Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Obituary Boys ❯ Real me ( Chapter 37 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Will wolfed down five pancakes before his tastebuds finally decided to call it quits on the wanting to refresh the taste of coconut in his mouth. It was an interesting flavor profile that neither Yakusoku nor Ludwig would have ever considered in their lifetime, so it wasn't a wonder when they went from tired and not hungry to tired, but, whole-heartedly able to eat like its his last meal and he's not going out hungry.

He went into the bathroom and washed his face, after telling his brother and father that he was staying in for the time being. He wanted to sleep off the flight - never mind that it was a mere four hours and yesterday. But, eh, they bought it and took their leave for the day.

"Finally. Alone." Declared Yakusoku.

Will dropped onto the couch in a complete flop of limbs spread and weight crushing the cushions with his release of the facade of being someone else. It should have made him lighter, but in fact it's the opposite, the weight is there because he's 2 people sharing a mind and body. So compared to simply hiding it from people by doing their best to impersonate the gone teen to being stuck together, the scale tips in the latter's favor.

"Can you imagine having to spend another year like this?" Ludwig shuddered. "I wonder what's going on on Hakuo's end?"

"Let's call him and ask," Yakusoku left the couch and returned from the bedroom a moment later with Will's cell phone.

He chose to use it in case his father and brother might happen back into the apartment and catch him on the phone. He can say he's talking to anyone, but he can't explain why it's being done on someone else's phone when he's got his own.

"I hope he's up, it's awfully early." Ludwig comments. Sliding out of bed, he grabbed a book on violin music from the shelf to flip through.

"Of course he is, it's Monday," Yakusoku assured. "And if he's not up, he'll be glad we stopped him from being late by sleeping in."

"Uh-huh." Going down into 'The Pit' he's looking through the book.

"Hello?" Hakuo's voice came down the line over the phone, filling the spacious library with a casual vibe. He must be having a good morning.

"Hi, can we talk?"

"Sure. About what?"

Yakusoku can hear that they've been put on speaker. There's also the sound of rustling going on from Hakuo getting dressed or possibly brushing his hair, he's no expert on sound effects. "Ohhh, the usual." Drawdled the Land teen.

"Right. So, how`re things over in Kidsville? Still suffering horribly in the smothers?" And he meant the mother and brother Zane, whom he was informed about in the last email is also riding Will`s ass over his nuances.

"We managed to get Zane off our backs with a little showering of attention." The roll of his eyes over how he felt about that stint of time resonated in waves. "He's gonna back off of me and Gev and, hopefully, it's not just a `for now` type situation."

"Good for you, you need a break." Hakuo cheered them with sincere words that didn't project in his flat tone.

"Screw that, we need separate lives," Yakusoku bellowed. "We`re getting stir crazy; I can handle a little unwanted attention any day of the week."

"And the crazy feeling is mutual," comments Ludwig.

"So, how much longer of a wait are we looking at?" Yakusoku took over the conversation again. "Are you even trying at all?"

"It's only a brain hemorrhage risk for me, big deal, right?" Came the smart answer to the thoughtless whining of his Frankenstein. "Your being apart is of the utmost importance."

"Exactly! Thank you."

Hardly offended by the pairs crude indifference, Hakuo explained the situation of mental strength and vessel location. Dumbing it down to the answer of late June, if he forces it.

"Don't make us out to be the bad guys, we do care about your safety," the Land teen felt the need to do damage control, after all, Hakuo could just tell them to fuck off. He is their God. He holds all the power here. "But, the longer we stick around, the more suffocating it feels in here… I'm not just talking about us with each other."

"Do you really think that Will is still in there?"

Yakusoku sighed from frustration and confusion. "I'm not so sure that it's Will himself, as much as it's his memories trying to eat us to recreate him."

"Memories eating a spark to replace the foreign invader; now why didn't I figure that? Oh, wait, I did?" Hakuo spoke in a belligerent tone that was very much like the person he used to be as opposed to the inflection free young man he's become. "Did you think I was being bossy when telling you to find a location and stay put? Nothing I say is for no reason."

