~Aiden~

"Omg I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you!" Jeanine said going all banshee status on me again. It was Sunday and I was in my room relaxing listening to music, thinking about Liam when my door swung open banging against the wall. I jumping out of my skin thinking it was Brent here to beat me again but instead I see J running towards me screaming about something with tears in her eyes. She tackled me crying on top of me, so I patted her back reassuringly; ignoring the pain of my bruises she was disturbing.

"Damn J you should try out for the football team" I wheezed. Her face was buried in the side of my neck as she wailed. I heard her chuckle a little before she slapped my shoulder without removing her head.

"Don't make me laugh asshole!" She stifled into my neck. I laughed wrapping my arms around her waiting for her to calm down.

"I'm so sorry Aiden" she kept saying over but all I could do was just kept telling her it was ok. Soon she sat up; her butt resting on my thighs as she looked down at me with the most depressed face.

"Oh my goodness J, it's going to be fine. I mean I didn't want it to get out but what else can I do? It's too late anyway so... it whatever." I said trying to convince her and myself. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around my neck tightly.

"I should have been there!" She cried. "I could have helped you out, been there for you more than Eric. I'm a girl I could have given you a hell of a lot more moral support." She exclaimed scolding herself. I shook my head. Eric. I haven't talked to him for a while since I was thrown out of my cozy closet. I understand though, he thought it was gross.

"Hey, I had his back that day but he ran off and I couldn't find him." a deeper voice said. I snapped my head over to the door and saw Eric standing there his hands in his pockets and a sheepish smile on his face. I bit my lip from grinning like a fool. He was here! It meant the world to me.

"Eric" I whispered happily. He supped me with his head,

"Aiden, man" he walked to my bed sitting on the edge his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together. "So, how have you been?" His brown eyes never flickering from mine. I smiled,

"I'm good" he nodded. There was a slight awkward pause till J interrupted it.

"Oh my Jebus! He's gay, Eric and you know now so quite being a douche." she told him. Eric gave a slightly offended face.

"I'm not being a douche" he complained to her before looking over at me guiltily. "Honestly I knew or more like suspected it." My mouth was hung open along with J's.

"You did? And you didn't say anything?" I cried.

"Well I mean you never had a girlfriend, you never even tried to flirt; plus every time I mentioned a hot girl you would get this nervous fidgety, twitchy thing going on so I just connected the dots but I was waiting for you to tell me. I would drop subtle hints at you but you never got them." He confessed rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

J and I stared at him for a while before we both tackling him down.

"Yay!!" J said.

"Thank god" I said happy he didn't think I was disgusting. I wrapped my around their necks pulling them closer to me happy as a clam.

"You guys are the best friends a gay guy could ever have." I said as they chuckled.

"The three musketeers" J added.

"Here, here!" Eric yelled.

After we just hung out in my room till my mom called us to dinner. J and Eric decided to spend the night so we could all go to school together. I hadn't told them about Liam yet, still not sure what that was all about. He said he we were friends but I don't how that happened. He acted like he hated me a while ago so what the hell change?

*****

Walking to my locker Eric on my right and Jeanine on the left; gave anyone who though they were going to mess with me a death glare. I felt loved; there was a permanent smile on my face. Once at my locker there was wet paint covering over all the graffiti that was written on my locker from before. I heard J start cursing at how everyone was an asshole in this school and how she would love to rip their heads off. Eric just had a grim face as we headed to English.

They sat next to me as the some of the students gave me dirty looks. The teacher came in placing his stuff down and told the class to settle down. His eye scanned the room till his eyes came to rest on me. He gave me a small smile before starting his lesson. What the hell was that? Eric and J noticed as well and gave me questionable looks as I shrugged. Class was ok, the teacher had to send some guy out for throwing things at the back of my head but that was it. I had history next and sadly I was all by myself on this one but they came and dropped me off none the less. J was concerned and told me to call her if something happened while Eric was trying to get her to calm down.

"Come on J, let the man go to class and quit the coddling" Eric whined as Jeanine glared at him.

"I'm not coddling, I'm concerned! He has to do this all along without out is there, so excuse me! I just wasn't him safe." She crushed me in an iron grip hug.

"J... I c-can't breathe" I forced out. She let go with a sheepish grin.

"Ha-ha, sorry" she backed up a little till Eric grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

"Come on" dragging her feet on the floor she was still facing me.

