Yes, guys, I'm still alive. Yes, guys, I still intend to finish this story. No, guys, Marth is not meeting Nadir in this chapter. No, guys, Roy is not a dick...hopefully. It's really up to you to judge him even after his little outburst last chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

Roy

If he had been standing, skipping rocks would have been an easier task. However he simply satisfied himself with sinking rocks while sitting at the riverbank. Anybody walking by could tell how depressed the young man was through his sagging shoulders and melancholic air. Most of the pedestrians simply took one look and left. However, one particular passerby carefully walked towards the redhead. He stopped just a meter or so away from his friend. The short, young man allowed some time to pass before he finally decided to make his presence known.

"May I join you?" Meta asked. He saw his friend jump in surprise. Roy peered over his shoulder for a brief moment before turning back to look at the river.

"Sure." He heard the sounds of the pebbles shifting behind him. From the corner of his eye he could see that the masked student lower himself down to sit next to him. Roy half-expected Meta to say more. However his friend kept silent. The redhead continued to throw his rocks into the river while the blunette contented himself with watching the clouds above. The silence surrounding them had a slightly tensed air to it. Only the plucking sound of the rock breaking through the water's surface regularly interrupted the hush with the occasional outside sound joining in.

Eventually Roy couldn't stand it anymore. He didn't like the feeling of having somebody quietly behind him, even if Meta was his friend and doing nothing to endanger him. He threw the last of his rocks before standing up. Meta looked at him curiously as he walked past the shorter student. "I'm going home," he explained without stopping.

Meta nodded. "All right. I'll see you tomorrow then." Something about his friend's tone made Roy pause in mid-step. He was a few feet away from the masked student and turned around to look at his back. A curious frown twisted his mouth.

"Why did you come here anyways?"

"I wanted to keep you company."

Roy waited for a more elaborate explanation. When none was forthcoming, an incredulous look replaced his curious one. "That's it?" Roy couldn't help but ask. His friend nodded again.

"That's it." Meta twisted his head to look at Roy. Through the mask's eyeholes, Roy could see one yellow eye slightly wider than the other, signifying a raised eyebrow. "Did you…want me to say something else?"

"No, I just thought…" Roy trailed off. Despite the unspoken thought, they both knew what the redhead was insinuating. If the awkward silence that followed wasn't proof enough, the taller student's reddening face also supported that theory. Meta shook his head.

"I don't bring up things my friends don't want to talk about."

"R-right…" Now Roy couldn't help but feel a bit foolish. After all he already made it more than crystal clear how he couldn't even stand being near Marth after his friend's reveal. Despite that, the redhead felt that his friends would at least try to convince him to accept Marth for what-no, who he was. Years of friendship shouldn't be eradicated just because one person absolutely refused to give the other companion a chance. Roy knew that deep down, if one of his friends hated his guts, he would do all he could to attain their forgiveness and rebuild their friendship. As a result, he unconsciously wanted his friends to not only forgive him for his outburst but also to convince him to continue their much valued friendship.

But for them to forgive him, they had to know where he was coming from, exactly why he erupted like he did. And that, was something Roy wasn't sure whether he was comfortable sharing. It certainly seemed like his friends were understanding and accepting people. However, they could instead be like Roy underneath and immediately cast him away should he tell them the truth. Deep down, Roy knew this was not true. His friends were certainly more understanding and accepting than him in the past hour. Unfortunately, fear usually overrode logic and still he hesitated. The student didn't want to feel that sense of abandonment he felt long ago again. At the same time, he wanted to tell somebody and finally get a heavy weight off his shoulders. He needed his friends' support before he could support them. Perhaps it was selfish for him to think that way.

The struggle must have manifested itself on Roy's face as Meta spoke up again. "Would you like to talk about something? I'll be more than happy to listen." Now that the shorter student had opened the option that the redhead was so reluctant to ask for, after the slightest self-doubt, Roy seized that opportunity gratefully.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. At my house?"

"Sure." Meta stood up and dusted himself off. He gave a nod to his friend, spurring the redhead to lead the way to his home. While the silence around them seemed calm at the first touch, underneath lay evident nervousness emitted from only one of them. It didn't take them long to reach the house as both were too preoccupied with their own thoughts to notice the great distance they walked. When they arrived, Roy held open the gate for his friend and earned a nod of gratitude. They both ignored the loud clang of the shutting metal as they entered the house.

