Everyone seemed to be focused on Miles and Lucas, quiet as they tried to listen in on the conversation. Lucas tensed, "Talk?"

"Yes, talk," Miles confirmed, keeping a friendly smile on his face. Miles took a step closer to Lucas, not bothering to quiet his voice as he spoke. It was almost like he didn't care who listened, or maybe he wanted them too. Lucas could feel his heart race, the air between them suddenly suffocating.

"People have been talking since yesterday, you see?" Miles starts, "Apparently you've gotten rather friendly with Charlie Marks." His voice was even, calm. But his eyes glinted with an emotion Lucas didn't recognize, it scared him.

Lucas had to come up with an excuse, he had to lie so everyone would get off his back. It would only take a second for his popularity to crumble, and he was afraid if he said something wrong his remaining four years here would be ruined by this single moment. Miles certainly had the power to crush him, Lucas just had to remain calm, to choose his words carefully. So Lucas nervously smiled, readjusting the strap of his bookbag,

"Oh, him? My pencil broke so he offered to get me a new one from his locker, is all."

"Hmm... I see." Miles said.

Lucas noticed everyone averted their attention from the pair, and continued talking as if nothing just happened. Lucas could feel the weight drop off his shoulders, "Why? What's the big deal?" Lucas casually brought up. He wanted to know why everyone was so obsessed with the fact Lucas was talking to Charlie, why it was so forbidden to talk to the boy.

"I know you're a nice guy, Luke, so no-one is putting this against you. But believe me when I say, you need to stay away from Charlie. He's not what he pretends to be, trust me." Miles smile disappears and his words are suddenly serious.

"Why? What happened?" The curiosity was eating him alive.

Miles sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, I guess you've got a right to know, it's not like it's a secret." Miles nodded for Lucas to come along and Lucas did just that, closing his locker to catch up with Miles. Miles slung an arm around Lucas' shoudler who eyed him intently as he began speaking,

"It happened back in middle school, a couple years back. Me and Charlie used to be best friends, you see? We've been friends since we were in diapers. I used to go over to his house all the time after school, it was like I was apart of his family. But then his mother got into a car accident the first year of middle school, and passed away. His brother Ben, who was around 21 at the time got legal custody over Charlie," Miles sighed, and Lucas urged him to continue. "Charlie was different after that. A lot different. He became reserved, and didn't show up to school as much as he used to. I thought that was his way of grieving, so I gave him his space. But then he came back to school, and everything seemed normal again. He was smiling, talking to me again, just like it used to be. But... he became a lot more clingy. He would follow me everywhere, invited me over to his house every chance he got, and pretty much ignored all of his other friends except me. It worried me, this wasn't the Charlie I knew. Sometimes I would catch him staring at me during recess when I was hanging out with my other friends. I would invite him over but he refused, just continued to stare at me like I had just committed the worst crime to ever exist.

It went on like that for a while, and I found myself trying to avoid him more often than not. He was starting to scare me. He would show up at my house wierd hours of the night and demand I come over to his house, throwing a temper tantrum until my mom had to call his brother to take him home. At school he started to leave threatening notes in my locker, asking why I was avoiding him? If I hated him? He even threatened to kill himself once." Miles shuttered a sigh, closing his eyes as if he were remembering a painful picture in his mind.

Miles continued, "One day... one day he cornered me in the bathroom. He told me he loved me, more than as a friend. I tried telling him I didn't feel the same way, that I only saw him as a friend, but he refused to hear any of my words and started screaming at me. He was blocking the only exit so I couldn't leave. And then, he kissed me. Out of nowhere. I pushed him away and ran. I told everyone what had happened with Charlie." Miles took a deep breath before turning to look down at Lucas with a solemn smile, "You understand why I'm telling you all this, right? I just don't want to see the same thing happen to someone else. Promise me you'll stay away from him, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt."

Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat before hesitantly nodding. Miles eyes warmed before he rustled his hair and left him standing in front of his classroom to process his words. Lucas' brows pulled together. That was Charlie? That was what he was like? He remembered the Charlie he had talked to yesterday. He seemed so kind, gentle, and caring. Lucas couldn't imagine that he would do something like that. Maybe it was for the best... if he stayed away from him, after all. Lucas heaved a sigh before stepping into his class, and painting a smile back onto his face.

-

Lunch came around, and Lucas sat next to Miles and his rowdy group of friends. Lucas mindlessly chewed on a french fry as he tried to follow the conversation Miles was having with others sitting across from him. But he couldn't focus for whatever reason. He found himself his eyes glazing over towards where Ben and Charlie sat yesterday. They were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Luke! Can I sit here?" Lucas turned his head to his right, seeing a familiar blonde at his side, pulling up a seat. It was Diamond. His classmate.

