The next morning, Jonas woke up with a worn out body. His panic attack stripped him of all energy. He stretched himself a little and then felt an unfamiliar sensation. He was laying on something warm and hard. He looked up and saw that he was intertwined with Hugh, and his face was nestled on his chest.

He couldn't help but let his lips curl upwards but forced himself up.

Hugh moaned. "No, stay."

"As much as I want to, I need to go somewhere." Jonas started to get out of the bed and stopped. "If you're up for a quick run, you can join me."

"Seriously, all you do it work out." Hugh grumbled but got up as well. They both snuck out of the dorm and Jonas let led way down several streets before he stopped in front of a flower shop.

Hugh raised an eyebrow and was about to make a joke, but something about Jonas was somber so he stayed silent.

They entered the shop and saw an older woman pruning some of the flowers. She smiled kindly when she saw Jonas and Hugh. "Jonas, how are you?"

Jonas gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. "Doing alright, Martha. This is Hugh, a friend from school. I was going to take him to meet Brett, if you're alright with that."

She smiled happily. "Absolutely. It's nice to meet you, Hugh."

Hugh shook her hand. "Likewise."

She looked Jonas over. "You're eating right? How's your dorm? Is everyone treating you well? Chuck isn't being too hard on you?"

Jonas laughed, familiar with her 'shoot at the hip' questions. "I'm doing good. Got all of my meals in. The dorm's great, Hugh is rooming with me, and I think I have a good group of friends. And Chuck is Chuck. You should really go to his next barbeque."

Her eyes misted. "Maybe I will sometime. But I'm so happy for you, Jonas."

She handed Jonas a bouquet of lilies. Jonas looked around. "Do you need any help in the shop? The door was a little stiff when I opened it. I can check it out?"

"It's fine. Just needs some grease on the hinges."

"What about the leak, there are no other issues with it?"

"No dear. You fixed it perfectly last time. You have school today, so say hi to Brett quickly so you're not late." She said.

"You have my number if you need anything. Do not hesitate to ask." He hugged her again and kissed her cheek.

He lowered his head so she can plant a kiss on his cheek in return. "Give him my love on my behalf."

Jonas paid her even though she protested. He led Hugh out of the shop and down the road a little further. Hugh remained silent, especially when he realized where they were heading.

With flowers in hand, they entered the gates of the cemetery. As if he had walked this path a hundred times, Jonas led him through the tombstones.

Jonas snorted towards the man behind him. "Your silence is unnerving."

Hugh smiled sheepishly. "Doesn't seem like the right time for my smartass mouth to open."

Jonas smiled. "Brett had a great sense of humor. I think you would have liked him."

Jonas stopped in front of a tombstone and replaced the old flowers with the new ones. Hugh mouth fell slightly when he saw the tombstone. Brett Miller. 15 years old when he died.

"He wasn't a part of St. Vincent's so he didn't know I was the Wolf. He was a good friend up until he passed. Martha was his mom, but it hurts her too much to come here. I stop by every Wednesday to drop off flowers, and help when I can at the shop."

Hugh pulled Jonas into a hug. "Tell me about him?"

He and Jonas sat by the grave well into the homeroom period, as Jonas recalled his time with Brett. Hugh enjoyed listening to him, and laughed at some of the stories, but we was unnerved by the sorrow he saw hidden in Jonas' eyes. Brett seemed to have been Jonas's very last friend, and now all that was left was his tombstone.

Hugh never wanted to let Jonas be alone again.

---

A couple of months passed, and Jonas was already used to his new life. He excelled in school, surprising the teachers, and they no longer gave him dirty looks. By wearing the crown on his jacket, no students gave him trouble, only respect. He worked at the gym three days a week with Hugh now. On Wednesday mornings he and Hugh would visit Martha, help out the shop, and visit Brett. They fell into a comfortable routine together.

At the same time he also got close to his friends. He was accepted by the whole group.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten the nerdy look he tried sporting the first day at school. They now see him with his hair styled by Travis. His glasses were replaced with an earring, earning him the place of a bad boy. He always had his tight t-shirts showing off every muscle, hip hugging jeans, and his Hawkings jacket with the sleeves pushed up his forearms.

Because it was their Senior year and they have established themselves, all the Kings got tattoos of crowns on their wrists to go with their emblems. Now they all liked rolling their sleeves up to show it off.

Jonas stretched a little and massaged his neck. Hugh leaned over. "Sore sweetheart?"

Jonas groaned. "You were hogging the bed again." He muttered. Hugh had crawled in his bed every night. Sometimes Jonas would lay on Hugh's chest when he was having a bad night, but most of the time, Hugh is the one who laid on top of Jonas.

Jonas never fought it because it just felt right. But he was finding himself to be a little flustered at times when Hugh would nuzzle him, but they never got further than cuddling.

Hugh sat behind him and started to massage his neck. Jonas let out a sigh of relief. Hugh was really good with his hands.

While Hugh's hands were busy, Jonas would hold up fries, letting Hugh lean in and eat them from Jonas's hands. Sometimes his tongue would flick across Jonas's fingers, making him wonder if it was done on purpose. Testing it, he kept feeding him fries and would restrain a shiver when Hugh's tongue lightly touched him, praying that Hugh didn't realize that Jonas wanted to feel more.

