This really wasn't in his plans for today. When he woke up to the sound of someone pounding at his door, he had assumed it was his mother or maybe Bryce or Luke.

Then he remembers that he's nowhere near home, Luke is missing and, technically, so is he. This is why Jonathan is currently in his car, driving along a highway at 4 in the morning.

It was, to him, quite the odd sight to see your face plastered onto a missing persons poster. It's even weirder when someone comes after you at your friend's apartment. All Jonathan had been doing was some innocent snooping around Luke's old apartment when some assholes show up and try to mug him or kill him.

Jonathan got out of it alive- of course he did, he's Batcoon for crying out loud! So what if he lost his favorite hoodie and his wallet? So what if his phone got destroyed? He didn't need any of that shit.

When he woke up that morning, he had learned that it was to the sound of another one of those jerks coming after him. They knew he had ties with Luke, and thanks to whatever shit Luke got into, Jonathan now had a bright red target on his head.

The jackass who tried to hurt him was gone now, unconscious in an empty motel room. Jonathan, in need of cash, has zero shame in admitting he stole the guy's wallet. He laughs quietly to himself and turns up the radio.

Today was gonna be one hell of a day.

-

Chicago. The place Luke probably ran off to. That's great, isn't it? Big city with lots of people. A nice, big, place where lots of bad things could happen.

He has no idea where he is in relation to the city. He knows he's somewhere near it, though, and is feeling pretty good.

When he sees a guy at the side of the road, though, he doesn't quite feel as good. What is this guy doing?

“Hey! Hey, hey, are you okay dude?” Jonathan knows it might be a bad idea to stop for some stranger on the road, but Bryce was the one who always preached “kindness” to him or something like that.

The man looks up at him, and smiles wearily. Jonathan immediately notices the white hat on his head, one that looks vaguely familiar to him. He can't quite place where he's seen it before, though.

“Yeah… can you give me a ride? Like, where are you going?”

“Chicago, for now. At least… I think that's where I'm going,” Jon responds. “You need a ride? I got room.”

“Yeah, yeah, that's good. Thanks dude,” he says, getting in the passenger seat. “Sorry I'm all messy… had a rough night last night.”

Jonathan laughs. “Yeah, me too. What's your story? Actually… what's your name?”

“Marcel,” he breathes. “My ‘friends' ditched me and left me to fend for myself. Left me in all this shit I don't understand.”

“Hah! Same here. I'm Jonathan by the way. My friend disappeared and I guess he's doing some sneaky shit I never knew about because now I'm in trouble too. And I may or may not have accidentally ditched two of my other friends. I hope they're alright.”

Marcel nods. “Hey, have you ever heard of a guy named Brock? Snuckel?”

Jonathan thinks, then nods. “Yeah. My friend Luke dated him for like… a month. I dunno if he likes me all that much, though,” he grumbles bitterly.

Was it fair to admit that he had been jealous of Brock? He had been going after Luke since day one, it felt like. And then Brock shows up, on accident, and sweeps Luke off his feet like it's nothing. The only reason they even broke up is because both of their parents were super homophobic.

Marcel seems to sense Jonathan's hatred and simply nods. “He's the guy my friends left me for,” he explains. “My friends Scotty and Brian left me for him. Brock's a med student, and they keep saying they need a doctor, and that since Brock would be meeting them in some other city soon, they didn't need me anymore.”

“That's… that's shitty,” Jonathan mumbles. “Shitty friends.”

Marcel nods again, a pained look in his eyes. “Yeah. I know.”

They drive in silence for a few moments, until Jonathan turns to him and smiles with determination. “You know what? Fuck those assholes. I'll be your damn friend. And when I find Luke and the others, they'll be your friends too, and we can all be friends together.”