Chapter 21

Social suicide. Those were the only words for what had happened to Alfred Jones after his boyfriend left school, according to the Fag Hags. Every school has kids that nobody really notices, or kids who are "different." Tony Allen was a "different" kid.

Tony was quiet, for the most part. Teachers didn't really notice him, and that was just fine by Tony. He wanted to be an astronomer some day, and he only attended World Academy because his father was a very noted and celebrated scientist. Truthfully, Tony was less than impressed with the science department at World Academy, and so he spent most of his time pursuing his own interests and hobbies. The phrase "science geek" didn't really begin to cover it for Tony. He had every Star Wars movie memorized forwards, backwards, and sideways. He practically spoke Klingon, and Tony's idea of fun was to re-read a few chapters from his well-worn copy of A Brief History of the Universe. He'd never attended a school dance, sporting event, or fundraiser activity. He didn't belong to any clubs, and since he was simply not challenged enough in his science classes, his grades were less than impressive.

For the most part, Tony flew under everyone's radar…with one small exception. The school had not been able to successfully pair him with a roommate since his arrival. Student after student absolutely insisted to be given a new rooming assignment, until finally Tony had been put on the list of students who were given their own room due to "unmatchable" personalities. The reason for this difficulty in matching Tony could be found in his medical file. Tony was a child with Aspergers syndrome.

Tony had no problem being labeled unmatchable. It just meant he had more space for his models and his action figures. Tony even took it one step further and decided Freshman year that his solitude and his poor ability to make friends was actually training. If he had things his way, one day he'd be all alone up in space with nothing but silence and his research to occupy him. He didn't need friends. At least, that's what he told himself. He didn't really understand what the big hype was about friends anyway.

When Alfred finally escaped from his week of grounding and was allowed to return to school, he was heartbroken to read Arthur's text message. Things seemed to conspire against him even further when he learned that Arthur had temporarily withdrawn from school, and Alfred's parents had requested that he no longer room with Arthur. Even if they hadn't asked for new arrangements, they would have gotten them anyway. Due to the security situation, Arthur was now going to room by himself if he returned, in the room closest to the hall monitor's station, so that there would always be someone staffing the desk and monitoring who came in and out of his door.

So Alfred was given a new roommate…the unmatchable Tony Allen—or Tony the Alien to everyone who cared enough to be mean at World Academy.

Alfred stared at his new bedroom door with a dazed, broken-hearted look. Memories of the first time he met Arthur assaulted him and wouldn't let him be. Irritated with himself, Alfred shook his head to banish the memories and knocked quietly.

A few seconds later, the door opened the tiniest of cracks. Alfred blinked a bit in surprise. He knew of the kid he was seeing, but he'd never actually talked to him. He knew the kid was smart—in all advanced classes—so their paths had never crossed before.

"There's a password," Tony said in a flat tone. Alfred blinked, and didn't understand. Tony's eyes narrowed. "The password is Roswell. Don't forget it."

Then the door was released and Alfred got his first look at his new room…or what was left of it.

"Woah!" Alfred said in awe, so surprised that he was momentarily snapped out of his depression. Keeping his reserved expression, Tony retreated into the room and stared almost unblinkingly at Alfred's chin. Tony didn't like looking anyone in the eye, and thankfully, his almost stunted height made it so that people never really expected him to do so anyway.

Alfred spun in a tight circle once he was fully in the room, taking in the massive paper mural that covered the entire ceiling—an incredibly detailed and well drawn map of the cosmos. The walls seemed to sag under the weight of Star Wars and Star Trek posters, as well as shelves crammed with highly detailed models and action figures.

"This is…this is…awesome!" Alfred enthused with an ear to ear grin. It was the first smile he'd shown in nearly three weeks.

For a long moment, Tony's expression remained completely blank. Then, ever so slowly, a tiny smile graced his face.

"It's just weird. I mean, he was like totally popular. What's he doing hanging out so much with the special ed. kid?" Ashley gossiped to another coldly beautiful girl as Alfred and Tony walked by their lunch table.

"I think they're roommates now. Doesn't mean he has to spend time with him though. I mean, like, what if he's contagious?" Ashley's minion said in a pitying voice. Ashley, who was actually more intelligent than she let on, rolled her eyes.