Lucas smiled, "Yeah! Go ahead."

Diamond was already in the seat next to him. No-one at the table seemed to care that she sat down. New people seemed to take a seat at this table everyday, it wasn't strange. Diamond leaned into Lucas' ears to whisper, "Are you okay? Charlie didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Lucas frowned and Miles answered for him, "I told Luke about Charlie this morning, he's okay."

Diamond sighed in relief, slumping back in her seat. "Thank god, I was worried! I thought I was going to have to call the swat team to come rescue you or something. I still don't know how he's allowed to come to school..."

Someone else spoke up, "Yeah, that little fucker is creepy as hell. I have him in science, all he does is stare out of the window."

Another, "Probably planning what gun he's going to use to shoot up the school."

Laughter goes around the table, but Lucas only pretends to laugh along, his smile not reaching his eyes. He looks over at Miles, who holds an eerily calm smile on his face as he listens in on the conversation, what can only be described as pleasure in his eyes. Lucas feels that familiar chill run down his spine again before he forces himself to look away, knawing at the inside of his cheek.

More insults float around the empty air, more words that make Lucas stare down at his lunch tray in shame.

"Fucking faggot." A voice hisses, along with laughter.

Miles suddenly stands up, and Lucas watches him intently, his brows pulling together. Miles still holds the same smile on his face as he says he's going to the bathroom, leaving Lucas to watch him until he opens the door and disappears from his sight. That was wierd.

Lucas shook his head and joined in on the conversation once they got bored talking about Charlie. Lunch soon ended and Lucas was on his way to Ben's class. He crossed his fingers and hoped to god Ben wasn't here. He wasn't there at lunch, but that didn't mean anything, because he was there. Lucas kept his head down as he made his way to his seat. He peeked a glance after a few seconds have passed and was pleasantly surprised to see Ben was not looking at him. Ben continued not to look at him as the minutes passed, ignoring him completely. Lucas was a little suspicious, but he didn't dwell on it long. This is what he wanted after all, for Ben to leave him alone, for them to not even interact in the slightest.

When the bell rang Ben didn't rush out of class this time, he followed the horde of students, breathing a sigh of relief when he was out of the classroom. Ben stared after him with calculative eyes.

He approached his next class, frowning when he didn't see Charlie in his seat, but also a little relieved. He sat down, unpacking his stuff. Was Charlie sick or something? No, why are you even thinking about him? Stop it. He's a wierdo, stalker, fag - no, not that word. He hated that word. It made him sick to his stomach. Charlie was only an unnecessary obstacle that Lucas really didn't want to deal with. He would ignore him, perhaps request a seat change. Eventually everything would flow smoothly, and he would work his way to the top of the school. He would become the prince, he would surpass Miles. Everything was going just the way he wanted it to.

_

Charlie wasn't at school the next day either, Lucas noticed. He did request a seat change, sitting on the other side of the classroom now, far away from Charlie.

He hasn't there the day after either, or the day after that. A week passed and he hadn't seen Charlie once, not even in the hallways. He nervously tapped his pencil on the desk, trying not to think of what might of happened with Charlie. Instead, he thought on how his week had progressed.

He slowly became closer with Miles and his group of friends, becoming more and more popular. People greeted him in the hallways without Lucas initiating it. Classmates started to talk to him before class began. Lucas had even gotten a haircut, which he believed helped this sudden improvement. It was the same as it usually was, just shorter, and it was cut so he could actually see out of his eyes. He went shopping for some new clothes, improving his wardrobe. He had even invited Miles over a few days ago to hang out at his house, playing video games. He grew to like Miles more and more, considering him a friend. Lucas felt like a normal teenager, feeling more and more at home in Lucas's body. Sometimes he even forgot this was all part of a system, until Sai's voice would pop into his head and remind him of a new sub-mission. He's completed a few, they were relatively easy, and now he he had a total of 500 points. He was going to save his points for now, that seemed like the best strategy as he didn't see the need for anything right now.

The bell rung to remind Lucas that class was over, and he got up to go to his locker. He was packing his bag when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

A familiar, eerily calm voice he hadn't anticipated, "Lucas."

Lucas snapped his head round, his eyes widening, and his posture straightening, "Be-I mean, Mr. Marks?"

For the first time Lucas had looked into Ben's eyes, he wasn't glaring. He didn't look like he wanted to rip his head off and feed it to a pack of bloodthirsty wolves. He didn't look necessary peeved, instead, slightly aggravated. His jaw was clenched, and he huffed a sigh before speaking, "Ben is fine. Listen, can we have a word? In private?"

