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Grayson was not in the best of humors following lunch. He hadn't liked Dani's brilliant plan for fixing Jude, and resented her a bit for even wanting to attempt it. Not because he didn't think she meant well, because he was sure she did, but because it was Jude and he had enough on his plate without well-meaning, meddlesome friends trying to heap more on him in the form of romantic entanglements. And yeah, there was part of him that was selfish and petty, part of him that didn't want anyone set up with Jude because he wanted him, but Grayson figured that part of himself was easily ignored.

Easily enough, anyway.

He slouched his way into his lit class, apple in one hand and notebook casually propped against his hip in the other. The first thing he noticed was that the usual teacher was absent, and this actually relieved him. Chances were, that meant they'd just work on their assignments and not get assigned anything new.

As he was on his way to his regular seat, he took a bit of his apple, glancing to the right out of habit. He saw Ignacio, which surprised him, and shouldn't have. After his friend had come to visit him at his house, he actually couldn't recall really seeing him or talking to him. He shifted direction, heading toward the desk, taking another bite of his apple.

Ignacio lifted his head and he was surprised to see how worn down he looked, how tired. Concern immediately filled Gray's face, and he let his own troubles slip to the back of his mind, taking the seat opposite Ignacio.

"Hey." He set his apple on the desk, leaned over. "Are you okay?"

He didn't look okay.

For all that his thoughts were plaguing him while he was awake and eerie dreams were haunting him while he attempted to sleep, at least Grayson looked mostly all right. He had smudges under his eyes, sure, and his skin seemed paler than usual. It probably had something to do with the lack of sleep, or maybe he wasn't eating as well as he might have. He'd picked at his tacos, had half of his milk, but he was feeling a little sick to his stomach from running on fumes for days in a row.

Still, he didn't look as bad as Ignacio. And that was enough for him.

Reaching over, he touched the top of the book, lightly moved his hand down to Ignacio's shoulder. "Hey."

Gently, he nudged him. "Are you not feeling well?"

Ignacio was rambling, and not in the way that he usually rambled. If Grayson had been concerned before, now he was fully worried, and he braced his hand against Ignacio's back as though to anchor him there. What was going on, he didn't know, but he could clearly see that something needed to be done. He brought his free hand up, tucked it under the book to feel his forehead. Not fevered, no, but that didn't mean he wasn't sick.

"Let's go to the nurse, Ignacio." He rose, forgetting that he'd just arrived in the classroom, and gently urged his friend to do the same.

There was really something wrong. That was as plain as day to Grayson, even if other things, arguably things just as obvious, had been slipping past his attention lately.

They'd win? Ignacio was having problems at home after all?

Thoroughly worried, Grayson crouched next to the desk, going on eye level with Ignacio. He looked like a wreck, and even if Grayson didn't know the full extent of it, didn't even know the beginning of it, the urge to care for him was strong.

"You do need to sleep." He reached up, brushed Ignacio's bangs out of his face to get a better look at him. It was hard when his gaze kept sliding around, but Grayson thought that was the most worrisome aspect of all.

There was really only one thing to be done. He had to get him to a bed and make sure he slept. His parents would know what to do, he knew, especially Dad. Dad always seemed to know what to do in situations like this.

"Come on, let's go to my house." It was the middle of the day. "It's not a very long walk from here."

Grayson had decided that the only thing he could do was keep trying until Ignacio agreed. If he had to, he would call the sub's attention to the boy's plight, get the school involved. He didn't want to, but sometimes there were things more important than personal comfort. He would much rather just get Ignacio to come home with him, but if it couldn't be managed, it couldn't be managed.

He would still try, though.

"You aren't making sense." True, even if Grayson thought Ignacio didn't make a great deal of sense on a normal day. Volleying between this and that, making definite statements and then retracting them. "We can make up the school work later."

And he was slipping his hands underneath Ignacio's arms, trying to get him to rise. "I'm worried. I want you to come with me." He ignored the comment about his hair. "Please."

Supporting Ignacio against himself, Grayson left his binder behind, forgotten in favor of getting his friend out of the classroom before he could change his mind. Class hadn't even started, so there was no disruption, though there were several odd looks, some not-so-hushed murmurs when he looped his arm around Ignacio's waist and dragged him closer. It was easier for him to direct him that way, to make certain he stayed mostly upright while they made their way out of the school, to the open streets. It was cold, but Grayson did his best to walk as fast as he could, half-dragging Ignacio at some points.

Thankfully, he really didn't live too far from Meadowview.

"We're almost there." There were so many things he wanted to ask, but he knew they'd have to wait. Ignacio needed to be all but dumped into a bed, and truth be told, Grayson wouldn't mind sleeping either. If he could manage it, anyway.

When he arrived on his front porch, Grayson wasn't sure exactly what to do with Ignacio. He couldn't just prop him up on the side of the house, but he couldn't exactly get the door open and stumble inside with him if he still had his arms full of his friend. He debated a moment before he turned to fully face him, bringing Ignacio's arms up around his shoulders. "Hang on."

By design or luck, he wasn't sure, Ignacio tightened his grip around Gray's shoulders. He dug in his pocket, manged to unlock the door without tipping over and sending them both sprawling. Getting up the stairs was going to be another matter entirely.

"We have to go upstairs." Ignacio had been in his house before, but he thought it best to remind him. "We'll take it slow."

Grayson had thought to help him up the stairs, but the moment he'd turned his back to toss his keys on the counter, Ignacio started up them. Gray glanced back in time to see him going up on all fours, crawling toward the second floor on unsteady hands. He worried that he might fall and started up after him, hands stretched out to catch him if he did, but Ignacio conquered the stairs.

Leaning against the wall, he held his own forehead a moment, smiling. "We did," and he sounded relieved for it. "Come on, let's get you in bed."

The closest was his own bedroom, so he slipped his arms around Ignacio again, hoisting him up. It was more awkward this time, as his arms were looped around the other's midsection, but he managed to shoulder the door open -- the lock never worked anyway -- and all but tumble into the bed.

Phew. There.

Gray began to roll off him, saying, "You can just sleep here."