That stung. Because, yes, they were forewarned and chose to not listen. Now they're at risk of being eaten alive. Yakusoku, who's the most guilty, doesn't know what to do to stop it. So far Will's memories have been quiet, but for how long does the pair have until those hungry thoughts begin banging on those double-doors that keep them out?

"I can suggest being ready by the end of June, but, have a care if it turns out to be later." Says Krenn. "I do have an idea, if Nathan will help me. I'm going to have the bodies transferred to the same hospital, if it's at all possible. Their being in the same location will make things easier on me."

"Sounds constructive, thank you. We really appreciate it."

"I know. Odaiji ni," he ends the call.

"What was that last part?" Asked Ludwig, feeling he missed something that might have been a joke or crude word.

"He just said to 'take cake'." He sets the phone down on the coffee table.

"Oh."

"Well, we've got time for ourselves, what do you wanna do?" Yakusoku went into the kitchen, intent on cleaning up the dishes from breakfast. They were left in the sink.

"I don't care. Frankly I'd like to rest, but we can do that on our end."

"It might be a good idea to go back to sleep for the body's sake," Yakusoku suggest, though he's currently wrist deep in sudsy dish water, removing sticky burnt butter from the frying pan. He's not sure how it works; he can feel exhausted and he can feel pleasure and pain via Will's senses. But, he can't discredit that he and Ludwig can exist on the inside, resting and having pleasure... He's wondered but never really thought too much about if it actually has any affect on their vessel.

Ludwig stretched his arms over his head, dropping them lazily back down at his sides. "I'm happy to do anything,"

Yakusoku smiled when out of nowhere came the melodic sound of violin music. He left the bed and wandered over to the pit to see his boyfriend playing a black violin that he must have 'conjured up', as Ludwig had put it; after reading the music book that's now resting on the seat beside him, he felt inspired to play. The Land teen took a seat on the stair that dips the library. Closing his eyes, he smiled and listened intently to the unfamiliar tune. It's not pretty, but, can music be described as handsome? It's got low tones for a more masculine vibe than the usual swaying tunes of the wood instrument.

Will finished the dishes during the serenade, and walked back into the bedroom. He pulled open the window allowing the fresh warm air to blow in and remove the stuffy sleepy air from the space. Lying down on the floor, he closed his eyes and just allowed himself a good rest under the window.

Outside, in the heart of the city, where a nice soft breeze blows lazily through the area, Zane spiked the football to the thick grass covering the local park, making that his fifth touch down since he and his father began throwing passes and running plays. He prefers basketball, but, when in Rome, right? He's loving this! He can never hang out like this with Arthur, the man is always in the kitchen at work, and on his days off he's always with their mom or sitting around buried in the news. As if that's so interesting!

When the fun of running around in the sun came to a sweaty panting end, father and son found their way to a picnic area where they refueled with bottles of Gatorade.

"How're things at home?" He asked, and tried to sound as casual about it as possible.

He's not fishing for dirt or other excuses to permanently invite the boys to stay with him, but, you never know. They could be experiencing a need for change. Will's exhaustion this morning could be a silent cry for help; a father should be the first to know. The first to offer help before it's asked of him.

"Pretty good, actually. Mom's been a lot more mellow these days, Arthur's his usual withdrawn self…"

His trailing off was tell-telling. He quickly all over it, but he didn't expect the reply when he asked. "So, you boys could be better?"

"No, dad, we're fine… The problem is with Will."

Ned's brows shot up in curious wonder. Will seems fine aside from the exhaustion. "What's the matter with your brother?"

"I don't know if I should say anything, I could be wrong, but,"

"Well, is someone picking on him?" Wondered the concerned father, hoping he's not putting words in his son's mouth, worsening something that's actually tame. But when a child dances around telling you something, it's usually a red flag. "Is he hurting himself?"

Zane shook his head, then, before his father could continue guessing wrong he fired off. "I think Will's changed since the coma. He acts so differently."

Not seeing the seriousness of the situation, he asks. "Different, how?"