Ben turned and started walking in the direction of his classroom, assuming Lucas was right on his tail. Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat before he hesitantly followed, keeping his eyes on the back of Ben's head. What the hell did he want? He thought he was done with him? Why did he decide to approach him out of nowhere like this? Wait, was he leading him to his death? Was he walking into a trap? No, no. Overthinking things, again.

Miles walked past the pair and caught Lucas's eye and raised a questioning brow, Lucas only shrugged in response. Miles stared after them, after Ben, clenching his fists at his side.

Lucas follows Ben into his empty classroom, the door clicking shut behind him. Ben turned to face him, "Look, I know you've been hanging out with Miles and whoever, and I'm not here to tell you who your friends can and can't be. But I'm guessing Miles shared his "story?""

Story? Lucas awkwardly smiled, "Uh, yeah, he did."

"Fucking vermin," He hisses. "Will believe anything that comes from that asshole."

"He's not an asshole."

Ben scoffs, "Right, because he has you wrapped around his finger too, doesn't he? You're not any better."

Lucas clenches his fists, "Why am I here? Am I just here for you to insult me?"

Ben sighs, rubbing his temple. He turns around and leans on his desk, "You've probably noticed Charlie hasn't been coming to school, right? He refuses to come, and he won't talk to me. I swear he's such a child sometimes..."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"I want you to convince him to come back to school."

Lucas blinks, "What? Me?"

"He somehow considers you a friend, he'll listen to you. I don't want his grades to suffer because of a little temper tantrum. Look, I know what shit people say about him, but did you ever think about what that's like for Charlie? He hates going to school. It's a huge accomplishment that he even gets up in the morning to go. No-one will know you've gone, you don't even have to talk to him at school, I'm just asking this of you as a teacher and a brother. Please." He urges, and Lucas is taken aback by the sincerity in his eyes.

"I..." The excuse lingers on the edge of his tongue, but he finds it harder to put into words. He was hesitating. Why was he hesitating? It was better if he didn’t interact with Charlie at all, if he just turned around and walked out of the room and didn’t give it a second thought. He didn’t want to get involved with whatever drama he had found himself in the middle of. He didn’t know who’s story to believe. If Charlie was what Miles said he has, or if Miles was lying and Charlie was just a victim. Maybe he should hear Charlie’s side of the story. If he really was suffering, he owed him that much. He didn’t want to be one of those people who believed rumors and judged a person before really getting to know them. Besides, no-one had to know that he was Charlie’s friend. He could become his friend for himself, not talk to him at school but after school instead. It seemed only fair. He could keep his school life the same and continue to improve his popularity, and become friends with Charlie who he could truly be himself with. Lucas took a deep breath, “Okay, I’ll come over.”

Ben processed his words before slowly nodding, “Good. Thank you.”

“On one condition,” Lucas quickly added, and Ben frowned. Lucas’ lips pulled into a lopsided grin, “Don’t kill me.” 

Ben looked confused, and shocked. He smiled to himself before speaking, “I’ll try,” He pulled his car keys out of his pocket, “C’mon kid, I’ll drive you.”

“Can you wait a few minutes? Just so no-one sees.” Lucas didn't want to risk anyone seeing Lucas walk out with Ben, or see him getting into Ben’s car. That would only spur another wave of rumors and speculation that Lucas really didn’t have the energy to deal with.

“If it's that much of a problem then I’ll just give you our address. You can stop by later, ok?” Ben proposed. Lucas nodded quickly, and Ben grabbed a post it note and scrippled the address onto it with a blue ballpoint pen. He handed it to Lucas who slipped it into his jean pocket. Lucas turned to leave before Ben stopped him, “Hey, uh…”

Lucas turned around, raising a brow. Ben rubbed the back of his neck, “Sorry for being an asshole to you, you’re actually a pretty nice kid. So thank you for doing this.” His words sounded foreign coming from someone like Ben, but Lucas smiled anyway, 

“Hmm, I guess I’ll forgive you. Can I get my grade raised to a 90 as thanks?”

Ben’s features were stern again, as was his voice, “No.”

Lucas chuckled, “Worth a shot. See you.” He left the classroom, texting and reassuring his mom that he was on his way to the car where she sat waiting for him in the parking lot. He said he had to stay after with a teacher and that he would be there in a minute. She sent him back a reply almost instantly, Hurry. Your sister is giving me a headache. Lucas smiled and shut off his phone, heading towards the school exit. He yelped in surprise when he ran into a hard wall. He stumbled back and looked up to see who he had run into.

Miles looked down at him with a friendly smile, “Sorry, I was waiting for you.”