Rion was eventually discharged from the hospital.

By that time, Noa was already in Japan.

Noa kept his promise. He called and emailed every day. Rion checked as much as he could. Sometimes they got on MSN and would chat for a few hours in the morning or evening. It was a little hard with the difference in time zones, but they made it work.

It kept Rion going. Every day was a little easier.

His dad didn’t work as often. He came home on time, and he put an end to overnights in the city. Rion and his dad spent more time together. They would watch TV and talk to each other. They cooked together and ate together in the dining room. Rion wasn’t quite used to it yet, but he liked it.

His dad didn’t want Rion to go back to school yet. He was worried about him and wanted him to take some time to sort things out. The school sent Rion a huge pile of homework that he worked on in the evenings.

Rion’s dad didn’t want to leave him alone either, but a solution came in the form of Danny and his family. Mr. Fox offered to watch him while his dad was at work. Rion agreed but insisted on helping Mr. Fox with his new business. It worked out for everyone.

And it gave Rion something to do. Hanging out with Danny and his family was good. He felt like Danny needed it too, because he was sweating about Monique. He couldn’t stop talking about her.

“She wants to go out. Like on dates,” Danny told him with a nervous laugh. “I have no idea what to do. I mean, honestly? I like her. A lot. But I’m scared of messing things up.”

Rion didn’t know anything about girls and his relationship with Monique… He didn’t hate her, but he didn’t consider her a friend, since she’d always hung around Sarina.

He didn’t have any advice for Danny. But he listened to him, offering what little he could.

Rion was still seeing Dr. Maes regularly. He was starting to feel a little better, not just because of their talks, but because he was listening to what she said and trying to put her advice into practice.

When something didn’t work for him, they’d try something new. When he was struggling, Dr. Maes would help him find out the reason behind it. It was hard, but he felt a small bud of hope starting to form. He wanted to think that maybe things could work out.

Other than his dad, Dr. Maes was probably the only person he trusted. He felt safe with her.

He still saw the others. Peter checked in on him and would hang out sometimes. Celeste would visit and she even knit him a toque and matching mitts. He’d only seen Jesse a couple times and their conversations were strained. But he knew Jesse meant well, and that was…something.

Sarina was the only one he hadn’t seen in a while. And he was fine with that.

On Saturday, his dad realized belatedly that he’d forgotten to pick up some things for supper. With Rion’s birthday happening the next day, and his dad being busy, Rion offered to head to the store. It wasn’t a long walk. Rion promised to be home in a few minutes.

The walk was snowy and cold. He found everything he needed at the store, but when he stepped outside, grocery bag in hand…

“Hey!”

Rion recognized that voice.

Eric.

Rion grimaced, turning around. Eric and Kyle were headed right for him. They were just as bundled up, Kyle almost disappearing into his scarf, but they’d spotted him. Eric was waving at him.

They were the last people Rion wanted to see.

“Rion!” Eric called out. “I thought that was you!”

He jogged over with Kyle. Rion would have run, if it weren’t for the snow. He was mostly healed, but some of his injuries still felt raw. He didn’t want to trip and fall, or…

“Where the fuck have you been?” Eric said once they reached him.

“Everyone said you were in the hospital,” Kyle said, pulling down his scarf. “Did you really get into a knife fight with Noa?”

“No,” Rion said. “Fuck off. Leave me alone. I need to get home.”

He tried to walk away but Eric grabbed him by the arm. It was the same one that had been cut by Noa. It prickled painfully when he tried to jerk free.

“Let go,” Rion said.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Eric said, giving him a shake. Rion hissed through his teeth. “You think you’re tough, attacking some poor mute kid?”

“I didn’t do anything to Noa!” Rion snapped, trying to pull free. “Fuck off!”

“That’s not what everyone’s saying,” Kyle said. “They're saying you pulled a knife on him and that he had to move away to get away from you.”

“What could have made you go after Noa?” Eric said, jerking Rion when he tried to pull away again. “Weren’t you two boyfriends as kids?”

“Best friends, asshole,” Rion snapped. “I don’t owe you an explanation. Let go.”

Eric sneered. “Oh, I get it… You came onto him, didn’t you. Bet you begged him to fuck you and freaked out like a little psycho when he was disgusted–”

Rion tried to elbow Eric, but with the padded winter coats, it didn’t do much. And then Eric was twisting his arm painfully, trying to force him to the ground. Rion tried to wrench himself free, biting back a pained whine. It wasn’t working–

“Hey, Eric!”

Rion looked up along with Eric, just in time to see Sarina lunging at them.

She punched Eric right in the face.

