A/N: Here is the fifth chapter, please enjoy it!

Thank you for all of the reviews - I am so happy every time I get one!

Also, I feel like I should mention it, this story is set in the year 64AD, so if you want to look it up then it might give you a slight hint as to what might also happen in the rest of this story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

Nearly three days had passed since Jeff had arrived in Nick's life, and the brunette had been taking great pride in helping the other boy adjust to his new home and surroundings.

Over the past few days, Jeff had really come out of his shell and Nick had been greatly enjoying his company. Yes, Jeff still spooked a little at any loud noise in the city, and always looked mildly terrified in a crowd of more than a handful of people; but he wasn't afraid to speak to Nick about his fears now, and he looked more comfortable in himself.

And, in turn, Jeff had provided Nick with a companionship that went deeper than either of the brunette's friendships with Sebastian and Wes. Of course, Nick loved his other friends dearly and valued their friendship very highly, but he just had this connection with Jeff that he had never felt with anyone before; it was hard to put into words how Nick felt.

"What are you doing?" Jeff's voice interrupted Nick's musings suddenly.

The blonde was seated on the end of Nick's bed and, until a second ago, had been daydreaming about his family. Now, he was gazing at Nick curiously, watching as the brunette was shuffling through a pile of parchment.

Nick looked up at Jeff.

"Oh, just looking through some things," he said, continuing to sift through the sheets.

"What sort of things?" Jeff persisted.

Nick sighed, considering whether to answer Jeff or not, but the blonde's hunger for new knowledge and the questioning look on his face was just too adorable for Nick to ignore.

Wait, where did his subconscious find the word 'adorable'? Nick brushed it off, of course Jeff was adorable, and surely that was everybody's impression of him?

Nick took a deep breath and made up his mind; he was going to share one of his most important secrets with the blonde, he couldn't keep Jeff in the dark, not if he'd told Wes and Sebastian already.

"Poems," Nick said simply, "They're poems."

Jeff frowned.

"Whose poems?" he asked, and Nick allowed himself to smile proudly.

"Mine," he replied, watching as Jeff's look of confusion was replaced with one of admiration.

"Wow," the blonde breathed out slowly, "That's really cool."

"Yeah, I want to be a poet," Nick said, "But I have to keep it secret from my parents, they want me to be a soldier, and they think that poetry is a waste of my time."

Again, Jeff frowned.

"Your parents can't force you to do anything, Nick," he said, "You're your own person." Nick smiled gratefully at his friend.

"Thank you, Jeff," he said, "I try to remember that whenever they talk about my future, but they've got a lot of power over me, and if they say I have to join the army then I have to, if I want to avoid a nasty public fallout anyway."

Jeff made a face, understanding that Nick wouldn't want that at all.

"Hey, Jeff, do you, maybe, want to read one of my poems?" Nick said shyly, only realising once he'd spoken what he just offered to let Jeff do. Never in his entire life had he let anybody see his work, not even Wes or Sebastian; even though Seb had threatened to steal them and read them without Nick's knowledge one day. Maybe, this proved how much Nick trusted Jeff; he'd let him look at his most precious belongings without even considering it first.

What surprised Nick though was the fact that Jeff shook his head.

"No, thank you," Jeff said, looking down at the bed and playing with the hem of one of the sheets, "But I'm sure they're lovely, Nick."

"But you haven't read them," Nick said, frowning, "How can you know what they're like?"

He felt slightly hurt and disappointed that he'd trusted Jeff enough to let him look at something that meant the world to him, yet Jeff hadn't even spared his poems a second glance.

"I know you, Nick," Jeff smiled sheepishly, "So I'm sure they're lovely."

Nick blushed a little at the compliment, but he still felt a little upset.

"I've never offered to let anyone read these before, Jeff," he tried again, looking for an explanation as to the blonde's refusal.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said quietly, looking rather guilty now.

"You don't have to apologise," Nick said, "I'd just like to know why you won't read…"

He trailed away as realisation dawned across his face, and watched as Jeff turned away from him.

"Jeff," he said slowly, reaching out to grasp the other boy's hand, "You can't read, can you?"

