“Wake up,” Will said, shaking me. “You’re going to be late for class.”

                “Good,” I grumbled, rolling over and pulling the covers over my head.

                “Not good. Get out of bed,” he commanded.

                “You’re not the boss of me,” I said, burrowing deeper into the covers.

                “Ethan get out of bed before we’re late!”

                I jumped up, springing out of Will’s bed. Sonnet crossed her arms and glared at me from the doorway.

                “I’ll be ready in five minutes!” I cried.

                “You better be,” she said and left the room.

                Will snickered. “You’re my little sister’s bitch. It’s almost comical.”

                “If she told you to get out of bed, you would get out of bed,” I said, digging through his drawers in search of clothes.

                “Well, it was you she was yelling at, not me,” he said, folding his hands behind his head and watching me get dressed.

                “I’m coming back after school,” I informed him.

                “I should be home. My last class got cancelled for today,” he said, his eyes closing. “You can take a nap. I know you kept waking up throughout the night. I heard you talking in your sleep and yelling.”

                “And I knew you were up most of the night. How romantic,” I said, picking up his comb and holding it up so that he could see it. “See this? We use it for our hair. Try it sometime.”

                He shook his head, his tangled locks swinging back and forth lazily. “Nah, I’m still trying this whole poetic image where my messy hair represents my emotional state.”

                “Sometimes I get the urge to shove a koala up your ass, but I resist it for the koala’s sake,” I informed him, proceeding to brush my hair.

                He eyed me appreciatively. His clothes fit me surprising well, and I had to admit that my hair looked amazing today.

                “You’re cute,” he confirmed.

                “Sexy,” I corrected.

                “Don’t push it.” He rubbed his eyes and pulled the blanket up over himself. “See you later, Ethan.”

                “Bye,” I said, leaving his room. Sonnet and her dad were waiting for me in the hallway, and I followed them out to the car.

                Lucky for me, Leo didn’t play headache inducing music this time. Sonnet plugged in her iPod instead, playing Panic! At The Disco.

                He dropped us off at the school and we thanked him before heading inside. We searched around until we found Benji and Gideon.

                “Hey guys,” Benji greeted.

                Gideon squinted at me a little. “Is that a hickey on your neck?”

                I looked down and sighed. “Oops. I forgot to wear a shirt that would hide that.”

                “Oh god. That’s from Will?” Benji asked, looking mortified.

                “No Benji, it’s from God himself,” I said.

                “It’s just…Will is usually so quiet…I never thought he…” Benji shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to think about it.”

                I grinned. “You don’t want to think about me doing explicit things with Will?”

                “I don’t want to think about it either. So cut it out,” Sonnet said, smacking me in the back of the head.

                I rubbed the back of my head and shrugged. “What? Like you all haven’t had your heated moments before.”

                “Remember Jordan? Oh, I thought your brother was going to kill that guy,” Benji said to Sonnet, laughing.

                “That was terrifying,” Gideon said with a shudder.

                “What?” I asked in confusion.

                “I was dating Jordan Presky last year, and my brother caught us making out in my room because these two morons didn’t stop him from barging in there,” Sonnet said, glaring at them.

                “Jordan Presky?” I shook my head. “I don’t think I know who that is. Wait…your brother was actually protective of you?”

                Sonnet nodded. “You probably wouldn’t know Jordan. He graduated last year and we broke up in the summer. Anyways, I had him, Benji, and Gideon over, and Jordan and I left to go to my room. Will came upstairs looking for me, and the ever oblivious morons told him that I was in my room having Jordan fix my computer.”

                “He was good with computers! We really thought he was just looking at your computer!” Benji cried defensively.

                “You idiot,” Sonnet said with a sigh. “Well, Will came barging in asking if I knew where our parents were. And ta-da! Me and my boyfriend making out on my bed. Will literally dragged Jordan out of my room. I don’t know exactly what he said to Jordan, but Jordan was too scared to go near him for the rest of our relationship.”

                “Huh. Interesting,” I said.

                “He’s so confusing,” Gideon said with a laugh.

                “I’ll say,” I grumbled.

                The bell rang and we all went off to class. I practically raced to the cafeteria when it was lunch time. I had skipped breakfast today, and was absolutely starving.

                “Jeez Ethan,” Sonnet said in disgust as she watched me stuff food into my mouth.

                “I missed breakfast because someone scared me out of the house,” I reminded her.

                “You slept in too long!” she said.

                “Oh hush,” I said, finishing my food in record time.

                “Why are they walking over here?” Benji asked nervously.

