Before they piled on the bus for the Semi-Finals, Donald sought Jesse out and dragged him out towards the back of it. He smiled and thrust something at him, pride clear on his face.

The freshman had to stare at the material for a while before he realized it was his Treblemaker jacket, "Oh."

"I got it mended," Donald stated, the memory of the other falling and cutting his arm, "We almost forgot about it."

"Oh yeah," Jesse couldn't manage any mirth so it sounded kind of pathetic, "Thanks."

"Hey, what's wrong?" the beat box tried to keep his tone light, "Don't be getting all nervous on me, man, you'll do fine. More than. You've got the choreography down and you're definitely not going to fall off the stage again. There's a line of lights and everything."

Jesse felt two fingers curl along his jaw to tilt his head up in an all too familiar way. The move, like always, sent affectionate warmth trickling down into his chest. He met dark eyes and he fell in love with Donald all over again, Bumper's actions hurting all over again.

"Unless you plan on taking a crowd dive I don't know about?" Donald jested.

"No," he assured him.

"No smile, Kansas?" Donald started to sound really worried, thumb rubbing over his smooth cheek, "That's a first."

Jesse hurried to put on his jacket, using it as an excuse to ease out of the older boy's grip, "I guess I'm just not feeling it today."

"You'll shake it off, don't worry," Donald let his hand fell to the brunette's shoulder, pulling him closer, "It's just nerves, babe, don't think about it too much. You're going to be amazing."

Donald went in for a kiss but Jesse turned his head away, hand dipping into his pocket and fishing out his phone. He hurried to unlock his screen and get into his pictures, ignoring the confused grunt the beat box gave.

"Jesse?" Donald asked, confused and feeling kind of spurned. Was the other sick? Was he starting to catch something. He put the back of his hand to his forehead, testing for a fever. The freshman swatted it away, he took the hint and stepped back.

Jesse held up his phone, a picture taking up the screen so the other could see it. It was one Bumper had sent him later in the night, where a pale hand was wrapped around an elegant neck and Donald's lush mouth was parted in what looked like a harsh gasp. It would've almost been artist if not for the fact that he knew what they'd been doing before.

Donald feinted like he'd been swung at, tearing his eyes away.

Jesse glanced at the screen before shoving it into his jacket, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Jess, please," he grabbed blindly for the freshman's hand.

Jesse pulled back, "Are you going to tell me it's not what it looks like?"

"I'm not going to lie to you."

"Really?" Donald couldn't believe how poisonous the brunette sounded, "Because it feels like that's all you've been doing. I know what you wanted, I know that maybe I was just a-"

Jesse clenched his eyes shut, he couldn't bring himself to say fuck. He couldn't demean what he felt for Donald like that, he didn't what to bring whatever was left between them down to that level.

"-whatever," he finished stupidly, "But I wanted you to be able to tell me. If you wanted to bump Bumper, I wish you would've told me instead of letting him throw it in my face like that. You have no idea how that felt."

"He shouldn't have sent those to you. He was just trying to hurt you," Donald knew he should've stopped his so-called-friend's camera work when it started years ago, stuff like this always bit him in the ass, "Besides...it only happens when I'm fucked up. When we've been drinking or smoking or something."

Jesse bristled, "Like you did with me?"

Donald rolled his eyes, "I don't have to get high to want to fuck you."

The words sounded awful the moment they left his lips and he wished beyond reason that he could've just gobbled them back up. He'd give anything to keep Jesse's face from crumbling like it did, the implication that he was just another dick to use settling on both of them.

"I...I didn't mean it like that."

"For once, you need to stop talking," Jesse put on a brave face, "Now that you've me feel cheaper than I have in my entire life, you can't possibly have anything else to say to me so I'm going to walk away."

The bus drive was just as noisy as the last time.

Donald's beat boxing was a constant sound up front, a relentless beat pecked out by his lips that was probably doing hell on his vocal chords. His knuckles were white around the steering wheel and he refused to talk to anyone. His eyes never left the road. The only sound he made other than the harsh beat was a steady call out every ten times like a clock tower on the hour.

Despite the drama, they killed their set. They rushed backstage, still supping off the adrenaline that only performing could give. Everyone was happy, everyone but their captain.

Donald tossed his mic off to Benji, the boy managed to catch it, "You guys were great! I mean, that solo – you were awesome."

