Alex heard Coach Matterson blow his whistle, and he felt his heart immediately pick up pace.

Calm, he told himself. He couldn't afford to let his anticipation get the best of him. Getting too excited meant adrenaline, and adrenaline meant the shakes and not enough control, and yes, it did mean more brutal power, but he didn't need brutal power. He needed to keep his cool. These were just school kids, yes, but they were trained school kids and if he didn't keep his wits about him things could go very badly.

He let himself slouch against the wall outside the locker room and he waited patiently, listening.

30 minutes later, the wrestlers started to file out, some still clad in their sweaty gym clothes, but most with water dripping from their hair and clean shirts covering their torsos. They were all laughing loudly and jostling each other as they chattered at high speeds, faces bright and exultant with energy.

One of the most fortunate things that had happened to Brookland Comprehensive was the headmaster, Mr. Bray, finally capitulating to popular student demand and reneging on the dress code. Now kids were allowed to wear whatever they wanted to school and they were all loving it. People came to school decked out in all manner of things, and everyone was looking, for the most part, very stylish.

Alex didn't usually care too much about what he wore or what anyone else wore, but now he was quite thankful for the change, because it made identifying the boys he was looking for a much easier task.

They were three of the last kids to exit the locker room and when his eyes focused in on them, Alex was ready. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped in front of the first boy, who wore a distinctive turquoise bolo tie. Alex had never seen a bolo tie in real life, and certainly not on anyone under the age of 40- particularly not on a 16 year old with a face covered in spots.

"I need to talk to you," Alex said. He nodded at the two boys who were walking close to him, flanking him like a squadron. "And you, and you."

Bolo Tie raised an eyebrow. He was tall and the most muscular out of his friend group. "Yeah? What about?"

"I'd like this to be a private conversation."

The three boys exchanged confused glances.

"I don't want to be late to my first block," One boy said. Alex took careful note that he was wearing a wrist brace.

"You won't be late to your first block," The third boy rolled his eyes. He wore a gold star earring in his right ear. "You're never late to your first block and you spend like 15 minutes every day practically chewing on your girlfriend's face. Come on. I want to hear what he has to say."

His seemed to be the most assertive of the three, because both Bolo Tie and Wrist Brace nodded and seemed to accept the words with agreement.

Alex smiled a tight-lipped smile and the three of them waited patiently for the locker room to clear out.

Coach Matterson was the last one to leave, and the man grinned broadly at his students as he passed them.

"You did good work today Eli!" He said loudly and clapped Wrist Brace on the back. "You make sure you don't strain yourself and you'll be in shape for qualifications in no time!"

"Thanks Coach."

Alex kept his face level and open and nodded back at Matterson when the man gave him a friendly grin. It was unfortunate, being seen with the wrestlers, but there was nothing for it. After practice was the only time he was for sure going to get them all together, alone.

Then Matterson left and it was finally empty, and the three boys wasted no time pulling Alex into the empty locker room. Alex noted that there were weights stacked up in the corners and dirty towels thrown into the hampers near the showers. It looked much the same as it had back when he was on the school's football team.

"So?" Gold Star said impatiently, dragging his attention back to his purpose for coming. "What's this about?"

"Dima Berlioz."

"What?"

"Dima Berlioz," He repeated cooly. "I'm sure you know him. You hurt him every day just before third block."

"The drama kid?" Bolo Tie blurted. "What's he been saying?"

"Nothing that isn't true. Nothing good."

"Look, Rider-" Gold Star said. "It is Rider, right? We're just having a little fun. All of us. We don't hurt Berlioz, whatever he's told you. He's being too damn sensitive."

"You've left bruises on him. I think that does qualify as hurting him." Alex took a steadying breath. "But I'm not here to argue with you about this. I'm here to tell you that from now on, you're going to leave him alone."

They stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?" Gold Star blurted. "Jesus, Rider, what we get up to with Berlioz is none of your business. We're not beating him up or anything, and anyway, it's not your concern what we do!"

"Seriously," Bolo Tie agreed, looking angry. "You need to piss off."

Wrist Brace nodded, his chest puffed out like a penguin's, his face red like a lobster's.

