Jenos had already been crying when they arrived back at the house. Meanwhile, Buck couldn't seem to calm down from his angered state. He never liked Lian very much, but he couldn't understand why she would be so cruel. They were supposed to be friends. Buck tried to ignore his feelings of betrayal as he attempted to comfort Jenos. His mother quickly realized that she couldn't do much to help with the issue besides wash his egg-soaked clothes, so she left him to it. The two slowly walked upstairs, then back into Jenos' room. As soon as Buck closed the door behind them, Jenos collapsed onto the floor and broke down. Buck frowned as he searched the room for some clean clothes and handed them to Jenos. He promptly wiped his face and headed to the bathroom to clean up, leaving Buck alone in the dark room. I think that made him snap, he thought to himself. The once so gentle, so calm Jenos was now sobbing uncontrollably. Buck knew this was partially his fault, and he could not feel any guiltier. He sighed as the cries echoed in his mind.

After a while, Jenos returned from showering, wearing a long sleeve shirt and pajama pants, free of egg yolks. Buck smiled at him, but got a blank stare in return. His eyes were still puffy, his face red even after the shower. "Y-you can go now," Jenos stammered. There was a pause. "Can I borrow some clothes, if they fit?" Buck asked awkwardly. Jenos disappeared into his closet and returned with a loose fitting robe. "Hand me your clothes and I'll have my mom wash them," he answered. Buck nodded, and headed to the bathroom to change.

Buck returned to Jenos' room after a refreshing shower. This robe is awful comfy, he thought. Jenos was lying on his bed, staring at the stars. He never liked to turn on his lights at night, unless he needed to study. When he realized Buck had returned, he patted the spot next to him, prompting him to sit down. Buck sat on the edge of the bed and faced Jenos. His face was still slightly red, but his eyes were no longer wet with tears. He stared blankly into the cosmos.

Suddenly, he pointed at a constellation.

"That looks like a lotus flower, doesn't it?" he suggested. Buck followed his finger and spotted the formation.

"It does, how weird," he responded. He shifted his weight to sit next to Jenos.

"D-do you want me to stay for the night?" Buck asked nervously. Jenos faced him and paused, "Only if you want to." Buck nodded. He didn't know whether he wanted to stay. Of course he wanted to support Jenos, but at the same time, he felt that staying could make him feel more guilty.

"Well, didn't you want to study?" Jenos perked up, "I forgot about that." The slim man suddenly sat up and looked at Buck with a panicked expression. "It's already late, I can't study… I'm going to fail the exam." Buck plopped his hands on his shoulders. "Jenos, calm down. You can study now, it's not that late. I'll leave so you can focus, alright?" he stated. Jenos started to breathe normally again. "B-but I wanted you to stay," Jenos stuttered. Buck felt his face turn warm and he released his hands from the boy. "Hey, it'll be alright. I can visit you tomorrow afterschool. It's not like I'm going to hang out with my other friends anymore," he said. Jenos looked up and asked, "Why not?" Buck smirked, then answered, "Why would I? They're your enemies, so they're mine now too." Jenos looked down at his hands, trying to hide his smile, but Buck could see through it. He smiled as well. Buck now noticed how the room was illuminated by the starlight, and how it shone off of his friend's silvery-blue hair. It highlighted his long locks that cast an eerie shadow over his face. When Jenos looked back up at him, the moonlight hit his eyes in a way that made them look like their own stars, drops of light in a dark night sky…

It was this same night sky that Buck later laid in bed and stared at. He could not sleep at all after what happened that night. The whole walk home in the dark, he was paranoid that they were still following him, ready to attack again. He rushed home and quickly changed into his pajamas. He was exhausted, yet restless. Who am I going to spend time with now, Jenos? I don't have any other close friends outside of Lian, Skye, Fernando, and Khan, but they all worship that vile woman. What's so special about her anyways? Why does Skye put up with her teasing and mean attitude towards her? Why is Khan constantly glued to her? Why does a friendly guy like Fernando hover around such an asshole? He couldn't find the answers and the questions continued to disturb his mind. Eventually, he drifted into an uneasy sleep, unsure of what was to come.

