"Anakin Begay?" The librarian in charge of study hall called out, she looked around searching for a familiar face. Fern mouthed the word absent, but no words came out. A few other kids sitting near him shout out absent, the librarian frowned and wrote something down. "Well, this isn't the first day of class you know what to do." With that, she nodded once and left the group of students in the heart of the library.

As soon as the librarian turned her back to them, kids stood up from their assigned seats and sat wherever they wanted. Fern remained in his seat but hurriedly pulled out his phone. He found Ani's contact number and began texting again, adding on to his long line of unanswered texts to Ani.

<Me: Hey it's me, well you'd know that seeing as you have me as a contact number.>

<Me: I don't think you've blocked me yet, which is a good sign. What's not a good sign is you not coming to school.>

<Me: I don't want to sound like a mom but it's been three days.>

<Me: Okay I get it, I'm the world's biggest douche. Seriously I'm an asshole, but don't avoid school entirely.>

<Me: If you need to, punch me right in the face and go along with your day.>

<Me: Could you please just answer me?>

<Me: I miss you.>

Fern knew he sounded like a needy boyfriend, needy or desperate. At the moment he knew he had absolutely no right to feeling that way. He stared at his phone expecting some form of life. Praying that a bubble with three dots would appear, but there was nothing still.

Fern swore and turned off his phone, slipping it back in his pocket. He took deep breaths, he needed something to pull him away from the growing pain in his chest that was Anakin. He reached over to his bag and took out his French homework.

It was only a page, but he did his best to drag it out for the entire study hall period. The bell rang three questions from finishing the assignment. He sighed and scribbled down the correct sentences, then shoved the paper into his bag.

He still had one more period left, history. Fern let out a deep breath, he wasn't sure he could handle an entire period with Miss Clarkson. Especially not the sad look she'd give him when she called Anakin's name. Or how she would lean over his desk between tasks to ask if he was alright.

"Can't do it." He rubbed the top of his head and pulled out his phone. He wasn't much for skipping classes, but before Saturday he didn't think had it in him to make Ani cry.

<Me: Meet me in the auditorium before last period>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Sure I hate health anyway, every time I mention that they'll probably meet a guy with a vagina or a girl with a penis in their life I feel ten people ready to throw up, and four people ready to pelt me with bibles>

Fern re-read the message a few times before deciding he couldn't come up with a believable response. He pocketed his phone and took the back hallway to reach the auditorium. Luckily too many kids were at their locker for Fern to actually stand out to any of the hall monitors, or teachers patrolling the halls.

The doors of the auditorium were in a little pocket of the wall. Fern slipped into it and hugged close to the door so no part of his body could be seen by anyone walking towards him.

Fern jiggle the handle of the double doors, he swore under his breath when neither of the handles would budge. He let out a shaky breath and slipped down the wall until he was just sitting on the ground by the doors. He didn't remember any other entrances and exits, and he couldn't slip into any other classrooms without a guaranteed find by anyone roaming the halls.

He extended his legs, they were long enough to touch the other end of the wall. He began aimlessly rubbing the top of his thigh, his legs were more sore than usual. Throwing himself into soccer practice had been the only things stopping his brain from reminding him of all the worst parts of Saturday night.

He resisted taking out his phone and spamming Ani again, he had no doubt that at a certain point Ani would block him. But he couldn't stop the hope that Ani would suddenly be annoyed enough with him to just answer his messages.

There were heavy footsteps coming from the end of the hallway. Fern's stomach twisted up, he knew that they probably couldn't see him. All they could see was a slight indent in the wall. If the person passed the door and looked over at Fern it'd be pretty obvious he was where he wasn't supposed to be. Fern held his bag close to his chest and prepared for a scolding, that would most likely lead to a detention.

The footsteps stopped right next to him. Fern could hear his heartbeat in his ears, he turned his head seeing boat shoes, and hairy legs. He slowly tilted his head up, looking right at Mr. Seppe.

"You look like crap." Mr. Seppe said. It was a bit of a statement, especially coming from a man wearing a tie-dye sweatshirt, cargo shorts, and a boonie hat.

"So do you," Fern said honestly, he was beginning to realize the more he spiraled downward the less he cared. Fern had personally been wearing the same sweatshirt since Sunday morning, only changing the undershirt at night.

"And neither of us should probably be here. At least I have an excuse."

"Which is?" As Fern stared at the drama teacher he realized Mr. Seppe broke most drama teacher tropes. He definitely wasn't gay, he was pretty gruff, his voice was really low, Fern had never once heard him sing, and he looked like the least dramatic person on the face of the Earth.

"The school play is a month away, my dancing line is a mess, I have kids who can't remember their lines, I'm supposed to be teaching drama to a bunch of seniors who couldn't give less of a shit, all my pants shrunk in the dryer, my razor broke, and the only thing that seemed to be functional about drama club hasn't been to school in three days." Mr. Seppe took a deep breath and rubbed his temples, he closed his eyes for a moment. "What's your damage?" He opened his eyes to look at Fern as he asked.

"I'm an idiot who's an asshole, and also an asshole who's an idiot." He had never freely sworn in front of a teacher before, small alarm bells did go off in his head but he had enough problems at the moment. Mr. Seppe looked generally unphased. He took out a pack of gum and his keys.

"You can stay in the auditorium if you're quiet. If you can't, take your chances in the hall." He picked out a key covered in music notes and put it into one of the double doors. Fern stood up and dusted his pants.

"Yeah, I can do that." He backed up to let Mr. Seppe open the door for him. They both stepped inside, letting the double doors close behind them.

The first person Fern saw was Dillian, he stuck his head over one of the seats and waved.

"Hey dude, why didn't you just knock on the door?" Dillian knelt up on one of the seats so that he had a better view of Fern. Fern had stopped walking to gawk at Dillian while Mr. Seppe continued to walk, waving at Dillian as he walked by.

"I...don't know." He sighed and walked down the incline sitting in the empty seat next to Dillian. He propped his feet on the top of the headrest of the chair in front of him.

"So what's the occasion, I don't think I've been invited to cut class with you before." Dillian made himself equally as comfortable. With his shorter legs, he was able to just fold them on the seat.

"That's because I've never cut class before,"

"Huh, so what's the occasion?"

"Miss Clarkson." Fern said, he brought his bag to his lap and pressed his face against it. He could already feel the strange look that Dillian was giving him.

"Miss Clarkson? As in one of the nicest and most attractive teachers we have?"

"Yes, but it's different. I think she's dating my brother..."

