Daphne was pacing in an alley near Babylon. Brian had to spend a couple minutes looking for her because she was pretty effectively hidden by a dumpster. So deep in thought was she that she didn't notice him until he was right next to her. Brian tapped her on the shoulder, startling her. She jumped a foot. She shoved Brian. "Brian! You shouldn't sneak up on people." But she didn't laugh afterward.

Brian could read between the lines. "What's wrong?"

Daphne looked like she was going to burst into tears. "He wouldn't tell me what the audio was for. He said he'd show me tomorrow 'when it was done' whatever that means. He DID say that somehow he got Justin to ask you to go to couples counseling but that that seemed to backfire because you weren't angry at him for suggesting it. I asked him if he was at Babylon when Justin had his attack, hoping he'd confirm his involvement. I said that I arrived after that and was worried. I asked what he saw. He described what happened but admitted nothing. I don't think he's going to admit to anything he's done directly to Justin."

Brian sighed. "He may be delusional but he's not stupid. Did he say how he convinced Justin to ask about counseling?"

Daphne smiled and rubbed her hands together. "No, but I think I did manage to plant a seed that might help us prevent further badness."

Brian was nervous. Going off-book could be disastrous. "How?"

"I told him that everyone at Babylon was gossiping about the counseling and that that embarrassed you."

If only she knew how spot on she was. "You're hoping that if he thinks that's causing sufficient problems he won't do whatever he plans to do with the sex footage?"

Daphne gasped. "He has some?"

Brian shrugged. "I assume so. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have asked for it? Audio by itself isn't that helpful."

"Now I am. I mean, I thought it might stop him from hurting Justin more than he already has. At least until our counterstrike is ready. How are we coming on that?"

Brian shook his head. "I haven't seen Ted yet."

That's when Justin, Rob, and Emmett appeared behind Brian. Justin tapped Brian on the shoulder. Brian jumped, but not a foot, and cursed, "Fuck, Justin!"

Daphne laughed. "See! Not so fun when it happens to you."

Brian shot her his wilt-flowers look. His mood shifted when Justin whispered urgently, "We need to get out of here. NOW."

Fear evident in his voice, Brian asked, "Why? What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"No, no. I'm fine. But he can't see us together. Quickly to Daph's car."

Emmett and Rob had followed them out but not into the alley. Emmett was massaging Rob's hand and watching the entrance to Babylon nervously, watching for Ethan.

Justin whispered to him. "All clear?"

Emmett nodded but didn't look back. Brian, Justin, and Daphne ran to the car and got in quickly. Brian and Justin had climbed into the back. Justin said, "We should keep our heads down. Just in case."

Brian chuckled. "This is getting crazy."

"Just wait. You'll understand soon enough."

A minute later Rob and Emmett arrived. They sat up front with Daphne, Rob closest to the door. Emmett had his arm around Rob. Rob was trying very hard to not panic, and Emmett's proximity was helping, but he still found it prudent to close his eyes and think about his new project. He and Emmett had spent the night before a lot like their first night, painting each other's bodies and taking pictures, but this time from all different angles and distances, and they had each painted each other twice. He was thinking of creating a photographic mosaic, maybe even by Monday when he needed to submit the assignment for Prof. Stephenson. He was using tiny images of Emmett and himself to form a larger image. He'd already started, but he wasn't sure what the larger image should be.

He could make one of Emmett's naked body – Emmett had already given permission – but he wasn't sure. Maybe he should do a landscape … perhaps of the sunrise the morning after their first time. Or … if Rob could summon the courage, one of them holding each other kissing as the sun rose that same morning – even creating the sunrise, like a nimbus around them. He could call it Iris – the name of the Greek Goddess of the sky and sea, the messenger of the Gods. Represented by a rainbow, she connected humans to the heavens. The iris was also the part of the eye responsible for the amount of light entering and thus how much we see. The word's link to connection, seeing, and transcendence appealed to Rob. He was so relaxed and so absorbed in his reverie that he didn't hear Emmett say, "We're here, sweetie" until the third time.

"What?"

"We're here."

"Oh." Rob colored and exited Daphne's car. Emmett and Rob held hands and trailed behind the others. They even waited for Brian, Justin, and Daphne to get upstairs before calling the elevator back down and then riding up just the two of them. And once inside, they stayed close to the door, fifteen or twenty feet away from everyone else. Rob held Emmett's hand like it was a lifeline.

