I was in the papers... again. Of course, I was made out to be a delinquent, and someone who physically and verbally attacked people. Why couldn't they leave me alone? I was already publicly outed, and now everyone had to know the Guptas were pressing charges?

I was so sick of everyone knowing my business.

"Is Mr. Gupta really gonna press charges?" Clay inquired as our group, with the exception of Arya, gathered around Kenji and Honoka's living room.

"Nah, Clay," I said. "Mr. Gupta just likes to threaten to press charges for fun."

"Where the fuck is Arya, though?" Alissa asked while looking around.

"That's what I'm wondering," Kenji said as he crossed his arms while sitting next to Honoka on the couch.

"Her father is trying to send you to jail, and her ass isn't here?" Alissa sent me a confused look.

My ass was confused, too.

Then again, I did put her in an awkward position. I was her friend, but this was her family. It must not have been easy maneuvering through this situation.

"Hey, if you're gonna go to jail, at least it's for beating the shit out of that ass-hat," Clay said with a proud nod.

"Damn straight." I rose up to pound his fist as we chuckled.

However, when I got resettled on the ground, that was when I noticed Kenji staring at me with a hard expression.

My grin vanished. "Is something wrong?"

He continued to stare at me until he shook his head with a humorless laugh. "You're an ass."

What?

He stood up and walked to his room, despite the rest of our protests.

"Kenji!" I stood up as he slammed his room door shut.

Alissa turned to me. "What's his problem?"

"The easier question is what isn't his problem," Honoka said, sending a jab at her brother.

"Kenji!" I shouted again as I jogged my way to his door. I didn't even knock because I just barged in to see him sitting on the bed as he stared ahead. "Baby, what's wrong?" I knelt beside him and grabbed his hand in mine. "Did I do something?"

Kenji chuckled. "Are you serious, right now? You could be going to jail. All because you wanted to be all big and bad and beat the shit out of Aarav. There's a thing called inhibition, Darian. You can't just do whatever your mind tells you to do."

I smiled. "That's no fun." He sent me look. "Sorry."

"You always do this," he said. "Resulting in violence and trash-talking. I'll never wanna go to the hood with you. You'll get both our asses killed."

"What the hell would we be doing in the hood in the first place?"

"That's not the point."

"What is the point?"

"You're a hot-head." Kenji stood up, and I did as well. "You're volatile. You act before you think. You were angry and wanted Aarav to hurt, so you made him hurt. You didn't even consider how that would affect you. Or Arya. Or even me." His scowl lessened. "I don't like when bad things happen to you. I didn't like it when that guy outed you, and I don't like the Guptas pressing charges against you."

"I don't like it either."

"But you keep letting things happen to you because you aren't thinking," Kenji said. "I always thought things were different with me and you. I always thought I could get through to you."

I took a step forward and rubbed his arms. "You do."

He shook his head. "No, I don't. The whole situation with Aarav proved that."

"Kenji..."

"I tried putting some sense into you," he said, "but you won't listen to me. I couldn't get through to you, and that's scary. What if something like this happens again, and I can't get through to you, Darian? You can't keep going about life as if it's all about you. Your actions impact your family and friends." He looked away. "What if we build a life together? I have to be able to trust that you won't fuck things up."

I smirked, and I made him look at me. "You're thinking about our life together?"

He groaned. "That's not the point, Darian."

"It is to me."

"You're trying to deter from the topic," Kenji said. "This is serious, and your actions have consequences. Arya's in a weird position where she either comes forward prematurely to save your ass, or she keeps silent and potentially deals with the guilt of letting you go through this. I'm here, scared shit-less, and your father has to get you out of another mess. I—"

"I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yes," I said. "I'm so sick and tired of people like Aarav taking advantage of other people and having nothing being done about it. Aarav needs to get his comeuppance."

"This isn't your fight!" Kenji yelled, and we became silent for a couple seconds. "Darian, I know you care about Arya and me and other people, but you're not the one going through what we go through. You're not the one being sexually abused. You're not the one dealing with mental illness. You're not the one living as a person of color. You may be empathetic, but it's not your reality. Stop making your voice so fucking loud, that it's stifling our voice. It isn't always about you!"

