Hello again, loyal readers and welcome back to Rainbow Dragon Pride. Thanks to all of you who reviewed. And about the reference to TV movies and Glee, that was intended as a tongue-in-cheek joke. I'm not much into TV movies and I hardly ever watch Glee, though I adore the music and the clips I've seen on YouTube, as well as the little bit of the Super Bowl episode where the cheer coach wanted to shoot her students out of a cannon.

Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh GX: Rainbow Dragon Pride, Chazz, somewhat new to North Academy, found out that three students were being ostracized for being or suspected of being gay. One of them, Jesse Anderson, urged that nothing be done. Unfortunately, that tactic, as is sometimes the case, didn't work. He dragged himself to Chazz's dorm, only to collapse a moment later. Will Jesse be all right? Will the perpetrators face any sort of justice?

Disclaimer: If I owned GX, what I wrote would be canon. So clearly, I don't own it. I only own OCs and non-established characters. I don't own any corporations, mail order services, breakfast cereals or anything else like that. If I did, I'd be rich beyond the dreams of avarice. I do, however, own this story, and if you want to use anything from it for any reason, you have to ask.

Warning: Mild language and some violence. Some language has been bleeped in order to save the T rating.

Author's note: Willow's kink, if you will, is cherry lip gloss, and Jesse has gotten into the habit of wearing it even when she's not around. It reminds him of nights spent smooching up a storm. And later, it will remind him of the night he and Willow went and got matching tattoos in a place no one but them and their families know about. Special thanks to The Rainwalker, who helped me to complete this tale. He helped with the last section and I am grateful. Thanks to Vampiric Dragonrider who took a second look at this story and offered suggestions on the fight scene. Finally, a reminder that this is the dub-verse, so that big fellow that Chazz dueled has a Pavel Chekov-style accent. Thank you for your attention.

Fortunately, Chazz's shout had awakened the boys in his dorm. Clad in their pajamas, nine boys raced downstairs to see what had happened. "Chazz, what is the problem?" the former Czar asked before he saw. His eyes widened, stomach dropping. "Jesse Anderson... he is..." The boy in front of him on the couch was a mess of bruises and blood, the area around his eyes rapidly darkening. Chazz had managed to flip him onto his side so if the teal-haired boy threw up, it wouldn't block his airway.

"He's hurt! He needs the nurse!" Chazz snapped. This might have surprised people who'd known him since elementary school, but here at North Academy, his brothers weren't over his shoulder.

One of the other boys was already calling said woman using the cabin's phone. "I'll go and get the first-aid kit!" another exclaimed, running off.

A third followed after him. "I'll grab some blankets!" he called over his shoulder.

Chazz nodded, keeping an eye on his… Well, Chazz might not have thought of Jesse as a friend, but if he were honest with himself, the boy lying on the couch was that. "Hang in there, Twin Slacker," he whispered as one of the guys returned with the first aid kit. Wisely he put on rubber gloves that came with the kit and opened Jesse's top. Bruises were already blooming on his chest. "Why did they do this," he muttered, cleaning blood off as best he could as the smell of antiseptic filled the air.

"Man, how could this happen... I saw him before he went back to his cabin. He looked fine," one of the students muttered. He was shaken that someone could get beaten like this at the school.

"Maybe... They got him because," a smaller boy began, "because he's..."

"He's not," Chazz said quietly. Sure, Jesse had protested a lot, but when the raven-haired boy thought about it, what would he, Chazz, do in a similar situation? Wouldn't he protest that he wasn't gay and keep doing so if the accusations got abusive as they had here? He admitted to himself that he'd probably do the same thing.

"They got him because they thought he was... But even if he was, that's no reason to go street rat crazy on him!" the small boy amended, face extremely pale.

"Yeah, but, it's nothing new... I mean, remember Nick and Jeremy? I saw them after a beat-down once," still another boy added, coming with an ice pack.

"So in the last month or so, they've been beat up just because they're gay?" Chazz demanded, now placing the ice pack on Jesse's swollen eyes.

The boy who had spoken wilted a little. "I didn't mean it like that... Not like I think it's right... Just saying," he muttered, shame tingeing his voice. The other boys had similar looks of guilt on their faces.

"Doesn't this school have rules against that crap?"

"Yes, Chazz, but most students do not enforce it," the Czar said, his eyes turning to the floor. The raven-haired teen went paler than usual with anger. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this stuff actually being allowed? But then he remembered how he had gotten away with things at Duel Academy Prep. He'd done things when teachers weren't looking and the other student had more often than not gotten into trouble instead.

