And You Threw a Spark

“Do you understand what you have done?” Mr. Harrison asked, eyeing the problem student seriously. He didn’t want to count the number of times he had found Alec in his office, slouched in the chair, high tops resting on his desk disrespectfully.

“Why, yes, Jeff, I know exactly what I have done,” Alec said smartly. As he expected, the vice-principal just sighed and didn’t comment on the use of his first name.

“Okay then, what have you done?” he asked with exasperation.

“I defended myself against an older male who was clearly harassing me,” again, that matter-of-fact tone. Mr. Harrison didn’t know whether to smile or sigh.

“He was harassing you?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow and leaning back. His folded his hands over his protruding belly.

“Yes, he was harassing me!” Finally, there was a crack in that perfect composure. Alec sat forward, his green eyes ablaze. “Didn’t they inform you of what he was saying to me?”

Mr. Harrison had to respect the professional way he spoke. Usually, he would have to face cuss words and insults; but, not with Alec. He could only remember hearing Alec swear once in his experience with the boy.

“No, I’m afraid they didn’t. How was he harassing you?” he asked patiently.

“He was calling me homophobic slurs,” he said, recovering himself.

Mr. Harrison raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know Alec was…

“I’m not even gay,” Alec hurried to add, noticing Jeff’s questioning gaze.

Mr. Harrison simply nodded and slowly readjusted himself, to sit straighter. “Well, that is another story then; a matter of self-defense. But, answer me this, who threw the first punch?"

Alec's lip twisted and he leaned his head against the plastic chair. "You would too, if he called you those things," he muttered, glaring at the ceiling.

Mr. Harrison's lips finally pulled into the smile he had been suppressing. He had to confess holding a certain fondness for the boy. He had an attitude, disrespected authorities and hardly ever learned from his mistakes. But, there was something about him; something that demanded respect and admiration. He really wished he didn't have to punish Alec. Clearly, Matthew had instigated the fight. But...the senior was in the hospital, with a broken nose. If Alec wasn't punished, Matthew's parents might feel the need to sue the school. They didn't need another law suit at the moment. He sighed.

"Alec...you have severely injured another student," he held up a finger as Alec opened his mouth to object, "even if he was harassing you. You brought it to a physical level, and for that...two day suspension. Please leave the school grounds immediately."

Alec's eyebrows crumbled in an annoyed expression. "Awe, man, my dad's going to be so angry. This isn't fair," he complained.

Mr. Harrison smiled sympathetically. "Tell you what, I will personally go around to your classes and pick up some work, so you don't get behind. I can drop it off tonight. I need to speak with your father anyway, about an upcoming conference we're both attending."

He received the barest hint of a smile from Alec. "Thank you. I would appreciate it. My dad won't be quite so angry then." With that, he dropped his shoes from the desk and stood up. "Thank you for your time, Jeff. I guess I'll be seeing you tonight." Mr. Harrison nodded with an amused smile. Alec nodded in farewell and strutted out his office door. Jeff eyed his skinny jean clad legs and shook his head. What was the world coming to these days?

Alec made sure to slam his locker door, just for the amusement of watching the teacher in the classroom beside it jump. The prissy old woman looked over at him and glared. He grinned childishly and waved. He giggled to himself as he walked down the hall.

It soon turned into a sigh as he pushed through the door and began walking between the parked cars. How was he possibly going to explain this to his dad? He had gone ballistic the last time he had come to the school to pick up his son, only to realize he was already at home; even more so when he came home to find Alec...entertaining Christine. It wasn't his fault she had decided to skip school.

He pushed a stray strand of his brown hair out of his eyes. He huffed in annoyance as a second later it was once again obstructing his view. He decided to leave it. It didn't matter anyway. He put his hand in his jeans pocket casually, wondering if he felt like walking all the way across town to his place of residence. He continued to contemplate it as he lazily placed on foot in front of the other.

Half way down the hill, he decided to see if his dad would drive him home. He highly doubted it, but... it wouldn't hurt to ask. Plus, he wouldn't be able to freak while everybody was there. Excellent idea, Alec told himself. He started thinking of ways to explain himself, to look as innocent and blameless as possible.

Entering his dad’s elementary school, Alec peeked his head into the main office. He smiled at Mrs. Bodkins, who gladly returned it. "Hello, Alec. Well, isn't this a surprise," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi, Mrs. B. I haven't seen you in awhile, thought I would drop in," he said in his best Good Little Church Boy voice.

Her grin turned sly and she wagged a finger at him. "Shouldn't you be in school, mister?"

He grinned innocently. "There was a slight altercation and I was allowed some time to compose myself off of school grounds."

"You got into a fight and were suspended," she said flatly, "I know all of your tricks, you sneaky devil."

He gasped and put a hand to his chest dramatically. "Tricks? Me? No, no, no, ma'am. Not me." He proceeded to grin like the Cheshire cat.

Mrs. Bodkins chuckled, shaking her head at his antics. "Sure, whatever you say, kid. Wanna talk to your daddy?"

He grimaced, "I stopped calling him 'Daddy' when I was 8, Mrs. B. But, yes, I wish to speak to him. Can I just go up?" She smiled and nodded. "Great, thanks. I'll see you later, then." He waved before disappearing into the hall.