"He's retarded. It's not like the flu, genius. Whatevs. Now that Francis Bonnefoy is back from Paris, we can go shopping with him instead. Alfred didn't even really know how to be gay anyway. I mean…look at what he's wearing. Is that a Pokemon T-shirt? I mean…gross. Just gross."

Alfred didn't hear the entire conversation, but he heard enough of it to be hurt and surprised by Ashley's cold words. Sure, he was taking a break from sports and he and Arthur weren't the "it" gay couple on campus anymore, but Ashley had been his princess for the Homecoming dance not even a month before. She'd claimed to be one of his best girl friends then.

"Fucking stupid cuntlicker! You're worse than an ice bitch. You're like an ice wampa of Hoth! Stupid earthlings," Tony mumbled, just loud enough for Alfred to hear. The ex-football star laughed a bit nervously and scratched the back of his neck—the motion he always seemed to do when he was unsure of how to handle a situation. Did he stand up for Ashley, or did he let Tony's foul (but true) language slide?

At first, Alfred hadn't known what to make of Tony. He knew he instantly liked him, despite his odd and sometimes off-putting behavior. Tony was just Tony. He didn't try to change who he was, and he never even seemed to worry about it. Alfred really liked that about Tony, in the same way he'd once admired the same quality in Arthur. After a few days of Alfred not demanding a room change, and actually managing to impress Tony with his knowledge of Star Wars and his willingness to listen to long winded explanations about where each toy in Tony's collection came from, Tony had deemed Alfred worthy enough to offer an explanation when Alfred admitted he didn't know what Aspergers even was.

"It means I'm smarter than almost everyone in this school. I have emotions, but not like yours. I just see the world differently. Albert Einstein had Aspergers. Lots of great scientists do. You're pretty dumb compared to me, but at least you have good taste. I'll let you be my friend. But can we get back to our discussion about the motion-controlled cameras? They were invented by the FX team for Star Wars. Did you know? Of course you didn't. Now you do, though. Moving on," Tony had a funny habit of speaking to Alfred as if he were giving college lectures, which Alfred strangely enjoyed. Tony was fun to listen to, even if he cussed too much and too loudly, and freaked people out with his lack of social skills.

The best thing about Tony, though, was that everyone seemed to avoid Alfred when he was in the company of Tony. Even Matthew shied away from the two of them. Matthew had tried to join them a few times and make polite conversation with Tony, but Tony didn't do polite chit chat. He started talking loudly and profanely about Princess Leia's anatomy until Matthew choked out an excuse and fled their lunch table with reddened cheeks.

Before, Alfred would have worried about what everyone thought of him. Now, he hid behind Tony's abrasive personality and let himself be further drawn into a world of science fiction and fantasy escapism. It was the newest juicy piece of gossip once the interest in his jail escape had worn off. Then people just lumped him with Tony as a "weird kid" again, and Alfred resumed enjoying a peace he'd lost as a star football player.

He no longer was expected to go hang out in popular guy's dorm rooms, debating with them about football teams and listening to them salivate over cheerleaders. He didn't have to practice every night, or spend all Saturday on games, and as Alfred's six pack began to fade, he remembered just how much absolute joy could be found in eating a loaded cheeseburger without any feelings of guilt or remorse. He watched all the Star Wars movies approximately thirty-six times. His grades began to dramatically improve in chemistry, and Alfred gave Arthur space. He didn't text, or call, or write letters.

What hurt most of all was that Arthur's "space" lasted for nearly all of October. A month was a long time in the world of high school. When word began to spread that Arthur was coming back, Alfred felt like his entire life was different. Things were simple again. He was happier again.

And what did that mean? That he'd been able to be happy without Arthur?

Alfred didn't quite know. He didn't really know anything anymore. Except a shitload of Star Wars trivia, thanks to his new roommate Tony.

Matthew smiled as he entered the courtyard and saw Francis and Gilbert sneaking a cigarette. A third boy had joined the two unlikely friends—a Spanish kid named Antonio who was a junior. As the three of them passed the cigarette around, Antonio gestured wildly as he told what was (no doubt) a raunchy joke. Gilbert and Antonio kind of made sense as friends, considering they were both into music and supposedly were trying to get a band together. Matthew could only assume Francis hung around them because it was an easy way to pick up bed partners. Girls (and guys) flocked to the musicians and to Gilbert because of his illegal connections. The three teens were laughing loudly at Antonio's joke now, until Francis finally noticed him approaching.

