I'm back . . . yay

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Finally the day Desmond had been looking forward to and dreading had come; his first day back to school after the incident. He knew every had to know about it between his popularity and the school's moderate size. Not to mention him being the president of GSA, the captain of the Lacrosse team, and in drum line. He wasn't sure how people were going to treat him. Overly nice because he'd tried to kill himself? Angry because he'd been to stupid? He just hoped he wasn't asked 'how are you feeling?' a hundred times.

He went to school a little earlier than usual so he could avoid people. It didn't really work though; the hallways weren't as packed as they usually were, but there was still a number of people there. He'd never felt so uncomfortable walking down the hallway in all his life; people kept staring at him and there was the occasional whisper. Now he knew what Harry Potter felt like in the fifth book! He made it to his locker and began getting his stuff ready for first period.

[Garrett Speelers]

Garrett walked down the hall and noticed Desmond back in school. Of course he'd heard the rumors cirrculating about Desmond. About how he'd downed some pills. . . He stopped next Desmond's locker and stared at the opposite wall.

"So is it true?" he asked.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond didn't even have to ask what Garrett was talking about; he knew what it was. It was a little refreshing to have someone not immediately ask him if he was ok though. He didn't even look up from what he was doing in his locker to answer.

"Yeah. . . it's true." he said quietly, blushing slightly from the shame of the situation, "but I'm better now. . . it's cool." He doubted that saying that made Garrett feel any better.

[Garrett Speelers]

It didn't make Garrett feel any better, hearing these words. A part of him had sort of hoped that perhaps kids were just blowing things out of proportions.

"What were you thinking?" he said, a little hostility in his voice. "What happened?"

It pissed him off that his friend would consider taking his own life before trying to talk about it. NOt to mention the fear that this could hit so close to home. Sure, he'd contemplated suicide on a regular basis, but he'd never gone through with it.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond had expected this, but he still wasn't entirely prepared for it.

"I-I just wasn't thinking." he said quietly, still unable to look at Garrett, still just rummaging through his locker. He wasn't about to tell Garrett everything with him and Josh, he hadn't even told Audrey about all that stuff. "I-I've just been having a rough time lately. . . I wasn't thinking straight. . . It was just stupid."

[Garrett Speelers]

"You're damn right it was," Garrett agreed. "I don't want to go Dr. Phil on you, but if you're having a tough time, this isn't the way to go solving your problems. So don't do somethign like that again."

He reslized he was losing his cool front that he always put up, but the idea of someone he knew killing themselves was just. . .

[Desmond Giuseppe]

"Yeah, tell me something I don't already fucking know, Garrett." said Desmond actually getting a little mad now. He knew Garrett had every right to be mad, but he didn't have to be so harsh about it and he didn't have to tell him what at least five people had told him already. Desmond sighed and rested his head against his locker. "I'm sorry." he said quietly, "I'm just sick of people telling me that. I know it was stupid and I'm not going to try it again. Trust me." There was a moment of eye contact before Desmond turned back to his locker.

[cynthia]

Suddenly, out of no where, a pair of arms came and wrapped themselves around Desmond's middle. Those arms belonged to Cynthia Rose, who had never been happier to see anyone before in her entire life. She had been worried sick about Desmond since she'd heard the rumors, but she wasn't going to mention anything about them. After all, if he wanted to talk to her then he would, in his own time. She was just glad to see him.

She knew that hugs usually didn't solve much, but they always made her feel better, so she gave Desmond the biggest hug she could as a 'welcome back'. Stepping away from him, she smiled to Garrett who was also there. "Hey Garrett," she said, so as to not totally ignore him, but she had important matters to attend to.

"Have you seen these!" Cynthia said, her tone clearly outraged, as she held up one of the few fliers she hadn't thrown away. It was one of the ones Prudence had been putting up. "I tried to take matters into my own hands in your absence, but... honestly!" Hopefully this would take Desmond's mind off of less pleasant things.

