Homecoming

[jack]

Jack showed up in the cafeteria looking nicely cleaned up compared to his usual ensemble. He had a pair of black dress pants and white button down shirt with a starched collar. He also wore a black evening coat, that obviously wouldn't be worn while dancing, but which complimented the rest of his outfit quite nicely.

He had combed through his shaggy hair, and tried to slick it back a bit: adding to his clean cut look. He grinned despite himself as he turned to his date for the evening: Grace.

[Zeke Nayakan]

"You look one hundred times better. I mean, wow."

Zeke wondered if he was going to lose his burst of confidence already. This must've been hard for Marcoh, being so used to being the shy, quiet kid that hung out in the library. At least, that's the vibe Zeke had gotten from him. And how the two of them were at the Homecoming dance together, and Marcoh had kissed him first. Who knew what other surprises the younger boy had?

"Well, thanks. I mean, I figured I had to look good, as this is my last Homecoming," he pointed out. "Plus, I didn't want any of the straight guys to show me up. That'd just make us look bad," he joked quietly, us obviously referring to homosexuals and how they were known to dress well.

"So..." he began, glancing around anxiously, "What next? I'm not really good at the whole dance thing."

"So," Zeke started, looking around. "Next comes finding a table." He spotted plenty of people, but none that he felt completely comfortable butting into their conversations to invite himself to their table. Spotting an empty one, he led Marcoh over to it. That way anyone they knew could come and sit with them. It wasn't like it really mattered since very little time was actually spent sitting down at these things.

"Would you like some punch?" Zeke offered, hoping to ease Marcoh into the swing of things before actually dancing.

[Tobias Vaughn]

"Well come on, let's go take a seat elsewhere,"

Tobias nodded eagerly in agreement. Not that he had anything against Ravi and his... erm... date... but when it came down to it he didn't want to spend the whole night pretending Ravi had actually come here with Audrey as his 'girlfriend'. She made him feel awkward about the whole situation. Plus, he was apparently sitting with Kyan, who was here with Viola, who was already sitting.

"Hey Viola," he greeted her, waving. "Hope you don't mind," he added, as Kyan drug him over to a seat.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh followed Zeke to an empty table, a little bit of giddyness overcoming the anxiety he'd been feeling. They'd kissed, and much to the surprise of Marcoh's cynical side, no one had jeered or attacked, leaving him able to enjoy the night. And, even though he disliked the typical, mainstream music and the majority of the dance attendees, spending time with Zeke was bound to make the night wonderful.

"Would you like some punch?"

Marcoh, a tad surprised by the inquiry despite its commonplace in teens cinema, grinned adoringly and nodded.

"That'd be great." he said, needing to lean in toward Zeke a little due to the noise. He normally spoke softly, so his loud voice wasn't that impressive - especially in a crowd like that one.

Feeling a tad like a girl being attended to by her date, Marcoh blushed and felt the realization of their relationship stun him once again. He and Zeke were dating. They were boyfriend and boyfriend. They came to the dance as a couple. No matter how many times he stressed or rephrased it, it still felt like a dream. An amazing, spectacular, marvelous, and all-around brilliant dream.

[Zeke Nayakan]

"That'd be great."

Luckily, Zeke had always had a talent for reading lips, because he could barely hear Marcoh over the noise of the dance. He smiled, knowing that the boy was always quiet. It was a miracle he could raise his voice at all. As they made their way over to the punch bowl he couldn't help but look Marcoh up and down and smirk a little to himself.

He had a boyfriend. After the past year the concept had seemed impossible. A normal relationship? After the saga that had been his relationship with Christian? Never. But here he was, at a school dance, with his date. The fact that Marcoh was younger helped, mainly because he was inexperienced, innocent, and a bit naieve. Zeke wasn't one to rush things, epsecially knowing that Marcoh was only 16. That was a little wierd, but he always figured that if you really liked someone - and he and Marcoh had a definite connection - then age shouldn't matter. At least, not to a certain degree. It wasn't like he was going to fall in love with a 10 year old or anything. Creepy.

