"So let me get this straight -"

"You can't, we're both gay" Simon interjected, attempting to defuse some of the tension.

"- Martin Addison was blackmailing you."

Simon sighed. "Do we really have to do this, babe?"

Bram shot him a look. "If you really don't want to, no, I won't force you. But I'd like to."

"Yes," Simon muttered, "Monkey's Asshole was blackmailing me."

"Then he outed you."

"Yeah," Simon confirmed with a wince.

"And then, after you explained everything to them, your friends, what, up and left you?" Bram's voice steadily increased in volume as he said the sentence.

Simon lunged forward in his chair and grabbed Bram's forearm. "Yes, they did. But they had a good reason. I fucked up, big time."

"By what, not telling them you were being blackmailed? If you did that, you would have had to come out to them! You weren't ready for that!"

"No!" Simon exclaimed, falling back and rubbing at his face. "No. I-I fucked with their love life, okay? I messed with something that I shouldn't have messed with, okay? And I came out to Abby before Leah, who's my best friend in the whole world, and I should have told her first! And - "

"And they abandoned you in the worst time of your life," Bram interrupted.

"What? No, I deserved that," Simon said miserably. "I tried to set Martin up with Abby. I mean, I didn't do it, like, I dunno, I didn't mean it, you know?"

"I know," Bram agreed softly, because that seems the best thing to do.

"I wasn't actively trying to get them together!"

"Simon. I know."

"And, yeah, it was shitty as fuck when the whole cafeteria thing happened and no one stood up for me, and I was scared and no one was there, but isn't that just karma, Bram, isn't that just karma?" Simon was ranting wildly at this point.

"I don't know, Simon."

"Well, it is! And at least now, now they're talking to me! And-and it doesn't matter because I can't risk losing them again," Simon finished, eyes shiny.

"Are you sure it doesn't matter?" Bram asked pointedly.

"Yes!" Simon said emphatically, then slumped down, his face in his hands. "No. No, I'm not sure. Because I messed up. But they left me."

Bram walked over and sat on Simon's lap. "It's okay," he reassured Simon, rubbing a thumb over the bit of Simon's cheekbone he could reach through Simon's fingers.

"Ugh, now I feel like I should have…" Simon cut himself off, waving his hand in the air.

"Talked to them? Confronted them?"

"Yeah," Simon said, covering his face again.

"Do you want to?" Bram asked, letting Simon tuck his head into the crook of Bram's neck.

"Yes. But I don't want to. Does that make sense?" Simon said, his voice muffled through Bram's skin.

Bram sighed. "Yeah, it does."

…

Bram forced conversation with Leah, Abby, and Nick the next few days. Simon noticed and said nothing, only adding an anecdote when silence fell and he could feel the slight anger radiating from Bram where he was pressed next to him.

To her credit, Abby asked Bram if there was a problem to which he quietly replied that he had a headache.

"Hey, Bram, can you come with me? I left my math stuff in my locker," Simon suggested sharply.

Bram allowed Simon to drag him out of the cafeteria and into the back of the library where Simon then whirled on him.

"Bram, what the fuck?" he demanded angrily.

"What do you mean?" Bram answered, his tone the same as Simon's. "You can't just tell me that they left you and then expect me to not have any reaction! You can't expect me to act like everything's fine!"

"I do! I do expect you to act like everything's fine because that's what you do! You're my rock, Bram, and I can't have you freaking out because then I freak out and nothing good happens when I freak out!"

Bram fell silent. After a minute, he said quietly, "I'm your rock?"

Simon opened his mouth and then closed it. He nodded mutely.

Bram stepped closer to Simon, wrapping his arms around Simon's waist. Simon hesitated slightly before bringing his arms up to rest on Bram's back, just below his shoulder blades and dropping his head into the crook of Bram's neck.

"You're my rock," Simon whispered, his voice thickening. "Please, I need you to be calm."

"Okay. Okay, babe, okay," Bram said quietly, feeling something wet dripping on his neck. "Shh, it's okay. It's alright, shh."

Simon pulled away a minute later. "I want to tell them. I do. But I can't."

Bram kissed Simon's forehead. "And I know you want me to act normal, but until they know how asshole-y they've been acting, I really can't."

"Fine," Simon said quietly. "But do it when I'm not there."

...

Simon 3

Bram (4:31pm) : say u cant make it

Simon (4:31pm) : what?