"He'll say weird things, and do weird things like sneaking around to see somebody that I'm pretty sure he's never met, and he lies a lot… dad, I think Will awoke from the coma a gay."

He was quiet for a moment, but his quiet turned into a smile then a laugh. "Come on, what are you saying? Your brother hit female-seeking-puberty before you, and you wanna accuse him of being gay?"

Zane shrugged hard enough that his shoulders could have overshot the top of his head. "I don't know, but, he hangs out with Bishop now," as if that explained it all, befriending the suspected neighborhood queer. But, he laid down the topper with, "And there's this older guy, he claimed he was taking cooking lessons from him."

"Cooking lessons? Will?"

"You see?! Weird stuff like that!" he was so glad to get it off his chest.

It's not something he can talk about with his mother. The bigmouth would confront the situation, then rat on him as the source instead of making it seem like her own suspicions. He wants to tell on his brother, but he doesn't want Will to hate him.

"And who is this older guy, do you know him?" Now he's getting flustered. "How much older is older? My age? Your cousin, Reggie?" If there's some creep being perverted with his son, there is no 'if', 'and', or 'but' about it. He's dead!

"Umm, I think he's nineteen," he recalled the website information from the catering site.

"Well, who the hell is he?"

Zane shook his head, because he isn't really sure. He just knows a bit about that Gev London. "He caters with his mother; they cooked for Will's party after he awoke from the coma."

"A caterer?" Ned felt queasy. "How long has this been going on for?"

"Umm, I think it's been a month now; he sneaks off to see him on the weekends."

"And did you ask him? What did Will say about it?"

Zane withheld a scoff. His brother's lying mouth said all kinds of things. "Just that he lied because he didn't think I'd understand his thinking that this Gev guy is cool, and that he only wanted to hang out with him?" he explained then that he impersonated Will and got the same explanation from the caterer.

"So they don't see each other anymore?"

"Not that I know of."

Nodding, Ned schooled his anger from a boil to a simmer. "Okay, okay that's good. It's good. I won't have to kick anyone's ass then."

"I thought the same thing," he laughed, relieved as much as his father is. "You're not gonna tell him or chew him out or anything? Because he'll know I told."

"I promise not to say anything."

However, he didn't promise not to say anything when Zane isn't around. He can't let it go, he needs to know more about this Gev London. And why he's hanging around with his son.

In Williamsport, PA.

Hakuo finished with his breakfast dishes and is now straightening up his bed. He slept without the blanket over him, it was unusual, but he wasn't about to lie beneath the sullied linen and he certainly didn't want to sleep on top where the violation went down. It was one thing when he was with Gev, but alone…

He couldn't do it.

They've got plenty of light summer cable-knit blankets in the hall closet for him to replace his blanket with, but last night he just wanted the current one gone before he dropped off to bed. A flash of lightning caught his attention, he's going to need a raincoat or an umbrella, maybe both. Checking the time he sees he's got plenty before the bus comes along, so he dragged his blanket downstairs into the laundry room to have it washed and waiting for the dryer by the time school let out.

"Are you ready to talk?" Shuhei asked when spotting his brother exiting the laundry room.

He wanted his brother to get it off his chest about what happened. He tried speaking with him last night, but Hakuo shot him down cold saying that he wanted to read - and then he just stopped talking to do it! All of Shuhei's attempts to get in through the barrier blocked with extreme force of ignored. He was wind howling at bricked off windows. But, he wasn't going to back down. He knows Hakuo wouldn't talk about it with Gev, and it's likely he didn't call or see his therapist. Something like that must bother him, and the oldest of the Krenn children highly doubts he's fine with just keeping it to himself.

"I really want you to," Shuhei urged. "It's not a problem; you've got enough time to start the conversation before you leave for school… Don't feel awkward."

"Who says I feel awkward?"

"Your silence, that's who," he waved his protein shake holding hand in his brother's direction. "Your back has that rigid, angry vibe."

"Maybe so, but, that's on me." He shrugged his hand.

"It's not "on you"," setting down the tumbler, he snagged his brother by the shoulders giving him a light shake. "Hakuo, you'd better wise up to the fact that you're home. This is real. And we, your family, are here for you."

