that he had to take some medicine and slept for a long time and then he pretty much felt all better. This worried the students and teachers a lot less, and it was rarely even mentioned. Especially now that Halloween was on the horizon. Pretty much everyone in school was talking about what they were going to wear and what others were going to wear and who would be trick or treating with who.

But soon enough, mixed in with the talk of Halloween, a new sort of talk spread, saying that Brendon and Bubba were boyfriends. Marshall didn't see why that was such a big deal, and that it probably wasn't even true. "Is it true?" Marshall asked one day, after Bubba was once again accused of being gay by some annoying kid. Bubba blushed and glared at Marshall saying, "No, of course it's not true." Bubba then stormed off somewhere, probably to go to the bathroom or wherever. Marshall then turned to Tyler and asked, "Do you think he is?" She shrugged and said, "Dunno."

So later that day, on the way to the bathroom, Marshall heard some interesting talk in the boys bathroom. He leaned against the door, and heard the unmistakable voice of Bubba. "Okay Brendon...you know how people think you and I are...b-boyfriends?" He stuttered out the last part obviously nervous, "Well you know...would it be so bad if it was true? Like...if we were?" There was a long stretch of silence before Brendon said, "It would be really bad Bubba. I would get made fun of, plus I'm not even gay so it wouldn't even happen." Bubba audibly sighed and said, "Hey um, I have something to say...I think-I think I like you?" There was an even longer stretch of silence before Brendon said, "I don't want to be your friend anymore," and left, giving Marshall little time to jump back from the door to make it look like he wasn't listening. Marshall stood there in shock, almost not being able to believe the rumors were true, well, at least partially, since only Bubba seemed to be the gay one. Marshall walked in and looked at Bubba, who was just sitting in a partially opened stall. "Hey, did you just say that you liked Brendon?" Tears started to well up in Bubba's eyes and he exclaimed, "I was just kidding around! I don't like him! At all! I was just being stupid!"

Marshall didn't really believe him, but still leaned down and hugged him. "You should just tell him that." Bubba pulled away and looked up at him, asking, "Do you think that'll work?" Marshall helped, and silently, they both stood up. "Hey, I actually have to use the bathroom, so I'll see you in a couple minutes. Tell me how it goes okay?" Marshall said while opening a stall. Bubba waved and exited.

xXx

"So wait, he said what?"

"He said he like likes him."

"I knew it! No wonder his hair is so pink. He must be like super gay." A girl said, giggling loudly, making the other three girls in the group laugh. When the class door opened and Bubba came in, the girls started to giggle, and one of them pointed at him. People were either staring or completely looking the other way. After he walked several steps to get to Brendon to apologize, one boy shouted, "Brendon doesn't like you! Fag!" The group of girls laughed again, making Bubba blush. He glared at Brendon, who immediately looked away. He kept walking forward, and took his assigned seat next to Brendon, which made the girls laugh even harder. About a minute later, Marshall and Tyler came in, and walked over to take a seat across from Bubba and Brendon. "Be careful," The same boy from a minute ago whispered to Marshall, "You might catch his gayness." Marshall furrowed his brows and looked at Bubba, to see him blushing with his arms crossed, and Brendon on the farthest edge of his seat as possible.

Suddenly, the teacher walked back into the classroom, having come from another class where she was discussing something with a teacher, and noticed Bubba's distress and peoples laughter. She stepped forward and asked, "What is going on here?" When no one volunteered any information, she said, "Well whatever any of you are doing, stop it!" She then went to the front of the class and began writing something on the board. Since her attention was drawn away, Marshall reached across the desk and tugged at Bubba's wrist, "Are you okay? Did you...talk to Brendon?" Bubba glared at him and crossed his arms muttering, "What do you think happened?"

As class progressed, and it finally was the end the day, Bubba tried to escape as quick as he could. Unfortunately, he was cornered at the handball court by the kid from earlier, who seemed to be relentless. Bubba shrunk beneath him, even though the kid was physically smaller than him, and wondered what he was going to do. "Listen," Bubba started, "I'm not-" He was interrupted by a light but startling poke on the chest. "I don't care what you got to say," The kid said, "But you made my good friend Brendon weirded out with you saying your confession or whatever, so you're getting what you deserve." His fist was interrupted when there was a loud, "Stop!"

They both looked over, and saw Marshall, breathless and angry. Trying to think of something on the spot Marshall yelled, "You know, I was in the bathroom when I heard them talking! It wasn't even Bubba who said he was gay!" Deciding he could care less about Brendon, he looked over at Bubba and said, "It was Brendon, not Bubba! I heard Brendon say he likes Bubba. Always has I guess..." Bubba stared at him in horror, and the kid looked at them in confusion. He pulled back and looked down at the ground, muttering a quiet apology and ran to the front gates, probably to go back home with his parents.

After a moment Bubba looked up at Marshall, a mixture of confusion and anger in his eyes. "Marshall, how could you?" He asked dismally, sliding to the ground. "Don't you mean 'thank you'?! I practically saved your life!" Bubba glared icily at him, and immediately got up. "No, I don't mean thank you! You just made that boy think that Brendon's the gay one! He's gonna get bullied for the rest of the year because of you!" Marshall stepped closer to Bubba, now trying to be intimidating, "So you'd rather be the gay one and be bullied and laughed at all your life? It's because you're really gay aren't you!?" Bubba shrank underneath him and looked at his shoes. "I'm not," He said, barely above a whisper.

At that moment, Marshall turned around and yelled, "I'm never going to help you again Bubba! No wonder Brendon doesn't like you!" He threw his fists at his side, and tried to calm down. Not hearing a reply, he walked forwards to the gate, not feeling an inch of regret, only feeling angry at how ungrateful Bubba was. Why was he even his friend? He wondered about it as he walked to his moms car, and decided, from that point on, he didn't want to be Bubba's friend anymore.