Name: Justin Richard McCall
Picture:
Age: Sixteen
Gender: Male
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Justin yanks his plain black messenger bag over his shoulder and shuffles out of the car. His black hair, dyed of course, falls over his eyes. He sighs, not looking forward to school at all. Why should he? He was always picked on for being homosexual. And being mainly pacifistic, he didn't retaliate. Once inside, a few boys shove him into a set of lockers. He grimaces, but doesn't react otherwise. It's not like anyone cared. Not even the teachers really cared. He was just a goth gay boy. One, they thought, who would spread his 'gayness' to everyone in the school. It's like they thought being anything other that straight was a disease.

Name: Cameron James Dartmouth
Age: Seventeen
Gender: Male

Cameron walked down the hall, his brown and green backpack hanging lazily from one shoulder. His dark red hair was cut short and left relatively un-brushed. He was dressed in his usual striped polo shirt and blue jeans. He was a fairly quite guy, but still pretty well known in the jock circle even though he never joined any school teams. It was the local soccer team that interested him more than anything. The redhead was pretty good, and the local team was much better than the school team anyway.
School was the same as always, a group of friends greeted him at the door as he came in and then quickly departed for their classes. And as he walked towards his locker he saw another fairly usual sight, there was Justin getting harassed again.
He sighed and shook his head as he walked down the hall a bit, sure the guy was gay but was that really any reason to do all that.
Cameron stopped only a few steps from the scene of the crime and started to open his locker still shaking his head a bit. He felt he should have at least said something to those guys. It didn't matter what Justin did no one deserved that sort of treatment.

The boys keep harassing Justin. "Faggot," the one snaps at him, shoving him again. Justin still makes no visible reaction, the words seeming to have no affect on him. After a few more moments, the warning bell rings and the boys hurry to class. Justin, however, just leans against the lockers and sighs. "Another day, another hell," he mutters to himself. He glances over to notice Cameron standing there. He freezes a bit, seeing how Cameron was one of the more popular kids, and they had a greater tendency to pick on him than most kids. He waits for the next round of taunting to begin.

Cameron felt someone staring at him. He looked around and not really seeing anyone else he shut his locker and looked at Justin. "Did some one stick something on my back?" He asked as he stuffed his books in his back pack.
The redhead grumbled a bit and then reached back feeling his back for any scraps of paper, or rude post-it notes. His 'friends' were pranksters. Finding none his expression sank a little.
"Why do you put up with that crap?" He asked Justin as it dawned on him that the boy was scared of him.

"Giving them a reaction is exactly what they want. So I don't. Ignoring them, while difficult, is better in the end, seeing how they go away faster." Justin shrugs, wondering idly why Cameron is talking to him. Trying to figure out the best way to break him, perhaps? or, maybe, just maybe, he really wants to know. Justin shakes that thought off quickly and leans against the locker, his normal cheerfulness coming back.

Cameron shrugged and pulled his back pack over his shoulder, "If you just kicked one guys ass... I think they'd respect you ....maybe.." He muttered.
The redhead turned around and started back up the hall, walking past Justin again on his way back to class.
"Seriously...I wouldn't put up with that. What they do to you is just messed up" He sighed a bit, "Eventually you know...they'll think they can do what ever they want and it'll get worse.."

Justin follows him, staying back a bit. "I'm not a very good fighter, so they'd still see me as weak. And why should I care what they think? I am me, and I'm not changing for them, or anyone for that matter." He doesn't sound upset when he says that, just innocent. "My father's been trying to change me too, so I'm used to being called names." He shrugs, still walking. he has a distinctly feminine walk, which may attribute to his being teased.

Cameron looked back at Justin as he paused outside the classroom door, "I'm not saying change..." He said reaching up and rubbing the back of his head a little.
He thought for a moment chewing his lip.
"You don't deserve to be treated like that...you aren't a bad guy. Or at least I've never seen any reason to think you might be... but seriously. You shouldn't put up with that..." He said softly "You gotta start standing up for your self or something.."

Justin shrugs, looking slightly puzzled. "I just don't think they'll stop either way, so why even bother?" He honestly seems to feel that way. He stretches his arms, making his sleeves fall a bit. His arms are lined with red cut marks, some looking new. He quickly fixes his sleeves, hoping Cameron didn't see.

Cameron's expression was one of genuine worry. "I'll talk to some..." He said shrugging, "I'm sure...at least a few have to be bored with it at least.."
The red head sighed and looked at the floor then back at Justin "I don't have any friends in my lunch period today....What I'm saying is...if you'd like a relatively peaceful lunch your free to sit with me. "

Justin looks puzzled, most likely at the sudden positive attention. "All right... I'd like that." He smiles for the first time that morning and it's a very infectious smile. "Where should I meet you?" He tilts his head, unthinkingly, as he hasks.

"It's not a date man... Just sit at my table... " He said shrugging "I sit by my self today anyway, like I said, all my friends are in a different lunch."
Cameron smiled a bit and shook his head as he walked into his class room "Now go on...I'm sure you gotta get to class too."
He walked in and sat down in his desk near the windows.