[Garrett Speelers]

"Hey Cynthia," Garrett said, distracted from his and Desmond's conversation by the new arrival.

He supposed he'd just have to take Desmond's word for it anyway. There was nothing else he could do anyway.

When he saw the fliers she was holding up, GArrett felt his brows furrow as well. He had been there when Prudence had been putting them up and had trashed the one next to his locker.

"Yeah, it's riddiculous," he said. "Prude seems determined to save your souls. She told me to tell you guys you were welcome to come to her cult meeting so you could see the light or some sort of bullshit like that."

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Suddenly Desmond was slammed into his locker by the force of Cynthia's hug. It was nice to have a pleasant greeting, as painful as it was, it was better than Garrett's anger. A great distraction from it anyway. Desmond took the flier from Cynthia as she and Garrett spoke.

"What . . . the FUCK!" Desmond exclaimed in outrage as he read the flier. This was a new low for Prudence and Desmond wasn't about to take it. Sure, Desmond had hit rock bottom, but how he saw it was that he couldn't go any lower. He'd just came back more motivated and determined then ever. The worst part, though, was that Desmond knew Prudence's little gathering wasn't going to be a failure; since it was a catholic school there were plenty of other people who felt like she did. "This is ridiculous!" Desmond ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm gone for a fucking week!" Well, physically anyway; mentally he'd been gone for weeks because of everything with Josh, but he wasn't going to let that effect his social and school life anymore.

"That fucking bitch has gone too far this time. Cynthia, even though you probably had the best intentions, I hope you didn't follow Prudence around and tore all these down as she put them up. . . You have to remember; even though she's a total bitch we have to be better than her. We can't do anything she can use against us." That was the direction Desmond always tried to go with these things; being the honorable party. He wasn't going to protest the gathering or have an anti- Alliance of Christan Students gathering. They had the right to do what they wanted and as much as Desmond hated it he had to respect that, but he wasn't about to go down with out a fight.

[cynthia]

"Yeah, it's riddiculous," he said. "Prude seems determined to save your souls. She told me to tell you guys you were welcome to come to her cult meeting so you could see the light or some sort of bullshit like that."

Cynthia was glad that Garrett was on their side as well. “Yeah, she told me to come to her meeting as well,” she pointed out. “I’m seriously debating doing just that, or… or sending in a spy!” Cynthia knew a few people who weren’t actively involved in the GSA but who would be more than happy to go to that meeting and sit in, just to inform her on what happened.

“What . . . the FUCK! I'm gone for a fucking week!"

She nodded. “I know! And, just as a warning, she’s using you as an example of the school’s greatest sinner.” Cynthia didn’t want to make him feel bad about it, but she figured that it would be best if Desmond knew ahead of time, so that he could be prepared in case he was confronted by Prudence herself.

"That fucking bitch has gone too far this time. Cynthia, even though you probably had the best intentions, I hope you didn't follow Prudence around and tore all these down as she put them up. . . You have to remember; even though she's a total bitch we have to be better than her. We can't do anything she can use against us."

Cynthia didn’t even bat an eyelash in hesitation. “We exchanged words,” she said, smirking slightly. Of course she took down most of the posters! That didn’t stop people from finding out, though. There were bound to be announcements made, and even more posters. “It doesn’t matter what we do. She keeps going on about how this is a private school, privately funded, and if the people who fund it vote against having a GSA then we’ll have to get rid of it.” Cynthia wouldn’t allow that to happen. “We have to find a way to lessen her support… if she really does get enough people behind this, there won’t be anything we can do.”

Cynthia knew that Desmond himself was what Prudence was trying to use against them. A homosexual who had committed suicide? She was right, according to many people that was a double sin. She could also turn it to prove that all homosexuals were unstable or something equally ridiculous. She didn’t tell Desmond that, though, and hoped that he wouldn’t find out she had taken down about half of the posters, even if she had left the other ones up.

“We need to have an emergency GSA meeting…. Asap.”

[Desmond Giuseppe]

“I know! And, just as a warning, she’s using you as an example of the school’s greatest sinner.”

