Author's Note: So this chapter is a bit of a rollercoaster but I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for my absence, I was on holiday. And I got some great new ideas for stories but I was so excited to write this when I got back so here's an update. Tell me what you think :) Dedicated to cause she always leaves really nice comments and she was very perceptive regarding Daniel

Today is going to be a good day, Daniel can feel it. It's not often that Daniel is in such a good mood but today everything seems to be going his way and so Daniel allows himself the small pleasure of thinking positively for a little while.

"You're looking happy today," Jonah says as soon as he spots Daniel.

"I am."

Daniel chooses not to elaborate and Jonah doesn't ask, instead he grins widely at Daniel and drags him down the corridor.

"You're coming with me."

"Where to?"

Daniel had no problem with being dragged places by Jonah Clarke (after all, who would?) but he would prefer to know where he's going. As much as Daniel trusts Jonah he cannot be sure that Jonah is not dragging him somewhere truly horrible like the pits of hell or even worse, to hang out with his friends. (Now that Daniel thinks about it the two might as well be synonymous with each other.)

"My locker."

Daniel has to pause briefly to absorb this newfound information.

"You never go to your locker," Daniel says accusingly.

"You stalking me or something?"

"Jonah we've been going to the same school for the past year and a half, it's impossible for me not to know these things."

"I'll let your stalkerishness slide then," Jonah says teasingly.

"Stalkerishness isn't a real word."

"It is now."

"I'm not sure you posses that kind of authority."

"You don't know my life story."

"Shut up Jonah and walk," Daniel says, "if I could grow facial hair I'm pretty sure I'd have a beard by now."

"You can't grow facial hair?"

"Walk!"

It doesn't take them long to reach Jonah's locker after that and Daniel can quickly see why Jonah rarely uses it. When Jonah opens the door it falls open, sending several pieces of paper onto the floor. The entire locker appears to be filled with an assortment of rubbish, old letters from school, sweet wrappers and Daniel even thinks that he might be able to spot a condom in there somewhere, although to be honest, Daniel would rather not think about that.

"Have you ever heard of a bin?" Daniel asks. "Oh my god, is that a pair of your underwear in there?"

Jonah just shrugs and begins to place stacks of paper in Daniel's arms as he roots through his collection.

"What are we looking for?"

Jonah doesn't reply but rather withdraws his arm from the locker with a flourish and turns to Daniel with a smirk. Daniel is not impressed when he sees what is in Jonah's hand.

"A box of condoms," Daniel says disbelievingly, "you dragged me to your locker and subjected me to all this rubbish just so you could retrieve a box of condoms."

"Safe sex is important Daniel," Jonah tells him seriously, "and my stash at home has run out, turns out Ivy Michaels can really..."

Daniel cuts Jonah off by placing a hand over his mouth, sending the papers in his arms to the ground.

"Please stop talking," Daniel begs, "because I really don't want to know about that."

Jonah rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything none the less.

"Where you at next lesson?" He asks after a few moments of silence.

"I've got psychology."

"I'll walk you."

"Jonah your lesson is literally a ten second walk away from where we're stood, mine is like five minutes away."

"I'll walk you," Jonah repeats.

"I think I'll be fine," Daniel replies, "I mean I'll do anything to escape from your annoyingness."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding, love you really," Daniel says and then he slowly replays the words that just came out of your mouth. "I mean I don't love you, like you're a great friend but I'm not attracted to you or anything - anymore - you're like ew to me now. But I don't mean you're ugly, I'm sure all the girls are into that but not me, no you're like chalk and I'm like cheese. So I don't like love you, it's just an expression thing, maybe, I don't know, fuck."

It is Jonah's turn to place a hand over Daniel's mouth to shut him up and Daniel is surprised to find that Jonah is almost doubled over laughing.

"I get it Danny-boy," Jonah tells him, "chill. Now go have fun in psychology honey-bun."

"Did you just call me honey-bun?"

"You told me you loved me."

"Shut up."

Jonah pushes him away lightly then and Daniel begins to head towards his classroom. His good mood has persisted and the smile on his face seems to have grown even wider while talking to Jonah.

