disclaimer: I don't own them, the characters belong to Warner Bros.

When Ham saw Jake the next day he was subdued. "Mom and Dad had a row last night" he confessed. He could trust Jake.

"Oh." Jake reached out but stopped short of touching him. "What about?"

He'd heard tones, but not words. Dad had been biting, Mom ranting. "I dunno. I thought Dad sounded down on the way home-"

"What were you talking about?"

If Jake thought it would be a clue, he was so wrong. "Great Expectations."

"No kidding."

"Dad's kind of strung out about my grades" Ham apologised.

"Oh. Yeah. Right."

"It's very strange" Ham distracted himself. "I talked more to my Dad about the reading than I did in class."

Jake wasn't surprised. "Finn puts you down every chance he gets. Because of your Dad, or something."

"Or something." Finn's issues were nothing to do with his parents. He knew what Jake was talking about. A couple of days ago, Finn had done everything short of shining a torch in his eyes and sticking needles under his nails to get his honest opinion of the Lady of Shallot, and, really, that was a piece of writing he would just as soon not waste time pondering. Then, when Ham hesitantly said he thought it would have been completely different if the knight had recognised the lady, Finn ripped him to shreds and made him look dumb.

"You'd have an easier time at a different school." Jake had been in a lot of different schools, Ham remembered.

"But then I wouldn't've met you." Oh, how gay did that sound? Hamilton kicked himself.

"Mmmm." Jake wasn't offended, in fact he didn't seem to have noticed. "Are they over it?"

"I think." Hamilton studied the other boy sidelong. The other guys had a weird smirkiness when they mentioned Jake. Or when they mentioned Jake and him together. Not that they were together. Hamilton had been noticing how Jake looked. A lot. He realised it unhappily. But that was cool, right, because he was a photographer, right? Highly developed visual sense, and Jake looked, he looked-

Oh hell.

Hamilton had at least one question in his head, and there was no way on earth he was going to ask it.

Jake was all concerned for him, with his parents upsetting him.

"It's just not normal, and it's freaking me out" Ham said shortly.

"Normal." Jake looked irritated. He was going to pull the I'm A Sophisticated New Yorker card, and Hamilton wasn't up for it.

"Lets go down to Rawley." He cut Jake off.

Jake eyed him suspiciously. "Okay."

So. Going down to New Rawley, New Rawley sights - there are none - coke at Friendly's, oh. Transport issues. He'd better ask. "Do you have a bike?"

Jake's expression flickered. Ham watched him, and waited for him to admit to the motorbike that went with the crash helmet hidden in his dorm. At length, Jake said he could borrow a bike from someone.

Ham sighed. "I'll give you a lift on mine. Meet me in five at the shed by the Dean's house."

Jake had changed his top by the time they met. Ham didn't mention it. He was pretty sure it was the kind of thing Bruce Willis wouldn't notice. Jake was giving the bar of Ham's bike, where he'd be perching, an annoyed stare. It was okay to notice that. "What?"

"Looks comfortable."

Ham thought about it. Town was a mile away. Actually, Jake was wrong; it would be uncomfortable. Ouch. "Here." He pulled his top off and wadded it into a cushion. "Use this."

Jake was looking at him. Did that particular non-expression say: Hamilton's in my line of sight, nothing to see here? Or Wow! Hamilton! Skin! Wow!

"What?" Ham said again. Smells of sunscreen! Wow! his flagging optimism supplied.

"You have to get on the bike" Jake said patiently.

Awkwardly self conscious, he clambered aboard, and Jake settled sidesaddle on the frame between his outstretched arms. Some of Jake's spiked up hair got in his eyes. They were almost but not quite touching.

Normally, Pratt's sense of personal space extended yards beyond anyone else's. Hamilton didn't think he'd been this close in before. The guy was as tense as a wire. "Comfortable?"

Jake twisted sufficiently to give him a withering look. It was less intimidating, a breath away. Hamilton was distracted by the fine sheen of sweat on Jake's temples. He must have run across the grounds.

Sweaty guy. Sweaty guy equals gross, Hamilton thought. He thought, I'm reacting to him because of a rumour from outsiders. How dumb is that? Like Beatrice and that guy in that lame play.

Or was this real fascination. Till now Jake had been a comfort zone. They connected on some wavelength. It was never completely relaxing - Jake challenged him, often. In fact, any time Ham bullshitted, Jake said something sarcastic or gave him this look. The thing was, he had flashes of deja vu around this guy that made him hope maybe Jake could unlock all this.

