(Mark's P.O.V.)

I walk across the stage and exit left, walking through the theater all the way to the back where Nate and Matt are talking quietly. 

"Mind if I butt in for a sec?" I ask, walking over. Both of them immediately look up, staring at me. 

"Oh, uh, no. Of course not." Matt smiles, looking back at Nate. Nate just kisses his forehead and smiles at him. 

"We'll continue talking later." He whispers, and Matt nods in response. Then they both look at me, putting their arms around each other. "So, what's up Mark?" Nate asks, looking genuinely curious. I sigh, looking at the ground and rubbing the back of my neck as a nervous response. I never was real social, and even here with theater geeks like me, I never talked to them much. But I know they're good guys. So... I talk. 

"I have a question for you two." I say, peering up. Nate raises an eyebrow, Matt waves me on. I look up completely, shrugging. "How the hell did you guys survive here?" I ask. Matt just laughs a bit, and Nate smiles. 

"What do you mean by that?" He asks, chuckling slightly. I bite my lip. 

"I mean, this entire school is pretty much filled with homophobes. I would know. How did you get past them?" I ask, shrugging once more. Matt calms down and raises his one hand. 

"Honestly, I don't know. I was just following what Nate told me to do." He says, looking at Nate playfully. Nate rolls his eyes, looking back at me afterwards. 

"We kept a low profile. Didn't draw much attention to ourselves, and if someone tried to cause a problem we'd just ignore them. Not so hard to do if you're dating Jack though, I'd imagine." He says and I exhale slowly, shaking my head. 

Jack is not only one of the most popular kids in school, but also doesn't know how to ignore people. He's always cared about image and other people, so that doesn't help. But also, if anyone even tries to do anything to me, he'll get really defensive and will most likely start a fight. So, no, not very low profile. 

"I still don't get it though." I speak my mind, looking at them quizzically. Matt shrugs. 

"What do you not get?" He asks, thinking what was said was clear enough. I shake my head slowly, frowning. 

"I just don't get it. Cause yeah, you guys probably did keep low profile. But I mean, I've seen you guys hold hands and kiss and stuff in the halls. And to the best of my knowledge if anyone saw that they'd immediately say something." The two look at each other, shaking their heads slowly. 

"No. That's never happened to us." Nate says, and Matt nods in agreement. 

"Yeah. I hate to admit it Mark, but Jack was right. A lot of the hate you guys got for your relationship, wasn't the relationship, but instead Jack himself." He states, and I know he must be right. After all, he often is. But it also just makes sense. 

People always did hate Jack, sadly. They judged him off of the persona he made, not who he is. And they refuse to figure out who he is. Everyone here just sees him as Jack. They don't know Seán. The sweet, caring, wonderful angel he is. They only know the demon he showed. The heartless, cruel, terrible demon. 

"Alright. Well thanks guys." I say, and they both nod. I nod back, turning to walk away when I feel a hand on my shoulder. 

"Wait, Mark. Can we talk?" I hear Nate ask. I turn around and smile, nodding. Matt looks at his boyfriend skeptically, but after a look and a smile he just nods and walks away, leaving the musician and I alone. He sighs, stepping back a bit and sitting in one of the seats. I sit next to him. 

"What's up?" I ask, concerned. It isn't often Nate would talk to me, though we were friends. He just normally went to Matt with anything he wanted to talk about. 

"Do you know who was hurting Jack?" He asks softly, looking at me with a pleading look. But my expression just falls, and I shake my head. He hits the arm rest weakly, staring at the ground. "Damn it." He whispers. 

"Why?" I ask, curious. I mean, I'd love to know who did this to Jack, but why would Nate want to know? He inhales shakily before running his hand through his hair and talking. 

"Uh, I'm just concerned for Matt. That's what we were talking about actually. We're just... Scared, honestly. Cause if the rumors are true and someone did all of that terrible stuff to Jack..." He bites his lip, shaking his head slowly. "Matt or I could be next." He says it so softly I barely heard him, but I heard him. And that's what matters. I frown, shaking my head. 

"No, no. I'm sure that won't happen. I'm pretty sure whoever did this had something personal against him. Cause, I mean, I'm fine right?" I say, shrugging. Nate nods, breathing slightly shakily. Then he looks up at me, tears in his normally clear eyes. 

"I just don't want him to get hurt." He whispers. I nod, looking down at the ground. 

"I know exactly how you feel. Trust me." 

A/N: prepare for tears