((and then the bell for homeroom rang))

[Viola Hastings]

Viola had taken to saying hi to some of the girls previously on the GW soccer team while Kyan up and left her for someone with a penis more likely than not. He returned about 10 or 15 minutes later with Toby in tow.

"Oh, hey there glad you found your way back," she said to Kyan, putting up the pretense of beign an angry date, just for fun really. "Hey Toby, oh this is fine."

[brad]

"Well let's go pound their faces in!" said Brad. There was two of them and two queers so the odds seemed good. The other one had run off to the bathroom or something. "We can totally take 'em! They're just a bunch of fags anyway!"

[Randy Evans]

"We could," Randy said. "But we should wait until later or get 'em outside. There are teachers in here now."

He liked the idea his brother had, but he didn't agree with the rash thinking. It really was too risky to do in front of everyone, and as always the scholarship was in his head. He needed that fucking thing because his grades weren't exactly phenomenal.

[Caleb McClure]

Caleb made his way through the throng of kids who were taking pictures and chatting by the entrance, scoping out the homecoming scene as he checked out all the changes he'd missed over the past four weeks. He'd been looking forward to his trip to England to see his father and brother, but it fell at a poor time during the year; particularly during exams. Coming back from a carefree and laid-back time spent at his dad's to a frenzy of assignments and test being thrown upon him was not a pleasant experience. He'd gotten back late last night, but dragged himself to school anyway, only to find that he had a shitload to do.

At least his teachers were forgiving and allowed him extra time to finish due to homecoming, which was one of the reasons he actually went. That, and he hadn't really talked to anyone since returning, what with all the work he had to do. So, he mingled briefly with the different cliques of people he was friends with before he worked up the nerve to confront who he really wanted to see that night. It wasn't exactly nerves persay, but it was a certain anxiety that he felt in seeing... well, seeing the guy he'd had a crush on . That was to be expected though, he supposed, as normal girls and guys confessed jitters upon setting sights on their own on romantic interests. Fate - and the guidance office - was especially cruel and kept him from sharing classes with him, so the only way to see him was via lunchroom conversations, extracurricular activities, and evenings out. All three of those possibilities had been wiped out due to the work he had to make up, so it would be the first time seeing him since he'd left for England, which, while it had been a good time, seemed forever ago from a lack of him.

It was hard to spend three and a half weeks in a foreign country where no one appeared remotely interesting because your heart was set on someone else across the world. That, and to be without your best friend to confide in... God, it was going to be a hell of a reunion. Maybe even enough to set the ball in motion; the ball being the confession that Caleb was entirely head over heels for his best friend of nine years.

And suddenly there he was, traveling across the crowded floor, almost consumed by the groups of people that had amassed - and if it weren't for the fact that he was dead set on seeing him, Caleb probably would have lost him. But he didn't, and he approached from the side, stopping slightly in the boy's path and grinning wickedly.

"Hey Zeke."

[Ravi Malone]

Ravi felt like he couldn't pass off being in the bathroom much longer without cause Audrey to worry so he left and went back to the dance. Toby and Kyan were sitting at a table with Viola now. Ravi looked even more pouty than before at the sight of this. He skulked back over to the table where he'd sat with Audrey. "I wanna go home." he said. He really didn't want to stick around to see if things got closer with Toby and Kyan not to mention he didn't see himself having any fun at all that night.

[Zeke Nayakan]

"Hey Zeke"

Zeke had just handed Marcoh the cup of punch when he heard someone greeting him; someone who wasn't Marcoh. He was surprised to find that it was Caleb, but it was a very good type of surprised. Setting down his own cup of punch he gave his friend a tight squeeze. Caleb had been away for so long that he hadn't seen him in what seemed like a century. The two had been best friends since grade school, and so it was weird not having him at the GSA meetings, or hanging out over weekends and stuff. Not that Zeke hadn't been able to keep himself busy, but...

"Caleb!" his tone was an odd mixture of relief and joy, glad that his friend had returned home safely. "How was your trip? How's your brother? Heck, how are you?" he laughed a little, getting caught up in their little reunion. Zeke was suddenly very aware of Marcoh standing next to him, and realized that the two of them probably didn't know each other.

