I walk into the house, shaken up and upset. I look around, not wanting to be alone, "Thad, are you home?" I call, looking for him. He's not home, so I get dressed and text Nick, 'Hey, sorry I disappeared on you guys last night. Is there any chance you want to come over?' I sigh, putting my phone down and hoping for a response. I should've just stayed with Trent while I had the chance. He's one of the empathetic people I'd ever met, and he knew what was going on.

Thankfully, Nick responds after not very long, 'I take it you skipped school?'

I frown, wanting to keep him in the dark as much as possible right now, 'Yeah. No, wait, it's Saturday. I totally forgot about that, Thad's not home, though. But can you stop by?'

'I guess so. I just got out of work so I gotta change but I'll be right over.'

'Thank you.'

I put my phone away and take my shoes off again, not wanting to leave the house again any time soon. I can't help but worry about what Nick's thinking right now. And I can't be sure on whether or not to tell him the truth or tell him what I told Hunter. I hated lying to Hunter, but it was bad enough telling him that much. And now he can never know, it would be twice as bad because I lied about it. My best bet is probably just go along with what I told to Hunter. The less people that know the truth the less likely Hunter will ever find out. The only person who's ever gonna know is Trent, who I can trust. He doesn't know Hunter anyway and I know he'd never betray me.

Nick shows up maybe a half hour or so later, a slightly worried expression on his face, "Hey, Bas." he greets me as I let him in.

I force a smile, "Hey, Nicky."

We both casually sit down on the couch and he faces towards me, "So what happened last night? Sorry that I lost track of you."

"Nothing really," I reply, "My friend Trent called me up and I went to his place for the night. I felt guilty being at the club after talking to Hunter. I was gonna let you guys know but I couldn't find you. Didn't think it'd be a big deal."

"I guess not," he reluctantly agrees, "Thad was worried about you, though. Your boyfriend called him and texted him a bunch of times about you. He must have been freaking out a little."

I shake my head, not wanting to think about Hunter right now, "He's fine. I talked to him earlier, he picked me up from Trent's, actually."

"Fair enough," he comments, raising his eyebrows, "I have a bad idea about that guy, honestly, Sebastian. I mean, I've never met him, I know, but the little I know of him isn't very good."

"He can be a pain sometimes, but it's no big deal. Let's not talk about him, what about you? You guys doing anything crazy after I left?" I don't want to think about the club, either, but anything's better than Hunter right now.

He gives me a seriously concerned look for a moment, but eventually lets it go, "Not really. Thad almost went home with some guy, he was pretty drunk. But I remembered that he told me about that Jeff kid he was into, so I steered him away and put him to bed."

"Yeah..." I mutter, a painful feeling in my stomach.

Thad comes in shortly after, "Hey, guys." he smirks at me, "Nice to see you in one piece, where'd you disappear to?"

I tell Thad what I told Nick and he buys every word, not thinking anything of it.

"Where were you?" I ask after my story is done.

"Just ran some errands. I got some ice cream if you're interested."

"Normally I would say I can't, but today I don't really care. You guys wanna make some sundaes and watch some TV or something?"

They both nod casually and we go into the kitchen. We all build ourselves ice cream sundaes and I head back to couch a minute before they do. I hear them whispering something, so I listen closely,

"Is he okay?" Nick asks, "I mean, when was the last time Sebastian wanted to eat ice cream and watch TV?"

Thad frowns, "I think it has something to do with Hunter. Don't tell Bas I told you this, but I stopped by Hunter's to see Jeff and he was acting like a huge jerk, honestly I'm kind of worried about Jeff being alone with him and-"

"What did he say?" I ask from the couch even though I know they didn't want me hearing their conversation.

"Shit," Thad whispers and then turns to me, "Nothing much. He was just in a bad mood. Hey, did you guys get in a fight or something? You both seem off..."

I nod as they both join me on the couch, "Yeah, he was pissed off at me for last night. He doesn't like me going out when he doesn't know about it, etc. etc."

Nick shakes his head, "I'm telling you, dude, you shouldn't be with a guy like that. He's already stressing you way out, you don't need that right now."

I shrug, taking a bite of my ice cream, "Ugh, whatever with Hunter. I don't want to think about it." I turn Netflix on.

We decide on Breaking Bad and we all try and pretend that it's all okay, avoiding the subject of Hunter and last night altogether.

A few hours later Thad wants to see so Nick and I hesitantly go with him. I don't want to talk to Hunter right now, but I can't make Thad go alone.

He knocks on the door and we all sigh in relief when it's Jeff that opens it.

"Hey guys." he says with a weak smile.

"Hey, Jeff," Thad responds, beaming back at him, "I came by to see you earlier but Hunter said you weren't around. You want to come over my place and hang out with us?"

Jeff sighs, "I um, I can't. I'm sorry, I wish I could..."

Thad frowns, "How come? What's going on?"

Jeff shakes his head, "It's just that I promised Hunter I'd help him out with some stuff."

Thad and I exchange worried glances and I ask instantly, "What kind of stuff?"

"Nothing major. Don't worry about it. I'll see you guys later, okay?" he replies, starting to close the door.

"Wait!" Thad says before he closes it completely, "I'm worried about you. Why haven't you called me? Are you okay?"

Jeff sighs, "I'm fine, Thad, if you're gonna be up late maybe I'll call you."

He nods with a sad look on his face, "Fair enough."

We head back to our place, downcast. Nick tries to console us both, but it's mostly a lost cause. He ends up going home after not too long and leaving Thad and I to fester in our own misery.