I could see Kyle from the sliding doors.

He was sitting on the grass, his back facing the house. His fur was wet, making the vibrant red and yellow tones darker than before. I couldn't see his face, but by the way his head was hanging and his tail was down in the mud, I knew he wasn't doing well.

"How long has he been out there?" I asked.

"A few minutes," Lex replied from beside me. "He only started when we both came to see you. He just kinda… stopped there and sat down."

I sighed and clenched my fists, silently cursing at myself. I had never seen him like this before, and the fact that I was the one who caused it made it hurt more.

I slid open the door. The muted sound of the rain suddenly became full as a rush of cool air washed over me. It wasn't as heavy as it was before, but the downpour was still substantial. "Come on, let's get him inside."

"Hold on. I'm not going."

I turned back to Lex. "What do you mean?"

"I think it's best if you talked with him alone. Plus, I'm uh… I'm not really the type for this kind of job," Lex said.

"You handled me decently enough."

"I'm not the one he needs to talk to."

I looked at Kyle, seeing him shiver slightly in the rain, then back to her. "Okay. Can you get a towel for when we get back? One should be in the dryer."

She smiled. "You've got it."

I nodded and went to go outside, but stopped as I took the first step. It was a lot. It couldn't have been more than an hour ago since I snapped at him, and I didn't know what to expect. We had never been in a situation like this before.

Lex nudged my arm. I looked back at her.

"It'll be alright. He cares about you, you know?" she said.

"I know," I whispered, taking the next step. "I know…"

My feet sunk into the muddy ground as I walked towards him. It was slow going, not just because of the mud, but because I was still hesitant. It was one thing if he yelled at me or gave me anything. That I could deal with, and probably deserved. If he didn't say anything, or worse, ran away…

It didn't matter. Whatever the outcome, I still needed to talk to him. At least, try to talk to him. I didn't want our friendship to end because of one incident, no matter the severity.

As I approached, I could see him shivering more subtly. Being part fire type, rain was never his friend. It wasn't a problem that had to be dealt with normally. As long as he kept dry and didn't stay out for too long, he would be completely fine. Unfortunately, neither of those were the case now.

I stopped just behind him. "Kyle," I said.

He stopped shivering as his body tensed, though it was only for a moment. He didn't respond.

I swallowed and tried again. "What happened back there… I…" My voice trailed off as I noticed something else. "Where's your wand?"

"I got rid of it," he whispered. His voice was nearly lost in the pattering rain.

I was sent back to the moment I pushed him, breaking the tip of his wand. The sheer look of devastation on his face. I cringed but kept going. "Oh… um… but you can make a new one, right? I can help."

Kyle lowered his head between his knees. "I don't want to. I'll just hurt you again."

My breath hitched. The tone of his voice was so… broken. I had never heard him like that before. "You won't. Everything that happened, that was just one time, right? It's not gonna happen again."

He shook his head. "What if it does? What if I–" He was cut off by a sneeze that sent another shiver through his body.

"It won't, and you won't hurt me."

He didn't respond, instead wrapping his arms around himself. It quelled the shivering, but not completely.

This wasn't getting anywhere fast. Whatever conversation me and Kyle needed to have, it could wait. There was another, more important thing to deal with. I walked around and ended up in front of him. I knelt down to his level.

"Kyle, we should go inside. You're gonna get sick," I said.

Again, he didn't respond. Worse, he lowered his head further, curling inwards.

"Please? I… I really don't want this for you."

His body untensed slightly. Not by much, but enough that I could see a bit of his eyes. They were half-lidded and didn't meet mine.

I reached out to him slowly and touched his shoulder. Thankfully, he didn't shrink away from it. Underneath the wet fur, I could still feel the subtle warmth to it. That was good. It meant the rain hadn't been too bad for him yet. Still, I needed to get him out of it to keep things that way.

I moved closer and touched his other shoulder with my other hand. "I'm picking you up now, alright? I'll carry you in."

After a few seconds, he gave the smallest of nods.

