"It was about a month after you left the school district. The whole entire 8th grade knew everything at this point. Considering the teasing and harassment you received, I knew you weren't going to stay. I remember you refused to come to school for an entire week. Your parents didn't make you, but they knew they couldn't keep you away any longer. So, I wasn't surprised when they offered to switch you to a different district and you took it." Nicolette sighed softly, taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

"The only downfall to that was we would be separated, which I didn't want. But, I respected that this was a way to make you feel better and safe. Thomas had no idea you switched districts until after the holiday break. At that point, he had solidified his spot as the top student-athlete in our grade, was accepted by everyone and uncontested by many. However, no one knew his little secret. Well... that is, until I heard it."

"How exactly did you hear it?" Alan asked, fully engaged. The only thing he was missing was a bag of chips, or a bowl of popcorn.

"It was by complete accident, because no one would've known otherwise."

-

Walking from the yearbook office between lunch and 6th period, Nicolette was making her way down the hall near the gymnasium. Everyone else was at lunch, but she had permission from the photography teacher to stay later to make up an editing process. The office was on the other side of the school, having to pass the gym and band rooms to reach the cafeteria. She was walking past the gym when she heard some voices, one of them very familiar. While it was a voice she hadn't heard in weeks, she recognized it immediately.

"How... did you hear about this?" Thomas asked, his voice sounding puzzled.

"People talk, man. I also have a lot of friends who help out in the administrative office. They saw his letter of transfer from his parents. He transferred right before the break." Jonathan spoke casually.

Nicolette, quite sure of who was speaking, walked over as quietly as possible, crouching around a corner and peeking around to see the two students talking at the top of a staircase.

"Alan... transferred out?" Thomas asked, shocked.

Why... are they talking about Alan? Nicolette thought to herself as she hid behind the wall near the staircase.

"Yep. Seems like the little fag couldn't take the pressure." Jonathan said with a laugh. "Good. Now he won't be an influence on you."

"Influence... what do you mean?" Thomas questioned.

"I knew he was off from the moment I met him." Jonathan stated with a tone of disgust. "The way he would talk with you, touch you... it wasn't fucking normal for a guy."

There was a moment of silence, before a laugh was heard.

"You believed that?" Thomas asked through small laughs.

"What... do you mean? The hell are you saying?" Jonathan asked, confused.

"You honestly thought that what I said in the locker room was true?" Thomas stated, his laughter having dissipated.

"The fuck are you taking about, Thomas? I heard you outright deny that you weren't gay at all." Jonathan replied.

"That is... true, yes. I did say that." Thomas stated, a slight pause given.

"Then what the hell are you talking about?" Jonathan questioned, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"Moreso... the fact that you actually believed what I said in the first place." Thomas stated, firmly.

There was a long period of silence before a slight shuffle of feet and grunts, then a startled gasp of air. Following right after came the sound of a body falling down the stairs and a cry of discomfort and pain.

Nicolette stayed behind the wall, her breath quickening as she covered her mouth with her left hand. She heard footsteps descending down the staircase in a slow, calm manner.

"Wow, Jonathan... you're pretty damn horrible, you know that?" Thomas spoke casually as he continued down the stairs.

"T-Thomas... you fucking.. ass-"

"Look, let's not make this any worse for you." Thomas interjected, his footsteps stopped as he was now at the bottom of the stairs. There was another noise of pain from Jonathan, who was now resting on the floor. "Huh... that doesn't look good."

"You... fucking pushed me..." Jonathan groaned, as he rolled onto his back. However, his right arm was broken at a horrible angle.

"Well, you grabbed me first. Purely self defense." Thomas replied.

"The hell I did! You-" Jonathan was cut off as he gave a loud cry of agony.

Nicolette jumped at the sound, not helping but to peek around the wall from where she rested on the floor. She could see that Jonathan was writhing in pain as Thomas slowly pressed his right foot on top of his broken arm.

"We're going to go with that story, Jonathan." Thomas spoke calmly, his foot pausing.

"Are you... fucking insane?" Jonathan forced out between breaths.

