Ten minutes later, Zen walked out of Julian's department, her heart sinking as she realized he wasn't there. She scanned the area, her eyes darting from one direction to another, desperately seeking any sign of Julian. She rushed to the road facing the basketball court, where she coincidentally reunited with Kai, Raine, and Sean. They were all panting, their faces showing the same defeat. None of them seemed to have succeeded in spotting Julian.

"He's not in his department. I looked everywhere," Zen said, her voice shaking.

Kai let out a heavy sigh. "Let's keep searching. We have to find him," he insisted.

Five minutes later, they reached the secluded area behind the basketball court. And the sight that met their eyes was insanely chilling. A group of students, led by a tall, menacing figure, had Julian cornered.

Zen felt a sudden rush of anger wash over her as she watched Julian huddled against the brick wall, surrounded by the gang of bullies. They loomed over him, their words and mocking laughter filling the air as they tried to trample him into the pavement.

The leader of the bullies inched closer to Julian, his words dripping with venom. "Look at you, Julian," he taunted, "You think you belong here? You're nothing but a weak, pathetic excuse for a man."

The gang of bullies chimed in, firing relentless insults at Julian and attacking his appearance. "Hey, Julian, you look more like a woman than a man! Are you sure you use the right restroom?"

Julian did his best to shield himself from their verbal onslaught, his voice quivering as he tried to hold back tears.

Standing alongside Kai, Sean, and Raine, Zen was overwhelmed by a surge of anger and frustration. She could see those same emotions mirrored in their eyes as they stood clenching their fists.

Kai took a deep breath and stepped forward, his posture exuding authority. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, his unwavering gaze acting as a protective shield around Julian.

The leader seemed to be taken aback by Kai's confidence as he tried to regain control of the situation. "Mind your own business, Kai," he spat, attempting to appear unfazed.

"It's everyone's business when someone's safety is at risk," Kai asserted firmly. "Now, step away."

With reluctant grumbles and muttered curses, the bullies began to scatter. Julian slowly rose from the ground, tears still staining his face. Zen's heart ached as she watched him. Julian seemed utterly defenseless in the face of such cruelty and it tore her apart. She felt a burning rage, not just at the bullies, but at the injustice of it all.

With a few quick strides, Sean reached Julian and wrapped his arms around him in a protective hug. All eyes turned towards Sean, stunned by his unexpected gesture. "I'm sorry," he said as he buried his face on Sean's shoulders.

"Hey, Sean, do you know him?" Raine inquired, his confusion deepening as he watched Sean embrace the guy named Julian.

Sean pulled back without a word, frustrating Raine even more. "Can someone fill me in? It feels like everyone else knows something I don't," Raine continued, his jaw tightening.

"You just saw what happened. We'll fill you in later," Sean responded cryptically.

Kai seemed to have sensed the tension as he stepped in, placing a reassuring hand on Raine's shoulder. "Let him calm down, and we'll have a discussion."

Zen stood like a mute spectator from the side trying to connect the dots, becoming increasingly suspicious of the relationship between Sean and Julian. Could it possibly be that the guy Julian kept talking about is...

"But why was he targeted in the first place?" Raine pressed as he pointed a finger at Julian, his irritation intensifying as he felt excluded from the group. "Maybe he had a reason to be-" Raine couldn't complete his sentence as Sean's fists connected with his face, causing him to stagger a few steps backwards.

"The fuck!" Raine shot a fierce glare at Sean, shock and anger tinging his words in response to the unexpected physical blow. He instinctively raised his fist to retaliate, but Kai swiftly stepped in, preventing their brawl from escalating further.

"Zen, take Raine away," Kai ordered, his voice firm and commanding.

Zen quickly grabbed Raine's arm. Her sudden unexpected intervention momentarily took him by surprise and they both exchanged glances with each other. Without a word, she pulled him away, her grip on his arm tightening as she guided him away from the tense confrontation.

~-~

Zen led Raine to a serene spot on campus, a metal bridge overlooking a tranquil, moonlit lake. The night had fallen, and the soft glow of lampposts lit their way. Zen observed that only the two of them occupied that spot as she neared the guard of the railing, her eyes fixed on the lake which mirrored the starry night sky. The trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and the symphony of crickets permeated the atmosphere. It was a quiet, tranquil place where Zen believed Raine could gather his thoughts and escape the chaos of the day.

"What the hell just happened back there, Zen? Why was Sean acting like that?" Raine broke the silence with the question that he felt was directed more at him than at Zen.

Zen hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "I'm not entirely sure, Raine. For now, let's give him some space to sort things out."

"You know something, don't you?" Raine eyed her with suspicion. "What connection does Sean have with Julian?" he inquired with a serious tone.

