Joseph wished he could muster up enough courage to call things off with Betty Lee. But, he just—couldn't. What would Bobby say? What would Troy say? What would his father say? Jospeh knew what the locals in Montgomery thought about people like Lark.

Diseased beings, he'd heard his father call homosexuals once, while his mother simply nodded along to anything her husband voiced.

Devil child, Bobby had once called Lark, when word was spread that he was obsessed with Andy Philips.

Betty Lee interlinked her fingers with Joseph's, sending him a light-tipped smile. "Homecoming was spectacular. Patty Meyers and her date—what was his name again . . . Lark! Yes, that was it. They were such kind people."

Joseph took her words into careful consideration, analyzing Betty Lee's fingers against his. What would Lark's fingers feel like interwoven along his? Gross, maybe—but maybe even heavenly.

"Joseph?" Betty Lee questioned, leaning in closely. "Is everything alright? You seem troubled."

Joseph shook his head, ignoring every fiber in his being, shouting at him to yank his hand away from Betty's. "I'm fine, everything's fine. You just look wonderful today, is all."

Betty pushed at his chest, a smile grazing her lips. But she nonetheless, accepted his compliment. "Thank you."

Lark stood at his locker, removing both his science notebook, and his science textbook. That was, until his locker was being slammed shut in his face. He jumped, looking up to find Bobby Stinger standing there, in all his six-foot glory.

Bobby sneered down at Lark, who took an instinctive step backward, not wanting to cause any trouble. "Was there something you needed?" His tone was sarcastic, yet curious.

"I can't believe I'm about to ask this—because if I'm right, someone's ass is seriously getting kicked up north—but what the hell are you doing to Joe? Before you, he wouldn't hesitate to push one of you butt-bumping-hillbillies into a locker. But now, all he does is take walks, for hours at a time.

"And last week, when I walked by Montgomery Cemetery, there you two were, gazing up at the stars like a couple of wussies." Bobby finally ended his rant, with his fists clenched at both sides of him.

"So, tell me, Reyes—what's going on with you and Joe?"