|| Tuesday, early evening ||

     The first tutoring session with Elliot had mostly consisted of talking and discussing Elliot’s current level. Callum had been surprised by Elliot’s knowledge of emotions, compared to how much said emotions were developed—or the lack thereof.

Elliot wasn’t stupid, and the fact he was able to suppress his emotions to prevent himself from lashing out or ending up in trouble because of it, told Callum Elliot wasn’t that far behind.

Still, he was one of the few who knew about Elliot’s real level.

Rumours about Elliot were still as harsh and brutal as usual. People still referred to him as a lost cause, while Callum thought it was unfair to call him that without knowing a thing about him.

Rumours still stated Elliot belonged in the lowest cast of humanity, and people still had a clear opinion about him.

Which was why Callum found himself in a heated argument with one of his best friends Giovanni on Tuesday during a round of archery practise in the woods of Lunar, close to his hometown Lunar.

While Arlon was aiming his bow and arrow to hit a required target in the distance, Giovanni—or Gio, as they called him—had turned to Callum with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and had asked; “So, what’s the deal with you being spotted in the bad part of town?”

“What do you mean?” Callum replied while he was messing with his bow since his bowstring didn’t have the right tension.

“People saw you in Hobtown,” Gio blandly states. “Why were you in Hobtown on a Sunday afternoon?”

“Oh, I’m tutoring Elliot Ainsley,” Callum calmly told him, before turning to walk up to Arlon. It was his turn to shoot and for the duration of his actions, Gio and Arlon kept silent.

As soon as his arrow left the bow, Gio started talking again.

“Why are you tutoring him?” he asked with an air of disapproval. “He’s a lowlife…”

“Hey, knock it off,” Callum cut him short. “For your information, he’s not a lowlife, he isn’t that far behind. And he’s quite intelligent too, so it’s nice talking to him.”

“Does he even have emotions?” Arlon asked, more out of curiosity than disapproval.

“Yes, he suppresses them. But he has emotions.”

“Just no control, like an eight-year-old has no control,” Gio rudely added. “People are talking about you because you went there. You’re not supposed to hang out with people like him.”

“Gio, I really don’t give a flying fuck about what others thing I should or should not do.”

“People are giving Elliot shit for it too,” Arlon told him, while Gio focused on hitting the target instead of their conversation. “I think everyone in school asked him about you.”

“How did he react?”

“At first he was just telling people you tutor him. But halfway down the day he lashed out in anger that it wasn’t anyone’s business. So much for suppressing his emotions.”

“I’d lash out in anger if people keep butting into my business,” Callum coldly replied, sending Gio a look.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” Gio told him, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m just looking out for you. People don’t like it when others step out of line. And you did exactly that by going there. I’m just warning you; if you keep hanging out in Hobtown and with people like Elliot, your reputation will be flushed down the drain.”

“I don’t care about my reputation. It’s not even my reputation people will talk about.”

“No, it’s your parents’ reputation,” Gio said, chuckling a bit. “And I bet they won’t be pleased when they find out you’re ruining the reputation they’ve worked for so hard.”

“They know I tutor Elliot. Dad agreed it was great practise for me if I want to become a teacher. Mom disagreed, but mom’s just a hypocrite.” Callum shrugged a shoulder, really not caring about his reputation or what others thought of him tutoring Elliot.

The only thing that mattered to him, was getting Elliot to the required level to graduate primary education. Only then could they be together.

If Elliot was interested in him.

If only people knew why Callum was so adamant about helping Elliot. That would give them something real to gossip about.

For now, however, Callum knew rumours would die down soon enough. Once people would learn the truth about their meeting—and future meetings—they would drop the subject and start searching for other things to gossip about.

“Well, Daisy, Zack and I don’t want to be associated with things like that. So please keep in mind we don’t want to hang out with Elliot.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means we don’t want you to take him here with you,” Gio gestured a hand towards the forest. “Or to any of our homes.”

“If you guys act like that, why would I even want to hang out with you guys? Why would I take Elliot here?”

“Because you’re the goody-two-shoe who always makes new friends and then tries to force them down our throats by continuously taking them everywhere we go,” Gio sent him an annoyed look. “Don’t even think about doing that with Elliot.”

“Oh, fuck off Gio. It’s exactly how you became friends with the rest. You tagged along with me until the rest saw you as a member of the group,” Callum coldly replied. “So, don’t you dare to act entitled.”

“Or do we need to remind you of the fact it was Callum who helped you out when you were falling behind on your own education?” Arlon stepped beside Callum. “Don’t be ungrateful.”

Gio’s face flushed, and he kicked an invisible pebble aside, muttering things Arlon and Callum couldn’t catch onto. Gio eventually rolled his eyes and looked up at the two best friends.

“I’m just telling you that the rest of the group thinks the same. If you take Elliot with you, I just know it’ll end up in a fight.”

“Don’t worry, Gio,” Callum replied, seething in anger over his reaction. “I won’t take Elliot with me. I wouldn’t want to introduce him to a bunch of entitled people who think they’re better than him just because their mommies and daddies have more money to help them out.”

Arlon let out a laugh, while Gio took in a deep breath, visibly struggling to not lash out. Gio wasn’t the best at controlling his anger. But Callum had taught him how to control every emotion, so Gio knew he had to count to ten, take in a few deep breaths, and walk away from the conflict he was facing.

Which was exactly what Gio did. Without another word, he turned around and walked ahead to retrieve his arrows.

Callum and Arlon shared a look, and Arlon eventually smiled and said; “Don’t worry, Cal. I fully support your decision. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“Thanks, Arlon, I know I can always count on you.”

“Hey, that’s what best friends are for, right?” Arlon nudged him, winked, and went after Gio, leaving Callum alone to overthink Gio’s words.

Of it was really how his friends thought about him and Elliot, admitting he had feelings for the boy could prove to be difficult.

Very difficult.