Desmond groaned and leaned back against his locker. How did he just know Prude was going to pull some shit like this? Using someone's attempted suicide as negative fuel for her cause was a new low for old Prudey. "Great. . " muttered, "That's just fucking GREAT." he tooked a deep breath to calm down then stood up straight, "Ok, um, listen, I'll deal with that when we get to it. I'm perfectly capable in defending myself in this regard."

“It doesn’t matter what we do. She keeps going on about how this is a private school, privately funded, and if the people who fund it vote against having a GSA then we’ll have to get rid of it. We have to find a way to lessen her support… if she really does get enough people behind this, there won’t be anything we can do.”

"Prude's father is one of the top funders of the school. . . fuck." Why did this just have to keept getting worse and worse. Suddenly Desmond had a thought and smiled. "Luckily for us the richest girl in school just so happens to be an out and proud lesbian. Cynthia, I need you to convince Sadie Von Wells to join GSA. Her father is right up there with Prudes. I'd ask her myself, but well, you know. . .she likes girls." They were going to need all the leaverage they could get to convince Sadie to join. The girl had never shown an ouce of interest in GSA in the past, but Desmond hoped Sadie's deep hatered of Prude would be enough to get her to join.

“We need to have an emergency GSA meeting…. Asap.”

"I agree. . . except. . oh shit." Desmond just remembered he had to go right home after school today because his docters were retarded and still conserned about his emotional stabiblity. "Um, never mind. Listen, we're going to have the meeting at my house. Prudence can't know about this. If any of you see a GSA memeber during the day let them know ok?" Desmond situation seemed to work out in his favor.

[Garrett Speelers]

Garrett listened to everything being said and found the idea of all this sneaking around a bit exciting. When Desmond mentioned telling the others, he agreed to. He saw that Tad kid some time throughout the day and he had gym with Vinnie, which he supposed he would go to.

"Hey I can go to the Bible thumpers meeting if you need someone to," he told Cynthia. "I was talking to Faye earlier and she was interested in sneaking into it to see what they were up to. I could mention it to her to see if she'd be willing."

He felt bad that he couldn't actually be in the GSA: his dad would kill him if he got wind. So he liked to help out whenever he could.

[cynthia]

"Ok, um, listen, I'll deal with that when we get to it. I'm perfectly capable in defending myself in this regard."

Cynthia nodded and didn’t mention the topic again. She was concerned for Desmond but knew that he would be going through a lot in the next few weeks. The last thing he needed was to be reminded of his mistakes over and over again, which was just what Prudence intended on doing. It might kill him, no pun intended, and Cynthia had every intention of standing up for Desmond as well if she had to.

"Prude's father is one of the top funders of the school. . . fuck."

Cynthia nodded again as Desmond realized everything that Cynthia had been dwelling upon for the past day and a half. There wasn’t much they could do to change who the top funders of the school were, and if Prudence got her father to give more money in exchange for stopping the GSA from meeting, she was positive that the money-hungry owners of St. James would be more than happy to accept those terms.

"Luckily for us the richest girl in school just so happens to be an out and proud lesbian. Cynthia, I need you to convince Sadie Von Wells to join GSA. Her father is right up there with Prudes. I'd ask her myself, but well, you know. . .she likes girls."

Cynthia quirked an eyebrow. “I know she likes girls. What do you want me to do, flirt with her?” Not that she wouldn’t. Cynthia knew she would have to do whatever it took to get the GSA enough funding to keep their club, but still, she had her limitations. She didn’t want to do anything that might come back to bite her in the ass later. “I’ll talk to her,” she added, in case Desmond took her question as a no. “It’s a brilliant idea. She’s loaded, and if we can get her to join and her parents to donate to the school in our name… they’d have to let us stay!”

"Um, never mind. Listen, we're going to have the meeting at my house. Prudence can't know about this. If any of you see a GSA member during the day let them know ok?"

“Yeah, okay. I have Color Guard practice, but not until later. I’ll make sure to tell anybody I see.”

