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III - Dinner With the Fellas

Joshua found Anthony staring quietly out of the window in one of the empty offices of the admissions building. He cleared his throat as he entered, not wanting to startle the younger boy. "Anthony? It's me, Joshua."

Anthony didn't turn around or acknowledge him in any way.

"Um...." Joshua approached slowly, reaching out to put a hand on Anthony's shoulder. Anthony jerked away and Josh was shocked to see wetness on his cheeks. "Oh, hey...."

"Leave me alone." Anthony angrily swiped the tears away and stood with his back to Josh, his shoulders slumped.

"No, listen, I...." Joshua stopped, thinking hard about what he wanted to say. "Anthony, James really didn't mean anything by what he said. He's just... that's just how he is, you know? It wasn't anything personal."

Anthony didn't answer at first. Then he spoke quietly. "I don't know why I thought this place would be different. I thought if I didn't try to hide it like before... if I didn't lie about who I was... then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I guess I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong, Anthony." Joshua stepped around him and looked him in the eyes. "I know James and I know he wouldn't hold it against you that you're... um... what you are."

"I'm a faggot, Joshua, just say it."

"You're not a faggot," Joshua snapped, suddenly a little angry. "You're gay. I don't want to hear you using that word, it's... unpleasant."

Anthony snorted. "Everyone uses that word, Joshua, so why shouldn't I?"

"Everyone does not. I don't, and T-Dawg doesn't—"

"T-Dawg?"

"Oh... uh... Randy. We call him T-Dawg sometimes."

"Oh."

"But the point is that we don't, and none of our friends do because they know it's not cool with us. Frankly, Anthony, we like you, and nobody's going to give you a hard time as long as we're around."

Anthony smiled a little at that. "Do you really mean that?"

"Sure. You're a likeable guy. Heck, even Banks likes you and it doesn't seem like he likes much of anybody, really."

Anthony sighed, somewhat dreamily. "Banks is.... He'll be a tough nut to crack. But God, is he hot!"

Joshua grinned. "If you say so."

"I do. And your bone structure is simply marvelous, did you know that? Beautiful cheekbones."

Joshua blushed a little. "Umm... thanks. So, you feel better now? Want to come and have dinner with me and the rest of the guys?"

"Yeah...." Anthony wiped his face again, grimacing. "But I'd better stop in the little girls' room first. I'm an absolute mess!"

~*~

"Yo, where you been?" Timberwood greeted them as they put their trays down on the table.

"I took my own little tour of the building," Anthony lied smoothly, avoiding having to look at James. He took a seat next to Banks. "Hi, Banks."

James, seated on Banks' other side, raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Banks snapped, his cheeks going pink.

James smirked at him. "Nothing. So, Anthony, what do you think of this place so far?"

Anthony glanced at Joshua, who gave him a subtle nod, before answering. "Um... it's fine. Mostly everybody is very nice."

"That's good," James nodded, taking a bite of his salad. "You'll want to watch out, though, there's a couple of guys on the lacrosse and croquet teams who I know'll be a little... difficult for you. Though I think some of the guys in croquet are just in denial about themselves, but that's another story. Anybody he should watch out for in B-Ball, T-Dawg?"

Timberwood shrugged. "Prolly. 'Snever come up. But he'll be fine if he sticks with us. They know not to mess with my friends."

"Obviously," James said, his ever-present smirk firmly in place. "Or Joshua would have gotten trounced a long time ago."

"Me?" Joshua squeaked, startled. "Why me?"

"You're thin, neat, and you like to sing. Figure it out."

Anthony shook his head, frowning. "That is such a dumb-ass stereotype. I'm not thin or neat."

"Yeah, well, nobody's perfect," Banks quipped.

James regarded him consideringly, and smiled with something resembling approval.

End

Screencap in the "Deerfield" image taken from *NSYNC: THEN AND NOW and used with permission. Many thanks to them!
"Deerfield" image © 2000-2001 JulieOh

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