Alex looked at the three of them in silence for a very long moment.

He nodded. "Right."

And then he sucker-punched Gold Star in the face.

Alex slid into his seat in first block just as the late bell rang.

"Cutting it a little close, huh?" James said next to him, brows raised.

"Had some things to take care of this morning."

"Oh?"

He shrugged but didn't answer, and instead sunk down in his seat with a silent exhalation of breath. He was exhausted. He'd had to get up early to corner the wrestlers, and he wasn't really getting much sleep to begin with. Not only that but he really really hurt. Especially his hand. Jesus. He made sure to keep his sleeve tugged over it and kept it hidden under his desk.

James eyed him but seemed to sense that he wasn't in the mood to talk just yet, because he turned away to chat with Rose Lawson while Mrs. White took role.

Alex liked that about James- he knew when he shouldn't push things.

15 minutes into class, everyone was handed a packet of Calculus review questions that they were supposed to have finished before the test on Friday. No one was actually working on the packets, of course, and Alex swallowed his nerves as James finally turned back to him.

James stared at him for a moment, and then said, hesitantly, "So you- uh- you good man?"

"Good?" Alex blinked. That hadn't been the question he was expecting. "Yeah James, I'm- I'm good."

"Good, good."

There was an awkward pause then, filled only with the background chatter and laughter of their classmates.

"And you're also…" He leaned forward and pitched his voice low. "...gay?"

Alex felt his lips twitch. It was nice that James was being so careful to keep the revelation a secret. "It's possible," he answered in a normal tone. "I haven't really thought about it too hard, but yeah, apparently I like boys sometimes."

"Oh." James leaned back, looking somewhat bemused. "And… Tom knows, obviously. And you don't…? You don't care if anyone else does?"

"Not really. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me."

"And it's not," James said quickly, and then winced. "I mean, it is? I absolutely care about your sexuality. I- I mean- that is- I don't care about your sexuality. Except to respect it? Um."

Alex finally allowed himself to slip into a broad grin, which seemed to diffuse the other boy's nerves. "James. Mate. I get it. And I appreciate it."

"Ugh. I told myself I was going to be more, you know, put-together about this."

"I think you're taking it pretty well."

"Thanks. And I- I mean it. It's really not a problem. You're still the same old weirdo I've always known, and who you like isn't going to change anything." He paused uneasily. "Unless- you're going to want to talk about boys now? Like, how me and Abhaya talk about girls?"

"Oh don't worry about that. Tom's already given me a whole-hearted and frankly disturbing offer to do the same."

"Well." James winced. "I'm- really sorry about that?"

"Yeah. Me too."

They grinned at each other.

"So then, what about- you know- Day? You- er- like him then?"

"Ah. Well. Yes. I suppose I do."

"Well I can dig it," James said thoughtfully. "I mean, he's pretty good looking. Even if his dye-job is, like, super fake."

He did not seem to mind gossiping about boys as much as he had made it seem.

"I like his hair," Alex defended, and got an eye-roll in return.

"Well of course you do, you've got a major crush on him. I bet you like his eyebrows too."

"What's wrong with his eyebrows?"

"He clearly plucks them or something. Not manly at all."

"How is plucking your eyebrows not manly? Personal hygiene and care is only for girls now?"

James grinned. "Maybe it is, maybe it is. Would explain why half the boys in our grade smell like they just climbed out of a garbage truck."

"You talk as if you're not including yourself in with them."

"Arse."

"Yuppie."

And then Alex and James grinned at each other and that, really, was that.

After Calculus, they met up with Tom at his locker. When he noticed them approaching Tom's eyes lit and he slammed his locker door shut and whirled to face them.

"Is it true?" He demanded as soon as they were within earshot. "Alex, please tell me you did what I think you did. Please tell me it was you. This reeks of you."

Alex opened his mouth, hesitated. Closed his mouth. "That… That depends."

"What's he talking about?" James muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "Alex, what'd you do?"

"That depends," Alex repeated insistently. "On what exactly you think I did."

"What?"

"Holy hell," Tom breathed, his eyes lighting with glee. "Oh hell it is true. Alex why?"

"What's going on?"