                I looked up and, sure enough, Jude and his bitches were walking towards our table. They stopped when they reached it and Jude let his bag slide off his shoulder, digging around in it.

                “Here, Benji. Mr. Fletcher asked me to give this to you since you left it in his class,” he said, smirking and tossing a notebook to Benji.

                Benji stared from Jude to the notebook in confusion. “Why did you bring this to me?”

                “Because he’s trying to act like a nice guy in front of his new toy,” I said, nodding towards that Mia chick, who was standing next to Jude.

                “I brought it to you because you left it in class, and Mr. Fletchers know that I know you,” Jude said, ignoring me. “Do you have a problem with me returning a notebook to you?”

                “Uh…I…Thanks?” Benji looked horribly confused.

                “See you later,” Jude said. His eyes fell to me and his smirk grew. Without another word to us, he walked away with Mia, Nate, and Landon following after him.

                “What the hell just happened?” Benji asked, flipping through his notebook. “He didn’t even destroy it or anything.”

                Gideon shrugged nervously. “I don’t know.”

                “Whatever. I just want to eat,” I said, the needs of my stomach winning out over my safety. I didn’t like the look he had given me.

                The bell rang a few minutes later and we went back to class. At the end of the day, Benji dropped me and Sonnet off.

                “Have fun getting more hickeys from my brother,” Sonnet said and went upstairs.

                “I will,” I called after her.

                I turned and went downstairs, letting myself into Will’s bedroom. I was surprised to see him and some guy I didn’t know laughing together on his bed. They were looking at his laptop.

                Will looked up and noticed me. “Oh, you’re here earlier than usual,” he said, checking the time.

                “Nate’s brother?” I asked the guy I didn’t know.

                “Do I know you?” he asked.

                I shook my head. “Nope. But I know Nate. You two look a lot alike.”

                He sighed. “I get that a lot. Yea, I’m his brother. I’m Asher.”

                “Why are you hanging out with Nate’s brother?” I asked Will.

                “Because Asher’s not a dick like Nate,” Will said with a shrug.

                “Nate’s not that bad,” Asher said, playfully punching Will.

                “Oh, I think Ethan would disagree with that,” Will said darkly.

                “I would disagree with that,” I said, nodding.

                “Nate and Jude have a habit of kicking Ethan’s ass,” Will said.

                “People tell me that they’re pretty nasty at school,” Asher said. “Jude practically lives at my house and I’ve never thought of him as an asshole. My parents love him, but I know he’s a pretty cunning guy.”

                “I hate him,” Will said flatly. “He punched my little sister, and he’s attacked Benji and Ethan before.”

                “Kid’s got some pent up frustration. Anyone could tell you that. He’s always at our house to get away from his mom. She’s wicked demanding of him. He probably just rubbed off on my brother,” Asher said, seeming unconcerned. “I don’t keep tabs on my brother and his friends. I just hear things from time to time.”

                “Your parents should probably keep tabs on your dick of a brother,” Will grumbled.

                “They think they do,” Asher said, snickering. “If they knew about even half the things I’ve heard, they would ban him from hanging out with Jude and ground Nate for the rest of his life.”

                Asher looked between us and something seemed to click. “Wait a second, your name is Ethan?” he asked me.

                I nodded. “Yea, that’s my name.”

                “Are you the one with the weird last name?” he asked me.

                “Some people might say that,” I said with a sigh.

                “Damn.” Asher looked between us again. “Nate told me you two were dating! I didn’t believe him at first but…is it true, Will?”

                Will’s face had gone terribly pale and Jude’s smirk flashed back to me. He was definitely behind this. He had planned this.

                I raised an eyebrow at Will. “Is it true, William?”

                “Asher don’t tell anyone,” Will choked out. Eh, at least he hadn’t outright denied our relationship. He was definitely getting a little more confident about his sexuality.

                “Wow, seriously? You’re dating a guy?” Asher laughed a little. “Never would have expected that from you, Will.”

                “Asher, don’t tell anyone!” Will stressed.

                “I won’t tell anyone, chill out,” Asher assured.

                Asher wouldn’t. But Jude and Nate would.

                Asher stood up. “I’ve got to head out now. I’ll see you tomorrow, Will.” He grabbed his bag off the floor and glanced at me. “Sorry about my little brother.”

                “I can tell you’re torn up inside about it,” I said, going over to the bed and sitting next to Will.

                Asher grinned. “You’re sassy. I like you.”

                “I’m not feeling much of a friendship here,” I said.

                “Catch you later,” he said, laughing and leaving the room.

                “Will, snap out of it,” I said, shaking him. He was getting paler by the second.

