Later that week came the phys ed class that had always been dreaded by Sky for as long as he could remember. Not only was he not remotely athletically inclined, but there was also the ever uncomfortable visit to the boys’ locker room afterwards that the school required. It was like none of the faculty had ever even seen a prison movie, Sky thought wryly.

He sighed as the last of the boys finally moved past where he was sitting quietly in the locker room, waiting til the showers were empty before he ventured toward them, as he always had done. The boy just happened to be Curt’s friend Tim, who also seemed to have not died of a brain hemorrhage in some other world either; much to Sky’s chagrin. Tim sneered at where Sky sat somberly on one of the benches staring at the ugly gray tile floor, “they gotta stop lettin chicks in here. I feel so exploited.”

“Gets funnier every year, Tim” Sky mumbled, not looking up from the floor still.

Tim started toward the door, then turned back with another snide comment, “I never got why you always would sit out here and wait for all the rest of us to finish showering. I thought you liked the idea of all those nice wet dicks waitin for you to ‘accidentally’ drop the soap and give it to you good.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought about it more than I have” Sky mumbled.

“Well you are at least half-fag, aren’t you?” Tim scoffed as he gave Sky another head to toe glance.

“You know, it’s amazing that the only guys in school who are ever talking about my sex life are the ones who claim to only like girls. It’s a mystery, that” Sky retorted.

Tim scoffed, then looked around the locker room furtively, as if to make sure the two of them were truly alone. He then took a breath and, much to Sky’s surprise, moved to take a seat on the same bench.

“Yes?” Sky offered with a skeptical look.

“You are though, aren’t you?” Tim asked in a near whisper.

“I am what?” Sky replied warily.

“Half...” Tim then shook his head, “you actually are into guys though, aren’t you?”

Sky fought the urge to make another smart comment as he gave Tim another skeptical look, “I’ve hardly kept that a secret about myself” he settled on.

“So, that means yes, right?” Tim asked in the same furtive whisper.

Sky just shook his head, trying very hard to give this world’s Tim the benefit of the doubt about what a complete ass he was in the other world; at least when his friends were around. With a slight breath, “yes, I’ve been with men and women both, sexually. Though it feels like another world now” he added, more to himself.

“How do you do that?” Tim asked after looking over at Sky’s pretty eyes for more than a moment.

“How do I do what, exactly?” Sky returned, holding back a smirk at where his mind immediately went.

“Just decide that it’s cool to be with guys too?” Tim asked in the same whisper.

“Have you seen me?” Sky asked, finally allowing that smirk for a moment before his tone became more serious, “and it’s not a decision, Tim. It’s just part of who I am; who I’ve always been.”

“So you’ve always known... known that you liked guys and girls both?” Tim asked as he continued staring over at him.

“Pretty much” Sky stated with another slight smile.

That was when Tim looked around once more, took a deep breath, and finally moved his hand to Sky’s thigh. Sky tensed more than a bit then, trying to decide what the proper reaction would be. It was obvious the boy was struggling, and ready to make a huge step toward a life-altering decision of some kind. But, in all honesty, Sky literally had no attraction to that type of male. After all, he was so fond of ultra-feminine boys and girls that he designed his entire personal style to emulate the look that he found so attractive. Anything remotely masculine was not something either he, nor Star, had ever been truly interested in.

Sky swallowed a bit, “Tim...” he breathed the boy’s name, only to lose what he was gonna say when the other boy’s hand moved up to the front of the gym shorts he had been forced to wear for class and began rubbing him through the material.

“You like this, right?” Tim whispered as he continued his attention.

“It’s not quite that simple” Sky managed with more than a bit of unease.

“You said you liked guys too, right?” Tim continued as he leaned closer.

“Just because I like men...” Sky tried to find some way to even make that sentence not trigger an angry response in the boy who had finally bared his soul to someone who had basically been an enemy only moments before. And he honestly had no clue how to do that.

“Why aren’t you getting hard? You like this, right?”

Sky bit his lip, “Tim, are you attracted to every girl you see? I doubt it. It’s the same for me; with boys, or girls” he attempted to explain, though gently, “I’m attracted to what I’m attracted to; same as you” he offered as he tried to give a reassuring smile nonetheless, even whilst pushing the other man’s hand away from his shorts.

“What?” Tim asked with an angry blush as he moved back.

“Look at me, Tim. Have you ever seen me show any interest in... anyone who doesn’t look like this, as well?” Sky attempted.

“What? You can only get it up for other pretty boys?” Tim asked angrily.

“That’s just my type. Everyone has one” Sky stated, trying to keep his smile in place, despite the other man’s obviously now much darker mood.

“You spend all your time tryin to look like the hottest chick in school; then when an actual normal male comes on to you, you tell him you only want girls, or other boys that look like girls, too? What the fuck kinda shit is that?” Tim asked angrily as he stood.

Sky just shook his head as he looked down, “I’m sorry but I can’t pretend what I don’t feel. It’s not the way I’m built” Sky stated apologetically, trying as best he could to diffuse the other boy’s anger; especially in light of the fact that Star was nowhere nearby at all right then.