"Oh, Caleb, this is Marcoh. Marcoh, Caleb. He just got back from visiting his dad and his brother in England," Zeke explained. He turned back to face Caleb with a slight sigh. "It's good to see you again! It seems like longer than four weeks, doesn't it?"

[Caleb McClure]

"Caleb! How was your trip? How's your brother? Heck, how are you?"

"Everyone's doing fantastic! Kieran's got himself a bit of a beard now, believe or not, and Dad's having some knee trouble, but no worries. Jesus, what am I talking about? How're you? And everybody here, not that I really care for the lot of them - ah, joking of course. Connie still giving Allison the cold shoulder and such?" he babbled excitedly, his enthusiasm for his family amplified by the physical gesture Zeke offered. God, to have those arms around him all the time... he tried to keep those thoughts away for a moment as he was introduced to the mousy looking boy accompanying Zeke.

"Oh, Caleb, this is Marcoh. Marcoh, Caleb. He just got back from visiting his dad and his brother in England."

Caleb gave Marcoh the quick once over, not recognizing him from anywhere. Strange - if Zeke knew him, he surely should have at least met him before.

"Oh, hey." he said politely, not sure of whether or not to shake his hand - or something of that matter. But, he didn't have to think about that for long, as Zeke addressed him again.

"It's good to see you again! It seems like longer than four weeks, doesn't it?"

"Ages," Caleb agreed, attention completely centered on Zeke once again, "A millenia, as a matter of fact. God, I'm so glad to be back!"

And he was. Very glad.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"Caleb! How was your trip? How's your brother? Heck, how are you?"

"Everyone's doing fantastic! Kieran's got himself a bit of a beard now, believe or not, and Dad's having some knee trouble, but no worries. Jesus, what am I talking about? How're you? And everybody here, not that I really care for the lot of them - ah, joking of course. Connie still giving Allison the cold shoulder and such?"

Marcoh watched the sudden onslaught of conversation awkwardly, not sure of whether or not Zeke wanted to talk to Caleb with his interference. After all, it appeared they went way back and had a lot to talk about, which left him feeling extremely third-wheelish and a tad jealous.

"Oh, Caleb, this is Marcoh. Marcoh, Caleb. He just got back from visiting his dad and his brother in England."

"Oh, hey."

Marcoh suddenly felt as if he was being judged and tried to put on a pleasant demeanor for Caleb. Not that he wasn't pleasant most of the time, but he tried to appear a bit more sociable and happy.

"Hey." he replied casually, hand that had started to go in for a greeting scratching his neck instead.

It was then that he realized that for as much as he liked Zeke, he really didn't know much about his family or friends or... well, his whole life in general. Strange, how they'd gotten so close on such shallow grounds. He'd never really felt ignorant before, but the emotion was worming its way into Marcoh's good mood and did not do a thing for it.

[grace]

Grace felt horribly out of place here at George Washington. She had just moved here not even a week ago, and hadn't even thought of coming until Jack had asked her to go with him. She knew that being a new girl was bad enough, but being pregnant, well, it was a little harder. Especially in her classes where the desks and the chairs were attached, because they had to switch them to regular desks for her so that she could sit farther from the desk so her stomach would fit! It was the little things like that that made her self-conscious. But not tonight.

Being here with Jack made her feel better. It was nice to have a friend. "So, what now?" she asked. Her make-up was simple, black eyeliner and silver eyeshadow, with light lipstick. Her dress was simple but elegant; black, a color that wouldn't make her bulging stomach too obvious, which came down at an angle at the bottom.

[jack]

Jack smiled, a boyish gesture. He reached out an arm to wrap around her waist. He wasn't attempting to get fresh, rather attempting to help her. He wasn't exactly sure how far along she was yet, and he thought it might be easier for her to get around if she had someone to physically support her if need be. He figured if she didn't like it, she could always shrug him off.

"Well," he said. "I guess now we find ourselves a table."

[Zeke Nayakan]

"Everyone's doing fantastic! Kieran's got himself a bit of a beard now, believe or not, and Dad's having some knee trouble, but no worries. Jesus, what am I talking about? How're you? And everybody here, not that I really care for the lot of them - ah, joking of course. Connie still giving Allison the cold shoulder and such?"