                “How did Nate know? Did you tell anyone?” His voice was sharp as he glared at me.

                “Benji and Gideon,” I said with a shrug. “And that’s only because Sonnet brought it up. Jude is doing this to freak you out, that’s all. Don’t let it get to you.”

                “Ethan, people can’t find out!” he snapped. He raked a hand through his hair angrily.

                “Why? Because you’re scared of being called a faggot?” I asked.

                He winced, answering my question. He got up, moving his laptop over to his desk. He leaned against the wall and rubbed his eyes, looking exhausted all of a sudden.

                “People just can’t know,” he mumbled.

                “What are you going to do if people do find out? Break up with me?” I asked, my voice carefully composed. But my words made my heart start to beat a little faster, and I forced myself not to think on it too hard. No need to induce another panic attack.

                Will came over to me, pulling me to my feet and into his arms. “I promised you I wouldn’t leave you,” he said quietly.

                I looked up at him, but he was closed off again. Frustration rose in me, and I swallowed it down.

                I stepped out of his arms. “Didn’t you have class today?”

                He nodded. “Yea, I had a test. I finished it pretty quick, so I got to leave early. Asher came back with me to go over a script. When we finished, we just started looking up things online,” he said.

                “Be careful of him. Jude is up to quite a few things,” I said.

                “What do you mean? Look, Asher isn’t a bad guy,” Will said.

                “Jude is using him to scare you,” I pointed out. “He’s also up to something with a girl named Mia.”

                “Of course I have to get with someone that has an enemy like Jude Tibbits,” Will said with a scowl.

                “You get used to it,” I said, sitting back on his bed. “I almost look forward to the daily beatings and public humiliation.”

                “Not funny,” he said, crossing his arms, his scowl deepening. “Are you that pathetic that you just joke about it instead of sticking up for yourself?”

                “Oh yea, a scrawny kid whose only talent is outstanding sarcasm versus two highly athletic guys and their evil head bitch,” I said. “Why didn’t I try fighting back earlier?!”

                “You probably taunt them all the time,” Will said with a shrug. “You should stop bringing it on yourself.”

                “You caught me. Even back when they used to beat me up when I was five years old. I would rub it in their faces that I had Pokémon fruit snacks and they didn’t,” I said with a sigh. “I should really stop bringing these vicious beatings on myself. You’re so wise, William.”

                “Look, I’m just saying. You have a big mouth and nothing to back it up with. Just because you have friends now, it doesn’t mean you can hide behind them,” he said.

                “I don’t hide behind anyone. In case you forgot, when we had that plan to get Jude to leave us alone, I wasn’t hiding. You, Gideon, and Sonnet were the ones who were nowhere in sight when their fists started flying,” I said with a shrug.

                Something flashed in his eyes, disappearing so quickly I nearly missed it. “I got out of work late. You weren’t supposed to get hurt.”

                Benji had come up with a plan to get Jude to leave us alone. It had basically involved us pissing him off, and then walking to the parking lot alone to draw them after us. When Jude and his friends attacked, Will, Gideon, and Sonnet came out of hiding to fight back. Will had threatened Jude away, and Sonnet had given the ass a good kick in the balls. It had scared them off for a short while, but now, they were obviously back after us. Jude was nurturing quite a grudge against Will for the incident.

                “Yea, well, don’t act so high and mighty. You have faults too,” I reminded him.

                “Not as many as you,” he said with a scowl.

                “I didn’t realize we were having a competition to see who was the most fucked up,” I said.

                He laughed bitterly. “Oh, trust me, you’d win the award for that. I have my problems, but they’re nothing compared to yours.”

                “I’m going to take that as a compliment,” I said.

                “When did your parents find out that you didn’t actually have any friends?” Will asked me.

                “Well, I think the fact that I never invited anyone over was probably a big hint,” I said.

                “I’m going to Kyle’s house, mom. I’ll be back later,” I said.

                “You know, you always go to his house. You should invite him over sometime,” mom said.

                I shook my head at her. “His mom is weird about that. I’ll ask him if he wants to come over though.”

                “Okay. Have fun!” she said.

                I left the house and hurried away. I had been keeping this act up ever since I was 7. Kyle had been some kid in my 2nd grade class that let me borrow a pencil once. My parents had been getting worried, so I lied and said he and I were friends. I told them he lived in the neighborhood next to ours.

                But, like I had been doing for the past 3 years, instead of going to the neighborhood next to ours, I went to the library.

                I didn’t actually have any friends. The kids just made of fun of me. So instead, I just pretended I had friends and hid out at the library. I liked to get lost in a good book and pretend that I was the characters going on adventures with their friends.

