Peter felt bad at the thought of leaving Rion alone in the entranceway. He was sure Danny would be back soon and he hoped that leaving Rion by himself for a couple minutes would give him a chance to process that he was inside and safe.

He leaned over to put a hand on Rion’s shoulder. Rion’s whole body shuddered at the contact.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Peter said, even though he wasn’t sure that Rion could hear him. He didn’t respond at all, staying balled up and shaking.

Peter headed upstairs reluctantly. He still remembered where Rion’s bedroom was since he’d been invited over a few times with Noa. He made a note to check the upstairs bathroom too, just to see if he could find a hot water bottle. Maybe he would grab dry clothes for Rion too, since he would eventually need to change.

Peter took a few breaths to steady himself as he took the stairs slowly, trying to focus. He was rattled, completely taken aback by Rion’s breakdown. He’d never seen him like this before, and while he’d seen Noa go through something similar, it was…different, unexpected. He’d seen Rion freak out during storms, but he’d never had a reaction anywhere near this bad.

Up on the landing, Peter came to a stop. Something felt off and it took him a second before it clicked.

All the doors were closed.

Peter remembered coming over as a kid and everything being open and bright. Without any doors open, the hall was dim, silent, and narrow. It felt smaller than Peter remembered. It made a strange feeling blossom in the pit of his stomach.

He did his best to ignore it, turning to the bathroom first. He opened the door and turned on the light.

Where the hallway felt smaller with the doors closed, the bathroom felt wider and emptier. The sink had its own little space next to the door and there was an open doorway separating the sink area from the bath and toilet.

Turning to the sink, he didn’t see anything that looked like it belonged to Rion. There was only one toothbrush in the holder, and the hairbrush was the kind that Peter knew Rion hated. It was one of those ball-tipped brushes. It had to be his dad’s.

He checked the cabinet and under the sink, but there wasn’t any sign of a hot water bottle. Then he stepped into the bath area and was greeted by a familiar sight.

The shower curtain was pulled around the bathtub.

It was just like home. Only, this wasn’t home.

Peter and his parents always pulled the shower curtain around the tub for Noa’s sake. He couldn’t go anywhere near a bathtub. But this was Rion’s place. So, why…?

Was it some habit that had rubbed off on Rion? He’d been so close to Noa when they were kids. Noa had visited Rion quite a few times. So…maybe?

But it still felt weird. Noa hadn’t come over to Rion’s in more than six years. That was a long time to stick with some old habit…

Just for his own sake, Peter peaked behind the shower curtain. There was nothing to see but the bath – nothing special. Tucking the curtain back in place, he decided that he couldn’t worry about that for now.

Peter left the bathroom, closing the door behind himself, and headed to Rion’s room. When he opened the door, he stood there blinking, wondering if he’d gone into the wrong room by mistake.

When they were young, Rion had been a normal, messy kid. Noa had always been the weird one for being overly neat and organized. But stepping into Rion’s room now, he found the whole room was pristine. The bed was even made, the pillow fluffed and untouched.

Peter was sure that not even Noa did his bed on the weekend. He almost felt guilty stealing the comforter.

He folded the blanket so that it would be easier to carry and then grabbed a pillow for good measure. Only, there was something underneath the pillow and Peter froze, recognizing it right away.

It was a friendship bracelet.

It looked like Rion’s. Peter was sure it was Rion’s. But the bracelet was intact. It wasn’t cut up or ruined and Peter had seen the one that was wrecked. Did Rion have two? How did he…?

Peter’s mind raced. He recalled Rion’s weird reaction to the bracelets… He’d perked up when Peter said Noa lost his bracelet. Did that relate to this somehow? Was that…? What did it mean?

Peter picked up the bracelet but hesitated. Now was not the time or place to bring this up with anyone. He couldn’t just take it either. Peter didn’t want to be like Sarina. But it felt wrong to leave the bracelet out in plain sight on the bed too.

He took a breath and turned to the nightstand. For now, he could leave it in the drawer. It would be out of sight and maybe…maybe he could ask Rion about it later.

He opened the nightstand drawer and stared.

