It was JC’s first day. The sixteen years old boy moved from Bowie, Maryland to Los Angeles, California. His dad found there a new job and JC had to move with him, even if he didn’t want to. At his old high school, he was pretty popular. He was at the chess club. He had many friends and also sang at the school choir.

But all this wasn’t the main reason, why he was sad. He was mostly sad that he had to leave his four best friends behind. He was just a week in California and already missed AJ, Joey, Chris, but almost his now ex-boyfriend Justin. They broke up after JC told him he’d move to the other side of the country. The distance was just too big.

When he entered the school it was a whole new experience. At his old school everyone greeted him, when he entered the building. Now no one even looked at him and if they did, they giggled and talked behind his back.

JC already had his locker from the principal and opened the door. He put all his schoolbooks in there. He didn’t need for his first subject and closed the door again. When he wanted to search for the classroom someone grabbed his schoolbag and hold it in the air. With an evil grin he looked at the shy JC.

“Let me guess, you are the new one…” JC nodded. The guy pushed him away and ditched his bag into the garbage can. JC pulled his bag out, when a guy put a hand on his shoulder.

“Take it easy. That was just Ryan. One of the footballers. He thinks he's such a great guy… sometimes that’s pretty annoying.”

A blonde guy with green eyes was standing in front of JC and helped him to get his bag out of the garbage can.

“My name is Lance, and what’s yours?”

Lance gave JC his hand.

"I'm JC," he replied shyly while shaking Lance's hand.

“So you are new here?”

"Yeah... is it really that obvious?"

Lance giggled. “A little bit. You look around like a shy deer. But it’s okay. Every one of us was new one day. So what’s your first subject, JC?”

"Spanish... but I can't find the classroom."

“Oh Spanish, god I really suck at Spanish… but you're lucky. We have the same subject now.” Lance winked at JC and started to go down the corridor. “Are you coming?”

"Yeah, sure. You know, at least I know someone in the class now..." JC followed Lance down the corridor.

Both went to their class and sat down next to each other. “I have to tell you, our teacher is an asshole… if you don’t know the correct answer he screams at you and if you give three wrong answers, you're in detention.

"Really?" JC sighed nervously. "Thank God I'm not bad at this subject..."

“You aren’t? Please, give me some tutoring! I really need to pass this class… I don’t want to have it next year again!”

"Sure, I can help you with it." JC smiled shyly at Lance.

Lance giggled. “You're kinda cute. Not ‘I want to kiss you’ cute, more like ‘my kitten’ cute.”

JC blushed. "Thanks... you're cute too." JC saw Lance looking at him awkwardly. "I mean, not the 'I want to kiss you' cute either, just... you know... cute."

Lance laughed. “And you have a girlfriend or… boyfriend?”

"Um... no. I broke up with my... boyfriend... before moving to California. And you? Do you have a girlfriend... or boyfriend?"

“Why? Did you live in another state? Yes, I have a boyfriend… he already finished high school and he's working in a shop in the city.”

"Yeah, I'm from Maryland and I had to move here because of my dad... he got a new job here, so I had to move with him."

“Oh, I’m sorry… hey, here are many hot guys. You’ll get over him.”

"Oh, so you're... um... never mind." JC looked down shyly.

“What? Tell me.”

"Nothing, it's just that I didn't imagine that you were... gay, when I first saw you earlier..."

“Really? Everyone tells me they'd see I’m gay even from 1000 miles away.”

"Then, they definitely would see I'm gay from a longer distance..."

Lance didn’t want to answer JC’s question. He looked away and just ignored that comment.

"I really look that gay?" JC sighed and looked away. "Damn... they're surely gonna beat me up..."

“You don’t look gay… your behavior is just a little bit… feminine, that’s all. They won't beat you up, or do you see me lying on the ground asking for help? Just don't tell anyone you are and let them just think you're... special.”

"That's because you're not a nerd like me... I'm used to get beat up. And I wasn't planning on saying it to everyone. You would never know if you hadn't asked me if I had boyfriend..."