Zeke just stood there, grinning like an idiot. He had completely forgotten that Caleb had come home the day before, mainly because he didn’t see him very much any more. They didn’t have any classes together, and the next GSA meeting wasn’t until next week. It was a pleasant surprise, and by the way Caleb kept talking it seemed like he was excited for the reunion as well.

“A beard?” he said, laughing a little. He couldn’t picture Kieran with a beard! “Well, I hope your dad’s knee gets better. As for me, well, I’m doing just fine!” Zeke was immensely relieved that his black eye had all but vanished and the cuts on his face were just slight scars now. Caleb knew all about Christian, and he figured that once things settled down he’d tell him the whole story. But now wasn’t the time nor the place. “Same old stuff here, nothing new or exciting. Yeah, Connie’s still being a jerk,” he added, shaking his head.

"Oh, hey." "Hey."

Zeke realized just then how little Marcoh knew about his life, outside of the fact that he liked to read and taught karate. Being a sophomore, Marcoh probably didn’t know many of his friends, since most of them were seniors. And the two of them hadn’t really talked a whole lot. They had met, Zeke had borrowed a book, and then they’d kissed. It had all happened so fast, and yet there was that connection there… he hoped that meeting one of Zeke’s best friends (well, okay, his best friend) wasn’t making him feel awkward. He could join in the conversation at any time.

"Ages," Caleb agreed, attention completely centered on Zeke once again, "A millenia, as a matter of fact. God, I'm so glad to be back!"

“And George Washington is glad to have you back,” he pointed out, smirking slightly again. “You don’t know how traumatic it is to have to pay full price for all of my dvd rentals,” he added. Since Caleb worked at Blockbuster he would usually try and sneak in a few discounts when he was working.

He looked back over at Marcoh, to see if he was really uncomfortable or bored. He loved catching up with Caleb but knew that he was here with Marcoh, and so Marcoh had to come first. If he looked unsure then Zeke decided he'd just tell Caleb he had to go and they'd catch up later.

[drake]

Drake showed up to the homecoming dance with some girl on his right. Her name was Stacey. .. or Tracey. . .or maybe Macy? He couldn't be expected to keep track of names when there were oh so many pretty girls around. He grinned in a smug sort of way as he took his date over to an empty table. He wouldn't see her again after tonight, he was sure. But then again, she knew it too. Drake wasn't the sort of guy to go about seriously dating girls. Sure he'd date them for a couple of weeks, but then he'd go right back into the dating field.

Things like that were just part of who he was. He was that guy who never had to go to a movie alone. The kind of guy who showed up to school early so he could make out at a girl's locker. He was in a band and walked int the limelight. Life was good being Drake Parker.

He had shown up in a brown suit ensemble, managing without trying to look cool. His dark auburn hair slanted downward away from his face, and overall he looked, well hot.

[jewls]

Even though Jewls didn't have a date she wasn't going to let that spoil the night for her. She was still a little depress about her brother having to transfer to St. James and really needed something to cheer her up. Even though her and Jude didn't get along all the time doesn't mean she doesn't like him. They were still going to see each other at home and work and stuff, though. Hopefully the dance would cheer her up.

Seeing everyone there with dates only made Jewls more depressed. It wasn't like she wasn't able to get a date, she just didn't feel like putting fourth the energy. Since there wasn't much else for her to do she sat at a table by herself.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

Marcoh met Zeke's gaze and smiled slightly, unsure of exactly what to do. He wasn't familiar with Caleb and had no idea of what would be appropriate to talk about; with his luck, he'd probably crack a joke that was highly offensive and convinced Zeke to dump him on the spot. That or a samurai duel, but it was that kind of spur of the moment, random thought that Marcoh was afraid of accidentally expressing.

He remained quiet, but gave Zeke a slight nod, looking towards Caleb as their conversation continued. Marcoh didn't want to get in the way, and he wasn't one for being the center of attention, so he tried not to let his own awkwardness affect Zeke.'

Plus, he thought, maybe it was time he got to know his boyfriend - his boyfriend! - and the world around him.