"Thanks, kid," Donald started to smile but it faded as soon as Jesse rushed past him, disappearing around the corner with a muttered excuse about finding Beca.

"Hey!" Bumper barked from behind him, "What the fuck was that?"

Donald turned around, brow raised at the flushed brunette, "What was what?"

"You took over Unicycle's part," it sounded like an accusation.

"I only did it because I saw him freeze up and I wanted to save face," Donald explained, recalling the rapping bit he'd taken over once he'd seen his friend's blank face.

"Yeah, dude, thanks," Unicycle's smile was grateful, "I forgot my entire part. But I picked up the beat the moment he stopped. What's the problem?"

"I don't remember asking you!" Bumper snapped at the taller boy, "The point is, you threw off me off in front of the crowd."

"Shut the fuck up, man, we killed it," he waved him off.

"Were you trying to sabotage us or something?"

That caught his attention, "Sabotage? I don't know how you keep forgetting this, but this is my group too. I'm not going to apologize for wanting to keep a friend from floundering on stage.

Bumper started crowding in on him, "It wasn't your call to make."

"You'd rather he freeze and ruin the number than have you look bad?"

"Yes," there wasn't a second of hesitation in his answer.

"You are such a selfish shithead!" he pushed the older boy away, temples throbbing as his chest went tight.

"And you have a piss-poor attitude," the words rung sour through the group.

"What?" Donald couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Bumper raised his chin, like he was daring him to deny it, "You've been ignoring the group since the semester started."

"I doubled my credit hours," his explanation was weak with exasperation, "I told you I'd be busy!"

"It's not your school load, it's that kid," he spat the word like venom, "And everybody here knows it."

"We're not doing this here, I'm done," Donald threw his hands up, turning his back on the brunette and counting to ten, "We can do this when we get home but not-"

"I know you've been fucking him."

The words were heavy and solemn, dropping like a anvil in the middle of them all. Benji cowered away, hoping to stay out of the fury that was sure to be unleashed. Most of the Treblemakers looked surprised, though Unicycle and Steven just seemed worried. The beat box turned on his heels, lips pursed tight to keep himself from screaming.

"That doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?" Bumper scoffed, "You're wasting your time on some freshman's tight little ass. You've forgotten what's important."

Someone gasped, a growl ran through the crowd of boys though no one was sure who uttered it.

"That tight little ass happens to let out one of the richest and most malleable voices I've ever head!" Donald snapped like a ill-tightened string, "He's a quick learner, a hard worker, he's friendly and charismatic and charming and stupidly naïve and hundred things you're not! Someone like you can't appreciate someone like him, you're not wired for it."

Donald couldn't seem to shove a cork back on the bottle, "This amazing gift got dropped into our laps but you've been too busy acting all jealous to see it. And because of guys like you, I've been too blind to take it. God damn it, Bumper, you ruin everything and you don't even care."

Bumper gave a short whine like a scolded pup, trying to go in for a hug, "Donny, baby, I care-"

"Stop," Donald demanded hotly, the brunette stumbled back, "Don't call me Donny or baby ever again. I am more than done with you, friend or not, man. You're always pushing and I'm sick of it. You're not worth it anymore."

"Oh, I'm not worth it?"

"You're so toxic," the word felt like it stung his lips, "You put me down and shove me under your thumb, but I'm sick of it."

"Whoa!" he threw his palms up, "I don't do that! I've always said you're amazing and you can do anything."

"Only when I'm being nice to you," Donald could feel his lungs protesting as his anger boiled over, "The moment I say something you don't like you're all, 'Donny-baby, you're so stupid, you don't know what you're saying'."

Bumper's mouth dropped open at the high-pitched voice, "I don't sound anything like that."

"You do it all the time!" his fingers clenched up into claws but he forced himself to relax them before they cramped, "But Jesse's different. He loves my music and my output. Not because it's the best but because I'm the one doing it. I treat him like shit and he still cares about me, for me. You have no idea how rare that is."

Bumper stuttered over a mumbled excuse before he spoke up, "I love you."

"Stop saying that!" the scream tore through his throat and stole most of his breath, "I. Hate. Those words. They're empty. You only say it after you've done something awful, like send out those pictures. News flash, Allen, they aren't magic. They can't fix the fact that you're a fucking dick."

"If that's the way you feel about it, fine," Bumper tisked, glancing off to the side before the ends of his mouth turned up, "No more crawling back, begging for a piece of me."

