Dale clenched his fists in anger, and Stephanie shot him a glance. Dale let her hand go and gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. It’s just that Ellis is so nice and quiet. I don’t like what Mark is doing to him.”
“I don’t like it either, Dale.”
“What did he do this time?” Dale hoped Mark hadn’t beaten Ellis, because God knew Mark would be the next one to have bruises if he had.
“Stuffed his locker with dirty jockstraps. Almost the entire football team contributed.”
Dale stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “Really?”
“Yeah, only a few of them refused.”
“But how did he get them inside the locker? How did he get the combination?”
Stephanie took Dale’s hand back and pulled him along when she started walking again. “No idea.”
“What happened then?”
“Your friend opened the locker, and the straps fell on him.”
Dale grimaced. “Eww.”
“Yeah. He also had to pick them all up and throw them away because Mr. Snyder saw it. He was late for class and nearly got detention.”
“Jeesh, poor Ellis.”
Stephanie smiled. “Tell him I’m sorry when you see him.”
“Sure,” Dale answered automatically. His mind was on Ellis and on what Mark was doing to him, though. Dale wasn’t exactly the best of friends with Mark, but their mothers knew each other well. So he knew Mark’s life had been hard since his father had died when he was twelve. His mom had to work two jobs, and Mark had been left on his own or with the odd babysitter when she wasn’t able to be home with him. Sure, that was over now, but Mark had changed for the worse back then, and it wasn’t getting better.
“Why do you think he’s so bent on hurting Ellis of all people?”
Stephanie bit her lower lip. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s because Ellis is gay.”
“So what?”
“I know you don’t care, Dale, but not everyone is as accepting as you. Mark’s not the only one who doesn’t like Ellis for that reason. He’s just the only one who uses it as an excuse to bully him.”
“What can we do to make him stop?”
Stephanie smiled. “This is why I like you so much. You’re ready to help Ellis even though you barely know him.”
“He’s a friend. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to know him earlier. I could have stopped Mark before.”
“I’m not sure what you can do, though. You could tell a teacher, but you’re not the one being bullied, so I don’t know if it would work.”
“And it would make me a snitch.” Not that Dale cared—much. High school would be over in a few months anyway, and he doubted he’d ever see any of his classmates again, except for his best friend and possibly Stephanie if they were still together. Still, if he did tell on Mark, those months would be hell for both Dale and Ellis. Not only would Mark retaliate as best he could, but lots of people would be angry with Dale for telling, which was probably why Ellis hadn’t done it.
“Have you tried talking to Mark?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
“And if he doesn’t listen? You know how he is.”
“Yeah, stubborn as a mule. If he doesn’t… I’ll try to stay with Ellis as much as possible. That ought to keep Mark away.”
“You can’t stay with Ellis the entire day. You don’t even share all your classes.”
“I can ask Seth to help. I’m sure between the two of us we’ll make it work.”
Stephanie didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t shoot Dale’s idea down either. “Look, isn’t that him?”
Dale looked, and sure enough, Ellis was there. He was standing in front of the theater with his friend and another guy who had to be her boyfriend.
Ellis looked… cute. More than cute, in a boyish kind of way. Dale could see he wore a dark T-shirt with a green design under his jacket and comfortable-looking jeans and shoes.
Dale’s smile broadened, and he tugged on Stephanie’s hand, dragging her along as he walked closer. “Ellis!”
Ellis looked up, but instead of smiling or even looking annoyed, he blanched and looked at his feet again. Dale frowned and let Stephanie’s hand go. He stopped in front of Ellis, who was still ignoring him. “Ellis? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“As if you don’t know,” Ellis replied without looking at Dale.
Dale was puzzled. “What are you talking about?”
“Did you have a good laugh with Mark today?”
“What?” It didn’t take long for Dale to put everything he knew together and realize what Ellis was talking about. “I had nothing to do with it, I swear.”
He looked around, knowing people—students from their school mostly—were starting to notice them. He cringed a bit, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to explain himself. He turned to his girlfriend. “Can you buy the tickets?”