“I believe you… hey, I’m with you and most of these guys are afraid of my boyfriend. As long as you hang out with me, they won’t even touch you.” Lance lied a hand on JC’s shoulder and smiled encouraging at him.

"Ok... hey, um... is this teacher used to 'welcome' the new ones? 'Cause I hope he's not..."

“He is… and if you don’t want to get unpopular, tell him directly you're new. He hates to search for the new ones.”

"So you're telling me that I should stand up and tell him that I'm the new one?"

“Yes. Not so loud, just go to him when he enters the classroom and tell him quietly… oh, and as premonition: he'll make sure that everyone knows you're new.”

"Then why tell him quietly? If he'll tell everyone, then I should tell him aloud."

“Because then no one will want to beat you up as the new nerd that wants to make sure everyone recognizes him.”

JC sighed. "Ok, ok... I'll tell him quietly when he enters the room..."

Right then the Spanish teacher entered the room. “Buenos días,” he said and put his bag down on the floor. “Buenos días, Mr. Miller,” the whole class replied.

JC stood up from his chair and approached the teacher's table, standing next to the teacher. "Um, mister... Miller? I'm new in this high school... this is my first day..."

Mr. Miller looked up and smiled at JC. “I won’t rip up your head, you don’t have to be afraid. ¿Cómo te llamas?”

JC smiled shyly. "Me llamo Josh, but you can call me JC."

“Ok JC. Everyone listen! This is a new student at our high school! His name is JC. Saludad a JC"

"Hi everyone," JC greeted shyly after everyone greeted him in unison.

JC went back on his seat and Mr. Miller started the lesson. He asked many questions to JC and was impressed of his Spanish. At the end of the lesson Mr. Miller added that Lance should cut a slice from JC.

"He's not that bad... he's a good teacher." JC said to Lance, while picking up his bag to go to his next class.

Lance rolled his eyes. “No one likes geeks,” he said and laughed, when he saw JC pouting.

"Hey, you told me that everyone's afraid of your boyfriend... does he ever come here to visit you or something?"

“No, but he was in this school too. They just all remember his name, because he was… special too… but in a more creepy way, I would say.”

"Oh... I don't want to meet him then... what's your next subject?"

“He's really nice, he just doesn’t look like it. My next subject is German, and yours?”

"German too. Is the teacher nice?"

“Yeah. He's cool. He comes from Germany and he's really nice. Are you good in German?”

"Honestly? No." JC giggled. "I hope next subject's teacher is a woman..."

“Why a woman? I thought you like… you know.”

"Yeah, and I do, but... you see, I had some problems with some of my teachers in my old high school... if you know what I mean..." JC blushed.

“Oh my god… you had hot teachers at your school? We just have one and that’s our math teacher… all others are ugly or old… tell me something about your hot teachers in Maryland.”

"What do you want me to say about them? The hottest one looked like a model, I swear." JC chuckled. "How does the math teacher look like?"

“Seriously, he looks like Jake Gyllenhall!”

JC chuckled. "Really? Then I'm sure you have great math classes every day!"

“Oh yeah,” Lance looked in the air, daydreaming about his teacher.

JC smiled while watching Lance daydreaming. "Hey, and how's recess here?"

“You get some good food in the canteen, the popular sit on one table and the other ones around. Hey, then you can meet some of my other friends, but I’ll tell you now, we aren’t those ones you'd call a sport ace.”

"I'm not a sporting ace either, so don't worry about it." JC giggled. "Do you have any hot friends?" JC laughed.

“Depending on what kind of guy you like.”

"I like guys who has a good sense of humor, that's the main thing I like. I like a guy that's athletic too. If he's cute, it helps! Oh, and he has to have light eyes! I love light eyes!"

“Ehmm…. not really. They all have a sense of humor, but they aren’t really athletic.”

"Oh... are they at least cute?"

“One of them is a punk, the other one is really shy, even more than you and the last is a little bit hyperactive.”

"Wow, um... there really is a person who's shyer than me? I thought it was impossible... and I can work with the hyperactive one, I already have a friend who's a little hyperactive." JC chuckled.

