Trigger warning for mention/implication of abuse! Be safe and enjoy the chapter, my loves!

•°•

"Xel, what was that?" Scott demanded when Grian pushed them out of the room and shut the door.

"Stop calling me that," Grian growled. "If someone hears you-"

Scott scoffed and crossed their arms. "Relax, there's nobody in this hallway. Who could possibly hear me?"

Grian gave them a blank stare before gesturing angrily to the closed door. "The band maybe?!"

"Well, if you're shouting like that-" Scott shut their mouth when Grian's eyes flashed a bright red.

"Remember, Aemor," Grian started lowly, "you're alive because of me. Watch yourself."

Scott shifted uncomfortably, and Jimmy was covering his mouth and snickering behind Grian.

"So, um..." Grian blinked and looked both ways down the hall. "Does anybody were the bean is?"

•°•

Zed giggled as Impulse picked him up and put him on his shoulders, Tango watching them fondly with his arms crossed over his chest. In the booth next to them was Bdubs and his boyfriend, Etho, murmuring to each other and snickering as they munched on chips, Scar and Joel sitting across from them and giving them disgusted looks.

Xisuma laughed and leaned into his best friend, Keralis, as he watched his friends from the table across from them. "They're so funny," he said, giggling and dipping a chip into his chocolate milkshake.

Keralis gasped. "Shashwam-"

"Oh!" Xisuma pulled the chip out of his milkshake, frowning while Keralis struggled to hold in his laughter. "Are you kidding me?"

Keralis took it from X and leaned his head back to drop the chip into his mouth. Xisuma was the one to gasp this time.

"Keralis!" Xisuma snorted. "That's so gross!"

Keralis shrugged and reached over to grab a chip from X's tray, getting impossibly close to the latter's face. Xisuma blushed when Keralis didn't back away to eat the chip, smirking at the smaller boy.

Xisuma scowled in an attempt to hide how flustered he was and weakly shoved Keralis, making him throw his head back laughing. "Jerk face," Xisuma grumbled, though he wasn't angry in the slightest. He glanced at Keralis, who was clutching his middle as he laughed. "Oh, come off it, it's not that funny!" X whined.

"Oh, Shashawmmy," Keralis sighed as he finally started to calm down. He leaned over to wrap an arm around the smaller's shoulders and pull him close. "You're adorable."

Xisuma blushed again. "Oh, stop it," he mumbled.

The door to the restaurant dinged and Zed gasped. "Look!" he said, pointing. "It's Scott, Grian, and Jimmy!" He hopped off of Impulse's shoulders and waved them over, to which Grian happily obliged.

"Hi," Grian said happily, but Scott, who was trailing not too far behind, didn't seem happy at all.

Zedaph smiled brightly. "Hello! How are you guys?"

"Awful," Scott answered simultaneously with Grian's answer of, "I'm great!" The looked at each other, Grian scowling and Scott looking totally unphased.

Zed let out a small, nervous laugh. "Wow," he said. "Did you guys coordinate that on purpose?"

"No," they said in unison.

Grian sighed. "Scott's been... difficult lately," he said, glaring at them. Suddenly, he smiled. "But that's fine. They always learn." Before Zed could question that and how Scott's glare turned into a nervous expression, Grian was pushing past him to sit next to Scar.

Zed leaned against the table X and Keralis sat at, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Are you okay, Zed?" Xisuma asked.

Zed blinked and nodded, though he didn't exactly look okay as he sat down and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "'M fine," he murmured.

Impulse seemed to notice and walked over, rubbing his boyfriend's back. "Hey," he said gently in Zed's ear. "What's going on?"

"Tired."

"Do you want to leave?" Zedaph shook his head. "Are you sure?" He nodded. "Alright." Impulse stood up straight after kissing Zed's cheek. "Let me know when you do."

"M'kay..."

Impulse walked away with a worried look.

Scar and Joel jumped when Grian suddenly showed up and sat in the booth with them. "Hey," Grian said, more to Scar than anyone else. He seemed like he wanted to be careful not to touch him.

"Oh, hi, Grian," Scar said with a smile that Grian beamed at. "How are you?"

Grian rested his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand, staring fondly at the brunette. "I'm good," they said with a small giggle. "What about you?"

"I'm alright," Scar said with a shrug. He looked over at Bdubs and Etho and so did Grian. "Those two are grossing me out, though. They're too lovey-dovey." He stuck his tongue out and Grian straightened their posture. Scar had continued to say something, but Grian was distracted with trying to touch their foot to Bdubs' underneath the table.