"Yeah I know, but now you have extra brownie points? And you get to see that beautiful woman outside of school too? I'm not seeing the problem."

"That's not the point, it just feels like she thinks she is obligated to take extra good care of me. Always shooting me these looks, and rubbing my back, asking me if I'm okay. I just can't stand it." Fern moved his face away from his bag and looked at Dillian.

Dillian looked genuinely worried about Fern, "You mean you can't stand her showing you compassion?"

"Yes! No...I don't know." He groaned and pushed his face back into his bag. He felt Dillian's hand on his back, patting it.

"I don't think it's actually about Miss Clarkson. Are you having Ani withdrawals?"

"Maybe..." Fern mumbled, he had avoided talking too much about Ani to his friends, for the past few days.

"Don't worry, just stop by his house."

"I can't."

Dillian scoffed and smacked his back. "Oh come on, is it like an awkward after sex thing? I'm fairly certain Ani has had sex before, so don't be embarrassed or whatever. Even if you did perform po-"

"We didn't have sex." Fern turned his head so that it was still resting on the bag, now he was facing Dillian.

Dillian raised his eyebrow skeptical, "Dude you don't have to lie. You two left early, and everyone knows that you two had to have done it."

"Well, we didn't."

"But that makes zero sense, why else can't you go over his house?"

Fern shrugged, he felt sick thinking about it again. "Have you texted Ani?"

"Yeah of course I have, we all have. He hasn't responded yet."

"You too?" Fern frowned.

"What do you mean you too? Did you think it was only you he wasn't texting?"

"Well, yeah," Fern admitted.

Dillian frowned, "Why would you be the only one he's not texting. If anything you should be the only one he is texting if he's going through some shit we don't know about."

Fern shrugged in response, he found it increasingly hard to meet Dillian's eye. He began to turn his head back to his back.

"Oh, oh no you're telling me everything right now." He took Fern's chin and forced it so that it faced him. "Okay I get it, you didn't fuck Anakin. But why do you look like you buried his dead body whenever anyone mentions him?"

Fern let out a deep sigh and looked at him pleadingly, he really didn't want to have to tell anyone. Dillian matched him with an incredibly stubborn look. "Fine, well I'm an idiot."

"As we all know." Dillian nodded as if to encourage him.

"Well during the whole crowning, of homecoming kings and queens and all that I got this really dumb idea in my head."

"I really hate the sound of that," Dillian mumbled, interrupting Fern again. Fern gave him a look and continued.

"I guess at some point Ani had a really big crush on Trisha-"

"My sister Trisha?" Dillian's eyes widened, then readjusted. "Actually I can believe that."

"Yeah, your sister. And actually seeing her while recognizing her, it occurred to me why Ani had a crush on her. She's freaking awesome, like actually awesome. She's attractive, smart, well rounded..."

"Okay I get it, I can feel her ego growing from across the school. So what's the problem? He likes you now right?"

Fern resisted correcting him and putting the like in past tense. "The problem is...I'm not Trisha or any of the things she is. So I already felt like shit about myself, then I remembered the guy he was talking about at dinner,"

"Wait, what guy?" Dillian interrupted.

"You know, he was talking about a guy he wanted to date, and how he'd probably need to go on a few dates with him first."

"Are you fucking stupid, it was pretty clear to everyone at the table who he was talking about. But anyway, please continue with this train wreck."

Fern was blushing but forced himself to continue. "So I was pretty passive aggressive as soon Ani got down. And since Ani is..."

"Not an idiot?"

"Yes, not an idiot, he picked up on it pretty quickly. He offered for us to go home."

"And I'm guessing you were an ass the whole time because you were jealous of my sister and yourself?"

Fern nodded, saying it out loud made it even worse to relive. "Yeah, then it got to a moment where I was on his doorstep. And he wanted me to go inside with him..."

Dillian looked thoroughly disgusted with Fern as he spoke. "Are you sitting here, and telling me that he was offering you to go upstairs with him?"

Fern nodded again slowly, Dillian gripped Fern's shirt.

"Don't tell me you said no." Dillian whispered, "please turn this into a horribly awkward sex story."

"I didn't exactly say no...I basically told him no. Then I think he offered to just go upstairs and hang out or something. And I'm pretty sure I brought up shit about him sleeping with other guys and I-"

"Okay, I get the picture." Dillian slowly let go of Fern's shirt and crossed his arms. "How upset was he after?"

"He looked like he was seconds from crying, he called me a fucking idiot and himself an idiot for loving me." Fern's voice was a whisper, he hated imaging Ani's face like that.

"Oh my god!" Dillian pinched the bridge of his nose as his voice echoed around the auditorium. "So you could have most likely lost your virginity, had enough time to chill with Ani because you two left early, and have confessed your feelings for Ani at some point during that night."

Fern nodded slowly, "Yeah..."

"Instead of doing that, you got yourself needlessly jealous, you were a dick to Ani, called him a whore indirectly, and convinced him that you not only didn't like him but that he was an idiot for liking you."

"Yeah, I don't even know what possessed me," Fern whispered. "I think that I'm the reason he hasn't come to school."

Dillian scoffed, "I doubt it." He leaned back in his chair. Fern moved away from his bag and looked at him.

"What do you mean? I totally broke his heart."

"Well yeah, I'm sure you did, but incase you haven't been paying attention Ani is super petty. He would have spent Sunday feeling like complete man-hating shit. Then he'd come to school, hot as fuck, and seemingly okay just to make you feel bad."

Fern actually thought for a moment, what Dillian was saying did sound a lot more like Ani. Not coming to school for days, and avoiding the other person sounded like more of a Fern thing to do. "Shit, yeah you're right."

"I know I am, if I was into all the romance shit I would be petty one hundred percent of the time." Dillian extended his legs so that they were pushing against the seat in front of him. "I don't get why you didn't just go over his house on Sunday and beg for forgiveness."

Fern shrugged, he didn't have an exact reason either. "Just couldn't bring myself to face him. I think at the time I told myself that he needed space from me for a day."

"See, that's your idiot side talking. You need to learn to ignore that part of you."

"Usually I text Ani before making completely stupid decisions." The logic only worked 50% percent of the time. Fern would admit he was dumber than Ani, but Ani was 100% more reckless than Fern could ever be.

"Thank God I didn't put money on you too." Dillian murmured, Fern felt it was highly insensitive but figured at the moment he deserved it. "So, if you're having all these relationship-oriented problems why didn't you hit up Quinn?"

"It didn't occur to me," Fern admitted, he avoided looking at Dillian. He instead opted to close his eyes and wish away the rest of the world.