Sure, the bullied student could tell, but it wasn't as powerful without the teachers having seen it or witnesses telling what they'd seen. The teachers might investigate the accusations, but the bullies, knowing that they were being observed, wouldn't act. Eventually the teachers would stop watching and the cycle would begin anew. The unspoken Way Things Are is that teachers often see the retaliation, not the action that leads to it, and it seemed to Chazz that North Academy was much the same.

The smaller boy spoke up again, nervously. "W-we're outnumbered... The others either go along with it, ignore it or just walk away."

"You guys can ignore this?" Chazz shouted. His dark gray eyes were flashing like storm clouds. "I can't! And you guys shouldn't either!" He looked around, perhaps unrealistically hoping that they would all stand with him as often happened on TV. However, his statement received mixed reactions. Three of the boys, including the Czar, nodded and muttered to each other in agreement. Three others, including the smaller boy, still seemed unsure and worried about what to do. The remaining three boys looked unconvinced, stubborn in their belief that if they didn't get involved they'd be safe and that's all that mattered.

Chazz clenched his fists. "I'm telling the nurse... And if those guys did what we think they did, they'll at least be suspended." He unclenched, the tension in the rest of his body not abating. "They need to pay."

"Well, we're with you, Chazz. I know I'm tired of constantly being scared," one of the boys standing with the Czar stated.

However, the three who remained unconvinced shook their heads and one spoke as they left the common room. "Good luck with that. You're just gonna get yourself hurt too..." Chazz sighed. He could've called after them, but realized there was no point. For whatever reason, they didn't want to get involved. But at least, he reflected, they did regard Jesse as a human being who didn't deserve what he got.

"We are with you, friend," the Czar said, kneeling next to the couch. It was uncertain at that moment who the young man was speaking to. "We should move him. He can have my bed," he offered, meeting Chazz's eyes with his own.

"After the nurse gets here..."

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Up in North Academy's main building, Chancellor Vincent Foster was sleeping deeply, dreaming of the upcoming School Duel and seeing the sweet face of Duel Academy's snack bar and card shack owner, Dorothy. She opened her mouth to speak and sang… in a man's voice! She was singing Starship's Sara. The song became louder and the North Academy chancellor's eyes flew open. "Hello?" he asked, picking up his PDA, remembering whose ringtone that was.

"Chancellor, I'm sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, but a physical assault has just been reported." The voice was that of Sarah Jones, the school nurse and proctor for the girls' cabin. She had long red hair that curled around her lower back and deep blue eyes, and had called Foster on her PDA as she ran with her medical bag in hand. Having been woken from sleep as well, Sarah had merely slipped on a robe over her nightgown and put on some sneakers.

"A physical assault?" Foster asked, running his fingers over the bald top of his head and into the fringe of hair that ran around the edges of his head. His gray eyes became pools of worry as he put on his glasses and then a robe and sneakers.

"That's what I've been told. And I think it's a bad one, Vincent... I suggest you come down to cabin three as soon as you can. I'm going to look the boy over and patch him up before deciding whether or not he needs to be moved to the infirmary," she explained, voice solemn and worried.

"All right, Sarah. I'll be right down there. This is getting very disturbing. We've had ten incidents of this kind since school started."

"I'll talk to the boys when I get there. Maybe they know something. See you soon," Sarah finished as she hung up, finally entering the cabin. She didn't waste any time, walking straight to the couch where Jesse lay unconscious. "Oh, dear, do any of you boys know what happened?" she asked, eyes wide. While she waited for an answer, the nurse snapped on a pair of gloves and pulled a few tools from her bag.

Chancellor Foster's jaw dropped when he entered the cabin a moment later. "What in Heaven's name..?"

"Sir, Ms. Jones, it was because they thought Jesse was gay," Chazz said, meeting their eyes.

Sarah gasped in shock, pausing in her work of cleaning Jesse's busted lip. "What? Because they thought he was gay? Chancellor," she muttered, looking over at her superior to see what he would say. She'd had her suspicions that something like this was going on, but no one had chosen to come forward.

Foster's face tightened. Normally, he was a calm, gentle man who wouldn't hurt a fly. But now it was clear that he was extremely angry. His jaw twitched and his eyes blazed as a vein on his forehead throbbed. "This is going to have serious consequences for whoever did this."

"Ms. Jones, is Jesse going to be okay?" Chazz asked.

The nurse sighed as she moved on to Jesse's bloody nose. "Okay would be the best way to put it. Nothing broken, thankfully. But he'll have two black eyes and is going to be so sore that it will probably hurt too much to walk for at least a day. There also doesn't appear to be any damage to his head, but he'll have to be observed in case he has a concussion. Though it may not look like it, I believe he came out of this very lucky."

