“Happy Birthday, Sheryl.” Regina said to the little blonde girl who had turned 10 that day. She was trying hard not to feel uncomfortable as she sat there being the only black girl there. She knew, by now, most of the white Titans knew she and Alan were an item, but there were still stares in her direction and she could hear the whispers from the other party goers. She swore she was going to kill Alan for this humiliation. Maybe, she thought, that’s what he wanted to do. Humiliate her. She didn’t want to admit this to him, but a part of her still believed there was malicious intent behind his actions.

“Thank you.” the girl said as she stared at Alan’s hand holding hers. Thankfully, the girl was called over by her mother as Regina later learned.

“Alan, what is this? I’m the only black girl here and I don’t see any of your black teammates here. I want to leave…now.”

“Regina, I didn’t know you were going to be the only…I thought the other guys were coming, too.” Alan said with an apologetic face.

“Let’s just go, okay? I can’t stand being stared at like an animal in the zoo.”

“That’s what you are…” she heard a boy say to her and she just closed her eyes and breathed. She had to stop the urge to hit him. She knew it was going to be difficult because she could already feel her hands balling up into fists.

“You got a problem with my girlfriend, Jacob?” Alan said to the boy as he got in his face.

“Yeah, I do…” Jacob said as he stood toe to toe with Alan.

“Alan, let’s just go…” Regina said as she tugged on his arm.

“Hey!” Coach Yoast said breaking the two boys apart. “Jacob, I think you head home.”

“Fine…” Jacob said before he stormed off making sure he bumped Alan’s shoulder on the way out. Alan was about to chase after him, but Regina stopped him.

Suddenly, the music was changed by Coach Yoast’s ex-wife. It was “Black Magic Woman” by Santana and everyone started dancing and forgot about the fight that was about to happen between Alan and Jacob.

“Are you two okay?” Coast Yoast asked and they nodded. “Try to enjoy the party.” he said as he gave a pat on Alan’s back before he left.

“You didn’t have to get into a fight over me…” Regina said as she rolled her eyes. She felt guilty about accusing him of wanting to humiliate her.

“Yes, I do. I feel bad for bringing you here. If I had known…”

“It’s okay. Let’s try to enjoy the party as much as we can.” she said as she rubbed his shoulder and he winced. “Sorry…I forgot.” she said referring to the bruises his father put there.

“Who is this? It’s sounds kinda weird, but I think I can dig it.”

“I’ve already dug it.” Regina said as she started dancing.

“You like rock?” Alan said in a shocked tone.

“You like soul?” Regina said as she mocked his shocked tone.

“Okay…you got me. Hey, look, Petey and Blue are here.” he said as he pointed to them walking through the door and Regina felt some relief, but it annoyed her that he had to point out that there were other black people at the party to make her feel comfortable.

“You didn’t have to point that out to me, Alan.”

“Don’t get upset with me. I was just showing that there were more…you know. I’m sorry if I upset you…” he trailed off and she felt bad for getting angry.

“It’s okay…Oh, there’s Emma and Gerry…Should we go over there?” Regina asked Alan as she stared at them. Emma wasn’t on the same page as Gerry when it came to accepting the change and, to make things worse, Ray Budds wasn’t Regina’s biggest fan and he was with them.

“Yeah…” Alan said as they walked over to Gerry, Emma, and Ray. As soon as Emma saw Regina walking towards them with Alan holding onto her hand, she regarded them with caution and slight disgust. Ray didn’t even hide his hatred for Regina in his expression.

“Hey, Alan. Regina.” Gerry said with that welcoming smile as addressed them. Something in his eyes told Regina that he would have to apologize for Emma and Ray.

“Hey. Looks like Sheryl’s getting bigger everyday. Where’s Julius?” Alan asked before he could think. Mentioning Julius around Ray and Emma was such a touchy thing since Gerry, himself, chose the team over his friendship with Ray. Even now, you can tell the tension between the two boys was thick, but for the sake of the party they were civil.

“I don’t know…” Gerry said as he looked around the room. “He said he was coming. He probably haven’t made it yet. Rev is somewhere around here. Oh, Regina, this is Emma, my girlfriend. Emma, this is Regina. She’s from New York.”

“Nice to meet you, Emma.” Regina said as she extended her hand and, reluctantly, Emma accepted it. After pulling her hand out of Regina’s grasp, she wiped it on the skirt of her dress and that angered Regina to no end, but she let it go and decided to kill the girl with kindness. “I like your dress. It’s very pretty.” Regina said feeling as if she was forcing herself to be nice to this racist girl. She knew Alan was trying to do a good thing, but it wasn’t going to work. Emma and Regina were never going to be friends.

“Thank you…” Emma said bitterly before Gerry nudged her and she plastered on a fake smile with a hint of a devious look in her eyes. “So, you and Alan are…together?”

“Yes, we are.” Regina said boldly as she squeezed his hand tighter. She was feeling herself lose her patience as Emma stared at them with disgust.

“Oh…” she trailed off before turning to Alan. “What does your dad think, Alan?”

“Emma…” Gerry said in a warning tone. He was visibly embarrassed.

“You have a problem with my girlfriend, Emma?”

“Yes, I do. And so does everyone else at this party, in fact, this town. You think you can just up and date someone like her because the schools are combined and…”

“Emma!” Gerry shouted and a few people looked their way. “Enough.”

“No, Gerry. I told you that night that you had your priorities mixed up. Just seeing you with Julius is, is…I just don’t like it.”

“Emma…that’s my friend…” Gerry said with a hint of hurt in his tone.

“I’m your friend, Gerry!” Ray snapped. “Ever since that black son of a bitch…”

“Excuse you?!” Regina said as she got into Ray’s face and Alan tried to pull her away.

“Oh look, Alan’s little chocolate drop. You fighting your boyfriend’s battles now. Why don’t you just run along and go back to your cage…monkey.”

“You think the pitiful attempt to insult me will make me back down? You have another thing coming, Ray. I’m not afraid of you or anyone else like you…”

“Come on, Regina…” Alan said as they walked away. Gerry looked at them with an apologetic face as they went up to Coach Yoast and Sheryl. “We’re going to head out. Just wanted to give Sheryl a last happy birthday before we left.” he said and saw the look on Coach Yoast’s face. Alan turned his head around and Regina noticed Alan’s face turned pale. She turned her head to see an angry man storming towards them…It was Alan’s dad.