The next morning I woke up tired but still tried to stay positive. Caden was especially nice, pouring me cereal and making my mother eggs with bacon. He even accepted the smoothie my mother made for him. He left when his friends came and I left with Max and Hector. We were happy, laughing as we talked about the memories at the camping trip. Max even began to joke about Sara even though she wasn't here. Though it caught my attention because Max would never have joked about her before. His jokes weren't mean but were rather silly and funny. Hector was also very talkative this morning, a wide smile on his face and laughing. I couldn't help but forget that bad feeling I got last night and instead began to feel so happy. I had amazing friends, an amazing boyfriend, and now Caden and I were beginning to be friends. I couldn't help but to look at the pictures we took at the trip but my smile grew the largest due to the picture Victor sent me. It was of us kissing on the hill of the first big hike. We both seemed happy and I was simply remembering that happiness.
When we got to the school most of the parking was empty which was weird but we ignored it. Max joked that it was just a lazy Monday to people might have skipped. When we entered the school most students weren't around and we began to wonder if there really was school today. It was weird because the few students that were around were staring at us and some even whispered. When we got closer to my locker, that's when we found out where all the students were. They all crowded around the lockers where mine was located and we were confused. There were pictures taped to the wall and before I could pull one off to look at it Caden and Victor saw us. They were quick to reach us and I couldn't help but to notice the looks of worry they had.
"Let's skip school," Victor said, grabbing my arm and began to pull me towards the front doors.
"What? What's going on?" I asked.
"Caden, what's wrong?" Max asked as well, trying to move towards the pictures but Caden kept blocking him by moving in front of him.
"There's no time to explain-"
"Diego! Is it true?" I heard Sara yell, interrupting Victor and holding up a picture, a look of disgust on her face.
"Shut up!" Caden quickly yelled at her, a look of guilt taking over his features and roughly grabbing the paper, crumbling it up and tossing it.
I looked at Victor and he too looked guilty. He looked down at me, a look of panic covering his entire face. That uneasy feeling came back and it slowly began to sink in what was happening. I knew what was happening.
They knew.
Everyone turned to look at me and it was as clear as glass.
They knew.
"What did you do?" I asked in a whisper, feeling the panic well up in me as I looked at Victor and Caden.
They both moved towards me but that just made me panic even more. One look towards Sara and I felt disgusted. She was glaring at me, her arms crossed and that accusing look of disgust haunting me. She was disgusted with me. She actually was disgusted with me.
"Let us explain," Caden pleaded.
I ripped my hand away from Victor who stepped foward but I took steps back. Max, who had made his way through the crowd, ripped off a paper from my locker and his eyes widened. Oh God. He knew. Everyone knew.
"You son of a bitch!" Max suddenly yelled and ran and swung at Victor who couldn't dodge it.
The force was strong enough to make Victor lose his balance and he fell to the ground. Caden moved to stop Max but before I knew what I myself was doing, I swung at Caden. It was him. He did this. He never meant a word he said at the bridge or last night. He did this! Caden was shocked as he held his cheek but I didn't let him have a chance. I tackled him to the ground and gave him punch after punch.
"Guys, stop!" Charlie yelled.
Max and Victor were fighting on the ground as well, Max landing many punches as well as Victor returning just as much. I was hitting Caden yet he never tried to hit me back which pissed me off even more. He only tried to stop the punches and kept yelling at me to calm down. People were recording and Victor's friends were cheering them on. Hector tried to grab me but I pushed him aside and punched Caden again. I heard the teachers as they yelled at us and one of them grabbed me, roughly pulling me apart from Caden. They had to quite literally tear Max and Victor apart and they tried to get us to move towards the office but we struggled against them. I was still fueled with anger and I wanted to get Caden more, to give him more punches and make him feel the pain of betrayal and embarrassment. I was fighting them, squirming and thrashing around much like Max and Victor were doing. I accidentally kicked a piece of paper off the wall and when I looked down at it, I saw it was a picture of me kissing Victor up on the hill from the first hike. Though from the angle and a little bit of photoshop, it looked like Victor was trying to pull away from me.
They sat us down on chairs away from each other, Max and Victor on other sides of the room while Caden was a little bit away from me. We seemed to be in a conference room where the teachers met up for meetings but in front of us stood the principal and he did not look impressed at all. They gave Max and Victor ice bags for their cuts and paper towels for the blood. Caden also had an ice bag and paper towels but I had no serious need for any of it. The only injury I had were scratch Mark's from Caden trying to make me stop. I did leave him looking a little messed up but I didn't care. All I wanted to do was go home and be in my room now.
