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There was nothing particularly extraordinary about the Hywel family; they were a pleasant couple of people, not too outspoken but certainly not overly shy. It wasn't until December of 1990 that they left Seattle, Washington for an unfamiliar home in a quiet neighbourhood of Everglade, Florida. Throughout their time in Seattle, the two had struggled with the many challenges of starting a family, and eventually, the couple turned to an orphanage for assistance. They adopted a baby boy.
From then on, it was decided that they would raise Adrian as if he had been their own child from the very beginning; he wouldn't be let in on the fact that he had been adopted, and it wasn't something that they ever considered important in any way. Blahblahblah. By the time Adrian reached first grade, he had adjusted to the life one was expected to have at the age of six. It was understood that school wasn't just an optional decision his parents had made for him, and that he'd probably be spending the rest of his childhood cooped up in various classrooms. Given the way Adrian seemed to both enjoy and dislike attending school at the same time, his parents couldn't help but fear that he'd have trouble socializing properly with his peers. Their worrying stopped, of course, when Adrian announced that he'd found his best friend at the end of that same school year. Incidentally, the "best friend" happened to be one of his cousins -- a little girl by the name of Lexi, to be exact. From then on, the two of them were inseparable.
It was a known fact that people changed over time. Human beings developed interests in certain things, and separate people preferred separate subjects -- this was true for Adrian and Lexi, but it didn't stop them from enjoying one another's company. When they had been children, it was common for them to spend hours playing dress-up or hide and watch movies until they both fell asleep. But as they left elementary school behind and approached the new, perhaps exciting world that juniour high (and eventually high school) had to offer, the things they did together were less juvenile. Lexi had always been interested in the typically all-American, girly-girl activities. She took dance lessons, she knew how to present herself to others, she loved shopping and she went to church on the weekends with her family. Adrian wasn't interested in all of these things, but every year that he spent as Lexi's best friend, he had been able to learn exactly what he needed to know to be... well, perfect.
During juniour high, it wasn't a known fact that Adrian was gay. He spent the time -- not in self denial -- but struggling to understand whether or not he was happy with the gender he had been assigned at birth. He felt alone, awkward and ridiculously filthy, to be frank. Near the middle of his 7th grade year he decided to discuss the situation with Lexi in a filtered, dishonest manner. Rather than introducing a confusing mess of gender-confusion to her, he simply began to sob and confessed. But what did he have to admit so guiltily? Homosexuality was often associated with pride, she reminded him. From then on, Adrian developed a knack for lying for his "own good." That, however, may also be a lie.
It was during the start of eighth grade -- his final year to "improve" himself before the start of high school -- that his parents and grandmother began to notice his awkward behaviour. Although "awkward" was, in itself, a very broad and unspecific term, Adrian's quirks and idiosyncrasies were just as difficult to describe. Like any other shy, 13 year-old girl, Adrian had difficulty interacting with other boys his age without blushing furiously or stumbling over his words. He was a mess (though what of, no one was quite sure), and his inability to act "normally" embarrassed the rest of his family. His grandmother's first instinct was to insist that his behaviour was the work of "something more than hormones," but his parents didn't want to accuse him of dabbling with substances. So rather than offend their son, they began investigating his possessions -- digging through his room when he wasn't around to witness it specifically to avoid hurt feelings. They didn't find anything.
His "outlandish" personality only matured as he progressed into high school, but his parents couldn't demand an explanation. So instead, they forgot about it for a while. Perhaps they were worrying too much to begin with; if they relaxed, there was a chance they'd find a noticeable difference in their son the next time they chose to worry about him. It was Adrian's grandmother who refused to give up the twice-monthly snooping ritual, figuring there was something to gain from gathering questionable items in her grandson's room and packing them into a box for later examination. The very moment she discovered a "stash" of pornographic material, she hurried to present it to his parents. They later realised that it wasn't typical porn that Adrian had been hiding in his room, it was gay porn.
Without ever discussing their decision with their son, Adrian was withdrawn from Everglade High School and enrolled in a private school near his grandmother's house. For a period of 18 months, he was sent to live with her. He was kept under close watch, and was given absolutely no opportunities to contact any of the friends he had made during his first year(s) in high school. In her eyes, it was his classmates' fault that he was so strange. If she could keep him away from such freakish nonsense long enough, then perhaps he could be saved. It was more or less his grandmother's way of fighting for total control over the only grandchild her daughter had ever "brought around" for her to enjoy; it was clear she didn't want to end up with one as dysfunctional as she was.
But after a year and a half of near-isolation, Adrian was made to leave his grandmother's house -- rather, his parents began to understand that they had been influenced negatively to make an incorrect choice. And eventually, he was brought home in time to register for his last year at Everglade High School. The only mystery remaining [to his peers, and the majority of the staff] is the reason he left in the first place.
( Storylines. )
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