"Want anything?" Roy asked like a good host as he shucked off his shoes. Meta was about to shake his head when his scratchy throat demanded something immediately.

"Just water."

The taller student nodded as he continued to play guide into the dining room. Not that Meta needed it. Their group of friends had already been here on more than one occasion. The only abode they had yet to visit was Meta's due to the lack of his uncle's consent. While the shorter student sat down at the table, the other young man headed towards the fridge. Roy soon returned with two bottles of water. He earned another nod of appreciation when he placed one bottle in front of Meta. Meta unscrewed the cap and lifted his mask to drink. As he made sure to look away in an effort to keep his appearance still a secret, he noted how Roy didn't even attempt to sneak a peek. Instead the redhead stared at his own water bottle in his hands. Even after the masked student was done, Roy didn't look at him.

Meta waited for a few seconds before asking, "Roy?" The sound of his name seemed to jolt him out of his trance rather violently. He actually jumped a bit as if Meta initially intended to startle him. After a small pause, Roy sighed, the heaviness of the breath speaking volumes of the defeat he felt.

"Damn, Meta…I really fucked up then."

Meta didn't say anything, sensing that his friend had more to say.

"I honestly didn't mean to explode like that, especially with how vulnerable Marth seemed to be right now. He needed his friends' support but I blew him off right away. I know I shouldn't have done that but I couldn't help myself. Just hearing Marth admitting his feelings for a boy…" Roy trailed off, the sound of plastic crunching suddenly replacing his voice. The redhead gritted his teeth as his eyes narrowed at an abrupt, unburied memory. His friend waited patiently while he attempted to get a hold of himself. Meta immediately sensed that there was more to Roy's hate, something personal. As a result, when Roy looked up slightly, the shorter student only nodded as a sign of "it's okay, go on." Seeing Meta's composure relaxed Roy slightly. Despite him not being able to see Meta's face, the redhead could still tell that whatever he might tell his friend now, Meta would not judge.

Even so, Roy couldn't stop his heart from beating rapidly in his ears. Nobody knew about this, not even his parents. They might have suspected something was up, but even they didn't know the exact reason. While Roy didn't fault Meta with judging quickly, he still couldn't help but feel scared about his friend's reaction.

He had to wait for a few more moments to calm himself down before he could talk again. "You know how I moved away before the time you and Ike became friends with Marth, right?"

Meta nodded in confirmation. Good. There didn't seem to be any negative undertone when Roy said Marth's name. That was already an improvement. The redhead continued:

"When my dad got a new job, we had to move to a city hours away from here, so it was hard for me to visit Marth. He was my only friend, and I hated how I had to leave him. Sure, we could still keep in contact with phone calls and messages, but it wasn't the same. At the same time, I was a new kid at my school. It was hard for me to start a conversation with anybody and I was lucky that I mustered enough courage to talk to Marth when we first met. So I went through a year of school friendless. I talked to my classmates a few times but not enough to actually be friends with them."

Roy stopped suddenly. The depressed air around him abruptly grew even heavier. For a moment, Meta feared that his friend would stop right there and not say anything else. Fortunately they proved false as Roy merely tried to collect himself from the painful assault of memories.

"Seventh grade, I…I had a teacher named Mr. Dragmire. He was my history teacher…He must have noticed how lonely I was because he stopped me from leaving class a couple days after the first day. He convinced me to stay after to help him sort some papers with the promise of extra credit. I…agreed since I didn't really have anything to do. I helped him with his errands and went home as soon as I was done. Mr. Dragmire didn't oppose or anything."

Roy had to stop occasionally as his breathing became irregular. It was almost as if his brain kept telling him to shut up and keep it all inside like he did all these years. Still, he persevered. He appreciated how Meta quietly listened without any visible judgment or condescending comment. His friend was more than willing to wait uncomplainingly while he told his story at his own pace.

