As Sky was only required to go to three counseling sessions or support group meetings, it was assumed he would go to one on Friday, Monday, and then Tuesday; the three days of his suspension. However, when he woke up that day, after a particularly long night with his companions, he decided he just wanted to get these meetings over and done with. Plus, he reasoned, if he went during the weekend, he wouldn’t have to deprive Star of the car, or make anyone else miss any more classes.

Perhaps knowing there was no chance of running into Curt in town that weekend also helped his decision somewhat as well. Though, despite Curt’s current incarceration, they still wanted to at least try to stick to their ‘never be alone’ rule, especially in light of the run in at the gas station Sky had had earlier in the week. After all, Curt may have been the most unstable ‘good ole boy’ in town, but there were others; most of whom had a bone to pick with Sky and Kole both. In light of that fact, the two boys decided to stick together once they ventured out in public, neither wanting to unduly put a target on either of the girls who were their also rather constant companions.

Instead, Star and Crista would enjoy their Saturday with the assurance of not running into Curt by making a trip to do some clothes-shopping, which they had all fallen behind on since the attack on Sky exactly one month prior. The girls would have Sky’s car, and Kole would be taking Sky to his meeting in his own. After all, things may have been a lot more open with the mads in this life, but Sky still didn’t want his parents carting him back and forth to a rape support group. And it was safer if he was with at least one of the three lovers who he needed to defend himself or said lover, if they absolutely had to.

“Sure you wanna do this on the weekend?” Kole was asking Sky as they neared the center of town, where the community center was. “Didn’t you go to the early meeting yesterday to avoid seeing the entire cheer-leading squad from our school?”

“Most were there yesterday anyway” Sky replied with a sigh, “may as well go and endure it. Who knows, we may need more info from them if the asshole does get released again. Shouldn’t be all on Star to dig it out.”

“So, you’re not feeling guilty about the last time we fucked with Curt’s head, considering?” Kole asked, as Sky cast him a dark look. Kole then quickly added, “I’m not saying you should feel guilty. Fucker deserved every bit of what we did. I just know you have a tendency to feel guilty about things, even if you shouldn’t” he added more quietly.

Sky just sighed heavily, “I do feel guilty. Guess you’re right about that. But his retaliation just makes me wanna push him off the cliff that much harder now. I’m just trying to force myself to wait til after we hear if they’re sending him to real jail or not. I wouldn’t wanna make him blow his head off before he gets raped at least once for every person he’s raped” Sky growled.

Kole blinked at that comment, but allowed a small smile as well as they turned into the lot, “dark Sky. I like it” he smirked.

Sky just shook his head, not able to help his glare turning into a smile at Kole’s words, “I’ve always been dark, and you’ve always liked me” he retorted as he returned the smirk.

“Well, you do have addictive naughty bits” Kole teased.

“And you liked me before you touched em too” Sky teased back as he reached for the door handle.

“Yes for all of the five days I knew you before I was on my knees getting ‘addicted’” Kole added wryly as the two got out of the car.

“You aren’t required to go in” Sky told him with a narrowed brow as he saw Kole leaving the car with him.

“No, but you’ve got fifteen minutes or so. Figured we could have a cigarette and then I’ll just kill the hour at that coffee shop across the street” he told him, gesturing to the shop in question as he followed Sky toward the steps of the community center.

“Coffee shop, huh? Say hi to Raina” he smirked, though as he finished the sentence, the subject of his inside joke that Kole wouldn’t get anyway, came into view as they reached the top step.

Leaning upon the steps outside the building already was not only Raina, but all his other victims too, minus Caitlin, who lived over fifty miles away now, and Sammi, of course. All eyes turned to he and Kole as they approached.

“God, not you too?” Was Brandi’s greeting when her eyes fell on Kole, interrupting the conversation she and the other girls had been having.

“What? Me?” Kole asked as he was a little surprised that she was addressing him. He then shook his head as he and Sky took a few wary steps closer, “no, when he grabbed me in the locker room, I had a knife at his throat before he could... do anything else” he decided on, considering his current company.

Brandi sighed with only a bit of relief before she looked back at the other girls who all were eyeing Sky and Kole questioningly. Brandi then took a breath and turned back to the two boys, “so, is it true?”

“Is what true?” Sky asked slowly as he cast a furtive glance at Kole.

“Is he really locked up in juvey now?” Brandi clarified, trying to not sound too hopeful just yet.

“And did he really try to burn your house down?” Raina added worriedly.

“Do I know her?” Kole asked as his eyes moved over Raina’s purple hair, black clothing, fishnet and spikes.

“She looked a lot more like the rest of them til this summer” Sky told Kole furtively as Raina just rolled her eyes. But Sky soon remembered that he was being asked other questions then too, “yes, to juvey, for now; and yes to that’s why he got arrested” he sighed heavily, still quite obviously upset by what could have happened to everyone in his life, and himself too, he supposed, only one night earlier.

“And we don’t know what happens to him after his eighteenth?” Georgia put in worriedly.

“Not yet” Sky admitted with another sigh, “most likely there’ll be restraining orders to supposedly keep him away from us. But we covered how much faith I have in those, yesterday” he added more quietly, “and he most likely won’t be back in school with us” another sigh, “but who knows if they’ll move him to real jail after November first” he repeated, referring to Curt’s eighteenth birthday.

