FALL - "All thieves and lovers are faithful admirers of sin."
Drama/Romance
[Jonathan Crane x OC]
T for Teen: Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Use of Coarse Language.
Summary: High School. Society's bright idea: put all their aggressive, naive youth into one terrarium to torment and emotionally scar each other for life. How anyone can come through that well-adjusted on any level is an absolute miracle.

Chapter Four: F – right/racture

Into the new year.
Only one more year to go. This was it; senior year and he would graduate. He was going to make it. True to the promise Leonard never agreed to, he did not speak to Jonathan nor did the young man find any more love letters in his locker. The first month had been a little awkward. Passing glances when they had classes together, sometimes Leonard would watch Jonathan at lunch or visa versa when they thought the other was not looking, and the biggest hurdle was that they still had lockers next to one another. The school did not assign new ones just because you changed grades.

However, much like last year before Jonathan had gotten a large amount of Leonard exposure, they stayed within their social pecking order and hardly interacted.

The hottest gossip became Bo and Sherry's breakup, the power couple had a fight and Sherry had slapped Bo in the cafeteria calling him all kinds of names. Jonathan had always admired the young woman from afar and he assumed they'd get together again within the week. Yet, they didn't. Another week passed. Still, they had not reconciled. Was this… was this his chance to talk to her? She'd never truly been mean to him and always looked nervous when the others bullied him – he assumed it was because it made her uncomfortable. She had been a transfer at one point during freshmen year herself, never knowing him from middle school and only secondhand rumors from her peers. Regardless the entire school knew he put a snake on Mindy-Lea's head during seventh grade, she had the bite scars to prove that one.

His palms were sweaty long before he approached Sherry, he was not stalking her he told himself. Jonathan had just been looking for the most opportune moment to talk to her when no one else was around. "H-hi Sherry."

"Huh?" Her head pulled up from the water fountain, "Oh, uh… Hi. Johnny right?"

He hated that nickname – it was better than scarecrow, faggot or Ichabod - his head just nodded, "Y-yeah." He was failing to utter words into sentences and he inconspicuously wiped his hands on his pants, "How are you t-today?" That was much harder than it should have been, his heart felt like it was hammering in his chest.

Thankfully if she noticed she didn't say anything. The young woman smiled slightly, "I'm all right, was there something you needed?"

"I u-uh…" Just say it! He thundered in his own head, "S-sean Tomson's throwing a H-halloween party and, would you… that is, if you want, next weekend to go… w-would you go, with me?"

She paused in thought for a moment looking down the hall then flickering her beautiful emerald eyes back to him, taking a step forward, "I'd love to go with you." She stressed the word love with a wide and bright smile tilting her head up at him and he felt like his heart was fluttering so hard that it was going to stop.

Jonathan learned a valuable lesson about women and that inflection Sherry had used when she agreed to come with him. That Halloween night she had used him to make Bo mad, lured him into the basement and showed her true colors – she was never uncomfortable watching him get bullied. She feared other people seeing her sadistically laugh at someone getting hurt. The power couple got back together over his torment. Jonathan watched as Sherry gave him the coldest of smiles and most smug of gazes while kissing Bo on the cheek while the jock knocked the wind from his chest again via foot. He felt something in him break that night, vowing to get revenge.

Not even three days after Halloween he was surrounded by the jock squad – he'd been trying to avoid them, yet a teacher had held him late today discussing colleges he could apply to for scholarships. They had been waiting for him near his locker, "What do you want?" He put his things inside the locker and shut it before turning to face them. He spied golden locks and realized the one he thought would never torment him was there too. Had the cowardly lion given in to join the hierarchy?

Mark shoved his shoulder getting closer to him, "You had some fuckin' gall to ask Sherry out, you creep." Ah yes. Of course, because getting the hell beat out of him the night of Halloween was not enough for them. He still had bruises all over his body under his clothes and scabby abrasions on his palms.

"I do not see how that is your problem." He was angry and his voice had the bite to it he wanted, he wanted them to leave him alone.

Mark took a step back; however, it was not due to fear. He was clenching and unclenching his fist. A telltale sign Jonathan might get punched in the next few minutes, "It is our problem when you're creeping out our girls. Huh, you gonna stalk and ask one of them out next, freak?"

"No." He spoke flatly.

"Can't trust a freak's word." Daniel muttered pushing on his knuckles to crack them.