"A few days later, he asked me to stay after again. I still hadn't made any friends, so I assumed at the time that that was the reason he wanted to help me out. The first few times I helped him, we didn't talk much. I think he was the one who started most of the small talk we had. Then I started staying after school more and more to help Mr. Dragmire with a variety of things. I'd help him organize papers, grade homework, things like that. Sometime we would just talk, just the two of us when I was done with the things he needed help with. Other times, he would help me with my homework from my other classes. If I had any trouble, I could have been sure to ask Mr. Dragmire for his advice. By that time, I think I started considering him as my friend, even if he was my teacher…

"Even after I moved up a grade, I still continued to help him out. I didn't try to make any other friends since I didn't think I would need any. I was content with at least one friend I…I…"

Roy had to pause again. Meta noticed how stiff his friend got, shallow breaths following the silence. The storyteller's fist clenched so tightly that his white knuckles emphasized red lines. The water bottle in his hands crushed pitifully in threats of exploding but nobody paid it any attention. Lapis eyes weren't even looking at topaz orbs. Rather, they stared intently at the table, in both fear of judgment and attempt of remembrance. Meta debated whether he should do something to ease Roy's nerves and let him know it was all right to continue once more. Just as the masked student was about to reach over, Roy somehow found the will to speak again. Yet the redhead's tone of voice sounded slightly off for some reason. Did…did Meta hear a note of desperation from him?

"I probably should have known back then but he didn't show any signs of it. I thought he was just being a kind teacher even if he did look a bit scary. I thought he was just helping me out because he saw how lonely and isolated I was. I didn't think he would do something like that to me! I had absolutely no idea at all! Why would he, a teacher of all people, do that to me?! Wasn't he supposed to help students rather than hold them?! Wasn't he supposed to make them feel better, not worse?! Why?! Why?! I don't understand! I don't understand it at all!" Roy's voice grew in volume until he screeched his heartfelt questions while holding his head. While he had tried to carefully dig up his delicate memories, they instead erupted from the ground with a vengeance to bury him once again. Roy felt like he was drowning, the sudden assault preventing him from breathing regularly. He didn't even seem to realize that he wasn't alone until he felt something shaking him out of his madness.

"Get a hold of yourself, Roy!" the redhead dully heard. Through tears (when did they started to form and fall?) he saw how Meta had leaned over the table to grab hold of Roy's shoulders, thankfully his short stature not being a problem. The masked student initially shook Roy a couple times, gently at first before getting rougher when he realized that placidity would not break through the distraught young man. Meta's stern, fearful eyes stared intently at Roy's widened, reddening ones in a pleading attempt to grasp and return his sanity. That seemed to work slightly as the redhead stopped his shrieks to only leave him with ragged pants. Meta muttered, "Roy…"

"He…he almost did it, Meta…he almost raped me…" Roy's lips trembled violently as he refused to wipe away his tears. "I was so scared that he would actually do it…I don't know how I managed to get out of there. I can't…"

"Then don't," Meta replied firmly. "Don't think about it anymore. You're not there. You're here, safe and sound. He can't hurt you anymore." Roy fervently searched the desolate mask intently, trying to find any cracks in the truth his friend provided. When he couldn't, the desperate light in his eyes slowly disappeared as the young man tried to regain control of himself again. The tears fell at a much slower rate yet the silence was every now and then punctured by the sporadic sniffle and hiccup.

Once he was certain that lunacy would not take hold of his friend again, Meta released his grip on Roy's shoulders and slid back down in his chair. He didn't want to say anything in fear that the redhead might snap again. The masked student waited with his eyes trained on his friend. Even the slightest of Roy's movements caught Meta's eyes, accessing a meaning behind the twitch before dismissing it.

"S-sorry…"

"For what?"

"B-blowing up like t-that."

"There is nothing to apologize for."

"But-."

"You had a right to. I would have been a bit worried if you didn't blow up like that," Meta said. With anybody else, Roy might have thought it was a joke. However Meta knew well enough when teasing was proper, and the situation at hand absolutely did not call for jests.

And what Meta said was the truth. He could see how much Roy's distress weighed him down. He also instinctively knew that other than the two occupants of the room, only one person knew of Roy's past, and said person had no favorable relationship with the two students. Even if the redhead had buried the experience in his mind after all these years, the wounds still opened easily as if they were fresh. However, reopening those scars and recognizing them was an important step for Roy to take in order to move on. Of course he shouldn't completely forget the trauma, but he had to learn to live with it without it having any negative effects on his current present. Which brought them to where they were now.

The words were out of his mouth before Roy realized what he said, "I'm not as unemotional as Marth…" He stiffened at his own mentioning of his friend. His hiccups that had quieted down almost threatened to start again. His sniffles still plagued him occasionally.

"…but now we also know that Marth is not as unemotional as we originally made him out to be," the masked student said gently. Roy nodded slowly in agreement. Meta continued, "I can understand where you're coming from. You're reminded of your…past, aren't you?"