Brian was quickly losing patience. "Okay, we successfully snuck away like thieves in the night. Or me in the night." He laughed. Justin looked at Brian coldly. Brian kissed Justin on the cheek and corrected himself, "I mean, you know, before." Justin sighed but then smiled. Brian asked, "Could someone tell me what the fuck is going on?"

Rob squeezed Emmett's hand harder. Emmett said, "Could you forgo growling for a bit?" Emmett sounded scared.

Brian looked over at Rob. His odd behavior had not been lost on Brian. He didn't know what Rob's deal was, but after Justin's bout he could recognize social anxiety pretty easily. So he plastered a fake smile on his face and said sweetly, "Yes, Emmy Lou. I can play nice."

Emmett cleared his throat. "Uh … thanks." He relaxed visibly.

Brian asked again, this time more kindly, "Justin, what's happening?"

Justin took a deep breath. Then he replied a bit breathlessly, "Ethan's been cyberstalking me."

Brian closed his eyes for a moment. He had to not freak out (or at least hide the fact that he was). "How?"

"He set up fake Facebook and twitter accounts for Rob. Oh that's Rob." He nodded Rob's way. "He's a classmate. Then he messaged me as though he was Rob."

The light went on. "That's how he got you to suggest couples counseling?"

Justin nodded. Then he shot Brian a confused look. "How did you know?"

"I didn't. Ethan told Daphne that he had but not how."

"Oh."

"He also refused to show Daphne the 'media project' for lack of a better term until it's done."

Emmett's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Brian sighed. Emmett was a notorious gossip. Still he'd never intentionally hurt Justin. "We think Ethan has video of Justin and me …"

Emmett's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Having sex?"

Brian nodded.

"Oh God! What's he going to do with it?"

Brian shrugged.

Daphne interjected, "I had an idea. I got Ethan thinking that just going to counseling was embarrassing Brian."

Justin glanced over at Brian. It happened quickly, but Justin saw it, a flash of fear in Brian's eyes. Yes, he was embarrassed.

Daphne continued, "Now that you know Ethan made the Facebook account, couldn't you plant more seeds?"

Justin asked, "To what end?"

Daphne's voice increased in intensity and exciting as she explained. "Well, if he thinks you and Brian are falling apart on your own, he might put his other schemes on hold. Give me more time to find out more about the video and maybe steal it or delete it."

Brian nodded. "Solid plan."

Justin went to the bedroom to grab his laptop. Daphne had been stewing for a while, really ever since she'd started pacing outside of Babylon. So out of the blue (from everyone else's perspective) but nowhere out of the blue for her, she almost shouted she burst out with this so quickly and with such anxiety, "Maybe you should break up."

Justin froze. "What?"

Daphne sounded terrified. "Ethan's suffering some kind of mental break. You should hear the way he talks. I'm worried. If he releases a sex tape, they could kick you out of school. It could follow you throughout your career … Hell, it could hurt Brian, too. You guys started before you were 18. Who knows when he'll say it's from?"

Justin's eyes were wide, his mouth gaping. "Daphne, I'm NOT breaking up with Brian. NO WAY."

"I just meant pretend to break up."

Brian said nothing. His eyes had lost focus.

Justin looked over at Brian. Justin had been pretty freaked out all night, but now he started to panic. "Brian! NO!"

Brian's face was a mask. He said simply, "She's right."

Justin shook his head. "NO! Look, all this started because everyone thought they knew what was best for me, and it ENDS NOW. Long before Ethan ever showed up, people were telling Brian to shake me off for my own good … telling me Brian didn't love me, couldn't love me, would never want to be my boyfriend, could never offer me anything but sex and heartache. And … you know what? We were both stupid enough to start listening. Ethan might never have happened if we hadn't acted like scared little faggots. Now ETHAN think he knows what's best for me. And we played right into his hands. All the shit he did, the phone calls, the visits to the diner, we let it scare us. We actually broke up, FOR REAL, because of him. I packed a bag and nearly walked out of here. No more. I'm not scared. Let him try to drug me again. Let him release a sex tape. Let him fucking come. I'm done folding."

