We killed the rest of the time that period just doing homework. When the bell released us, Nadia didn't complain as Taliesin joined us out in the hallway.

                "We have gym today, and we're starting that weight room unit. Will you be okay?" I asked Taliesin.

                "I have a sympathy pass to get out of gym whenever I want," he said. "But I plan to just jog. If I skip leg day I'll end up looking like a really buff chicken."

                Even Nadia couldn't hide her amused smile at that. "What does that make Gabriel if he only does leg day?"

                "A really buff chicken but reversed," Taliesin said. "Big, buff legs and a skinny little chest." He lightly hit his knuckles against my chest and I scowled, pushing his hand away.

                "Thick thighs end lives if you keep mocking my chest," I said.

                "Listen, if I die by your thighs, then that's just the way I'm going out," he said with a shrug.

                Nadia heaved a sigh. "I wish I was born without ears. Also, the bell is about to ring. Speed up, boys."

                We hurried off to class. The day seemed to fly by until the bell was ringing to let us out for gym. Kace and I gathered our stuff and started off down the hallway.

                "I don't like doing the weight room unit in gym. We have those douchebags who bully the girls off the weights," Kace said.

                "Bully them right back," I said, patting him on the back.

                "High school jocks are the worst," Kace said, shaking his head.

                We went into the locker room and changed into our gym clothes before heading out to the weight room. I'd have to let my legs rest and stick to arms and chest for today. I didn't want to look like a reverse buff chicken.

                Taliesin came into the room, looking around until he spotted me. He watched me, but didn't approach, probably trying to avoid a fight with Kace.

                Coach came in a few minutes later and quieted everyone down. "We'll be in the weight room the next few classes. Coach Brockway is in the gym for anyone who wants to go run the track in there, but she'll be keeping an eye on you and marking you down if you're just walking or sitting the whole time." A couple kids left the room to head to the track, and Coach waited until they were gone. "Alright, get to work. If you need help with any of the equipment, you just let me know. We went over weight room safety in the beginning of the year, so for the love of my sanity, don't do anything stupid."

                "I'm going to lift," Kace. "What about you?"

                "I'll start with light lifting, maybe do some pull-ups," I said. "Need me to spot you?"

                He shook his head. "Nah, I want to ask Coach to help me fix my form. But thanks."

                We parted ways and I grabbed some weights to curl with. Taliesin caught my eye and gestured me over.

                He was jogging at an easy pace on the treadmill, so I took up a spot next to him and started my curling. I was tempted not to say anything so we could keep this content silence between us, but Nadia was right. We had to communicate.

                "How bad has it gotten?" I said.

                He kept his gaze forward as he ran, and I didn't miss the way he sped up his pace a little bit. "It gets bad sometimes. Doctor says it'll always bother me. Surgery won't fix it. He said working out might help if I'm careful."

                "So why were you reckless this morning?" I asked.

                "Because watching you was frustrating," he said, and furrowed his brow in that expression that said he was thinking of how to word what he wanted to say. "You can push yourself. I can't anymore."

                There was something in his voice, and I suddenly felt guilty as I looked up at him. How long had he been suffering inside, watching everyone around him do things he couldn't anymore? How many times had we worked out together with me oblivious of just how frustrating it was for him?

                He noticed my expression and his darkened. "Don't look at me like that. You didn't do anything wrong. I did."

                "Taliesin-" I started.

                "Don't. A sob story doesn't excuse anything I did to you. I'm just trying to be better." He slowed the treadmill back to an easy pace, like he was going to get off, but then started it up back up to a faster speed. "I'm trying to stop walking away, Gabriel."

                "Everyone has flaws. Mine is how bad I am at taking care of the people I care about," I said. "I'm sorry I didn't notice before, Taliesin. I really am."

                How torturous had it been for him back then, stuck in a hospital bed while his friends enjoyed their summer? Never fully recovering from the accident that had injured him so badly that his father's first thought was that Taliesin had been paralyzed.

                I remembered my terror when my mom told me what had happened to Taliesin. I remembered that mix of relief and horror when I visited him in the hospital for the first time.

                I looked down at the weight in my hand. He would never recover. Not physically, and maybe not mentally.

                But he was right. No matter how traumatizing that accident had been, it didn't give him a pass to hurt others. His actions were his own, explanations damned.

                "Gabe, do you remember how bad it hurt when you found out I was the one sabotaging everything and blaming it on you?" he said.

                I remembered that pain vividly. "Yes."

                "Good. Don't forget that," he said. "I did that to you. I hurt you."

                "Why are you talking like this?" I said.

                "Because I see the way you look at me. I don't want forgiveness because you care enough to overlook what I did. I want it because I earned it. I want it because I proved I won't hurt you again," he said. "I hope Nadia stays in your ear about what an asshole I am. You were always too kind for your own good." But then he grinned, all trace of seriousness gone from his face. "You never could resist a cute boy."