Roy nodded again. His voice came out in a whisper, "I know Marth means well and he obviously cares for Pit, but…an older man taking advantage of a younger boy who doesn't know any better. I can't help but see that and it makes my blood boil."

"Marth isn't like that."

"How would you know?" Roy asked. At the question, Meta's sympathetic gaze turned hard as he glared at his friend. The intensity of his glare actually made the redhead flinch. The shorter student opted not to say anything, letting Roy continue his argument. "I mean…I thought the same with Mr. Dragmire. 'He wouldn't do that', but he tried to." His breath hitched slightly when he mentioned his assaulter, but he managed to keep his voice steady and his mind clear. "The same could be applied to Marth. Even though we're his friends, Marth has always been an enigma to us. He does things we don't understand sometimes."

Meta interrupted him there before he could continue. "I know that better than anybody. But just because I don't understand him doesn't mean I don't trust him."

"I…" Roy stopped. He looked at the table, ashamed that his words and actions implied that he did not trust his oldest friend. While one could argue that due to his teacher betraying his trust was a legitimate reason, Roy spent more time with Marth than with Mr. Dragmire. Roy knew Marth much longer than his former history teacher. Through all their years of friendship, while the blunette wasn't the most ideal member of society, the redhead knew that very rarely Marth would do anything immoral. The morality of the case at hand though was debatable in this current age, differing from each individual. Society as a whole seemed to be slowly accepting it, but protesters here and there still resented such romantic feelings for the same gender.

"You want to trust him, but your fear is keeping you from it, isn't it?" Meta asked, his aura no longer cold. He couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over him when Roy acknowledged his declaration with a nod. If his friend truly hated Marth for the homophobic reason he implied from his initial shouting, then Meta knew there was little to no hope for them to convince him otherwise. Although, the masked student thought ruefully, if Roy was a true homophobic, he probably would have turned Meta away almost immediately the moment they began talking about Marth. Now that Roy had revealed to his friend the reason behind his abandonment, a new question arose: what was he going to do? Meta helped him answer that. "Then maybe, the best course of action is to just trust him."

"Trust? But…"

"If you trust him, then you shouldn't have to fear a repeat of the past." When Meta put it that way, it made sense. Roy's logic struggled violently with his fear for the sake of his friendship with Marth. He truly wanted to believe in Meta and trust Marth. However, his past terror wrapped him tightly like a venomous serpent. It almost overpowered his reasoning if his friend didn't provide another option. "Or," the masked student said, "if you still have trouble trusting him, you can convince him otherwise."

Roy frowned at the second suggestion, not completely comprehending. His confusion seemed to relinquish his dread just a bit. "Convince him otherwise? What do you mean?"

"Friends can only advise, then choose to accept what their friends decide. You can try to make sure that Marth does not repeat your teacher's actions by telling him exactly why you reacted the way you did and how he can avoid the same situation with Pit." At the suggestion Roy flinched as if Meta struck him directly. In a way, he did. The redhead could barely keep it together while telling his story to the most responsible of his friends. He couldn't imagine how Marth would deal with the information. Wait, he could. Not with indifference, that was wrong, all wrong. It would be with understanding. Despite the blunette being unresponsive most of the time, Roy remembered how the times that it did matter, Marth definitely showed that he cared about his friends.

Still, Roy hesitated. He wasn't entirely sure whether he was comfortable telling others about his past. Having one person outside know seemed to be enough. And if he told Marth to be careful about how to treat Pit, his friend might be able to decipher that he very was nearly raped by an older man. People tended to forget how smart Marth really was, including his friends. "I…" When it seemed as though he couldn't continue, Meta piped up again:

"It is whatever you choose, Roy. I have already followed my own advice by giving you suggestions on how you can make the situation better, and now it is up to you to decide what you want to do."

"I…I think…I think I can try," Roy finally said. He looked directly into Meta's eyes. Though faint, a determined light still shone in the redhead's eyes. "I'm still not entirely comfortable about Marth being with a boy…but I think I can learn to be fine with it in time."

"For your own sake?"

"Huh?"

"Don't do it just for your friends. You have to do it for yourself as well."

Roy set his mouth in a determined line. "If I try for my friends, then I'm trying for myself too. It would be selfish of me to just think of myself."

Although Meta closely examined Roy's face for any faltering signs, he knew instinctively that he wouldn't find any. He then nodded in acknowledgement of Roy's statement. Although he understood that it would take a great effort on his friend's part and theirs to help him get through it, Meta was confident that with due time, Roy would come to accept Marth and Pit's potential relationship.