"Is it necessary to move him to the infirmary?" Foster asked.

And then the Czar, whose name was actually Ivan stated, "He can take my bed. I will sleep on the couch."

"That's very sweet of you, Ivan. I was considering moving him, Chancellor, but perhaps it would be best for him to stay here among friends. All he really needs is rest and a little patching up," Sarah replied with a nod as she finished her ministrations. "Also, he'll need a change of PJ's. There wasn't a lot of bleeding, but there was enough to stain his pajamas a decent amount."

Chazz offered a pair of his. Jesse came around and was moved to Ivan's bed about 5 minutes later. Chazz sat in a chair next to the bed, along with Chancellor Foster and Sarah. "...Jesse, we won't let this go unpunished," the Chancellor promised.

Jesse smiled, but only momentarily seeing as moving his mouth made his split lip sting. "Thanks, Chancellor... I'm glad... but you know, I'm not the only one y'all should be worryin' about," he murmured, still tired and weak.

"Easy, son... We'll talk more about it in the morning when you're feeling a little bit better. I've been able to guess what's going on, and it's going to stop somehow," the chancellor said firmly but gently. "Ms. Jones and I are going to leave in just a little bit, and Chazz can call us if you need us, all right?"

The injured boy sighed, but nodded. "Okay, got it..."

The nurse and chancellor left and the other boys got into bed. "Man, Twin Slacker... you're gonna keep me up all night," the teen in the long blue coat complained as he made himself comfortable.

Jesse managed a short grin, unable to stop himself from chuckling a bit. "Sorry, Chazz. Don't mean to be any trouble. You could've let me go to the infirmary, you know," he reminded, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, and then you'd expect me to visit," the other boy answered with his usual acerbity. "Don't make me laugh."

"Aw, you're worried about me? Shucks, buddy, now you're makin' me blush," Jesse teased, and would have grinned would it not have resulted in pain.

It was yet another odd moment for the former member of DA Central. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a real saint," he said. "Look, you gave me CPR over a week ago. I owed you one."

"Right. So now we're even," The half-asleep teen yawned. "Thanks anyway, Chazz... I'm glad you were there..."

"Me too," Chazz muttered, but not loud enough that Jesse could hear it. "Just sleep, Twin Slacker," he added in a slightly louder voice.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

By morning, Chazz was exhausted but convinced that Jesse would be all right. One of the other boys in the dorm brought breakfast to the two and Chazz fed him. "Guess you're stuck on oatmeal this morning, Twin Slacker," he observed.

Jesse pouted, looking and acting very much like a certain Slifer at Duel Academy Central. "Aw, darn it. Just oatmeal? That's so borin'. I hope I can eat real food tomorrow," he whined, but nonetheless ate.

"Well, there is sugar on it," Chazz answered. "Besides, your lips are split and regular food would sting like hell."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm almost willin' to deal with it if it means better food. But y'all wouldn't give it to me even if I said it was okay. Hmph," Jesse sulked, though it was only half-hearted.

The two boys ate in silence for a while. When Jesse had finished the last bite of oatmeal, Chazz took a breath. "I've reported what happened last night... Chancellor Foster and Ms. Jones know about it. I wasn't sure you'd remember this morning."

"Hmm? Ya did? Chazz, ya know what could happen, don't ya?" Jesse replied, frowning with worry for his friend.

Chazz clenched and unclenched his fists, tensing already. "Yeah, I know," he said finally. "But... look, Jesse, there are times when you just can't stay quiet. And I can't stay quiet on this. They just clobbered you because they thought you were gay. Do you think Nick and Jeremy will be safe?"

Jesse sighed, fingers flexing from their spot on the blanket. "I know... And I do wanna get this whole mess sorted out. But... now I've got a bad feelin', Chazz. This is gonna kick up somethin' even worse, I just know it."

"You're worrying too much, Twin... Jesse," Chazz answered with some bravado. But the truth was he knew Jesse was right. This might get worse before it got better.

And then there was a knock at the door. "Boys, it's Chancellor Foster. Can I come in?"

Jesse smiled, still wary of grinning because of his hurt lip. "Sure thing, Chancellor!"

The chancellor stepped in, closing the door behind him. No one else was in the room but him and the two boys. "How are you feeling this morning, Jesse?" he asked, sitting down on the bed next to the injured boy's.

"Better. Still real sore, but otherwise I'm fine," the teen answered cheerfully.

Foster nodded, but he could see the pain and fear in the boy's eyes. "How about you, Chazz?"

"Okay, sir. I'm a little bit tired."