"That's stupid, I mean he out of all of us has had the most experience. Especially considering he's unofficially dating Carson."

"And I was jealous," Fern added.

"What?"

"It didn't occur for me to ask, and the fact that he got together with Carson the same night I hurt Ani pisses me off." Fern clarified, it felt better verbalizing the emotions he'd felt over the past few days.

"So it did occur to you, but you were too busy being jealous to actually humble yourself to ask."

Fern just nodded in response.

"Unfortunately in all your pettiness, I guess it didn't occur to you that you are not only completely in the wrong. But, that you should be happy for one of your friends, finally finding happiness with their longtime crush." Dillian continued.

Fern hesitated before speaking again, "Yeah...I guess I did."

"And I guess it also didn't occur to you that at the moment you are in no position to be choosy about who will help you out of the Ani-less hole you dug yourself into."

"Can't you help me?" Fern asked.

"No! I can't actually, for one I'm pretty sure I'm aromantic. For two, I've never been in a relationship. And-" The bell for dismissal rang out. Fern and Dillian looked up then back at each other. "Need to go, I have a doctors appointment."

"How about Soccer practice?" Fern watched Dillian grab his stuff and stand up.

"Already told Coach, I told you on Monday. I guess you were a little busy being lovesick." Dillian put on his bag and pointed at Fern. "Don't be dumb, talk to Quinn, make things up with Ani, and bring him back to school."

Fern nodded and watched Quinn go. He slumped in his seat and groaned, the last thing he wanted to do was leave the auditorium and face the world. But soccer was one of the few Ani free things about his school day. He knew if he went out there on the field there was no chance the coach would call Ani's name. On the soccer field, the conversations were usually always soccer related.

He felt a buzz of his phone, his hand hovered over it for a second. He knew it wouldn't be Ani, and there was no reason to leave himself off at a low point before going to practice. He grabbed the strap of his bag and slid it on his back as he stood up. He promised himself the next four hours would be completely Ani free. 

"Kelly! Stop looking at Kelly number 2 like he's hung soccer balls in the night sky." Coach Edwards yelled to Carson. "I want to see some hustle, it's your last drill."

Carson's gaze snapped away from Quinn back to the mess of cones in front of him. Fern could see his heavy panting, lighter but still as desperate as his own. Carson placed his foot on the top of the ball.

"I thought I was too good to be a Kelly!" Quinn called from the goal post. A gloved hand was on his hip while the other hand fanned himself.

"You are! But I'm guessing at some point during the weekend, the two of you got married. I'm just getting used to calling you, Quinn Kelly."

Fern looked between Carson and Quinn, neither looked incredibly phased at the call out, and neither of them corrected her. "We could always just compound our names," Carson suggested.

"Rogers-Kelly just sounds dumb," Quinn admitted from across the field. Carson thought for a moment, then smirked and took his foot off the ball.

"How about, I get the ball in it's Kelly. You stop the ball it's Rogers." Carson suggested.

"Sounds like a fair deal, bring it, Kelly!"

"Show the Junior how it's done, Captain," Jace called from near Fern. Fern glanced over at him, he hadn't realized the guy was a senior as well. Carson's looked behind him and gave Jace a confident head nod.

Coach Edwards blew her whistle and Carson began running with the ball. The cones around him had been placed randomly making the terrain difficult. Fern was mesmerized, watching Carson was like watching a well-oiled machine. He backpedaled, kicked, and controlled the ball with ease. All while keeping the momentum he needed to head for the goal.

The last part of practice was always exclusively for the varsity players, and by then Fern was usually disoriented. With this exercise especially he had been trapped in his head too much to stop himself from falling repeatedly.

The last few feet of shooting range Carson picked up a considerable amount of speed. The gaggle of tired varsity players had been moving along the sideline of the field slightly behind Carson, in an attempt to get a better view.

Quinn had gotten into his relaxed goalie position was and was smiling slightly. Carson was smirking and looked up with a wink. He reeled his foot back and kicked hard at the ball.

The ball was driven fast and hard with a regular power kick. Usually, if it was hard and fast enough, most goalies hesitated a second too long before saving it. Quinn however, showed no signs of hesitation.

The ball flew in the area towards the goal. Quinn put his hands near his stomach and jumped. The ball flew right into his hands, the rest of the body taking the remaining force impact. When he was back on his feet he held the ball under his arm and gave Carson a teasing wave.

"Rogers it is then," Quinn dropped the ball in front of him and began taking off his goalie gloves. Carson panted and leaned his hands on his knees, his exhaustion finally starting to show.

"Fine, you won," Carson pushed the dirty blonde hair out of his eyes. The gaggle of soccer players began to clap, Quinn was still the only goalie they had that consistently stopped Carson's balls. Fern slipped his hands into his pocket and watched. Dillian's words rang in his ear, he really should be happy for them.

"Can I at least have a loser's hug?" Carson asked he was already walking towards Quinn. He had an innocent grin on his face.

"Sure I guess..." Quinn began, Carson had run up to him and wrapped his arms around Quinn's waist. Quinn's eyes widened as Carson lifted him up a bit. "Carson what are you doing?"

"This!" Carson kicked the ball now by his feet into the net. He spun Quinn yelling goal then dropped him to the ground. Quinn stumbled but stayed standing, he crossed his arms.

"That was obviously an illegal goal."

"What's so illegal about it?" Carson challenged.

"The fact that you had me restrained for one thing."

"I don't see any referees, so I'm not entirely sure that's illegal." Carson shrugged and put a hand on Quinn's shoulder. Fern wondered if both of them knew that all of the Soccer team could hear them flirting.

"Don't worry, it's highly illegal," Quinn assured him, he tried removing Carson's hand from his shoulder.

"Until I see a rule book, I think our last names should be Kelly," Carson added his other hand to the other side of Quinn's shoulder. Quinn let out a groan and reached behind him trying to remove both hands.

"Since that was entirely illegal, I say Rogers."

"Practise over, Kelly-Rogers get off my field!" The Coach yelled to them. Quinn scoffed, while Carson chuckled and finally let go of Quinn.

Most of the varsity boys scattered as soon as the whistle blew. Fern lingered watching Carson and Quinn, waiting for an opportunity to be alone with Quinn.

"I guess we're Kelly-Rogers until further notice." Carson ducked down and pressed a kiss to the side of Quinn's cheek. Quinn chuckled softly and lightly pushed Carson's face away.

"Fine, but Kelly-Rogers sounds like an entirely different person's name."

Carson shrugged and tried to take Quinn's hand. "You should come over tonight."

