A/N: Though this is written in J.C's point of view, I'm particularly fond of Dana, so I just had to expand his story more. Plus J.C deserved more screen time, so, here we are!

**You don't have to have read Cuddle Buddy before diving into this, as I dropped in details about why this and that are happening, but as this is a side/companion piece, you might miss some things.**

One Last Thing: This begins a day before chapter 21 in the main story. Or to be more accurate, Tuesday.

xxx

School was a chore, there was no denying that, but if there was one thing J.C looked forward to, it was being with his friends.

They'd normally group up in the parking lot to set a plan for their day, but by the time he fought his way through throngs of lingering students after the final bell, he found no-one waiting for him. He guessed he deserved that. A week ago, J.C had been forcibly pulled from school to attend the funeral of some relative he never met. Apparently, the woman had left a Will and his parents had been eager to collect. To his surprise he'd been left a hefty chunk of change along with some century old wooden toys he could easily pawn. He had no idea he had wealthy family members and had been stunned (as well as slightly embarrassed) to be in such high company. While that was all well and good, the flurry in which he'd been ushered on a plane meant that he forgot some key things, namely his cell phone, and since he never bothered to learn his friend's numbers, he'd been left in the dark. J.C didn't think anything horrible had happened while he'd been gone, but he had a bad feeling nonetheless. If anything, his friends were angry with him for going radio silent. Wasn't like it was his fault. He tried messaging them as soon as he got home, but no one responded, and he spent lunch that afternoon smoking by himself. Whatever they were angry about, they'd forgive once he bought them all custom-fitted leather jackets.

In a last ditch effort, J.C shot the group a text jokingly asking if he were ousted. A few minutes passed wherein he fought not to get upset with how his friends thought it cool to treat him like a contagious disease before someone finally answered. He halfway hoped it was Dana before he saw that it was Bear. Better than nothing, he mused – until he read the message.

Bear: Groups broken sorry jc

J.C stared blankly at the words, his car a solid surface against his lower back and hips. A full minute passed before he blinked and his brain sparked back to life. The group broke up? What the hell? How could the group be broken? They'd been friends for fucking ever. There was no way it was just over. No way.

J.C: Wtf is going on

Bear: lotta stuff happened but not my place to say

J.C's hands shook with barely concealed fury. Not his place to say? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Why were they keeping secrets from him like this? The more Bear replied, the tighter his face became until he knew he was outright snarling. He had to force himself to relax the tension setting in his shoulders. It did nothing to help with the numbness gripping his fingers, making his next words sloppy and half-formed.

J.C: r u fckin srious wheres dana?

Bear: idk at home? He can tell you everything im sorry

Hell. No.

There was no sorry.

With a real conscious effort not to hurl his phone halfway across the lot, J.C jammed the device into his back pocket before angrily wrenching open his car door and starting the ignition. He would go see Dana and get every last detail from him. This had better be a dumb prank because it was not funny.

xxx

To J.C's relief, Dana's car sat in the driveway. It was parked in the usual fashion, half on the pavement and half on the nice manicured lawn. J.C didn't allow himself a smirk. He marched up the sidewalk and laid a heavy fist on the front door. When it opened to reveal Dana's father, he wordlessly brushed past the man and made his way up the carpeted stairs. He was positively seething by the time he reached the landing. He had all sorts of starting arguments brewing in his head, to the point where he couldn't decide if Dana's old man calling the police on him would damper his day or enhance it.

Dana's door stood ajar, allowing the stench of cigarette smoke to waft out. Soft music was also playing but J.C couldn't figure out if it was rap or rock. It all seemed normal… so, maybe whatever the hell was going on wasn't too terrible… Then he remembered Bear's vague messages, and the uneasy feeling resurfaced. Something wasn't right.

Without knocking, J.C shoved his way through the door. His eyes immediately narrowed to Dana sitting at his desk, nose-deep in a World History book and dangling a cigarette carelessly between his slender fingers. Strands of dark hair dangled in front of his face and his foot was tapping along to the music. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. The tension in J.C's back lessened as a slow breath passed through his lips. When he saw Bear again, he was going to slap that gross beard off his face.

"Hey, man."

Dana startled almost violently, nearly falling out of his chair as he abruptly turned in his direction. J.C started to laugh at his reaction. One look at Dana's face, and his stomach painfully disappeared.

Dana looked godawful. Pale, bruised, and fearful in a way that worried him. J.C had beaten up a lot of people to recognize that look in someone's eyes, that wild primal instinct of checking for all available exits before staring at the predator in a way that used to make his guts churn. It lasted for only a second before Dana recognized him, but since it was Dana, J.C wasn't sure if he should make himself smaller or pretend he didn't see it. He never wanted to downplay Dana's masculinity, but in that moment, Dana looked absolutely pitiful.

"Jesus. You startled me," Dana said, turning away. Whether unconsciously or not, he hunched up his shoulders to hide his exposed neck.