"Okay, boys... I'm here to ask you some questions..."

Jesse sighed. "About last night, right?"

"Yes, Jesse."

Foster drew in a breath and slowly let it out. "I'm afraid this situation is very, very serious. And it saddens me that such a thing has taken place at this school..."

Jesse couldn't stop himself from glancing away, a frown on his face. "It... this isn't the first time, Chancellor," he mumbled.

The chancellor nodded gravely. "I'm aware of it now, Jesse... Those who have been beaten for this haven't come forward to say it was perpetrated for the reason Chazz says you were beaten up."

The Southern boy's eyes widened as much as they could being slightly swollen. "You mean, you know already?"

The chancellor sighed. "Let's just say I have reason to believe that this isn't an isolated incident. But I want to know exactly what happened last night, Jesse. I have to know in order to act."

The injured teen instantly seemed to become very uncomfortable, fidgeting slightly over his blankets. "Uh... everythin'?"

Foster seemed to sense something more than just a beating had occurred. "Would you like Chazz to leave the room?"

Jesse frowned, looking over at his newest and perhaps closest friend, even if said friend wasn't totally open yet. He wanted Chazz to stay because he was a true comfort to him, but at the same time he was nervous about how the other would react. "I... uh..."

Chazz tensed, not quite understanding what had happened, but knowing that look. He'd seen it in the mirror the morning after Slade and Jagger had made him see things little children weren't supposed to see. He looked Jesse straight in the eyes, trying to give the other boy some sort of comfort.

Seeing that reaction, Jesse knew that somehow Chazz understood what he was going to say. He didn't know how, and he wouldn't for a long time, but that wasn't important right now. "No, he can stay," he answered at last. Pulling in a breath, Jesse slowly explained what he remembered from last night, struggling when he described what the one boy had done to him.

Anger boiled through the raven-haired boy at this. All he knew was that he would like nothing better than to rip those nine boys apart single-handedly. Chancellor Foster took careful notes, meanwhile, frowning slightly at certain points. When Jesse finished, he nodded. "Jesse, this will be dealt with. Thank you for telling me."

"Yeah, sure, whatever'll help, Chancellor," Jesse answered softly, closing his eyes in a show of being tired.

Foster smiled kindly. "You just rest. It's a good thing today is Saturday."

"Yup. No homework to make up."

Foster grinned at that. He bade the boys good-bye and went off to make his determinations. Chazz breathed a sigh of relief at that. "Glad that part's over," he said.

"Me too," Jesse said through a sigh of his own, unusually solemn. An awkward silence reigned for a moment. Jesse, sensing the tension, sweat-dropped. "Uh, so... how 'bout a game?"

Chazz decided, for once, to give in. "Sure... What do you want to play?"

Suddenly, Jesse managed a small grin. "How 'bout a—"

"No. Dueling," Chazz stated immediately, a crazed gleam in his eyes. "No dueling today!"

Jesse's pout from earlier returned full-force. "Aw shucks. This day ain't gettin' any better."

"You can't stand up to use your duel disk, and I am not dragging you up, Twin Slacker!"

"I guess you're right," the other said through a fresh sigh. "Then what do we do?"

"Tic-Tac-Toe? Poker?"

Jesse couldn't hold back a grin, though it made him wince. "Poker? Really, Chazz?"

"Sure. Poker... Is there a deck somewhere in here?"

"Dunno. It's Ivan's room; you'd have to ask him." Fortunately, Ivan returned to the dorms and Chazz got the deck. Ivan was glad to join in the game, as were two other boys. They played five rounds, the prize and poker chips being Froot Loops.

"Come to Papa!" Chazz smirked on the last round, having called Jesse's bluff.

"Tarnation, Chazz! How did ya know I was bluffin'?" Jesse whined, tossing down his cards.

"Lucky guess. But I will share the wealth." Chazz wasn't big on Froot Loops, anyway, though he did like eating the red ones.

"Froot Loops are very good," Ivan stated, crunching on a few.

"Least I can have a few of these. Better than that stupid oatmeal," Jesse agreed, popping a few into his mouth.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

By Monday, things seemed to be more peaceful at the school. Jesse was well enough to go to class and the nine students who had engaged in the beating were suspended and restricted to their dorm. Jesse, of course, had been temporarily quartered in Chazz's dorm. And then, Chancellor Foster announced that there would be an announcement at 7th period.

"Wonder what that's about?" Missi muttered to her female classmates. "And I haven't seen Alan since Friday night, and his PDA is off and the dorm isn't allowing any calls."

"That's not good. The only time I've ever heard of that happening is if an entire dorm gets suspended," one of the junior girls stated.