Quinn teased Carson by moving his hand just out of Carson's reach. "You have to do college applications. So no, I can't."

"But you could help with that," Carson countered.

"I don't want to influence your choice, I especially don't want you to go to a college just because I want to go to one."

"Is wanting to go to the same college as you a huge deal? I'd think it'd be pretty romantic."

"It's very romantic, but college is a big decision. Call me when you're done and then I'll consider coming over."

Carson smiled and finally grabbed hold of Quinn's hand. "Good, I'll order a pizza."

"Might," Quinn said again,

Carson pressed a kiss to the side of Quinn's head. "And I might pick up some Ben&Jerry's on the way home." Quinn raised his eyebrow like he had just been swayed.

"Are you going to help me clean up the field?" Quinn asked. Carson made a face and shook his head slowly.

"Sorry I can't, I need to pick up a new football helmet on the way home."

"And the store is going to close at 5 on a weekday?" Quinn said suspiciously.

"Crazy I know," Carson pressed another kiss to the side of Quinn's head and let go of his hand. "I'll see you soon then."

"Fine, I'll just rope Fern into helping me." Quinn said catching Fern off guard. Quinn tilted his head trying to make eye contact with Fern, Fern quickly dodged the look and stared at the ground. He realized how awkward he must have been, staring silently at the two of them.

"Good plan, bye." Fern heard Carson jogging away. The sound of crunching grass became quieter. Fern peeked up to see Quinn shifting slightly and looking at him.

"Hey," Quinn said first.

Fern cleared his throat and lifted his head the rest of the way up. "Hey," He swallowed his pride and began walking towards Quinn, his hands slipping into his short pocket.

"I feel like I haven't talked to you in three days,"

"Ye-"

"Oh yeah, that's because you've been avoiding me for three days. Any reason in particular?" Quinn didn't look particularly mad, but the look on his face was unreadable to Fern. It did make him nervous and think carefully about his words.

"I've been avoiding a lot of things...I just fucked up really bad. And you and Carson kinda just bummed me out." Fern said, figuring Quinn deserved more of the truth.

Quinn looked over him a few times, then to the side. "Oh, I thought you just hated Carson outrightly." He looked slightly to the right of Fern's face.

"Why would I hate him?"

"I dunno," He murmured. "A lot of people don't like him for different reasons. I guess I just....I also assumed you were mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?" Fern tilted his head slightly, he looked at Quinn's eyes but they didn't meet his.

"Because I told you I was straight. So I guess I lied, I didn't know if that'd bug you or not."

"Your sexuality is your business I guess. But if it helps you sounded pretty convinced,"

"I was I guess." He shrugged, he finally met Fern's eye. He looked slightly more relaxed. "So how'd you fuck up this time? Does it have anything to do with Ani?"

"How'd you know? Did Ani talk to your or anything?" Fern asked quickly.

"No, all of your problems are usually Ani related. Ani hasn't responded to anyone's texts. I assumed he was at least responding to you."

Fern shook his head and let out a breath. "No, he hasn't responded to any of my texts."

He closed his eyes a moment and began to quickly give Quinn a summary of what had happened towards the end of the Homecoming. Quinn listened silently, grimacing at times, and visibly cringing the other times. When Fern finished, Quinn was rubbing his hand through his hair. The rest of the players had finished and headed up to the school. They were the last two players left on the field.

"So you've been paranoid because you think you're the reason Ani hasn't been in school?" Quinn asked.

Fern nodded, tugged on a string inside the pocket of his shorts. He needed at least something else to focus, lest his mind would drift back to the teary-eyed look Ani had given him on that day.

"And Dillian said that you're probably not the reason why Ani isn't in school?"

Fern again nodded, he at least took some comfort in Dillian's words.

"Well, that's not necessarily true. If he did something self-harm like-"

"Self-harm?" Fern sputtered out, that hadn't even occurred to him.

"Well...yeah. When you're upset you do self-destructive things. He could have gone to a dangerous party, binge drank, done some form of a drug, possibly literally injured himself."

"And that would be my fault?" Fern felt sick again, Quinn made eye contact with him looking regretful of his words.

"Well...indirectly possibly. The choice to do those things would still be his..."

Fern swore under his breath and covered his face with his hands. He felt Quinn's hands on his shoulders.

"Sorry I freaked you out. Ani is pretty smart, so he probably wouldn't. I'd just say you need to fix this shit."

Fern uncovered his face and gave him the most deadpanned face he had in his small arsenal of facial expressions. "Really?"

"Okay well obviously. But be brash, be bold, barely think about what you're doing. You're great at that already but just focus on being romantic. Climb up to his bedroom window, mail him flowers, buy him more chocolates than he'd ever want to see in his life. And apologize, never stop apologizing. If you think you've apologized enough, you haven't apologized enough. Okay? I want to hear you still say sorry ten years from now, at your 10 year anniversary."

"When do I know to leave him alone? He can't just accept my apology right?"

Quinn closed his eyes and hummed for a moment. "Actually, scratch everything I said except the apologizing part." He opened his eyes back up.

"Wait, why? That's what they do in movies right?"

"Yeah, that's the problem. When you do shit like that, you're basically guilting the other person into forgiving you. Like if I broke your nose right now, then tomorrow I sent you a thousand roses how would you feel?"

"Uh..."

"You'd still feel pissed, but now you'd have a hundred thousand flower petals to clean up. And you might even feel bad that I spent all that money just for you to still be pissed at me. Then you'd be mad at yourself for feeling any sympathy for the guy who just broke your nose. Do you get it?"

"Kind of..." Fern tried to sort out what Quinn was saying, but it sounded even more confusing in his head.

"Just apologize okay? Go to his house, and apologize. Then you promise that you'll do anything to get him to even begin to forgive you, okay?"

Fern nodded, he understood that much.

"And when you can, explain your side of the story. How you panicked, how much you really do care about him, how the spiked punch didn't help,"

"The punch was spiked?" Fern said, surprise in his voice.

"Yeah...that's why the punch tasted alcoholic. Do you not...nevermind. Just go, okay? Don't wait a day longer, go see him. I can clean up this mess."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I can handle picking up a few cones by myself. You need to save your relationship, so we can have double dates."

"Would it still be a double date if Dillian came? Because we both know Dillian would come."

"We can pretend Dillian is one of our kids."

"More like our dog," Fern smiled a bit.

"I think he'd prefer to call himself our pimp."

"Good point, I mean Ani is his head hoe..." Fern trailed off, his chest hurt.