Justin rolls his eyes, amused. "Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I think every guy asking me to sit with them is a date, come on now." He grimaces at the fact that he has to go to class and walks down the hall and into his room.

Lunchtime rolled around, Cameron stopped by his locker grabbing his lunchbox. He had never really liked the lunches offered at school and had always brought his lunch with him.
He tossed his back pack in the metal locker and slammed it closed as he headed for the cafeteria, he actually felt a little nervous. He'd become so accustomed to eating by himself.

He shrugged the nervousness off as he walked to his usual table in the corner near one of the windows and sat down.

Justin grabs his lunch from his locker, being too picky to eat school food and heads for the cafeteria. He skips--actually skips-- in. A lot of people stare at him as he does and one kid tries to trip him. Justin just steps over the kid's foot, grinning. He seems to be in a much better mood, which is partly due to the fact that the last class he had was his favorite, art.

Cameron was seated at his table opening his lunch box and pulling things out setting them down neatly on a napkin beside him. His lunch was fairly unremarkable.
He looked up to see Justin skipping across the cafeteria, he could only wonder why he thought this was a good Idea. He knew he'd catch a bunch of crap for offering the guy a hassle free place to sit. The redhead shook his head a bit and sighed, no this was the right thing to do, he had no reason to dislike the guy, and neither did anyone else.

But still he was not looking forward to the aftermath of his generosity.

Justin makes his way over. "Hello again," he greets, somewhat quietly. He sits on the other side of Cameron and opens his lunch slowly. Then he glances at Cameron. "Why are you doing this?" He doesn't sound upset, just curious. "Aren't you worried about what your friends will say?"

Cameron groaned a bit and reached up rubbing his head as he pulled open a chip bag with his teeth. He set the bag down and sighed.
"Yeah...I kinda am..." He admitted as he pulled a chip out "But you know...that abuse is getting kind of out of hand...".

The Redhead smiled nervously, "I guess I'm just a little more mature than them...and realize...that enough is enough. Dude you don't Deserve all that crap. I mean your...I dunno the emo crowd doesn't even stick up for you...I've never seen that."

Justin shrugs. "I suppose it doesn't help that I'm kinda anti-social, until I know people." He picks at his sandwich as he talks, not really eating it. "But that's kinda 'cause I'm a little...out there. I don't have normal perspectives of things."

Cameron picked up his own sandwich and took a bite nodding a little as he listened to Justin. He swallowed it and followed it with a swig from his water bottle.
"Yeah well most people don't see things the same way... they just act like they do" He muttered as he set the bottle down, "So they can be accepted... Its all complete crap though."
Cameron didn't seem terribly disturbed by the other as he continued to eat his lunch. "You should at least try making friends with some of the girls or something" He said covering his mouth as he spoke since he was still eating, "Mm sure there's some of them sympathetic to you"

"That's where I'm different. Acceptance isn't my main goal. Changing myself for anyone other than myself seems...stupid, for lack of a better word. And the making female friends is difficult for two reasons. One, knowing my lovely luck they'll flirt with me to try to turn me straight. And also I'm more...wary towards females than males." He nibbles at his sandwich, in a slightly rabbit-like way as he finishes speaking. His eyes drop to the table as he says the last sentence.

"Didn't you hear me I said it's crap" He said rolling his eyes a bit "That whole acceptance thing...you don't get anywhere with it really. I mean...not later on..not really. Not if you wanna really go somewhere".
Cameron took another bite of his sandwich and pondered James' last statement and raised an eyebrow, when he was finished "That why your gay? Did a Girl mess you up or something? I hear that's what happens sometimes". Cameron wasn't trying to sound rude or anything he was just curious. He wasn't sure why he was curious, but he was. Perhaps it was because he deeply and honestly believed that every one should at least have one person to talk to.

Justin nods. He chews his lip for a moment, trying to word his next sentence. "Not exactly, unless you count my crow of a mother. It's just something I always knew. I did have a female friend that I thought I had feelings for, but they were just more like adoration than love." He shrugs, feeling slightly stupid.

Cameron shrugged, "Sorry to hear that?" He offered, not really sure what the appropriate response was.
He sat back draining the rest of his water bottle and looking up at the ceiling for a moment.
He was about to speak when he noticed a few of his 'friends' headed their way, he frowned. He was a little worried for two reasons, one because they were skipping class, and two because...well James.
"Annnnd here comes the punishment for sitting with you" He muttered rolling his eyes a bit.

The first one to reach the table was a taller guy with dark brown hair, he slammed his hands on the table and glared hatefully at Justin, "Dude.. Cameron, why the hell are you sitting here with this little prick?" He asked, his eyes still drilling into Justin.
"Or did he sit here?" A blond guy asked walking around the table and plopping down between Cameron and Justin "He's got a lot of gall to sit here" He smirked, "Are you trying to turn our friend Cameron into a fag too?"

Justin looks up slowly. "I highly doubt that he is a bundle of sticks." Justin brushes some hair out of his eyes, hiding his tenseness. He waits calmly for a response from the boys, praying it's not physical. He eats slowly, looking calm.