Missi stopped in her tracks. "Could it... be possible?" she muttered. Her stomach clenched. But Alan wouldn't have been so stupid, would he? And why would he have taken part in a beat-down like that?

And then to her horror, a boy from another dorm walked by talking to his buddy. "All nine in B Dorm suspended... And Andersen's over in C Dorm..."

A hush came over the group of girls, most of them looking at Missi in either pity or curiosity. After all, what could have happened to get almost an entire dorm suspended? And why was Jesse Anderson excluded? And then that hush became dead silence. Jesse had just walked out of the dorm and it was clear what had happened to him. "Alan... Alan, you didn't," Missi moaned.

The silence only lasted for around ten seconds before the group of female students began whispering in worry and amazement over what may have happened. One or two had also had their boyfriends in Jesse's dorm, and they held similar expressions of horror on their faces. "They couldn't have... No way..."

But they had. One of the boys in the A Dorm was furious. "They were suspended just for that?" he shouted in the lunchroom.

"Suspended for beating up fellow student. That is wrong," Ivan countered with a surprisingly calm voice. "Nine beat him up. Therefore, they are suspended."

The lunch room was abuzz with whispers as well as purposefully loud comments, and this exchange only increased the conversation. Jesse couldn't stop himself from sinking in his seat a little, catching his name in so many tones that he began wishing it wasn't Jesse. "Knew this would happen," he muttered, the words almost inaudible in the unusually loud lunchroom.

Fortunately, that was as far as it got. But anyone could sense the tension now coming through the student body. "This announcement... I hope it's not what I think it is," Chazz muttered at the end of 6th period.

"Oh, it will be. I knew it was comin'... and afterwards things ain't gonna be sunshine and rainbows, as Mama used to tell me," Jesse replied through a sigh, burying his still-bruised face in a hand.

Sure enough, it was the dreaded announcement about an anti-bullying workshop. "Oh, crap," Chazz groaned as he sat in his seventh period class.

"Students, in the past few weeks, we have noticed more violence among the student body than we've seen in this school in its eight-year history. It saddens me that we have such anger among our body, but we must deal with it," Chancellor Foster said over the intercom. "Tomorrow, we will have a school-wide workshop on bullying prevention. We hope it will be a good experience for all of you..."

"Oh, crap," Chazz groaned again into his desk. While some of the students wouldn't be angry that the students who'd hurt Jesse were in trouble, they might just be angry at having to go to a workshop of any sort.

Jesse was practically hiding under his. "This ain't gonna end well..." Both boys felt several pairs of angry eyes on them. Even though the school allowed students to report problems confidentially, in such a small school, secrets couldn't easily be kept. And both boys knew they were in a lot of trouble now. "I know we did the right thing and all, Chazz, but I told ya this would happen," Jesse whispered through a groan.

"Yeah, well..." Chazz could only begin with that, and suddenly found himself oddly wishing that his older brothers were around. His relationship with them was terrible, but because what he was doing was politically right, Slade would actually have given him and Jesse protection. "You were right," he admitted softly before the teacher glanced their way. Jesse might have replied, but he didn't want to get in trouble. The remainder of the class either went agonizingly slow or far too quickly for the students, but either way, the bell soon rang like some sort of signal.

The two boys gathered up their PDAs and headed out into the hall. And then Chazz felt a hard shove and fell on all fours. "Dang it," he growled.

Jesse grimaced, quickly bending down to help his friend. He sent a glare at the boys who had obviously committed the act over his shoulder, but didn't say anything to them. "Ya okay, Chazz?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Chazz scowled, not taking the offered hand. He got to his feet and looked around. "Let's just get to our last class..." He couldn't help but feel uneasy after he said "last."

It was one of those afternoons where most students feel like the last period class will go on forever. However, for Chazz and Jesse, it went too quick. "Any idea how to sneak out without them seeing us?"

Jesse thought for a long moment. "Well, there is the back door through the kitchen. I'm sure if we ask nicely, Miss Thompson will let us sneak out that way," he offered. Miss Gabriella Thompson was the snack shop worker, much like Miss Dorothy at Duel Academy Central. Chazz nodded, hoping that Jesse was better at stealth than a certain Slifer slacker. They moved out of their classroom and down to the snack shop, where Miss Thompson was waiting.

"Hey, Miss Thompson, mind if we, uh, head out the back way?" Jesse asked, waving a greeting as they walked up to the counter.

"Of course, gentlemen," the slim African-American woman grinned. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a blue dress with a white apron and a red visor. She opened up the counter and let them through.

"Thanks, Miss Thompson!" Chazz called over his shoulder.

