Apologies for the late update!!

Trigger Warning for strong language and mention of (unconsensual) devil's tango. There's no description of the act, but still stay safe while reading, lovelies <3

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"You made that tent back there... didn't you?"

Scott opened his mouth to talk, but decided against it, closing his mouth and hugging the bag tightly to his chest.

Zach laughed, nudging Scott's shoulder. "Go on," he said tauntingly into the smaller's ear. "Tell him the truth."

Scott lowered his head to avoid Jimmy's gaze and sniffled, his grip tightening further around the bag. "Stop," he said, muffling his words into the fabric.

"What's that?" Zach asked. He wrapped an arm around Scott's shoulders. "Why would you need to lie if you're so set on being honest?" Scott made a small sound of discomfort when Zach squeezed him. "Huh? Tell Jimmy about your little hideout, Scott. Tell him how you've been staying here since the beginning of the semester-"

"Zach, stop," Scott said, a bit louder than before.

"How you're poor and homeless-"

"Zach-"

"How your parents kicked you out because you're a fucking disappointment-"

Scott let out a choked sob of embarrassment. "Please..."

"How much of a slut you've been lately, sleeping with random guys for money-"

Scott's head shot up now. "Zach-"

"Stop that," Jimmy cut in, taking a step forward. Scott and Zach both turned to look at him. "Scott clearly doesn't want you talking about it."

Zach's eyes narrowed as he glared at Jimmy. "He doesn't want anything," he stated, letting go of Scott. As he walked closer to Jimmy, the latter squared his shoulders in an attempt to hide his nervousness. "And I can do whatever the hell I want to. In fact, I could walk out there" - he pointed in the direction of the curtain seperating the stage and where they were - "and tell everyone about Scott's situation if I wanted to."

Jimmy huffed. "No, you can't," he said sternly.

"And who are you to stop me?" Zach's lips curled into a condescending grin, and he turned to nod at Scott, holding his hand out. "Give me the bag."

Scott looked between Zach and Jimmy before he hesitantly stepped forward and handed his boyfriend the bag, Zach taking it and starting toward the main theater. Jimmy could see the panic shoot through Scott, but the latter said nothing in protest; he merely watched as Zach left.

"He's really going to tell them," the violetette breathed, his arms falling limply to his sides. He stood, unmoving, for a moment before an unrestrained sob broke free, and Jimmy rushed over to wrap his arms around him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for him to tell you that, I-" Scott latched onto Jimmy like a leach as soon as they made contact. "He wasn't su-supposed to-" He fell into another fit of wails, clinging to Jimmy like he was his lifeline.

Jimmy held on tightly to Scott, rubbing his back and whispering things like, "It's okay. Everything's going to be fine," to try and soothe Scott.

Scott, face red and eyes puffy with tears, pulled away, shaking his head. "It's n-not fine," he said. "I- th-they're gonna send me away-" He shook his head, a bit more frantically this time. "I don't wanna-"

Jimmy cupped Scott's cheeks in his hands. "Nobody's sending you away," he said sternly. "If anyone tries to take you anywhere, call me. You can come to my house."

Scott shook his head again. "I can't-"

"Why?"

Scott froze for a second then sniffled as he wiped at his eyes. "I- I can't-"

"And why not?" Jimmy repeated. "Because Zach said no? Because he might hurt you if you do?" They stared at each other in silence before Jimmy sighed. "Scott," he said gently, tucking a loose strand of purple hair behind Scott's ear, "nobody can hurt you if you come with me."

Scott hesitated, looking off to the side as he thought before finally nodding weakly. "O-okay," he said quietly, sniffling again.

Jimmy gave him a soft smile and rose to his feet, gently pulling Scott with him. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To stop Zach."

Jimmy hadn't forced Scott to come out from behind to curtain with him - in fact, he let Scott stay there - as he marched out into the main theater, where Zach was about to dump the contents of the bag out on Mr. Harding's desk.

"Stop!" Jimmy's shout gained the attention of everyone in the room, and everyone watched as he ran over to Zach, stealing the bag out of his hands. "Don't you have any decency?" he sneered, holding the bag out of Zach's reach. "This is Scott's, not yours, and you can't just show everyone what isn't yours to show."

Zach sighed. "So, I guess you don't want Scott to be in better place," he said with a mock innocent tone.

Jimmy's brows furrowed in a mix of confusion and frustration. "What do you mean?"

Zach turned away. "Oh, nothing," he said. He shot Jimmy a disgusting, sideways grin. "Just that everything I said was true. Scott doesn't have a home." Jimmy would've objected to Zach saying this in front of the rest of the drama club if his stomach wasn't turning. Zach obviously took note of that as he continued, "He has no warm bed to sleep in, no hot meals prepared by his dear mother and father. He's a reject, and was kicked out from his home a long time ago." Zach straightened his posture in a prideful manner, glancing over to the curtain Scott had been peeking out from. "He doesn't have a job, either. The only way he has any money is because he-"

"Stop," Jimmy said quickly. "That's not information for you to share." He grimaced at how small and meak he sounded.

Mr. Harding sighed. "Where is Scott?" he asked dully. "If what Zach says is true, I need to have a talk with him."