“Two days before my eighteenth?” Kole scoffed, “what an honor” he added sarcastically. Kole then looked back at the five girls who kept giving he and Sky wary looks, though Kole more so. After all, Sky was a fellow victim, but they were both still men. “Anyway, coffee is calling me” Kole told Sky as he looked back at him.

He then moved to place a long kiss over Sky’s lips before gently squeezing his arm and making his high platform boots carry him carefully back down the steps and toward the coffee shop across the street. Sky took a moment to catch his breath after that kiss before turning back to see five sets of eyes looking back at him.

That was when the quietest among them, Scott’s former girlfriend, Sarah was actually the one to speak, “you guys actually are gay?”

Raina then scoffed as she looked back at the girl who Curt had violated only one month later than herself, “if they are, someone needs to tell Sky’s boyfriend, considering the way he kept looking at me.”

Sky couldn’t help an awkward smile, at Raina’s statement, “no, neither of us are gay. Nor are we a couple, exactly” he had to add, as he just shook his head and gave Kole one more appreciative glance as he crossed the street.

Then Sarah gave Sky another questioning look. Though Tim’s former girlfriend Chloe spoke next from her seat on the steps beside Sarah, “he’s not your boyfriend, and you’re not gay, but you guys still kiss like that? And in public?” she added more quietly.

Raina scoffed again, “one: twenty-first century. Two: there’s more options in the world than just gay or straight” she shook her head, “after all, I think we’ve all seen Sky and Star with their tongue’s down each other’s throats more than once over the years. Pretty sure Star’s a chick last I looked” she shook her head again then as she also couldn’t help her own glance at Kole as he entered the shop across the way.

“So, you’re bi?” Sarah asked as she and Chloe both raised a brow and Brandi just looked away, having already gone through this with Sky herself the previous Monday, more or less.

Raina smirked, “see, you do know the word.”

That was when Georgia finally piped up, “these two obviously don’t care if people know they like guys, unlike some guys I think we’ve all dated over the years, except maybe Raina” she had to add as she glanced at the slightly older girl.

“No, I don’t date anyone really, let alone closet cases. The ones who are out are much better shopping companions anyway; and have a lot less issues” Raina scoffed pointedly.

Sky shook his head again, “trust me, us non-closet cases have plenty of issues too, just not ones that end up being taken out on the girls we hang around with” he added more quietly.

Georgia then spoke again, “I don’t think Sarah and Chloe here are so much shocked by the idea of boys liking boys, as they are by boys admitting they like boys, considering Scott and Tim” she shook her head.

Chloe then defended weakly, “hey, neither of them have ever said that”

Raina then mumbled, “and we see how well that turned out for Tim. And I give Scott til college before he’s dressing in drag and singing show tunes” she added wryly.

Georgia just rolled her eyes at Raina’s comment before turning back to Sky, “I think there’s something else here we’re all wondering about. But I’m guessing all of them are too PC to just ask.”

Raina scoffed, “have you met me lately?”

Georgia just shook her head again, “the point is, after seeing that little kiss there, we’re all just wondering, exactly what is the deal with you and him?” she asked Sky with narrowed eyes, gesturing after Kole, as the other girls also turned to hear his response.

“The deal?” Sky asked warily as he looked between them.

Georgia let out a frustrated sigh, “if you kiss him, what else do you do with him? That’s what we wanna know.”

“Georgia!” Brandi scolded.

“I wasn’t gonna ask that” Sarah defended, to which Chloe just nodded her agreement.

“See? Too PC” Georgia repeated pointedly, then turned back to Sky, “well?”

Sky was a little taken aback, “I didn’t realize that the entire cheerleading squad cared about whether me and Kole were having sex with each other” he stalled warily.

Georgia sighed again, “christ, we don’t wanna know cause we all wanna fuck you. Well, at least most of us probably don’t” she looked at Raina pointedly as the purple haired girl just glared back, “we just don’t understand how anyone could, like actually enjoy that... And if you actually do...” she just shook her head.

Sky swallowed hard at her words, “then why am I here? Is that what you mean?” he asked defensively.

“No, that’s not what I meant” Georgia looked down then.

“Kinda sounded like you did” Raina told her coolly.

“No, I didn’t!” Georgia denied again.

“Then what exactly did you mean?” Sky made himself ask.

Georgia tried to compose herself as she tried to find the words to answer him then, “I just don’t think any of us here can even understand...” she took a breath, “understand how anyone could actually enjoy something like that, and how bad it hurts, and how horrible it all is with the blood and the... for days after? I mean, how can anyone actually like that? Just, how?” she made herself ask him as she bit back all those traumatic memories that were only two months old, still.

Sky sighed heavily, as they all cast their eyes down at the sound of Georgia’s words. He then took a breath and tried to make himself answer, “what you’ve gotta understand is that what Curt did to you... it’s nothing like what Kole does to me. Nothing like it” he stressed. “Being with Kole is actually a big part of how I’ve managed to cope with any of this at all. When I’m with Kole, there’s no pain or blood or any of those horrible things. It’s the complete opposite of being forced to endure that against your will, with no warning or gentleness or... preparation?” he decided on as he shook his head at his own inability to communicate what he meant then. He then took another breath, “you’re getting caught up on the body part, not the act itself. Just think of it this way: Is being raped, normally, if we can even use that word next to rape” he shook his head again, “is that anything like the actual normal sex that most of the world enjoys? It’s nothing like it at all. Just like what Curt did to all of you, and me, is nothing like what we do when we let someone inside us willingly. It’s worlds away from anything any of us willingly do, no matter what it is we happen to be willingly doing. Worlds away.”