“You tell anyone, and I mean anyone about anything I said, or did, here today, and I’ll kill you and your little sister both” he told him angrily as he turned to leave the room and Sky finally remembered to breathe again after what he was sure could have easily turned into an even more unpleasant encounter.

For three years he had let himself get a little too confident about his abilities, only to now be reminded that, without Star, he was still a more than defenseless target. He sighed again to compose himself before finally heading in to take his shower at last.

Only a few minutes later, Sky had finished his very quick shower and headed back to the main part of the locker room to reapply all that thick makeup that was nearly gone after gym class and his shower wore most of it away. He then heard the door open behind him again, assuming it was either the gym teacher or someone arriving early for next period. His second guess was correct, though he wished it hadn’t been when he finished reapplying his dark lipstick and glanced toward the door.

“You” Curt greeted him with a venomous growl.

Sky immediately tensed and went even paler as his eyes moved to the window of the teacher’s office, only to find the room still empty. His fear only intensified as he knew that this was one place where Star would most likely never show up in time to trigger their powers and save him from whatever cruelty Curt’s twisted mind would dream up today.

“Just the little faggot I wanted to see after that shit you pulled with my phone in study hall.”

“I’ll just be going” Sky mumbled as he gathered his belongings and moved to step around the much larger, and angrier boy.

“Oh, you will, will you?” Curt growled as he moved toward Sky, only to forcefully pin him to the wall next to the sink with his arm, “you think that shit was funny?” he nearly spat the words into Sky’s face, as the two were nearly the same height, despite the hundred pounds or so Curt had on him.

“Are we done?” Sky asked, forcing himself to cling to any composure he could right then, as well as forcing his barbed tongue to remain at bay when it came to any retaliating remarks.

“Oh, we’re a long fucking way from done” Curt spat out, “you want people to think I’m a fag too? Sounds like we know your fantasy now” he growled as he moved to bend Sky painfully over the sink, the tears immediately struggling to come to his pretty, just recently made up eyes at being forced into that position.

Curt then shoved his hand down the back of Sky’s pants and painfully shoved a finger inside him as Sky failed to bite back a pained moan.

“Can’t tell me this hurts, considering all the cocks I’m sure you’ve already taken” Curt growled as he continued the assault as black streaks started down Sky’s pale face through the pained whimpers he tried to bite back.

That was when the teacher finally showed up to supervise the next class’s arrival, “what the fuck is this shit?” he asked angrily, as Curt immediately stepped back, his face reddening as Sky continued to use all of his will to hold back from breaking down in even more tears as he stumbled back against the wall again. “Get your fucking ass out on the field, Spencer” he instructed Curt, who was more than eager to leave the room just then. “What the fuck, Vargas?” he asked, turning his attention to Sky.

“What?” Sky choked out his response his voice shaking with a few hundred emotions then, as well as disbelief now too.

“See, this is why I told them I didn’t want something like you in my gym class. Cause of this shit right here” he exclaimed angrily.

“What?” Sky repeated, choking back another wave of emotion.

“You do everything you can to look like a fucking woman, then I’m supposed to let you into the locker room with all my boys? You should be showering with the rest of the girls. At least then you wouldn’t be trying to fuck anyone!”

“Excuse me?” Sky choked with further disbelief turning to anger as he wiped at those black streaks again. “Do I look like I was enjoying that?” he bit out as he gestured to the now smudged black streaks.

“Beats me. I don’t know what sick shit you’re into. Or maybe you’re just not used to takin it from someone built like our quarterback. Doesn’t matter to me. I just know I don’t want you in the locker room with actual males anymore, or in my sight. Get the fuck outta here” he told him angrily as he moved back toward his adjoining office with another angry huff.

Luckily Sky only had to get through one more class that day, so when he skipped it, it wouldn’t be likely to even be noticed. Instead he sat alone in his now regained car trying to cope with what had just happened; and to try to justify it all away. After all, it wasn’t like Curt had actually used his penis to violate him; that would have had to have been worse, right? Then it would have really been rape, right? Or at least he tried to convince himself of that for the entire last hour of the school day.

When classes did let out, Star exited the school with her ‘new’ friend Crista in tow. “He must already be in the car” she told the blue-haired girl as she didn’t find Sky waiting outside to meet her as usual.

The two then made their way to that black Mustang and moved to the passenger side. Though, as soon as Star opened the door and saw Sky, she immediately noted that he had quite obviously been crying, and probably for a while already.

She then looked back at Crista warily, “you know, I just remembered, our parents told us to get straight home today. Maybe we can give you a ride tomorrow” she told Crista trying to sound apologetic, though most of what was in her tone was worry.

“Yeah, um, ok” Crista agreed with a bit of sadness, but eventually moved off toward the buses instead.

“What happened?” Star asked him immediately as soon as she was in the car, closing the door behind her a moment later.

Sky swallowed another wave of tears at actually being asked to recount the day’s events. He finally took a deep breath, his watery eyes still not turning to meet her own, “that shitty future finally caught up with us.”