"There were extenuating circumstance," Alex defended. "And anyway, how did you know it was me? Could have been anyone. Could have been an accident. Accidents."

"Seriously guys, what are you talking about, because you're making it sound like Alex killed someone and I don't really want to believe that's true."

"No," Tom snorted while Alex slapped a hand over his face with a low moan. "No murder. Yet. But you direct your gaze subtly to your right and tell me it doesn't look like it came close."

James peered carefully in the direction Tom was indicating and choked on a gasp. "Oh my god, what happened to him, he looks like he got hit by a truck!"

"Not a truck," Tom snickered. "Just Alex."

"Alex?"

"Stop looking at him," Alex grit out. "And keep your voice down please."

"So yeah," said Tom. "I think the only thing either of us is really wondering now is why you beat Len Abrams like he slept with your mother. Oh sorry, wait, that's kind of insensitive. But yeah. I've never seen a blacker eye in my life and that's really saying something."

"Did he steal your lunch money?" James suggested. "He looks like the type of person who'd need three breakfasts just to have enough energy to make it out the front door."

Alex gave him a Look. "He's not a hobbit James, he's a bully, and I didn't want to hurt him, but they left me no choice."

"They?"

"They," Tom confirmed. "Robert S. and Andre Pritchard are looking just about the same."

"You beat up three boys on the wrestling team and came away without a scratch?" James evoked in disbelief, and Alex grimaced.

"Not quite." He reluctantly bared his right hand and James and Tom both stifled gasps.

"Alex what the hell?"

"Jesus! Do you need to go to the nurse?" Tom whipped out and grabbed Alex's wrist and inspected his knuckles. He did so gently, holding his friend's hand with deep care, and Alex swallowed.

"No- I- no, I'm good. Nothing's broken."

"You sure?" James asked. He looked queasy. "That's some- that's some heavy swelling mate."

"No he's right, nothing's broken," Tom confirmed. He released his friend and gave him a soft pat on the back. "I'd suggest still going to the nurse, but I see now you probably wouldn't want that, considering this is all about sending a message and whatnot. Wouldn't want to show any weakness."

"A message?"

Tom nodded thoughtfully, eyeing Alex, who did his best to give him a smile. Judging by Tom's answering grimace, it didn't look the best, so he let it drop from his face. "Alex is a black belt- he knows not to use his fists to punch like that. So I'm guessing he was just trying to prove a point."

"A very painful point," Alex conceded reluctantly.

"So spill. What happened? Give us the details, the deets, the low down. They mess with you?"

"No," He hesitated, then sighed. These were his friends and Tom really would never let it go. "Not… Not me. A friend. They were pushing him around and they really needed to stop. Tried to talk with them but… sometimes talking doesn't work."

"Why punch him though?"

"A power move," Tom broke in. He sounded approving. "You roundhouse kick someone in the face, yeah they're going down, but you punch them like that? A direct shot to the ego, especially if the one doing the punching is like half your size."

James considered. "That's fair. Now look, I need to be getting to Stats, but if you don't text me the full story about this later I'm going to burn your house down. So- adios lads, don't kill anyone before the weekend."

He shot them finger-guns and then disappeared into the crowded hallway.

Tom shook his head after him. "I worry about that boy, I really do. Not as much as I worry about you, of course."

"I'm fine."

"Really?" Tom asked doubtfully and abruptly poked his friend in the ribs- Alex sucked in a pained gasp of shocked breath.

"Yeah you're totally fine."

"Just bruised is all," Alex grit out. "They're wrestlers you know- 's'not like they were incapable of fighting. They landed some pretty solid punches, unfortunately."

Actually Alex felt nearly crippled by the bruises he could feel bleeding into his sides, but he wasn't about to let Tom know that.

"Not on the face, I see."

"Of course not, I have an image to protect."

Tom sighed and gave his friend a look and said, "I expect to hear the full story from you during lunch, you know."

"I know."

Fourth block came quicker than Alex was expecting, but maybe that was because he took a power nap through Physics.

Mrs. Malevowitcz let them get into their groups immediately and Alex reluctantly joined up with Maria, Day, and Martinique.

"So what progress did you make last night?" Martinique asked, sliding open her notebook. "I've compiled two lists: people in my life who fit, and historical characters who fit. Maria?"

