Sebastian blinked in confusion as Edmund practically shoved him into his own room and closed the door behind them. He decided to sit down on his bed, back against the headboard, legs bent a bit so that there was enough space for Ed to sit at the foot end directly in front of him. Instead, however, Edmund chose to sit next to Sebastian, body angled to face him, so Seb turned to face him too. Ed stared at his face for a long moment, then glanced down at his chest and frowned.

“Do you need to wear that thing?”

“My shirt? We have company downstairs Eddie.”

The flustered reaction he got from Edmund was so funny that he laughed even as Ed swatted at him reproachfully. “Why do you keep making these jokes?”

“Because you look adorable when flustered.”

Edmund rolled his eyes. “I was talking about that necklace, but the way. Do you really need to wear it?”

Seb sighed. “Yes?”

“Oh, wow, you sound so confident, sorry for asking.”

“Don’t sass me, you weirdo.” Sebastian said, swatting at Edmund. “Why don’t you like me wearing it anyway?”

Ed looked away from Seb. “Because.”

“Because…?”

“Just because.” Sebastian gave him a look and Edmund sighed. “Because I really don’t want you getting hurt. And that thing is an unknown.”

Seb’s demeanor softened as he realised what Edmund meant. Ed had always been the protective kind, and something like this, where he wasn’t sure how to protect Sebastian, was probably killing him.

Seb took his hand. “Okay, I know that it’s still an unknown, and you feel it could be dangerous, but… you trust me, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, trust me that it’s safe. I’ll be okay, Eddie.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No, but I’m trusting my instincts. So, can you trust me?”

Edmund sighed but nodded. “I’ll trust you. That wasn’t entirely why I pulled you up here though...”

Sebastian motioned for him to continue.

“Something is bothering you, and don’t even try denying it, because I can tell there’s something.”

“Okay, there is something,” Sebastian admitted. “I’m worried about Luke. Last night we all slept in the living room, but that’s not going to work out in the long run. He can stay here but I don’t know how my parents would react when they get home. Or there’s your house, and you certainly have the room, but your dad is another person who’s out of the loop, and I don’t want you to feel pressured about coming out to him.”

“Well, he already knows I’m gay.”

Sebastian laughed. “You know what I mean, dummy.”

Edmund smiled softly. “Yeah, I know what you mean. And I don’t feel pressured, I promise. If anything, I feel like that’s the next right step. To tell him about everything.”

Sebastian nodded. “So, when then?”

“I was thinking tonight, over dinner. I don’t know how you and Luke would feel being there for that, but maybe he’ll freak out less with guests around.”

“I don’t think your dad will freak out on you. He might be shocked and confused, but he wouldn’t like shout or anything.”

Edmund nodded. “Alright, so then, tonight...”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

Sebastian nodded an squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I’ll be right there with you then.”

They fell into a companionable silence. The familiarity of being in his own room with Edmund was nice. Really nice after spending the last couple of hours going in and out of panic mode.

“Do we have to still go to school?” Edmund asked, breaking the silence.

Sebastian chuckled at the dejection in his voice. “Well, you don’t have to, but I have a test in chemistry that I don’t want to miss.”

Ed sighed. “Guess we’re going then. What about Luke though?”

Seb bit his lip thoughtfully. “We’ll let him decide. We can also ask about him joining us for dinner at your house tonight, but we should do that now.”

Edmund nodded in agreement and they got up together and left the room. Downstairs, they found Hayden and Lydia had taken the task of cleaning up after breakfast, while Persephone and Luke were still sitting at the kitchen table talking about the pancakes.

Persephone looked over to Edmund as they entered and said, “Luke agrees with me, your way of making pancakes is inferior.”

“I didn’t say that,” Luke squeaked.

“But you agreed they were too thin.”

“Yes, but I meant it was like a crepe. Your way was more like a flapjack.”

“She just calls all of those pancakes because they’re flat and made in a pan.” Hayden interjected.

Edmund’s jaw dropped. “What? That’s like calling a muffin a cupcake!”

Persephone frowned. “What's the difference between those two?”

“Everything!”

The following argument was entertaining to watch, but Sebastian decided to take Luke aside when he saw it wasn’t going to let up any time soon.

“How are you feeling about school today? If you’d rather not go, you can just wait here till Ed and I get back.” Sebastian offered.

“You sure?” Luke inquired. “What if your parents come home?”

“You can tell them that I’ll explain it when I get back. They will understand.”

Luke nodded, though he didn’t seem fully convinced. “I think... I think I’ll rather go. It's a bit of normalcy and, well, I don’t want to lose my attendance record.”

Sebastian chuckled a little. “Okay then. Do you want to borrow some clothes for the day?”

Luke blinked at him. “Are you- are you sure?”

“Yeah, man. It's just clothes.”

“It’s your clothes though. They’d have yours and Edmund’s scents.”

“Oh. Would that be a problem?”

Luke shook his head. “No. Uh, my old pack was just conservative.”

Sebastian nodded. “Well, Eddie and I have no idea how any of that works. I just see sharing clothes as something you do with people you’re close to. Like borrowing a jacket to your friend.”

Luke nodded again, eyes sort of wide like he was hearing about something wonderful. Sebastian was reminded yet again of how the boy had been living in a house that was barely a home. To think that something as simple as sharing clothing made him happy was kind of sad. Seb hoped he and Edmund could do more to show Luke happiness, but for now, he was determined to find something for him to wear that would make him feel good during school.