But J.C saw. He saw everything.

"What happened?"

"Stuff…"

J.C slowly walked towards him. "Yeah, stuff. What kind of stuff?" What he wanted to ask was what kind of stuff justified being strangled, because there was no mistaking those markings. Dana got himself into something deep, and whatever it was, it had ripped the group apart. More importantly, he wanted to know who did it so he could return the favor.

At his desk, Dana twisted away from him, his entire body knotting up the closer J.C came. He took a reassuring drag from his cigarette. "It doesn't concern you. What's happened, happened."

"Bullshit."

Dana shot him a stink eye. "Fuck you. Leave me alone."

If the situation wasn't so serious, J.C might have laughed. It was such a childish, over-the-top reaction, but he wouldn't mock Dana for it. They were never close, not like the way Rex and Dana were creepy close, but J.C respected his friend. He was the toughest white boy he'd ever met, so sure of himself and always true to his word. The fact that he was seriously book smart only added to his appeal. J.C always figured he'd do anything the shorter teen asked. Steal a car, jump off a bridge, suck his dick in a maid outfit, he'd do it all in a heartbeat. But Dana asking him to turn around and leave? No way. "Nope. I leave for like four days and come back to everyone giving me the coldshoulder and you lookin' beat to shit. Tell me what happened—"

"And if I don't?"

I'll punch you in the face echoed in J.C's head before he realized that with Dana in his current state, he would never.

Dana hmphed at the way J.C faltered and returned to his book. "Thought so."

"I deserve to know what happened," J.C tried. He stared at the side of Dana's face, and lucky him, it was the side his black eye resided. It didn't look too bad, considering, as if the attacker had held back at the last second. It only made his curiosity stronger. "If this is truly over, I want to know. Dana," he sighed as the brunet continued to stubbornly dismiss him, "this isn't fair. I'm your friend."

"You're my pawn," Dana replied aloofly.

"And?"

"And leave me the hell alone. Are you stupid?"

J.C didn't rise to the bait. "Tell me, fuckhead."

Dana finally looked him in the eye, shocked, then shaking his head, conceded with a chuckle. "Why are you so damn stubborn?"

"Why are you so evasive?" he shot back without missing a beat. "This isn't the first grade, man. Talk."

At first Dana said nothing, his gaze staring somewhere over J.C's shoulder. After a moment's silence, he reached into the drawer of his desk, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tossed it to J.C after fishing one out for himself. J.C took that as a sign to get comfortable.

"First of all," the brunet started as he lit his new one up, "where've you been?"

"Funeral. Distant relative. I'll tell you all about it later." A meaningful glance later and Dana got the hint.

Sighing like it physically pained him to relive the tale, Dana took two long drags and leaned back in his chair. His nostrils flared. "Do you remember that kid, the one you wanted to beat the shit out of?"

J.C relaxed and took a seat on the messy bed. "Yup. Oh, shit. Don't tell me he gave you that shiner?"

The barest hint of a smile didn't quite reach Dana's eyes. "Nah. Just, I had my suspicions about him and Rex. You weren't there to see it, but the way Rex talked about him, you could tell that that kid was getting bent over regularly."

J.C gasped and choked on smoke, prompting a heartier laugh out of Dana. That time, those blue eyes did crinkle. "What?"

"He argued that it wasn't true, but c'mon. When have you ever known Rex to show someone mercy?"

"Dude." J.C reached over to the bedside table to tap his cigarette against the ashtray. While it was true he'd never seen Rex date women, he never would have guessed that he liked boys. He didn't care, of course, he saw the appeal, but the revelation still took him for a loop. "Okay, so, what does Rex getting his rocks off with a nerd have to do with you looking like shit?"

Dana went quiet, again. J.C patiently waited; he had nothing better to do.

"I… I may have acted rashly. I didn't like that Rex was mooning after him. It was a distraction, and I knew he was beginning to pull away from the group. I need his loyalty," he stated, and it wasn't anything new to J.C. Dana and Rex had been close friends for eons. Apart, it was hard to think how one could survive without the other. "When he decided that we weren't his priority anymore, I got angry. When I saw Bear's loyalty shifting, I fucking lost it."

Abruptly, Dana stood and went to the window. It stubbornly opened with a horrific screech, allowing warm drafts of wind to soothe the burnt scent of nicotine. J.C frowned at him but Dana wasn't looking. He leaned over the windowsill, his fingers idly scratching at his bare elbows. J.C watched with growing annoyance as the wind played with Dana's loose hair, long overdue for a trim. Did he think that was enough information to go off of? Right.

"And then what happened?" J.C asked. "How'd you 'lose it'?"

Dana shook his head as if forgetting that he had company and spun back around, his palms resting against the windowsill. Sunlight framed him, and coupled with his emotionless blue eyes, he appeared otherworldly. "I did what I had to," he said as if already defending himself from J.C's reaction, "I went to the kid's house, threatened him to leave my friends alone, and punched him. I think I broke his nose."

