"I won't. And you have to know that you're handsome, you're talented and when you're older, you're going to be amazing, Hart. You're excel no matter what you do but... I think you should find a way to do what you want." Because he had a passion for music, he was creative, bright and he wasn't the puppet his parents needed him to be. He should try. He shouldn't be tied down. Barry smiled sadly and leaned forward, kissing Hartley's forehead gently before he pulled back, feeling pretty awkward. "Can we... can we still be friends? If it's too hard, I get it."
"It's fine. I'll still get to do what I want. Some of what I want, anyway." He had to focus on the bright side. But nothing was as bright as Barry. He wanted to kiss him again, he wanted to hold him and be with him. He wanted to be the person Barry saw him as. "I'm not strong enough to do it all." Lose everything he knew, because of who he was? Almost worth it. Almost. "I'd like to be your friend. You're the best friend I've ever had."
"You're not strong now but you will be. I think you're stronger than you think. And when you decide to make a stand, I got your back." He smiled and with great reluctance, he pulled away and edged towards the door. It was probably best to leave before this got any worse. "I mean it, we have to stay friends because I don't want to lose you. You're all I have here, Hart. You're my best friend too and I don't want to lose your company."
"You won't. I mean, I'm not very fun company and I barely have time, but if you ever need pants again, I'll be sure to keep another spare." Hartley smiled a little and wished he felt less heartbroken. This would be over eventually, the pain would fade. It wasn't as if he had lost much, really. They didn't know each other that well, they might have never been much. "This is making me a lot more sad than it should."
"I'm sorry, I don't know how to make it any less sad." He looked around, wishing he had something he could do. He eyed the guitar idly but thought now was not the time for a song. Not really. "I can sing you a happy song?" He wasn't really going to but he laughed anyway at the idea of singing a cheering up song to Hartley freaking Rathaway. "Or I can show myself out like a sane person."
"You're sweet." He was perfect. Hartley entertained the notion of suggesting a secret affair for just a moment, but then he just smiled a little instead and shook his head at his own thoughts, flute in his hand as he made himself pull away from Barry so he could walk over to the door and open it.
He hadn't expected to be faced with a boy who walked right in. He was even less prepared for someone wearing their school's uniform that he definitely hadn't seen before - he'd have remembered that. What he really hadn't expected was the subtle smile on that remarkably handsome face. "Did I interrupt the kissing?"
"We didn't kiss." Barry was quick to panic and not a great liar which is why he swiftly shut the door with one hand and spun that insane line because clearly this boy had seen them and this was a big deal for Hartley. No one could know so he had to deny like hell and hope to get away with it. "We did sort of slip and our faces touched but no lips on lips. We're not gay. That's-- that's, you know, like, gross?"
Is that what homophobes said? Like gross or evil. One or the other. He frowned at this kid, one he'd never really seen around before, and tried his best not to let himself get as uneasy as he felt. "So, yeah, you can go."
Leonard lifted his phone up, one of the pictures he'd taken very prominent on the display. Hartley wasn't really one for doing things halfway, this was definitely a kiss and there was no mistaking. Good angle, too, if Leonard said so himself.
He saw the Rathaway kid's eyes widen as he paled, but he took his cue when the eyes narrowed instead, so when Hartley came at him, he was ready. Leonard flipped Hartley over, making him fall hard on his back.
"Huh. Didn't really expect a fight. You get points, Rathaway. And who are you, loverboy?"
They were fighting. Oh man, this was spiralling fast. He shoved past Leonard and crouched down, partially in front of Hartley, trying to protect him. "Leave him alone." He'd already done enough. Was he seriously blackmailing Hartley or something? God. He hadn't even known these feelings a moment ago and now he was being blackmailed over it.
"None of your business. What do you want?" Barry was ready to fight if he had to but he wanted to solve this without violence. He wanted to talk this kid down.
"A concussion," Hartley growled, even though he was just now slowly sitting up, glaring at the boy's phone.