"No... just very upset." Thomas stated, before continuing. "You see, you took something from me that I can't really have nor possibly get back. However, I did the same to you. But I can reap rewards from what I took. Everyone knows you hated Alan. It was pretty visible and blatant. Quite homophobic. So, if word got out to the administration that you bullied and harassed Alan which forced him to transfer, you're screwed."

There was another moment of silence.

"I see you're catching on. Let me wrap this up, so you can finally understand why you're going to agree to what I tell you to do." Thomas stated. "I already have my status in this school. I don't really need anything else... well, the one thing I would like to have I can't, but I'll make do... for now. Regardless, I'm innocent in this whole ordeal. I politely told my friend that I wasn't gay, you intruded on our conversation and then bullied him relentlessly. All I have to do is say the word and your life is ruined. No more volleyball, no more popularity, no more respect. Granted, with this-" Thomas paused to lightly poke Jonathan's broken arm. "You won't be playing for a while anyway."

"You... you sick twisted fuck..." Jonathan forced out, his expression a mixture of anger and fear.

"No... just really smart." Thomas stated with a warm smile. "Oh, and by the way... I lied."

Thomas squatted next to Jonathan carefully, the other flinching in terror. "I am... indeed... gay, and completely in love with Alan Wilson. If you tell a single soul, I will end you."

-

"You... recorded all of that on your phone?" Alan asked as he listened to the recording conclude.

"Yes, and I've made several copies of it. Just in case he somehow got my phone and tried to destroy it." Nicolette stated, putting her phone away.

"How did he know you recorded it?" Alan asked, curious.

"Later that afternoon, I went to his little studio-man-cave thing and I told him that unless he wanted his life ruined, just like he threatened Jonathan, he is to never touch or be alone with you. Ever." Nicolette stated calmly. "I didn't want him to hurt you anymore. I saw how much of a... wreck you were after what happened to you, and I didn't want it to happen again."

Alan quietly listened to his best friend speak, before wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I don't deserve you as a friend... seriously." he gently stated, sincere.

"Eh, you don't." Nicolette teased, only to see Alan stick out his tongue in defiance. "But, I care about you, and I'm not going to stand for my friend to get hurt by some arrogant, conniving douche."

"I still... don't understand how he got Jonathan to stay quiet." Alan pondered.

"Oh, Jonathan was fucked after that. He was ejected from the volleyball team because of his arm, so no varsity rank for the entire season. His grades sank, and most of his friends on the team pushed him aside to hang with Thomas, since he was moving up the status chain. After a while, he ended up fading and being this average student. He switched districts as soon as the school year ended." Nicolette stated casually.

"And... he never told anyone what happened?" Alan asked, surprised.

"Not to my knowledge. So, Thomas has been safe this entire time."

"How... the fuck does he get away with doing... shit like this?"

"He's gotten lucky so far. I get this feeling he'll fuck up soon enough." Nicolette stated with a shrug.

Alan sighed as he rested on the bed, looking at the time. "I should get home... maybe I can call my dad to come and get me. He should be heading home from work around this time."

"You sure? You'll be ok? You know you're welcome to stay." Nicolette asked, concerned.

"Yeah... besides, all my fancy clothes are at home and I have to keep up my end of the bet." Alan stated as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, you know you love the attention you're getting. Especially from Daniel." Nicolette teased with a smirk.

"Whatever..." Alan muttered, his face red from embarrassment. A smile came to his face slowly. "Thanks, Nikki... I mean it."

"Anytime, Allie. Let's call your dad."

-

Happy New Year.

Yes... it's been a while.

A lot happened before the holidays in my personal life, and I felt that it would just be best to take a break and focus on those things before I attempted to write again. I'm slowly making my way back into writing. As for if it will be every week like before, I cannot say or promise that. My responsibilities with my career have grown in the past 6 months and a lot of my time has been towards that.

However, I am trying to make it a goal to finish this story in the next 2 months, as well as work on editing another story that I have already completed. I'm making it a goal of mine to have a story be ready to be reviewed/published by the end of the year. Lofty, yes, but I can certainly try and dream.

So, along with this story, I am going to start posting and updating chapters to a completed story I worked on years ago after I give each chapter a clean and solid edit. More to come on that.

- Blu