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'PSYCHO!'
That was the lovely spray-painted greeting Miles Hemming received on his locker on a lovely September morning. Damn, life out of the closet sure was going well for him. Of course, Miles was going to be subject to whatever harassment Midtown High deemed appropriate according to the rumors Flash Thompson had been spreading about him.
"This is ridiculous, I'll get them to let me look at the security tapes so I can murder whoever did this," his rambunctious best friend, Claudia Barker exclaimed as soon as she stepped up to where her friend stood at his open locker. She cracked her neck and knuckles as if the artist was in their vicinity, but the hallway was almost empty considering there was a decent amount of time before class started.
Miles simply shrugged, "I can't really blame them. The tale practically made the local news. I can see the headline now: Local Queer tries to Fuck Midtown's Pretty Rich Boy! I'm surprised it hasn't gone national yet."
The girl scoffed, tucking a piece of platinum hair behind her ear as she held the boy's books long enough for him to sling his backpack onto his shoulder and slam his locker shut. "Well, I'm glad you can have a sense of humor about it. Do you even know who started the rumors?"
"Who else besides Pretty Rich Boy himself? Duh. The lie was already coming out of his mouth the moment we got caught," he shrugged, explaining as they walked down the hallway. He deepened his voice as he spoke in order to imitate his ex-boyfriend, "No, no, it's not like that! He forced himself on me! I swear, I'm straight! I hate men."
"Amen," the girl mused before she tipped the coffee cup in her hand as much as she could in order to get her final sip. Sighing, she tossed it into the trash can as they passed the bathrooms and silently cheered when she made the throw. "Ay, Kobe."
"You're the worst," he laughed, shaking his head as he looked at his best friend, "Ugh, I hate being here. I feel like everyone is looking at me."
"That's because they are, keep your head up," a new voice joined the conversation. Surprisingly, it was Liz Allan who was not only a senior but probably the prettiest and nicest girl in the whole school. So, what was she doing talking to them? "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. Listen, Miles, I don't know you very well, but I think what Flash said is really shitty and honestly, I never believe a word that comes out of his mouth. I'm doing what I can to stifle the rumors, but some people aren't being that smart about it. There's nothing wrong with boys kissing boys so I don't know what Flash is so afraid of."
She offered a charming smile that set Miles back, mainly because he couldn't really believe she was talking to him. In the wake of his anxieties, he offered a small joke, "It's probably the daddy issues. Uh, thanks, that means a lot."
