"Nigel," he blinked, slightly taken aback at the sight of his friend accosting him first thing that Monday morning.

"Hey," he greeted back, his Physics textbook pinched thinly between his fingers as he raked a glance over him. Pale skin. Dark circles. Messy hair. "What's with you?"

Alfie was fidgeting, tugging on the sleeves of his blue sweater to cover up his fingers.

"Are you okay?" he asked, brow furrowing despite more students rushing past with the bell for first period ringing alarmingly. "Alf?"

"I'm—" he started to nod his head slightly to show he was okay but then started shaking it as though he couldn't make up his mind. Then he hugged his arms to himself, tearing up. "I don't know. Can you skip with?"

Nigel frowned. "We literally just got to—" he put a halt on his words when his friend just shoved past him, not wanting to hear the end of whatever it was and heading for the school doors. Clumsily shoving his textbook and notes back in his locker, he quickly tore after him.

Alfie skipping wasn't a rare occurrence but it had toned down a lot with his mom pinning more than half the entire teacher body on his back. Still, he wouldn't be skipping for mere fresh air and Nigel thought it was more likely he either wanted to grab a drink or find a client to quickly deal him.

"Hey," he stopped him halfway out the double doors, snagging his elbow in his hand. "I'll go with, okay? Just. Just let me know what you want to do." He didn't trust him to do anything in moderation so would rather skip here so he could keep an eye on him than leave him to get in trouble. Trouble like getting drunk in a ditch somewhere and having to be picked up by the police. There'd been. . . repeats.

"What's with that look?" Alfie rolled his eyes as he dragged him to the side of the school where they weren't under the radar of every single busybody. "I just want to grab a bite."

Nigel didn't believe him. Or well, fully believe him. Winnie always made sure they had their fill first. He might want to eat, but only to get up to no good later on. They went on the drive with his bike and stopped at Marty's for burgers and milkshakes.

He wasn't really hungry, his appetite only ever coming in short starts and bursts, so he just left the burger and plateful of fries for his friend, who he soon realized, didn't have that much appetite either.

"Didn't you want to eat?" he asked, watching him pause with picking at the fries and finally pop one really long piece in his mouth.

"I did," he shrugged. "Just haven't really had the appetite."

"Sure you're okay?" he asked.

Another shrug.

He looked awful and thin and sick. Nigel had quite frankly never seen either of his friends look so bad. "Do you want me to take you back?" he asked. "I'll explain it to aunt. You really don't look very good."

"She'll believe it if it's you," he snorted, throwing a fry aside and picking up his milkshake as his gaze turned outside the window. "It's just punishing her if it's coming from me."

Nigel cocked his head slightly at his friend, surveying him. His eyes were droopy, words slurring over. He almost pitied him.

"You should have seen her this morning," he snorted on a sip of his milkshake. "She was raving mad."

"She's just worried, Alf," he said, because it was the truth in its plainest form.

"I know how worried you get," he said instead. "You never lose your temper though. You're one in a million."

"Her worry looks a little different from mine," he sighed. "But it's all the same. It's just because she cares about you far more than I ever could."

"No," he shook his head, pushing away his milkshake. "She just wishes you were her son."

Winnie cared for him far more than normal, as did Paul, but that was just because they knew how bad things got for him back in his own house. They loved Alfie too much, way more than his older brother even, but he just preferred to be blind to it.

"Then Aries?" Nigel smiled slightly. They doted on him, doted on Aries. But it could never compare to how much affection they carried for their own son.

He wasn't sure what it would take for his friend to see that.

"She wished anyone else were her son but me," he amended.

"Let's go," he said, trying not to roll his eyes. "I'll take you back."

"Did you go see Aries?" he suddenly asked when they were on his bike and he was heading for his house. Their friend hadn't been in school for days. At least, Nigel hadn't caught sight of him ever since he'd been stopped by him in the basketball locker room.

He also admitted he'd shot himself in the foot bringing up the redhead as a topic of conversation.

"Nigel," Winona looked surprised to say the least at the sight of both boys back home. She curbed the questions on the tip of her tongue at the reassuring look he shot her, concerned gaze following them as they made their way up the stairs.

"Will you stay?" Alfie asked, collapsing on the floor and leaning against his bedframe without changing out of his uniform.

"Sure," Nigel said. He didn't really feel like going back to school either. They sat in silence for a while and couple hours later when he got up, muttering smoke break with a drooping smile and wandering to the connected verandah, Nigel pulled out his own cell phone.

It rang twice and cut. No reply. He glanced at Aries' last message asking if he was free and finally shoved his phone out of his sight.

Alfie came back in half an hour later and soon collapsed in bed. A soft knock, then his mom quietly letting herself in.