She nodded, so he looked at Ellis’s friends. The guy looked surprised, but the girl pointed toward the little park next to the theater. It was late enough the park would be empty of kids but early enough the older ones wouldn’t be there yet.
Dale grabbed Ellis’s hand and tugged on it. Ellis yelped and tried to resist, but it was only for show. He didn’t put a lot of force in it, and Dale was able to drag him under the trees. They were in complete shadow, the closest lights a bit farther in the park, and the wind was playing in Ellis’s hair, making it fly all over the place.
“What do you want, Dale?”
“Why do you think I had something to do with what Mark did today?” Ellis shrugged but stayed silent. “Oh, no. You’re not allowed to sulk, not when you’re saying I had a part in it. Talk, Ellis. Now.”
Ellis finally looked up. “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?”
“I thought I was a friend, or at least that I was becoming one, but I see you have a different opinion.”
“How did Mark get my locker combination?”
“I have no idea. Wait, you think I gave it to him? I don’t even know it!”
“You saw me at my locker this morning. You stopped to say hi.”
“That doesn’t mean I spied on you! I know we don’t know each other well, but I swear I had nothing to do with it. In fact, I want to talk to Mark and see if I can make him stop.”
Ellis moved backward, and they both realized Dale was still holding Ellis’s hand. Ellis blushed and snatched his hand away, leaving Dale feeling oddly bereft. “No.”
“No what?”
“Don’t talk to him. It’ll make my life even harder.”
“But I could—”
“No. Please.” Ellis’s voice was pleading, and Dale could do nothing more than nod.
“Okay, fine. I still want to help you, though.”
“You can’t do anything.”
“What if I stayed with you most of the time?”
Ellis snorted. “That will go over well with your coach and your girlfriend.”
“If I talk with your friends, I’m sure we can make it work. That way Mark won’t be able to find you on your own.”
Ellis looked skeptical. “I don’t need babysitters.”
“I know. I just want to help.”
“What about the classes I have on my own?”
“What do you have?”
“US History.”
“I’m in the AP class, but Seth is in yours and in your math class.”
“Seth?”
“Seth Johnson, my best friend.”
“You can’t ask your best friend to become my babysitter.”
“Of course I can.” Dale had every intention of doing exactly that, even if Ellis said no. Seth would do it without asking questions, just because it was Dale asking.
“What about Fiction Writing? You have practice, and I’m sure there’s no one named Seth in it.”
“But Mark also has practice. He won’t be able to get to you then.”
Ellis’s face grew dark, but he didn’t say anything.
“So, does the fact that you haven’t punched me yet mean you believe me?”
“Yeah. Sorry about this, it’s just… I had a bad day.”
“I know. Stephanie told me about the prank and that you had to, uh, pick everything up after it.”
Ellis grimaced. “Please don’t make me think about it again.”
“Sorry.”At least it earned Dale a smile from Ellis. “Forgiven?”
“There’s nothing to forgive you for, I guess.”
“So, friends?” Dale offered Ellis his hand.
Ellis looked at it as though it might bite him, but in the end, he grabbed it and gave it a shake. Dale beamed at him and was happy to see Ellis smile back.
“Friends.”
Chapter Four
DALE LEANED
against Seth’s locker and waited for him to arrive. He was late, of course, but they had their first class together anyway.
He let his thoughts wander to Stephanie and the time they’d spent together over the weekend, but they soon moved on to Ellis. Dale leaned the back of his head against the cool metal of the locker. Why was he so interested in Ellis?
Sure, Ellis wasn’t the first guy Dale liked
that
way, but he certainly hadn’t spent so much time thinking about the others. He couldn’t help it, though, and God knew he’d tried. There was something about Ellis, about the way he was both so fragile and so strong, that pushed Dale’s need to protect him from the world, or in this case, from Mark. He hoped it was just that—a need to protect. It wouldn’t do Dale any good if it became more.
“Oi. What’re you doing here?”
Dale smiled at his best friend. “Waiting for your lazy ass to show up.”
“Aww, you missed me over the weekend?”
“Not really, no. I had too many things to do to find the time to miss you, and even if I’d been free… you’re not that missable, you know?”