/

Art class with Inara was a free period. Even if you tried to cause trouble, she wouldn't do anything. She was supportive and open-minded, and didn't like to punish her students. More people should be like her, Buck thought to himself, as he tuned out of her lesson about painting. He was sure nobody was paying attention. His eyes roamed over to Lian, Skye, Fernando, and Khan, who all sat in the back together. They were playing a card game, laughing and poking fun at each other occasionally. Buck sighed and turned to the front of the classroom, tuning back into Inara's lesson. She started, "So, for the midterm for this unit-" The students all gasped. A midterm? In art class? No way. Everyone suddenly paid attention. Inara continued, "We will be doing a group project. Each group will be assigned four seasons, one for each member, and each person will make a painting related to their season. Then, they will be graded together for consistent thematic expression. This isn't about who can draw the best, it's about who can express the year as a whole." Everyone frantically looked for a group. Inara frowned, realizing the class was too preoccupied to listen to her now. Buck roamed around the classroom looking for a group. Khan, Lian, Fernando, and Skye had already formed their own group. Not like I wanted to be around them anyways. Almost the whole class was in groups. He searched for anyone who would accept him.

"Hey, dude, you should join our group," a black-haired boy suggested to him.

Buck turned around, seeing who had realized that he was alone. He had green eyes, and wore a white jacket with red sweatpants.

"Uh, who would that happen to be?" Buck asked in an awkward tone.

"Me, Cassie, and Ying," he answered. Buck didn't know who Ying was, but Cassie rang a bell. Fernando's girlfriend… I've heard she's really nice, he thought to himself. "Sure, why not?" Buck answered, as he sat down with the boy at their table.

"Oh! Buck, how cool that you're in our group!" beamed Cassie, who wore a green sweater and a long braid of reddish hair. Buck nodded back. A small black-haired girl looked up from her desk. "Nice to meet you, Buck, I'm Ying," she said, quietly. She wore a light blue off-the-shoulder top with some jewelry. The boy who had taken him in spoke up, "I'm Sha Lin, but they call me Linda. Happy that you joined us today." Cassie giggled at his comment. Buck was surprised by their hospitality. His old friends were never this nice, even when they first met.

They continued to chat, eventually planning their project together. Cassie called dibs on Autumn, Sha Lin grabbed Summer, and Ying took Spring, leaving Buck with Winter, the hardest one in his opinion. He hated the Winter. It was always so cold and dreary. While the others continued to chat, Buck headed to the bathroom out of sheer boredom. He roamed around the school aimlessly, whistling a tune to himself as he stumbled around. Suddenly, a coughing noise caught his attention. He heard someone around the corner of a building tucked away in the school. He decided to round the corner, only to discover a student smoking. He and the white-haired boy stared at each other for a couple of awkward moments.

"Uh, hello?" the other greeted.

"Hi."

"What are you doing out here during class?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, dude," Buck responded.

"Well I'm out having a smoke, not frolicking like you seem to be," the boy responded in a sarcastic tone. That warranted a chuckle from Buck.

"What's your name anyways?"

"I'm Koga, and you are…?"

"Buck."

Koga took a drag from his cigarette. He looked Buck in the eye. "I've heard things about you," he said. Buck gulped. The scar on the lower part of his face combined with his piercing silver eyes instilled a sense of fear in him. The significantly shorter man wore a green shirt with a dark grey leather jacket over it and ripped black jeans. Buck couldn't tell if this kid was a real threat or was all pretend.

"Like what?" Buck asked. Koga paused. "Well, I know you hang out with Lian and them, and that you're on the football team, but that's about it," he answered. Buck still couldn't tell if the boy was messing with him or hiding something.

"Just about everyone knows that," he answered matter-of-factly.