Hakuo frowned up at his brother, his gaze then slants to the floor and he sighs. "It's not easy for me; can't we just drop it?"

"No." He released his brother's shoulder for trade of holding his own hips in a show of dominance, but he quickly dropped the posture to avoid frightening Hakuo off from talking about his feelings. "I've spoken to your therapist, and do you know what she told me?"

"That I over-share?"

"Yes! And I happen to know that that's your 'tell'."

"My "tell'?"

Nodding Shuhei followed the exiting teen out of the kitchen and into the front hall, where he's slipping into his sneakers. "The sure fire sign that something is bothering you, it backs people off when you speak so plainly to them, you know this, so you're always up to it."

Hakuo laughed as he retrieved his clear umbrella and a yellow raincoat from the hall closet. "I don't understand."

"You do. Whenever I don't want to talk about something - say with mom or dad, or either you and Celes - I start stretching, it appears that I'm about to leave to workout and the conversations are postponed." He shrugged his hand out.

Hakuo's brows furrowed. "You were working out with me that time at the park, you seemed to wanna talk then," Smiling mischievously, he asked. "You're telling me you didn't want to talk?"

"I was actually working out then," with a sigh he backpedaled. "Okay, a better example, when people lie they look left or right, sometimes they repeat a word a lot, scratch something," he waved his hand as a: so-on.

"Mmmno, I really just talk this way." Shaking his head he asked. "Is it really that much of a bother to people?"

"Yes. Hak', nobody wants to hear the straight-shoot, they want to be softened into horrible things." His brother clearly takes after their father's genes in that sense.

"That is so stupid. But, whatever," Slipping into his jacket, he walks to the door. "Now you've got me all stupid confused. What was it my therapist said about me?"

"Nothing, just that you talk. Most people hesitate, you don't."

"But it's her job to listen to my troubles. Otherwise, we're wasting money on me just sitting there with a stranger, looking goofy."

"Bro, you've got walls up. A hard-ass wall and a stay-the-fuck-away wall, but where are you?" He asked. "The real you? The emotional you..."

"The real me? I can't say I've met him." Opening the front door, he looks up at the dark grey sky listening to the sound of rustling water falling and distant booms. Looking back at his brother, he smiles softly. "If I'm unaware of it, doesn't it stand to reason that this is the real me?"

"How 'bout we do this, if you can go for one day not... charming people with your aggressive way of speaking, I'll lay off and believe that that's who you really are."

Intrigued, Hakuo asked. "And if I can't do that?"

"Then you owe me one serious conversation on one serious point of emotional turmoil." He crossed his arms, looking rather smug. He knows his brother will never be able to pull it off.

"Deal." Popping his brother playfully on the shoulder with his hand, he says. "I gotta get to school. If you're here when my blanket is done, can you dry it then donate it to a clothes drive, burn it or something? Thanks." He flashed him a toothy grin then bolted out into the foul weather.

"See. That's what I'm talking about," Shuhei said to his brother's departing back.

Releasing a disgruntled sigh, he closed the door and hung around the house until the discarded blanket was through with the cleansing of its demons to send to someone else's home.

...

The bus ride to school was quiet between the two friends. Hakuo didn't mind it, if Nathen has nothing to say then he has nothing to say. Why force him to talk? Nathen doesn't do it to him when he's having silent fits. The only difference is that Nathen talks to Hakuo knowing, or assuming, that his friend is listening and appreciates the background noise while he indulges in whatever is silencing him.

However, the Krenn teen wasn't a complete locked-box. When he found his buddy in the hall during class shifts, he asked. "Are you ok?"

"I've just been thinking about Lee,"

"Obviii... ooh, I mean," he corrected himself from what he wanted to say, and took a softer approach. "I know. Do you need some time to feel better about it, or is there something specific you're feeling?"

"It's just that, Lee's death got me thinking about h- ow," he sighed from agitation when a student purposefully banged his shoulder into his on the way by. "About how Lee must have really felt sorry about what he'd done, I mean, who kills themself?" He shook his head, distraught written over the pointed features on his face. "I hated him for what he did to you, but, I feel bad because he was hurting. I didn't make it any better by not helping him to calm down. To have him really think about what he was feeling."