"I'm not entirely sure. They might just be friends," she responded, stepping away from the railing.

"What do you mean?"

"I genuinely don't know."

After some contemplation, Raine eventually arrived at a plausible realization. "Julian appears different. Could it be that he's...?"

Zen neither confirmed nor denied his suspicions. Raine, finally recognizing the context, nodded to himself with understanding. "Wonderful. It seems I'm surrounded by gays," he spat vehemently.

Zen couldn't believe what she was hearing from Raine. Her breath quickened as her anger flared with an intensity, unwilling to let Raine's insensitive comment slide. "I can't believe you'd say something so ignorant and offensive," she snapped.

Raine felt the tension escalating but didn't back down. "Zen, it was just an observation. I didn't mean any harm by it."

"Observation or not, it's important to watch your words. Julian deserves respect, just like anyone else," Zen fired back.

Raine sensed his frustration growing as well. "I'm tired of this overly sensitive culture. You can't say anything without someone getting offended."

"It's not about being overly sensitive. It's about being decent and considerate. Your words have consequences," Zen responded fiercely.

"Zen, let's not kid ourselves. Maybe Julian got bullied because he kind of deserved it. I mean, he dressed and acted in a way that practically invited bullying. His weakness probably made the bullies target him even more," Raine said, only to immediately regret his words. They came out sounding so so wrong, but in the heat of the moment, he blurted them out without thinking. And the instant he saw the devastated look on Zen's face, he was trapped in an overwhelming sense of guilt that would haunt him forever.

Zen was aware her anger had reached its peak, aghast at how Raine kept trying to defend his point. "Raine, you don't know the first thing about Julian. He's been through hell in his life, and it's not something he chose. He was mentally scarred by relentless bullying during his childhood. You can't judge him carelessly without understanding any of this."

Her voice quivered with emotion as she continued, "Julian's past is dark, and he's fought battles that most people can't even imagine. He's tried to take his own life because of the labels people put on him, and that's something nobody should ever be forced to go through."

Raine fell silent as the weight of the words sank in. He knew he needed to apologize, but found himself unable to speak as Zen's anger overwhelmed him. He also sensed that anything he said at that moment would only fuel her fury.

Raine couldn't help but watch in silence as Zen went completely beast mode on him.

"So Raine, I'd advise you to keep your prejudiced views to yourself and think twice before passing judgment on someone you know nothing about," Zen said firmly. "Why are you so homophobic?" she added, "Is it because you're secretly questioning your own sexual identity, and you're afraid of accepting gay men as friends because that emotional closeness could somehow change who you are attracted to?"

Zen's words hung heavily in the air, her questions hitting him like a sledgehammer. "That's ridiculous, Zen. I'm not questioning my own identity. I just don't understand why you're getting so sensitive about this stuff," Raine retorted, his face contorting into a defensive expression.

Zen held her ground, her eyes locking onto his. "It's not about sensitivity, Raine. It's about empathy and acceptance. If you're so secure in your own identity, then why does accepting others make you so uncomfortable?"

Raine felt a knot forming in his stomach. He knew Zen had struck a chord, but he wasn't ready to admit it. "You should probably take a breather and calm down first," Raine said, and still maintaining a somewhat dismissive tone, he continued, "Let's just call it a day and meet later when we're in a better state of mind."

Zen looked at him with an intensity that seemed to cut through the air. "I've had enough of you and your arrogant attitude, Raine," she declared, her voice trembling with hurt and anger. "I never want to see you again. If life had an undo button, I'd reset it all to a time before I ever met you."

Raine felt a crushing weight inside his chest upon hearing those words. It was as if a million glass shards shattered within his chest all at once.

With tears forming in her eyes, Zen continued, "I shouldn't have had any expectations from someone who couldn't even correctly recognize a person's gender, especially after spending so much time together."

The sight of Zen's eyes filled with simmering tears on the verge of spilling over caused an inexplicable ache in his heart that seemed to tighten its grip with each passing second. At that moment, Raine felt like an absolute monster for all those words he had uttered.

Raine desperately wanted to find a way to make things right, to say or do something, anything, to ease Zen's suffering. But when he opened his mouth, he found himself choked by a swirling tempest of emotions that threatened to drown him. And in that precise moment, a powerful realisation hit him like a thunderbolt: he had deep feelings for Zen, and these feelings had been silently strengthening over time; now they surged through him, holding him captive in his own mind.

"Raine, you need to understand something," Zen said with a trembling voice. "I was never a man, as you believed. I am a woman. I've been trying to make you understand, but it's clear that you can't see past your own prejudice. Goodbye, Raine."

With that, Zen turned away from Raine, impeccably timing her movement to hide the tears tracing down her cheeks, refusing to let him see the depth of her hurt. She then simply walked away.