Maria grinned at her and presented her own list with a flourish. "Ta-da! Eight couples I know who we could consider using in our project!"

"Awesome. Real people?"

"Yep!"

"Great. Day?"

He pulled a tightly folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. "Five individual people I found from researching world history."

"Hand me that? Thanks. Alex?"

Alex slid her his sheet of paper without a word.

"Hmm." Martinique examined it for a moment. "Okay, have a pretty good mix of people here. Glad none of you are slackers."

"Thanks," Day deadpanned.

After that, they worked heavily until near to the end of class. Alex was thankful for it. His morning had exhausted him and being so close to Day made him very tense. Focusing on his school work gave him something to distract himself with.

But soon they had done all they could that day and, noticing how they were winding down, Martinique shut her binder with a resounding thump.

"Okay. Good work. Nothing more to be done, so time to relax."

"Are you staying today?" Maria grinned.

"Is Tom going to keep at least a 10 meter distance between us?"

"Looks like it," Maria responded eyeing Tom, and they all simultaneously turned to look.

Tom was holding Abhaya's hand tightly in his own two, peering deep into his eyes. He was speaking, low and urgent, and though none of them could hear what was being said, it must have been incredibly riveting, judging by the fascinated look on Abhaya's face.

"What exactly is going on there?" Martinique muttered, looking almost baffled.

"He's learned to read palms," Alex sighed. "Or at least, he says he's learned, but I'm pretty sure he's just making up whatever comes to mind with no regard to anything."

Martinique raised a brow. "Isn't that what palm reading is anyway?"

"Hey there is an actual basis to it you know," Maria objected. "You must know the heartline and the lifeline and- well- that's actually all I know, but a professional palm reader would probably know the rest."

"But I think it's safe to assume Tom- well- isn't a professional?" Day said, his smirk nearly morphing into a grin.

"Not even the slightest," Alex confirmed. "I don't think he's even done a preliminary Google search on this stuff."

Maria smothered her giggles. "What an icon. Truly- what a symbol of inspiration. The way he just- makes things up- honestly, it's truly an innate talent of his, I think."

And indeed- it was. Tom never lied, exactly. In fact, if you asked him a direct question he would, more often than not, give you in return a very direct answer. In the earlier years of his life, this had gifted him with certain troubles in making friends-he was blunt, perhaps too blunt, and sometimes he came off as a little callous- at the very least, somewhat insensitive. But as his parent's relationship had dissolved like sugar in pot of hot tea, Tom had picked up a new skill: obscuring the truth. Without lying, because with lies, you can get tripped up, forget things, make mistakes.

But... blatant, outright bullshit? That didn't need careful detailing, or a long mental list of falsified facts. It just needed the ability to think on your feet and not care what anyone else thought.

Two characteristics Tom had developed in spades.

"Another innate talent of his just so happens to be making me want to end my own life, so can we please stop staring at him?" Martinique said. "Many animals possess some form of gaze detection, you know."

"You're the one who mentioned him in the first place," Day pointed out, and he seemed to have given up on trying to keep the grin off his face. He had very pointy canine teeth, and his teeth were all very white.

"And maybe don't refer to Tom as an animal," Alex added. "I know his sense of humour can be kind of- well, weird- but he's as civilized as the rest of us. Mostly."

"Whatever," Martinique muttered, and Maria took that as her cue to jump in.

"So speaking of uncivilized behaviour- what do you think happened to Len, Robert, and Andre? You have seen them, right?"

Alex caught his breath. He silently cursed Maria and her habits centered around gossip and intelligence gathering.

"Oh God yes," Day shook his head. "It's like they just got back from a war zone. What the hell happened?"

Martinique shrugged and scowled. "I don't know but they've all been even more annoying than usual. Andre dribbled blood on my Statistics homework when I was passing it in. Wow."

"Wow," Maria agreed. "They really are in bad shape. It's super bizarre, but I haven't actually heard anything about what happened. Like, no one knows anything! You think they did this to themselves? Like, they were fighting each other?"

"I mean they're wrestlers, right? Couldn't it have just happened in practice?" Martinique asked doubtfully.

