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That afternoon went by like a breeze. I'd never done so well in a physical competition like that since, well, ever. When we played football, I couldn't catch, couldn't block, and couldn't defend. In baseball, I'd swing the bat so slowly that I was lucky to get on base at all. I couldn't run long distances, so the track unit was out of my league. And basketball was just as bad - until that day.

Not to mention the fact that when we were done, the other students were giving me some genuine respect. Who knew how long it would last, but at least I had one afternoon off from the harrassment that had been so routine for me. And that's to say nothing of the new kid, who seemed to show an interest in me, despite everyone else's revulsion.

Still, that's the part that worried me the most. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that someone pretended to be my friend, only to embarrass me in front of others. One guy conned me into loaning him milk money two or three times a week in 7th grade, and then pulled my shorts down in front of everyone in the cafeteria, relishing in watching as my spirits absolutely crumbled. This was just after one of the few people I could actually call a friend moved out of state and out of contact, and I was desperate to latch onto someone else. This kid saw that and took advantage of it, just to get a few kicks out of my humiliation.

Gregory seemed nice. The fact that he invited me to his house was a sign that maybe he wouldn't turn out to be a dick after all. But still - there was something about his mannerisms: his carefully-phrased words, the looks he gave me when he spoke, the odd smiles he'd make now and then. He obviously had some sort of design on the situation, and it scared me to think what exactly those designs were.

I'd worry about those later, though. I was still busy relishing in everyone's praise. My spirits were so high that I actually did my homework for once.

Tuesday morning arrived, and even though I'd been lavished with praise at the end of my last class on Monday, there were no rose petals thrown at my feet when I returned. Even if a couple of kids from PE shared few other classes with me, they were probably convinced that my performance on the basketball court was a one-time miracle, and that I didn't deserve any more good tidings than they'd already given me. Still, I found myself able to tune them out just a little better than normal. Even the kid behind me, the one who got me nearly sent to detention when I'd returned from my disappearing act, couldn't disrupt me from listening to the teacher explain Carter and Brezhnev's policy of Detente. Hell, I was even taking notes for the first time in weeks. It was like a dose of Ritalin, allowing me to tune out anything going on around me that wasn't important.

Lunch time came around, and I made my way into the cafeteria for one of my usual combinations: a mini Pizza Hut pizza and a Sprite. I paid for my meal and entered the eating area, where I found Gregory sitting by himself at a table in the far corner of the room. Even if he did turn out to be a jerk like the others, at least I'd have a temporary safe haven with him, so I walked over to his table.

"Mind if I sit here?" I asked.

Gregory looked at me from his own lunch - a salad, apple, and water - and smiled. "By all means," he replied.

I quickly put down my tray and took a seat across from him.

"Healthy eater, I see," I commented.

He looked at his food, compared it to mine, and chuckled. "To each their own. I'd never begrudge anyone their taste in food."

"You a vegetarian?" I asked.

Gregory chuckled again. "Hardly. You've caught me on one of my good days. There are times when I'd eat ten of those pizzas if you let me."

I pulled a slice apart from my pizza and dug in. "So, you just moved out here or something?"

Gregory nodded. "I was living in Minnesota for a while, but circumstances arose that required me to move out here."

"Circumstances? Like what?"

"It's... rather personal, actually. I'd rather not get into it."

I shrugged. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Nick. I'll tell you about it when the time is right."

There it was again - the words he used. As if he was meticulously choosing them, one by one, to make sure he didn't reveal any more than was absolutely necessary at that moment. I went back to my lunch, wondering what he could possibly be up to.

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"Huh?" I looked up at him, shocked. "What do you mean?"

"You feel like you have to be on guard around me, don't you? I can tell. Maybe it's just because of the way other kids have treated you in the past that you don't feel like you can fully trust anyone anymore. Is that right?"

"I... uh... guess so."

Gregory sighed. "You're a very lonely person, Nick. I figured that much out the way you degraded yourself at every opportunity yesterday, as if you're doing me the favor of warning me of your shortcomings so I don't need to see them myself. Do you know why I picked you for my team yesterday?"