"Yeah, we owe ya one!" Jesse added, grinning with relief.

They ran through the kitchen and out the back door and straight to the dorm without anyone getting them. "We made it," Chazz said, sagging with relief.

"Yeah, I thought for sure we'd get caught," Jesse replied, panting a bit as he plopped down onto the couch.

"Yeah... me too... You were right, you know…"

"I was, but this had to be brought to light eventually, right?"

"Yeah... Oh, crap! Nick and Jeremy!"

Jesse tensed, eyes wide. "We forgot all about 'em! Aw, man!"

If anyone from Duel Academy spied Chazz now, they might say he was acting out of character. But he knew what it was like to be victimized and not have help. He also knew that to leave Nick and Jeremy to the proverbial wolves wasn't right. "We've got to go after 'em!"

"We do, but is it smart for just us to go? Is there anyone else we can get to increase our numbers a bit?" Jesse asked as he stood, knowing there could be a full-blown mob they might have to deal with.

"I wonder... Ivan?"

"Did someone say my name?" a friendly Russian accented voice called out as the door opened again. Chazz and Jesse looked at each other, stunned.

"Ivan! We need your help," Jesse blurted out once he managed to find his voice.

"What is it, Jesse?" the big young man asked.

"We think Nick and Jeremy are in trouble. Ya know how everyone's feelin' now after that announcement was made..."

"Yes, is very tense," Ivan agreed as two other boys came in. "I will help..."

"So will I," one of the two boys agreed.

"Count me in," the third added with a nod.

Jesse grinned. "Great. Now if we could just find a few more people to help us out..."

And then there was a knock at the door. When Ivan opened it, Missi Dulan was standing there with nine other girls. "The guys are rumbling," she said quickly after greetings were exchanged.

"Shoot, I knew it. And I bet those two are really outnumbered," Jesse muttered, frowning deeply.

"Who... Oh my gosh," Missi breathed, her eyes wide with horror. The reason for Jesse's beating and the chancellor's announcement suddenly connected. "They were at A dorm!"

"That's Nick and Jeremy's dorm! Tarnation, Chazz, we better get goin' before we're too late!" Jesse said quickly. The prospect of what most of them knew could happen hastened their movement. Depending on how angry this mob could get, Nick and Jeremy's lives could be in danger. The school's security team wouldn't be mobilized in time.

The group of thirteen students raced to A Dorm, hearts pounding and sure enough... "COME ON OUT, F**S! WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" one boy yelled. Evidently, the couple had gotten into the dorm and locked the door. In after-times, no one would be able to say what led up to this situation… Perhaps it had been the boys holding hands. Perhaps it had just been their physical proximity. Or perhaps it had just been that the other students needed a convenient target. But whatever it was, a few irrational students had somehow turned half the student body into a frenzied mob. And that mob was targeting two young men.

On the other side of the door, Nick looked at Jeremy, fear in his eyes. "They're gonna kill us..."

Jeremy's arms were around Nick, a shudder passing through him after every shout. "Nick... I hate to say it, b-but I'm scared..."

"You're not the only one... Jer..." Nick pulled him into his arms, kissing him softly. Jeremy kissed back, the comfort welcoming as he held on tightly to his boyfriend. Had the mob outside seen this, it probably would have elevated their anger. But the mob would not get a chance to break down the door.

Chazz never could have told what made him do it, but all he knew was that the crowd had to be distracted. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?" he shouted. Sure enough, several burning eyes turned to him. And in that moment, Chazz incredibly feared for his life. But he swallowed that fear. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

Jesse stepped forward, standing beside his friend and clenching his fists. "Hasn't there been enough pain and sufferin'? Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves for terrorizin' two innocent people like this! And it's not the first time!"

"You should be ashamed, F**!" one voice in the crowd called out.

"Why? Because he took a beating and is sticking up for someone who doesn't deserve another?" called one of the girls.

"They're weird!"

"Can you join us here in the 21st century? I can't hear you from where you're standing in the 20th!" And just like that, the road in front of the dorm became one giant fist fight. It had happened so quickly, no one was certain who had thrown the first punch. But now fists were flying and insults were being shouted, some of the girls landing knockout blows.

One of the girls was Missi Dulan. One of the larger boys was beating up on a smaller boy. The girl was reminded of another girl back at Aki Kurose Middle School Academy. That girl had always gotten in fights with kids smaller than her and come off the victor. But one day, Missi had called her out. The other girl had turned around, her expertly braided and beaded hair shining in the weak winter sunlight. She was rumored to have had a very hard life and had turned into something she actually fought against on her website; a bully. "And what are you going to do about it, Oreo?" she had shouted.

