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"Uh...bye guys..." Teddy looked at Lisa, and frowned. "Come on in, I have some spare clothes, you can wear one of my shirts if you want."

She turned as if she were about to spit out a retort, and then gave in, following him into the gym. Teddy headed to his bag, pulling out a T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts, which he tossed to her.

"So," she said, "You're dating Billy."

"Yeah. I am."

"I always thought you'd date Hartley."

"What? Why? I didn't even...."

"I dunno. I thought he might be interested at one point. He's way cooler than Billy."

Teddy frowned and shot her a look.

"Sorry, I just mean, Billy is a bigger nerd. Hartley isn't so...spazzy. He needs a boyfriend too."

"Why does he need one?" Teddy knew why, but what the hell could her logic be?

"Because, everyone needs a boyfriend. Duh. That's why I'm dating Powell."

"Uh..ok. Well...what if we hooked Hartley up with someone..."

"Like who? Achilles? Isn't he like, the only other gay dude in this school?"

"My roommate is pretty gay."

Lisa's eyes lit up. "Wallace? He'll like, do anyone, right?"

"I think he does have some standards, and I remember he really hit it off with Hartley at some point."

A smirk crossed Lisa's lips. "I'll see what I can do. Thanks Teddy! I'll bring you your clothes back later!"

"No problem Lisa," Teddy grinned and waved as she ran out of the gym. Now it was off to find Billy and Hartley and make sure they hadn't killed each other.

Teddy ran off across the campus, finally spotting the brilliant orange and green combination that was Hartley. He could almost seem him tensing up, and he sighed. What had Billy said? He jogged up behind Hartley, gently pinching his cheek before moving to Billy's side. "Hey guys...what's up?"

Billy winced. he knew whatever happened yesterday was bad, but he didn't know it was quite on that level. Billy focused and the disc slowly started to lower, and Billy felt comfortable enough to open up and be honest with Hartley.

"I wasn't looking for an apology Hartley. Actually I... I wanted to, well, I wanted to apologize to you, I guess. I thought Karen was flirting with Teddy and that's why I was yelling at her, and then when you pushed me aside, I just bailed. If it makes you feel any better, I got in trouble with Mister Hellstrom for my part."

The disc lands down and evaporates from beneath the boy's feet.

"Trust me, I know what it's like being a target by those damn jocks and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. They made my life a living hell, and I never meant for them to start targeting you! I mean if I could take it back, I would! I'm sorry Hartley."

Hartley opened his mouth and shut it again. He did that a couple times...he literally had no answer to that. He hadn't expected those words to come out of Billy's mouth and it completely threw his state of mind into chaos.

Teddy came up and touched him on the cheek or...something...and Hartley couldn't think.

This had to be some sort of trick, or trap, or an elaborate scheme to get Hartley to trust him. Or maybe it was some sort of magic spell. The paranoia Hartley always had about what people thought about him ramped up high. It was like it was taking over.

"You're....sorry? YOU'RE SORRY? SORRY!"

Hartley started laughing. He had no idea why.

"S-sorry! Haha...ha ha ha hahaaa! It doesn't change anything! Why do people keep thinking I'll change?!"

Hartley couldn't stop laughing. He was laughing so hard that tears were in his eyes. He remembered the doctor's note in his hand. He looked down at it, crumpled in his fist....and before he knew it, he was reeling back....and he punched Billy!

It was a terrible punch, barely a glancing blow that hit more shoulder than face. Maybe stung his ear a little bit. Hartley dropped the note on the ground, still in hysterics and took a few steps back.

Then, he turned and ran.

"Ow!"

Billy grabbed his ear and looked wide-eyed at Hartley and his moment of... well it looked like he had completely lost it right before he took off. Billy turned to Teddy and pointed a finger of accusation.

"He ... he HIT me! I apologized to the little scum and he HIT me!"

Wait...what had just happened? Had...had Hartley seriously? Teddy swallowed hard, he could feel it though, coursing up inside of him like bitter bile. Before he knew it, he was taking off after Hartley. All those hours spent in the gym weren't going to fail him now. Hartley could run as fast as he liked, but Teddy would certainly catch him.

When he was close enough, he reached out and grabbed his arm, turning him around and shaking him once, hard. "What the ******** are you doing?"

He shook him once more, then pulled him in close, his voice a low growl in his ear. "I'm not going to hit you. I'm far too pissed to do that. Billy offered you an apology, and I don't think that he deserved that at all. I have been nothing but kind to you, so I was hoping you'd maybe throw me a freaking bone and be nice to my boyfriend for a few seconds.

"I know you are lonely, and I know you want friends. I still want to be your friend, but if you keep this s**t up, I won't be able to be Hartley. Now, I have to go before I do something I severely regret." With that, he pushed Hartley away, walking from him as quickly as he could. When he returned to Billy he quickly checked for any signs of a serious injury. He looked ok.

"Babe? You all right?" He pulled him in close, holding him tight. "I'm sorry Billy. I'm so sorry."

Getting out of the medical center was no trouble. Neither was getting his gear without being seen or noticed on or off campus. The trouble was finding a place to start...but once eavesdropping on a number of conversations, The Terror found himself well out of town, bounding and rushing between and atop of trees, until he was peering from the shadows of the forest, down at the smoking wreck of what had been a mansion.

He scowled, as something was not right. There was yellow police tape, but the look of the car parked near the wreck was not at all a police vehicle. Dropping down with a crunch, The Terror raced to the wreck, the thick biker boots crunching from loose gravel to the damaged wood. Recalling his surroundings from his brief conscious period, it had to have been a basement, and before he knew it, the closer he got, he began to hear voices, and the sounds of a scuffle taking place. Someone was in trouble...

The Terror thought of Dani, and nothing but red filled his vision.

The door flew off its hinges, shattering to pieces after it sailed across the room, with the Terror standing in the now ruined doorway...looking very ready to kick some a**...

"I dunno, I shook him around pretty bad. I'm surprised I didn't punch his face in." Teddy sighed and settled down next to Billy, then lay down and put his head in Billy's lap. "I'm just pissed that he did that to you."

Cassie seeing who the goon was pointing at grabs her lasso and lassos the masked figure just as Ian points his sword at him.

"You're not going anywhere.."