A tiny smile crosses Matt's face as he opened the door and ran into Marcy. His smile faded instantly when he noticed she was glaring at him with a deep scowl and an unbridled rage."M-Marcy!" Matt exclaimed with a nervous chuckle. "W-What are you doing standing there?"

"Hey Matt. Did you have fun in there?" Marcy asked crossing her arms and focusing on him directly. "It sure sounded like you did."

"W-What are you talking ab-bout" Matt questioned as he began to stutter.

"Don't bullshit me Mathew! I know you and Kevin just fucked in there!" She growled. "Kevin get your ass out here!"

Kevin's voice was cheery as he called out from inside the shower. "Hey Marcy, what's up?"

"Don't you hey Marcy me! Did you just fuck Matt while I was sleeping?" Marcy passed Matt at the doorway and glared at the bathroom shower curtain while Matt tensed up, turning beat red.

"No Marcy, I didn't fuck Matt." Kevin replied casually as the washer began to rumble in a loud swishing motion."I just showed him how to jerk off."

"Kevi...!" Matt whined, looking over towards the shower curtain. "I thought you said Marcy would be mad at me if we told her!"

"You let him touch you!" Marcy exclaimed, drawing Matt's attention to her. Taking a deep breath deep she tried to keep her voice even as her face began to darken. "Do you know how stupid that was? He could have aids! How could you be so reckless!"

"Marcy," Kevin called out from the bathroom, his casual demeanor fading. "You know that's not how aids works, and at your request I have taken tests to prove I don't have H.I.V. or aids."

"You might not even know you have aids Kevin! It can take years before you could start to show symptoms! Mathew how could you let him take advantage of you like that!" Marcy asked as Matt stood awkwardly in the doorway. His mind raced, but nothing came to mind.

Kevin's voice began to deepen, and the water shut off. "Marcy-"

"No, you don't get to just Marcy me. I'm so sick of you always eye fucking him and now actually molesting him! I don't know why I put up with you! I should have taken Mathew and-"

"Marcy..." Matt spoke up with astounding clarity. She fell silent as she looked over to him. "I asked him to, Kevi made sure to explain what was happening. He made sure to ask me a few times if that was what I really wanted. It was my fault." His calm demeanor fading away as took in a deep breath, his childlike presence returning. "Please stop being so mean to him!"

"Y-You wanted him to?" Marcy echoed his words in shock as her hands began to shake.

"Yes..." Matt nodded his head as he took a step towards the shower where Kevin was listening intently. "He and I have been friends for much longer than you, and he showed me something that I don't think you would have. I want you to be my best friend the same as Kevi, but not in the same way. I can't really describe it, but I just don't think I can be friends with you in the same way I can with Kevin..."

Marcy's eyes began to water as she looked at him with sadness. "So you've decided then..." She glares at the shower curtain angrily as her voice broke. "Well I hope your happy Kevin!" She took a deep breath and went over towards her bed grabbing her suitcase along the way.

"What are you doing Marcy?" Kevin demanded as he opened the shower curtain and stepped out. "Are you doing what I think you're doing?" The sound of cloth on skin smacked as he started towards the living room with a large fluffy brown towel wrapped around his midsection.

"I'm leaving." Marcy replied in a detached voice. I can tell when I'm no longer wanted." She walked over towards the closet and began pulling her shirts off their hangers and packing them into the black bag when she heard a sniffle behind her.

"Marcy..." Matt's choked out with a lump in his throat. "Are you really going to leave us because I like Kevin in a different way than you?"

"Yes Matt. I am..." Marcy answered with a haunting calmness as she turns around and opens the dresser beside her and begins lifting single pairs of socks and dropping them into the black back in her arms.

"But why?" Matt sniffed again using all of his will to keep himself from crying. Marcy ignored him and started throwing her clothing into her bag as fast as she could. "Is it because of me?" He took a step towards her, but Kevin intercepted him stopping any attempts from getting any closer to her.

"Don't," Kevin whispered, his voice a disgusted snarl. "You're only going to make it worse for yourself if you keep talking."

"But I don't want her to go! Kevi can't you stop her?" Matt whimpered as a bitter tear began to crawl down his cheek.

Kevin wrapped his arm around Matt and held him in a soft half hug in attempts to comfort him as best as he could. "I'm sorry Maddy, but I think she's made up her mind about this."

"Marcy..." Another tear broke free and began racing for the ground as Matt hardly managed to choke out another breath. "Please don't go..."