In a clear, ziplock bag, sitting on top of everything else, was the cut-up friendship bracelet. There was really no mistaking it. The same colours and the string… Peter had seen it before. He remembered it clearly.

Peter stood there too long, at a loss. There really were two bracelets. But what did that mean? Was the cut-up bracelet a fake? But why would Rion fake that? And why would he fake ruining his bracelet and then keep the remains? Wouldn’t it make more sense to throw away, or…?

No. Wait. Did one of these bracelets belong to Noa?

Peter stared at the bracelets, sucking in a sharp breath as everything began to come together.

Noa’s bracelet was missing. Rion had two bracelets. One was cut up and ruined beyond repair, but the other was completely intact, like new.

But why would Rion hide this? Rion said he wanted to help find Noa’s bracelet. What did that mean? Did he want to give it back? Why did he have it in the first place, and…

Which bracelet was Rion’s?

Peter couldn’t tell.

Amber made their bracelets with the same colours and patterns but in the inverse. Where Rion’s bracelet was purple, Noa’s was yellow and where Rion’s bracelet was yellow, Noa’s was purple. Peter couldn’t tell them apart, standing there in that moment. He couldn’t remember which was which.

So, was Rion’s bracelet ruined? Or was it Noa’s?

And why hide this? Peter didn’t understand. If Rion had both their bracelets, why wouldn’t he say anything? It didn’t make sense. Rion had always been so firm and straightforward about destroying his bracelet. He never seemed like he had anything to hide because he always sounded so sure.

Did he hide the fact that he had Noa’s bracelet because he was worried about Sarina’s reaction? That would make sense. Noa might have asked him to hang onto it for safekeeping. After all, he had told Rion to leave him alone. Maybe Noa gave him his bracelet and wanted space…

Or…what if Noa…?

No. No, Noa wouldn’t wreck his friendship bracelet.

Would he?

Peter exhaled long and slow as he put the intact bracelet on top of the ziplock bag and then closed the drawer. He couldn’t think about it right now. He had to get back downstairs.

Rion was cold and wet and having a breakdown. All the friendship bracelet stuff could wait.

When Peter came downstairs, he found Danny in the entrance. Rion was sitting up now, draped in towels. Danny was helping to dry his hair.

“You should probably get a haircut soon,” Danny was saying to Rion, trying to keep his voice light. “It’s getting shaggy. My mom knows a really great place in the city. Maybe I could get her to drive us there and we could get our hair done. That sounds girly, but I swear that it’s so good! There’s a reason women go to those fancy salons – they really pamper you.”

“Maybe,” Rion said.

His voice was flat and dull, and he wouldn’t look up at them. Rion was visibly exhausted and spent. At the muffled rumble of thunder, his whole body shuddered, and he retreated into the towels, pulling them closer to himself.

Peter was relieved to see that Rion was starting to make a recovery. He went past them, through the doorway to the living room and set the blanket and pillow down on the couch.

“You should maybe sit down on the couch, Rion,” Peter said. “And you should change your clothes. Want me to grab you something? I can bring some stuff down for you if you want. Do you have a hot water bottle? That might help.”

“There might be one in the downstairs bathroom,” Rion mumbled. “Dunno.”

“I can look,” Danny said, springing to his feet. “I’ll put coffee on or something too. You just had a milkshake. You must be freezing, Rion!”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled.

Danny went sprinting off and Peter came around to check on Rion, kneeling next to him.

“Do you want me to stay the night?” Peter asked. “I can sleep over if you want me to.”

“No, no,” Rion was quick to say. “It’s fine. Dad’s coming home tonight. Probably.”

Probably. That wasn’t comforting to Peter. He really didn’t want to leave Rion here alone. He was a mess and though it was lucky he calmed down, he was still far from okay.

“Do you want me to grab you some clothes?” Peter asked. “Or is there anything else I can do for you?”

“I’m fine,” Rion said. “I just…I just want to be alone.”

Peter disliked that statement more than the last. Rion shouldn’t be alone right now, especially after everything he’d been through today. He’d been attacked by Sarina and had a breakdown caused by previous trauma…

“I’ll leave you alone but only after I’m sure that you’re going to be okay,” Peter told him. “Let’s get you to the couch first. Then I’m going to give Danny a hand and we’ll call your dad. Okay?”