Bram (4:32pm) : you'll see

Garrett

Bram (4:34pm) : I need to talk to leah nick and abby

Garrett (4:34pm) : ok…?

Bram (4:35pm) : say ur busy on the group chat. pls

Garrett (4:35pm) : uh sure why

Bram (4:35pm) : just trust me

Garrett (4:36pm) : smthn about simon?

Bram (4:36pm) : sorta.

Garrett (4:36pm) : ok then

Garrett (4:36pm) : i know better than to get in the middle of this

⅔ straight

Bram (4:42pm) : anyone up for waho later tonight

Simon (4:43pm) : sorry, cant family bonding night

Bram (4:43pm) : :(

Leah (4:53pm) : sure, i'll meet u there at 6?

Abby (4:55pm) : same here

Nick (4:55pm) :

Garrett (4:57pm) : cant sorry

Bram (4:58pm) : damn that sucks. ok nick leah and abby meet u there in an hour

…

Bram twisted his hands nervously in his lap, glancing out the window every few seconds. It was 6:07 when Nick's black pickup pulled into a parking space. Abby, Leah, and Nick spilled out of the car, talking animatedly. He waved slightly when they walked in.

"Hey," Nick said as he slid into the booth across from Bram, "what's up?"

"Not much." Bram kept his eyes trained on the table as Abby and Leah took their seats next to Nick and Bram respectively. "Um. I actually wanted to talk to you guys about something."

Abby and Leah exchanged puzzled looks as Bram finally looked up and locked eyes with Nick.

"What is it, Bram?" Leah asked gently.

"It's about Simon. About how you guys treated him like actual motherfucking shit after what Martin did," Bram said.

Abby froze at the last seven words. Leah opened her mouth and closed it. Nick looked at his lap.

"You just straight up abandoned him! I'm sorry, but what kind of friends are you that you just leave him? And I know that he messed up by trying to get Abby and Martin together, but you guys, come on."

Nick's face took on an expression of shame as Bram continued his rant. "He let it slip a couple days ago and I thought it was a joke at first, but no. Apparently, his friends decided that a goddamn petty grudge was more important than making sure Simon was okay at school. Me and Garrett, we were the ones that looked out for him, made sure anyone who said anything shut up. But we were two people. Two people can't handle the entire school, and neither could five, but five could do so much more."

Abby's eyes were shining when she opened her mouth to respond. "We-we didn't realize -"

"Of course you didn't! But had you had some goddamn common sense, Simon wouldn't have been crying into my shoulder two days ago about how he wished he had said something earlier to his best friends," Bram nearly spat out the sentence before turning to Leah. "And Leah. Who Simon came out to first was his decision. You don't have a say in that, and I can't figure out why you care so much."

"I just…I'm his best friend. He's known me for the longest," Leah argued. Bram silenced her with a look and she had the sense to look embarrassed.

"Right now, I'm asking nothing of you except an apology to Simon. Please. He broke my heart with what he told me and...c'mon you guys, Simon doesn't deserve this shit and you know it," Bram concluded, casting a pleading look at the three.

After a quiet murmur of assent came from Abby, and nods from Leah and Nick, Bram slipped out from the booth and made his way to the car.

He let out a quiet breath and leaned against the driver side door before getting in the car and shooting a quick text to Simon.

Simon 3

Bram (6:31pm) : I talked to them.

Simon (6:31pm) : thanks. I owe u.

Bram (6:32pm) : no u dont.

Bram (6:32pm) : cu tmrw 3

Simon (6:33pm) : bye babe

…

The walk to his locker was somehow more difficult to make the next day. Bram's feet were dragging and his backpack felt heavier on his back than ever before despite being almost completely empty. Bram grabbed what he needed and beelined to Simon's locker, only a few rows away from him. However, when he got there, Leah, Nick, and Abby were already talking to Simon in hushed tones. He stood a small distance away, far enough not to hear what they were saying, but able to see their expressions.

After two minutes, Simon smiled and said something that led to Abby hugging him ferociously and Leah beaming. The three walked away, presumably to their own lockers, Simon turned and caught sight of Bram who gave him a small half-smile.

"So," Simon murmured, walking over to Bram.

"So," Bram repeated.

"Thank you. Seriously, I didn't have the guts to do that by myself."

Bram kissed Simon's forehead lightly, not caring about the people swarming around them in the busy hallway. "Of course. Anything for you."