                I sat down at my usual table with a book, letting myself get lost in it. So I was 10 years old and had never had a single friend before. So I got bullied a lot. So I had been lying to my parents for the past 3 years.

                At least I had a distraction from reality.

                Time, as it always did when I was in the library, flew by without me noticing. I just kept flipping pages, awed at the words in front of me.

                “Ethan?”

                I froze, my fake reality suddenly shattered. I gripped the book tightly, too scared to turn around and face my father.

                He had caught me in my lie. He was going to know the truth.

                I snapped myself out of that memory before I could flashback to the ashamed look on my father’s face. He had suspected that I had been lying, but in that moment, he knew the truth of his outcast son.

                “Am I bringing up bad memories?” he asked, not looking at all guilty for it.

                “You have a habit of doing that,” I said.

                “I feel like you forget how damaged you are. You’re lost in your own façade,” he said.

                “This is getting too deep for me,” I said.

                “Sarcasm doesn’t get you out of conversations with me,” he said.

                “Really? I think it should,” I said.

                “Nope. Learn to face your demons,” he said.

                “You’re one to talk. I feel like I have to sing Imagine Dragons songs to you,” I said.

                “You take a lot of solace in music and books, huh?” he asked.

                “Obviously,” I said. “Nothing says comfort like reading about the death of Fred Weasley while listening to Work Bitch.”

                “You get so frustrated because you can’t read me. But you’re frustrating too, Ethan. Because you’re drowning your true self in this persona of an optimistic, sarcastic guy,” he said.

                “Optimistic? You flatter me,” I said.

                He scowled at me. “I mean it. You try so hard to act like nothing really affects you. But you’re so impossibly fucked up. You’re just a kid with daddy issues, a self harm problem, and the incredible ability to attract every bully known to man. If Benji and his friends ditched you right now, I bet you’d kill yourself. You can’t handle much more, can you?”

                Terror erupted inside of me at the thought of Benji, Gideon, and Sonnet ditching me. The terror took on the form of anger as I jumped up and glared at Will, my control evaporating.

                “And what about you, William? Your emotions are always so carefully closed off. Why? Because you’re afraid .Because you’re fragile and you don’t want anyone to know it. You play it off like you’re so tough, but you’re not. You’re sensitive,” I snapped.

                “I got bullied too,” he said, his voice going quiet. “It started in preschool, and followed me until I hit the third grade. That I had a happy, bully-free period. But it came back in the seventh grade and continued up through high school. I never had a ton of friends.”

                “So you thought going to college would fix that?” I swallowed down my anger and jealousy. I’d kill for a few friends and a four year period of relief from bullies. “Going away doesn’t solve the problem. You have to fix it yourself.”

                “I know that.” He looked up at me. “I’m trying to fix it. I’m trying to be more outgoing. I’m trying to be less sensitive to things. I’m trying, Ethan.”

                “So what scared you away from college? What had you moving back home?” I asked.

                “My friends,” he mumbled, his gaze falling again. “They were homophobic.”

                Okay, so I had figured out most of his problem. Bad grades that didn’t have a chance of beating Sonnet’s had scared him away from classes, and homophobic friends had scared him away from the school itself. Hell, it probably caused a lot of his nightmares. I could tell by looking at him that Will was the type of person who had been tormented over his sexuality for years.

                But there was still something I was missing. Something that maybe even Will himself didn’t quite understand. I forced away my frustration. If I could just figure out this last piece, I could help Will. I could really help him. I just had to be patient. I wanted nothing more than to help him because I lov-

                Woo. Easy, Ethan. Love was a big step. Love was a scary thing. And loving someone as wildly unstable as William Duvet was dangerous.

                But as I looked at him, I realized just how much I had fallen for him. I felt safe when I was with him. Yes, he was forcing up dark memories. But he wasn’t doing it with the intention to hurt me, and I knew that. He had other intentions. I couldn’t quite explain it, but I didn’t want to lose Will. I had such powerful feelings for him.

                “Why are you staring at me?” he asked in annoyance.

                “I’m sorting out my very confused feelings for you. On one hand, I want to give you a good kick between the legs. On the other hand, I feel like singing Clarity to you,” I said.

                He snickered and came over, pulling me into his arms and kissing me. “I feel the same way.”

                I rested my head against his chest and he tightened his hold on me. I put my arms around him, suddenly terrified. Jude was out to ruin our relationship, and with the fragile emotional state Will had put me in, I wouldn’t be able to handle it if he succeeded.