I sat down with Rhys at lunch. He'd found us a small table in the corner of the bigger section of the cafeteria. Wally would probably go sit at our usual table, but at least this way I wouldn't have to catch myself staring at him during the period.

                "So far so good?" Rhys asked.

                I shrugged. "He wasn't in class. He's probably been hiding in the art room."

                "Shit, the vending machine was out of Gatorade," Piers said, setting his lunch down and sitting next to me. "Mind sharing your drink with me, Robbie?"

                I gave him a weak smile and pushed my drink over to him. Piers had made a mistake, but he was aware and he was sorry for it. He'd just been trying to protect Five.

                He uncapped my drink and took a sip, nearly choking on it when Five sat down at the table. She was staring down at her lunch, but forced herself to meet my gaze after a moment.

                "Is it okay if I sit here?" she asked.

                "You could kick my ass twelve different ways. I'm not going to say no," I said.

                "You have kicked my ass. I'm also not going to say no," Rhys said.

                She looked at Rhys. "I don't get it. You're standing by Robin, but you didn't even stand by your own best friend."

                Rhys winced. "I made a mistake. It's a mistake I'm never going to let myself repeat."

                "I trust Rhys," I said.

                Five just nodded slowly. "And I trust you."

                "Well, it's great that you all have this web of trust going around, but what's going on with Wally?" Piers asked.

                "He was sitting alone at the table. He was probably hoping at least one of us would show up to sit with him," Five said. "He'll scurry off to the art room when no one shows. He's been hiding there all morning."

                "He needs to own up to this," Piers said, shaking his head in disgust.

                "I'm going to talk to him afterschool. It's probably best if he doesn't show his face for now," I said. I wasn't sure I was ready. If I saw him now, I might snap.

                "What about Josh?" Five said.  

                "I saw him today, but he left me alone," I said.

                "Do you think Wally had anything to do with the tension between you and Josh when you guys were dating?" Rhys asked.

                I shook my head. "No. Wally even tried to ease the tension by hanging out with me less when things started to get bad. He never mentioned me breaking up with Josh until things got really bad. Josh and I fell apart because he was jealous and I was petty."

                "Josh would complain anytime Robin hung out with another guy, but then turn around and do it himself," Five said. "He got really controlling over Robin for a while. I think that's when Wally started speaking out against your relationship."

                "Josh and I just...stopped working together. It was our own faults. He'd get super jealous and controlling, which just made me so angry I'd insult him and pick fights all the time. We're better off not dating," I said.

                "Whatever you choose to do about Josh and Wally, we'll support you," Five promised. "It's the least I can do after lying to you. I'll earn your trust back, Robin. I promise."

                I dropped my gaze. "You know in Young Justice when they find out there's a mole on the team? And even the mole doesn't know who he is. I think that's Wally. He probably thought he was doing what was best at first, but his jealousy got so bad he didn't even realize he was becoming the problem."

                "Don't defend his actions for him," Piers said, and his voice was fierce. "He knew damn well what he was doing. He made his choices, Robin. We all did."

                I'd lost my appetite, so I just sipped on my drink as the others talked. When lunch ended, we all went back off to class, my mind spinning with thoughts. I kept trying to play out how the talk with Wally would go later, but I knew I couldn't even imagine what Wally would say. When did I stop knowing him so well?

                When the end of the day came, I could feel my nerves eating my alive. Today could change everything.

                "Hey," Rhys said, coming up to my locker and putting a hand on my shoulder. "If you need anything, anything at all, just give me a call."

                "Thanks, Rhys," I said. "You've been a really good friend to me."

                He smiled a little. "All of this because Piers used you as a distraction that day."

                "I should go find Wally. I'll text you later. If you see Piers and Five, can you tell them...can you tell them I'll text them first?" I said. They'd know that meant not to bother me. I'd text them about it if I wanted them to know.

                "Of course. Stay strong, Robin," Rhys said before heading off down the hallway.

                I took a deep breath and made my way towards the art room. Wally had been hiding in there for most of the day, so there was a good chance that's where he'd still be.

                Sure enough, I pushed open the door and he looked up at me. Guilt hit his face and he dropped his gaze, picking up the paper in front of him and carefully settling it into a file, shutting the file.

                "Your comic?" I guessed.

                "It's still not done," he said.

                I shut the door. "You know we need to talk."

                I sat down on one of the stools. Wally fidgeted with his pencil before slowly dragging his gaze up to mine.

                "Josh found out I had a crush on you," he said, his voice quiet. "I...I told him you'd never believe him over me. He got mad, but he knew I was right. He got more jealous than ever after that. I felt awful. I knew it was my fault. I should've backed off you, like I had in the past when Josh got jealous. But this time, I was angry. So I didn't back off. I kept acting like everything was normal."

                "We would've broken up even if that hadn't happened. It just would've taken longer," I said.

                Wally gripped his pencil tighter. "He was bad for you. I wasn't trying to break you guys up out of jealousy. You're my best friend and I wanted to protect you. He was making you angry and sad. He was bad for you. That's why I got in your ear about breaking up, I swear."

                "Rhys never hurt me," I said.

                Wally winced. "When you broke up with Josh, I thought I might finally have a chance. I'd give you time to recover from that relationship, and then confess my feelings to you. But then I saw how close you and Rhys were getting."

                "We're just friends," I said. "You tried to fuck up my friendship."

                "I know." Wally ran a hand through his hair. "I got so jealous. I thought it wasn't fair that I'd crushed on you for so long, been your best friend for so long, only to lose you to Rhys when I finally had a chance."

                "I'm not a fucking prize," I snapped.

                Wally hung his head. "I know that, Robin. Just because I want to date you, it doesn't mean I get to date you. I let my jealous get the better of me. Instead of supporting your happiness, I tried to ruin it. I got the wrong idea about you and Rhys and I turned into a bad person. I shouldn't have done it, but I did. I'm not denying that."

