My Father, My Brother

*Two and a half months later*

A tap on my shoulder made me turn around in my seat. Amber, a typical black haired blue eyed beauty was smiling innocently at me, making me instantly suspicious. I frowned slightly at her, questioningly, and she flashed her pearly whites at me. She leaned forward over her desk and leaned her head on her hand.

"So I heard you have two dads. Is that true?" Her black shaped eyebrows were slightly raised.

"Yeah?"

"So... your dads are like, gay?"

"They broke up a while ago but, yeah they were why?"

"Oh my God! Tegan! Tegan it's totally true! She has two dads!" She turned to her dark haired friend who's jaw dropped as she stared at me.

"That's so gross! Did they have sex and everything!?" They both leaned towards me.

"What!? I don't know I don't keep tabs on my parents sex lives!"

"That's so gross I bet they have AIDS. So are you a lesbian if they're gay? Oh my God don't even try come onto me cause that's just disgusting!" I stood up angrily.

"That's the most narrowminded, shallow thing I've ever heard! My dad's do not have AIDS and no! No I'm not a lesbian! What do my dads sexual preferences have to do with you anyway!?"

"Gay parents make gay kids. So you're obviously a lesbian. Is that why they broke up? Cause one of them has AIDS?" I couldn't help it. It happened automatically. My elbow pulled back and then shot forward as I punched her square in the face. An electric pain shot up my arm but I ignored it as I watched her fall to the ground in shock. Tegan had jumped back as I hit her and was just staring at me in shock, as were the rest of the class I noticed. I heard my own heavy breathing before I felt it. There was a few seconds silence before Amber shrieked.I backed up slowly, unable to speak to apologize. Our teacher got her voice back before I did. I hadn't even noticed her come in.

"Ellie May Kendall! Get to the principles office right now!" She ran to help Amber as I grabbed my bag and practically ran out of the room. I didn't slow until I'd ran down the three flights of stairs and two corridors until I reached the corridor the principles office was on. I checked my burning knuckles as I walked. They were red and slightly grazed. I slumped down in one of the three chairs that were outside his door and sighed, rubbing my eyes with the balls of my palms. I kicked my bag under the chair and slumped back. I picked at the grazes on my knuckles angrily, cursing under my breath.

"Ellie Kendall?" The principle called from his office. I dragged myself up and into the room, dragging my bag behind me. He offered me a seat which I dropped into sulkily.

"So... Your geography teacher tells me you've been fighting in class. Do you think this is acceptable?"

"Yes I do. It was provoked."

"Oh really? What could Amber possibly have done to provoke you enough to break her nose!?" I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face.

"I broke her nose?"

"Well it hasn't been x-rayed but it looks that way. You think this is funny Ellie? I should suspend you for this!"

"Then do it. I'm not sorry for what I did. She deserved it!" He leaned forward on his desk and looked me right in the eye.

"What did she do Ellie?"

"They were saying my dads have AIDS cause they're gay and then said I was a lesbian just cause I have two dads! I don't care what they said about me, but nobody says stuff like that about my parents." He sighed and looked at me again.

"I'm going to call your dad and get him to pick you up. I'm suspending you for two weeks and Amber will be suspended for one."

"Why does she get less of a punishment than me!?"

"She didn't resort to violence."

"Oh no, she just resorted to insulting my family!"

"Go wait outside for your dad to pick you up. I'll write him a note and we'll see you back here in two weeks." I stood up and kicked the chair over.

"This is bullshit!" I slammed his office door and leaned against the wall, kicking it defiantly. I sulked in the hallway until Gerard turned up exactly thirty six minutes later. (I'd counted along with the clock.) He didn't even look at me as he walked past and into the principles office with him. I couldn't hear what they were saying. I continued to sulk for another twelve minutes until Gerard came out, looking pale and stony faced. I noticed the pink note in his hand which I'm sure was the principles explaination of why I was suspended. He nodded for me to follow him out to the car after he shook hands with my executioner. I didn't look at him as I followed Gerard out silently, still dragging my bag along the floor until Gerard picked it up and slung it over my shoulder, still not speaking. I sighed as I slid into the car in the passenger seat, looking out of the window while Gerard started the ignition. He didn't drive though.

"So what really happened?" He finally asked, leaning against the window.

"What did he tell you?"

"That you broke a girls nose for simply taunting you with a few snide remarks. I tried to get what was said out of him but he wouldn't tell me. He was too busy writing down the details of your suspension and telling me how they don't accept violence in the school. So c'mon, fill me in so I don't have to ground you." He smiled his lop sided smile at me and I sighed.