Hugh leaned in until; his breath caressed his neck. "Everyone was talking about going to the mall afterwards. Gotta celebrate our Friday."

Jonas nodded. "I'm down."

They endured their classes and Hugh took Jonas on his motorcycle to the mall. The others were already inside in the food court. They left their jackets at the dorm, and wearing casual clothes. Both were good looking and naturally drew a lot of attention.

Hugh had a pair of Beats headphones around his neck. Jonas found that Hugh was in love with music and always had something playing. Even though his headphones were not on his ears, he still had music streaming from the speaker as if it was background noise. While walking past several stores and ignoring the girls giggling or taking pictures, Jonas leaned close to Hugh and pulled the headphones close to his ear. Hugh leaned in so they were a little closer, cheeks almost touching, allowing Jonas to listen.

There were a couple of excited squeals from the girls who saw it, enjoying the intimacy between the two good looking men. They were caught up in their own moment and didn't notice . "This is good." Jonas said.

"Of course it's good! It's MF DOOM!"

Jonas had a small smile. "Listening party tonight then?"

"I love the way you think, sweetheart." Hugh laughed but felt Jonas tense.

Hugh noticed that Jonas' arm was being held but a girl about their age. She had raven black hair and large dark eyes. She was stunning to look at.

"Joey, is that you?" Jonas tensed realizing it was Emilia, his ex-girlfriend from St. Vincent's.

Jonas clenched his jaw as he looked down at her, a minute reaction that Hugh did not miss. She gave him a bright smile and blushed. "You look different, but really good. Wow."

Jonas let out a frustrated sigh. "Is there a reason you stopped me Emilia?"

She blushed and looked a little ashamed. "I just wanted to say hi."

Jonas scoffed. "Don't bother Emilia. Just go find Lukas."

She bit her lip. "We never dated. I found out about the rumors a bit too late, but never corrected it with you. I'm sorry. Lukas isn't who I thought he was."

Jonas gave her a cold chuckle. "Well, he fucked me first, so you should have seen it coming."

Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded. "I know. I'm-"

"Don't bother with apologies." Jonas cut her off.

She sighed. "For what it's worth, you look good... and happy." She nodded toward Hugh who was watching her closely with a dark look on his face.

Jonas turned back and his eyes softened when looking at Hugh, who changed his scowl to a grin. He turned back with a kinder look. "I suppose I am, thanks."

She bit her lip. "Um, I see you brother often - not in a romantic way. We have a couple of classes together. He's taking advanced courses." She said nervously.

Jonas nodded, knowing what she meant. "Is he ok?"

"Real good. He plays the piano at the Bean Coffee shop on Fridays." She looked at her watch. "His show starts at 8:00 tonight."

Hugh stepped up and leaned on Jonas' shoulder. "So if I heard that right, you're taking me on a date to a coffee shop tonight."

Jonas chuckled. "Sure, babe."

Emilia smiled happily seeing the banter between the two. "I know you worry about him, so I can send you an update from time to time. No strings attached."

"I'd appreciate that... Also, if he happens to have a sick day can you let me know too? Anything out of the ordinary."

She readily agreed and they quickly exchanged numbers because Jonas changed his.

"I have always liked Eli and I know how close you two were." She patted him on the arm. "Well, it was really good seeing you again, truly. You and your... babe." She winked at him and walked away.

Hugh slung his arm around Jonas and they walked off together. He looked back a couple of times to watch the retreating girl.

"Emilia?" Hugh asked with a grin, but Jonas noticed the smile was a bit stiff.

"Ex-girlfriend."

"Did it end on a good note?" Hugh tried to keep it playful but the annoyance was laced in his voice.

"Does any relationship really end on a good note?" Jonas laughed. "We were together for about a year. Our parents liked us together and were even planning the wedding. She broke it off when I got into a fight and I heard that she was fucking Lukas. I don't know if I should feel better about it now that she's denying it."

Hugh glared back in the direction of Emilia. "You really had a shitty year last year."

"I definitely have had better." Jonas said with a thoughtful nod.

"But this year is your best year yet, right?"

"Are you trying to make me say something like 'because I'm with you, it's the best year'?"

Hugh laughed loudly and slapped a hand on Jonas' chest. "Caught me!" He left his hand on his chest for a moment before he dropped it and turned his head to look at the shop windows.

Jonas snaked his arm around Hugh's waist and pulled him closer, his lips next to his ears. "Because I'm with you, babe, nothing can compare."

Hugh's breath hitched and he turned red instantly. "Shit, Jo." He mumbled, not knowing how to respond.

Jonas broke out into a large smile, showing his dimple and laughed. He loosen his hold on Hugh, but kept his hand on his hip to keep him close.

"You know, Jo, everyone is calling me a liar because they dont believe you laugh." Hugh tried to sound normal, but couldn't calm down his pounding heart and hoped that Jonas didn't hear it. Sometimes, Jonas would do something that would make his stomach flip and cause heat to rush to his face...and to other places.

Hugh had been with men and women before, and enjoyed both sides. He never cared about gender, but the feelings that Jonas was making him feel was powerful. Jonas was all he could see. So when the pretty girl stopped Jonas and he found out that they had a relationship, he burned with jealousy. He wanted to stake his claim on Jonas, but somehow restrained himself.

He had no idea what Jonas was doing to him and hoped that Jonas was feeling the same thing.