I was getting closer to the dorms when a body was suddenly right in front of me. I used my magic to completely halt my movement and when I opened my eyes I saw that it was Sam. She stood in front of me with an incredibly determined and also angry expression.

"Sam-"

"Nope!" Sam cut me off instantly, raising up her left hand in front of her face. "You have done enough talking for the next two weeks!" I gaped at her insult but Sam didn't stop. "We need to talk. Or more like I am going to talk and you are going to listen."

I wanted to protest, I really did. But at this point, I was so tired of running from what my friends would think of my that I just relaxed my shoulders and let out a sigh.

"Fine." I agreed, albeit dejectedly. "Let's talk."

Sam, despite how tense the situation was, smirked in triumph. I oh-so-desperately wanted to erase it out of pride, but it did not seem like a good idea to get her even more upset than she already was.

She jerked her head back the way that she came and I followed her. In a matter of seconds, I realized that she was taking me outside. I wondered if she had brought anyone else, and when I found our entire friend group standing outside, I got my answer.

They were talking in hushed tense tones, looking slightly anxious. Warlo was the first to notice that Sam and I had arrived and cleared his throat. Everyone in turn looked at me as well. I sighed.

"Let's just get this over with," I muttered, loud enough so that they would all be able to hear. They shared some looks but sat down as well. I didn't comment when Dipi walked around Lani and Sam to sit next to me, just scooted closer towards her.

She was my sister and one of my largest sources of comfort, of course, I would let her be near me.

The four of them whispered for a moment before they all got to pushing Harvey, stabbing fingers into the flesh of his back and ribs until he was forced to step forward. Harvey shot quick glares behind them before finally looking at me again.

“Sebastian,” He began, clearing his throat slightly with a wince. “Um, I can be a real idiot sometimes. I also have been told that my reading of social cues needs a lot of work. I also can’t cook super well to add to my list of issues-”

“Harvey!” Sam hissed fiercely, the glare in her eyes matching her bright hair perfectly. Her beratement effectively shocked him into conciseness. He turned back to me, fists clenched in determination.

“I never should have outed you,” He blurted out, finally, looking at me with the most guilt I’d ever seen in him before. “When I found out I didn’t think it was a big deal so I thought bringing it up also wasn’t a big deal. But, I never thought about how scared you might be to tell people. They’ve since given me a huge earful about it.”

“It’s true,” Warlo added, eagerly watching me for forgiveness. “The second you left the other day we were lecturing him about queer stuff, at least the parts that we know.”

“We would’ve given you more space but we didn’t want you to think that Harvey or any of us thought any differently of you,” Lani explained. 

Watching my friends was an incredibly odd experience. They were an outgoing bunch, brimming with confidence and thinly concealed humor at all times. But now they were all subdued, guilty, and waiting for my approval. I hated the power. Yet, it gave me the confidence to ask about what had been bothering me for days.

“But you had made a joke about me, Harvey. And Thulani, you looked disgusted with me,” I recounted, my eyes burning just at the memory. “How was I supposed to think you wanted anything to do with me?”

“I really didn’t mean anything bad by it,” Harvey insisted, his guilt growing ten-fold if that’s even possible. “I’d had so much time to process you being gay, it felt natural to joke about it. It’s stupid, I know. I’m sorry.”

I accepted the apology with a small nod, turning to Lani next.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He admitted, pursing his lips, confused and thoughtful. 

“Right after Harvey outed me. You started talking and looked disgusted.”

His brows lifted, understanding dawning. 

“I was going to ask if Harvey was telling the truth. I was also trying to think of signs of you being gay before because I completely missed it.”

I shook my head, confused by the recounting of events.

“But,” I started, looking around in confusion. “But-”

Then it came to me. The running away, the morphed walls, the black figures. When had reality stopped and my fears began? Was I so totally overcome with emotion that I couldn’t see what was in front of me?

I laughed brokenly, the relief flooding my body faster than blood pumped through it. They were telling the truth. They didn’t hate me. Everything was going to be okay. 

Within moments, arms wrapped around me. First, my sister’s, warm skin matching my own. Then, a second pair, pale with freckles and barely visible red strands dotting out of the skin. Then a third, fourth, fifth. All of them surrounded me, their love breaking me into a million pieces and their tight holds putting those pieces back together over and over and over again. 

Four days ago, I’d experienced the worst moment of my life and felt more distant from my friends than I ever thought possible. But from it came the best moment of my life. This feeling of being held up by everyone I held dear would stay with me forever. I vowed to myself right there that I would never forget.

When they finally pulled away, I realized from the feeling of moisture on my cheeks and chin that I’d cried. Harvey, the biggest gym bro of us all, used his sleeve to wipe them off, the familiar gesture bringing a smile to my face. Everything would be alright.

“So, now that we’re all friends again, what should we do first?” Dipi asked, rubbing her hands together with glee. 

A thought popped into my head, formulating and growing in strength before I could rethink it. I smirked.

"Well, now that you guys know that I'm gay, I do have something else that I want to tell you about."

—————

I never thought that they would all react the way that they did to me retelling what was going on between me and mystery man. Everyone, I mean everyone, was eating it all up. Lani sat at attention the whole time, his eyes softening whenever I talked about how sweet my mystery man could be. Harvey loved hearing about how easily we could talk and joke, and Warlo was happiest when I, embarrassingly, mentioned how he had touched me.

They all said a lot of things, the topics usually revolving around how awesome Mystery Man was for me. But Dipi was the one to stand up and get everyone to quiet down. 

"Look, I think all of us are thinking the same thing right now," Dipi said with a smirk. The rest of us probably looked as if we just had giant question marks painted on our faces because Dipi followed up her confident rich statement with an annoyed huff. "Sebastian needs to tell this guy how he feels! If this guy realizes that Seb cares about who he is truly and not the superficial stuff, than he will probably reveal himself and then they can start dating!"

Everyone collectively said "OHH" before they started loudly agreeing with my sister,.

"That is a really good idea."

"You have to Sebastian!"

"You guys would be perfect for each other."

"Just do it! You know you want to get into his pants!"

I wonder who yelled out the last one.

*Cough Warlo cough!*

I looked around at my friend's smiling faces. They were all beaming, encouraging me to go after the one guy that has consumed my heart for so long. Feeling their support coupled with the reminder of how wonderful the mystery man was made me feel so confident that I closed my eyes and sent out one thought.

Meet me at the waterfall tonight.