Joseph Ellington was a complex boy. Although, to his best friends—who coincidentally, were just like him—he was perfectly normal. He'd shove a theater kid into the plaster of lockers embedded into the walls of Montgomery High School. He'd have an on-and-off relationship with Betty Lee. And he'd ignore Lark Reyes at all costs.

In September, nineteen-fifty-seven, Lark Reyes was outed by a boy who would hold his hand by the pinkie, and applaud his violin efforts. A boy who he considered an almost-boyfriend.

But thank god Andy Philips made it perfectly clear he was just 'a touchy friend'.

Touchy friend my ass, Lark would think, as he passed Andy in the hallway, who at the time had been preoccupied with Madison Short's tongue down his throat. Who did Andy think he was? In all fairness; he wasn't even all that attractive, either. So why was Lark so sad?

Jospeh couldn't afford being seen in the same room as Lark Reyes. If Bobby Reeves were to catch the two even sharing a stare—Joseph was sure that he wouldn't hesitate to ruin his reputation. A reputation he'd perfected after three years of middle school.

But one particular Saturday night, Joseph could himself sitting at a tree stump—his tree stump.

And that was when it all started.