Missi's eyes then had widened in fury. "What did you just call me?"

"You're an Oreo! You act so damn white, you ought to go live on Mercer Island with the other whiteys!"

"That's what I thought you said…" Missi's hand had snaked out and grabbed the other girl's wrist, disabling her and allowing the other kid to get away. Both girls had ended up in detention for violating the district's zero-tolerance violence policy, but the other girl had thankfully ended up in counseling when officials found out the extent of her issues.

Today, however, it was a larger Asian boy beating up on a smaller boy. The aggressor was Missi's friend. They'd eaten lunch together last year; they'd tag-dueled and even dated briefly. "Hiromi, let him go!" Missi shouted.

Hiromi either didn't recognize her or didn't care. The crowd bloodlust had taken over his senses and in the midst of that angry crowd… "Back off, nXXXXX!" he shouted.

That did it. Just as Hiromi was about to lay into the younger kid, he felt a hard blow to his chin and twirled around, his victim breaking free. He crashed to the ground and everything went black. Missi stood over him, her right fist still clenched. "You really disappoint me, Hiromi," she muttered. "And you're going to apologize for that later…"

The fight quickly became a full blown riot. The teacher guarding B Dorm had fortunately stepped out for a breath of fresh air and seen the fight. His jaw dropped and he raced for the phone. Campus security arrived on the scene and quickly restored order. All students were sent back to their dorms and Sarah Jones came to tend to injuries. Nick and Jeremy, huddled behind their door, couldn't believe it when they looked out. "They... had a fight," Nick murmured.

"I thought I heard someone defending us. But, there's no way they could've gotten through that without getting injured. There couldn't have been that many of them," Jeremy muttered, eyes fearful.

In Chazz's dorm, meanwhile, Sarah was cleaning off a much bruised young man with a ripped up blue jacket. "Dang it... ouch," he groaned as she put disinfectant on his various cuts.

"It's going to sting a little. You should feel lucky, young man. You and everyone else with you were outnumbered in that fight," Sarah said, smiling as she dabbed at the bruises and scrapes. Inwardly, she was proud of her female students for standing their ground.

Ivan, probably the least unscathed of the boys, smiled from where he was sitting. "Chazz yelled to stop mob, Ms. Jones. He was very brave."

"Yeah! Chazz was the first to speak up and get their attention, and he didn't back down! He's— ow!" Jesse yelped as the nurse moved on to him, some of his old injuries having reopened from the brawl.

"Yes, I know, you two. Chazz, even though you haven't been here long, I think you just reminded some of us of something."

"What's that…?" he asked and then cursed as she touched a very tender spot. Then he added with a guilty wince, "Sorry, Ms. Jones."

Sarah couldn't help but smile a little, expertly moving between the two boys and their injuries. "You reminded everyone that sometimes you have to do what's hard to change what's wrong."

Chazz groaned softly. "Yeah... ouch!"

"Excuse me," a new voice asked as a pair of boots were heard coming into the room. All ten injured boys looked up. The person at the door turned out to be Alan and from the look on his face it was obvious he was genuinely remorseful about something. He had seen the brawl and then talked to the teacher guarding the dorm after his own guard had let him out. "Jesse," he blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

Jesse looked at Alan in surprise. "Sorry about what?"

"About beating you up! Look, it isn't a big deal if you are gay, you know?"

Perhaps it was the injuries or perhaps it was being teased one too many times. He'd been teased and laughed it off, but after what had happened, Jesse snarled, "For the last dang time, I ain't gay! Will is short for Willow for cryin' out loud." Then his face went red. "Sorry about that, Alan. I guess my nerves are a little frayed."

Alan grinned sheepishly. "You never mentioned her name, and... well... how you dress and act kinda made us think... Well, you know... But I'm sorry for not helping you, and throwing punches. Missi's going to dump me."

"Oh man, Alan, I'm so sorry," Jesse added, genuinely sad for the other boy.

"And just who are you to say what I will and will not do?" Missi asked from the doorway, her dark eyebrow raised. She had been downstairs with a few of the other girls who'd gotten involved in the brawl.

"Missi, I... I didn't stop those guys!"

"Yeah, you did that. But you just apologized to him for that." Jesse and the boys only stared dumbly at Missi as she continued. "Alan, look, we've been friends since last year. We got to know each other pretty well online. We started dating a few weeks ago. My mom taught me that if a guy makes a big mistake and doesn't apologize, he's not the type of guy you date. However, if he's worth your time, he's the guy who tries to make it right. And you just tried to make things right."