"You made your choice Matt. Now I'm going to make mine." Marcy responded packing up the remainder of her clothing. "I wasn't sure how I was going to tell you, but this seems like a good time. I'm leaving for law school. I got a full ride at Harvard. I was going to leave tomorrow, so I guess now works too."

Listening in silence, Matt began to whimper as she starts for the door with her things. Kevin spoke up his voice cold and bitter. "You're really going to just leave him like this? That's pretty fucking cold even for you."

"He has you to thank for that Kevin! I can't handle you anymore. You and your whore lifestyle. You dragged Matt into it, and now that he's chosen to be dirty with you, I have no reason to stay." She opens the door and walks through with her bag rolling behind her. "Goodbye Matt, Kevin... Fuck you." She slammed the door behind her making Matt cringe.

"Maddy," Kevin said, quickly looking down to him. Matt's mouth was open, shock silencing him as tears began to flow in full. His velvet blue eyes quivering as he wept in silence.

"M-Marcy..." Matt managed to say a few seconds later as his face scrunched up into one of grief.

Kneeling down beside him, Kevin wrapped his arms around Matt pulling him in tight. "I'm sorry you have to go this Maddy... Like that..." Matt sniffled, but said nothing. "I know this is hard to process, but think about it for a second. She is going to achieve her dream of to Harvard!" Matt still said nothing, so Kevin tried again. "She is going to be a lawyer Maddy... She's going to peruse her lifelong dream. At the esteemed Harvard no less!"

Still saying nothing, Matt shrugged himself out of Kevin's arms and walked over to his bed crawling into it. "Kevi... I need an emergency pill..."

"That's not going to change anything, you know that..." Kevin replied as Matt curled into a small ball. "You're just going to wake up tomorrow and remember she's gone... Are you sure you want it?"

"Yes." Was all Matt managed to say.

"Ok..." Kevin wandered off as Matt began to sob. He returned moments later with another forth of the pill he had snapped last time. Matt opened his mouth, but made no effort to move. Reaching down he put the pill into Matt's mouth. Matt swallowed it, shutting his mouth and closing his eyes. "May I lay here with you until you fall asleep?"

"Whatever..." Matt mumbled before turning away from Kevin and pulling the blanket tighter.

===

"Maddy... Maddy... You need to wake up... Class is starting soon." Kevin's voice echoed as a soft prodding began to pull Matt from the depths of his sleep.

"Go away..." Matt grumbled, swatting at Kevin's hand. "I just wanna sleep a little longer."

"Fine, make me be drastic!" Kevin exclaimed, before pulling the blanket off Matt surprising him, "Good morning! Class is in a half hour. I suggest you get up now." He explained as Matt's eyes shot open.

Matt lay there looking at Kevin with a weak smile until he sat up and saw Marcy's empty bed. His smile faded and his eyes started to quiver as he focused on it. "She's still gone isn't she." He mumbled as he felt sadness overwhelm him again. "I keep hoping that it was all just a bad dream and one day I'll wake up, and she'll be waiting beside you..." Kevin sat down beside him and put his arm on Matt's shoulder. "Why did she have to go?"

Letting out a soft sigh, Kevin squeezed his arm tighter around Matt. "It's because she had to follow her own path." Kevin answered before planting a kiss on his forehead. "Maddy just because she was your best friend doesn't mean she planned on being around forever. She had to go at some point. She just left earlier than you wanted her to..."

"But why though?" Matt mumbled as his heart began to ache once more. "She could have stayed here and did her school online!"

"Well Maddy now that's not really fair." Kevin replied as he tried to reason with him. "She has dreams and ambitions of her own. You want to be a photographer right? If you had the opportunity to go to a fancy college that was built just for you, and you got a full ride there would you want to stay here and do all your classes online?"

"Well... No, I guess not." Matt replied gloomily. "But she was so angry when she left. I didn't think she would just leave like that..."

Unwrapping himself from Matt's shoulder, Kevin stood back up extending his hand to Matt. "I know it seems like life is down in the dumps, but if it helps. I'm still here, and I don't plan on going anywhere!"

Matt smiled slightly and accepted his hand as he stood up pulling Kevin into a hug. His fingers laced around Kevin's lower back. "Please never leave me Kevi, ok?"

"Never Maddy..." Kevin replied comforting him as Matt's grip grew tighter.

Letting go suddenly, Matt's hands began to quiver as let them fall to his side. Taking a deep breath he spoke up in an anxious voice. "Hey Kevi... I've been keeping something from you for a long time and..." His nerves started to kick in and he falls silent as he feels his heart pounding. Taking another deep breath let it out slowly before he spoke again. "I-I want you to see something..." He looked up at Kevin making sure he was focused. "Just don't be m-mad after you see it..."