"Call me!" Using her fingers and mimicking a phone to her ear.

Shaking my head I smiled before going into class. Taking a seat I kept my eyes down on my desk, pulling out my paper and pen, keeping to myself. This is how the rest of my day went; keeping to myself ignoring peoples offensive names they were throwing at me. Lunch was even worse, J was glaring at everyone who look our way or whispered about me. I had to tell her to calm down a few times.

"No Aiden their pissing me the fuck off!" she growled. I nodded my head,

"I know, I know but there's nothing we can do" I told her. Right then someone threw a packet of BBQ at the back of my head. Yelping in surprise I gasped as it drenched my hair.

"Ah" I whispered quietly to myself as I heard laughter fill the cafeteria.

"What the hell!" J yelled hopping from her seat and glaring at whoever threw it. I didn't even try and turn around I was just frozen, my mouth hung open and my eyes staring at my tray.

"Oh so you like to throw stuff jackass!?" J went and grabbed a packet of ranch from my tray and threw it back, I heard him grunt before he exclaim.

"What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"What the hell's wrong with you?" J fired back.

I kind of tuned them out. Eric came around the table and wiped the BBQ out of my hair.

"Oh look, he has a gay lover!" someone yelled causing more laughter erupt in the cafe.

"Oh, stuff it asswipe!!" Eric roared at them.

"Come on Aiden" he said softly. I slowly got up and followed him out of the cafeteria.

"Sorry" I said softly. Eric looked at me shocked.

"Sorry? Sorry for what? You didn't do anything wrong." I shook my head.

"I just knew this was going to happen and I don't what you guys being hated by the whole school because of me." I stated as we entered the bathroom.

"Dude we're best friends and nothing's going to change that. The whole school can eat shit and choke on it for all I care!" I couldn't help but smile at that. "Now let get this crap out of your awesome hair"

I was leaning over the sink washing the stuff out when the door burst open. Turning my head I saw Liam rush in with Dom and J behind them.. J came rushed forward and helped me wash.

"What are you doing here?" Eric asked Liam.

"We came to see if he was okay." Liam said taking a step closer to me but Eric stood in his way with his hand out.

"Why the hell would you care?" hackles raised Eric stood his ground.

"Look Tanner," Liams voice dropping frighteningly low. "Move out of my way or I'll do it for you." he growled.

For some reason I felt his anger and it didn't sit well with me. I felt like I had to calm him somehow so I straightened up and shook my hair sprinkling everyone in the bathroom. J screeched covering her face while the rest just flinched but that didn't stop Eric and Liam's standoff. Sighing I walking in between them pushing them away from one another, ignoring the delicious shocks coming from Liam. His intake of breath was a sign he felt it too. I looked up through my wet fringe. His eyes were focused on me, turning that misty yellow again. A warn feeling festered in my stomach from them, I yanking my hand from his chest I stepped back out of shock.

"Aiden" he said taking a step forward. I shook my head,

"Liam" I warned him.

I really don't know why I was warning him to keep his distance, I just knew that if he did try and get close I would crumble and there would be nothing stopping him from having me and I didn't want that right now. He somehow understood and nodded at me,

"Are you okay though?" He asked concerned.

I smiled, "Yes Liam, thank you for coming to see if I was." His face softened.

"Always"

"Ok what's going on?" Eric said a frown etched in his face. Turning to him I shrugged,

"Well...h-he's been kind of helping me lately with all this." I confessed hesitantly. His frown deepened.

"Really" he turned his gaze over to Liam who nodded.

"Yep"

"When you guy were gone last week Liam was there, he had my back." I said smiling back at Liam. The bell shrieked loudly making all of us jump. J came up beside me and hooked our arms together.

"Well time for Anatomy" she said, "And thank you Liam for taking care of our boy, even though you squashed him a couple weeks ago." Liam rubbed the back of his neck with a guilty smile on his sexy pink lips.

"Yeah, about that... I'm sorry." he apologized to me. I waved it way,

"Its fine, it over and done with. In the past." I reassured him.

We headed out of the bathroom and I realized my hair was socked and dripping all over my shirt. I was just about to go back and grab some paper towels till they were magically in front of me.

"You'll be needing these" I looked up to see Liam holding them out to me. Smirking I grabbed them,

"Thanks" I said and dried my hair.

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