"Stupid, tiny, human legs," Grian grumbled, not realizing he was talking out loud.

Joel let out a surprised laugh. "What?" He was smiling, yet giving the dirty blonde a confused look.

Grian looked up. "Hm?" Even Bdubs and Etho had stopped giggling to each other to give him funny looks. Nobody looked judgemental, though.

"'Stupid, tiny, human legs?'" Bdubs questioned, struggling not to laugh.

"I'm short, okay?" Grian pouted, giving up on trying to reach Bdubs' foot. He slumped in the seat as everyone laughed. But it was weird. Nobody was being mean, and Grian didn't feel made fun of in the slightest. "You're all weird," they huffed with crossed arms. He noticed a glass full of a brown liquid and some white, fluffy stuff on top. "Hey, what's this?"

Scar gave Grian a confused look. "The milkshake?"

Grian reached over for it, nearly jumping out of his skin when the glass was freezing cold. "What in the Heavens is that?" they sneered, looking almost like an upset cat as they judged the drink.

"It's really good," Scar said. He picked up the glass and another straw to hand it to the smaller. "Try it."

Grian looked at the glass, then at Scar, then back at the glass again. "Okay..." They took it, holding it closer to the top where it wasn't as cold. "Oh-" He looked at his finger, finding he'd gotten some of the white stuff on top on it. Hesitantly, he licked it off. Their eyes widened. "It's sweet."

"Have you never had whipped cream before?" Bdubs asked.

Grian shook their head before taking a sip of the milkshake. His eyes got even wider, and he continued to drink it. "This is incredible," Grian said in total awe of the dessert drink.

"I can order you one," Scar offered, and Grian nodded frantically.

Xisuma sighed and leaned further into Keralis' side. "I think Grian likes Scar," he said before munching on another chip.

"Definitely," Keralis agreed.

"What the hell?!"

Both X and Keralis sat up straight when Bdubs shouted at Impulse, who look slightly confused.

"I'm sorry-"

"Yeah, of course, you're 'sorry'." Bdubs rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'm leaving."

Impulse sighed. "Wait, Bdubs-" He reached for the other's hand, but ended up getting smacked in the face.

"Don't touch me," Bdubs sneered, and they both stood there for a moment, just staring at each other, before Bdubs huffed and walked away.

"What happened?" Xisuma asked, and Impulse sighed again, shaking his head.

"I think I'm just gonna go home," Impulse said.

X frowned. "Come on, you know Bdubs is a little bit... dramatic," he said. "Don't leave just because-"

"Yeah, I know he's dramatic," Impulse cut him off, "but I also know that he just slapped me because I apologized for stepping on his foot!"

"Well, maybe he had a bad day-"

Impulse let out a loud groan, running a hand down his face. "Why are you always excusing everything?" he said. "Whenever somebody does something wrong, you always come up with some little smart-ass comment about their home life or if they had a bad day or not."

Xisuma shrank against Keralis, who wrapped an arm around his waist. "It's important to consider," he said meekly.

"What about the people who end up hurt because of it, Xisuma?" Impulse asked, and the former lowered his head. "Their home life or how their day went or how they feel about themselves is not an excuse to be hurtful. They can learn to deal with it in other ways."

Xisuma's face felt hot and he wanted to cry. He struggled a lot with his own self-image and with his parents at home, so he always wanted to take into consideration that people who were rude or mean might be struggling as well. And he'd thought it was a great way to deal with things, but he supposed he never realized that it made others upset.

"Look, just because that might be the case," Impulse continued, "doesn't mean it is. And it's still not a good reason to be rude to people. Get that inside your thick skull."

X squeezed his eyes shut and begged his throat not to make any noise. He didn't doubt that he was visibly shaking, but nobody needed to know he was actually crying.

"Yeah, you're saying all of this," Keralis said, "but you're using being upset as an excuse to be rude to Shashwammy."

"This is different."

"How is it different?" Keralis let go of Xisuma to stand. "Why does what you're saying not apply to you, when it's the same situation?"

"Keralis," Xisuma managed to whisper without sobbing, but it didn't seem like he was heard.

"I have a right to be upset that Bdubs fucking hit me," Impulse retorted.

Keralis scoffed. "Yeah, but you don't have the right to tell my best friend that he has a 'thick skull.' I don't care if you leave or stay, but you better watch yourself before you go around preaching shit that you're not even exercising yourself."