"Don't pin your hopes on it, I already sent them to a friend and my email address." He pretty much saw the heart sink in Hartley's chest. At least he was quick on the uptake. The other one seemed to be a bit slower.
"Leave him out of it." Hartley grabbed Barry by the shoulder and pulled him back. "He has no money anyway."
"I have money. How much do you want?" Barry didn't have his rent money but he understood how important this was so he was willing to give his own damn rent and food money to make sure this didn't get out. Money came and went, this meant a lot to Hartley. "You can't do this to him. What kind of jerk are you that you think you can just blackmail someone?"
Barry stood up full height and tried to square up Leonard, trying to look as dangerous as he could. On Barry? Not a great nor a convincing look but he tried.
"I'm a criminal," Leonard told Barry, rather unimpressed by his display, "This is what I do. Works well for me. What do you say, Rathaway, ten thousand for now? I'll open a dummy account and you can wire the money to me asap."
And so he could send him the account number, Leonard started to save his number to Hartley's phone, which he had taken when Hartley attacked him. He watched Hartley pat himself down when he saw the phone, then just lower his head, apparently resigned to his fate. "Leave it, Barry. I can deal with this."
"No. No, you're not giving him any money. You shouldn't even be in here." Barry was not going to just relent, he knew there was little he could do but he was just angry on Hartley's behalf. It wasn't even like he was going to get to date him and he was getting shit for it already, it wasn't fair. Barry moved forward swiftly and snatched Hartley's phone back out of Leonard's hands.
And, because he was on a protective high, he shoved Leonard. Hard. "You're a scumbag. You don't deserve any of his money."
"Sure I don't. Ain't mean I'm not gonna get it, does it?" Leonard looked at Barry and smirked, then stepped back instead of punching him. Couldn't really blame him for protecting his boyfriend, who was glowering at him, but underneath it looked pretty ready to fall apart. "How about you kiss it better for him? Anyway, Rathaway, Barry? Pleasure working with you."
Barry gritted his teeth hard and wished he could throw a punch at that smug face, he wished he could hurt him but in the end, he looked down and relented. Fuck. He hated this. He hated it so much. "We're not dating, you asshole." He felt a surge of guilt inside him. This was on him, he let Hartley down because he wasn't strong or smart, he wasn't sure how to stop this from happening. He watched Leonard leave and he felt so much fury. He turned back and looked at Hartley. All that hurt and pain, it made him ache. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault, Barry." How had things escalated like this? Barry hating him for kissing him would be better than this. He didn't even know this boy, he had no way of knowing whether or not he could actually keep him from publishing those pictures. That's what he got for not controlling himself. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to kiss you." It was as simple as that. Now he had to figure out how to even get ten thousand dollar he could actually send to some bank account without his parents' knowledge. "I'll pay him off. It's fine."
"No, it's not fine, none of this is fine. You're a good person and ... no, this isn't right." And with that, Barry stormed out of the room because he was angry and he had no idea what to do with it. Hell, he found himself looking around for that weird kid. Maybe if he could find him or where he was going, he could talk to him. Persuade him to better. It could happen?
Leonard had already taken off his tie and put it in his pocket, frankly just looking forward to being back in his own clothes - or Mick's. He didn't expect to be followed, but when he heard the kid come up behind him, he just looked over his shoulder and smiled, not attempting to make a run for it. "What's up? Want my number too? Sorry, I'm taken."
Barry didn't know what he wanted to do, he came all this way, so full of anger and hurt, and he had no idea what to do. In the end, all of those emotions came out in a punch. Yep, Barry sunk that slow, he lashed out. And he hated himself but he hit Leonard as hard as he could and... yep, that really hurt his fist. He didn't back down though, he just glared at Leonard. "You're a horrible person. Where do you get off acting like this?"
"Working out pretty good for me today. You're the one making out with Mr Billionaire in a room with hallway windows, as far as I'm concerned, this is on you too." Leonard didn't seem overly impacted by the punch, though he did rub his face. Smarted a bit, was probably going to bruise. Nothing major. "Hey, I made bank. Want me to buy you a coffee?"