"Well Amber asked me if it was true that I have two dads, and when I said it was she said it was gross and started saying that you guys broke up cause one of you has AIDS and that I must be a lesbian cause I have two dads and she was just been a general bitch and I lost control and hit her. I didn't plan to, it just happened. Like I had no control over my own arm."

"She said all that about us?" I nodded sadly and looked away feeling guilty.

"It's not that she said I was a lesbian, it was that she went below the belt insulting you and Frank and I just wasn't having it."

"Yanno... I'm proud of you. Although you could have settled it a little better, I'm so proud of you for standing up for yourself, and us." He leaned over and hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry for getting suspended though Gee."

"Don't worry kiddo, more time for us to hang out and do stuff with Lindsey and Bandit. Think of it as a two week vacation." I grinned at him as he finally drove us home.

"Well hello trouble maker." Lindsey greeted as I slung my bag on the kitchen table. I grinned at her and Gerard explained what had happened.

"Well well. Good for you kid! Take no shit." She laughed and I took Bandit from her, giving her a kiss and a cuddle. I held her out and looked at her little black baby jeans and mini Sex Pistols T shirt. She was a mini Lindsey.

"You look adorable little Lady B." I smiled and kissed her tiny nose. She babbled and laughed, something she'd only recently learned to do, as I held her in the air.

"You'll make her sick doing that!" Lindsey laughed, making herself a drink now that I'd freed her arms.

"Nonsence, she loves it don't you little legs." I sat her on my hip and danced around the kitchen with her.

"So do you fancy a trip to Jersey?" Gerard said over a cup of coffee. I spun around and blinked at him.

"You mean New Jersey?" He smiled and nodded.

"Well you're not in school for two weeks, Donna and Donald said we could visit anytime. Why not take a couple of weeks out and go for a week or so? You can stay with Frank and Jamia and see Kayleigh and Kieran. Nothing holding us here at the moment." I grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

"Ow! Bandit! Yeah when can we go!?" Bandit had pulled my hair.

"Well we can go this Friday if you want, stay through till next friday then you're back at school Monday." I nodded again, still grinning and bouncing around excitedly. Bandit's babbling was shaky as she bounced with me on my hip.

"Now if you're done shaking my daughter and making her sick..." Gerard laughed before he lifted her and took her off me. I continued to bounce. I should punch people in the face more often.

*Time Elapse*

"So, let me get this straight, you took drugs, and nearly killed yourself during your comedown?" Kayleigh almost yelled, picking at the grass she was sitting on while she examined the six deep, messy scars on my arm.

"I didn't know what it was though. The guy Scott told me it was a vitamin. Bandit's crying had kept me awake so long that I was willing to believe anything as long as it would wake me up."

"Till you almost died! Imagine if Gerard or Lindsey hadn't have been home Ellie... we could have lost you." She sounded so lost as she said it that even I got a little upset.

"Yeah that could have totally been the case Ellie. Although it is also the worst case scenario. Did the guy even apologize?" Kieran piped up after listening carefully. He touched the scars delicately, examining them one by one.

"No he didn't."

"You could take him to court for that."

"He gave me a pack of them. I hid them in my underwear drawer."

"Did you take them!?"

"No of course I didn't! I daren't get rid of them though cause the bag has my fingerprints and if they're found they could be traced back to me."

"Be careful with those." Kizz looked at me worriedly.

"Well I don't intend on taking them." I laughed, stroking my scarred arm absently.

I leaned back against a tree, looking around the park we were in. It was one of the cleaner parks in New Jersey. Gerard and Lindsey were in the playground playing with Bandit. i watched Gerard go down a slide with Bandit on his lap. Lindsey was at the bottom smiling and waving at her. Donna and Donald were sitting on a bench nearby them, watching and laughing. There were a group of teenage boys on the nearby field playing soccor.

"So have you seen Frank yet?" Kayleigh asked, midway through making a daisy chain.

"Not yet. We only got here last night. I'm gonna go spend Monday and Tuesday night with him and Jamia."

"Oh my god I can't believe you broke a girls nose by the way. You go girl." Kizz smiled to himself, and I knew he was silently cheering for me.

"Well she did ask for it." They both nodded in agreement as we all lay down in the grass, soaking up the summer sun. I turned my head to look at them both, and thought about how much I missed them while I was in L.A. Sighing, I closed my eyes and let myself join them properly in sunbathing.