Lance laughed. “He isn't really shy. He just doesn’t talk really much. He's a nice guy anyways. And you know someone who's more hyperactive than Lilly? I want to meet that person!”

"I'll make sure you meet him if he comes to visit me some time. Maybe, he would get along with your friend Lilly!"

“I’m sure he will.”

In this moment the German teacher came into the class. “Guten Morgen.”

All sat down and replied “Guten Morgen, Herr Schroeder.”

JC held his hand up shyly, ready to tell the teacher he's the new one and hear the laughter of the class or the whispering about him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Schroeder... but, um... I'm new here, and it's my first day..."

Mr. Schroeder looked amused at JC. “Ein neuer Schüler? Bitte stell dich der Klasse vor.”

JC swallowed and stood up. "Mein Name ist Joshua... aber Sie können mich JC nennen..."

„Hallo JC. Please sit down, we want to start with the lesson now.“

JC nodded and sat down again, looking awkwardly at Lance. "He always welcome the new one in German?"

Lance giggled. “This is the German lesson. Surely he does.”

"Great..." JC sighed and looked at the teacher.

Over the lesson, Mr. Schroeder started to ask especially JC many things in German, to check his knowledge of the German language. After the lesson was over, Mr. Schroeder said Goodbye with the words “Ich wünsche euch noch einen schönen Tag.”, and left the classroom.

“You are bad in German? Are you kidding me? You were good! Really good. It's really depressing to sit next to you.” Lance laughed, while he stood up.

"Are you kidding me? I suck at German! The only thing I can really say in German is what I said earlier!" JC laughed. "You're not going to sit with someone else, right?"

“You suck in German? And that’s why you could quote Goethe. Because you suck in German… was that kind of dirty?”

"No, it wasn't dirty," JC chuckled. "Do we have all subjects together?"

“Now we have recess, so I guess we have that subject together. But hey, now you'll get to know my friends… maybe you have some subjects with them.”

"Maybe... I'm kind of nervous, you know? About meeting your friends..."

“They won’t eat you… so come on… if we don’t hurry, we won't get the good stuff from the canteen.”

"Ok, ok" JC laughed and followed Lance to the canteen.

Both got their food and went to a table in the corner. There already sat three persons. The first one was a girl. She had blonde short hair, brown eyes and no makeup. She wore simple grey clothes and seemed like she would never stop talking. The guy next to her looked mostly at his food, not saying really much. He had light brown hair and green eyes and seemed to be smaller than JC. The third person sat on the opposite side. This girl had blonde hair with green, pink and purple highlights. Her eyes were light blue and she wore black eyeliner and lipstick. She had one piercing in her nose and her clothes were colorful and conspicuous.

Lance walked straight to that table and greeted everyone. “And this is JC. He's the new one.”

"Hi..." JC greeted shyly.

Lance pointed at the blonde girl. “This is Lilly, the one who never stops talking.”

“Shut up” Lilly said and started laughing.

Lance went over to the guy. “This is Jordan. The shy one.”

Jordan winked with his hand and continued to stare at his food, listening to Lilly.

And at least Lance looked over to the punk girl “And this is Laura.”

"Nice to meet you, guys," JC said, looking at them three with a shy smile.

"Nice to meet you too, JC!" Lilly said. "Here, take a seat!" She moved closer to Jordan, leaving a seat for JC, who sat next to her.

“Hi JC. I’m Lilly. Like Lance already said. How are you? Where are you from? What subjects do you have? Why did you change school? Did you move from somewhere? I like your shirt. Where did you buy it?”

“Oh God, Lilly, give him time to answer…” Laura said with rolling her eyes.

JC chuckled. "Um... I'm fine. I'm from Bowie, Maryland. I still don't know all the subjects I have, 'cause this is my first day. I changed school because my dad got a new job here. As I said, I moved from Maryland. And my mom gave me this shirt, so I don't know where she bought it."