I put my arms under his armpits and lifted him up, resting him against my chest. The wet fur soaking through my shirt made me shiver. He wasn't too heavy, though his drenched body added some weight.

He didn't make any motions as I stood, but as we started to walk, he put his paws against my back and held on. I still couldn't see his face as he kept his head down throughout the journey.

It didn't take long before we were in the house and out of the rain. I lowered myself down and allowed Kyle to let go. His arms dropped to his sides and his head was still bowed.

There was white towel on the floor and I picked it up. I looked around, but I couldn't see any sign of Lex. It seemed she still wanted me to work things out with him on my own.

I knelt next to Kyle with the towel in hand. Carefully, I raised it up and started drying off his head. The motions were slow and gentle; I didn't want to be rough with him, especially when things were so delicate. Though, with the tension so high, it couldn't hurt to relieve some of it.

"This is a bit weird, huh? You're supposed to be the one worrying about me, not the other way around," I said.

"I am worried about you," he whispered.

"Well, why are you doing that? I'm perfectly fine."

"But… you're not." He looked up at me and I finally could see his face. His eyes were reddened and glossy, the orange in his irises seeming so much less vibrant than before. My heart skipped a beat.

A touch of worry appeared in his expression. He reached up with his paw for half a second before quickly lowering it again "You're… bleeding."

I was confused for a moment before the realization hit. I raised my hand and touched the spot on my cheek, cringing as I felt the three lines light up with pain. My fingertips had a bit of blood on them when I pulled back.

"Courtesy of Lex. I don't think it's that bad," I said, drying off his ears before moving down to his chest.

"I… I tried to stop her but… it was all so fast and…"

"Don't blame yourself for that. All of us were in that mess. We didn't know what we were doing." I sighed. "But I know I made a mistake when I pushed you down back there, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Kyle lowered his head again. "But… I deserved that…"

"No, you didn't. No matter what happened, that doesn't mean I should have lashed out at you." I moved my hand around and started drying his back.

"No, it… You don't understand…"

I stopped my motions and gave him a few light pets on his head. He flinched initially, then began subtly leaning into wherever my hand went. He looked up at me again.

"Why don't you tell me your side of the story? I didn't really get all of it from Lex," I said.

His eyes darted away for a second, then came back. I could see apprehension in them. Despite it, he still nodded.

"When we found out you were home a few weeks ago, Lex and I were so happy. We…" He paused as I resumed my drying. "We didn't think you would be back so early."

I was quiet as I moved over to his arms.

"We knocked on the door but you didn't answer, even after doing it so many times. Lex almost kicked it down before I opened it with my psychic." A tiny smile hung on the last few words. It helped spark my own.

"I didn't think much of it when we were going up the stairs. I thought that… that you were asleep or just messing around and were going to jump out to scare us. We opened your door and…"

I bit my lip. I knew where the story was going next.

"You always had a bright smile. It was so nice to see, and it was so easy to tell that you were d-doing good." He breathed a few times to stabilize his voice. "But when you saw us, you just… stared."

"I… I wanted to be happy that you were there. I was still processing a lot of what happened, though," I said.

"I know, but… it never got better. We tried to help wherever we could, but nothing was working. As the weeks went on, I realized that… that I would do anything to get that smile back."

"And that's when Lex talked to you about the plan?"

"She told you it was her idea?" Kyle said, confused.

I stopped. "Yeah… she did. Why?"

He shook his head. "I guess… she wanted to take the heat for me."

"It was your idea?"

He nodded and let out a shaky breath.

It did make sense. Lex was a good friend, but she was always upfront. Something like that could never have come from her. "So… you wanted to look inside my head and try to control it?"

"No! No… I…" he stammered. His paws clenched tight. "All I did was just put a psychic block on those bad thoughts. I didn't change anything else."

"Nothing else?"

"No," he said, quieter. "I tried my best to keep it up, but when I let go that first time after hide and seek, I thought you would be okay. I never thought it would affect you like that…"

My mind drifted back to yesterday, and the sudden onslaught of negative thoughts that seemingly came out of nowhere. I moved down to drying his legs to finish the job. "Kyle, be honest with me, why did you do all this? I understand the worry, I understand wanting to help, I understand all of that, but this was drastic."