"No, I want you to leave my friend alone. Because that's all he is. He's a friend. He can't be anything more than that, do you have any idea how hard this is going to be for him? And you're just going to use him like that? Don't you have any shame?" Did this guy not care that he was going to ruin someone's life? It wasn't right. He drove him nuts that anyone could be like this. "How is this not bothering you? To act like this, to be like this?"
"I really like money and I got none. Your "friend" got a lot. That's about it, really." Leonard stopped next to the worst looking car in the parking lot, leaning against it as he glanced at the coffee shop, just to check on where Mick was. "The world's not a very good place. If it was, your "friend" could just happily be dating you. That's not on me. But I can't change the world all by myself. I can profit from it."
"It's not his money though, is it? It's his parents. Just because you have no money doesn't mean you're entitled to it." Barry knew never in his wildest dreams could he ever hit the ten thousand Hartley needed but he had to try. For Hartley. "Look, I'll give you all I have today, a one off payment, and you leave him alone. It's not ten thousand but it's enough." Well, it wasn't even a tenth of what he'd want but it was his last penny he could offer. "I can give you more later. Just leave Hartley alone."
"Please. The ten thousand is just to ease him in." Hopefully that would drive the point home. The Rathaway kid was the big one, he wasn't going to give in to the temptation of going after two with one stone, not with something like that on the hook. He wouldn't risk getting sloppy. "You don't play in this league, do you?"
"I got money I have connections, how do you think I got here?" Barry challenged as he moved into Leonard's space and glared at him. How did he stole him from doing this? Hartley suffered enough. He didn't want him to get exposed to his parents but how was it fair to pay this asshole all of his money. "What do I have to do to change your mind?"
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He hadn't expected to be faced with a boy who walked right in. He was even less prepared for someone wearing their school's uniform that he definitely hadn't seen before - he'd have remembered that. What he really hadn't expected was the subtle smile on that remarkably handsome face. "Did I interrupt the kissing?"
Oh no.
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Is that what homophobes said? Like gross or evil. One or the other. He frowned at this kid, one he'd never really seen around before, and tried his best not to let himself get as uneasy as he felt. "So, yeah, you can go."
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He saw the Rathaway kid's eyes widen as he paled, but he took his cue when the eyes narrowed instead, so when Hartley came at him, he was ready. Leonard flipped Hartley over, making him fall hard on his back.
"Huh. Didn't really expect a fight. You get points, Rathaway. And who are you, loverboy?"
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They were fighting. Oh man, this was spiralling fast. He shoved past Leonard and crouched down, partially in front of Hartley, trying to protect him. "Leave him alone." He'd already done enough. Was he seriously blackmailing Hartley or something? God. He hadn't even known these feelings a moment ago and now he was being blackmailed over it.
"None of your business. What do you want?" Barry was ready to fight if he had to but he wanted to solve this without violence. He wanted to talk this kid down.
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"A concussion," Hartley growled, even though he was just now slowly sitting up, glaring at the boy's phone.
"Don't pin your hopes on it, I already sent them to a friend and my email address." He pretty much saw the heart sink in Hartley's chest. At least he was quick on the uptake. The other one seemed to be a bit slower.
"Leave him out of it." Hartley grabbed Barry by the shoulder and pulled him back. "He has no money anyway."
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Barry stood up full height and tried to square up Leonard, trying to look as dangerous as he could. On Barry? Not a great nor a convincing look but he tried.
"Leave him alone!"
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And so he could send him the account number, Leonard started to save his number to Hartley's phone, which he had taken when Hartley attacked him. He watched Hartley pat himself down when he saw the phone, then just lower his head, apparently resigned to his fate. "Leave it, Barry. I can deal with this."
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And, because he was on a protective high, he shoved Leonard. Hard. "You're a scumbag. You don't deserve any of his money."
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