"No," Maria shook her head. "No, all the other wrestlers are losing their minds. Len's still recovering from his sprained wrist and if he get hurt again he's off. Which would really screw the team over because he's one of their best wrestlers. Matters is on the war path."

Alex winced and Day immediately spoke up. "Alex? You know anything?"

He looked up from where he had been intently studying the worn desktop surface in front of him. "Me? No. Just as much as you guys. They were all messed up after my first block. Whatever it was happened before then, I guess." He did his best to make eye contact with Day, keeping his expression carefully controlled.

Day raised a dark brow. "Yeah? You have any ideas?"

"No."

They waited for him to add anything else, but when it became clear that he wasn't going to continue, Martinique huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever happened, I'm sure it served them right. Our school's wrestling team is filled with nothing but hypermasculine assholes."

"They're not all that bad," Maria objected. "I mean, yeah, some of them can be a little hard to get along with, but really, most aren't."

"If you say so," Martinique said doubtfully. "From what I've observed, they're not the best people. They're sexist and racist and disruptive in class-"

"That's just a few of them," Maria said. "Like- well, like Andre, and Robert, and Len, I'll admit that. But Abraham Santos is honestly just the best. And Tyler- you have second period with him Alex- he's the sweetest boy you'll ever meet. Tell her, Alex."

"He's the sweetest," Alex deadpanned dutifully, and Day hid a smirk.

Martinique pursed her lips. "Your argument is kind of undermined by the fact that three of them have apparently been brawling each other in the early morning hours."

"Maybe. We don't actually know what's happened yet." She rubbed her hands together. "I honestly can't wait to find out. I'll let you guys know when I hear."

"Thanks a lot."

Maria arched an eyebrow at Day and he laughed. "No, really, Maria, thanks a lot. I'm curious too. I appreciate being kept in the loop."

"And I don't really care," Martinique broke in. "The bell's about to ring, can we talk a little more about our project before it's too late? Like when and where we're going to meet to wrap everything up?"

"Public library?" Alex suggested.

"We won't be able to practice presenting."

"My house is open," Maria offered. "Although, to be honest, you guys probably don't want to go there. I have a lot of siblings and it's not the biggest house, so it can get kind of- er- chaotic."

Alex just sat in silence. No way was he going to let anyone from school come over to his house. No way. They would have to meet Alil, which would be terrible. Actually awful. They would ask 'Who is that?' or 'Where are your parents?' or maybe in Maria's case, 'What happened to your uncle, Alex, didn't you use to live with him?' because she seemed like the type of person to remember that. And what was he supposed to say?

Yeah, they're all dead. Everyone who has ever loved me has gone and died leaving me alone with no one and nothing except for this extremely bitter ex-soldier who can't even be bothered to buy his own groceries. The bathroom is down the hall on the left.

Just wasn't going to happen.

Martinique raised her brows at him and he raised his back.

"Okay," she said, "My house is also going to be full with guests this week and and next so mine is out too."

"Er- well, I guess, you guys can come over to mine?" Day offered hesitantly. "I have two sisters, but I can have them go over to my aunt's house to give us some space. My mum wouldn't mind."

"Great. Can we tentatively set this for Saturday?"

"Yeah, Saturday works. What time?"

"Four? Five?"

"4:30," Day compromised. "No problem."

"Works for me," Maria said, and Alex nodded.

"I'm available."

"Awesome. It's settled. Though hopefully we can get a lot of this done tomorrow so we don't need to take up your house for too long."

Day waved away her worries. "Don't worry about it, my mom loves it when I have friends over anyway."

Alex had a sudden flash of memory, as his uncle's face came to mind, softening with relief as Alex ushered Tom through the door. Ian had felt the same- always thankful that Alex wasn't alone. That he had friends. Perhaps he had been afraid that Alex didn't have any.

Maybe Day's mother was the same. Although Alex couldn't imagine that anybody could ever doubt Day having friends. He was too- too nice. Too cool.

The bell rang before he could finish his thoughts, and Martinique was, as usual, the first one out the door. Maria gathered her stuff up and wandered over to a group in the corner.

Day smiled at Alex. It was just the two of them. "So you walk home, right?"