"All right then. I can't deny that I am relieved that you decided to follow my advice. But I think you should wait for a bit before meeting up with Marth. Give yourself some time to come to terms with yourself and be able to see Marth with a clear mind."

"Yeah, I'll do that."

Meta's eyes crinkled slightly, a sign of his thankful smile. He stood up with a satisfied sigh. "Then if you don't mind, I should be getting home. I can't have my cousin and uncle cleaning out the fridge again."

"Oh! Yeah. Sorry for keeping you."

"Not at all. I was happy to help. If you want to talk anymore, you can always call me." Meta turned to leave. Roy watched as his friend almost left the room. He bit his lip slightly. For some reason, he had a strange feeling of asking Meta something. He hesitated for a bit before finally making up his mind. Meta almost left the kitchen completely when his friend asked timidly:

"Hey, Meta? Before you go?"

When it sounded like Roy wavered again, it forced the masked student to turn around to look inquiringly at him. "Yes?" He thought that the redhead would make him promise not to tell anybody about the conversation they had, especially about Roy's past. However, the taller student already knew that Meta knew to keep these personal matters private and instead had something else to say to him.

"…thanks for listening to me. And the same goes for you. If you have anything you want or need to talk about, I…I'm willing to listen. I'm probably not the best person to talk to with how I acted about Marth's situation, but I want my friends to still be able to rely on me. So…"

"…yeah, I understand," Meta said quietly. Roy frowned in slight confusion. The calm air around his friend suddenly seemed to have an unwelcome component to it. He wasn't sure exactly what the emotion was, but it wasn't one of the more positive ones. Before he could point out the subtle change, Meta continued, "Although, I don't think you guys have to worry about me. I've been fine so far. I'll see you around." The guest quickly left without waiting for a reply. Roy heard the door opening for a brief moment, and a clicking shut came after.

With his savior gone, Roy slumped in his seat. He exhaled resignedly through his nose as he thought back to their conversation. Not surprisingly, the whole interaction exhausted him more than he realized. It had taken him all his strength to heave the weight of his past up in order for Meta to know where he was coming from. Still, now Roy could breathe much easier even with his conflict still hovering over him. Somehow, just having somebody listen to your problems really helped make you feel better.

Yet despite their conversation, Roy couldn't stop a sensation of disgust shivering down his spine when he thought about Marth and Pit being together. While he could use the excuse of Mr. Dragmire all he wanted, it didn't change the fact that deep down he still thought it was weird and slightly repulsive for two men to be together. It just…wasn't right in his mind.

He shook his head violently as if to snap himself out of that way of thinking. Roy had already told Meta that for all their sake, his included, he would try to be understanding and accepting of his friend. The redhead fully intended to keep that unstable promise. After all, he could learn how to accept Marth, or at the very least tolerate his friend's apparent preference. So long as he doesn't pin after me, he thought slightly jokingly to himself in a small attempt make things easier. Or Meta and especially not Ike.

His feeble joke reminded him of Meta's last minute change. He couldn't help but wonder whether the masked student was as all right as he had claimed. Similarly to his face, Meta could be masking any and all conflicts plaguing him. Roy actually wouldn't put it past Meta to do that. For as long as he could remember, Meta had always been willing to help others with their problems yet hesitated whenever he seemed to need some form of aid. The redhead didn't want to pressure his friend into telling their group about the short student's insecurities. However he still hoped that Meta knew about what he was reminded of today. The least friends could all do for one another, even if they didn't have any advice to give, was to lend a listening ear. Sometimes that was all that was needed.

And there we go, peeps! The second of the special chapters out of the way, and this one actually provided a little backstory, unlike the other one. So...yeah, apparently the reasoning for Roy's disgust with Marth is that he was almost violated in the past! Woohoo! Hooray for past trauma! All kidding aside, it's rather sad and disgusting how some people would betray trust like that...I really don't want to say anything else on that matter, but I think I'm already opening a rather large can of worms with this story and all the issues it presents...but anyways, even though Meta makes a rather important appearance in this one, it's not his special chapter! Any guesses on what Meta's "tragic" past could be? I'm rather looking forward to writing Meta's with all the obvious hints I dropped in this particular segment. That is...if I could actually get through writing my other stories and finding time and energy to write the next chapter for this...

...

I WILL FINISH THIS, GUYS! I'll see you guys next time.