"Why?"

"Because I knew you could do it."

Somehow, I knew he meant that. I flashed a modest smile. "Thanks."

Gregory reached his hand across the table. Like he was offering himself to me. "Nick, I promise you. Whatever horrible things others have done to you before, I promise I will never do anything to hurt you."

Again, despite all of the things that he'd been so nebulous about, I knew he was being sincere. I took his hand into mine. "Thanks, Gregory. I appreciate that." We smiled at each other.

At that very moment, one of the more athletic - not to mention boorish - members of my PE class walked by with his own group of friends. "Hey, look!" he called to his buddies. "Nicky and the new kid are holding hands!!" The other kids laughed. "I didn't realize you were a fag too, Nicky."

"I'm not gay, Robbie," I protested. "We were just shaking hands."

"Yeah, right. I bet you were going to kiss it just now, too."

Gregory turned around to face the bully, not bothering to get out of his seat. He didn't even let go of my hand. "Is there a problem, young man?"

"'Young man'..." The jock repeated mockingly, to the delight of his underlings. "Dude, what's wrong with your hair?" He roughly ran his hand through Gregory's white hair, trying to mess it up despite the fact that it already had a naturally toussled look. "What, did some queer-ass hairstylist cum all over it and use it as hair dye?" His followers thought that was especially funny, and burst into another fit of laughter.

"I'm sorry, but I don't see what my homosexuality has to do with my hair color."

"Holy shit, he admits he's a fag!" The jock yelled out. "The new kid's a fag! And he's holding hands with Nicky! It's a match made in heaven!"

"Just leave us alone, Robbie," I said.

"Shut the fuck up, Nicky," he said dismissively. "You know, I heard you made a few lucky-ass shots yesterday. Well, you're playing against my team today, and you'd better not even try anything against me or I'll lay you out like a carpet."

"Don't threaten him," Gregory warned.

"Hey, am I talking to you, fag-boy?" Robbie retorted.

That's when Gregory finally let go of my hand. He shot up out of his seat and turned around to face Robbie. Even though he was a couple inches shorter than the jock, he didn't seem to need to look up to the other boy. "If you do so much as look at Nick inappropriately," he growled, his voice suddenly much colder, "you will suffer."

"Oh really?" Robbie replied, unintimidated. "What're you gonna do about it, pussy?" He shoved Gregory against the table to emphasize the last word. Gregory did nothing but stare fiercely back at the boy. "That's what I thought. Come on guys, let's get away from these two buttfuckers." With that, he and his posse walked away.

Gregory sat back down, thoroughly unfazed at the exchange. I didn't know what was more surprising: that he was gay, or that he actually came to my defense. Nobody had ever - EVER - done that for me. Even my previous friends didn't do anything like it, mostly because they were just as scared of people like Robbie as I was.

"Gregory..." I said softly, "Thanks."

"It's all right," he said back, his voice again soft and comforting. "I just hope that I didn't drag you into any more problems with him on account of my being homosexual."

The matter-of-factness in his voice, not to mention the word he used - was almost as jarring as the admission itself. Kids our age don't say they're gay. Even if they are. Gay kids are probably the one subset of students that get more shit than I do.

"You look uncomfortable. Does my homosexuality bother you, Nick?" Gregory asked.

"Huh?" I stammered. "N-no, of course not. To each their own, right?"

Gregory laughed. "Precisely. I'm glad you said that, Nick, because I'll admit, I do find you attractive."

I struggled to find words after he said that. "Uh... thanks and all, but... I..."

"You don't share the same feelings for me."

I shook my head. "Sorry." I could see that his feelings were hurt a little. But I really wasn't interested in him sexually. I wasn't really interested in anyone sexually, to tell you the truth. Paranoia and self-loathing have a way of neutralizing even a teenage boy's hormones.

"Don't be. We can still be friends, I hope." He smiled.

I smiled right back. "Definitely."

We finished our lunch and walked back into the school hallway side by side.