He hesitated for a second. "It was… It was like Lex said. We love you. We care about you a lot, and we'll do anything to help you. I know you would do the same."

"Obviously not. I'm part steel type, not psychic type," I said, grinning.

He let out a small giggle and smiled as well. "I suppose that's true."

"But that's not all of it, right? I think there's another reason why you did what you did."

Kyle paused and his smile faltered, but he kept his gaze at me. "There is, but it's… really, really personal. I can't tell you. One day… maybe… but not now."

I nodded. "I can accept that." With the last bit of Kyle's legs dried off I pulled back and dropped the towel on the floor. "All done. You're officially slightly less wet."

He didn't say anything. Instead, as soon as I went to stand back up, he went and wrapped his arms around me, burying his head in my chest. I was surprised but leaned forward and pulled him in closer.

"Why are you doing all this?" he said, his voice muffled by my shirt. "I lied to you, I… hurt you."

I pet the back of his head. "Because you've been one of my best friends for over a decade. And I've lied to you, and hurt you, and you've still been there for me then. This is the least I can do."

"James…"

Look how much you mean to him.

I held him tighter, letting the warmth from his fur permeate through my body. Kyle sniffled below me. It made me realize that there were more tears forming in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away before they could drop. I didn't want to get him wet again.

We stayed like that for a while, not saying anything to each other. Eventually, my shaky breaths and his sniffles died down and we were left in silence. Though, it was made brief by another voice coming in.

"I hope it's not too awkward for me to jump in on that," Lex said. I looked over at her standing a few feet away.

"Depends. Kyle, are you okay?" I asked.

Kyle peered his head up, a much happier look across his face. He turned to Lex. "Of course you can join."

Lex grinned. "Then make some room, I'm coming in."

Me and Kyle undid our hug and allowed Lex to join us. We held each other tight, all of us together as friends. Despite everything that happened, we were still there for each other. We still cared for each other.

Look how much you mean to them.

"You guys… I love you too," I said, stroking both of their heads. "More than anything else in the world. I hope you know that."

"Of course we do, you dork," Lex said. "Just because you are stupid at times doesn't mean we are."

"Well… aside from…doing that," Kyle said softly.

"Fine, we can be stupid too."

"Being stupid together sounds pretty good to me," I said.

We held the hug for a few seconds longer and when we parted, there was smiling all around. I stood back up and wiped away any watery stragglers from my eyes. As much as I wanted to keep the embrace going, there was something more that needed my attention.

"Let's go to my room. There's something I have to fix there." I turned and went to the stairs. They were quick to follow beside me.

It was a bit strange. For the last few weeks, they had been the ones who went up the stairs to try and convince me to come down. Now, I was going up with them. It was a welcome contrast.

We reached the top and I opened my door. My nose wrinkled instantly as I took in the air. Had it always been so musty? It certainly wouldn't hurt to spray some air freshener. I looked across the floor at all the rocks scattered across it, each one adorned with a piece of sharpie-scrawled paper. I didn't feel strongly about them before, but seeing their words now, I found them unpleasant.

'Join the circus, freak.'

'Don't ever come back here.'

'Kill yourself, half-breed.'

I felt a warm paw touch my hand and saw Kyle looking up at me.

"James?" he said.

"Would you guys help me get rid of these?" I asked. Him and Lex nodded eagerly and immediately went to work and started picking up the rocks nearest to them.

Not wanting to be the lazy one, I moved to the corner where I had thrown most of the rocks. I picked up as many as I could and walked over to the window nearby. Since the glass was already broken, it was easy enough to shove them all out, letting them fall to the ground with a satisfying thump and clatter as they hit each other.

Lex and Kyle came up behind me with their own rocks and threw them out as well, starting another series of clatters. Then they went back and collected more, as did I.