Koga smirked, then said, "Yeah, you're a popular kid at this hellhole. But you still hang out with that weirdo girl Jennie." Buck frowned as he realized he was talking about Jenos.

"His name is Jenos," he answered, putting emphasis on Jenos' gender.

"I know, I'm just messing with you. I don't care who you hang out with, as long as they're not assholes," he answered with a slight smile.

"That's good to hear," Buck said, sighing and looking away. Koga squinted at him.

"You seem disturbed, dude," he answered, in a more serious tone. Buck looked to him again.

"Just some drama lately, that's all."

"Friends being jerks?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause. Then Koga smiled. "Well, you can hang out with me and my friends. They wouldn't mind having a new guy sit with us." Buck's ears perked up. He still didn't know if he should trust this guy. But he decided to go with it. "Really?" he asked. "Yeah man, I don't care, we don't bite, trust me," Koga responded. Buck smiled, then answered, "Alright, well thank you for the offer. See you at lunch?" Koga nodded, and Buck headed back to class.

"Where were you? You were gone for ages," Sha Lin asked as Buck returned to their table.

"Yeah, class is almost over," Ying said, as she looked at her watch.

"Ran into a friend," Buck answered. It felt weird to refer to someone he just met as a friend, but it was just easier. Besides, maybe Koga would make a good friend.

Buck wandered around the lunchroom with his tray of food. He considered going back to Lian's table, but decided against it. As he walked towards the back of the lunchroom, he passed it. He didn't make eye contact, but could feel his friends glaring at him, trying to pull him back into their influence. He wasn't having it anymore. As much as he liked Fernando, he couldn't forgive Khan and the girls. He usually wouldn't hang out with Jenos at lunch, but he was considering it. However, he didn't know where Jenos usually ate. He decided to press on and keep his little promise to Koga. Eventually, he spotted the spiky white hair poking up through the sea of heads. He headed towards this beacon of friendship. As soon as he spotted Buck, Koga waved and scooted over to make room for him. Buck sat down and scanned the people at the table. Cassie, Sha Lin and Ying were there, which was surprising, as well as Tyra, a girl he used to hang out with a lot, and a dark-skinned girl with a cool hairstyle he had never met before.

"This is Buck," Koga said, catching the attention of the whole table.

"Dude, Ying, Cassie and I already met him, he's in our group for the art project," Sha Lin responded.

"Well, Imani and Tyra haven't" Koga said, annoyed. Tyra perked up.

"Actually, I already know Buck," Tyra announced, a grin spreading across her face.

Koga rolled his eyes. "This is Imani," he told Buck while facing the dark-skinned girl. She wore a blue and red varsity jacket with black shorts.

"Nice to meet you," he said to her, warranting a wave in response. Buck then turned to Tyra.

"Long time no see," he said. Tyra snorted. "Yeah dude, ever since that whole thing with Lian…" Buck recalled the dramafest between his friends and Lian's. Ever since Lian dumped Viktor towards the end of sophomore year, all of his friends, including Tyra, stopped hanging out with them. Buck didn't stay in touch with them either. Lian managed to convince her whole posse that Viktor was a jerk and that his friends were all losers. Buck didn't buy it, but still went along with it. That's what he was tired of from Lian. Her telling him who to talk to, how to act, who to be…

The two sat in awkward silence as the table chatted around them. Suddenly, Buck snapped out of his thoughts and joined the conversation. He found that this new circle provided a sense of kindness and tolerance that Lian's never would. He felt that he found where he belonged. But the thought of Jenos, alone with his emotions, still bothered him in the back of his mind. He hoped he had others to hang out with. Buck never really talked with him at school because of Lian's influence. Hopefully he would be able to change that now. When the bell rang for gym class, he felt a sense of satisfaction with his newfound friends. Then he remembered that he had gym class with Khan and Fernando. Buck sighed as he took his backpack and headed to the locker room to change, making sure to say goodbye to Koga and his friends.