From the group it was Leonard who suddenly slammed his hand next to Jonathan's head, making the locker creak. Something about the way the thinner man's eyes widened in terror stabbed Leonard's heart. Leonard was so… so sorry. His other hand balled the fabric of Jonathan's sweater into his hand and he lifted. Pulling Jonathan off the floor he had to raise the other boy above his head. Unbeknownst to Jonathan, it was Leonard who told Bo he'd handle it. Bo taking it as a true rite of passage into the inner group since he did not play for the team.

"Now ya listen here, boy," he could feel the moment Jonathan let go of the binder in his hands to claw at his wrist trying desperately to make him let go. Leonard gave him a soft shake and pressed him into the locker more, "if ya struggle it's gonna be much worse," Please stop struggling. He wanted to tell Jonathan it was just an act he was scared the bigger linebacker was going to truly hurt Jonathan if he hadn't agreed to this, "I said," his hand reared back and balled into a tight fist. The panic in Jonathan turned to defensive posture and his arms went between his face and Leonard, it was breaking his heart, "stop strugglin'!" His fist came crashing down into the locker, denting it inward and he felt the new abrasions on his knuckles slick the metal with blood. He had imagined it was Bo's face.

The smaller man was trembling while everyone at his back was cheering him on and taunting Jonathan. He felt disgusted. He almost let go but he heard something meek yet wholly bitter tumble from Jonathan's lips, "You're just like them." Who was the one bullying whom right now? He was, he had to be. Resolve to be the one to do this rather than Bo who'd planned to brutally lynch Jonathan.

Leonard dragged Jonathan behind himself toward the bathrooms, even as the young man clawed at his arm making it bleed. He could not dig his heels in well enough to the polished tile floor to overpower Leonard. His shoes would just squeak and the others would occasionally trip Jonathan laughing as they followed. "In the bayou, there's cocodrie. We'd offer kids like you to them," he spoke to Jonathan but his gaze was to the group behind him, "dangling their heads over the swamp. Now we ain't got none of them out here in these cornfields," he pushed the door open with his foot into the men's room, "so we'll make do with another method." He tossed Jonathan into the first stall and walked in with him. Locking it behind himself.

Jonathan immediately recoiled trying to get into the perfect position to kick at the vastly more muscular teen. Almost sitting on the back of the toilet's cover, his other foot stabilized on the seat. He lashed out his foot and it connected with Leonard's arm as he blocked his face. He'd have a bruise on that arm later. A hand grabbed Jonathan's ankle and he tossed it aside, stepping forward and between the young man's long limbs. Both feet planted firmly on either side of the toilet. With his body alone Leonard could push Jonathan down and he did, pressing one hand to the wall the other reached for something lower.

Jonathan had been about to put his hands together and strike down on the idiot who wasn't looking yet suddenly heard the flush of the toilet and Leonard spoke up, "We'll be here al'night, getting yer head soaked just like that until ya stop strugglin." Leonard's eyes were looking up at him. Jonathan lowered his arms to his sides, he understood now.

He was mad about it, that would not change. He had no idea why Leonard would suddenly and more violently bully him than most did… and he realized all Leonard had actually done was drag him around. Jonathan's struggling had been what caused the others to torment him further and for it to hurt – which did not make it right, but why? Why had it been done? A dark little voice in the back of his skull whispered to him that it did not matter why. It had been done and he'd never forgive Leonard for it.

"You boys should get on now, the less ya know the less ya can say if questioned," He had the mentality of a criminal in this regard, "besides coach gonna wonder where ya'll went." He was using the fact that he was not a part of the team to suggest that he could torment Jonathan while they went off to practice.

And it worked.

Leonard kept Jonathan pinned between his arms and body blocking the only escape route. He could feel the man flinch when his head slumped onto Jonathan's shoulder, laying his forehead down. Leonard was silently crying. He felt the tears stream down his face and he would not have Jonathan see that.

Jonathan hissed after a long awkward silence, "Get off me." Speaking up when he was as sure as he could be that no one was left in the washroom but them.

Leonard picked up his head but turned it far to the left and lowered his right arm allowing enough space for Jonathan's thin frame to push past. The lump in his throat was too large and he couldn't get anything out even as he opened his mouth, the stall door was slammed shut behind Jonathan. Followed by the washroom door.

Jonathan snatched his binder and ran from the school, making sure to take the route that would not get him seen by the practicing football team. On the walk home, he noticed his shoulder was wet.