Randy wasn't fighting back. Justin had caught him on the football field the night after graduation. It was dark out and the attack had caught him off guard. And he just didn't have it in him to fight back. The horror, guilt, and pain were still there, so strong that he was hardly able to breathe at times.

The hits came hard and fast and, God, when had Justin learned to hit so hard? His thoughts turned hazy after a particularly vicious kick to the skull. Justin was screaming at him even after the hits stopped.

He rolled onto his back. His vision was a little blurred but he could still see Justin. He was standing over Randy still, breathing hard. He abruptly dropped down next to him, leaned close, gripped one bloodied hand in Randy's shirt. And he was crying.

The last time Randy had seen Justin cry, they'd been ten.

He was still speaking, still accusing. Mike's name passed his lips and Adam's and after that, Randy couldn't listen. His hearing seemed to stop working altogether as he recognized the look in Justin's eyes.

His boyfriend was dead and his best friend hated him. And he wished that Justin hadn't stopped. He wouldn't have fought back then if he could.

Xxxxxx

"What the hell happened?" Cody repeated angrily when all he got out of Randy was a sigh.

"What do you think?" Randy asked, sitting against the headboard and letting out a weary sigh.

"Assholes." Cody's dark blue eyes were blazing. "Maybe I could get Justin alone…"

"No." Randy stood. "You're going to leave it alone," he said on his way out of the room. Cody followed.

"Leave it alone? This shit shouldn't be happening. You shouldn't let it stand." Cody paused, grabbed Randy's arm to stop him. "I can't."

"Yes you can. I'm telling you to." Randy pulled away from him and dropped down on his couch.

"Look, I know why you've never done anything about it but its bullshit, He's not right."

Randy rested his head back, stared up at the ceiling. "We were friends…"

"Were," Cody stressed.

"He thinks I killed one of his friends," Randy pointed out, his tone hollow.

Cody blinked, surprised. Randy never talked about it. Cody hadn't been there when it had all gone down. He'd moved to town after he'd graduated high school and he'd met Trish first, then Randy. He'd believed her when she'd told him that Randy was innocent. He couldn't imagine her sticking with him if he wasn't.

Cody had never had a lot of friends but he'd made a connection with both Trish and Randy quickly and it had lasted. He hadn't been in town when the stuff between Randy and Justin and gone down but he hated the guy anyway. He'd seen Justin cause both Trish and Randy pain too many times.

"But he's wrong," Cody insisted.

"Still could've stopped it."

Cody sighed. He'd heard Randy say that before but he had no idea what it meant. He'd heard the story from Trish. Adam had been long dead by the time Randy had found him.

"He was your friend," Cody said, repeating Randy's point. "He should never have believed it."

Randy was still for a moment. "Sometimes I hate him for it," he admitted quietly. "I've known Justin for fifteen years. I thought he knew me better…"

"He should have. I'm sorry," Cody commented, sympathy shining in his eyes.

"Yeah." Randy went back to staring at the ceiling and after a moment; Cody moved to sit beside him.

Xxxxxxxxx

Trish found him in the back booth the tiny little diner. He jerked in surprise when she slid in across from him and placed her hands on the table, a glare on her face. Cody had called her an hour ago and she had been pissed since.

"Trish…"

"Hi, Justin." Her tone was barely controlled as she surveyed him, noted the band aid over his right eyebrow. "I hear you've been busy."

"Can't you go bug someone else?" He asked going back to his food.

"Can't you?" Trish countered. "You're a real asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm the bad guy. I'm the villain in the story of Randy Orton's life. I've heard it all before, Trish. You need to go."

"I can't. Not after what you did. Not after everything you've done since high school." Trish leaned closer to him. "He didn't do anything to be punished like this."

"I know you believe that-"

"You should. You should have believed it. You guys were best friends, Justin."

"That was before," Justin said with a scowl on his face.

"I know. I was there when you guys promised to keep in touch after high school. For God's sake, you've known Randy since grade school. He was your first friend after you moved here." She reached across the table for his wrist when it seemed like he was about to bolt. "How could you believe it?"

Trish had known how hard it had been for Justin as a child, moving from another country after his father had died. She knew Randy had made that easier on him. They had formed a friendship almost immediately that had lasted all through school.

"And you've never considered you might be wrong? Never considered that he might have-"

"No," she cut him off. "Have you ever considered that you might be wrong?"

"I can't," Justin said, quietly, firmly. He pulled his wrist from her grip and then got up.

Xxxxxxx

"He's not here."

John turned to the person who had spoke, taking in the pretty blonde waitress. He'd seen her in Michaels bar the last time he'd come in and he raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" He asked warily, wondered if he was going to get an earful about how he should stay away, about what Mike had told him.

"Randy," she said, the 'duh' in her voice obvious. "He called in. I'm sure you know why."

"Okay…" John turned back to his beer but could see her surveying him out of the corner of his eye. "What?"

"I'm sure you've heard the story by now. I know you live with Mike." She paused, tilted her head. "Randy's my best friend. My brother in everything but blood."

John turned his attention to her again. "And why are you telling me this?"

"Because he likes you and because it's been a while since I've seen him relax around anyone that wasn't me, Shawn, or Cody. Whatever Mike said, he's-"

"Careful," John cut her off. "Mike's my best friend. He was just trying to let me know the truth." Even if he wasn't entirely sure that it was.

"The truth?" She stepped even closer to him, leaned against the bar. When she spoke next, it was softly enough that he would be the only one to hear. "The truth is that Randy was in the hospital with his mother when it happened. The truth is that despite that fact and the fact that Mike and Justin were Randy's closest friends, they decided to believe something that was a lie. He lost his boyfriend and then his mother barely six months after that and Mike abandoned him. Worse, he accused him of things that he wouldn't have ever done."

"And you know that for sure?" John asked with a scowl, mostly for the words against Mike, who was his best friend.

"I know Randy," she stated simply.

"And I know Mike," John countered. "He wouldn't lie. Not to me."

"Mike believes it. To him, it's not a lie." She combed her fingers through her hair and her eyes narrowed. "I get that he's your friend and you want to defend him but…Randy likes you and I don't want to see another person running him down for something he didn't do."

"I'm not going to harass him," John said, affronted.

"Don't because he's innocent." She let out a sigh and straightened up. "This whole town believed the rumors spread by children. Guilty until proven innocent and not the other way around here. Even when Randy was proven innocent, they still called him guilty."

She paused again and pushed off the bar. "Think about it, would you?" She turned on her heel, then and went back to her tables.

John watched her go with a frown on his face.

Xxxxxxxx

John fidgeted uncomfortably after knocking on the door, second guessing himself once again. After his last departure from this place, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to come back but he'd found himself there anyway.

The girl from the bar, he hadn't gotten her name, had he? Her words kept replaying over and over in his head. When the door opened, he was met with surprised gray eyes. John's eyes, however, were immediately drawn to the bruises on Randy's face.

"Hey," John said lamely.

"What are you doing here?" Randy asked, cautiously.

"I was in the neighborhood?" John said, a little bit of a question in his voice.

Randy's lips twitched in an almost smile and he opened the door wider, a silent invitation. John stepped inside.