Blackmail

[Super Llama*]

May, Sophmore Year

Lyn stepped out of the classroom, pulling her backpack up so that it isn't falling off of her shoulders as much. Her head was filled with thought of the upcoming finals. What were her grades, again? She thought she had a B- in English, but she wasn't sure about the others. Maybe she should go che-

Lyn suddenly stumbled forward as something collided with her, and she looked over to be that that something was actually a someONE, who muttered a quick apology as they hurried off somewhere else. Maybe she shouldn't be thinking about this in the middle of the hallway. It's lunchtime, anyway. She should probably go get something to eat.

Making her way down to the lunchroom, she stopped by a nearby soda machine, realizing that she managed to scrounge up enough change to buy something. Fishing around in her pocket, she produced a handful off quarters and reached out for the coin slot.

When a hand suddenly reached out and blocked the slot, and a look to the right revealed the source.

"Hey." Anthony said.

"...hey." Lyn said. Anthony was a grade ahead of her, so the two rarely interacted at school. Which was just as well; the less Lyn had to interact with him, the better.

"You got money? Fork it over, I want a pop."

"Don't you have money of your own?"

"I lost it. So I want yours." He answered, like it was no big deal. Under normal circumstances, Lyn would be really irritated by this, but to be honest she'd gotten used to things like this. He wasn't going to back down easily. After all, if he did, that would mean he lost to his good-for-nothing cousin, and even a minor blow to his pride like that would not be tolerated.

Still, he'd already gotten in trouble earlier that year for bullying her, so pushing her around right in the lunchroom with lots of witnesses would be a pretty dumb move, even for him. She really wanted a soda, and there wasn't anything Anthony could do at that moment but just block the coin slot like an asshole.

"No thanks, I'd rather keep it."

"That wasn't a request." Anthony said, his face looking more serious than before.

"I know." Lyn said, looking Anthony right in the eye. The stand-off continued for a few more moments, until another student cut in.

"Excuse me, could you move?" The boy said, Anthony looking over at the lower-classman for a moment and reluctantly pulling away while the boy buys his soda and leaves. As he left, Lyn stepped back up to the vending machine, keeping a wary eye on Anthony as she reached for the coin slot again.

"What if people found out found out how much you like carpet." Anthony said. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Lyn froze in place, looking over at Anthony with a look of utter surprise and disbelief.

"How the hell did you-"

Looks like Lyn wasn't the only one who looked surprise.

"...holy crap, you ARE? I was just making shit up!" The look of surprise quickly turned into a smug, shit-eating grin. "Well, that just makes it even better."

Oh no.

"Well, come on. Hand it over, or do you want everyone to know about you being a dyke-"

"Shut up!" She hissed, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. This can't be happening. She can't be getting blackmailed over a buck fifty. It's just too ridiculous.

[Stark*]

Meanwhile, for Charlotte Cave, it was just another Spring day. The school year was winding down, her next match was so far off it wasn't scheduled yet, and her biggest worry right now was whether she should get a haircut. She really did like it long, but it was an absolute bitch to manage, especially considering how much of a mess her choice of hobbies made it at times. Today, though? Today she was rocking it, because today was all about relaxing. The weekend was upon her, just three hours away, and she was already in the mindset for it. Surely, nothing could spoil this day for her, right?

"What if people found out found out how much you like carpet. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

No, of course not.

Charlotte stood there, just around the corner, watching as the conversation unfolded. Ugh, what a dickbag. What the hell's his deal? Is he seriously blackmailing this poor girl for drink money? She took a moment to think. Anthony Burbank was his name, right?

Time to distribute a little karma, she thought.

"Anthony!" she called out, deliberately loud enough to call attention to the both of them. "So good to see you again!" She approached, grabbing his hand and shaking vigorously, a friendly smile stretched across her face. "I just wanted to thank you again for your contributions to the Colehurst GSA, and to remind you that we'll always be here if you need us. Remember," she added with a wink, "it gets better."

[Super Llama*]

"Anthony!"

Both Lyn and Anthony were taken by surprise when a girl walked up who apparently knew Anthony, shaking his hand.

"Wait, who are you?" Anthony blurted out as Charlotte continued. "And what the hell is a GSA-"

The look on Anthony's face changed from confusion to horror so fast that Lyn almost missed it.

"Oh, hell no. I have no idea what you're talking about." Anthony said, backing up. Lyn, however was still confused.

"Uh...what's a GSA?"

"It's nothing!" Anthony said, even though if it was nothing he certainly wouldn't be freaking out like he was. "It's nothing and I don't have anything to do with it." He said, eyeing the girl suspiciously, before realizing that his odd behavior was attracting attention from passersby, and of course came the paranoia that everyone watching was judging.

"You know what? Keep it. I don't want one anymore." He said, backing up a few more steps before turning 180 and flusteredly walking quickly out of the lunchroom.

Lyn just stood and stared. She had no idea what just happened, but whatever it was, it kept Anthony at bay. He'd probably try and find a way to get back later, but for now this felt like a very strange victory.

She found herself a little flustered as well. She couldn't remember the last time (was there even a last time?) somebody helped her out like that. Sure, there was somebody picking up something she dropped on the floor and handing it over to be polite, but this was certainly something different. She didn't really know how to react to something like this, other than the obvious.

"Uh...t-thanks."

[Stark*]

Charlotte smiled at the girl, hoping to get her to react in kind. "There's some things people just gotta do on their own terms. Trust me on that."

She leaned up against the side of the machine, taking the opportunity to size the girl up as she struck up some idle conversation. Gloomy little thing, but Charlotte was always one to see things in terms of potential, and she definitely looked like she'd clean up nicely given the chance. Heck, just a little cheering up would go a long way, she figured.

"Course, bein' seen around me might not be so good for ya if you're that worried about hidin' it, so pretend like you're not interested." Not that she necessarily wanted to encourage her to stay in the closet, of course, but as long as she was comfortable, that was what mattered. "I know it must be hard," she joked, "what with me bein' irresistible and all, but I think you can at least fake it."

[Super Llama*]

Lyn, of course, didn't smile. Smiling wasn't really her thing. But that didn't mean she wasn't grateful. Suddenly, Lyn felt that she had to return the favor. It didn't feel right if someone helped her out like that and she didn't do anything in return.

...wait, was the girl coming onto her?

Lyn's face flushed a shade of red and she found herself fidgeting a little bit. Not really able to think of anything to say, she reached out and finally put the change in the machine.

"Uh...is there any kind that you like?" She finally said, motioning to the machine