A spiritual rapport was no explanation for the way he kept noticing what Jake looked like. He'd been noticing for days, and trying not to analyse himself for it. He could sketch the outline of Jake's lips from memory. And, what with the smirking, it looked like everybody in Rawley knew that. But, they didn't smirk so much at him. They smirked at Jake. Was it charity to the head injured? Or was he - he perked - the butch one?

He moved his hands closer together on the handle bars. Jake was fenced in more tightly, but they weren't touching. Touching would be pervy. He moved his hands because, safety. They were turning onto the public road.

Jake's head hung forward. He could see the fine grain of the skin on the nape of his neck. He thought he should keep his eyes on the road.

And, yeah, he was noticing Jake, but he was super aware of everything. He kept waiting for memory to cascade around him. Something had to trigger it.

And, yeah, he liked Jake. Genuinely liked him. Great personality, really cool, nice guy. Interesting opinions - he wondered what Jake thought of Shakespeare's Beatrice. Jake probably thought she was a moron.

See, that was the thing. Apart from the guy thing - and there were way too many worms in that can for him to even get started on it now, Jake was Not Romantic. And Ham was pretty sure he himself was. You know, flowers, pulling a chair out for a lady, sappy nicknames.

Jake was more - Hamilton's brain refused to go down that road. Okay, stick with Not Romantic. Best not to fill in the details.

"You're very quiet" Jake commented.

"Just thinking." Suave and enigmatic, good.

"You know, all couples have periods of miscommunication. It doesn't mean things are, like, doomed."

Ham didn't want to talk about his parents. He knew it was probably a blip, and if it wasn't, what could he do? He was pedalling toward Denial. Distraction would work, too. They were nearly in town. "Is this personal experience talking?"

Oh. No. Jake changed his shirt. Did he have some chick in town he wanted to impress?

:

When they stopped by Friendly's Scout was on one side of the counter, serving, and Will was on the other, being served. Scout looked at Ham and Jake, and smiled. A welcoming smile. Not, in any way, a smirk, Ham assured himself.

"I have enough tutoring this year not to need a shift" Will explained at Jake's questioning look.

"That's good."

"Yeah. Finn schedules tutoring around my clases - I don't have to keep swapping rotas and making special arrangements for every crew meet." He grinned at Scout, who was presumably still doing this.

"So. Tutor guy. What are the freshers like?" Jake heaved himself onto a high stool.

"Just kids." Will shrugged. "God, were we ever that young?"

Scout and Jake gave him amused, ironic looks.

Will continued "They were so freaked out the first couple of weeks" (Ham could relate) "but they're levelling out now."

Ham watched Scout fill two glasses of Coke at the machine.

"It figures" Jake said. "I mean, you build your whole persona then. You're dealing with this new environment and everyone's judging your decisions." He sounded as if he'd given this a lot of thought. He'd been to, like, a dozen schools.

Scout slid the Cokes in front of Ham and Jake. "Persona?" He burst out laughing.

"All right, reputation" Jake said impatiently. "Your first week pushes you into a role.." He took a sip. "There was one place I went. I was mad at my mom-"

"You're always mad at your mom."

"Shut up Calhoun. - mad at my mom about going off to England for eight months. So I was a total Ryder in English - it didn't help that we were studying the same Orton play she was in - and I flunked."

"That was stupid." Will was obsessive about grades. Dad liked that in a boy, Ham knew.

"I didn't think. The next school I was like a different person." Jake looked into all their faces. He had a really intense gaze. "The point is, my identity for a semester was based on how I felt that week." Jake sighed, and asked Will "Seriously, Will, remember your first week at Rawley?"

"It was scary" Will admitted, sounding thoughtful now. "All those snobby bluebloods-" he grinned at Scout "- and a lot of the time guys were referencing things I'd never heard of."

"Waldorf" Scout said confusingly.

"Well, I'd eaten the salad." Will and Scout shared a laugh. Ham glanced at Jake. Jake wasn't getting it either.

"But, you came from this town." It wasn't like he'd crossed America, Hamilton thought.

"Yeah. I spent years laughing at Rawley guys. It wasn't helpful."

