Book One: Love Is Legal [CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN]

Chapter 1- The Spark [EDITTED]

Shit, I forgot my book bag, I think as I run out of my house.

It is just another gloomy, rainy day in this dreadful rural area, just like any other day this year. The air is somewhat cautious- very moist- but cool as well. My name is Eric Johnson. I am a 16-year-old boy with dark-brown hair, olive tinted skin, and stormy gray eyes. I have about the average height and weight for my age also, although my dad says I look like a 'pitiful anorexic' as he calls them.

I seem pretty normal, right? I'm just your average guy, trying to fit in in the world of high school and teenagers. No, because the fact of the matter is that, I'm gay- or so I think. I've been trying to figure myself out since I was a child; or well, trying to push the thought out of my head. In this rural town, being gay is like the ultimate eccentric crime. However, I'm going to try not to worry about this now. I snatch my backpack off the ground in the foyer, and head out.

After my short drive- in my somewhat new car- I arrive at the worst place known to the teenage population: high school. I do not have that many friends here, so I search for one of my very few, Lily Blooms. She always has been subjected to bullying for most of her seminary career. Some speculate her parents are hippies for naming their child after a flower to correlate with her last name, but they're as typical as typical can be. Of course, most of my friends are girls, if that isn't the most stereotypical idea in the world. I finally find her in the quad- a little rectangular area of grass outside of my school- seated on the bench with my other close friend, Amanda Horvath.

"Hey Eric!" Lily shouts at me enthusiastically, most likely due to the fact that I told her one of the guys I 'like' last night- Jacob Coleman, the quarterback star of the football team, and all time blonde hottie. If only he were. . .

"Hey Lily;" I say with a joking smile and turn to Amanda, "hey Miss Grumpy Pants." Amanda isn't particularly the person you want to bother when she's in a bad mood.

"Hello Mr. Sunshine." Amanda snaps back at me with a scowl. From the bit of sunlight peeking through a break in the clouds, her short light-brown hair brilliantly gleams with golden undertones, bringing out her bright green eyes. Her freshly tanned skin seemed to glow against her bright white button down. She was the tom-boy of our group of friends, even more masculine than I was.

Lily, on the other hand, was much more feminine like me. Our faces also had a scary resemblance between them, and we would always trick our third grade substitute teachers into believing we were siblings. It worked every single time. Her hair was dark and straight, with beady green-grey eyes and a small jaw. Similar to Amanda's, her pale skin illuminated under her black blazer. I envied them both for their beauty, wishing I could be attractive to guys like they were.

I let out a sigh and stare at the mossy stone that made up the bench we sat on. Lily directs her eyesight towards me, frowning. "Don't worry. . . You'll find better, Eric." she says, attempting to soothe me. Half of me felt appreciative for her sympathy, but the other half hated how she just assumed Jacob would never return the same feelings I had towards him. Was it called being negative or realistic? I hastily do not feel angry anymore as I realize the answer. I must still be frowning because both Lily's and Amanda's gaze rests on my face.

"I guess, but do I want to find better? Have I ever found better?" I say, instantly regretting my words as they come out a tad too harsh. Amanda looks away, while Lily just frowns and twirls her thumbs. Why is everyone afraid of being blunt towards me? They are the only ones who know the secret of my sexuality, and I feel as if they pity me for it.

On the flip side of the argument, maybe I do deserve their mourning. I have no love life, unlike the rest of our High School population. I am always the one to show up to semi by myself. I am always that kid.