“He won’t pick up the phone,” Rion said. “He never does.”

“I’m still going to try,” Peter said, ignoring the pang of emotion he felt at those words. “And if he doesn’t answer, I’ll stay here with you until he comes home. If your dad can’t make it home tonight, I’ll spend the night with you and I’ll skip class tomorrow. I’m not abandoning you right now, okay?”

“…Okay,” Rion said.

It sounded less like Rion agreed with him and more like he was exhausted and done with everything. Peter let it slide, standing up and offering Rion a hand. Rion took it.

Peter saw him to the couch and got Rion to sit. He pulled the comforter over, draping it over Rion and his towels and then offered Rion the pillow.

Rion took it but then his eyes grew wide. Impossibly wide. He stared up at Peter.

Rion didn’t say anything but they both knew that Peter saw the bracelet. Rion’s lips twitched like he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

“I put it in your nightstand,” Peter said, keeping his voice low so that Danny wouldn’t hear. He figured it was better to be honest. “I won’t tell anyone but I have questions.”

“I… Okay,” Rion said stiffly.

His eyes were still wide and his shoulders tense. Peter felt bad for telling him. Still, it was better to be honest. The only other thing he could have done was leave the pillow and bracelet where they were. But then he couldn’t ask about it later without making it seem like he was snooping. This way, it should be clear that it was an accident.

“Okay,” Danny said, coming back with a filled hot water bottle in hand. He had it wrapped in a hand towel. “Take this, Rion. I put on some coffee too. You’ll be nice and cozy.”

“Thanks,” Rion said, accepting the hot water bottle and hugging it to his chest.

“Right. Then I guess we’ll have to call Mr. Blum,” Peter said. “I want to know if he’s coming home tonight.”

“Oh, right! Rion’s dad,” Danny said. “I’ll call. I don’t mind. Uh, he’d be at the office, right?”

“He’s got a cell phone,” Rion said. “I keep Dad’s numbers next to the phone there. He might not answer…”

“Right,” Danny said, already on the move. “I got this.”

Peter couldn’t help but wonder why Rion’s dad wouldn’t answer if he had a cell phone. Wasn’t the whole point that you could make calls anywhere?

Then again, some of his college friends had cell phones. According to them, the reception wasn’t always the best…

Danny made the call and stood there for a long moment. They watched him twirl his finger around the phone cord. After a beat, he hung up and tried again.

“He’s not picking up,” Danny finally said after hanging up a second time. “Can I try his office number?”

“Yeah. It should be the next one on the list,” Rion said.

Danny tried the office number. There still wasn’t a reply but Danny seemed to get through to the answering machine.

“Oh, hi,” Danny began. “This is Daniel Fox calling for Mr. Blum. I’m a friend of your son. Um… Rion, uh… He was kind of in a fight? And then it started storming so we brought him home. I just thought you should know. We were wondering when you were going to be home. Um… If you get this message, maybe call Rion back? Okay. Thanks. Bye.”

He hung up and then grimaced. “I suck so bad at leaving messages.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Peter said. “It’s good enough.”

“Mind if I call home?” Danny asked Rion. “I just want to let them know that I’m here.”

“Sure,” Rion said.

Peter glanced at the wall clock. He was surprised to find that it was almost six.

“It’s getting late,” he said. “You should eat something, Rion.”

“There’s, um… We have some microwave stuff in the freezer,” Rion said. “I don’t feel like cooking tonight.”

“I’m not letting you cook. Whatever’s in the freezer will be fine,” Peter told him. “I’ll get you some dry clothes and you can change down here. Okay?”

“You really don’t need to,” Rion said. “I’ll be fine. I’m okay. Thanks for getting me here, but–”

“You’re not okay,” Peter said, “and I’m not just going to leave you here like this. Just sit tight. I’ll get everything ready for you.”

Peter didn’t wait for Rion to answer. He went back upstairs and grabbed Rion some clothes, whatever looked loose and comfortable. He came back quickly and set them down on the couch.

