Early morning lights spread into the school's cafeteria from the windows, glaring at the mass of students congregating on the few sets of school tables. There were only five tables but they were long enough to barely reach each wall of the room. The windows took up most of the wall and the entrance doors were right in the center of them. Their centers were made of glass themselves, as if trying to disguise as windows with handles.

I was sitting beside Bronson, who was in his sleep state. He looked adorable with the fuzzy muted yellow fur and a moth's visage that had large, circular eyes that looked like a set of flat transparent chips colored brown. Everyone in the school debated whether he's cute or hideous and people often switch between the two like crazy. To me, he's the cutest little thing. His fur bursts from the openings in his black t-shirt and blue jeans. There's nothing covering his head where two antennas on his head that looked like thin wheat plants. It's a mystery why nobody seems to ask him out. Even if he's scrawny, that doesn't mean he isn't attractive. Despite me dating a muscular guy, he still looks wonderful.

Spencer wasn't here yet. I'm not sure if he comes in the mornings. I have yet to see him eat breakfast. Maybe he comes right when school starts! If so, then I'll wait until he comes.

Bronson glanced at me, causing my eyes to dart to his. "So... is what everyone saying true?" He asked.

"What's everyone saying?" I sighed.

"That you and the new kid𑁋"

"No!" I squeaked.

"You two aren't friends?" Bronson whined. "Aw, I thought you got a popular friend𑁋"

"W-w-well, I guess we are friends," I chuckled.

"Oh, that's good!" He chirped. "It's always good to get new friends and expand your standards!"

"My standards?" I giggled. "I guess..."

"Are you going to get into your sleep state more?" Bronson queried. "It's really cool𑁋"

"I-If I'm tired..."

"Are you?"

I shrugged. "Maybe if Biology is boring," I quietly laughed.

"Biology isn't boring!" Bronson pouted. "It's fun!"

"Maybe if you took the class already, you would understand..." I rolled my eyes, softening my giggling with a hand. With that hand, I had to lift a wad of black hair from my sight.

A tray of food plopped beside my empty tray on the table, causing my eyes to dart to who was there: Spencer, in his sleep state.

"Hey," He smiled, seating himself beside me. I noticed his arm reaching out and I shook my head. "It's a secret," I sighed.

"Oh right," Spencer murmured. "I wish it wasn't𑁋"

"Everybody would go crazy," I argued.

"Would they?" He blinked.

"They would𑁋"

"Are you two dating?" Bronson gasped.

"No!" I quickly snapped to him.

"Aren't we?" Spencer crossed his arms.

"You two are?!" Bronson beamed.

"Spencer, didn't I𑁋"

Bronson silenced me with a powerful embrace, nearly knocking me into Spencer but he also caught me... in another hug. I sighed, "This was meant to not be public."

"It wasn't?" Bronson blinked. "Well, it's too late! Private relationships are boring!"

"Bronson, please," I groaned. "You're too loud! Plus, you both are making a scene!"

"We are?" Spencer blinked.

I'm a male human, who's known to be gay, being hugged from both sides by two males of varying body types in bright and colorful sleep states with one of them loudly congradulating us on our relationship that we were attempting to keep private. This was obviously a scene. Everyone was staring. I could tell. I may have only two eyes right now but I'm both not stupid and can see just fine with these eyes. Everybody around us was looking right at us. It was only now that Bronson and Spencer realized the people watching us, happily hugging this one person who anticipated it all, a continuation of a cycle of suffering that would never end.

Tam raised from her seat with a naked face and a lack of revealing clothing, taller than all of the others now. She must've told everyone. Of course she would. She's evil. Evil people are Veronica's friend, whether old or new. The same applies to leeches. She's a leech. Therefore, she's evil in two different ways. I can't believe I was once acquainted with her or that I even knew her at all. She lost all respect for me, as for all of the girls attending this school. There was no way to return that respect yet she thinks that she can assist a scene to hurt me and drive me apart from my everything to crown her prince.

Now Tam stood in front of me and the two most important people in my life, my best friend and my newfound boyfriend. Everyone's staring. It feels like everyone's staring. It's likely that they're staring. Who wouldn't stare? It's that gay kid's new boyfriend being the new popular kid. Of course everyone would watch. Then everyone will do anything to take away my everything because they're selfish. All straight people are selfish.