'Again with feelings, is that the theme of the day?' Wondered Hakuo.

He stopped outside of the classroom Nathen stopped outside of. They've moved aside from the other students to allow them to get through into the classroom while they continue talking. Hakuo's class is right next door, so he's in no rush not to be late.

"He must have felt remorse over what he did, otherwise he wouldn't have taken it so hard when you said you don't forgive him."

Hakuo quirked a brow. "He told you I visited him?"

Nathen nodded. "Yeah, that he asked for forgiveness and you turned him down. Even I chewed him out, when he asked me if I could forgive him. I told him it couldn't be taken back, that my forgiving him would do nothing to change what he's become. I hurt him… I probably tipped his scale and was the final nail in the coffin."

Hakuo shook his head. "You're gonna make yourself crazy thinking like that."

"But, it's true! If I just gave him a glimmer of hope that things would turn out ok," his blue gaze dropped to the floor and he stared at his Adidas with despair. "That he could come back from the awful person he was becoming, he'd still be here."

"You don't know that."

"Hn. Y'know, for a while, I thought someone had done it to him," He looked over his shoulder when the last of the students entered the classroom. "I'll talk to you at lunch, bye Hak',"

"Yeah. Bye." He watched his friend enter the classroom before walking up the hall to his own. Winning that bet against his brother was going to be harder than he thought.

Hakuo ate his lunch while listening to Nathen going through his emotions. He heard about the funeral, nodding to show support, and he listened to his friend talk about how Lee's mother cried the whole time but refused to let her husband console her because they're getting a divorce. It was a whole mess. They even had a low toned argument during the church service.

"So, why do you think someone did him in?" He chose 'did him in' as opposed to saying 'someone murdered him'.

"The way he died… Usually inmates are able to hang themselves with bedsheets or something," he shrugged. "But Lee drowned, in toilet water," Nathen looked disgusted. "How can someone do that? The report showed that it was his own urine too, I just can't understand that."

"You can't know how someone hurts. Pain is a personal experience - even with likenesses, there are little differences that separate us. Some hang themselves, others apparently drown in used toilet water… Grief is a monster." He resisted the urge to 'Mmm' over a bite of blueberry yogurt. It would be rude considering the topic of the conversation.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Besides, hanging yourself isn't as easy as television makes it seem." Hakuo left it at that.

Krenn would have told him about the need of privacy, a strong support system to hold the weight of a dangling body otherwise you'd just hit the floor like a kid jumping off of something when trying to fly with a blanket for a cape. Then there's the possibility that he'd be saved because someone would see him before the deed was done.

"I guess not," Nathen moped. "I guess discreetly drowning oneself would be easier - weird, but easier."

Hakuo looked across the cafeteria when a sweep of dark red caught his gaze, he locked eyes with the guy from the laundry mat, Gage. He didn't know how to contact him with the information he obtained from Sinclair, so he figured he'd wait until school to drop the news. Although now, he has to find a softer approach to it. The honor system wouldn't let him lie to his brother.

"I'm sorry, I have to do something," he said to Nathen. His friend was all talked out anyway, and waved him away to what he needed.

Hakuo packed his lunch into the brown bag it was removed from, and he asked Nathen to guard it while he stepped out to talk to Gage. He was followed by the teen into the hallway where they crossed to the boy's bathroom for privacy - not that anyone would have heard them with the volume of chatter coming from the cafeteria. There are no classrooms in this area of the hall, just the library and it's far enough away from the noise to not matter. But, discretion is key.

"Did you find out what happened?" Gage asked once the door swung closed after him. He wasn't sure what the reply would be, good or bad he just wanted to know something. "Is Rory ok?"

Hakuo wet his lips as he stalled for a way to kindly break the bad news to Gage about his cousin. "He's in a better place," Seeing the hurt from his fellow peer, he added. "I'm sorry."