"I miss him too, so go win him back okay?" Quinn gave him an encouraging smile. Fern nodded but didn't smile back.

Fern began walking then paused. "Hey, Quinn?" Quinn looked up at him, he had bent down and already had a cone in his hand. "I'm happy you got with Carson, you two are cute together." He said honestly.

Quinn smiled and shrugged. "We're alright, thanks."

Fern nodded and began jogging to the bench holding his stuff. He had to fix the shit with Ani before it drove him insane.

Fern climbed into the driver's seat of the Rodo's pickup truck. He threw his soccer stuff into the passenger side. He grabbed the handle and carefully closed it. He pulled out his phone, to text his dad an update. As soon as the screen turned on, a name appeared and Fern's hands shook.

He took deep breaths trying to cull his excitement and nerves. He pressed Ani's name.

<Mother of My Unborn Child: Edudu died Sunday>

Fern's mouth opened, grief washed over him. He had only met the man on two occasions, but even he had felt some faint attachment to him. He couldn't imagine what Ani had to be feeling. He scrolled the chat, trying to see if there was even one more message from him. But that was it.

Fern shut off his phone and pushed his sweaty hair out of his face. The message alone was enough of an explanation for everything. He couldn't even begin to come up with a response over text, worth anything to Ani. He doubted Ani would even spare him with a response.

Fern opened his phone again checking the timestamp of the text. Of course, it was the one he ignored earlier. He sighed and threw his phone on the passenger seat.

"Shit," Fern mumbled, he put the keys in the ignition weighing his options. He doubted Ani was in any position to speak to him, why would he even want to speak with him. "Shit!' Fern said louder.

His voice filled up the truck. He felt his heartbeat in his ears. Fern smacked the handle of the car wheel. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes taking deep breaths through his nose. "Fuck fuck fuck!"

Fern rubbed at his face, of all times, to all people. He swore again under his breath and brought the car into drive. He pulled out of the school parking lot and began driving home.

Most of the adrenaline in his body wanted him to move the car faster, race against the stop signs and the traffic lights. The sensible part of him took his foot away from the gas pedal, and he let his mind do all of the racing.

He pulled in front of his house, pausing to look into the driveway. There wasn't a single car there. He carefully pulled Rodo's truck into the driveway. There was a bump, he cringed and shut the truck off.

Fern pulled the keys out and stuffed them into his pocket. He grabbed his soccer bag and his phone, then opened the door rougher than he had intended. He jumped out and slammed the door behind him.

The heavy door slammed into place making Fern jump slightly. He looked behind him and let out a breath. The wheel of the truck was partly on the front lawn. The truck wheel had gone over the barrier that separated the lawn from the rest of the parking area. He shook his head, he couldn't be bothered. He dragged himself to the front door, unlocking it and stepping inside.

"I'm home!" He yelled, he paused expecting some reply. Fern used his foot to shut the door and threw his soccer equipment to the ground. "I guess they're all out." He mumbled. He went to drop his school bag to the ground but had nothing to drop. He felt his back and sighed, he'd forgotten it in the truck.

Fern let out a tired breath and opened the front door back up. He looked outside at the bright red truck and shook his head. He jogged to it and unlocked the passenger side and yanked his bag out. The weight of the bag slammed into him and caught him off balance. He fell backward his back hitting the dirt of the lawn.

His partly opened bag had fallen next to him. History papers spilling out, he swore louder and sat up. He grabbed his bag pulling it up and picking up some of the history papers. They crumbled in his hand and he couldn't care less. He stuffed them back into his bag not caring if they tore. He looked around seeing one more paper near the wheel of the car. He crawled over and grabbed the paper before he stuffed it into his bag he saw a glimpse of yellow.

He spread out the paper on the side of Rodo's car. The only state flag he recognized, the flag of New Mexico. His lips quivered, he only ever remembered it because of Ani. The sudden urge to break down and cry hit him like a wave. He blinked several times and took a deep breath, suppressing the feeling the best he could.

He stared at the paper pressing it against the door until something dawned on him. He shook his head, dismissing it. He began to fold the paper up then paused, fully thinking through his idea.

It was brash, obnoxious, and very movie like. He considered his circumstances, finally deciding that maybe movie like is something Ani needed. He folded the paper and stuffed it into his soccer short pocket. He zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulder.

He began jogging into his house, slamming the door shut as he went inside. He grabbed his phone and began texting his father as he walked up the stairs to his room.

<Me: I'm home, I didn't scratch Rodo's car, or get pulled over>

<Papa (aka Lou Smith): Excellent, sorry I couldn't drive you home this loco woman is making me redo her entire backyard>

<Me: Where is mama?>

<Papa (aka Lou Smith): She's at a baby shower, and Rodo is still at school.>

<Me: So I'm alone tonight?>

<Papa (aka Lou Smith): Yeah, but mama said she made you a really nice dinner. I and you were supposed to eat it together, I was planning a father-son sit down>

<Me: About what?>

<Papa (aka Lou Smith): Forgive me but I was young once, and you've looked heart sick since Saturday night. But there is time to speak about this when I'm home.>

<Me: Oh okay, there's not much to talk about though>

<Papa (aka Lou Smith): Oh there's plenty to talk about. For instance the fact that you're using commas over text? Anyway, don't trash the house, Fernando. You're 17 and I trust you alone, don't let me down :) >

<Me: I won't, love you>

<Papa (aka Lou Smith): I know, love you too <3 <3 (: >

Fern let out a breath and shut his phone off. He mentally apologized to his father, as he unzipped his bag and dumped the contents on the ground. He went to his dresser and grabbed a few days worth of clothes and stuffed them into the bag. He checked the top of it and threw in deodorant, body spray, his comb, a book, his extra phone charger, two of his backup batteries, two hats, and sunglasses. He looked inside his back feeling like he was missing something.

"Money....shit." All of the money he had saved up was in the bank. Any paychecks that he earned that weren't physically from his father went right into his college account. Something he didn't have access to.

His stomach turned and he dropped his bag near the foot of his bed. He went to his parent's room, his footsteps becoming lighter. In the back of his mind, he understood that no one was inside but there was still a deep fear in his stomach.

He flicked the light on, everything was as it always was. Clean room, his parent's clothes in the closet, a neat stack of men and womens shoes in the corner of the room, his mother's jewelry and makeup scattered on the vanity, and his father's nice watches on his bedside.

He swallowed and bent down crawling around to his mother's side of the bed. He reached underneath the bed and pulled out a small shoe box at the very edge of the bed.