Seth snorted, and Dale stepped aside to give him access to his locker. “Is that even a word?”
“What, missable? Probably not.”
“Shouldn’t you be careful about the way you talk? You know, since you want to be a teacher and everything.”
“I want to be a teacher, but I’m not one yet.”
Seth opened his locker and stuffed books and notebooks in it before grabbing what he needed and closing it. “So, why are you waiting for me here instead of making out with Stephanie in a dark corner of the school?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“I feel so special.”
“Don’t delude yourself, you’re not. Did you hear what Mark did Friday?”
“The jockstraps thing? Yeah. Pretty funny, huh?”
“Not funny at all, Seth.”
Seth cocked a brow. “What’s up with you?”
“Just think about it. What if Mark had done it to you? Not only was it disgusting, but Ellis had to pick all the straps up too, and no one helped him.”
Seth grimaced. “Okay, I guess I can see it. So you know the guy Mark did it to, huh?”
“Yeah. Ellis is my new English partner.”
“Oh, the one you have to do the gay thing with?”
“The gay thing? Really?”
“Oops, sorry. That didn’t sound so nice.”
“Whatever. Anyway, Ellis
is
my partner, and I found out Mark bullies him.”
They started walking toward their classroom. “I’m sorry for the guy, but why are you telling me?”
“Because I need a favor.”
“Oooh, that doesn’t sound good.”
“Shut up. It’s nothing bad. Ellis doesn’t want to tell anyone about Mark, but I don’t want it to happen again, so I suggested I could spend as much time as possible with Ellis, you know, so Mark can’t find him alone.”
“How’d Stephanie react? It’s going to cut into your alone time.”
“She’s okay with it. She doesn’t like what Mark’s doing any more than I do.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’m not with Ellis for all his classes. He has US History and math with you.”
Seth scrunched his nose. “I don’t remember him.”
“Five foot ten, brown hair, brown eyes.”
“You just described more than half the school, man.”
“He always wears funny T-shirts.”
Seth shook his head. “Nope, sorry. You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”
“Look,” Dale said with a huff. “I’ll introduce the two of you today at lunch, okay?”
“No need to be like that.”
“Sorry.” Dale had tried to care less, but he’d thought a lot over the weekend. It didn’t matter if Ellis was cute or if Dale liked him. It wasn’t right for
anyone
to be bullied like he was, and someone had to help him. Since no one else was doing it, Dale would, but he couldn’t do it on his own. “I need your help to keep him company when I can’t.”
“I have to babysit him?”
“Eh, more or less.” Dale laughed at the expression on Seth’s face. “I’m kidding. I just need you to keep an eye on Ellis when Mark’s around, that’s all. You don’t have to become his best friend or anything like that.”
“It won’t magically solve his problems, you know. Mark didn’t even have to be close to your friend for yesterday’s prank.”
They entered the classroom and earned themselves a glare from the teacher, but he didn’t say anything to them. The bell rang, and they hurried to their seats. “I know, I know. It’ll still help, though.”
“Whatever. If you need me to help, you know I will. You just have to ask.”
Dale smiled as he took his book out. “Thanks.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?”
“Yeah, that’s what friends are for.” And Dale was Ellis’s friend.
ELLIS IGNORED
everything that wasn’t his notebook and his pen, and continued to write.
He was working on his Fiction Writing assignment—an original work he had to finish before winter break—and he was jotting down plot ideas, characters, anything he could think of. He knew he could do it, could create something great for the course—he just hoped Mr. Shea would like it when he read it.
He was so focused on his work he didn’t notice something was wrong until something landed on his notebook. Startled, Ellis glanced at it and paled. He looked up and tried to discover who had thrown the jockstrap—thankfully clean and obviously new this time—on his desk. The other students in study hall were either working or laughing at him, so it wasn’t hard to figure out the direction the strap had come from.
The ones snickering were huddled in a small group, so Ellis couldn’t tell who exactly had done it. He couldn’t pin it on Mark this time since the guy wasn’t even there.
“How’d you like your present, Ellis?” someone whispered loud enough for Ellis to hear but not so loud Mrs. Carver would hear him.