"Matthew! You have to hear this joke!" Francis said with a devilish grin. Matthew smiled but shook his head.

"I know the kind of jokes you three tell. I think I'm good not knowing," Matthew said. Francis merely winked and offered a broad, sincere smile. Though Matthew would have never have predicted it a month before, when the two of them had actually been arrested for their fighting and heated make-out session in the school courtyard, he and Francis were actually doing very well now…as friends.

"Hey beautiful. Sorry, but if you want to come over here, your shirt has to go. You can stay, though," Gilbert purred as he puffed out a perfect smoke ring. Matthew waved at the smoke drifting towards him in distaste. He rolled his eyes again.

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"Seriously, though, teddy bear, why are you still holding out on me? Let's just go back to my dorm and do the things that I tell people we do anyway," Gilbert suggested.

"It's over, stoner. When will you just accept that you were just sloppy seconds to my main course?" Francis asked, pretending to muse over the question as if it were a huge mystery. Antonio took the cigarette.

"You're both lucky he puts up with you two idiots at all anymore," Antonio said lightly.

"I have no idea why I do," Matthew said with a shy grin. Gilbert stuck out his tongue at him and Francis casually dropped an arm around his shoulders. When he smiled at Matthew, it was genuine and carefree.

"Because deep down…very, very deep down…you know you love us."

"I don't know about that…if it is there, it's buried under a lot of bitter regret that I ever dated either of you."

"Oooohhh!" Antonio mocked, offering Matthew a high-five. "You both just got burned!"

"What? There's a fire? You look like a fireman, baby, so why don't you slide down my pole?" Gilbert asked with a lascivious wink aimed at Matthew. Francis cracked up (and he was really, truly laughing because whenever he was really laughing he did that stereotypical hon hon hon kind of French laugh that Alfred had always teased him for).

"I just came over here to tell you about my game this Saturday. You guys wanna come? We can go get food afterwards or something," Matthew suggested. He still felt a little shy initiating things with his friends, but seeing as Alfred tended to keep to himself lately, Matthew found himself stepping out of his shadow.

"Sounds like a plan. We'll come cheer for you," Francis said with a soft smile. Matthew returned it, and even blushed a little. Francis was such a charmer.

"Watching you get all rough with your stick? Count me in, babe," Gilbert added. Matthew's blush deepened. Francis was a charmer, and Gilbert was a total pervert. But he did truly love them both.

He just didn't love them in that way anymore. For awhile…for longer than Matthew even realized, perhaps…his heart set its sights on someone else. Francis claimed he'd seen it coming all along, but Matthew wasn't so sure. Matthew hadn't even figured it out until shortly after Francis had returned and he realized that even though he cared about Francis deeply, that spark that had been there before wasn't there anymore, and it wasn't there when he slept with Gilbert, either.

"I assume your secret love will be coming, too, non?" Francis asked casually. There was only a brief flash of jealousy in his blue eyes, but he was showing that jealousy less and less frequently since Matthew had confessed in secret to both Francis and Gilbert who he really wanted.

"Yeah, he's been spending a lot of time with his new…friend…but he'll be there. He is my best friend after all, even after all the crazy things we've gone through this year."

Francis just shrugged, as if he'd given up on Matthew's poor choice in men and resigned himself to the idea of seeing Matthew with someone he viewed as inferior to himself. Gilbert just crushed the last bit of the cigarette and fell into a discussion about an upcoming concert with Antonio. At times, it stung Matthew's pride a bit that Gilbert had accepted the end of their relationship with such a easy-come, easy-go attitude…but he supposed that was a lingering aftereffect of all the pot the boy had puffed over the years. Not much ever seemed to phase Gilbert.

"I've gotta get going, but did you guys hear? Arthur is coming back. He texted Yao yesterday."

Francis gave Matthew a surprised look. "I didn't know. Arthur hasn't talked to me at all for the past month. Has he…contacted Alfred?"

Matthew's face stayed almost perfectly neutral. "Alfred says he hasn't. He says…they're broken up, or so he figures."

"This might be a stupid question…but is Alfred interested in that…er…Tony kid?" Francis asked carefully. Matthew was quick to shake his head.

