I'll be including both POVs in this chapter, btw.
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•Sherwin's POV•

Band was excruciating the next day. Sherwin's director, Mr. Willoughby, had everyone marching outside in the near freezing temperatures. Clutching the heavy mallets, his eyes watered as he played the occasional note or two on his tiny, portable marimba. The cold straps dug into the sides of his neck in the most uncomfortable way possible.

Finally, after an hour, they went back inside to pack away their instruments. Sherwin exhaled in relief as the heated air conditioning washed over his numb face, and he walked over to the percussion closet, ready to dump the marimba and leave. As the exhausted ginger pushed it onto its designated shelf, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Yeah?" he said, turning around. Jay was standing there, still holding her french horn. She had a nervous expression, and her gaze kept flickering over her shoulder.

"Sherwin," she whispered, leaning in. "Did you see my note yesterday?" For a moment, Sherwin was dumbstruck, then he gasped in realization.

"That...that was you?" he asked, dropping his mallets. Jay quickly glanced behind her again as she shushed him. Sherwin lowered his voice. "But, what did you mean, usual route? You didn't explain what it meant."

The dark-haired girl hit her palm against her forehead. "It should have been obvious! I meant the route you took to get home. Did you and Jon walk together?" Jay's eyebrows scrunched in worry.

"Uh, yeah...?" Sherwin trailed off. "What's so wrong abou-"

"They were going to follow you!" Jay cut him off. "I don't know what the full plan was, but they wanted to prove something or whatever." Sherwin didn't like where this was headed.

"Okay, first off, what plan?" he questioned. "And secondly, who are you talking about?" Jay looked over her shoulder once more before answering in a low voice:

"I was in the girl's bathroom before school started, and I heard a couple of chicks talking about it. They must not have known I was there."

"And?"

"And, they said something about someone following you and Jon home and getting evidence." Sherwin's breath caught in his throat.

"I thought they already had evidence..." he muttered to himself. Jay raised an eyebrow.

"What...what do you mean?" she asked. "Is something going on?"

Sherwin nodded, then told her everything about the note he'd gotten earlier, and Jonathan getting jumped the previous Wednesday. Her jaw dropped farther with each sentence.

"Oh my god, Sherwin," she whispered. "You...you and Jon need to be really careful. I don't know who's doing this and what they plan to do, but...it sounds hella dangerous." The bell rung, and she dashed off with her french horn, leaving Sherwin to ponder everything she had said.

•••

•Jonathan's POV•

During science class, Sherwin filled Jonathan in on everything that had happened to him during band. Jon couldn't believe his ears when his friend informed him that somebody had been following them yesterday. "Dude, that's freaking stalker level," he said, rubbing his eyes. "What...what do we even do?"

"Maybe tell a teacher?" Sherwin replied, not looking confident in his suggestion at all.

"They wouldn't believe us," Jon sighed, continuing, "and also, we'd have to explain why someone would follow us in the first place." He looked at Sherwin, giving him a brief smile. The freckled boy's mouth curved upward slightly, but resembled a grimace more than anything else.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Pumpkin," Jonathan whispered, holding his hand beneath the table. He didn't want Sherwin to think that anyone could make him stop loving the shy, quirky ginger. I need to put an end to this whole mess, he thought. Poor Sherwin can't take it.

•••

•Still Jon's POV•

Before lunch, Hayden and Bryan intercepted the two of them on their way to the cafeteria. Ignoring Sherwin, Hayden went straight up to Jonathan. "We need to talk to you," he told him, nodding his head towards the courtyard exit.

Jon glanced at the pink-faced boy next to him. "Sherwin, too, right?" Bryan shook his head. "Um. Okay, I guess." Then, to Sherwin: "Go ahead and sit down, I'll meet you there in a bit." Sherwin nodded, glancing at the other two boys, then left him to go eat lunch.

Without a word, Hayden and Bryan led Jonathan out into the brick-walled courtyard. The thin trees shook with the cold, November wind, and Jon tried not to let his friends see him shiver as they walked to a far corner, away from any windows or doors.

"What do you guys want?" he finally asked, pulling his jacket close around him. Hayden sighed, looked at Bryan, then put a hand on Jonathan's shoulder.

"Look," he started. "You're a cool guy. You're my friend. I don't want any trouble, but I need..."

"Need what?"

"Bryan and I need you to stop hanging out with that orange-haired geek," Hayden said, and Jon yanked his shoulder away from his grip.

"Seriously??" he exclaimed angrily. "That's what this is about?" Bryan stepped forward, and he instinctively backed away, only to find the brick wall behind him.

"Dude, chill," Bryan told him. "We wanna be friends with you, but we can't if you're gonna keep talking to Sherwin. It'll make us look bad."

"Screw you!" Jonathan yelled, pushing him away. Then he took a deep breath. "I can be friends with whoever I want," he said in a calmer voice. "And, if you ask me, y'all shouldn't have a problem with gay people, given that you guys act pretty damn gay yourselves." Hayden frowned, glaring at him, but he noticed the blond distancing himself a bit more from Bryan.

"That's f***ing gross!" Hayden growled. "I didn't think you'd make such a low blow as that." Jonathan looked at Bryan, whose darker skin seemed a bit more red. He'd hit a soft spot.

"Whatever, just stay away from that fag," Bryan muttered. Hayden made a move as if to walk away, but Jon suddenly realized something, and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"You!" he shouted, eyes blazing. "You wrote that note! I should have known!" Hayden's face morphed from one of anger to confusion.

"What?" he questioned, looking at Bryan and back. "I don't know what you're talking about." Jonathan tightened his grip.

"Yeah, sure you don't. You even have the same first period as him, Hayden. Don't be a goddamn liar!"

"First period? You mean Sherwin?"

"Don't act stupid! Hand over whatever 'evidence' you've got, and I'll let you go," Jon threatened, pushing Hayden against the wall.

"D-dude," the blond stuttered, his eyes wide. "I swear, I didn't write any note! I literally have no clue what you're saying." Jonathan held his ex-friend for a moment, inspecting him. Hayden squirmed under his seething gaze. Then, he let him go. Bryan walked over to help him up, but Hayden pushed away his hand and stood on his own.

"Who did it, then, if you didn't?" Jon pressed, looking between the two of them skeptically.

"We don't know," Bryan said, avoiding eye contact with Hayden. "But, word's been going around, Jon. A lot of people are curious about you and that guy." Jonathan stood there, glaring at them, then huffed and stormed inside.

I don't have time for this nonsense, he said to himself, shoving his freezing hands into his pockets. When he got to the cafeteria, Sherwin was sitting alone at their usual spot.

"Hey," Jon greeted, sitting down as if nothing occurred. Then, Sherwin turned and looked at him with an absolutely mortified face. His eyes were watery and his cheeks blotchy.

"I have to go," Sherwin gasped, grabbing his stuff and quickly leaving the cafeteria. Jon stared after him.

What...what happened?

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