"Aw, now that's just sweet," Jesse added. Alan however didn't say a word but walked over to Missi, took her into his arms and began to cry as he held her close.

When he was finished, he looked at Sarah. "I'm glad to take my punishment for this, Ms. Jones... The other guys aren't too happy..."

Sarah nodded. "I'll let Chancellor Foster know you're coming. I'm certain under the circumstances, he'll be glad to hear what happened."

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Alan, after one more embrace with his girlfriend, headed to Chancellor Foster's office. Chancellor Foster looked up from his paperwork. His head was throbbing slightly from frustration. But to see Alan Silverman here relieved the tension somewhat. "Alan, Ms. Jones tells me you have something to say?"

Alan lifted his eyes from the floor. "Yes, sir... I do. And... when the police come, I won't fight them. I don't have any defense for what I just allowed to happen. Jesse didn't deserve that..."

The boy's hands trembled. "I got caught up in what everybody else was saying. And... The other night, I just stood by. After it happened... I should've called somebody..." His stomach twisted painfully. "But I didn't... And..."

"And you did the right thing by telling me now, Alan." Foster took a deep breath. "That doesn't mean you will not face punishment from the school for this. In fact, you are faced with expulsion. But let me ask you this... Are you able to look yourself in the mirror again?"

Alan blinked and considered it. After a long moment, he nodded. Later, he didn't struggle when the police came to take him into custody. He went to his jail cell in Anchorage with a clear conscience.

In the locked-down dorm, however, when campus security, accompanied by police officers from Anchorage arrived to take custody of the other eight students, the boys loudly protested their innocence. "We didn't do anything wrong," one boy shouted, struggling in a security guard's grip. "Anderson's lying!"

"So he just tripped, right?" the guard said, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

Another boy, the one who'd actually touched Jesse, was crying, his eyes full of fear. "I don't want to go to jail! They're going to pass me around in there!" He had a relative in prison that had been brutally treated. While the boy had taken part in harming Jesse, he hadn't thought of the possible consequences. But now, with the handcuffs placed on his wrists, those consequences came crashing down on him.

When the eight boys were hauled into Chancellor Foster's office, they each demanded a phone call to their parents. The protests of innocence continued and predictably, the parents hired lawyers to try and beat the charges. "We'll get you out of this, sweetie," was a common phrase. It wasn't that these parents were negligent or horrid; they simply did what so many parents do… They followed the instinct to protect. And though the words, "I'm sorry," might later come to the lips of some of those eight defendants, it was unlikely that the words would be uttered publically until after the trials. To apologize would mean an admission of guilt, and that would mean voluntarily accepting a criminal record. And so for now, they would fight the charges tooth and nail.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

About three weeks after the arrested students left DA North, Chazz sat on his bed reading the news on his PDA. "'DA North Nine Arraigned,'" he read out loud. "Man... I'd hate to be them. 'Junior Alan Silverman pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault charges today... The former Duel Academy North student was initially charged with being an accessory to felony assault and battery, but charges were reduced as he cooperated with investigators. "This is a victory for bullying victims everywhere," District Attorney James Cashman stated."' Yeah, typical political sound bite. He's trying to run for governor in the next election," Chazz finished after reading the entire article. "Not like he'll care when he's done campaigning."

"Cryin' shame; I'd kind of liked to duel those guys," Jesse answered. His face still bore the evidence of the attack, but true to form, the Southern boy was in his typical forgiving mood. If all nine were allowed to return to DA North, Jesse would duel them, no questions asked.

"I did duel them," Chazz reminded him curtly. "Wasn't much of a challenge." This reminded him so strongly of Jaden, it wasn't even funny. His natural acerbity had made a resurgence in recent days and Jesse was reacting much as Slacker would, the spiky-haired duelist reflected. He tried harder to be annoying. And so Chazz knew what was coming when the other boy got a certain look in his eyes.

"Come on, Chazz. Couldn't ya find it your heart to give me a duel?" Jesse asked, eager to get to the Academy dueling arena. He had gotten more duels lately, even if he heard mutterings afterward. But he still wanted to duel the top guy at the academy.

Chazz sighed. I was right… "Look... Jesse..." He was on the verge of refusal, but something told him it would be better to duel the other boy than not. "Okay, okay, I'll duel you if it'll get you off my back..."

"Yee-haw!" Jesse yelped before he scurried off. And so the boys headed off to the arena, Chazz reflecting that his former schoolmates wouldn't experience the joy of a simple duel for a long time. He wondered if they'd ever be sorry. But for now, he would enjoy the moment… even if it was with Twin Slacker.

THE END

And this concludes this tale. Thank you very much for reading and reviewing.