It's the beginning of July; Jack has fully regained his sight. Jack and Rayane had good grades in the French baccalaureate. They were having coffee at the Spoon. Rayane and Jack were laughing as usual.

- "But if I swear to you. It was the dinner, the most awkward of my life." Rayane recounted his dinner the night before at the Brunets.

- "Yeah, no wonder. You bumped into your mom and her boyfriend, half-naked." Jack laughed knowing it had happened to him, with his mother and Damien, but he acted like he didn't see anything.

- "Stop!" Rayane asked. "I am going to throw up." He pretended to vomit, which made Jack laugh even more. "Are you done laughing at me?" Rayane questioned with an amused smile. Jack had a wonderful laugh. His laugh always knew how to make Rayane smile again. He kicked Jack under the table to make him stop laughing at him.

- "I cannot. If you saw your face." Jack burst out laughing once more.

- "That's it. Laugh." Rayane huffed in amusement. The Spoon's door opened, two men entered.

- "Next time, you'll knock..." Jack looked at Rayane then as he spoke, his gaze had followed the men who had just entered. Jack's face fell as if he had seen a ghost. Or rather two. "No. It's not possible..." Tears welled up in Jack's eyes. Him who is usually so happy. Rayane frowned.

- "Hey, Jack. What's going on?" Rayane put his right hand on Jack's left hand. Jack jumped at the touch and removed his hand. "Hey. Hey. It's me. What's the matter?" The memories he had tried so hard to forget had all come flooding back. The memories of that night had come back to hit him hard. Jack's vision was blurry. He got up and left, leaving Rayane standing there. "Jack!" It was the last thing he heard on his way out.

He ran through the streets of Sète, to his home. He was no longer safe. They were back. Everything was swirling around in his head. Insults. The knife to the throat. The threats. The details of his assault that he could never forget.

Lucas and Samy are back. The two guys who assaulted Jack that night at the Christmas market. Those who made him undress while they were filming to urinate on him. They had posted the video the next day. The whole town had seen this video, the humiliation Jack had suffered because he was gay. He always had nightmares about it.

Jack didn't understand why they weren't in jail. They were to stay there for five years for sexual and homophobic assault on a minor. How was it possible? It had only been a year and a half.

Tears continued to roll down Jack's cheeks. He had stopped a little before his building to isolate himself in a dead end and catch his breath. Hiding behind a trash can, Jack brought his knees to himself and wrapped his arms around him. He cried as much as he could. He had an oppression in his chest, he couldn't breathe. He was shaking when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, thinking it could be Samy or Lucas. He raised his head and his eyes met those of Rayane who had the concern graved on his face. Rayane wrapped his left arm around Jack's shoulders and his right arm behind his head which was glued to his chest. He rested his chin on his friend's head. He hugged him as tight as he could. His heart broke to see him like that.

- «Let yourself go. I'm here, Jack. I'm not going anywhere." Rayane whispered softly into Jack's hair.

Jack put his arms around Rayane's waist. And he completely let himself go in Rayane's so comforting and reassuring arms. Rayane let a few tears flow. He couldn't bear to see the boy he loved suffer so much. Jack just rehashed the memories of his assault, the judging looks of people afterward, the nightmares every night, their breaths on his skin. It was worse since the plane crash. Jack had recurring nightmares. Every time he woke up at night with a start and crying, he panicked even more, because he couldn't see anything. He couldn't just open his eyes and say, 'It was just a nightmare. It's not real.' He had nothing to bring him back to reality. He was in the dark all the time.

Rayane repeated to him that he was there and that it was going to be fine. How could he know? He did not see the future. What was he telling him that they wouldn't do it again? Jack had already told Rayane about his problems. But he had spoken so far of his vision and not of his aggression or his coming out. The two friends had talked about their fathers, their attraction to men, but never about how they had both had a forced and complicated coming out.

They remained in this position for a while. Jack's breathing had returned to normal. His tears had slowly started to subside. Jack pulled back a little from Rayane, his arms still around his waist. Rayane put his hands on Jack's cheeks to wipe away the tears that remained. Jack closed his eyes to enjoy this sweet moment, before reality hit him again. Jack pressed his forehead against Rayane's.