Jimmy looked toward Scott then back at Harding. "It's not true," the boy blurted before he could think about what he was doing. "Scott does have a home." He glanced again over at Scott, who now looked confused. Jimmy contemplated his next words, feeling slightly ashamed at even considering whether or not he should say it. "He lives with me."

"Is that so?" Mr. Harding said slowly before sighing. "Zach, go wait in my office, please, while I have a quick word with Scott."

Jimmy watched as Mr. Harding stood and made his way over to Scott, who Jimmy could no longer see from where he was standing. As soon as the teacher was out of sight, Zach forcefully grabbed Jimmy by the collar of his shirt and shoved him hard against the wall. Jimmy's head hit the wall, and his thoughts, like marbels bouncing around the inside of a hollow plastic ball, became incoherent and confused. He was quick to recover, though, when he heard Zach's dreadful voice.

"What the hell was that?" Zach growled as he continued to push Jimmy up against the wall.

"You had no right to tell anyone that," Jimmy managed despite Zach pushing his weight onto Jimmy's chest. "And if he didn't have anywhere to go, why didn't you help him? You're supposed to be his boyfriend."

Zach scoffed. "So? I don't give a fuck," he spat. "I never did."

Rolling his eyes, Jimmy shifted in a half-assed attempt to loosen Zach's grip. "Why date him, then?" he demanded. For a moment he contemplated kicking Zach, or doing something at least. "If you don't care, why let him get so attached? Just to break his heart?"

"Sure, why not?" Zach chuckled. "He gives good sex."

"Sex?" Jimmy repeated, anger flooding him. "Is that what you care about? Sex? What about Scott's feelings? What about having a healthy relationship?" He realized that he was beginning to raise his voice, and it took almost everything in him not to yell. "How could you be so selfish?"

Zach had opened his mouth to respond, but Mr. Harding shouted, "Zach, my office! Now!"

Shoving Jimmy against the wall once more before letting go, Zach huffed and began to walk away. "You're fuckin' lucky I got in trouble 'cause of you," he spat over his shoulder. "You'd be dead where you stand."

Joel, Lizzie, and Grian (followed by Scar, who took a second to realize the smaller had run off) had rushed over to Jimmy as soon as Zach was out of the way.

"Timmy, what the heck was that about?" Grian asked incredulously, glaring off in Zach's direction.

Jimmy sighed, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "I have no idea," he breathed.

Lizzie let out a huff as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Jimmy, I admire your standing up for Scott, but..." She sighed again. "We have enough on our plate at home housing three kids - we can't give Scott a place to stay."

"Actually," Joel cut in, placing a hand on Lizzie's shoulder, "if you give me a couple hours after drama club's over, I'll have Grian's bedroom all ready for him to move in."

Grian gasped, his eyes lighting up like fireworks as he looked up at Joel. "Really?!"

Joel chuckled. "Yes, really," he said. "And once you're living with me" - he turned to Lizzie - "you'll have an extra bedroom again."

"Then Scott can stay with us, right?" Jimmy asked, getting up from his place on the floor.

Lizzie looked at Jimmy for a long moment, considering her nexts words. Sighing, she said finally, "As long as you get the OK from Father."

Scar looked between everyone, his brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm lost," he said slowly, and Grian laughed.

"I wouldn't put it past you," Grian joked as he nudged Scar with his elbow. Scar laughed in response, and the other three didn't miss the fond look Grian gave Scar.

Mr. Harding came out from behind the curtain not too much later with Scott, who looked like he'd been crying again.

"Alright, alright, students," the teacher said in a booming voice to get everyone's attention. "You're all dismissed from today's meeting. Go home, work on your lines, and I'll see you back here on Wednesday." Mr. Harding chuckled when the students began to whine about having to leave. "Go on, get outta here."

Scott wandered back over to Jimmy, who gave him a concerned look.

"Are you o- oof-" Jimmy stepped back at the impact of Scott rushing to wrap his arms around him. The blonde smiled softly. "Hello, there."

Scott didn't say anything, instead tightening his grip as a sort of way to say, "Hug me back," which Jimmy did without hesitation.

Joel leaned over and whispered to Jimmy, "I'll go get your things for you," with a gentle smile. Jimmy's thanks showed in his eyes as he flashed a smiliar smile back. When Jimmy turned his attention back to Scott, the latter was pulling away just enough to look up at Jimmy.

"You okay?" Jimmy asked quietly, and Scott thought for a moment before nodding. "You sure?"

Nodding again, Scott took a deep breath. "Yeah," he said, grimacing at how hoarse his voice was. He wiped at his eye with the sleeve of his flanel. "Yeah, I'm okay. I will be, at least."

Jimmy's eyes softened. "That's a good way to put it." He hesitated for a second before asking, "Do you mind coming home with us?" He laughed when Scott's eyes lit up.

"Of course, I don't mind," Scott said. He huffed. "It's better than going home with Muscle-For-Brains in Mr. Harding's office, that's for sure."

"Jim, I got your stuff," Joel said by the door. "Lizzie's about to leave, so you should probably head outside now."

Jimmy nodded. "Okay!" Turning back to Scott, he smiled brightly. "Come on! We can finish watching How To Train Your Dragon when we get home."

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You know the whole "what does Scott's chapstick taste like" thing? I've gotten a couple questions about it, so here's your answer:

Scott wears cherry chapstick, sometimes coconut.