Friday, morning

     Arun was constantly staring at Frey, from the moment Frey had picked him up at home that morning. They went to school together, in silence, and both feeling awkward. But Frey lacked energy to talk after working late last night after his father called him to ask him to take over a shift for Lacy, who had a situation at home.

Frey went, but regretted it as soon as he found out he would be working with Daniel the entire night. It had been extremely awkward and after an hour of bickering over everything, and constantly bumping into each other because both wouldn't let the other go first, Frey had switched his spot with another co-worker behind another bar, to get the hell away from Daniel.

He was bound to hit the guy any day soon, and he knew it was his bad mood that caused most of the anger he currently felt bubbling inside him.

He didn't want to hit anyone, and more specifically, he didn't want to hit Daniel. He cared for him more than he was willing to admit, but Daniel's current behaviour was making his blood boil.

And along with his mood, that wasn't a successful combination.

How did they even go from talking, and making fun of each other, to staring daggers at each other, in the course of a week?

At least it meant Lacy was ignoring him too, and that automatically meant he wasn't getting any harsh words from her because of Michelle either.

By the time their break after third class came around, Frey was walking towards the lunch room with Arun—again in silence—when he spotted Daniel, Lacy and Michelle walking slightly ahead of them.

Lacy and Daniel seemed to have a casual conversation, while Michelle was shuffling along with them.

He did feel bad that the girl that always kept smiling at everyone, was now insecure as ever, constantly staring towards the floor to prevent eye-contact with others.

There were girls that gave her shit for sleeping with Frey, but nobody owned him, so he didn't understand why anyone would even give her shit for that in the first place.

While Frey was observing them as they entered the lunch room ahead of them, it dawned to him that Daniel and Lacy always talked to a girl at the bar, just like the night him and Daniel started fighting because he had called Mitchel a fag.

And he was pretty sure they had called her Jenna before. So would the three girls, bothering his sister in ballet, happen to be Lacy and her friends?

He didn't know Jenna all that well, he just knew her by face, and he didn't really like her all that much. She was like a perfect girl to everyone, with brains, looks and multiple talents. Yes, he knew the stories. She was great at dancing, just not as good as Julia.

But whereas Julia never judged others before getting to know them, Frey had noticed Jenna had a habit of jumping to conclusions way too soon.

But before Frey could decide to confront Lacy right there and then, they turned around to find out where the loud voices came from, and Frey turned in the same moment, for the same reason.

Samuel had a guy shoved against the wall, and Frey recognized Adam as his victim.

Samuel always aimed for the weaker kids in school, and Adam was definitely one of his favourite victims.

Adam was an openly gay kid, with braces, glasses, and a motormouth he couldn't stop from running even if he was offered a million bucks. Adam always had to correct everyone's mistakes.

He wasn't too tall either, and he had a scrawny build that made him even less of a threat to guys like Samuel than a kitten.

"Can you stop pretending like you know everything better?" Samuel snapped, pushing his arm harder against Adam's chest, threatening with a fist in the air.

"But I do know..." Adam started to defend himself, shutting up as soon as Samuel pretended to move to hit him, stopping his fist close to his face. Samuel was smart enough not to fight on schoolgrounds after he already got suspended once.

Frey lifelessly stared at the whole ordeal in the middle of the lunchroom, and he rolled his eyes as he noticed the only thing the surrounding people were doing, was looking, laughing, and filming it.

"Why can't Adam just keep his mouth shut?" Hendrik appeared by their side, staring at the fight too.

"Because that's not in his nature." Frey shrugged. "Why can't Samuel just ignore it like the rest of us?"

"Because that's not in his nature." Arun repeated his exact words, causing Hendrik to laugh loudly, and Frey to snort amused.

"True." Frey nodded, then pulled his backpack off and handed it to Arun. "Hold my purse, honey." He joked, getting a chuckle from Arun in return.

He walked over to the two, where Samuel was insulting Adam, while Adam continuously muttered a 'sorry' for correcting him a coupe of times.

"Okay, that's enough." Frey simply spoke up, pulling Samuel away from Adam, who's lip was quivering.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Samuel spat at Frey, shoving his hands off his collar. "This is none of your business."

"Adam's habits aren't your business either, yet here you are, sticking your nose into it." Frey stepped in between the too, after sending Adam a quick—forced—smile. "Go throw up or whatever. Leave Adam alone."

"That fag kept correcting me and thanks to him I was sent out of class too!" Samuel pointed at Adam. "I will get back at you for getting me detention."

"I'm sorry..." Adam muttered, making himself as small as possible.

"No, you won't. You will walk away and leave Adam alone." Frey stepped closer to Samuel in a threatening way, and much to his delight, Samuel instantly stepped back away from him again. "Now."

Samuel wanted to protest, but then Jordi stepped in and pulled him away from the argument.

"Not the right time, Sam. Let it go."

Samuel sent Frey one last look, but then retreated with his friends. And Frey knew this wasn't going to be the end of it, but for now he at least did the right thing; stop him from bullying Adam.

     The rest of the classes Frey had shared with Adam, the boy had stuck by his side like a scared puppy, and Frey felt on edge because of the addition to his regular group of friends, but he felt too sorry for Adam to tell him to leave. So, they talked, about little nothings.

Frey left right after his last class, since his mother had obligated him to help her bring left-over food of the restaurant she worked in, to the foodbank. And they were already late, so Frey was told to help putting the food into the packages too.