"He's been sleeping a lot lately," she remarked lightly, lowering herself to his bedside and combing at the locks of brown scattered messily over his forehead.

Nigel remembered the night his mother had done same, though the action had discomfited him thoroughly and only left him with far more questions. He quietly bid Winnie goodbye before heading to Aries' place, shuttling through Rosiérs for his friend's favorite iced whipped latte.

"Aries?" he called as he made his way up the stairs and into his friend's room. The latter lay facedown on his bed, dressed in nothing but a pair of thin sweatpants, his back covered in deep, red welts.

"Hey," he called, prodding the side of his head with the butt of the styrofoam. "Are you alive?"

"I'm fine," he grunted, shaking him off his head then wincing and collapsing in bed without another word.

"That's not what I asked," he said, half-amused as he dropped the cup at the foot of his bed.

"I'm talking, aren't I?" he snipped back.

Nigel flicked the side of his head. "Can you sit?" he asked. "I got you a latte."

After never-ending minutes that were excruciating to watch, Aries finally managed to pull himself into a half sitting, half slouching position that didn't put strain on his back or make his wounds touch his sheets. He took the latte and managed a sip.

Nigel frowned as he watched him tug at the bruising at the sides of his mouth then just promptly abandon the drink altogether. "I'll be right back," he muttered before heading back out and then returning with a straw he quietly handed over.

Aries glanced up at him, surprised, before taking it and helping himself without another word. "Why'd you come?" he asked when he'd already depleted the drink by more than half.

"Should I leave?" he scowled.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "You didn't seem to want to have much to do with me any longer."

Nigel really didn't. He only had so much energy to expend on a person anyway. But who asked the universe to make Aries his friend.

"I was worried," he finally settled on.

"I'm sorry," he said, setting the empty styrofoam aside. "For not saying anything back at the station. I didn't—"

"Don't worry," Nigel said, half sure he knew where that sentence was going to end up. He watched him slowly going back to lying on his stomach, peering up at him through the red locks that fell over his eyes. "You won't be okay, would you?"

"I will," he insisted like always, stubborn.

Nigel pursed his lips, just staring at him.

"Promise," he said. "I just didn't think you'd come."

Nigel didn't want to. It was just repeating the same processes over and over again. At first he'd promised to leave as soon as it got too bad but then it was promising he could survive even worse.

"I didn't want to," Nigel admitted. "You don't listen. Not to what matters anyway."

Aries didn't say anything.

"Will you," Nigel paused, "listen, I mean?"

Aries fell silent again a while before muttering a short, "yeah." He blinked, "yeah, I'll listen to you."

"Then stop waiting on your father to turn over a blank slate," he said. "This kinship, it can't be more important than your own life, can it?"

Aries swallowed. He didn't think but after his late mother and before his friends, it was all he had left.

"We're having a little friendly," Nigel knew he'd still chew on it so left the topic alone, pulling out the slips from his bag. "Some private school upstate wants to host. He wants our parents to sign our leave slips and turn it in a week before we have to leave for the competition."

"Okay," Aries grunted, a touch of worry in his eyes as he watched him put the slip on his table.

"Don't take this to him and put yourself in danger," Nigel frowned. "I'd rather you do it yourself. Forge it or something."

"Alright."

"Should I stay?" he asked.

A pause, then, "he'll be home soon."

"Then take care," he said, picking up his bag. "I'll try to come around in the evening."

Aries watched him go before shutting his eyes.

It was nearly two in the afternoon when he left so he just settled with going back home. His parents shouldn't be back for a while unless for unexpected emergencies but Saxon was home and that was just perfect since he couldn't do what he needed to without his help.

"What's with that look?" Saxon asked, glancing up from the magazine he was flipping through.

"What look?" Nigel asked, blinking innocently.

"You're looking at me like I'm a piece of chocolate," he snorted.

"I need your help," he cut to the chase.

"What with?" Saxon let the magazine drop to his chest, glancing properly at him from where he was lying.

"Do you know how I could get mom's signature?" he asked.

"From her hands?"

Nigel levelled him an unimpressed stare.

"She should have some old documents lying around," he said, shrugging his legs off the couch. "Why'd you need it?" He perused the slip form when it was handed him, eyes lighting in understanding.

In the end, they found some older documents and Nigel spent a good hour forging it on blank paper.

"Do you know what you look like right now?" Saxon snorted.

He ignored him.

"A criminal."

Nigel glanced up, lip twitching as he made a wrong loop in the endlessly complicated signature. "Then you're an accomplice," he snickered.

"Just hurry up."

Nigel rolled his eyes but did hurry along, finally staring at his end-product with a smile of satisfaction.

"What if she's changed her signature?" came his twin's pessimistic voice.

He lobbed the pen at his forehead.