"Why would I be mad?" Kevin asked in a confused voice. He paused for a second as Matt began to pick at a piece of his shirt. "Is it something to do with why you always wear long clothing?"

"I-I don't like talking about it because it makes me feel sad..." Matt continued as his breath began to grow faint. Turning around he began to shake, almost too ashamed to continue as he took in another deep breath.

"It's ok Maddy..." Kevin spoke up, trying to put his mind at ease. "Whatever it is I promise, I'll still be here for you. No matter what happens..."

Letting out one more deep breath, Matt reached for his the base of his overextended shirt and delicately began to lift it up. Slowly and painfully it rose as if he were pulling off a bloody hangnail. Kevin let out a gasp as Matt's scars came into view. He continued to raise the shirt till his arms were at shoulder length, then the shirt came off entirely. Hundreds of them lashed across his back alone crisscrossing each other creating weird shapes and patterns in his damaged skin. "There's more..." He whimpered before he began to turn around.

As Matt turned Kevin let out another gasp. His chest was ribboned with burn marks and knife cuts. Kevin covered his mouth as Matt let out a little whimper. Kevin reached forward with one hand and Matt recoiled as he tried to touch one of the scars. "How could he do that to you?" Kevin whispered, his voice growing rough. "He's your fucking father how could he do that to you!"

"They go down too..." Matt whispered as quietly as he could. Kevin looked down at Matt's dark black jeans expecting more. "C-Can I not show you T-Those right now? I don't want to take off my pants..."

"Why not?" Kevin growled, his rage bubbling over, "What more could he have done to you?" Suddenly he froze as Matt began to shake, and his eyes began to quiver.

"I don't want to... Please don't ask me to..." Matt begged, tears starting to fill his eyes roll down his rounded cheeks. "Please don't..." Kevin didn't respond, instead he looked at Matt in shock. The marks all over his body were so deep. Reaching forward again, his fingers connected with one of the burn marks and Matt recoiled back putting his shirt back on quickly. Standing their tears streaming down his face he waited for Kevin to speak. Instead of speaking Kevin just looked at the scar's hidden behind the thin cotton shirt. The silence was deafening and a few seconds later He couldn't handle it anymore. "Say something Kevi. Anything, please...!" He choked out breaking the silence.

The silence took over once more and Kevin had locked eyes with Matt. All the years of friendship between them. All that time he had tried to keep it from them only to have it all break down in that moment. "Maddy..." Kevin uttered out. He looked back down at the shirt covering all of his pain, then quickly looked back up and saw the beautiful boy he had fallen in love with all those years ago. "Oh Maddy..." He exclaimed rushing forward and wrapped his arms around him once more. "I'm so sorry... I'm sorry you thought you had to keep this a secret from me." He squeezed him tightly as Matt broke down and sobbed against his shoulder.

Years of pretending that he wasn't in pain. Hiding it from his best friends and the world had built up inside him. Feeling Kevin's arms around him, his heart beating in sync with his own shattered the dam that he had built over the years. His pain and suffering flooding over him as he collapsed into Kevin's hug. His entire body shook as he cried. "Kevi..."

"Shhh..." Kevin squeezed tighter and kissed Matt's head. "It's ok Maddy... It's ok..." Kevin sank down with him, supporting the small man that had just shared his darkest secret. All he could do to comfort Matt was to keep his arms tightly around him. "Thank you for sharing this with me Maddy..."

"Kevi..." Matt echoed his name again and again through his sob's.

A sudden whisper in Matt's ear made him fall silent as Kevin whispered. "As long as you let me I will stay by your side and protect you. I love you Maddy. I always have, and I always will."

Matt sniffled, and looked up. He had just shared his most painful secret. His body was ruined, and Kevin loved him regardless. "I... Love you too." His whispered words made Kevin smile.

"Of course you do." Kevin replied with an awkward smile, ignoring his own emotions. Matt sniffled and look at him confused. "I'm a sexy son of a bitch how could you not?" Matt let out a little giggle and sniffled again. "Now let's get some breakfast in you before you leave for class hmm...?"

"I'd like that." Matt sniffled again and wiped his nose on his arm before he reached for Kevin's hand and squeezed it tight.

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Once more I finish a section. I hope y'all enjoyed it! I know I am going to rewrite these again in the near future, but I would love to think I am doing something better than I was before. XD I hope you are all enjoying the story, and I would really appreciate any feedback you have to offer! :)

-Asted!