                "I trusted you," I said, feeling the betrayal and anger of the situation welling up in me. "I trusted you and you manipulated me. You were my best damn friend, and you took advantage of that all because you wanted to fuck me. That was a real shit thing, Wally."

                "I wanted you to be happy, I swear," he whispered. "At first, that's all I wanted. But I got desperate when I thought Rhys was stealing away the moment I'd waited for. I supported you and Josh when you guys got together, even though I was jealous. Your happiness was always more important. I don't know when my own selfish feelings became more important. I'm sorry."

                "I can't trust you anymore. I'll always wonder if you're just manipulating me," I said.

                He took a slow breath, fighting back his feelings. "I know that. I know I fucked up. I know I might not ever earn your trust back. I'm sorry, Robin. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm glad you have Rhys there to help you. And...Don't be too hard on Piers. He thought he was protecting Five. And Five was just looking out for her own safety when she agreed to fake date me. She tried to stop me and tell me I was wrong."

                "I don't know you anymore," I said.

                "I don't either," he said.

                "Look at me."

                He met my gaze.

                "You hurt me," I said.

                He winced again but didn't take his eyes off of mine. "Robin, I've wanted to date you for so long. So damn long. I pretended I liked girls just so you wouldn't catch on. I supported your relationship with Josh because it made you happy at first. I knew for years that just because we were best friends, it didn't mean we'd work out as more. I lost sight of that truth. You deserve someone who always remembers that. I don't expect you to forgive me. I just want you to know that I am sorry."

                "Sorry doesn't fix this," I said.

                There were a lot of moments I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember when I'd put away my stuffed animals for the last time, never to take them out and play with them again. I couldn't remember the last time my parents picked me up and carried me to bed. I couldn't remember the first time I'd stayed awake to watch the sunrise. I couldn't remember the first time my heart beat too fast when I looked at someone I had feelings for.

                But this? This I'd remember with painful clarity.

                The moment Wally broke my trust and fractured our friendship.

                I stood up. "I need time. I stayed too close to Josh when I was angry with him and it ruined us. I think we need to step back from each other."

                "I..." He sighed sadly. "I understand. I'll give you your space."

                I left the art room, feeling exhausted. I felt that exhaustion threaten to bury me alive as Josh pushed himself off the wall.

                "Did he admit to it all?" he said.

                "Go," I said, slumping against the wall.

                "Dick, he's not the sweet guy you think he is," Josh said, glaring at me. "You need to accept that."

                "Robin," I said, rubbing at my eyes. "Just call me Robin."

                "Why? Because it's the nickname he gave you?" Josh demanded.

                "No." I shot a glare right back at Josh. "Because as a gay teenager, I am fucking sick of hearing all the dick jokes that come along with my name actually being Dick. So call me Robin or don't call me anything."

                He bit his lip and shook his head. "You're going to forgive him. I know you are. You'll be away from him for a day, maybe two, and then miss him and go crawling right back to him."

                "He admits his mistakes," I said. "I'm not saying that means he should be forgiven for them. But at least he's aware. You can't fix a problem unless you're aware of it. That's why our relationship fell apart. Neither of us wanted to admit we had problems. We just swept them under the carpet, had some sex, and called it fine."

                "We could make it fine," he said.

                "Not this again," I groaned. "Josh, it's over. It is over. Over. How many times should I say it? We weren't working."

                "We weren't trying," he said.

                I put my hand on his shoulder. "Joshua, someday I'll look at you and smile. Today is not that day. Today I'm willing to punch anyone in the face, and see how I can reach you?" I squeezed his shoulder. "Yea, I suggest take a few steps back and shutting that mouth of yours. The thing about breaking up is that the relationship is broken. Let it lie, Josh."

                "You mean too much to me," he said.

                "And Wally meant the world to me, but that didn't stop him from hurting me. I'm bad for you, Josh. Move on and get a healthy relationship." I dropped my hand from his shoulder. "I'm going home. I suggest you do the same."

                I walked away from him and he had the brains not to speak for once. I left the school and went down to my car, hooking my phone up to it.

                "The sweet surrender of silence forces me to live alone, locked and loaded, where the hell is peace of mind? I wait on you inside the bottom of the deep blue sea." The music drifted out and I turned the volume louder, not wanting to think, not wanting to feel.

                I drove myself home, my parents greeting me briefly as they moved about the house doing their own things. I went up to my bedroom, turning my phone off and tossing it on my chair. I collapsed on my bed, grabbing a random comic and pulling it towards me.

                I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Jason Todd could forgive Batman for not saving him, but he couldn't forgive Batman for not avenging him. I could forgive Wally for getting jealous, but I wasn't sure I could forgive him for letting it damage our friendship.

                Did it matter? I wasn't some antihero carrying out justice. I was just a boy struggling with relationships.

                "Wally," I mumbled, gripping my comic tighter. I couldn't remember life without Wally. He'd been such a big part of it for so long. When did I miss that dark side of him slipping out?

                Maybe it was my fault for not noticing. Maybe it was his fault for letting it take control. It didn't matter anymore. The damage was done, and only time would tell what would happen to any of us now.

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A.N.- I totally abandoned this story to finish the Conversion Academy Trilogy, sorry dudes.

Anyways, we have a few votes to be taken here. Vote number one: Do you guys want me to just take this story down? I can finish it if you really want, but I can't promise it'll be great or steadily updated

Vote number 2: If I do keep this story going, who do you guys want to see Robin end up with? (not promising the majority vote will happen, but I will definitely take it into my thoughts)

Please let me know, guys. I don't want to keep writing something you're not interested in reading, but I also don't want to pull down a story people want to see more of