He tried to ignore the annoying squeaking noise his shoes made as he walked towards the staircase at the end of the hall. Racing up them, he once again mentally ran through what he would say to his dad. Logan Peterson could be an intimidating man and Alec didn't want to lose his train of thought.

He knocked on the door to Room 27, happy to see that his dad wasn't teaching a lesson. Mr. Peterson looked over at the door, only to narrow his eyes at his son. "Come in," he said gruffly. He was certain this couldn't be good news and sighed. Couldn't Alec just stay out of trouble?

Alec pressed his lips together anxiously before he put on a confident front. He strutted across the room to his father's desk, feeling the eighth graders eyes on him. "Hi, dad!" he said cheerfully. He could hear the whispers, but refused to let it bother him.

"What are you doing here?" Logan asked menacingly.

Alec caught the very edge of his lip between his teeth for a moment, the movement undetectable. "Well...uh...Jeff sent me to say hello," he stalled. He smiled nervously.

"You were suspended. Again. What did you do, Alec?"

He opened his mouth, but could think of nothing to say. Why was it always his fault?

Logan raised his eyebrows. "I'm waiting."

"I was caught fighting," he said quietly.

"Fighting? Geez, Alec!" Logan pressed his lips together sternly, as he remembered they had an audience. "We'll talk about this later."

"He called me gay!" Alec blurted out desperately.

"Later, Alec," was all his dad said.

He huffed in annoyance and anger. "Fine. Can you drive me home?" This wasn't going to way he planned it would. But, he should have known his dad would ruin his plan. He always did.

"No, think about your punishment as you walk. I expect you to be home when I get there," he said, turning back to the papers he had been marking successfully dismissing him.

Alec stared at his father for a moment before turning around and stalking out the door. "Okay, drama over. Get back to work," he heard his dad say, and rolled his eyes. He stormed out of the school.

He wouldn't give his dad the satisfaction of knowing Alec was walking. Logan wasn't his only ride. He pulled out his cell phone and searched for Peter. He would be more than happy to get out of Bio. He opened a new text message, "Get out of class and meet me at your car." He sighed as he started walking the steep hill back to his high school.

~.~.~

Pete slyly slide his phone out of his pocket and opened it as Mr. Farsly droned on and on about something or other. He smirked as he read Alec's text and slide his phone back in his pocket. He raised his hand and cleared his throat loudly. Mr. Farsly turned around and glared at the smirking teen.

"I'm not feeling well," he said, punctuating it with an obviously fake cough. "So, I'm leaving. Just wanted to let you know." He stood, grabbing his binder and casually walking towards the door.

"Hold on just a minute there, young man. You can't just up and leave whenever you feel like it, unno," Mr. Farsly said in annoyance.

Pete's smirk grew more pronounced. "Well, actually, yes, I can. I am officially 18 years of age, sir, therefore, am allowed to sign myself out of school. See ya tomorrow." He waved cheekily before disappearing into the hall. He whistled as he walked to the attendance office.

"Reason for signing out?" the secretary asked without interest.

"Illness," Pete said, again coughing to prove he was sick. She raised her eyebrows in an unimpressed way, but wrote it down.

"Sign here," she said, pointing to the space with the pen. He signed his name hurriedly, already reaching for his keys.

"Thanks a bunch, Mrs. Kelly," he said with a wide smile. She grunted.

He pushed through the doors that led to the student parking lot, only to spot Alec already leaning against the side of his car. As he watched, Alec covered a yawn and moved to sit on the hood. He smiled before walking towards him.

Alec watched disinterestedly as Pete finally started coming his way. "Took you long enough," he said when the older boy was within hearing distance.

"Sorry, Mr. Farsly felt the need to bid me farewell," Pete drawled, stepping right against his car and placing his hands on Alec's outer thighs. "Hey, babe."

"Don't call me that," Alec automatically responded.

Pete smirked. "Yeah, sure. How 'bout a kiss?"

Alec raised an eyebrow, scowling. "No." He pushed Pete's shoulders until he stepped away and slid down off the car. Pete's hands quickly found his hips. "You realize you’re the reason everyone thinks I'm gay, don't you?"

"The reason everyone thinks you're gay is because you're bi," Pete retorted, pressing his body against his friend's.

He was caught off guard by the forceful push that knocked him back a few steps. Alec glared at him fiercely. "No. I'm. Not!"

Pete rolled his eyes, but didn't push it. He walked over to the passenger side door and unlocked it for Alec. "Here." As he brushed past Alec, he used to opportunity to squeeze his ass. He grinned at the annoyed look Alec shot him.

Soon, they were pulling out of the school parking lot and onto the busy road. "So, where are you going?" Pete asked hesitantly.

"I need to get home," Alec mumbled.

Pete eased down on the brake at a stoplight and looked over at Alec questioningly. Noticing it out of the corner of his eye, Alec smirked. An eager grin broke out across Pete's lips. Alec looked over at him and grinned mischievously. Then, he put his elbow on the arm rest, put his chin in his hand and looked out the window innocently.

"Eventually," he added.

Pete giggled. Alec grinned.