"Why is this so weird?" He muttered under his breath, pencil scraping at the desk. He didn't even think about the fact that he was vandalizing it by drawing a small line back and forth across the surface. "What's weird is that you're going to get in trouble again. They don't give a lot of chances after you brutalize people." The kid beside him hissed in his direction.

Viktor blinked a few times, not having realized what he was doing. He placed his pencil down, then glanced around the room. Every once in a while, a goody-two-shoes here or there seemed to look at him, afraid or annoyed by his presence. It was like... these kids were waiting for him to slip up again.

Why? He'd been a great athlete, a good student, and a friendly guy overall for the past however-many-years he'd been at this school. One incident, and everyone looked at him differently, even knowing that something was wrong at home?

Heck, as vague as the school was, everyone had probably seen the news like Justin and knew that it was a dead family member he was dealing with. Then again, many people his age had dead family members, so they would just say he was overreacting. Their ancient grandparents with the peaceful in-their-sleep deaths weren't brutally murdered by a trusted family friend, though. It was still a very different situation. Did nobody understand that?

He clenched his jaw, scribbling down his answers on the paper as quickly as possible. When the next bell rang for class, all he felt was temporary relief from the build-up of emotions inside him. He sat in the back during this next class period, not wanting to grow sick from the toxicity of the judges that sat up front.

How was it anyone's place to judge him? Like none of them were screw-ups in one way or another? The only difference was that his moment of failure had happened out in the open. Far as he knew, three of these kids were secretly on drugs, one had probably stabbed someone over a chocolate bar, and another was an illegal graffiti artist in town square. So what did beating up a known bully really pin against him? Simple. Everyone had someone else to blame other than themselves, even if it was only for the time being.

He didn't even realize it was lunchtime until he sat at the table. Had he done his work in that class? He didn't remember. Whatever. "You okay, man?" The tone was strangely bitter, given the words. He glanced over his shoulder, heart sinking to the depths, then floating buoyantly to the top when Bean sat beside him. "Who is anymore?" He replied quietly, poking at his food. It didn't seem very appetizing.

Four bony fingers tapped against the table. "I'm sorry, Vik." They met eyes, just for a second, before they each looked away in their awkwardness. "I should've told you years ago when I started... developing the feelings. At least then you could've turned me away and we wouldn't have all the memories." The deer-like boy pursed his lips, the weight of his emotions pushing his shoulders toward the floor. He spoke clearly, unwaveringly, and there wasn't any sign other than his shoulders and the wrinkles in his face that he felt so broken up.

Now it was Viktor's turn to speak up. "Don't you think we could still be friends?" His hand circled in a loose gesture. That seemed to do it, actually. The awkward air began to clear, Bean's head whipped up, no longer hiding between his shoulders. His back straightened, and he started smiling. There was an immense relief in his eyes. "You bet. I'll move on some time or another. Just don't dis me if it takes a while, okay?" He twiddled his thumbs, pausing briefly. "But I'll totally support you and Evelyn once I get over myself. Cool?" He held up a fist, and Viktor bumped it. That settled it, then. What a relief. At least he still had his friend. It was nice to feel some normalcy after.... everything. The two hung out for the rest of the school day.

Then it was time for him to speak with his girlfriend about meeting up with Dr. Demise.