- "You want to talk about it?" Rayane asked Jack softly, stroking his back.

- "No, I don't want to talk about it." Rayane's heart sank, thinking that Jack didn't trust him enough to tell him. "But, I want you to know. But, please. Hold me in your arms and don't let me go." A few tears streamed down Jack's face. Rayane obeyed and hugged Jack, in their original position.

- "I promise, I won't let you go." Rayane whispered into Jack's hair. The latter took a deep breath before telling his story to Rayane.

- "December 2021..." Jack took another breath. "Lizzie got bullied and..." Jack huffed again, letting out a tear. "She tried to kill herself. I felt so bad." No wonder, thought Rayane as he listened to the story of the man he loved. Jack's blue eyes were hidden by his tears. "Then I heard this guy, Maël, say shit about her, when she almost died." Asshole. Jack's heart sank as he told him. "So that pissed me off and I slapped him in front of the whole school. Afterwards, there was a post that said "Jack Roussel fights like a fag... Normal, it is one." " The bastards. "At that time, I only came out to Lizzie, because she guessed. Two days later, I made an announcement on the internet saying I was gay to shut them all up. The high school crowd applauded me and everything." Rayane smiled through the tears that had started to flow since Jack told his story. The more time he spent with Jack, the more he realized how brave he was. "I had even received a message from a secret admirer. We had decided to meet on December 16 at the Christmas market, but he didn't come. The two guys who got into the Spoon earlier. They fell on me." No... "They put their phone flash in my eyes and a knife to my throat. I begged them to let me go and not do anything to me, but they forced me to undress completely." Rayane's heart broke as Jack told his story. He had grown more and more protective of Jack over the months. You mustn't touch his Jack. Even those who only dared to look askance at Jack, took Rayane's thunder. "They insulted me and hit me. They said I deserved it because I was just a little fag. They made me kneel down. They were just repeating "Do you like that, you little faggot?" , again and again. Afterwards, they pissed on me and left with my clothes, laughing. The next day they posted the video. Everyone in high school saw it. I was insulted as a faggot and a victim all over the networks, some said I deserved it, others that it was obvious that I liked it." The sons of bitches. I'm going to take them out. These are the first things that crossed Rayane's mind. Jack was so brave. He had to face all that after his coming out. When you first saw him, he looked super cheerful and optimistic; when he had been through so much that could have left him on the ground, broken. But instead, he had been able to stand up, hold his head high and move forward in life without letting his traumas define him. "They were arrested four days later, by your uncle's colleagues. And Captain Jacob said they had to stay at least five years. Apparently they got a reduced sentence."

Jack had relived all those moments for months and finally being able to let go of everything took a huge weight off his shoulders. So huge, that, tears of relief mingled with those of sadness and hatred. Rayane's arms tightened around Jack's shoulders. He wanted to hold him so tight, to make him forget everything. He wanted to help him take away all him problems.

- "I'm sorry, Jack. I understand better why you reacted like that, earlier." Rayane whispered those reassuring words as Jack tightened his grip on Rayane's hips. "I am here. I'm not going anywhere. Look at me." Rayane cupped Jack's face in his hands to look at him. "I won't let them hurt you again. They will have to pass over my body." Jack smiled at his words. "I promise you." Rayane brought his forehead up, snuggling up to Jack's, who closed his eyes. Rayane wiped away Jack's tears, then his own. "Come on, come on." Rayane stood up and held out his hand to Jack, who gladly took it. Once Jack got up, their hands didn't come apart. "We're going to watch a movie at my house. That way, we'll be alone." Rayane blushed, barely, the words escaped his lips. He looked away nervously to see how Jack was smiling even more. He swallowed hard. Jack took the opportunity to place a delicate kiss on Rayane's right cheek.

- "Thank you, Rayane. Thank you for everything." Jack blushed. Rayane was as red as a tomato, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

- "Whenever you want, my favorite cripple." Rayane tightened his grip on Jack's left hand. They started to walk to Rayane's house.