However all that changes a few minutes later when Daniel is nearly sent to the floor by Harry.

"Oops faggot, I didn't see you there," Harry leers.

Daniel is prepared to put his head down, to carry on with his day and ignore Harry as he usually would but then he thinks about whether that's actually productive. Because Daniel is slowly starting to realise that every time he acts like what Harry does is okay, it only encourages Harry to do it even more and Daniel isn't sure how much longer he can keep going like this.

Harry seems to have noticed that Daniel has stopped and is looking at him strangely.

"What's up gay-boy? Trying to hold back the tears."

"Fuck off," Daniel says quietly.

"What?"

"Fuck off," Daniel replies, louder this time.

He tries to stand straighter, talk louder, all so that he will seem more confident than he actually is. All in the hope that Harry will just, stop, and leave him alone. Daniel would rather be invisible than deal with this.

"What did you just say to me?" Harry asks and for the first time Daniel feels fear shoot through him.

"I said fuck off."

All Daniel's effort is going into keeping his voice level, trying not to show any weakness because he realises now that that's what Harry wants, for Daniel to feel weak because that makes Harry feel strong.

"You can't speak to me like that."

"And you can't push me around like that."

By this point the pair have attracted a crowd and they're all watching, feeling entertained. It makes Daniel feel sick, because they find this amusing but this is something that Daniel has to feel everyday and how can people possibly find people like Harry to be amusing. How can they not realise that Daniel is terrified? How can they not realise how close he is to breaking?

Harry seems to love the attention though, although he is obviously not keen on the person who has caused it.

"I can do anything I want," Harry boasts, "because in the grand scheme of things I am better than you. In ten years time nobody will remember you, heck you won't even be able to have kids to pass your legacy on, or you going to man up and fuck a girl."

Daniel tries to keep his back straight, tries to tune out the words. He tries counting, he tries naming as many sports teams as he can (as it's Daniel, not many) and in the end he resorts to trying to recall every single word that Jonah has ever said to him in chronological order. Anything to stop him from crying in front of Harry, he can only imagine the gloating he would have to suffer through then.

"Nothing to say? Has ickle Daniel lost his courage. Too busy being a pervert and imagining my best friend naked? Get it into your head Daniel, he doesn't like you, he just feels sorry for you because he knows that your feelings for him are hopeless. That's the thing about Jonah, he's just too nice. But luckily I'm not so I'm going to put it simply for you, Jonah will never, ever, in a million years be interested in you. The only reason he's talking to you now? Because he doesn't know how to get rid of you. You should hear the things he tells me about you; about how annoying and desperate you are, about how much he hates having to spend time with you."

Daniel can't take it anymore. He squeezes his eyes shut causing tears to fall and tries, tries desperately, to ignore it all but it's no use. He can sense all his feelings starting to rear and he doesn't want to, can't, break down in front of everyone. So he does the only thing he can think of.

He swings for Harry. When his fist connects with Harry's face Daniel thinks that he's probably in a lot more pain than Harry is but for a moment it's worth it, just for the shocked expression on Harry's face.

But then Harry returns the favour and he's a lot stronger than Daniel is. Harry's fist meets Daniel's face with a sickening crunch and Daniel finds himself falling to the floor. He doesn't even try to break the fall; he's too busy clutching his cheek. And it's weird to say but Daniel is relieved to be on the floor, now Harry can leave him alone. He's had his fun, he's exposed Daniel as weak and now he can just go away.

But then Harry grabs the collar of Daniel's shirt and presses their foreheads together.

"Know your place," Harry hisses, his fist hitting Daniel again.

Daniel doesn't want to think about this, doesn't want to think about the fact that he always seems to make the wrong decisions. He tries to force his brain to shut down. Tries to stop it from thinking about Jonah, about knowing his place, tries to shut it down so he can't feel Harry's foot collide with his ribs several times before he finally, finally, stops.

Watching Harry walk away from him, Daniel thinks that he never wants to get up. Because getting up means that he has to admit to the pain that's shooting through him, and that means facing up to what just happened. That maybe being friends with Jonah isn't good for Daniel after all, especially not if he has to live through today again. Because Daniel isn't certain he would be living at the end of it.

