Carl, a cheerleader, has been having a hard time at school.
The star football player, Ron, has been targeting him with his bullying lately.
But that doesn't stop Carl from having a crush on him.
Ron's mom died when he was born, and now he lives alon...
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"There you are. That must have been a long dinner." Rick said sarcastically as Carl got home. "We went for a walk after." He left out the visit to Ron's house. Rick didn't need to know about that.
"Yeah? How'd it go?" He was obviously invested in their relationship now. "Good." He replied quietly. "Is he ready to talk to me?" He assumed he had told him about that. "Yeah. He said he will. Even when after I told him you weren't going to be nice." He gave him an unhappy look. "Who said I wasn't going to be nice?" He played stupid. "Dad come on. You already don't like him. You already decided." He crossed his arms unhappily.
"Well let's take a second to think about what I know about this boy. He's our neighbor, I caught him in your bedroom once without my permission.. and he tried to hide from me. He came over here one day smelling weed before storming out and leaving you in tears. I know he used to make fun of the way you look, and the one time I actually did talk to him he was disrespectful. Why should I like him?" He waited for an answer.
"I actually I asked him to come over that day. And he apologized for the past. He tells me I'm pretty all the time now. And you should try to at least get along with him because I love him. Isn't that enough for you to at least try?" He stormed off after his little speech.
Rick sighed, intending on giving him a minute before going to talk.
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Knock knock
"Carl?" Rick pushed the door open gently. His son was sat on his bed with tears on his cheeks. He sighed and sat on the bed next to him. "I'll talk to him. I'll try to get to know him." He promised. "Really? You will?" He looked up. "Yes. Try us the key word there." He wasn't going to promise he'd like the boy. Carl smiled wide and gave his dad a hug. "Thanks." He whispered.
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Ron looked at the soda mixed with vodka in his hand. Today was Mikey's big party, and he was supposed to be helping him set it all up. Mikey, Ben, and Henry were all working while he was drinking. This wasn't new for them, and he was always already drunk by the time the first guests showed up.
Ron sighed once his cup was empty, going to refill it. "Hey." Henry stopped him, snatching the alcohol away. Ben and Mikey looked over, waiting to see what he had to say. "Don't do anything stupid tonight, ok?" He demanded of him. "Stupid? What the fuck do you mean?" He was clearly angry.
"Look.. I want Lydia to come to the fair with me. She's not going to if you spend all night tonight making fun of her friend. Just leave Carl alone tonight, ok?" He explained himself, pleading with his friend.
Mikey looked over at Ben, both of them worried for very different reasons. Ron was definitely the ringleader of their little group, and telling him what to do didn't usually go over well. That was Ben's concern. He didn't want to deal a fight right now.