"Uh-" Alex twitched a smile back awkwardly. "Yes, I, uh. Walk." Oh god. "And- er- you take the bus?"

"The tube. You must live close by then, if you walk to and from school."

"Not really."

Day waited patiently for him to continue.

"Um. Well. I'm about 30 minutes away. From school. By foot, obviously."

"Obviously," Day agreed, and Alex felt a traitorous blush rise to his cheeks. Oh god. This was terrible. Why were they still sitting? He stood abruptly.

"Well. I'll see you tomorrow then, I guess."

Day stood with him. "Mind if I walk you out?"

"No. I mean, no I don't mind," He corrected quickly. "If- if that's what you want."

"It is. Thanks."

Why was Day thanking him? Nothing was making any sense. Why were they even still talking? He glanced around the room quickly and met Tom's wide eyes.

Tom nodded his head enthusiastically and gave him two huge thumbs up. Nice job! He mouthed. He was practically vibrating in place with the sheer force of his condensed happiness.

Alex wished he could take credit, but he had absolutely no idea why Day was still talking to him, so he shrugged and waved.

I'll text you, Tom mouthed, miming sending a message.

Awesome.

He walked out of the building with Day, glancing at the boy next to him ever so often. Day seemed content to walk in silence until they had both pushed through the doors of the school and emerged into the bright sunlight of the outside world.

Alex took a deep breath of clean fresh air to stabilize himself. He shouldn't be so thrown off by just talking to a boy. He was better than this. Talking was a walk in the park in comparison to some of the things he'd been forced to do in his life and-

He cut off those thoughts abruptly.

No. Not the time.

Day's voice distracted him before he could wander off any further. "So I've got some time to kill and I don't really want to hang around here. Do you mind if I walk with you a bit?"

He caught himself before he could let out the stupid breathy You want to walk with me? that he could feel bubbling up his throat.

"Of course you can," he said instead, firmly. "I'm this way. Like I said, about 30 minutes away. You are welcome to come as far as you want."

"You're a lifesaver mate." Day smiled at him, then, and it was like the sun. Alex had to look away.

"No- No problem." He hitched his backpack up his back more securely and the two of them started down the street, weaving in and out of other students who were hanging out and chatting, laughing at jokes and shoving each other in fun.

"Where do you live?" He asked, because he thought that he should.

"Near Hickory Point. I'm in an apartment close to the old cement factory- you know it?"

"I do actually, yeah. You like it there?"

"Well enough. There's a park pretty close by for my dog, which is cool."

Alex's head whipped up and he stopped walking. "You have a dog?"

Day stopped walking too and beamed down at him.

"A German Shepherd. Her name is Molly. Do you want to see some pictures? She's beautiful, I promise you."

"Please." He knew he probably sounded a little too overeager but. Well. Day also seemed overeager, if the way he whipped his phone out was any indication.

"Okay, so here's my favourite one, this is her on her birthday, my sister made her a cake- dog safe of course- and my mom bought her a hat, and do you see that? She was so happy, it was the best day ever for all of us-"

"Oh my god, she's so cute-"

"And here's my second favourite, we went on a family roadtrip to the mountains and we got her a little harness and she's rock climbing with us, she's so talented-"

"-So talented-" Alex agreed, and Day swiped to the next picture and shoved the phone into Alex's hands.

"And look- this one has Molly and both my sisters, so it's honestly my favourite, even though I do have other favourites. Look, zoom in, Molly looks like she's smiling."

Alex pinched the screen with his fingers and blew up the picture. "Oh my god," He said frankly. "She does look like she's smiling. Your dog is so cute."

He looked up at Day, eyes bright, opening his mouth to ask how old she was- and stopped short. Day was staring, wide-eyed, at the phone in his hands. Or- no- not the phone. Just the hands. Actually just the one.

Alex glanced down. It was- well, it was honestly a pretty horrible sight. Not like the worst thing ever, but… Not good.

The first two knuckles of his right hands were swollen up like they'd been inflated with air, and all of the knuckles looked like they'd been scraped raw, bruises purpling the skin and creeping down toward his wrist. Three of the nails on his hand were also noticeably red from where they had been bleeding at the base.