He rubbed his hands together and let out a shaky breath, slowly he lifted up the box lid and looked inside. There were several hundred dollar bills that his mother liked to keep around for 'rainy days'.

He took out ten of them and hoped that today was rainy. As he held the money in his hand he eased his nerves remembering that he probably had much more than this amount in the bank.

He looked around and spotted a pen on the top of his mother's bedside table. He just needed paper. He patted his pockets and took out the small folded piece of paper. He scribbled down 'IOU 1,000$- Love, Fernando'. He put the pen back and placed the note inside. He placed the lid back over the shoe box and slipped it back under his mother's bed.

Quickly he turned off the light and sped out of his parent's room back to his room. He placed the money in his wallet and stuffed his wallet in the middle of his bag.

He was almost ready, he grabbed a pack of gum and threw it inside the bag just incase. He looked around, double checking if he was missing anything.

He sniffed and checked his armpits and grimaced. He smelt like he had rolled around in garbage, and he still had his cleats and shin guards on. He stripped leaving his clothes and padding on the ground then headed to the bathroom. He took a quick hot shower and redressed, having to use his father's deodorant. He brushed his teeth again for good measure, then put his toothbrush and toothpaste in a plastic bag and went back to his room.

He stuffed the dental hygiene items into his bag and closed it up. He grabbed a thick sweatshirt and the comforter from his bed. He put his bag on his back and went downstairs.

The clock ticked loudly on the wall by the kitchen. He checked the time and let out a nervous breath. It was already half past six, someone might be on their way home. He set his items down by the door and went to the kitchen.

He dragged a chair to the side of the fridge and reached for the blue cooler closest to the wall. He dropped the cooler to the ground, it made a loud thud. Fern swallowed, happy his grandparents no longer lived in their basement. He jumped off the chair and moved it back into place.

He started with water, first dumping bottles of water into the bottom of the cooler. He then added a layer of juice boxes and mini cans of soda his father liked to buy. He opened up the fridge and inspected things he could risk bringing with him. He spotted his dinner on the bottom shelf of the fridge, in an extremely large translucent Tupperware.

He bent down and pulled it out he set it on the ground and closed the fridge door. He opened the lid and checked the contents. There was seasoned rice, taco meat, taco shells, homemade salsa, diced vegetables, empanadas, and homemade churros. All of it carefully put in its own Tupperware containers.

Fern's stomach growled hungrily. He took out two empanadas and closed up the rest of the containers. He put one in his mouth and held the other one in one hand. He carefully balanced the dinner in the cooler. He slipped the empanada into his mouth and chewed in one bite. He went to their cupboard and grabbed cookies, bags of chips, stray Halloween candy, and whatever other snack he could find. He stuffed all of it into the cooler almost overfilling it.

He sat on the cooler and latched it closed. He popped the second empanada into his mouth and dragged the cooler by the door. He sighed and put on his sweatshirt, he slipped on his bag, folded up his comforter and opened the front door. He made sure Rodo's truck keys were in his pocket.

He took a deep breath and hoped the next time he stepped foot into this house, he wouldn't be dead, or about to die. He dragged all of his gear out of the house and locked the door behind him. He brought his stuff to Rodo's truck and opened the door. He threw it all in the back seat and carefully closed the door.

He unlocked the driver's side door and climbed inside. He recognized taking Rodo's car might be one of the bigger crimes he was committing. He shook his head and put the key inside turning it. As the engine roared to life, he hoped that all of this would pay off. 

Fern parked the truck a house down the road from Ani's home. He rubbed his sweaty hands against his jeans. He slowly crept towards Ani's house. When he got to the front lawn he crouched down and hugged along his fence.

He could see only one car in the driveway, Fern could only guess which parent had chosen to stay home. His hands began to sweat more. He could tell his body wasn't made for this type of pressure.

He crawled all the way to the backyard door. He swallowed and inspected the door. It would be risky climbing over it, it was taller than average and thick. Fern noticed a window right next to it. He knelt up a bit scanning inside, once he saw no movement he stood up. He was tall enough to reach the top of the fence without stretching. His only problem was pulling himself over.

First, he tried the straight on approach, he gripped the top of the fence and tried to pull himself over. After a minute of that, his aching arms reminded him that he played soccer, not volleyball. He looked to the side of the house and got an idea.

He grabbed the top of the fence door again, he began pulling himself. He turned his body slightly and stepped on the side of the house. His foot connecting with the brick of the side. He let out a breath and continued pulling, he used what little force he had and stepped with his other foot on the side of the house.

When he was fully off the ground he raised his hips and vaulted over the side. The first thing that made contact with the ground was his back. He let out a loud groan as he felt the wind knock out of him. He covered his mouth to stop any more sounds of pain from escaping.

He rolled on his stomach and let himself catch air. Once he felt like he could breathe again he brought himself to his knees. He rubbed his back and leaned against the fence to stand.

"Stupid fucking fence, I wish I never put you up." He sighed and shuffled to the shed expecting to find the ladder leaning against it. He squinted in the dim light and circled around the shed, finding no ladder.

He stopped in front of the shed inspecting it. He took his hand from his back and touched the lock on the handle of the shed door. He grumbled under his breath and looked from the shed door to Anakin's window. Way too high up to even imagine climbing.

"Maybe..." He groaned then shook his head, his back hurt way too much to attempt to pull any more stunts. He sighed and opted for the old fashion way. He bent down and picked up some pebbles. He made sure to stand away from the windows facing the backyard and positioned himself closer to Ani's window. "Please be awake," Fern mumbled. He reeled his hand back and threw a pebble at the window.

It hit and made a small chinking noise then fell back down. Fern waited ten seconds before throwing another one. He didn't want to risk whispering, and he doubted Ani would be able to hear his whispering through glass anyway. He sighed and threw several more, all to no reply. He was beginning to get anxious about the time if his parents or even Rodo got back before he had time to drive away he'd be busted.

He closed his eyes and threw the last pebble in his hand, he opened it just as it hit Ani's face. It bounced off and fell somewhere in his room. Ani swore and held the middle of his forehead. Fern's eyes widened and he put a hand over his mouth cringing.

"Sorry!" He whispered loudly waving his arm. He heard Ani sigh, he took his hand away from his forehead and looked down at Fern. He couldn't see his exact expression, and the lack of light in Ani's room made it harder. The light the moonlight provided enough illumination to see Ani's face.

"What do you want?" He whispered, his voice sounded void of almost all emotion. Fern hoped that was just from whispering.

"Come down please!" Fern whisper yelled back. Ani seemed to be frozen in the window for a bit. After a moment he stepped back and closed the window. Fern felt his chest constrict a bit. He didn't know how else to get up to him, if he went through the front door there would be no way they'd be able to get away.