Then she remembered Garrett was still there. She felt bad that he couldn’t really participate because of his situation at home, but he found a way to help just the same. She smiled as he gave his suggestion, amazed by how much he really wanted to do his part as well.

"Hey I can go to the Bible thumpers meeting if you need someone to. I was talking to Faye earlier and she was interested in sneaking into it to see what they were up to. I could mention it to her to see if she'd be willing."

“Only if you want to,” she said. “I wouldn’t want you to put yourself into any awkward situations…” she knew that Garrett was known for hanging out with most of the GSA members, and she knew that his being there might be a little suspicious. She wouldn’t want him to get into any trouble over them, but she would greatly appreciate the insider info. “But it’d help us out a lot. Let us know exactly what Prudence has planned.”

Things might work out after all…

[Garrett Speelers]

“Only if you want to. I wouldn’t want you to put yourself into any awkward situations… But it’d help us out a lot. Let us know exactly what Prudence has planned.”

"It's no problem," Garrett said. "She already invited me to go along. All I have to say is that I changed my mind and decided to see what it was like."

[Desmond Giuseppe]

"Hey I can go to the Bible thumpers meeting if you need someone to," he told Cynthia. "I was talking to Faye earlier and she was interested in sneaking into it to see what they were up to. I could mention it to her to see if she'd be willing."

"Thanks Garrett." Desmond knew that Garrett couldn't be in GSA because his father was an asshole, but he was glad that Garrett was willing to help anyway. It really was a good idea to have a spy in the meeting; they had to know what exactly they were dealing with. They had dealt with Prudence's antics in the past, but who knew what she had up her sleeve this time. Her failures in the past only made her more motivated to succeed.

“I know she likes girls. What do you want me to do, flirt with her?”

". . . . Only if you want to." said Desmond giving her a funny look "I'd only meant she'd probably get along better with a girl. . . but if there's something you're not telling me you'd might as well come out with it now." He said it jokingly so Cynthia knew he was only joking. He knew she was straight.

“I’ll talk to her. It’s a brilliant idea. She’s loaded, and if we can get her to join and her parents to donate to the school in our name… they’d have to let us stay!”

"It's no problem," Garrett said. "She already invited me to go along. All I have to say is that I changed my mind and decided to see what it was like."

"Great." So now they had Cynthia working on Sadie and Garrett spying on the Jesus freaks. Now Desmond just had to make sure his personal problems didn't get the best of him again. He was going to have to forewarn his mother everyone was coming, her and Josh. It was even risky for the trust worthy members of GSA to know about him and Josh. "If needed, my cousin is in the GSA over at GW, we could ask them for help if we have too, but we'll save that for a last resort."

[cynthia]

"I'd only meant she'd probably get along better with a girl. . . but if there's something you're not telling me you'd might as well come out with it now."

Cynthia laughed along as well. She didn't mind the lesbian jokes so much any more; she got them more often than she would've liked being the Vice President of the gay-straight alliance. People didn't seem to understand that not everyone in the club was gay themself... they often left out the straight part in their minds. The alliance part as well, now that she thought about it.

"No, nothing new," she said, shrugging. "Sorry girls," she added to a couple of underclassmen who had been evesdropping and giving her weird looks.

"It's no problem," Garrett said. "She already invited me to go along. All I have to say is that I changed my mind and decided to see what it was like."

Cynthia nodded. "It really is a great help. Just don't get her on your bad side. I mean, not any more than she already is, I guess," she added. They had a plan. They had people to carry out those plans. It was all falling into place, just like she had known it would in the end. Now, all they had to do was execute those plans perfectly, flawlessly, and they'd come out on top. Yeah, right.

"If needed, my cousin is in the GSA over at GW, we could ask them for help if we have too, but we'll save that for a last resort."

Cynthia nodded. She liked having that as a backup. It seemed like a decent plan, though she doubted it would help them out very much. The support would be welcomed, but if this all came down to money then they would need more than just a few more teens on their side.