Jordan laughed. “Just ignore her if she asks too many things… she forgets what she asked in three minutes, except if it was something important.”

"Oh..." JC laughed. "So, um... tell me something about you, guys."

“I’m Laura, I’m 16 years old and the younger sister of Lance’s boyfriend. And if you ever talk to me again, I will kill you.”

JC became serious suddenly and swallowed. "Ok..."

All four started laughing and Jordan slapped JC on the back.

“Sorry JC, I was just kidding. Nice to meet you.” Laura said, still giggling and reached JC her hand.

JC sighed in relief and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too. And what about you, hyperactive girl?" JC asked, looking at Lilly. "Tell me something about you."

“I’m not hyperactive, I’m just a little bit nervous. And that's 24 hours, 7 days a week.” Lilly said grinning. “I was born in L.A., I always lived in L.A. and I guess I'll die in L.A. … my family's pretty boring… but I can live with that. Anyways, as a psychologist. you're damn right if you stay here in LA.”

Lance leaned towards JC and whispered: “She wants to become a psychologist after high school.”

"Oh... no offense but... I don't think she'll be a good psychologist when she's like this..." JC whispered back.

“She always says that she can listen if she has to, and that’s actually true. If you're sad you can always talk to her and she'll listen. But if all are happy, she's kind of an entertainer. We have our own clown.”

Jordan had to laugh about Lance’s comment, and Lilly looked confused at Jordan.

JC smiled at both and looked away, paying special attention to a guy he saw in what he guessed it was the popular table. "Who's that?" JC asked to Lance, pointing at the guy in the popular table.

Laura laughed. “Aw, our dear JC falls directly in love with our school hooligan.”

"Your... school hooligan?" JC looked at Laura with an eyebrow raised. “And I didn't fall in love! I was just asking... I'm not gay!"

Lance chuckled. “That’s Tony. The team captain of the basketball team. Let me say it like this… don’t even try to talk to him. He likes to beat up people, put them into their lockers and he hates gay people. I’m sure he does, 'cause he's gay too.”

"WHAT?! That guy is gay?!" JC asked Lance, looking at him incredulously.

Directly Lance managed to shut JC up, with pressing his hand against JC’s mouth. “Are you nuts? Shut up and never shout that out! Ever again! Officially he's straight. That he’s gay is just an assumption.”

JC mumbled against Lance's hand. "Mmhmphmmph!"

Lance put his hand away. Jordan already watched over to the table, where Tony sat. “You can be happy. He doesn’t seem like he heard anything.”

"Sorry for shouting it... I just can't imagine how that guy can be gay! He's hot though..." JC mumbled, looking at Tony again, watching him laughing.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? He's the typical type of guy who's gay and doesn’t want to accept it. He has many muscles, beats up people, and plays one of the most masculine sports… I tell you, that’s overcompensation.”

"Come on, you can't tell me he's not hot! And he's really cute too..."

Laura chuckled. “Lance is more into the… special kind of guy, like my brother. Tony is definitely not his type, you really straight guy.”

Everyone at the table had to laugh about the last comment.

JC blushed because of her comment. "I'd honestly like to talk to him... but I'm the type of guy he beats up and puts into his locker..."

“Seriously, just forget about him… he's a complete idiot.” Jordan said and plaid with his food.

"Yeah, he seems like it... in short, he's a really big metrosexual."

All four looked at Tony again and said simultaneously: “Definitely Gay!”

"How old is he?" JC asked to Lance, still staring at Tony.

“He's eighteen. He had to repeat the 7th grade.”

“Twice,” Lilly chuckled.

"So either he's not that intelligent or he just plays the cool guy who doesn't care to pass or not..."

“I guess both,” Jordan answered grinning.

"I see..." JC replied while looking away from Tony. "Hey Lance, it seems like I'm going to meet the hot teacher, 'cause we have math’s now" JC said, smiling.

“Oh, you'll love him… I still can't believe how such a good looking guy could get math teacher.”

"At least that way the subject isn't so boring," JC answered, laughing.

Both guys put their tray away and went to math class.