"You okay?" a gentle hand is placed on Daniel's shoulder and eases him upwards.

Daniel looks up to see Alice Parker looking straight back at him and he should probably be concerned that the first thought that crosses his mind is that Isaac is going to be pissed that it wasn't him in this situation. Of course he won't be really, Daniel is pretty sure that no-one would want to be in this mess and the thought is so absurd that a laugh bubbles up inside of him. That makes his face hurt and Daniel thinks that he might never want to laugh again.

"Fine," Daniel eventually manages to splutter out in reply.

He's not though, and he can tell that Alice doesn't believe him. He might as well keep up the facade for a little while longer though right? Because it feels like the wall that Daniel has slowly built around himself is beginning to crumble. First Jonah, now this, Daniel isn't sure how much longer his fortress will last.

"Let's get you to the nurse's office," Alice tells him gently.

Her voice and movements are all soft, as if she's worried that if she scares Daniel he'll run away. Right now Daniel is barely capable of walking, let alone running so he doesn't think she has too much to worry about.

He holds onto her shoulder none the less and let's her lead him down the corridor, trying not to wince. Because Daniel can't afford to show any more weakness. He's got to be strong, he's got to be brave and today has just taught Daniel that he can't afford not to be. He can't afford to be himself.

xxx

Jonah is in geography when Harry walks in with blood on his fist and Jonah isn't sure why but he feels his stomach drop and his mouth go dry.

The feeling only gets worse when Harry starts to make his way towards him with a smirk on his face. Jonah doesn't know how, but he knows, he knows something bad has happened and he can't help but let his thoughts flicker to Daniel and hope that whatever's happened, he's not involved.

"You can thank me you know," Harry says when he reaches Jonah.

Jonah tightens his hand into a fist and tries to keep his voice level. Tries not to get angry before he knows what's happened.

"For what?"

"You haven't heard?"

"No."

"I sorted out that pain in the ass for you."

Jonah knows who he's talking about but doesn't want to believe it; surely Harry wouldn't think that Jonah would thank him for that?

"Which pain in the ass?"

"That Daniel dude, the one who's always following you about."

Jonah feels his fist clench tighter and he has to stop himself from making it collide with Harry's face. He swallows deeply and reminds himself to keep calm.

'Stay cool Jonah, you gotta keep calm. You don't know what's happened. Daniel is going to be fine.'

"What did you do to him?" Jonah asks and his voice comes out angrier than he intended.

"Let's just say that this isn't my blood."

Harry holds out his fist for Jonah to see and Jonah thinks he might actually throw up. Because all Jonah can think about is Daniel. The Daniel who tries so desperately to fit in. Who is one of the best friends Jonah has ever had. Who can make Jonah laugh until he's crying and is also happy to talk about random shit till 3am. The Daniel who's braver than anyone Jonah knows and whose strength Jonah is constantly is awe of. The Daniel who just wants to be happy, who gets so much shit from everyone, the Daniel who doesn't deserve any of this.

It crosses Jonah's mind that this is all his fault. It was his 'friend' that did it, that did it for him, and Jonah hates himself. If Jonah wasn't insistent on being friends with him then Daniel wouldn't be in this mess, but Jonah can't stop being friends with him and he realises how selfish that might be, but he won't, he won't let his friends have the satisfaction.

Harry is still smirking and Jonah sees red. His fist meets Harry's face and Jonah has the brief satisfaction of watching Harry clasp his nose in pain before Jonah walks out of the room and strides down the corridor.

Jonah's brain is all over the place and he's not sure what he's doing or what he's going to say if he finds Daniel. He just knows he has to find him, has to apologise and then he can work out the rest from there. Jonah's just not sure what he'll do if Daniel doesn't forgive him, says he doesn't want to be friends with him anymore. Jonah would completely understand of course, but that wouldn't make it any easier.

When Jonah reaches the nurse's office it's empty and Jonah can feel the panic rising in his throat once again. But then he spots Alice Parker hovering just down the corridor and he decides he might as well ask.