"How do you know?" he tipped his head back as if he had a nose bleed, when really he's trying to keep his tears from spilling over. "How did it happen?"

"When Marissa stopped doing what she was doing, there were four boys still with her..." Again he paused trying to find kinder words for what he has to say. How do people talk like this? He wondered. "She took them to a sanitorium in Canada, that used to treat her when she became sick. She even got a job working there afterwards." As nurse-to-kooks was the woman's job.

"And you're saying Rory was one of those kids? How could she get away with that?" his sadness was turning to rage.

"I've been there, believe me, if anyone could be lied to it's those people."

"You've been there? So, you saw him?"

"No. He was, um, he died a few weeks after they were dropped off."

Gage's hands balled up then loosened and balled up again, it looked as if he was working out his frustration with an invisible stress ball. "But how? How did he die?"

Hakuo couldn't find a way to say: "The cute little red haired boy was gang raped to death". True as it is, it's too harsh a way to tell someone about another person whom they love. So, Hakuo chose to lie. "Shock treatments. My friend, he was there with them, he told me that Rory cried a lot and the staff thought it would calm him down… I'm sorry."

"You're lying, it's… Something like that can't be true! Someone would have said something!" Now he's projecting his anger to the nearest person. Another classic symptom of grief. He shrank down to the floor, consumed by the bad news. His weak body couldn't stand the knowledge so it chose not to stand at all. Gage stooped forward and sobbed into his knees.

Hakuo watched him with concern. Should he leave him alone? "Are you gonna be ok?"

"How can it be true?"

Kneeling down beside him, he tenderly touched his shoulder. "I think that he really got off easy, he never had to go through what the others, and myself, had to go through within there. It was Hell on Earth. And nobody listened to our pain… Rory was better off."

Smacking the hand away, Gage straightened up. "Isn't that just so great for him! Poor you, right? Alive and having to deal with memories, oh boo hoo!" Standing, he shoved Hakuo when he stood up as well. "You're an asshole, Krenn, and I wish you never came home!"

Gage stormed from the bathroom, leaving Hakuo confused about what just happened. Returning to the cafeteria, he sat down with a heavy heart. He didn't want to hurt the guy - honest! But, he felt sick about lying to him. Speaking of lies…

"Nathen, can I come over to your house after school?"

"Sorry, no. I'm kind of in trouble and swamped with chores to make up for it."

His brows scrunched so drastically you'd think he has a unibrow. "You? Come on, what could you possibly have done?"

"Lost a four hundred dollar camera."

"...Wow. I'd chore you up and take your current cameras from you for a month."

Mouth agape, he said good-naturedly. "Some friend you are,"

Smiling, Hakuo reached out and grabbed his friend's hand giving it a light squeeze. "Hey, you lost four hundred bucks, you're lucky they haven't disowned you."

Glancing at Gage, he sees him and his friends whispering at their table, now and then they're shooting bitter looks at him. It's always been the messenger who gets killed in these situations. But, alas, at least something good was going to come out of today. He gets to start the ball rolling in setting a trap for some rapists.

"Where'd you have it last?" Hakuo asked.

"That's the weird part, I never take that camera out of the house," the homebound confided. "So, I'm thinking maybe I misplaced it in the house or someone borrowed it without my knowing it."

Hakuo's gaze went blank, the camera in his bedroom that has footage of him and the violating Vann could be the said camera. It fits; and why would Vann have some whimsical nonsense like a sticker that says 'Lights, camera, action!', on anything he owns? That creep took his brother's camera to shoot the video. Good thing he didn't smash it. But, only because he needed the footage on the card.

"I think I might be able to get you off the hook."

Nathen quirked a brow of curiosity. Unless Hakuo planned on loaning him the money or replacing the camera, there really wasn't much that he could do. Well, he'll find out after school.

…

Hakuo waved goodbye to his sister, who came late to school once the family got back from Georgia after a 13 hour drive. She told him, after lunch period, that she had a power nap then got their dad to drive her to school. Their parents are both playing hooky from their job today, which was perfect because they both could go to Shuhei's football game this evening.