[sorry it's so bad! I'm super tired right now and just trying to write something]

[Caleb McClure]

“And George Washington is glad to have you back. You don’t know how traumatic it is to have to pay full price for all of my dvd rentals."

"It must be positively devastating." Caleb replied, laughing as he was unable to keep a straight face. Another thing he loved about Zeke; his sheer lightheartedness. It was a fresh breath of air compared to his father's somewhat cynical nature about the world and the politically fueled rants he went off on.

Watching the silent and subtle conversation between the two boys, [fire drill] Caleb felt a bit bad being so obtrusive. They'd been talking about something before, it appeared, and he'd barged into their conversation without much regard.

"So, ah, Marcoh... are you a junior then? Do you two have a class together or something?" he asked, hoping to make Marcoh feel more included. Caleb wasn't the kind of guy who stereotyped often, but Marcoh, to be honest about it, looked like the nerdy kind of kid who took college courses in his spare time for fun. He wouldn't have been surprised if he and Zeke had some senior level classes together - that would explain their familiarity, at least.


[ewwwww, but I have to go to band. ]

[Tobias Vaughn]

"Oh, hey there glad you found your way back," she said to Kyan, putting up the pretense of beign an angry date, just for fun really. "Hey Toby, oh this is fine."

Tobias smiled at Viola, glad she didn’t mind. After all, she was technically Kyan’s date, and he wouldn’t want to feel like he was taking him away from her or anything. He didn’t want to be a bother.

He spotted Brad and Randy out of the corner of his eye but didn’t pay them any attention. At least, he didn’t visibly react to their presence, even though he was already starting to worry about them trying to pull anything like at school the other day. After all, it did sort of look like he was here with Kyan, especially by the way Kyan had been pulling him around.

[grace]

"Well," he said. "I guess now we find ourselves a table."

At first Grace thought that Jack was making a move on her, and she tensed up a bit because she hadn’t been expecting the sudden touch. When she realized that he was just holding her there to help support her as she walked she almost wanted to cry. She managed to hide her emotions, though, which was hard because being pregnant made her extra emotional. It had been a long time since anyone had shown her that sort of sensitivity and kindness. Her parents reprimanded her on a daily basis for not getting an abortion, and her old school shunned her for getting pregnant in the first place. It was a nice change to have a real friend around to help her.

However, she didn’t really need the support. Not yet, anyway, and she started walking fine on her own, though she was grateful for the thought. “Do you have anyone you’d like to sit with?” she asked curiously. After all, he’d been there for a few months now where she’d only been there for a week. He would be more likely to have a friend. If not, then there were plenty of open tables left to sit at.

[Marcoh Kinsley]

"So, ah, Marcoh... are you a junior then? Do you two have a class together or something?"

Marcoh was somewhat startled to be addressed, taken aback by Caleb's transition to him. He supposed that he couldn't expect Caleb to be as awkward as he was around others, and felt a blush rise in his cheeks, happy to feel included.

"Er, no. I'm just a sophomore." he replied, running a hand through his hair embarrassedly. He'd been mistaken for a junior... Marcoh grinned a bit, surprised at the sudden rush of confidence he felt in that moment. It wasn't something to be outstandingly proud about, but he supposed that if he seemed older, then maybe Zeke thought he was old enough too...

[lame. POST WITH ZEKE!]

[audrey]

"I wanna go home."

Audrey sighed; she told Desmond this wasn't going to work! Ravi was far too easily discouraged. Not to mention whiny about every fucking thing. Oh, well, not like Audrey saw herself having a good time there or anything anyway. Plus she couldn't wait to get out of the poor people school, it just seemed so dirty. "Fine." Audrey said, getting out of her chair and brushing the wrinkles out of her dress. Not even bothering to wait for Ravi, she walked around the dance floor and out of the cafeteria.

[Ravi Malone]

After telling Audrey he wanted to go home he bent over to tie his show, but when he came back up Audrey was already out of the cafeteria. Ravi didn't want to make some dramatic exit so he took his time going over to the door. He also wasn't looking forward to going back to his house to have Desmond grill him on leaving the dance early. By the time Ravi left the cafe Audrey had to be out of the school if not already at her car. Halfway down the hall Ravi stopped to get a drink of water from one of the fountains.