Daphne spoke more softly. In a more soothing tone. "Maybe you could just pretend to FIGHT … that's not so bad, right? Your first counseling session is tomorrow, right? So you and Brian could just pretend something happened there … fight at the diner or Babylon … and then go home and message with fake Rob. Tell him Brian's off tricking and you're alone."

Brian's eyes were intense. He'd appeared to be staring off into space, but he'd really been thinking. He nodded. "Yes. That's exactly what we'll do. Ted should be bringing the web cam and any footage he already got over tonight. We'll wire the loft for video and sound. Ethan won't be able to resist coming over to comfort you. You get him to admit as much as you can. At the very least, I'm guessing he'll do and say a lot to embarrass himself. At the very best, we can blackmail him into just going away. If we get him on tape admitting to drugging you and cyberstalking you, we got him. If PIFA administrators see that they'd have to kick him out."

Justin approached Brian. He said softly, "Brian, if we fake fight, we could hurt each other, FOR REAL. I don't want to risk that. After everything we've been through, we're finally getting to a good place. Do you really want to tempt fate?"

Brian sighed. He also dropped his voice. "No. But I don't see any other way to get him to leave you alone. And I NEED him to leave you alone. Not just to keep you safe. Although that's my main concern. How can we move past this if it's still happening? Look, we can figure out what we'll say in advance. Take the sting out. And I'll be right here with you when Ethan comes."

Justin laughed. "You're willing to crouch in a dark bathroom."

Brian moved his head side to side as though hemming and hawing but then nodded. "Yeah."

Justin laughed bitterly. "Why do I always fool around with nutbags? Chris … Ethan …"

Brian smirked. "Me?"

Justin laughed. "Come to think of it …"

Brian nodded. "You WILL pay for that, Sunshine."

Justin giggled. "You already fulfilled my wildest fantasy." Then in a whisper, "You can't unfuck yourself." He pointed to his head. In a whisper, he continued, "That's burned into my brain. I'll be 80 and still have a very clear picture of your slutty writhing …" He giggled again.

Brian laughed and nodded. "Oh yeah, you're getting it. When you least expect it … perfect vengeance."

Justin shrugged and walked away. "I'm not afraid."

For the moment, Brian contented himself with tackling him (onto the couch) and tickling him until his entire body turned pink and he couldn't breathe. Daphne actually had to rescue the laptop – Justin was bucking and wiggling dangerously. Brian felt a little better after that. He desisted and let Justin sit up. Justin had to wipe the tears out of his eyes before he could see well enough to type.

Throughout all this Emmett and Rob were snuggling standing up – hence Emmett's bright smile – but Rob was also thinking. Everything he had heard made him very sad for Justin. Actually, he was starting to understand Justin's art better from what he was learning about his life. He really wanted to help Justin. And he was a little jealous and sad. Ethan had done what he had not been able to do. Found a way for a version of him to connect with the outside world (connect more directly than through art), Justin thought meaningfully. He wished it had been him. He was going to make it true. The first step was helping Justin get rid of Ethan. Friends helped each other. So Rob surprised everyone then. He said, "Justin. Can I borrow all the media stuff you have on Ethan?"

Justin just gaped at Rob for a moment. Then he said, "Sure but why?"

"You're trying to embarrass him?"

Justin nodded.

"I'm … uh … not quite the luddite you think. At least I didn't used to be. Before …" he just kind of left that hanging, but Justin could read between the lines (before whatever trauma caused the social anxiety). "I was president of the A-V club. I'm … um … really good with editing …"

Justin smiled a million-watt smile. "I would be grateful for anything you could do. Do you want to see the profile he made? It has a nice picture of you and your latest canvas."

"Not … my latest. Not anymore."

"Oh." Justin's eyes brightened. "I can't wait to see what you've been working on."

Rob didn't say anything. But he did walk behind the couch to look at the picture (Emmett was of course still attached to him – by the hand now).

"Rob, you look so handsome. Ethan may be scum but he takes a good picture."

Rob didn't realize Emmett was making a joke. He responded seriously (in explanation). "Photography I and II are required classes."

Everybody laughed. Not Rob. He didn't get his own joke. Emmett wrapped his arms around Rob and kissed his neck. That made Rob smile.