"Oh god no. At least…I hope not!" Matthew said. Then, horror-struck, "What if Alfred is interested in Tony?"

"That kid's a weird fucker. He probably wants to play astronaut and explore Alfred's Uranus."

"Ugh! Gilbert! Gross!" Matthew retorted hotly. Gilbert just laughed.

"Yeah yeah, no teasing poor, heartbroken Alfred. I know. You better get going or you'll be late, teddy bear."

"You're right. I'll catch you guys later! Bye!"

The three watched him leave and laughed when Gilbert made the totally predictable joke about Matthew's ass in parting.

Arthur stepped out of the cab and blinked behind his dark sunglasses. The campus was just as he remembered, though even colder feeling. He felt sick, honestly, to be back in the place where he'd been so hurt. His therapist had warned him it would be difficult to return. The nightmares might come back, or seeing Alfred might upset him. It had been his choice to return, though, and to face his fears for however long he was able. Honestly, Arthur didn't know what he hoped to gain by returning.

Maybe he just hoped that the cold, numb feeling in his chest would finally melt harmlessly away. Maybe he hoped the rapist would come again, and this time, Arthur would be ready. This time, he'd kill the attacker with his bare hands.

Arthur tightened his grip around his rolling suitcase and set off at a brisk, no-nonsense pace towards the dormitory. He kept expecting to run into someone he knew, but aside from a few double takes, he saw nobody that he even recognized. The whole campus felt like it was full of strangers. Arthur kept searching for a flash of laughing blue eyes, or a glimpse of tall, tan, and blond, but Alfred was nowhere to be seen. As Arthur reached the dorms and then their old room…where it had happened…he thought about knocking. Wouldn't that be better? To face him directly after all they'd been through and give him some closure? Didn't he at least owe him that?

Arthur grit his teeth and kept walking, realizing after the long trip that he was not yet ready to fight a battle so soon. He reached the security desk and informed him of his arrival. He already knew he'd have private rooming arrangements, but he didn't expect them to be so close, in what he'd always assumed was a storage closet by the front desk. Arthur did feel a little better though, knowing that there was always someone posted on guard at the security station to monitor the comings and goings of the students. Usually, it was a young security officer with sandy brown hair and a kind smile. He'd always been polite to Arthur, and very lenient towards students sneaking about after hours, as if he understood all too well what it was like to be a teen not so long ago.

"Welcome back, Prince Arthur. This is actually going to be your new room. I'll be keeping watch at all times, so you can rest easy. It's an interior room, too, so no windows," the security guard said, as if he understood. Arthur nodded tightly.

"Thank you," he said. Then, with a slight blush he added, "I've never caught your name."

"It's Mike. See?" The security guard held up a shiny badge that proclaimed him to be security staff and a World Academy employee. Arthur appreciated the gesture due to his newfound paranoia and offered a weak smile as Mike rummaged around for his new room key. Arthur had never been so eager to be locked away from the challenges he was about to face in his life. He all but snatched the key from Mike and (with another hasty "thanks!") closed and locked the door behind him. His room was pitch black until he turned on the light switch. A simple bed, some mismatched furniture, and what appeared to be a broken rolling chair greeted him. His initial guess had not been far off the mark—this room probably had been used for storage. It must have been intended as a room for the security guard at one point, though, because it did have a small bathroom attached. There was no luxurious tub, as in the other rooms—only an efficient shower.

With a small sigh of longing for the nicer rooms he'd had before, Arthur set about unpacking…and waiting. Surely, word would reach Alfred instantly that he was back on campus. Sure, Alfred was still in his last class of the day, but plenty of students had been off and milling around to see him arrive. Alfred would come directly after the bell, wouldn't he?

Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty. Two hours.

Arthur had tidied and unpacked and done everything he could to occupy himself. He didn't want to hop in the shower, though he desperately wanted one, because he knew as soon as he did that Alfred would knock on the door. So he waited around another thirty minutes before he decided he'd ignore any visitors until after a hot shower.

