Nathaniel yawned as he waited for the ferry to arrive at the peer, standing alongside three other teenagers also waiting to get to school. He actually hated this commute. Once they got on the ferry, it'd take fifteen minutes to get to the mainland. Then they would have to take another five-minute bus ride to the school.

Unfortunately, it was the closest town with a school. There wasn't one on the island. So every day he and these other three people had to stand at the pier waiting for the damn ferry.

He also wasn't looking forward to the end of the day, when he had to go to this Alateen thing. It was something new his uncle had discovered. Normally he wouldn't go or listen, but there was no way to fake it. He knew nothing about the group, apart from the basic principle he'd read about on their website, but he really didn't know how they operated. He'd never be able to lie convincingly, and his punishment for not going would wind him working at the diner.

Above all else, he refused to work in that diner.

It was small and always cramped. Sure, so was the bait shop, but at least he was usually the only one inside of it. And, unlike the diner, it was calming. During his down time, he'd even be able to read a book. Could he do that working in the diner? No, he could not!

He sighed, clenching his hand around his cell, and wondering if he should ask what happened to everyone after the party. He hadn't really asked about it since it happened over the weekend, and no one had messaged him about it either. It was actually kind of strange having it silent. Usually, he had all sorts of ignored and unopened messages from nearly every girl in his grade.

He opened it, fishing through the contacts for Kelly's name. She was the girl he'd brought with him but completely forgot about once he had that third or fourth vodka.

Nate: Hey, Kelly, it's Nate. Just wondering if you got home okay after the party.

He hovered his thumb over the send button. In all actual honesty, he didn't care if she had or hadn't made it back safely. It was more the principal of the gesture. He couldn't have her hating him.

He quickly added I would have texted you, but my dad took my phone.

And… send.

With a sigh, he let the phone fall to his side. It was then that he noticed Simon sat at the peer, in his usual spot, drawing in the sketchbook.

He debated on talking to him or not, ultimately siding with the ladder. If he got friendly with him here, then he might feel inclined to talk to him in school. Above all else, he wanted his classmates to like him. It wasn't anything personal, just that he'd be damned if the only person he got to talk to was Simon for the rest of his high school life.

The ferry arrived on time, taking the small group to the island where they walked the short distance to the top of the hill where a school bus was waiting for them. He expected to find Adrian on board but didn't see him. Unfortunately, the freshman had taken up the entire back of the bus and the only other available seat, other than Simon, was a fat kid who had apparently never heard of a shower in his life. The kid smelled like he'd been rolling around in cow shit.

Nate dropped his bag next to Simon, using it as a barrier, and plopped down beside him. It was the lesser of two evils.

At school, his stomach lurched when he saw Kelly standing at his locker, arms crossed over her large chest. "What happened to you at the party?" She demanded.

He shooed her away from the door so he could input the combination. "I got drunk and did something stupid. That's all."

"You don't drink."

He sighed. Clearly, she didn't know him. "I just haven't gotten drunk. It wasn't a good look, yeah, and I'm sorry."

She huffed. "Well, you left me to run away by myself."

"I got arrested. And then my parents grounded me."

She rolled her eyes like he was only making excuses. “Whatever. You didn’t even ask me if I made it back okay.”

“I just texted you!”

“Keyword, just.” She popped her hip out, only showing off more of her curves. “I was drunk. I could have gotten raped, you inconsiderate ass!”

He winced at her words. She was getting loud and irate. This was definitely, exactly, what he didn’t want. Kelly might be a bitch in almost every regard: from the way she flaunts her status on Instagram, her database knowledge on fashion, how wealthy her parents are, and dresses in tight clothing that show off every bit of her full-bodied figure. However, she was one of the more popular girls. And she had been going to this school a lot longer than him. If she suddenly started hating him, that could ripple effect into the others and eventually, he’d be alone with only the outcasts to talk to.

He swallowed back his words. “I’m sorry. I should have paid more attention.” Although what he really wanted to say was, “I was drunk, too, and got carted off to the police station.”

She kept glaring at him. The silence between them was so deafening, he couldn't hear the other students as they walked passed them mindlessly. Suddenly her glare vanished and she wrapped her arms around him. "Yeah! You really should have paid more attention."

"Right. Sorry." He forced himself to smile.

The secret was he didn't actually like her. As a person in general, let alone as a romantic interest. Actually, if he were being completely honest, he'd never actually fallen in love. He'd never really developed a crush either. The closest he'd ever gotten was a slight thumping in his chest when Robert Nolan accidentally touched his hand setting up the Homecoming dance at his old school.

But first of all, who didn't have a crush on Robert Nolan? Surely he couldn't have been the only dude to have felt his chest hurt for the football God. He was, as all clichés are, a hot football player. His biceps could have crushed cars, Nate had thought. The man was so built, tan, and void of basically any blemishes, that you would almost never see him without a girl at his side. Nate's somewhat crush ended, however, when Robert announced to the entire school that Nathaniel Rodgers was a homosexual.

Not too many people cared. At first, they seemed too, even throwing things at him or tripping him in the hallway. But, as all things inevitably do, it became old news. New rumors replaced the old frantically, nearly every other day. That didn't stop scaring him, though. Not really the school hating him, but enduring the negative backlash from the person he really cared about ripping out his heart and stepping on it.

"See you in class!" Kelly jumped away from him and ran off.

He sighed to himself and opened his locker.

He hadn't really noticed before, but Simon was in a lot of his classes. Simon was quiet and kept to himself. Which was probably why Nate hadn't noticed him before.

Nate left the school and stopped at the top of the stairs, once the day finally ended. He took in a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what was about to come. Whatever that was.

He stepped down the steps and stopped at the bottom when he saw his uncle leaning against his car. Carter waved at him, but Nate tipped his head down, walking slowly over to the car.

"What are you doing here?" Nate demanded in a low whisper.

"Taking you to your first meeting-"

"Shh!" Nate groaned. "Not so loud. And no one knows I live with my aunt and uncle, so could you cool it?"

Carter frowned, losing his bit of excitement for his nephew. "Get in the car."

The ride was quiet. Not that either of them really expected to say much to the other. It took about an hour and a half before the reached the city this Alateen thing was supposed to take place.

Nate groaned audibly as they pulled into the parking lot. "You've got to be kidding me." He pointed at the church. "Seriously?"

"What's the problem?"

"This better not be a religious thing."

"It's not." Carter sighed. "Look, just try it."

"Just this once?" Nate asked, feeling hopeful.

Carter stared at him. "No. Give it one month."

"Are you serious?"

"You told me I didn't understand you. The people in there," he pointed at the large doors of the church. "They do."

Nate looked at the building. "Fine." He immediately opened the calendar app on his phone. "One month?"

"One month."

He marked it. "There. No backing out."

"If you don't go, I'll have you work in the diner." He only said this in the hopes he would eventually like going. He needed some way to convince him to keep going. If that meant a threat, so be it.

Nate groaned again. "Fine. Great. I'll go." He opened the door and slid out. "Are you waiting here?"

"I'll probably go into town. Why? Did you want me to go in with you?"

Nate made a face. "No. I just don't want to take the bus back." He slammed the door shut, leaving his backpack behind.