He breathed in slowly and released it out while I watched him. Wow. How long had he been waiting to say that? I wasn't upset. I was just taken aback by his outburst.

Kenji sighed as he rubbed his face. "Babe." He grabbed my hands. "I love you, okay? But beating up Aarav and trying to get Arya to talk isn't helping her. All of this you're doing isn't prompting her to speak up. It's only making her voice smaller. This is her reality. All you can do is support her, and try not to snag all the attention from her to you. Don't be the hero who must save her."

I let go of his hands. "I'm not trying to do that."

"I know," he said while cupping my cheek in his hand. "But you have to think, Darian. Think about other people and their situations, not just what you want to do at the moment."

"I just want everyone to be happy!" I said while raking my fingers through my hair. "Is that so much to ask? I want Arya to be content. I want you to be content. I want peace and joy. Why is that so hard to come by?"

Kenji sent me a sad smile. "You trying so hard to protect everyone and make them happy is only complicating things for you and us. Stop trying so hard. We don't need you to be some hero who makes us happy. We just need your support as we find our path to contentment. You're enough." He pulled me into his arms and embraced me. "You don't need to prove you're enough for us."

I wrapped my arms around him, too. I just wanted all of this to be over. I wanted Aarav to be punished, but I didn't want to deal with this trail. I wanted Arya to get the help she needed, and I wanted Kenji to never be depressed again. I wanted so many things, but I was tired of this back and forth. Kenji was right. This wasn't my fight, and it was time I stopped being so loud.

When we pulled away, Kenji and I focused on each other. "They're gonna think I'm a racist." Kenji tilted his head in confusion. "The white son of a Republican senator who beats up a man of color for what they perceive as no apparent reason. If it were me, I'll think I was a racist, too."

"Yeah," Kenji said, "but you're also white and your father is a powerful man. The odds are in your favor."

"Varun's also a powerful man."

"Don't worry about it too much." Kenji rested a hand on my back and led us out of the room. "You have something Aarav would never have." We stopped in the living room with the others watching us. "You have a strong support system." Kenji turned around to face me. "Even though what Aarav has been doing to Arya is beyond despicable, deep down, he's a really lonely, fucked-up boy. He seems to want people in his life, but he goes about it in all the wrong ways, which pushes them away. I don't even think he knows what love is. You fuck up plenty, but we're still here."

"Yeah, Darian." Clay moved over to wrap an arm around me. "You were a total bitch to me, but I'm still here."

"True," I said in agreement.

"It helps that you don't go around raping girls, so that's something," Alissa said while she and Honoka stood up to join us.

"Yeah, that should be one of everyone's goals in life," Honoka said with a nod.

Also true.

"Either way, we love you, goon." Kenji ruffled my hair while Clay nudged me with his elbow.

I smiled while smacking Kenji's hand away. "Okay, fine, but can we please choose a new nickname for me other than 'goon?' It sounds like a brainless ruffian."

"When you stop acting like a brainless ruffian, we'll stop calling you 'goon,'" Kenji said with a smirk while the others nodded.

"Fuck you guys," I said with a chuckle, and they joined in.

Our laughter stopped the instant Kenji and Honoka's front door barged open. Arya stayed at the entrance of the apartment while Alissa stepped forward with her arms crossed.

"About time you showed up," she scolded Arya who continued to stare ahead with a blank look. Alissa glanced back at the rest of us before refocusing on Arya. "You okay?"

Arya's gaze zeroed in on us, and she said, "Aarav's missing."

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* What do you guys think about Kenji talking to Darian? The group supporting him? The ending?

* I'm terrible. I know. This is also a short chapter, but it's a big step since I haven't written anything in so long. I'm so sorry guys! I'm so sorry that I'm writing this book during such a stressful and life-changing time of my life. First with my mental health crisis and now my identity crisis. I've pretty much lived my whole life as a person I'm not, and I'm currently becoming the person I was meant to be. I wish these things didn't impact my writing, but they do. Still, that's no excuse. I need to do better and find a way to write no matter what. Maybe a reward/punishment thing. I'll figure it out. I'm sorry again guys! 😣