They parted ways after school let out; Hakuo got a ride with his friend to his house; he was about to make his only friend's day by returning his video camera to him. Unfortunately, he can't just give Nathen the camera without telling him why it was in his house to begin with. He can't let him think that he illegally borrowed it - that would implicate that not only did he swipe it without asking, but that he'd of had to break into the Small home to get it.

"Wait here," Hakuo popped open the door and sprang free, quickly pushing the door closed behind him to avoid having the water soak the inside of the car's interior.

Krenn's trail hydroplaned the blades of grass on the way to the front door. Hakuo hesitated for a moment then he ducked around back. Nathen cocked his head in wonder until he saw Trevor Krenn open the front door then begin swatting at the other side of it, the Small teen became more confused until he noticed the telling bounce of frogs exiting the property for a new source of cover from the rain.

He smiled at how sweet it was to be afraid of something so harmless, when his friend can face down all the demons from his past from jerks at parks, asshole weirdos in friend's homes, hell, even persons he once considered a friend! It's endearing.

Hakuo emerged from his home, eyes down as he carefully hurried from the front door to the car where he climbed back inside. "Tada! One navy blue, four hundred dollar camera!" He produced it from inside his raincoat where he kept it safe and dry.

"Holy shi.. Where'd you find it?" Nathen took his camera into his arms. He could care less about the chores and the chew-out he'd received over the money issue, he was more concerned that he'd lost one of his electronic children. But here it is! Safe and sound! And, curiously with his best friend.

"It was sort of left at my house..."

"What do you mean?" Nathen couldn't keep the smile from his face over having his camera back. "I don't take this one out of the house. Did you borrow it without my hearing you ask?"

"No." Hakuo's deadpan was even more serious, alerting Nathen that something was on his mind that need not be taken lightly. "Nathe, I have to tell you something awful."

"About my camera? Did you wreck it?"

"No. It's fine, it's about how it got in my house..." He could kill Shuhei for making a bet with him. This would be so much easier if he could just get it off his chest. "Your brother came over to my house on Saturday..."

"Why?" He scoffed the word out. "Doesn't he hate you?"

"Supposedly. But, as it turns out, he actually likes me… a little too much, if you know what I mean?"

"Nnno. What's the matter with you?" He shook his head. "Likes you how? My brother is straight, sooo... what, he wanted to hang out?"

"I hate to tell you this, because you and he have reconciled, but… Nathen, Vann broke into my house and molested me." Even saying it made him angry and saddened.

It also made him confused, and that was more aggravating than the first two feelings because it made him incredibly embarrassed. That's why he'd rather not feel anything. He can process it. Analyze it. But he can't allow himself to feel. Having to say things like this to a friend about a sibling isn't easy. It'd be worse for him to tell it to Mr. and Mrs. Small! No one wants to hear something like that about their child.

"It's hard for me to admit it to you because I like you, Nathe, I consider you my best friend." That once would have been hard to get out, but lately, as it's become more true for the Krenn teen, he can admit it freely to anyone about Nathen Small being his best friend. "But, sometimes you can't coddle people from the truth just because you care about them."

Nathen could only stare at Hakuo, his expression hard as he absorbs the meaning of the lie. Why would Hakuo say something like that? Unless… "I realize that you don't like my brother, I don't even like him a lot of the time, but, you can't just say things like that about someone. It's slander, it's damaging too. You could ruin Vann in ways that can't be repaired - you of all people should know that considering what Lee did to you..."

"I'm not making it up, he really did molest me. Look, it's on the camera!"

"Right. My brother breaks into your home to molest you, and - stupidly - incriminates himself by video taping the whole thing," Shaking his head, he waved off the whole story. "Hakuo, come on. I'm not buying it, and you really shouldn't be saying things like that so lightly."

"You think I'm making it up?" Hakuo blinked. Disbelief mingled on his face in a blend with humor. Nathen couldn't be serious?! Why would he make up a lie like that? And if he was going to lie, why would he pick Vann of all people as the offender? "It's all there on the video, just watch it."

"No! You know what, I used to admire your strength for being able to function after what happened to you - even just a little while ago I was thinking about how brave you are… But now, I'm starting to wonder if maybe Mike was right?"