Jeff shook his head tearfully, refusing to look at Nick.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding ashamed and guilty now. Nick rubbed his thumb over Jeff's hand comfortingly.

"Jeff, you don't have to say you're sorry for something like that," he said, "And you don't have to be ashamed. It's not your fault if there wasn't a teacher where you used to live."

Jeff sniffed loudly, and then started sobbing. Nick was slightly taken aback, but nevertheless, he pulled Jeff closer to him and let the blonde rest his head on his shoulder.

Jeff felt rather pathetic crying into Nick's shoulder, but at least the other boy hadn't laughed at him or looked down upon him. Jeff was so ashamed of the fact that he couldn't read or write, everyone else could and he just felt completely stupid next to them.

"Hey, it's okay, Jeff," Nick said soothingly, stroking the blonde boy's hair comfortingly as he continued to cry.

"But there…there was a school…" Jeff choked on his tears, "There was a school…where I lived, and everyone else went there…and everyone else could read and write…and I can't…and I'm so stupid."

"You're not stupid, Jeff," Nick said, "You're not stupid at all."

He'd only known the blonde for a few days, but anyone could see that Jeff wasn't stupid; he was clueless about life in the city, yes, but that didn't make him stupid at all.

"And anyway," Nick finished, "If you weren't allowed to go to school, even though everyone else was, then that's not your fault."

Jeff shook his head, sobbing even harder now.

"I…I was allowed to go to school…" he said tearfully, "But…but I didn't want to go…I…I always hid when it was school…"

"You hid?" Nick asked, confusion clouding his face.

"Yeah," Jeff said quietly, "I hid…because…I was scared of the other children…" He spoke the last part of the sentence so quietly that it was only just above a whisper, and the look on his face nearly broke Nick's heart; Jeff just looked so ashamed of himself.

Nick didn't say anything, he knew that whatever he said wouldn't make up for Jeff's past, and so he just slipped his arm around the blonde's waist and hugged him tightly.

"It sounds so stupid now," Jeff continued, "But I was, Nick, I was terrified of them…they used to tell me I was stupid or weird…I guess they were right…"

"No, Jeff, that's not true," Nick said softly, "They were wrong."

Jeff just shook his head and buried his face further into Nick's shoulder.

"No, Jeff, look at me," Nick said, forcing the blonde to lift his head up and look him in the eyes.

The blonde's eyes were red and filled with tears, while his hair was sticking up in all directions. Nick had the sudden urge to wipe away Jeff's tears himself, but he stopped himself once he realised that action might be just a little too forward.

"Jeff, you are not stupid," Nick said, "You are not stupid or weird at all. The people who said those things to you, they were not speaking the truth, they didn't know you, but I do. I know that you're one of the nicest people I've ever met; you can be funny or you can be serious; you're extremely brave for putting up with some of the things that you've had to deal with; and you're my best friend. Now, don't forget how special you are."

Jeff gave Nick a watery smile.

"You're my best friend too, Nick," he said, "And thank you for making me feel better, and for not laughing at me, other people would have done."

"Oh, and Jeff," Nick said, "If you want, I can teach you to read and write?"

Jeff's eyes lit up at the prospect and he nodded eagerly.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," Nick replied, grinning. He shifted slightly on the bed and found that something crackled underneath him. Jeff noticed it too, and looked just as puzzled as Nick did. They both stood up, looking down at the bed but not seeing anything.

"Maybe it's under the sheets," Nick suggested, wondering what could possibly have made it there. Carefully, he lifted the sheet up and looked down.

There, on his bed, lay a carefully folded sheet of parchment.

"Is that one of your poems?" Jeff asked.

Nick shook his head.

"No," he said, picking up the parchment and unfolding it delicately.

"What is it?" Jeff asked quietly, watching as some writing was revealed.

"Dear Nick and Jeff," Nick began to read aloud, smiling to himself at the fact that it was addressed to Jeff too, "I must speak to you urgently about a grave matter. You were not home when I stopped by earlier, but please come to my house as soon as you get this note. Wes."

Both boys looked at each other anxiously.

"It must be serious," Nick said, "Especially if Wes didn't send a slave to deliver the message."