"Your parents are on their way. Victor, your aunt is on her way," The principal said and placed pictures on the table.
The pictures were of different times Victor and I were together yet it all seemed like the feelings were one sided. There were even text messages that were photoshopped to make it seem like I was pursuing Victor but he said no multiple times. I looked at Caden and Victor yet they were only looking down as if they were scared to look at me. Fucking cowards.
"I can't believe you guys," Max snapped.
"Enough, Max. We will save this until the parents show up."
We waited for about another thirty minutes until everyone arrived. Max's mother was glaring at me and my mother was beyond worried, Daniel also displaying a look of worry. Victor's aunt looked worried as well, demanding to know what the problem was.
"What happened?" My mother asked in a calmer way.
"A fight broke out and that's exactly what I want to know too. So, gentlemen, tell me what happened and what is the meaning of this."
Caden and Victor stayed silent and the longer they stayed silent, the more I felt like crying. The least they could have done was admit and say what it was. Max, too, grew angrier as the seconds went by but Caden and Victor still stayed silent.
"Speak!" Max suddenly snapped.
"Max!" His mother scolded.
"We called it off last night. It wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a joke," Caden mumbled.
The principal sighed and looked down at the pictures. He examined them and passed them around to the parents. One by one I heard each parent, and well Victor's aunt, gasp. The principal shook his head and stood up tall.
"I need to know if these are real because according to these, this looks like Diego was harassing Victor. Is that true or are these fake?"
"They're fake," Victor stated firmly.
"Fake like you guys," Max mumbled.
"Max what do you have to do with this?" Max's mother asked.
"He's my best friend. I was not going to let him just stand there by himself while kids laughed at him. They did this, they are to blame, they are the ones I'm killing."
"Well because of that you are in now trouble as well," the principal said, shaking his head. "So, then you two are in a relationship?" He asked, looking at Victor and then at me.
"Were," I firmly stated and heard my mother gasp and Max's mother started to pray in a whisper.
"I am aware that our school does not have the friendliest views when it comes to um. . . Same sex relationships. That is why this is very serious. Well. . . Even if our school had friendly views to this, it is still a serious problem. Outing someone is not okay. Not only did you guys out Diego but you invaded his privacy. On top of that, you guys caused a scene at school, faught, and I'm sorry but putting up pictures like this all over is considered destruction to school property. I could expel you guys. As for Max and Diego, I could suspend you guys for starting the fight because no matter what, we have rules against fighting."
"Is there a way that they won't get expelled?" Victor's aunt asked desperately.
The principal released another sigh and looked down. After another moment of silence he asked security to take us to the next door conference room. Max was allowed to sit next to me this time and Caden and Victor sat at the other end. Whenever they would try to speak Max would snap at them to shut up and I was beyond glad to have a best friend like Max. We had to wait for another twenty minutes or so before we were called back into the room and were sat in our previous spots.
"Okay, so we came to the conclusion on suspension. Since the situation is so big, a ten day suspension will be placed. However, the moment you step back into this school you will also have detention during lunch for two weeks. Now, Max and Diego. This is a tricky one. You guys have never caused issues, you've never even had detention before. So, instead of suspension, you'll have a two week detention. That is it and if you have issues with it then you should've thought twice about your actions. Diego, I'm sorry. We can't take back time and change this. If you face trouble with kids then please, don't be afraid to come and tell us. Your mother asked to take you home for the rest of the day which I granted. As for you, Max, I also granted it. You guys are excused."
My mother immediately hugged me, telling me how sorry she was and Daniel was scolding Caden. Max tried to come talk to me but his mother dragged him out the school doors, his father apologizing for her behavior before he too left. I didn't bother to stay any longer, leaving out the doors and ignoring Victor's and Caden's calls. My mother followed after me and unlocked her car, letting me get in immediately.
"Christina, please don't ignore me," I heard Daniel plead.
"I'm not in the mood, Daniel."
"He's my son, Christina."
"And Diego is mine! I didn't know, Daniel. And the way I find out is by a cruel prank your son pulled! How do you expect me, a mother, to be okay with that?"
He remained silent and he never said a word as my mother got in the car and drove off. I felt bad, I didn't want them to fight over this but I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I was still in shock and it was slowly sinking in that everyone knew. The principal was right, there were a lot of homophobics at the school and now they had a knew target.
And to think of how happy I was yesterday.