There was a long period of silence. Alex handed back the phone. There was more silence.

"So," Day asked finally. "What happened to your hand?"

"Just- just an accident. Nothing to worry about."

"Really? So the fact that it looks like someone took a hammer to it is totally alright."

"I- It got shut in a car door. My fault. I should have moved quicker."

Day just looked at him, and he forced himself to stare back levelly. This was none of Day's concern, and he would not be getting him involved. He shook his sleeve back over his hand and carefully hid it down by his side.

"Okay." Day said finally. "Sure. A door. I mean, looks like maybe you smashed someone in the face with your fist, but- a door."

More silence. Alex had nothing to say.

"How's the rest of you? Fine?"

And Alex blinked at him. "I- uh- yes? I'm- I mean, I'm okay. It was... just my hand."

"Sure," Day repeated. "Well. If you say so. I mean, as long as you're okay."

"I do. I am."

There was more silence.

Alex really didn't know what was going on. He waited for Day to ask more questions but- he seemed… to be respecting the answers he was given? Alex just... didn't understand.

He cleared his throat.

"So- are you heading home now, then?"

"Oh- well, I can. I kind of wanted to walk with you a bit more though."

"You do."

"Well, yeah," Day shrugged. "You're- I mean- I like you, Alex. Despite the fact that you are apparently prone to accidents and we actually don't really talk much in general. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I do like talking to you."

"I… like talking to you too. I like your dog."

This was quickly verging back toward terrible. Alex was losing the resolution he had to keep things not-weird, because Day was just being… strange. Day obviously didn't believe his lie about how he'd hurt himself, and Alex was obviously being a freak and had even tried to excuse Day away. Anyone else would have taken that as their cue to go, but… Day was sticking around. He seemed genuinely concerned, but he wasn't pushing it, and he was sticking around.

It didn't make any sense. He couldn't wait to talk to Tom about this.

Day started walking again slowly, glancing to make sure Alex was keeping up.

"Well, um." Alex scrambled for something to say. "Thanks again for letting us use your house as home base on this project? Now I can't wait to see your dog."

It was an absolutely horrible subject change, but Day just smiled.

"You're going to love her," He promised.

Alex didn't doubt it.

When Alex eased the door open and slid inside, he knew immediately that Alil was in a Mood.

"Jesus," he said quietly, and walked cautiously into the kitchen, breathing shallowly through his mouth.

Alil was sitting at the kitchen table, again. That seemed to be the only place Alex ever found him, which- meant something, but Alex didn't know what, exactly. Ava Scott, his first guardian, had made herself right at home, sleeping in Ian's old room, and making herself a little space in the dining room where she did her paperwork every night. Jerred Paul, Monika Borisov, and Cornelio Weick had done much the same, taking over the place like it was their own house.

But Alil? He was at the kitchen table or the couch. There was no in between, nowhere else. He actually slept on the couch. Alex didn't mind, because, well, that's what he wanted, wasn't it? To keep their lives separate?

He did, however, mind the smells.

"Alil. What is that?"

Alil looked up. He'd been doing what looked like a crossword, and it was half finished. He was wearing a crumpled tank top and his eyes were red and Alex knew without a doubt that he'd been crying.

Oh hell.

"Well it was going to be dinner, but I fucked even that up, didn't I?"

Alex looked into the sink. There was a dish of nearly blackened pasta puttanesca lying half soaked in the drain. There were charred pieces of bread stacked on top of that, cold.

"How long have these been sitting here?"

"I don't know. A while."

Alex swallowed a sigh. "Thanks for trying to cook."

He flinched, startled, when Alil shoved his chair back wildly from the table, sending it crashing to the ground. "God you can be a real prick, you know that?" Alil almost snarled, shoulders tensed. "I try to do something nice for you and you just have to throw it back in my face!"

"What? No, I was being serious, you were trying to cook-"

"I'm not a fucking infant, I am capable of cooking."

"Well obviously," Alex bit out before he could stop himself. "You're not that capable, judging by the mess you left in the sink."

Alil froze for a moment before grabbing his pen and hurling it at Alex's face. "Just get the hell out of here!" He shouted. "I do so much for you and you don't even care! I should just stop fucking trying!"