She parted her lips, glancing to Bronson and Spencer as they both sat up. Softly, she spoke, "I wanted to apologize..."

"Apologize for what?" I frowned. "Apologizing for what you're about to do? Are you going to take him away? Will you hunt him down and cut all ties with𑁋"

"Thomas, Edward already has another boyfriend," Tam sighed.

"You don't have to feed me lies𑁋"

"I'm not a liar," Tam mumbled.

"Didn't you lie to me?" Spencer butted in.

"Nobody's interested in me," Tam glanced at him. "Plus, I was dared to do all of that. A part of me did want you to say𑁋"

"So you are selfish," I remarked.

"I'm not..." Tam growled. "This is not the point. I just... look. Veronica isn't here anymore and she won't harm anyone else."

"You mean Edward and me?"

"Anyone here."

"Are you saying she hurt you?"

"If anything, she was selfish." Tam seated herself by me, which made me immediately scoot away from her. "She won't stop messaging me or Kai or some of the other people here about her life. I completely understand my mistake in ever being her friend and doing the stupid things she asks and her love life of being broken up with rich boys and trying to find new ones. I wanted to apologize for my stupidity and for, uh... kissing your boyfriend. Both of those things."

I gave her the meanest look I could muster but all she could respond with was a forced laugh. "You don't really mean that, do you?" It was hard to convince someone who's been through enough trash for years.

"We shouldn't have excommunicated you or ignored you," Tam added.

"Was all of that Veronica's plan or something?"

"No, we just... believed her." Tam murmured, her tone growing more and more depressed over time. "Look, please believe that I'm sorry. Kai's sorry. Everyone's... sorry."

"Nobody's sorry," I muttered.

"I literally vented to hundreds of people in a massive group chat yesterday," Tam whimpered. "Pretty much... everyone knows."

I sniffed, glancing back at her slowly contorting expression. Though I expected it to be blank and disappointed in my selective pessimism, she instead looked miserable. There was no desperation that I could read from her visage nor any sort of annoyance that I wasn't listening to lies but that was because they were truths. Her face screamed truths, including her lack of makeup and choice of clothing. I tried not to reveal that I was catching on but my voice was seasoned with subtle sobs, "Are you trying to persuade me by looking all plain?"

"I'm tired of dressing like her everyday," Tam laughed. "I-I want to dress l-like me..."

I blinked in surprise. It was how she normally dressed before she talked to Veronica. "Do you look up to Veronica?"

"I did..." Tam looked away from me pathetically. "The crushes I had would've probably liked me more if they weren't the ones I wasn't told to ask out."

I sighed at the words. My eyes glanced up at hers. "So are we friends again?"

Tam awkwardly giggled before responding, "I hope so."

She returned to her seat, a wave of students averting their gaze and continuing their normal lives. Spencer wrapped an arm around my shoulder, holding me to his own. "Well, now we don't have to be private," He smiled at me.

I really liked looking at his smile. He appeared so happy around me.

I really wanted to run as far away as I could from him. I darted out of the cafeteria seats, leaving behind everything. There had to be some place I could go to. The closest area I could see was the restroom door and immediately, I was inside.

My body tumbled into the bathroom stall and I shut the door behind me, clumsily locking the stall's door before falling onto the floor, breaths heavy. For a moment, it was quiet within the stall walls. I was able to think.

Tam was my friend. She once was my friend. It was before Veronica moved in. I believe she wanted to be a writer but all of those dreams vanished without any warning. She randomly warped into a monster, much like Veronica, that had no sympathy or feelings. Just another monster who was selfish and lived life in ways that would solely benefit her. To me, none of them were redeemable. None of them had empathy and none of them would ever apologize. Despite that, she apologized and she seemed to mean it. I never felt like they meant it before. Absolutely none of them. There was usually a choir of laughter after the apology or a snarky, painful reply right after but there was nothing. I didn't know what to think. That feeling amplified as the restroom door burst open.

It was obviously Spencer. His blue fur is a dead giveaway. He paused as the door behind him closed before he stepped toward the stall. Spencer kneeled down and peered under the door to see me, which he did. Nothing was uttered from his mouth as he reached to touch me. I wasn't paying attention where he was but I denied it regardless. I was not in the mood for comfort. "Buddy, you're crying," Spencer whined.