Alfred didn't knock, however, and Arthur got dressed leisurely in his night clothes and settled onto the less than comfortable bed with his latest book. He fell asleep with the book draped over his chest, forgetting to set his alarm, convinced Alfred would be knocking at any moment…

He had a horrible dream, but he woke up unable to remember anything specifically. The complete darkness of his room was unsettling, and so Arthur made a mad dash to the bathroom where he turned on the light and left it on for the remainder of the morning. He lay in bed until nearly six, and then he began preparing for the day. When he left, Mike was just passing off his shift to a tall, muscular woman whom Arthur had seen often enough around campus escorting rowdier students to and from classes. Arthur nodded politely at them both before hitching his school bag up onto his shoulder and slipping out of the dorms earlier than everyone else. If Arthur was avoiding running into Alfred for as long as possible, he refused to admit it to himself.

He needn't have worried. Alfred did not show up to the early breakfast, which Arthur should have known would be the case. Instead, it was Francis who dropped into the seat across from him. Francis gave him a long, assessing look…and then said absolutely nothing. He began to neatly dissect his crepes and sip on his coffee.

"Good morning, Francis," Arthur finally said, very stiffly and with far too much formality. Francis glanced up at him over the school paper he'd been pretending to read.

"Welcome back. I admit…I am a little surprised to see you. Something happen to your phone?" Francis asked with not even a hint of accusation in his tone. Arthur winced all the same.

"No. It's still working properly. I've just had other things on my mind. I've never been one for over-reliance on technology, you know."

"Hmm…is that the excuse you will give to Alfred? That you merely grew tired of technology?" Now there was accusation. Arthur scowled, though it was only a small scowl.

"Since when do you care about Alfred?"

Francis was instantly casual again, turning the page of the paper and ignoring Arthur completely once more.

"Silly me. I don't."

Satisfied, Arthur dug into his heartier breakfast and made sure to eat every bit. He refused to start losing weight due to stress or fear or paranoia…though he felt all three like a constant intrusion on his mind. Was his attacker in the cafeteria even now? Watching him?

Arthur shook his head a bit to snap out of it and choked down the last bite of food he could manage. Without saying goodbye, he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed to class.

He had first period with Matthew, who seemed nervous to approach him but finally worked up the nerve in the last five minutes of class. He stuttered out something about being glad he was okay and back at school, but Arthur only gave a generic polite response. It was as if he was looking through Matthew instead of at him. Matthew and Arthur had never been best friends anyway, except on the few occasions they'd teamed up because of Alfred, so Matthew wasn't willing to pry. He left Arthur alone with one final, worried glance.

In second period, Arthur knew nobody except Vash, who merely cast him a glare and then kept his distance. Third period was the same, except he got pitying looks instead of offended ones. Fourth period was science…the one class he shared with Alfred for the day.

Arthur was the first to arrive, and he abandoned his usual seat near the back to sit very close to Mr. Allowick's desk. Arthur knew a great number of students in this class, among them Yao, Michelle, Kiku, and even Heracles. Because he'd shared the class with Alfred, he'd somehow gotten to know everyone. Each student that entered looked at him with surprise. Some offered him greetings, but quickly decided not to push him.

Finally…finally…Alfred came in just a half minute before the bell rang. Alfred froze, and Arthur froze, and the whole bloody class seemed to freeze…and then Alfred continued on to his seat in the back, without so much as a single word. His head hung and Arthur saw that he'd let his bangs grow too long—they hid his eyes. Alfred had lost muscle mass, and his skin was paler. The dark smudges under his eyes suggested sleepless nights. He wore an old, nerdy T-shirt—some internet joke fading on its surface—with a pair of jeans that was neither tight or trendy.

It was almost like seeing Alfred from freshman year again, when he'd somehow managed to be both devastatingly handsome and horribly awkward in his own skin at the same time. Arthur swallowed thickly and kept a stiff upper lip. Firmly compressing all emotion, Arthur readied his notes and his pencil and waited for the lesson to begin.

He'd seen Alfred again and his world had not come crashing down. That was something, at least. Not much, but it was something.

A/N: My only excuse for the lateness of this chapter is state testing, which is miserable for students and hellish for teachers. I'm technically staying up way too late to write this, but I figured this chapter was LONG overdue for those of you still interested in the story. Hope it was worth the wait, and I apologize for the long gap between updates! Oh, and I'm super happy to introduce Tony Allen (Allen...Alien...get it? :P) as Alfred's new roommate. Isn't he adorable? Luv for Tony!