Jeff nodded in agreement.

"Well then, Jeff," Nick said, clapping his hands together as he spoke, "I suppose we're off to Wes'."

Wes' family home was a ten minute walk away from Nick's house, and as they walked Nick filled Jeff in on anything he might need to know about Wes' family.

Wes lived with only his father and their household slaves, as Wes' mother had died when he was very young. Nick had always got the impression that Wes' father had never quite got over his wife's death, and once or twice he'd heard his own father suggesting that Wes' father remarry, but the other man wouldn't hear any of it. Wes was very close to his father, and often Nick felt slightly envious of that fact, wishing that he had the same relationship with his own father.

Nick also explained to Jeff about David. David was Wes' closest friend, and had originally been one of their household slaves, but had been freed after he'd apprehended a thief who was trying to enter the house while Wes and his father had been away visiting friends.

It was David who opened the door to them when they arrived.

"Thank goodness you're here," David said, "He's freaking out in here."

"Okay," Nick said, not quite grasping the situation yet. "And, David, this is Jeff. Jeff, this is David."

"Pleased to meet you," David said, as he extended a hand to the blonde boy, "It's a shame it couldn't be under pleasanter circumstances."

Jeff shook David's hand, while Nick just looked more anxious.

"David, what exactly is going on?" he asked.

"Come with me," David said, "I'll let Wes explain properly."

Both Nick and Jeff nodded understandingly, and followed David into the dining room of the house, where they found Wes waiting for them.

Wes was sitting on one of the couches, wringing his hands and occasionally shifting around as though he couldn't become comfortable where he was. Nick and David were both regarding him pityingly.

"I told you he was freaking out," David whispered aside to both of them, but while Nick nodded, Jeff couldn't help thinking that Wes was awfully calm for someone who was supposed to be going mad with worry about something; but maybe Wes was just such a calm person that even him acting like he this was unusual.

"Thank you for coming, guys," Wes said, finally looking up and acknowledging their presence. He beckoned for them all to come into the room and sit down.

"No problem," Nick said, "But we'd like to know what is going on, it sounds pretty serious."

Wes nodded.

"It is," he said, "It's about my father."

Nick nodded, suddenly realising that it was odd that he hadn't seen Wes' father when they'd arrived; usually the man came out to greet him and ask how he was.

"I'm guessing you've noticed that he's not here," Wes said, surprising Nick the way he did every time he guessed what the younger boy was thinking.

"Yes, I had noticed that," Nick said, his mind racing through different reasons to explain the man's absence.

Wes sighed and leant forward slightly, silently indicating to the others that it was something that wasn't to be spoken about to anybody outside of their friendship circle.

"Listen, I'm just going to give it to you straight," Wes said, "My father has been arrested by the Emperor."

"What for?" Nick exclaimed, as David motioned for him to keep his voice down.

Jeff, meanwhile, looked shocked. He'd have never associated Wes with anything criminal, and from the way that Nick had spoken about his father, he'd assumed the same of him too.

"For treason," Wes spoke in a hushed whisper, "Apparently he was opposing the Emperor and plotting to overthrow him because he didn't think that he was fit to rule the Empire."

Nick's eyes widened in surprise; he had not been expecting Wes' father to be arrested, and he definitely was not expecting it to be for something so serious.

"But he wasn't plotting to do anything like that, was he?" Nick asked.

Wes shook his head.

"No, he wasn't," he replied, and then his expression clouded over, "But I am."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will see the reappearance of Sebastian - and a new character!

Historical points:

1. It is actually highly unlikely that Jeff's village would have had any sort of teacher, let alone a school, as most people in Ancient Rome could not read or write at all, but I wanted to put in some cute Nick comforting Jeff so I sort of changed that.

2. It actually would also have been impossible for David to be a freedman because the Emperor Augustus passed a law that decreed that a slave could only be freed once they were over the age of 30, and David is of a similar age to Wes, so I am ignoring that law in here because it fits better with the storyline.

3. Finally, there was actually a plot to overthrow Nero, but that occurred in 65AD, a year after this story is set, so that is not what is being talked about here.

Please review and tell me what you thought! Or to ask any questions about the story!