"I'm not crying," After saying that, I realized that I was indeed crying. Tears feel automated sometimes.

"You are," Spencer laughed, crawling under the stall door.

"You aren't supposed to do that𑁋"

"I don't care," He sat up, seated beside me. "Are you okay? Aren't you happy?

"I don't get what's happening..."

"How come?"

"Well, I... people don't usually... change, right?"

"People change all the time𑁋"

"Nobody here changes."

"Well, she certainly did. I don't know why but she... did."

"Yeah but I thought she... that she wouldn't ever change," I sniffed. "Or an entire school. Or𑁋"

"Nobody's ever gonna stay the same𑁋"

"Nobody here has ever..." I sighed. "I just... none of the people here have been kind to me for a year and the rest of the time of me being here, everyone else ignored and disliked me. There was not a single person other than the people who accepted me that seemed to even approve of me and then the people who did care about me just all stopped caring. They all just became everyone else..."

"What about Bronson?" Spencer asked.

"He's... he's unlike everyone else," I mumbled. "But he still is kind of... selfish."

"No, he's not."

"Yes, he is. He acts selfishly all the time."

"He just wants to make you happy, right?" Spencer smiled. "All he seems to be selfish about is your sleep state."

"W-well, everyone..." I looked away. "They have to be lying, right? There's no way that they can be honest about all of it, right? He has to be... she has to be... none of them..."

"Buddy, you have to believe in them," He embraced me, holding my body close to his. "You can't be skeptical of everyone."

"B-but... but..." I was crying more now. The tears were blatant. It was obvious that I filled the room with tears now. They were each individually filled with an emotion I've yet to overcome, confusion and betrayal. Their kindness has betrayed every single conception of both their past selves and current selves. Bronson can't be selfless. He always wants me to do things for him, right? I know he's kind of stupid on the inside but that doesn't mean he isn't selfish. Still, he's the nicest friend I've ever had. Why do I feel this way? Why did Tam do anything wrong in the first place? She lied to me, betrayed me, and now she has to be betraying me again with what appears to be honest. That's right, it only seems honest. It can never be true. It can't be true. "It can't be true..." My thoughts emerged as words.

"Isn't it true?" Spencer blinked.

"Have you ever had anyone lie to you before?" I whined.

"Yeah but I can tell when people aren't lying," Spencer patted my back, breaking the tears into pieces. "You have to trust them, even if it takes awhile to do so. If they're lying, then you can tell by tomorrow or next week. Let's just... enjoy life, okay?"

"E-enjoy life..." I stammered, wiping the tears away from my eyes, my face, my body, and Spencer. "...okay. I-I'll try. I won't... I won't... think... about them..."

Spencer stood up, though he didn't pick me up. He helped me clean my face of leaking eye water with brushes of his handkerchief-like hands with his smile growing into a grin. I looked up at him and sighed, "Can I come over again?"

"I have work after school," He shook his head. "I also pay bills today and get paid. All of that good adult stuff."

"You're not meant to be an adult yet," I blinked.

"I'm eighteen," He chuckled. "That's the age of an adult, right?"

"I guess, but you're not meant to be on your own already. You should... you know, have a guardian."

"I am the guardian... of Lisa."

"But..." I sighed.

"Look, your life is reforming," Spencer began. "It's getting better more than you ever anticipated it would be. Don't care about mine. I'm just your loving boyfriend. You'll be fine and that makes me more fine than I ever have been before."

"I... guess." I shook my head. "I can just... ruminate later."

Spencer nodded, stepping away from me. He took my hand and let me to the exit. "Maybe I could go to your place after work," He smiled.

"We can't," I denied. "My parents would probably freak out more..."

"...When can we talk about them?" Spencer queried.

"Maybe Monday," I mumbled. "I work on the weekends."

"Got it," Spencer nodded, opening the door for me as the bell rang out along the halls. "See you in the gym?"

"Y-yeah," I nodded bashfully, smiling. "Definitely."
He planted a kiss on my forehead and winked, "Don't forget to stay awake."

"Why?" I blinked.

"Because then I won't be able to take my eyes off of yours."

"Does that mean my human body isn't attractive?" I crossed my arms, pouting.

"Not at all," Spencer chuckled. "I can't stop imagining it either."