Eric and Rion both fell, Eric landing half on top of him. Rion tried to scramble away, kicking, and Eric shoved him, the pair of them floundering in the snow. But then Sarina was there, dragging Eric off Rion by the arm.

“Get away from him!” Sarina said.

“Sarina, what the fuck?!” Eric screeched, pushing himself to his feet.

He tried to shove her away. Sarina threw her whole weight against him, heaving him into a snowbank. He went down with a cry, thrashing when he sunk into a deep pile of snow. He kicked his legs wildly, trying to scramble back to his feet.

“What are you doing?!” Kyle said, freaking out from the sidelines. “Sarina, what the hell?!”

“Fuck you!” she snapped at him. “Get out of here, you fucking weasel!”

She raised gloved fists, like she was going to hit him. Kyle made an incoherent sound of panic, stumbling back, tripping over his own feet. He fell to his ass on the sidewalk.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Sarina?!” Eric snarled, getting to his feet. He was covered in snow, his toque half falling off. “You’ve been giving us the cold shoulder for ages and now you’re siding with this piece of shit?”

“Yeah, I am!” Sarina said. “You think I’m scared of you? I’ll kick your fucking ass!”

“Yeah, right! You’re a fucking girl!”

Eric lunged for her, grabbing at her. Sarina pushed back. And, for once, Rion was genuinely worried for her. Because she was smaller than Eric, and he–

Sarina kneed Eric in the groin. Hard. He went down instantly, wheezing in agony.

Sarina didn’t linger, she hurried over to Rion, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him up. She snatched up his grocery bag, pushing him forward.

“Come on! Let’s go!” she urged him. “Go! Go! Go!”

Rion ran with her. They probably didn’t need to since Eric and Kyle didn’t seem to be following them. They finally came to stop in front of his house, out of breath.

“There. Woo…” Sarina puffed out. “You good?”

“Why… Why did you do that?” Rion panted.

“Do what?”

“You helped me. You fought them.”

Sarina stood straighter. “Because it’s wrong. Because no one should be attacking you.”

“You used to,” Rion said, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

He still hadn’t forgiven her. In fact, this felt like it was some weird plan to stab him in the back. He didn’t trust her. He didn’t feel safe.

“I know. I’m a bitch,” she said. “And I don’t want to be like that anymore. I want to change.”

Rion grimaced. He doubted that.

“I know. I don’t expect you to believe me,” she said, noticing the look. “But I’m not going to sit around and watch you get beat up by those two morons. Especially since you were in the hospital not that long ago. I can’t believe they’d go after you like that!”

“You would have,” he said.

“Not anymore,” she said. But she didn’t deny it. “I fucked up. A lot. And I’m sorry, Rion.”

Well, that was a better apology than her last one. He didn’t care. He let it slide, because…

“Are people really saying that I attacked Noa?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Sarina said. “I’ve told them it’s bullshit but, you know, rumours are rumours.”

“Fuck.”

This was what he would have to look forward to when he finally came back to school. People were going to talk. They were going to make up all this bullshit about what happened.

And Noa was going to have to deal with it too, when he came back.

There was nothing Rion could do.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sarina said. “Who the fuck cares what anyone thinks? Like, anyone who knows you won’t believe that shit. And other people? Eric? Kyle? Fuck ‘em.”

“I don’t want it to be a problem for Noa,” Rion said.

“You’re not making problems for anyone. People are making problems for you,” she said. She held out his grocery bag. “You can’t stop them from talking. So, stop giving a shit.”

In a weird way, Sarina had a point. He took the bag.

“I guess… Thanks for helping out,” he said.

“Better get used to it,” Sarina said. “I’m ready to fight Eric and Kyle any time.”

“Are you sure? Eric is definitely stronger than you. If he hits you…”

“If he hits me, I’ll do like Peter said and call the cops on his sorry ass. Let that dumb fuck do some jail time. See if he thinks twice about it once he’s had a taste of some consequences.”

Rion smiled bitterly at the thought. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it. The whole situation was a mess.

Maybe Sarina was right. He didn’t know.

“Anyway, I’m freezing my ass off,” Sarina said. “You’re good, yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m good,” he said. “See you, Sarina.”

“Yeah…”

He turned and headed up the steps, reaching for the front door.

“Oh. Hey, Rion?”

He stopped and glanced back.

“What is it?”

“She’s not mad,” Sarina said.

Rion blinked. He stared at her, not understanding.

“What? What are you talking about?” he said.

“Amber,” Sarina said. “She’s not mad. She would never be mad. Doesn’t matter what you did… She’d know you did it for Noa. So, don’t beat yourself up, okay?”

Rion was caught completely off-guard. He could only stand there, feeling side swiped.

Sarina grinned and waved. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

And then she was gone, sprinting down the sidewalk.