                "Oh, shut it," I said, silently relieved he'd stopped talking like that. He'd been punishing himself this whole time while we sat back and assumed he'd felt no guilt. "You need to shave before I consider you cute."

                "Alright, now you just sound like my mom. 'Shave that malformed jungle on your face, Taliesin'," he mocked.

                "I'm with her on this one," I said, and paused. "We sound like each other's moms. That's...concerning?"

                "Alright then, time for you to stop talking," he said. "Time for me to stop talking, too. I'm getting tired."

                We went back to focusing on our workouts. I left Taliesin after a little to go do some pull ups. As I struggled to lift my own weight above the bar, I thought over what Taliesin had said.

                He'd always been so weird about apologies. It's not that he wouldn't acknowledge he'd done something wrong; he did, he just felt words were pointless without action to back them up. He'd started a lot of conflict with people who didn't know him. They thought he didn't apologize because he felt he'd done nothing wrong, which was understandable but untrue.

                Taliesin could be a difficult person to deal with if you didn't understand his methods. I'd grown up with him, so I'd always known when he was sorry without having to hear it from him directly.

                This was one of those times. He knew he'd done something wrong, and he'd been punishing himself for it. I didn't know how long this had been going on for.

                But did it really matter? If he never told us the reason behind what he'd done, all the action in the world wouldn't matter. If I didn't know why he'd done it the first time, some part of me would always fear it would happen a second time.

                When my arms were too tired to keep lifting myself, I dropped back down to the ground and looked around. Kace was helping one of the girls lift the heavier weights, and Taliesin was working his legs.

                I did pushups until Coach called for us to go hit the showers and change. We filed into the locker rooms, everyone fighting for the showers and complaining at the people who got in first to hurry up. Once I was showered and dressed, I left the locker room and waited out in the hallway for Kace.

                He came up to me a few minutes later, rolling his shoulders. "It felt good to work out again. How was yours?"

                "Good," I said. "I was getting out of shape. It always feels good to get back in the weight room."

                "You could use it, noodle arms," Taliesin said as he moved past me, purposely hitting me with his shoulder.

                Kace surprised me by grabbing the back of Taliesin's shirt and yanking him to a stop. "If you're going to act like a child, I'll treat you like one. Apologize to Gabriel for running into him."

                "Easy, bodyguard. It was playful. I'm a beefy boy, but my shoulders aren't weapons of mass destruction. He's fine," Taliesin said. I could see the tension in his body though, probably worried Kace would be too rough with him and hurt him again.

                "Kace, it's okay," I said. "It's not worth it. Just let him go."

                Taliesin quirked an eyebrow. "You heard the man. Drop me, boy."

                Kace narrowed his eyes. "We both know why you're such a dick to me, Taliesin. I was right back then, wasn't I?"

                Anger lit up Taliesin's face so fast it shocked me. He gripped Kace's wrist, prying Kace's hand off his shirt and shoving Kace back with a surprising force.

                I stepped between them, putting a hand on Taliesin's chest as if I'd actually be able to hold him back if he really wanted to start a fight. I glared between the two of them.

                "Cut it out," I said sternly. "What's going on? Right about what, Kace?"

                Kace stared at Taliesin for a long moment before shaking his head. "Just right that he's an asshole. That he can't be trusted."

                Kace walked away from us without another word. I turned to Taliesin, always a victim to his own rage.

                "What was that about, Taliesin?" I said.

                "Just leave it, Gabriel," Taliesin said, glaring in the direction Kace had gone off in.

                "No," I said, gripping his shoulder so he'd look back at me. "No more secrets. Not if you really care. You were the worst to Kace. You got him accused of plagiarism. You got him put on academic probation. You almost ruined his chances of going to his dream college. You're going to tell me why, or I'm going to walk away from you."

                Taliesin clenched his fists, looking even angrier. "He never liked me."

                "You were friends. He didn't always agree with your methods, and you two had some conflicts because of your personalities, but he liked you as a friend," I said.

                The anger seemed to drain out of Taliesin, and he suddenly looked so exhausted that I felt concerned. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

                "Shit," he muttered. He looked at me with those tired eyes of his, none of his usual playfulness present. "Gabe, there are things I can't tell you right now, okay?"

                "That's not good enough, Taliesin," I said. I was trying to give him a chance, but how could he expect me to do that if he was openly saying he wouldn't be honest with me?

                "I said I can't tell you right now. I will, Gabe. I'll tell you everything. Just not right now," he said.

                I shook my head, hating this, so fed up with it all. "You always keep things to yourself. I don't know why I'd expected better of you."

                "Because you always thought I was a better person than I actually am," he said.

                The bell rang, and Taliesin walked away without another word. I let myself follow the crowd of students out into the main hallways, trying not to think too hard on any of it. I just wanted to shut my mind off. I wanted to go back in time, back to when things made sense and Taliesin was frustrating but not so frustrating that I didn't want to chase after him and keep trying.

                But I couldn't go back to that. So I kept walking, keeping my eyes forward instead of searching the hall for Taliesin.