Julia and Frey were silently doing what their mother asked them too. They were just little kids when they first were taken here, and it was one of the few things Frey actually supported his mother in fully.

The fact it was for a good cause, made for the fact Frey never complained about having to help out every once in a while, and his mother always made sure to announce it ahead in time.

Lately, he hadn't really been here a lot. Not ever since his mother's own restaurant got closed and there was no left-over food to bring over.

A while ago, however, she managed to persuade the owner of a local supermarket, to donate whatever they would otherwise throw out. She offered to pick it up and bring it here herself and they had a deal.

Not in the least because the government was coming up with rules for supermarkets not to just throw out anything that they couldn't sell any longer.

Frey was still hurrying to get enough food in the newer packages, when the first volunteers for handing out the packages showed up.

He was shocked to find Mitchel walk in, with a grumpy look on his face, escorted by a woman who could be his mother.

"I've been here twice already, mom!" Mitchel whined, his whole posture screaming annoyance and boredom.

"And have you learned anything?" She schussed him as he opened his mouth to answer. "You haven't, Mitchel. Don't try to tell me otherwise. Your attitude is still poorly, and your father and I are done with it. You'll be volunteering here for a while."

Mitchel pulled a face, but gave no protest, as his eyes found Frey and Julia, packing in the food.

"Hey!" He sauntered over. "I see I have new company. Did your parents' force you guys to be here too?"

Frey frowned, and shared a look with Julia. "Eh, no. We actually agreed to do this ourselves. Years ago."

"What, seriously? Why?" Mitchel leaned over the counter, taking in space Frey was using to put crates down. "Why would you do this?"

"Because we think the people who are poor deserve decent food too, and we don't mind helping them to get it." Julia stared daggers at Mitchel. "Not all people have enough money to get whatever they want."

"Yeah, I know that." Mitchel rolled his eyes, and Frey had to keep himself from hitting the guy in the face, just because he knew how he treated Daniel.

Well, not all there was to it. But he knew Mitchel was kind of controlling, and condescending to Daniel for working in a 'tacky' club.

He knew Daniel was upset about something that happened between him and Mitchel, more than he was happy about his relationship with Mitchel. The big question that Frey had, was why Daniel managed to stay in a relationship that wasn't making him happy, for over a year. For nearly a year and a half even.

"But why should that be our problem? My parents worked hard to become rich. Why don't these people do the same?"

Frey's frown only increased, and he stood up straight to fully face Mitchel. "Dude, just because your parents worked hard, doesn't mean you don't have to work hard yourself. Besides, some people aren't capable of working and the least we can do is help them out a bit."

"Hey, aren't you the kid that works with Daniel?" Mitchel suddenly perked up. "You poured me drinks a couple of times."

"Kid?" Frey pulled up an eyebrow.

"Dude, guy, kid, whatever. You work with Daniel, don't you?"

"I do, why?"

"Why would you want to work in a cheap club like that? It hardly has any class..."

"I'd advise you to shut up, right now." Frey snapped, ready to start a fist-fight, actually shoving a box aside to get a better aim.

"Wow there!" Mitchel jumped backwards with his hands in the air. "It was just a question."

"Do you realise you're talking to the son and daughter of Peter Sanders? Owner of that 'cheap' club?" Julia bit in his direction, in the same time grabbing Frey's arm to prevent him from raising a fist.

"Wait, you're Frey Sanders?" Mitchel's eyes widened in surprise. "I heard a lot about you."

"I heard a lot about you too, and none of it was positive." Frey grumbled, trying to calm down a bit.

"Let me guess, Daniel? I don't get why he's so uptight..." Mitchel shrugged. "I supported him, and I didn't judge him for being poor. But he still accused me of treating him like a hobo."

Daniel, poor? Now, that made some sense to Frey. It would explain him having two jobs, and not being able to give his sister the doll she so badly wanted.

"You do realise you are acting as if you are better than others, because they're poor and your parents are rich, right?" Julia cocked her head, curious about the boy, wondering how on earth someone could be that ignorant.

"What, no! But... I mean, Daniel's mother is sick, of course they're poor. But you know how many people come in here, that are just lazy?" Mitchel hurriedly tried to rescue his ass—not succeeding in the least. "But that aside, Daniel said we would make a great match." Mitchel turned to Frey, sending him a seductive wink, and Frey felt his face flush, staring at him in shock, at a loss for words. "We should go out some day... grab a drink... you know... get to know each other. If you know what I mean?" He winked again, Julia chocked on her own laughter, and Frey stood frozen in his spot.

"Wh-what?" Frey scowled. "I'm not gay!" Why would Daniel tell him that? Was that his way of taking revenge for calling Mitchel a fag the other day?

Well, fuck Daniel, for putting him in this awkward position.

"Are you sure about that?" Mitchel wiggled his eyebrows while Julia still hadn't recovered from her laughing-fit.

"Yes!" Frey cried out, though he wasn't exactly feeling as disgusted about the thought as he would've figured before a guy tried to suggest having sex. But he did feel disgusted about the thought of having sex with Mitchel. "I'm not gay, now get the fuck out of my face, or I will rebuild yours."

"Damn, dude... feisty." Mitchel grinned, leaning forwards on the counter. "If that's your thing... I'm willing to try."

"I'm leaving." Frey whispered in shock, turning around and walking away as fast as possible. Hell no he was going to stand there and have Mitchel shamelessly suggest things like that.

And he made a mental note to hit Daniel for putting him in this situation in the first place.

Wordcount: +/- 2297