When Pico got home, John was sitting at the table. John got up and hugged Pico, who looked confused considering he had just come out as gay.

"I think I'm gonna put you into therapy, alright? This has nothing to do with you being gay. I've been thinking about it for a while now. It's- Not that bad, okay? I was in it for a while," John gripped a little tighter.

"What am I supposed to do? Talk to some random ass person? That's not gonna fix my problems, Dad. And what am I supposed to-" His voice was rising again, his cheeks turning red with anger before John stopped him.

"Hey, hey, hey- What is said in that room, stays in that room. They can't tell me anything that you've told them in there. You could tell them you were on drugs or something, and they wouldn't tell- I hope you aren't, but that's not the point," He chuckled, "It lets you get everything off your chest. Sometimes we need an outlet, right?"

Pico nodded, now calmed down. He fell silent, breathing in through his nose and out his mouth as a coping skill.

"It has been a little rough these past few years. Maybe it's for the best." Pico replied, twiddling his thumbs and looking down.

Pico hugged his dad again one last time before telling him he was gonna take a nap, falling asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

—-

When Pico woke up, it was the next day. He wondered if John had tried to wake him up for dinner or not, but judging by the fact that he was waking up the next day, he concluded that he had, in fact, not.

Who was he to complain? Not like he was hungry after the events that happened at school. His stomach twisted into knots again just thinking about it, and he dreaded the day ahead of him.

He changed, brushed his teeth, gelled his hair back, and left his dad at the dining room table after giving him a hug. And just like clockwork, as soon as he walked out of the house Cameron was there, waving giddily at him. Pico ignored him, plugging in his ear buds and walking to school. Great. Cameron AND Lucy were following him.

"Hey Pico!" Cameron chirped, grinning widely. He was holding Lucy's hand, who seemed to be around 2 inches taller than Cameron himself. Not that Cameron was a tall guy.

"What do you want, shitface?" He spat, only to receive a chuckle. This pissed him off even more, and he pulled his hood over his head. He grumbled to himself, taking a hit of his vape to calm himself.

Lucy took it from him, taking a hit herself. She smiled, staying silent as she handed it back to him. Maybe she wasn't so bad.

—-

"Hey, Pico." Scott said, looking down at him on the ground. Pico froze up, his head starting to pound with the sound of his heartbeat. He tried to shrink down into a puddle of himself on the ground, but he knew it was useless. Scott noticed him. There was no going back.

"What do you want, Scott?" He said, trying to sound tough, but it came out as a whisper-whine. Scott sat next to him. Setting his satchel on his lap to prevent it from getting dirty.

"I wanted to apologize." He stated. When Pico got the confidence to look up at Scott, he noticed he wasn't smiling, the shine in his eyes was gone. He was actually serious.

"I'm sorry." He finally said after a pause from Pico, and Pico could feel his lips curling up into a smile. Fuck no, he was NOT going to be smiling at this freak. Before he could stop himself, however, Scott smiled back.

"Thank you for apologizing." Pico whispered, rubbing his eyes. He was so tired. Not just physically but mentally. Scott was the last person he wanted to see, but why was he comfortable in his presence now?

"What's that?" Scott asked, taking Pico's hand gently in his own. Pico panicked, his heart thumping loudly in his ears as Scott looked down at his arm, pulling up his sleeve. Pico couldn't stop him quickly enough, so he just let his tears fall as Scott ran his fingers over his wrist.

"Why did you do this to yourself, Pico?" He asked, gently.

"I… I don't know. It kind of helps. I guess."

"You shouldn't do that."

"I know." Pico couldn't help but feel like a scared little kid again, even more so when Scott hesitantly wrapped his arms around the ginger. Pico hugged back, finding solace in his time of distress. The sound of gravel crunching below someone's feet made Pico push Scott away, and much to his surprise, it was none other than Cameron. The teal haired male stared at the two, deciding to put two and two together.

"Uhh, Pico?" Cam stayed at his end of the alley. Scott's brows furrowed. So this was the guy. He had never been face to face with Pico's ex, but he assumed one of the reasons why Pico cut was possibly due to him.

"So you're him, huh? Shorter than I thought." Senpai stood up, towering over Boyfriend. "Do you think you have the right to make him feel like shit?" He glowered at Cameron, pointing an accusing finger in his direction.

"What?" Cameron looked at Scott with confusion.

"Pico told me all about you, and you know what else? It sent him into a panic attack. Now he's here, all alone, still dwelling on the thoughts of you leaving him and having to deal with those thoughts every fucking day."

"I–"

"No, shut up you fucking WORM. I've already had enough of you. Leave. Now."

"I just wanted to ask if Pico wanted to have lunch with me…" Cameron seemed hurt.

Pico perked up, looking at Scott and then to Cam. "No, I don't"