Fern sighed and sat down in the grass, defeated. He brought his knees up and rested his head on them. He had to start to either think of a way to risk getting Ani, make a mad dash back, or figure out an excuse why he had decided to pack up half of the house into Rodo's car.

There was a sound of grass shifting and coming closer to him. Fern felt his hairs stand on end. This could be any number of adults, this could even be Dakota. He highly doubted he was smart enough to think of a valid lie on the spot.

The walking stopped, Fern took a moment then looked up. His breath caught as he stared at Ani. It was much easier to see him this close, it made his heartache. He was right in front of Fern, yet Fern felt farther from him than before.

Ani was in shorts, a tank top, and his hair was extremely messy, it was easy to see the dark circles under his eyes, and redness in his eyes. He looked so tired and sad that it hurt, Fern almost reached up to him.

"Ani..." He whispered.

"What do you want Fern?" There was an indifference in his voice that Fern didn't think he'd ever be used to.

"I...I'm actually here for something really important but I want to say I'm so sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry in general."

Ani shrugged and looked away from him. He slowly sat down in front of him, unbothered by the light breeze blowing. "Sorry for what? You said what you said, and you meant it. That's that. I kind of have a lot on my mind at the moment, so thank you for acknowledging one of my biggest insecurities can be session 106 of therapy."

"But that's the thing I didn't mean it." He whispered it took a lot to keep his voice down. He had been imagining what to say to Ani for days. None of those words were coming to him. "I didn't mean it at all. I was jealous, nervous, tipsy, and stupid. I was so stupid I can't believe I'd say something like that to someone I care about so much."

"It doesn't matter. People don't just say things, even liars have to root their lies in some sort of truth. But none of that matters, I'm kind of dealing with other shit."

"I know losing...him must be ha-"

"Hard? You have no fucking idea Fern. It's gotten so bad in this fucking house that my psychiatrist restarted our sessions. Can you believe that? Yesterday we started back at day 0, she said I regressed. Me? Regressed? I feel like she hasn't listened to a word I said, in all the damn months I've been talking to this bitch. And in all the months I've been talking to you I feel like you haven't listened to a word I've said. I feel like no one in this entire damn world, left alive, has ever listened to a single damn word I say and it makes me want to pull out my hair. But I can't even say that shit to her. As soon I say a single self-destructive thing when I'm going through some of the worst times of my life, they fucking lock all the medicine in this house in a safe." Ani stared hard at Fern then looked down again, his outburst subsiding.

"A safe?" Fern's eyebrows came together.

"Yes, in a fucking safe. Because when I off myself, I'm going to go out using antidepressants." Ani covered his face, took two shallow breaths and looked at Fern again. The emotion that had grown in his voice seemed to dissipate, his shoulders sagged again. "What else do you need?"

"I just...you said before that your grandfather was going to take you to that place in New Mexico."

Fern watched as Ani's eyes became watery. Ani sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. "You mean Acoma Pueblo?" He whispered.

"Yeah, and I know you made that garment to wear. So you could dance at sunrise."

"You remember that when I told you that?"

Fern nodded, he didn't dare to move closer to him but he put his hands flat on the grass. "If your grandfather can't take you, I think you should go anyway."

Ani scoffed sniffling and looking bitterly at the ground. "Yeah like my fathers going to take me. The assholes walking around like nothing happened, like his father, didn't just die. Like my Edudu didn't-" Ani's voice caught and he sounded like he was going to break down.

Fern could feel Ani's grief and it was crushing him. He just wanted to hold him, but from what he said it was clear Ani didn't trust any of Fern's intentions. "I want to take you. I have all the stuff ready, I even have a truck. We can go to New Mexico if you want." Fern whispered.

Ani looked at him with misty-eyed confusion. "You came here to ask me to go to New Mexico with you?"

Fern nodded quickly. "I have it all planned we have food, money, extra batteries. All you need to do is get dressed, pack some clothes, toiletries and we can be gone right now."

"But why?" Anakin wrapped his arms around himself.

"What do you mean?" Fern frowned.

"Why," Anakin stressed the 'y'. "Why would you go through all this fucking trouble. Why do you even care?"

Fern sighed and scooted closer to him. "Just because I'm an idiot and said some dumb shit, doesn't mean that I don't care about you."

Ani looked at him for a moment then looked back down. "You are an idiot." He whispered.

"An idiot who cares a shit ton about you, and can't hold alcohol. So will you do something even dumber and go to New Mexico with me?" He said with soft determination. He extended his hand towards Ani for dramatic purposes and watched him.

Ani bit his lip, loose strands of his hair were falling in his face as the wind blew harder. "I'll go." He pointed to Fern's hand. "But I don't forgive you, and you're still an asshole. I just don't want to pass up an opportunity to honor Edudu." Ani's voice quieted as he spoke.

Fern nodded and he took his hand back. He could work with that, at least Ani had agreed at all. "I understand and don't worry about forgiving me. I really don't deserve it. But hurry, if my parents get home before we're on the highway it'll make things harder."

Ani nodded and went to his knees. "Wait out here, Dakota is the only one home. Actually...you could probably come inside if you wanted."

Fern began to shake his head, then remembered this was too much like him denying Ani the first time. He wasn't sure if there would be a next time if he didn't accept Ani's potentially last offer to come inside. "Sure, let's just be quick."

Ani nodded and stood, Fern stood up after him and followed him cautiously inside the house. Ani made his steps light and peeked around every corner before venturing into new rooms.

They made it to the stairs, Ani froze at the first step. Fern tensed and stood on the other side of him, closest to the kitchen and to an escape.

"Do you hear something?" Fern whispered Ani nodded slowly. A frown spread across his face and he rolled his eyes.

"She's blaring her damn speakers again. It's like no one else fucking lives here." Ani gripped the rails of the staircase tighter and began walking up. "You can speak, she won't hear you with all the fucking ear loss she's going to suffer from."

For emphasis, each step Ani took was a stomp getting louder, and harder each time. When he reached the top step he stamped his foot several times on the ground, his chest heaving.

Fern didn't understand his anger towards the music, but he put his hands on Ani's shoulders. He waited there silently until Ani's breathing slowed again. Ani looked up at him with teary eyes and said nothing. He moved away from Fern and went to his room.

Fern followed after him but waited at the doorway when Ani walked in. He looked from left to right down the hall checking for people. He finally looked inside the room, the state of it only worrying him more.