Oh. Will had been that kind of townie. The kind who stood in mini-mobs and jeered so you wanted the ground to swallow you whole. Ham used to think of killer retorts to them, but never, unfortunately, when it counted. He came up with them after he got home. Speaking of, that guy coming in was one of those townies.

"Sean!" The other three sounded delighted. Well, Will sounded delighted, Jake sounded mildly pleased, and Scout sounded luke warm.

"Hey man." To Hamilton's astonishment, the townie thug - Sean? - thumped him on the shoulder. "How ya doing?"

"Uh, okay." Hamilton darted a look at Jake. As a friend, Jake should be warning him about these things.

"He can't remember last year" Scout explained officiously. Since when had Calhoun become tourguide to the freakshow that was Fleming, Hamilton wondered, irritated.

"I heard" Sean said sympathetically. Wait, they were friends? "Too bad, man."

All right. This guy, Sean? ok, Sean, then, was his friend. Because, last year he had gone from zero friends to knowing all these guys. Who were his friends. Not that any of them gave him the headsup or anything when.. uh, why exactly was Scout doing that malevolent squint thing at Sean.

Hamilton nudged the side of Jake's foot with his. "Jake?"

Will was talking about how the school cleared it for him to spend next weekend with his folks. Mr Krudsky had some carpentry project, and he was needed to help. Sean was listening, and Scout was glowering at Sean.

"Jake, what's Scout's problem with the townie?"

"Long story. Hey. Bella!"

Oh great. Jake had gone from friend who wouldn't tell Hamilton stuff to friend who not only wouldn't help him out but was all over some chick. When Jake changed his clothes, that was for Bella. Ham knew it.

"Bella." "Bella." "Hey."

The other three were all up for her too, Hamilton noted bitterly. He gave Bella a dismissive nod. She could take her pick of Jake, Sean, Will or Scout. That should be enough for her.

Obviously, she was going to go for Jake. Because, who wouldn't? With the eyes, and the smouldering. Jake had Will's intelligence and Scout's ability to focus on another person for ten minutes at a stretch. And Sean's - Ham couldn't remember anything about Sean. He had an impressive jeering laugh when he was in ringleader mode, but Ham was pretty sure this wasn't a helpful boyfriend asset.

"Oh, Hamilton." She sounded all sincere and concerned. Huh. "How are you doing?"

"Ok." And I know you, how? he felt like asking.

"Bella is dating Scout" Will said, and Sean's face froze momentarily.

"No sh- I mean - You - Scout?" Ham looked at her again. She was gorgeous. "Cool."

"Thanks for the validation." There was an edge to her voice. "I came over to see if you guys wanted to watch videos at the gas station."

"You're not working?" Will asked.

"It's Grace's shift." To Hamilton, she added "Grace is my sister."

Hot Bella had a sister. "A sister. I'm an only - you know this." Ham wished Bella could have a brother instead. It would be just his luck if Grace was cute, and a wild girl. And appealed to New Yorkers. Before the mental babble got any more disturbing, he burst out "Is she good at Playstation?"

Sean laughed. "Is that your type?"

Sean had a horrible laugh. In fact, Sean was generally annoying. Hamilton thought again, Sean is my friend. I like Sean. (Did I get taken over by aliens last year?)

"Just making conversation." That was Jake rescuing him. "I'm good at Playstation" he reminded Ham pointedly.

Well, duh. That was why Ham asked, because he was worried about Jake and Bella's sister. Wait, Jake was being territorial. Over him. Ham liked the idea, and contemplated it a moment, but on consideration rejected it. It didn't make sense.

Scout was telling Bella how much longer his shift had to run. "..I'll be over in twenty minutes."

Right. The video decision had gotten made while Ham wasn't paying attention. Will slid off his high stool, saying "Kenneth Branagh? Shakespeare?"

"No." Sean, Bella and Jake, more or less in unison.

"Terminator" Scout called after them before the door slammed.

They sighed.

"Don't you start" Bella said to Ham.

"Huh?"

"You always pick some Art film with weird camera angles" Sean said.

He did? Well that was borderline cool. "You're into car chases?" he guessed, looking at Sean.

"And Jake" Bella said hastily "does this running commentary in every film, where he's met all the character actors on Broadway."

Good for Jake. They should be impressed.

"I won't. I promise." Jake looked sheepish.

Ham glanced casually back at Friendly's in time to see his mom and Finn go in. They must be working on some project. He made a note to ask Mom about that. It would be unfair to take her for granted just cause he had two parents now.