"Keralis," Xisuma tried again, and he heard Keralis shift next to him.

Impulse sighed. "Whatever. I'm leaving. Tango, Zed, are you coming with?"

Zed nodded tiredly. "Yeah, I think I want to get some sleep."

Tango hesitated before nodding as well, though he didn't say anything.

Grian shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Uh, Scott and Jimmy, can you... accompany me to the restroom?" they said quietly, standing up.

Joel snickered. "What, are you too short to reach the urinal?" he teased, and Grian shot him a shocked look which made him burst out laughing.

Grian huffed and turned on his heel to walk away silently, Scott and Jimmy following them soon after. They went over to a vintage jukebox across the diner and sort of hid behind it.

"Do they know where the bathroom is?" Scar asked, pointing towards where they stood.

•°•

"Did we do something?" Scott asked nervously when the two were mostly out of sight, wringing their hands. Jimmy looked just as nervous

Grian shook his head. "No, no," they said. They glanced back over to the group who'd gone back to goofing around and teasing each other lightly. "They have magic."

Scott's eyes widened. "Those guys are where that thing came from?"

"Yeah, and the big guy with- oh, dammit, what's his name?" Grian tapped his foot on the ground as he squinted and tried to remember. "Izzy- Er, Izzy-zoomer-something. That guy with him has a lot of magic."

"The one with the Polish accent?" Jimmy asked.

Grian nodded. "I've also noticed that our magic reacts negatively with theirs," they explained. "It sparks some kind of heavy, powerful energy. That Eggs-uma kid can definitely feel it, I can tell." He looked up at the other two. "We can use the fact that I can absorb their magic to our advantage to steal that magical energy for ourselves."

Scott grinned. "So, what's the plan?"

"We hang around them for a while," Grian said simply. "Let our energies clash, enjoy watching them argue and ruin their friendships, soak up all the magic we can, then continue with the original plan as normal. Easy as that."

•°•

"You didn't have to walk me home," Xisuma said as he and Keralis stopped on the front porch. The height difference between them was something Xisuma considered perfect, though he was rather short compared to his friend.

"I wanted to," Keralis said, fixing a piece of Xisuma's hair that had gone wonky in the wind. "Besides, I want to make sure your parents don't beat the shit out of you the moment you walk in the door."

Xisuma huffed out a laugh, but Keralis' expression stayed serious. "I'm sure they're asleep by now," he said.

"But, still-"

"I'll be fine," Xisuma hushed him with a reassuring smile. "I'll text you as soon as I'm finished getting ready for bed, okay?"

Keralis stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Right. Goodnight, Shashwammy."

"'Night, Keralis."

Keralis waited for Xisuma to be inside with the door closed and locked before walking away, just like he always did.

Xisuma sighed and leaned against the door. "Oh, Keralis," he murmured to himself. He was always nervous around the other boy, but he never knew why. They've known each other their whole lives, so it made no sense. His stomach always felt fluttery and his heart pounding in his chest whenever he even thought of him, yet he loved to be around Keralis. He always made him so happy.

X shook himself and started quickly for the stairs. All the lights were off and the windows were all shut, which meant he was safe as long as he was quiet. As soon as he reached his bedroom and closed the door, he felt himself relax. After changing into some night clothes, he collapsed onto his bed, rolled over onto his back, and pulled out his phone to text Keralis.

Zuma
Safe and in bed :)

He sighed and set his phone down to sleep, when it buzzed. He couldn't help but check it.

Keralis
Can you call?

Zuma
Better not. It's pretty late and if my father wakes up, it's gonna be hell

Keralis
Aww :(
Ok, sleep well Shashawm <3

Zuma
I'll try lol

Keralis
I'm serious. You better sleep tonight.

Zuma
I will, I promise. I'll take a few of those melatonin gummies you got me

Keralis
Good. Gn Shwammy <33

Zuma
Night!

Xisuma stared at his keyboard. He'd subconsciously typed the words 'Love you', but caught himself just before he sent it. He paused, chewing on his lip as he decided whether or not he wanted to actually send the text. On the one hand, it was nice and sweet because he did care about Keralis a lot. He was Xisuma's best and closest friend. But on the other he would probably sound really weird and clingy if he actually said that.

Grumbling to himself, he deleted the text and shut his phone off. He shifted so he was beneath his weighted comforter and laid on his side. He figured he was tired enough on his own not to have to take the melatonin and closed his eyes to sleep.

•°•

What's a bumblvee book without angst? /lh/hj