A sharp little laugh burst out of him, "I'd hardly call it begging."

"It didn't look like charity from my phone's angle," Bumper mimed a frame shot over the darker boy, "Your little boyfriend seemed to believe it just fine."

"I don't know why I'm surprised," Donald's hand laid flat over his chest, trying to hide the new catch of his breath, "I didn't want to believe it but you actually sent those pictures to him."

"And you actually slept with Bumper."

Donald whipped around, groaning in frustration when he saw Jesse standing there all wide-eyed.

"Fuck," he heaved, "Of course you're standing right there."

"So that's how I got second in our last piece?" Jesse looked like he'd taken a bite of a lemon, "You did him a 'favor'."

"You're always right behind me, hearing all my shit and making me feel guilty about stuff I've never given a shit about before," Donald bent over a bit, bracing a hand on his knee as a small wave of dizziness swept up the rest of his words.

"Whoa, that wasn't what I was doing," Jesse defended, though worry crept onto his expressive face, "Are you okay?"

"Greg," he wheezed, "Give me your inhaler."

"Sure," Greg pulled it out of his hidden jacket pocket, "Wait, what? Why?"

A dangerously breathless noise escaped the beat box and everyone went quiet as the small blonde rushed the inhaler over to him, letting him take it. It was shaken once, hard, before Donald took a breath off of it. He had to take another hit before he could stand up straight. He caught Jesse's eyes and the boy looked distressed and seconds from hugging him.

"Don't you look at me like that," he sneered, voice still thready enough to make him worry. He took another pull, the device rattling like it was close to empty. He sucked down the rest greedily, enjoying the relief but the sterile zing over his tongue made him cough.

"Sorry," he gave the inhaler back rather sheepishly, "I'm fine, man, thanks."

Jesse was still staring at him and it unnerved him, "What?"

The freshman seemed to shake off his stupor, "I wouldn't have cared if you slept with Bumper but it feels like we're all in bed together and I never wanted that."

"You have no fucking clue," Donald's laugh was stronger now but still laced with that deep-seeded bitterness that only his supposed best friend brought out, "Do you know why I roll around with this tool box? It's because he's easy. I can't love him. I physically lack the ability to feel anything but exasperation for him. I can fuck him for days and not feel a damn thing and that's why he's so smug. He's nothing to me and for some reason he's proud. He can't hurt me like you can."

"Me?"

"Yes, you!" he absently rubbed at his chest, the pressure slowly abating, "Jesus, it's like getting beaten over the head with a fucking rainbow full of puppies. You're just so nice. It pisses me off every time I think about the crappy way I treat you and the way you keep coming back because you enjoy me, whatever the fuck that means."

Donald looked between the brunette's, heart sinking into his stomach, "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was going to get through this year with my head down, then leave and never look back. The two of you fucked everything up."

He dug his thumb into a rib, the pain far from distracting, "I should've never kissed you. So stupid."

"You kissed him?" Bumper was so quiet he almost didn't hurt him. He sounded...hurt.

Jesse chewed the inside of his lip, unsure what to say.

"I wished I'd never met you," Donald walked up to him, voice like icy, "Everything Bumper couldn't touch, you fucked up. You just kept digging and wriggling yourself deeper until you were in every part of my life. I didn't want you there, I didn't even know I needed you. I could've left Georgia content as fuck but no, you had to sing to me from your parents car and like the same movies and find out things about me that no one in my life has ever bothered to learn and I hate it."

He took an easy, big breath, "Yes, I've been fucking Bumper. Yes, I did some dirty dealing to get you that spot. And I thought if you knew that you'd walk away and I don't know what I would've done with myself if you had."

Donald turned to Bumper, "And yes, I will take over someone's part if they fuck up. Will I apologize for any of that? Fuck no."

His smoldering gaze went back to Jesse, searing the freshman with its intensity, "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you and it's the worst thing to ever happen to both of us."

Jesse's jaw fell open, it gave him a little thrill to have finally shocked him.

"I am more than done with this," Donald shed his jacket, tossing it to Bumper, "Since you're so bound and determined to run this group by yourself, do it. I'm calling a cab and going home. You guys have a safe trip. Peace."

Donald walked out of there as fast as he could, leaving his heart in Jesse's capable hands and his responsibilities on the floor.