“You should really get changed,” Peter said. “Don’t have a bath or shower since it’s storming pretty bad out there. Just go and get changed and I’ll make you something to eat.”

“You and Danny should have something too,” Rion said.

“I’m good,” Danny said. He had returned from calling home. “I’m not super hungry and I can pop by home if I need to. I don’t mind taking a sprint through the rain.”

“I’ll throw something together,” Peter offered.

“Actually… I think there’s nachos,” Rion said. He hesitated then cleared his throat. “Just microwave a big plate of that. There should be cheese and salsa and whatever.”

“Okay,” Peter said. “Nachos it is.”

Rion reluctantly went to get changed while Peter went and began to prepare them food. Danny came in to help, hovering in the doorway.

“We might want to change too, you know,” Danny said. “We’re still soaked.”

“I know,” Peter said. “Honestly, I’m hoping that we luck out and Mr. Blum shows up. But I’m not holding my breath.”

He wanted to tell Danny about the friendship bracelet. It was hard to keep it to himself when he wanted to talk about it, to question what was going on. But he didn’t want to break Rion’s trust and maybe there was an explanation for it.

Still, it was hard. Especially with Danny standing right there.

“I think we might have to spend the night here,” Danny said. “I live closer so I don’t mind sleeping over. I don’t have work or school. If you want to go home…”

“I do want to go home. Noa doesn’t like storms,” Peter said. “But after seeing Rion’s reaction, I can’t leave him.”

“Maybe you should call home yourself,” Danny suggested. “Your parents are probably starting to wonder where you are. And if Noa’s having a hard time…”

“You’re right,” Peter said.

The nachos were already heating up in the microwave. Everything was ready. They should be fine to just sit in the living room and take a breather. The sounds of the storm were muffled.

“Were there any more towels in the bathroom?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, a couple,” Danny said.

“Once Rion gets back, I’ll go grab them and we can try to dry off as best we can,” Peter said. “I’m going to make that call.”

Peter crossed the room and called home. His mom answered right away and he gave her a brief explanation. She was a little worried but understood the situation.

“How’s Noa?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Unhappy,” Mom said. “He came down to the living to try and draw but he gave up a while ago. Charlie put on a movie to try and drown out the storm so they’re sitting on the couch together now. I just hope the power doesn’t go out.”

“Same here,” Peter agreed. “I’ll come home when I can. I don’t know how things are going to go. I just…can’t leave Rion like this.”

“And you said his father wouldn’t pick up the phone?”

“Well, he didn’t pick up. But he might not have reception or be at the office. It’s hard to say.”

His mother hummed, concerned. “Did you want me to drive over and bring you anything? Or maybe we could take Rion back to our place…”

“No,” Peter said, lowering his voice. “I think he’d have another breakdown if we put him in a car in this weather. I think it would be too much for him. I’ll just stay here. It’s fine. I’ll come home tomorrow.”

“If you’re sure. Take care, then. And call us if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay, Mom. Love you.”

“I love you too. Bye.”

“Bye,” Peter said and hung up.

He stood there for a moment, took a breath, and then headed back into the kitchen.

Danny had the plate of nachos ready, and he’d poured them each a cup of coffee. He was nibbling on a couple nachos. Rion still wasn’t back.

“No sign of Rion?” Peter asked.

“No,” Danny said. “I was starting to think about checking on him. …Nacho?”

He offered one to Peter but Peter shook his head.

“I’ll go check on him,” he said. “You eat that nacho. I’ll have some in a bit.”

“Want me to come too?” Danny asked, stuffing the whole chip in his mouth.

“No, he’s probably almost done,” Peter said.

Or else Rion was in the midst of a fresh breakdown. Peter knew that Noa got embarrassed whenever he had a freakout or a panic attack. He liked to run and hide and curl up away from everyone else. It wouldn’t be surprising if Rion was the same.

After all, who wanted to be seen as weird or damaged? Peter could understand. It wasn’t like Rion or Noa or anyone wanted to be visibly distressed in public. Peter imagined that if something like that happened to him, he would feel completely humiliated.

“I’ll be right back,” Peter said.

“If you’re not back in ten, I’m coming to check on you,” Danny said, grabbing another chip.