At some point between the last time he had been to Ani's room and homecoming, the wall color had changed. It was now a light pink and the items around Ani's room where switched now. It was hard to tell what exactly the theme was supposed to be when there were so many things strewn around the room.

Ani's bed looked more like a cocoon, or a nest. There were layers of comforters and pillows, lazily yet purposely placed in certain areas. He watched Ani grab a backpack and go to his dresser throwing clothes inside. He didn't speak, and neither did Ani. When Ani finished packing clothes, he moved to the top of the dresser adding smaller things, body wash. He grabbed a skull head satchel and opened it up taking out a few wads of money. Ani stuffed it into the front pocket of his backpack then went to his closet. He opened it up and took out a black bag with a few feathers sticking out. He closed the closet door and looked at Fern.

"I'm almost finished." He grabbed clothes resting on top of the dresser and headed to the bathroom. The door closed hard behind him. Fern let out a small sigh and leaned against Ani's doorway. As he began to consider everything wrong with his plan the thought of informing his friends dawned on him.

Fern took out his phone and opened up the 'men with mustaches' group chat that he, Quinn, Dillian, and Ani had created. He checked the last messages, almost smiling. Quinn had been explaining that they should change the name of the chat because Dillian was the only one with any facial hair. Dillian had firmly disagreed and for several messages, the name was changed back and forth.

<Me: Hey guys I just wanted 2 say that Ani and I won't be in school for the next few days>

Dillian and Quinn's icons popped up within the minute.

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Why???? Did you secretly get him pregnant or something?>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Why would Ani being pregnant stop him from coming to school?>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: UH idk bc he's a dude who's PREGNANT>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Actually that's a pretty fair point>

<Me: I can't tell you where we're going>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Why????>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Why?>

<Me: I can't make you an accomplice if you know where we went then if adults interrogate you it'll make lying harder>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Then why did u tell us at all?>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Fern you're extremely dumb>

<Me: Idk I just figured you'd be mad if I didn't tell you guys that Ani and I went on a road trip>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Shut up now I know more about why you're gone!>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Road Trip?? You just got your license how did you get a car?>

<Me: Oh I just took Rodo's>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Do you mind shutting the hell up? Now we know even more!!>

<Me: Oh shit sorry I'll go now>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): WAIT>

<Me: What?>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Make sure you win Ani over? He's really vulnerable rn so u can't be a dick>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Be gentle, supportive, and don't push him into anything>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Don't openly check him out, angry people hate that shit>

<Me: I wasn't planning on it>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): U weren't but your dick might have>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Just think with that beautiful brain of yours, not your dick>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Lmao I thought you were going to call his dick beautiful>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Lol the only one with a beautiful dick here is you>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: My dick is blushing>

<Me: I don't like this conversation>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Well my dick says you're his least favorite>

<Me: I'm not talking to your dick>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Are you really going to disrespect Dillian's dick?>

<Me: Dillian's dick is not real>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): FERN>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: *inserted picture of a monkey covering his ears* my dick and I are heavily offended, we didn't both grow mustaches to be insulted like this>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): I swear they're going to read our texts messages for evidence and we're going to get thrown in a mental ward>

<Me: Delete the evidence>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Nah I rather not>

<Me: Why?>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Idk ask my dick>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): If you don't you're dickphobic do it Fern>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Do it>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Pussy>

The bathroom door cracked open and Ani stepped outside. He was now dressed in jeans and an oversized sweatshirt that made him seem smaller. Fern had a strong urge to go over and hug him, the fact that he couldn't made his chest hurt.

"Toiletries are packed away. I'm ready to go." His voice was dull again. It was reminded Fern of the times he'd talk about his experience with his sisters. But somehow much deader.

"Okay, are you sure you don't need to use the bathroom?"

"I just stepped out of a bathroom." Ani pointed behind him.

"Oh yeah, um let's go then."

<Me: We're leaving now since I can't text and drive, and I don't think Ani will text at all I'll send you update texts I guess>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Be safe, you've got this dude.>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Carson also said not to think with your dick>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Ew you guys are thinking the same>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Okay Fern don't think with your dick we love you, be safe, use protection, look both ways before you cross the street, travel in pairs, don't get pickpocketed if you get scared make sure to either call me or your mother, be safe!! <3 <3 <3 >

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Are you making fun of me?>

<Guy who touched my ass(Quinn): Bitch>

<The Asian Dill Pickle: Me????? nO???? NEVER>

<Me: lol bye guys>

Fern turned off his phone and pocketed it. "Can we go through the backdoor, just incase your parents suddenly walk in the same time we try to leave?"

Ani looked almost amused, the emotion quickly died and he shrugged. "I guess," He adjusted the strap on his bag and turned towards the stairs. Fern closed the door to Ani's room and followed him quietly down the stairs. The sound of Dakota's stereo getting quieter the further they got.

When they got outside Ani locked the back door and went to backyard door. Fern looked over Ani's shoulder curiously as he simply opened the door.

"Isn't there a lock on that?" Fern asked.

Ani held the door opened and looked back at him. "Your dad never put one in, we don't really need one." Fern almost smacked himself as he walked through the gate door.

"I fucking hurtled myself over the unlocked gate." Fern took lead, guiding Ani to the parked truck.

"Seriously? The gates taller than me."

"Well, I'm taller than you and it was still really fucking hard to get over. I had to scale the walls and pelvic thrusted myself over."

There was a small sound from Ani then silence for a bit. "You're dumb."

"So I've been told." Fern didn't turn back but he hoped Ani looked at least a little dead inside. He stopped next to Rodo's extremely conspicuous red truck and unlocked it. He walked around and opened the passenger seat for Ani.

"Thanks," He mumbled, he took his bag off and threw it into the backseat before climbing in. Fern looked at the ground instead of Ani's ass. When Ani was in, Fern closed the door and climbed into the driver's seat. He took a deep breath and started the car. With his hand on the stick, he looked to Anakin. "Are you ready?"

Ani inhaled shakily and exhaled steadier. "Yeah, well not really. But yeah."

Fern took that as a good enough, he put the car into the drive and pulled away from the sidewalk. He rolled the windows down halfway and pulled into the street. As he drove past Ani's house the amount of trouble he was accumulating sunk in. He had the strongest urge to stop the car.

"Thank you," Ani whispered, Fern turned but Anakin hadn't looked at him. Ani's eyes were directed towards the window, unmoving. Fern's hands steadied and he nodded.

"No problem," He said softly, he pressed the gas a little more and adjusted his mirror. He mumbled a tiny prayer in Spanish and continued on.