Not really seeing what the big deal was—hell, he would have done the same thing if it meant protecting his livelihood—J.C nodded thoughtfully. "Nice."

Dana looked taken aback. "No, not nice."

"Why not?"

"Because I underestimated how much Rex loved him—"

"Uh, what? How you know Rex loves him? He was probably just pissed you fucked up his toy." J.C abruptly fell silent, his gaze drifting from the pinched expression on Dana's face to the bruises etched around his neck. Something clicked, a revelation. "Rex." The singular utterance of his name brought up a strange white-hot fury, further fueled by the way Dana glanced off to the side. "He did that to you. Over a piece of fuckin' ass? Are you serious?"

At Dana's hesitant nod, heat flared in J.C's chest. He shot up from the bed and tossed his half-used cigarette into the ashtray. Dana watched him with hooded eyes, his fingers clutching at the windowsill.

"Stop," he ordered quietly as J.C stomped his way for the exit, "there's no point getting riled up."

J.C stopped short. Did he hear that right? Did Dana really just tell him to sit back down and pretend that everything's peaches? "Man. He choked you. He could have killed you. And you expect me to sit here and do nothing about it?" He shot Dana a disgusted look. "This isn't…" Normal? Happening? Right? "Please tell me you at least put up a fight. Was Bear there? What'd he do? God don't tell me he took Rex's side?" he grit out as Dana lowered his eyes and bit into his bottom lip like a scolded puppy. This had to be a dream. No way in any universe would Rex ever hurt Dana like that. Not for a stupid little bug-eyed child. Dana's demure attitude wasn't helping, either. This wasn't like him at all. This wasn't…

Dana straightened up as if coming to his own revelation, his gaze staggering with sure fire authority. J.C's heart skipped awkwardly in his chest, that fierce loyalty he harbored towards Dana resurfacing in a snap, reminding him who was the boss here.

"You don't understand," was all Dana said.

"Help me to."

Dana narrowed his eyes, then miraculously relented with a tight nod. After taking a moment to light up a new cigarette, he leaned back against the window, ankles crossed and left arm wrapped across his waist. J.C sat back down on the bed, his back straight, patiently waiting.

"Listen," Dana began needlessly, staring determinedly into J.C's eyes as if he needed a reminder to stay under his thumb, "I've never told anyone this, but Rex and I used to fuck."

J.C let out a bewildered laugh, his face prickling at the bold proclamation and the unasked for image that popped into his brain. "Uh… each other…?"

Dana smirked at his reaction, his eyes glinting with laughter. "Naturally. I used to worship his dick, y'know."

"I—what? For how long?" J.C blurted, his body absurdly warm all over, and it had nothing to do with the window being open. Of all the…

"I dunno. Years." Uncaring of the way J.C squirmed, Dana twisted about to tap his cigarette outside. "Before he knew what I did, Rex came over. We had hot sex right where you're sitting." Honestly, J.C couldn't tell if Dana was messing with him or not; he had a huge Cheshire grin for one thing.

J.C cleared his throat louder than necessary, "Okay, then what?"

"Then, I don't know, everything was good again. He was very enthusiastic, loving you could say," Dana remarked off-handedly, "he didn't know what I did. We were happy. Until…" he trailed off, eyes glazing over, "I blabbed, and…"

"He attacked," J.C answered for him as Dana went quiet. "This' so stupid," he said a beat later. "You punch some kid in the face, whoopy, we do that all the time, and that maniac goes and strangles you in retaliation—"

"He wasn't thinking—"

J.C did a double take. "Really? You're defending what he did? How many times do I have to tell you, Dana? He could have fucking killed you!"

"Yeah, well, it happened! You yelling at me isn't going to change the past."

"Maybe, but putting my fist up Rex's ass might."

"Don't fight him," Dana halfway pleaded, palms out, and judging by the way J.C looked twice as pissed off, he wished he could have changed his tone of voice. "There isn't any point. He's moved on, Bear's moved on, I've moved on. It's your turn."

J.C didn't know how to answer that. How was he supposed to answer that? His friends were at odds with one another because of some stupid kid, and now he was expected to put it out of his mind and go his own separate way. Dana sucked on the last drag of his cigarette before flicking it outside, his cheeks caving in to outline the sharp lines of his face. After, he shut the window and sat back at his desk to resume reading. For all intents and purposes, he was ignoring J.C now.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"It's a nice day, could go for a drive."

"That's not what I meant," he retorted lowly, "and you know that."

Dana gave a tired sigh, and just for one moment, J.C felt bad for goading him. But he wouldn't say sorry. "I don't know… do what you want, Jay. I just want to be left alone."

He didn't say anything more so J.C took it as a sign to get out. Before leaving Dana to his brooding and self-imposed history lesson, he shot one last look at his downed head and gave a firm nod.

"I'm still gonna kick his ass."