With all of us working together, it didn't take long for all the rocks to be gone. My room seemed oddly empty now. It was strange how much space they had appeared to take up. It would have felt off putting if I didn't feel so light and relieved that they were gone.

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it," I said.

"Was about time too. Part of me was thinking of throwing them at you until you did something about it," Lex said, smirking.

I snickered. "Stoning, the well-known motivator."

"I'm happy they're gone. It feels so much nicer in your room now, like it's easier to breathe almost. Do you feel that way?" Kyle asked.

"A little bit, yeah. Weight off the shoulders and the like. Though…" A thought came to me. "Throwing them out isn't gonna stop more from being thrown in."

"Those terrible people…"

"You can say that again. But… maybe there's a way to stop that."

"Oh? Are you giving my idea a second chance?" Lex said, perking up with her toothy grin.

I shrugged. "I'm entertaining it."

"There we go! I can't wait to sink my claws into those tires."

"I'm… not sure I like this idea," Kyle said.

"I didn't say we were going through with it. There's probably a better solution," I said.

Lex huffed and crossed her arms. "What a buzzkill."

I pat her on the head. "You come up with something better, and I'll be happy to take it on."

She regained her grin. "I like the sound of that. You got it."

"I suppose it's okay as long as it's safe," Kyle said.

"It'll be plenty safe! For me, not for them."

Kyle briefly giggled before stopping himself and putting on a serious look. "Lex, you can't do anything too bad. There's so much risk."

"Ah, come on, you know me. I'm always incredibly cautious with my work. Gotta love those subtle details."

I chimed in. "Yes, I do appreciate the care that went into these three lines you drew on me."

We all laughed, and it was like music to my ears. It felt right. With these two, it felt right. I couldn't have been happier. I didn't know how I even considered the idea that they didn't care about me. It was the boldest lie I ever managed to convince myself of. And I was glad I doubted myself before it was too late.

As the laughter subsided, I put a hand on both of their heads and pet them. "You guys, I need to talk about something. Standing is lovely and all, but I'd prefer to sit on the bed for this."

"What is it?" Kyle asked.

"It's nothing bad, just important to bring up sooner than later." I walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. They both walked over and joined me, Lex sitting on my left and Kyle sitting on my right. "This might come as a shock, but I'm not doing too well right now."

"Really? Could've fooled me," Lex quipped.

I lightly punched her in the shoulder, which she quickly reciprocated. "In all seriousness, it has been rough for the past few weeks. The same thing, day in, day out. Really the only variation was whatever was written on the rocks and the conversations I had with you guys. I want that to stop. I want to get out of this rut."

"We'll help you in any way we can," Kyle said.

"I know. And truly, I'm thankful for both of you for being here. This… thing. It doesn't follow a rhyme or reason or anything. It's not worth listening to… But that doesn't mean I don't find myself listening to it anyway."

"Guess we'll just have to be louder than it, right?" Lex said.

I nodded. "In essence, yeah. I need to shake things up. I can't let it get this hold on me."

Kyle tilted his head. "What do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure. It's not gonna be something that'll be fixed in a day, a week, a month, hopefully not a year, but who knows."

"I'm sure we can be a little optimistic," Lex said.

"Fair enough, but we also shouldn't do nothing. Yesterday and today, even if they had their bad moments and I wasn't technically fully cognizant, I still had good fun hanging out with you guys. It's not a full solution, but I'd really like to do that more. Would that be good with you two?"

Kyle smiled and nodded. "If you think that will work, we would be more than happy to do it."

Lex snorted. "So you wanna spend more time with us? That's it? You know we'd never say no to that, moron."

"I figured as much. But thank you, you're both awesome." I wrapped one arm around each of them and pulled them in. They were quick to hug me back.

I didn't know how it would all work out. As much as I felt that things could improve, there was still that dark corner in my head whispering doubt and uncertainty. On top of that, there were still so many things I needed to sort out. The university, the dorm, Mom… Arceus, that last one would be tough.

But this was a start. If nothing else, I was satisfied with that.

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Peace!

-Minusbomb