The rest of Red’s things were packed up quickly and quietly. The walk down the steps was silent and incredibly slow as Red limped his way down, two kittens in an open moving box clutched in his arms. Simon was juggling the rest of Red’s things and was glad at the slow pace.

The ride back to Simon’s house passed largely in silence until he remembered something Karen had said earlier. “Damian?”

Red jumped. “Wh-What?”

“So your name is Damian.” He snuck a glance at the red head before turning back to the road. He looked startled. “Your neighbor, Karen, told us. She also told us about Bob’s other…” He trailed off, suddenly unsure. What if Red didn’t know?

“Fuck buddies,” Red finished, settling the problem. “So you’re going to get Lila to go to the cops?”

“What? Oh holy shit, I forgot to get the number.” He flipped his signal on quickly glanced over his shoulder.

“Relax, I have her number. Me and her used to talk a lot. Chance and Kyle too.”

“Bob was… uh…”

“Doing all of us, yeah. He made sure we all knew too.”

Simon snuck another glance over. Red was looking down, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “Why’d you put up with it?”

Red shrugged. “He was possessive.”

“What?”

Red sighed. “You know I sleep around, right?” Without waiting for an answer, he continued. “Most of the people I sleep with don’t care and the ones that do usually just get depressed, not angry at me or the others. Bob got pissed. He got in fights with me and others about it. It felt… nice.”

Simon stared, eyes turning from the road. “You stayed with him because he was a jealous bastard?”

Red shrugged.

Simon sighed. “You are one fu- uh, odd kid.”

“Fucked up is the word you’re looking for.”

“Words, and yeah, that’s the term I was going to use. Why do you go by Red?”

“I didn’t want to get recognized, so I picked up a new name. Red was the first I thought of. Mostly because people kept calling me it,” he said wryly, plucking at a strand of his hair.

Simon couldn’t help but smiling. “I can imagine why. So is Blake your real last name?”

Red hesitated.

“And I want the truth. You do realize you’re a crappy liar, right?”

“de Bois. My name’s Damian de Bois.”

Simon raised an eyebrow. “I can see why you changed it. It’s not exactly common. What did you do after you ran away?”

Red shrugged. “Wandered.”

“That’s vague.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, fine. I’m calling you Damian from now on. Any objections?”

Damian shook his head. “As long as you don’t slip up….”

“I have a good head for details; I won’t forget.” He pulled into his driveway. “Now, we are here for twenty minutes. You are going to get your cats settled in and then we’re going to the free clinic. I am bringing everything in, so just get out and give me your cats.”

Damian obediently handed over the box and gently slid out of the car. He hobbled after Simon as the man strode up the walkway and swung open his door. “Okay, Jake said to keep you on the first floor, so I’ll just convert my office to a guest room until your ankle heals up.”

“I’m fine on the second.”

“Nonsense. My office is a little cluttered, but I’m pretty sure the couch in it is more comfortable than the guest bed.” He opened the wooden door and waved Damian inside. “Try it out.”

Damian walked in cautiously, looking around at the area. It was pentagonal shaped with a door, a large plush couch, a huge desk, shelves, and a window each dominating one wall. Every surface was cluttered with papers, books, and various knick knacks. He sat down on the couch. His eyes widened as he sank down into it and he promptly shifted so he was laying down. “Comfy.”

Simon smirked and nodded. He sat the box down. “Twenty minutes.”

He managed to get the rest of Damian’s stuff in two trips, grateful that he didn’t have to juggle everything this time. He set Damian’s things outside the door and made sure he had everything before opening it a crack. “Hey-” He cut himself off. Damian was curled up, eyes shut, both cats curled up against him.

Quietly, Simon took a step back and shut the door. He could afford to wait a couple hours.

It ended up being a lot longer than a couple hours. He was cooking dinner when Damian emerged, slightly rumpled from sleep and looking vaguely embarrassed.

Simon smirked. “Have a nice nap?”

“Yeah,” Damian said softly. “Thanks for letting me sleep.”

Simon nodded. “Sure, but this means we can’t go to the free clinic until after school tomorrow. What time do you finish?”

“Three thirty, but I usually stay there longer.”

“Tomorrow you will just have to leave on time.”

“But I need to catch up!”

Simon crossed his arms. “I’m going to take a wild guess from what I know about you, but I’m guessing you’re okay as far as art goes.”

Damian flushed. “In all my other classes. I’ve missed over a week.”

“Well I can’t stand in the way of academic achievement.” He sighed. “What’s your schedule, maybe I can help.”

Damian quickly outlined his classes. Simon felt his eyebrows raising. All his academic classes were the lowest level. However, all he said was, “I can help. It’s all pretty basic. Just get the assignments you missed and I’ll help you understand them.”

Damian stared at him. “Like tutoring.”

Simon nodded. “Exactly.”

Damian’s shock turned to amusement. “I have had two tutors while at this school. Neither really concentrated much on the work.”

Simon flushed. “Well I will,” he said firmly. “We’ll get you caught up.”

Damian scowled. “Good luck,” he muttered.

Simon ignored him.