Alex dodged the pen with a small gasp and quickly backed out of the room, eyes wide. It was just a pen, it wouldn't hurt him, but god he wasn't expecting such a reaction from Alil.

He whirled around and stomped up the stairs resolutely ignoring the stifled sobs that he could hear quietly growing from the kitchen.

Alil's problems weren't his problems, and he was not going to deal with them.

He slammed the door and collapsed on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling. He'd just have to get something to eat later, when Alil inevitably collapsed from exhaustion on the couch.

God today had been… today had been full.

He pulled out his phone and shot Tom a text.

You out of practice yet? Things are really weird mate

There was no response, but he didn't expect one. Usually football practice ran for at least two hours, so he had about an hour left to wait.

He picked up a book from his bedside table and started reading to pass the time. He didn't feel like doing homework, not now.

He must have gotten pretty caught up in his book, because before he knew it his phone was buzzing on the bed next to him, and he tossed down his book to pick it up.

TOM: What happened? ? ? ? OMG Alex details! !

TOM: How far did u two walk? ? What did u talk about?

TOM: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Alex breathed out a little laugh. Tom was always so enthusiastic.

ME: He walked with me all the way to Fulten and Somerset

ME: We took like 45 minutes

ME: Walked very slowly

TOM: OMG

TOM: ! !

TOM: And? ?

ME: He showed me pics of his dog

ME: Talked about where he used to live (Birmingham)

ME: Also movies. And just… random stuff

TOM: Like what? ?

TOM: Omg

ME: Like…

ME: If teachers at our school were book characters

ME: Who would they be

TOM: That's so cute

Alex blushed. It had been… nice. Speaking with Day so candidly about things that didn't really matter. It was just fun. He only ever really talked like that with Tom.

TOM: What else? ?

ME: Well…

ME: …

ME: He noticed I was a little banged up from this morning

ME: Asked about it

ME: I lied, of course

TOM: Of course

TOM: Lol

ME: And he didn't believe me

ME: But he let it go

ME: And then he kept talking to me

TOM: …

ME: He said he liked talking to me

TOM: Of course he does

TOM: U are a highly likeable person

TOM: I am so proud of u

TOM: Did you get his #? ?

ME: I'm in a group chat with him for our lit project

TOM: Omg! So are you going to text him?

ME: Why would I do that? ?

TOM: To let him know u had a good time! !

TOM: It will keep u in his thoughts

ME: No.

TOM: No? ? ?

ME: We had a good time. I'm not pushing it.

TOM: :'( :'( :'(

TOM: U should push a little

ME: No

TOM: U suck

TOM: But okay

TOM: Good work for today

TOM: What else is up with u? How is Alil?

Alex hesitated. He bit his lip. He had initially been planning on unloading to Tom about Alil, but… maybe he shouldn't. It wasn't a big deal, and he knew that Tom would only worry. There was no point in that. Nothing had actually happened, and it was so nice hearing Tom so excited (even if maybe he was a little too excited).

ME: He's fine. Still at the kitchen table

No point, he reaffirmed to himself, settling back more comfortably to text with Tom. Things are fine.

They were fine.

AN: Omg so uhhhh I literally have no excuse for not posting this earlier? I am so sorry? I finished this chapter a long time ago and it has just been sitting in my computer, waiting for me to edit it. But now I finally got around to it!

Things have been super intense lately- mostly in good ways, fortunately, but also some bad- but I think now I will be able to develop a better writing schedule. Fingers crossed anyway lol

Anyway, I have already started the next chapter, so hopefully it won't take too long to upload! We'll be seeing more of helpful, mentor-figure Jerry, and you'll get a bit more information on what Alil's deal is. Very excited to keep writing!

Thanks for all the reviews which were REALLY helpful in getting this chapter uploaded, and the start of the next chapter written, omg you have no idea. I am going to try to respond to y'all in these next few days, I just really appreciate all of the feedback so much and I don't think I've been expressing that very well, if at all. Like, seriously, god bless you people.

Oh and also! I was having a really difficult time formatting the text-messages, so sorry if they end up with weird spacing. I'll try to fix that next time!