"Hi," Jonah greets awkwardly.

"They've sent him to the hospital."

"What?"

"They've sent Daniel to the hospital," Alice explains, "that is what you were going to ask me right?"

"Yeah," Jonah replies slowly, "thanks Alice."

Jonah finds himself pulling the girl into an awkward hug before he resumes his jog down the corridor and out of the school building. He briefly remembers his dad's warning about him skipping another school day but decides he doesn't care. Right now Daniel is more important.

Jonah isn't really sure what his plan is though, going to the hospital doesn't really seem like a great idea. Especially if Daniel is pissed at him but Jonah does vaguely know where Daniel lives and so he decides to head there and hope it doesn't take Daniel long to get home.

The wait is longer than Jonah expected but he finds he can't entertain himself. His thoughts are too all over the place and the crappy games he has on his phone do little to hold his attention. He tries reading, he tries doing homework, he tries everything he has available to him but nothing can take his mind off the thought of Daniel lying on a hospital bed, how he must have felt while it was all happening, how much he must hate Jonah now.

Jonah tries to convince himself that Daniel won't blame him but quickly realises that's impossible; after all, Jonah blames himself.

When Daniel finally gets home Jonah is still sat on his front step and he looks up eagerly when he hears voices approaching. Daniel stops walking when he spots him and Jonah has to bite back a smile.

"Hey," Daniel calls nervously.

"Hey."

Daniel's mum looks up from where she was rooting through her handbag and her face lights up when she spots Jonah.

"I'll go ahead and let you two talk," she says with a wink.

Jonah watches as Daniel's cheeks flush. Right there he decides that he quite likes Daniel's mum.

Daniel perches next to him and swings his feet back and forth. A silence descends upon the two of them and Jonah realises that he no longer seems to be capable of speaking, at least not the words that he really wants to say.

"Sorry," he manages to blurt out eventually.

Jonah is surprised to find that Daniel has turned to look at him with a shocked expression on his face.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because this was all my fault. If you weren't friends with me then none of this would have happened. Fuck. If you weren't friends with me then life for you would be a lot easier and I totally get it if you don't want to be friends with me anymore but just know Daniel that you're fucking awesome, don't let anybody tell you otherwise. I mean you're funny and kind and just generally amazing Daniel and like I love being friends with you but I totally get that my friends are dicks and fuck knows why they're my friends, it's kind complicated I guess but yeah."

Jonah looks at his hands but when Daniel doesn't say anything Jonah has to look up just to make sure Daniel hasn't left. He hasn't but Daniel is looking at him with such concern that Jonah thinks he feels his heart break, because he does not deserve this boy. He can feel all his emotions at the back of his throat like some sort of lump, all the guilt and the worry.

"Hey," Daniel says gently, "don't cry."

It's only then that Jonah realises that he does indeed have tears running down his cheeks and he wipes them away, trying not to show Daniel how embarrassed he is. He doesn't want to appear weak in front of Daniel who is so brave.

"I'm not going to stop being friends with you," Daniel tells him.

"You're not?" Jonah asks and he can't keep the shock out of his voice.

"No, I'd rather have to put up with your friends than not be friends with you."

Jonah doesn't reply but he can feel the grin spread across his face.

"I really am sorry though," Jonah says.

"It's not really your fault," Daniel mumbles, "but just, why are you friends with him? The rest of them I can understand, I mean they're kinda judgemental but they've been okay and I mean Liam's really nice but Harry, he's just a dick, potentially borderline psychotic I mean, why?"

Jonah can hear the hurt in Daniel's tone and he's not sure how to explain it without sounding like a total dick.

"I know he's a fuckboy," Jonah starts by saying, "but he used to be alright. We've been best friends since we were about four and he used to be awesome, like we'd build forts and stay up all night playing video games. But then he started to become a dick and I stuck around because I thought maybe I could stop it, I didn't want to give up on him y'know. And now we're here, and I've made absolutely no difference and I guess I've given up on him now seen as though I'm pretty sure our friendship was over as soon as I hit him."

"You hit him?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"He hurt you."

"Jonah..."

"No," Jonah interrupts, "I don't want to