"Right about what?" Mike has been talking about him to others. That's interesting.

"If maybe you're just looking for trouble, because you're paranoid and you wanna make sure that nothing like that ever happens to you again."

That was a harsh slap in the face. Was Nathen daft?! How can he even say something like that? He was at the park that day when the reporter tried to paint him as a pervert, and one that he'd gotten locked up had the nerve to approach him like some lovesick hero! He saw what Mr. Deakins recorded with his nanny cam, but he's still going to behave as though there's a shred of a doubt that these things are happening?! That's crazy! It's sick! It's bullshit!

"But he recorded it..." Hakuo tried for the camera but Nathen held it away from him. "You're not seriously gonna do me dirty like this?"

"Why would my brother, a straight man, molest you? Why would he record himself doing it?" Nathen again brought up the questions. All which would be a solid case of Hakuo being insane had it not been for the information unknown to his blustered friend. "Hakuo, don't become the boy who cried wolf. Not everyone is out to get you."

Hakuo's bewilderment turned into a frown. He can't believe what he's hearing - even the elements have quieted the booms to eavesdrop the private conversation. "I don't know why either, straight guys are weird! But he admitted it, that he liked me. Vann told me all about it, it's all there on video - just watch it!"

"No. If anything I'm going to delete it."

"Nathen, if you're taking your brother's side because you honestly believe he didn't do it, so be it," Hakuo snipped. "But, if you're just going along with his being innocent because you want to continue getting along with him, that's a real stink move, man. But, you've gotta admit it's weird I'd have your camcorder when I never was at your house to have gotten it."

"I don't know that."

"No, you do know that. It was stolen on Saturday when your family was out of the house - everyone but your brother, who stole your camera," Hakuo spoke slowly now. "And follow along with me; he came over to my house. Drugged me. Molested me. And gave all the reasons why during it. All of which are on the camera." He points to it.

Nathen stared at his friend for a long time then he shook his head. "No. I'm not gonna look at whatever you think is on this camera, because what you're saying is ridiculous, paranoid, nonsense. I won't have my brother arrested because you're scared and trying to take down people you hate with it."

"Ah ha! Your brother got picked up by the cops yesterday! Your parents must have been called about that, they'd have to have bailed him out." Let's see him explain that away.

"Yeah, he told us some dumb frat kids were doing 'swear ins' with some freshmen and they picked him at random," Nathen fired back. "He was sent home, nobody called my parents about anything - Vann's an adult."

Nathen could see it all as he spied on his parents and Vann in the downstairs hall, where they heard about why their son needed them to scrub off something dirty and crude written on his back. The marker almost didn't want to budge. But after some baby oil, and other such methods, the permanent marker finally dulled and diluted away.

"You mean to tell me that you did that?"

"Well, it was Gev actually, but yes. The world needs to know what he is - what he openly admitted to being… Nathen, don't be like this, you know I don't make things up."

"I don't know that. And where, yeah, you do kinda straight shoot, but," Nathen reached past Hakuo for the door knob. "You do it in a weird way that I don't know how to take it. You're strange, Hakuo, and sometimes you scare me. I'm scared that you might be cracking up and taking down anyone in your path." The door is pushed open. "Please, just go."

"Fine. But, I mean it. Look at that video feed." Climbing from the car, he told Nathen he'd see him tomorrow before he closed the door. He watched with a lump in his stomach as his friend sped off to his house camera recovered where a friendship was fractured.

Hakuo walked back into his bedroom dropping onto his bed. How could things get screwed up so completely? Nathen didn't believe him at all. What is that? Curling into a ball, he stared at the closet with a disgruntled frown. Life sure can be tricky. Either the world's out to get you, or you're out to get the world. Where's the in-between?

'Paranoid. Yeah right.'

Video feed zoomed in on the bed to get a closer shot of Hakuo's butt, but when he got up and left the room the camera zoomed out getting a wide angle shot of the bedroom once again. Where one camera was taken another one continues to roll, hidden away to live film another day.