FALL

Chapter One: L - oath/ove, at first sight.

"Oh, thank ya kindly miss,'" Someone had stopped just outside the locker. Jonathan opened his eyes. Normally it was the janitor that he had to call out to after students packed up for the day, "but really I ain't. As a matter of fact, l never played no sports before." This fellow's southern accent was far thicker than Jonathan's, the young man was surely from more of the backwoods bayou than the cornfields that surrounded them. He spied the fluffy golden mane as the young man held up both his hands in embarrassment and smiled awkwardly at the group with him.

"Really?" Jonathan tried to lean his head to see who had just spoken, he was not always too sure which of the cheer squad's voices was whose when they tried to sound like city girls. Mindy-Lea batted her eyes and he suspected it was she who asked.

"Really, my daddy don't like them so I never," he let out a soft chuckle, "an' he wouldn't approve now either. You boys understand I gotta respect my daddy's wishes first. Now I hope you get that open spot filled though." They were trying to recruit the new guy to the team it seemed.

"That's a shame. Maybe we can talk to him, convince him you'd be great at it?" That was Bo's voice. Jonathan leaned away from the small grate in the locker. His heart felt like it had skipped a beat in a terrible way. He swallowed the fear.

"I mean... sure," that was the most sarcastic-sounding country 'sure' he'd ever heard, "you're welcome ta come on by an' have a chat any day but the lord's day. Though I must let you know he's got a temper about them sports an' ya may not leave with all your fingers."

"... Oh, funny too." Lisa laughed a little awkwardly before the others joined in normally. If Jonathan had joked about something like that he'd... well he'd be stuffed in his locker. "So why are we standing here anyways?" She changed the subject.

"Mrs. Cox said that number one five three was my locker, she said ta make sure my combination worked." Numbers one five zero through one six zero had all been rubbed away over time, they had likely stopped to figure out which was one five three.

"Ew. We need to get that changed." Mindy-Lea glanced towards the locker Jonathan was currently in.

"Why?" That drawl was growing to be kind of annoying to Jonathan.

"Because you're next to that creep."

"Who?"

"That reminds me," Oh god, please no. Jonathan tried to scoot as far back as possible when Bo spoke up, "How you doin' in there faggot?" He, and what Jonathan could assume were a couple of others of this tormenting squad, laughed. Jonathan wanted to put his hands up to his face to block out the light and hide even more than he was already hidden but there was hardly enough room for himself to be stuffed in here. He was lucky to have his hands by his sides this time. Jonathan knew he was crushing the books below his feet too and he only hoped they'd be salvageable with tape.

He had expected them to walk away – the bell was going to ring soon. He wanted them to leave. Please leave, he prayed into the void.

As if a non-existent god would ever answer his prayers, "... There's a person in there?" Both brows raised and Leonard turned his head getting close, blocking out some of the light. They could see each other when Jonathan opened his eyes again, "What in the holy hell... boy, what's your locker code?"

He wanted to yell at the other teen to go away, to just leave him alone. His face burned and he turned his head as best he could so they were not staring at each other anymore. If this young man let him out now he was likely to just get shoved right back in with more bruises than the first time went.

"Hey, Leo, just leave him. He likes it." Mark's smug voice for sure.

Leonard paused still looking into the locker, "Darkness ain't no one's friend, besides even if he does like it, shouldn't be runnin' from schoolwork. So come on now, pipe up, what's your combination?" The bell rang and the hall started to become crowded.

Nosey, white knight type, Jonathan thought. He was deciding between telling this innocent transfer his combination or not. He risked the ire of the others on the one hand and on the other hand he risked the school calling his grandmother to say that he'd missed a handful of classes – again. Which one was scarier? It was simply a lose-lose for him.

"Ya'll head on now without me, I'll be headin' back to Mrs. Cox in a minute. It was a wonderful time an' tour. Thank you, ladies." Jonathan did not see it as Leonard had turned around too but heard it in his voice, a smile like sunshine itself.

Bo spoke for the group, "We'll see you later Leo." And he could only hear the hushed protests that became silenced by a look he knew Bo could give all too well.

Jonathan could hear the boy twisting the combination lock to the locker next to his, the metal door opened up with a click. A single book was placed inside – it was all he had for now – so what was he doing just standing there with the door open? The next bell rang for tardiness and he could hear the stragglers' feet pounding down the hallway. Only when it was silent did the transfer shut his locker.

"Ain't no one else in the hall now." Jonathan turned his head to the grate and spied the young man leaning against his locker waiting.

Jonathan decided his grandmother's wrath was worse than whatever Bo Griggs could do to him, "Twenty-four, ten, forty-one." The combination lock spun and the door swung open.

Leonard stood in front of it. The blond was taller than Jonathan closer to Bo's height and likely one weight class lower – Jonathan's growth spurt was merely starting and he felt gangly in comparison. Was the blond going to move out of the way? They were just staring at one another again.

Jonathan shifted to start maneuvering his way out without sliding anymore on his books, it was this action that made Leonard move out of the way. Not only that but the teen suddenly turned down the hall without another word. Jonathan hoped the transfer was not going to be the tattle-tale type too on top of it all. It would just bring Jonathan more problems.

/ x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x /

Leonard stared into the locker he'd just opened.

The young man was rail thin on the verge of awkwardly lanky if he'd been any taller and the mystery of how they ever got a person into one of these not even two-foot-wide lockers had been solved. It was not the most glamorous position to be in, he resembled a spider stuck in a corner. His hair was messed up and round wire glasses had fallen down his pointed nose. Short auburn hair did not hide dark brown eyes staring with a defiant look back at him and that downturn of his lips into a scowl felt perfectly fit on his narrow features. All Leonard knew was that...

The young man started to try and get out without disturbing the piles of books already ravaged by his feet.

All Leonard knew was that he had to go before he said something stupid. And he left swiftly.