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It didn't seem like everyone was taking the ‘candy' well. Connie had gone off to help another new student, which wasn't exactly unusual for her. Rohan was helping another student, and the rest seemed to be about to have …he didn't even want to think about it. Before one of the twins simply enchanted everyone to leave, Franklin decided to make his way out. He'd gone off away from his dorm, wanting to sit outside in the courtyard and bask in the moonlit sky for a moment. It was cool in October, and he'd hoped a nice breeze would blow in that night. 

It didn’t take long before he'd heard the sounds of another student's footsteps nearby. He expected it to be one of the myriad of others attending this place, but instead it was a boy from the party. He was cute, he'd give him that, but far from a perfect specimen if Franklin was looking for a brain. The body however… He decided to stand up and make his way over towards him. The boy looked…hurt? It was hard to tell what emotions ran through a puppy who had just been kicked, and yet that was what he appeared to be. “Hey? You ok? Need some help?”

Did he need help? Jake stared at the other boy - Frankie, he thought - completely confused. That didn’t feel right to him. He knew he was supposed to protect others. If he needed help, how was he supposed to do that? Was this why he felt so strange - something like the cold, but not quite? He tilted his head at Frankie. Had he done something wrong? He hadn’t gone back to his dorm, yes, but he hadn’t known how to get there. So instead he had just walked, letting his thoughts lead him as he tried to understand - tried to understand why he hurt. 

Did he know why he was hurting, Frankie? Could he explain it? [COLOR=9A5B8A]“I don’t… I don’t know.”[/color] He wanted to give a chipper [i]hi, I’m Jake!![/i] but the words seemed to catch in his throat. He didn’t know why. His hands were stuck in his pockets, his shoulders slightly slouched, and the phantom sensation of pressure still lingered in his skull. [COLOR=9A5B8A]“Do… Do you need help? I can help, I think - I think that’s what I’m supposed to do.”[/color]

Franklin wasn't sure if Jake was still high or not. The bubbles had stopped but did the effects? He offered him a warm smile before nodding back towards where he had been sitting. “Not really. At least not right now, but I wouldn't mind a bit of company.” That wasn't exactly the truth. He had wished for a bit of alone time, to soak in the silence before entering his room once more. But he wasn't about to abandon someone who seemed so lost. He sat back down onto the cold night grass before tapping a spot next to him for Jake to sit. “That's what everyone [i]should[/i] do. Help each other, even when some of us are afraid or too stubborn to ask for help.”

Jake didn’t understand the social cue to sit. He didn’t know why Frankie needed to tap on the grass. Maybe he wanted to make sure that it was still alive? He didn’t know why it would stop being alive, but this school was very strange. Lots of things seemed to be things they were not. The same was true for the people. Maybe the grass died sometimes. Maybe the people did, too. He frowned at that idea. And then, there was that same ache in his body, the one he didn’t understand. [COLOR=9A5B8A]“I tried to help someone tonight,”[/color] he said. There was an idea struggling to form in his mind, but the closer he came to voicing it, the more it became difficult to do so - as if it were forbidden. So instead, he backed away from the thought, letting the mental tension lessen. [COLOR=9A5B8A]“Why don’t people help others when they can?”[/color]

“Humans, people, they're selfish creatures. Individuals may be good and kind hearted, they may help those who need it, but as a group? They lack empathy. That's my thoughts anyways. Some people believe in Karma, some cosmic scale that balances so if you do good you get good back. Some people then start to do good [i]so[/i] they get good back, but thats not doing good thats just selfishness. I try to help when I can, but mostly I like to be alone in my thoughts, my experiments. Though I'm never against having some good company.” Franklin watched as Jake continued to stand. Watching him as though he was a foreign object he was trying to decipher. “You want to sit? The morning dew hasn't set in yet so it isn't wet, just cold.”

Jake frowned. People did good because they wanted to have something good happen to them? There were cosmic scales that kept things in balance? The ideas were too abstract for him, but they brought along more of that cold feeling - more of that hurt. Did he want to protect people so that way good things would happen to him? [COLOR=9A5B8A]“What if… what if you do good because you feel you’re supposed to?”[/color] he asked. He slowly sat down next to Frankie. He made sure to maintain a good distance between them. He didn’t know why. [COLOR=9A5B8A]“Does that… can people be bad?”[/color]

“If you help people because you feel the urge to then you're just genuinely helping people. Everyone should feel that urge, but not everyone does. It's the same with magic. Everyone learns it for a different reason.” Franklin offered Jake a shrug. The last question seemed obvious. Can people be bad? Ofcourse. History had proved that time and again. Even Frankie had done some…questionable things in the pursuit of his magic. Even now as he spoke to Jake his mind wouldn’t stop measuring the distance between his eyes, the proportions of his features and how well they may fit the golden ratio. Sometimes it was hard not to view people as potential subjects, and that was why he liked to be alone at times. To ease his mind.

[COLOR=9A5B8A]“What if… what if you help bad people?”[/color] Jake bit his lip. [COLOR=9A5B8A]”Am I a bad person then?”[/color]    

“That's a morally gray area. I guess it depends on who and why? But people aren't as simple as good or bad. There's a complexity to them. Is…someone bad making you do something you don't want to?”

Jake’s body tensed as Frankie asked that. He couldn’t answer that question even if he wanted to. He didn’t understand that people could lie. [COLOR=9A5B8A]“What does morally gray mean?”[/color] he asked instead, dodging the question. His face flushed. [COLOR=9A5B8A]”I don’t know a lot of things.”[/color]

“Its when…it's sort of like…” Frankie had no idea how to describe the concept of a moral gray area. His immediate thought was to turn to the Trolley Problem, but was both unsure if Jake would understand it or if it perfectly encapsulated what it meant to be morally gray. “Its kind of like doing bad things but for good reasons. Like killing someone to protect another i suppose.”

Killing could be good? His eyes almost crossed as his forehead pounded. This was all… very complicated. It didn’t seem simple at all. Helping someone who was bad was like killing someone to protect another person? What if the person you were protecting was bad? Or if the person telling him all of this was bad? But as he looked at Frankie, his face felt hot again, and he was suddenly very certain that Frankie couldn’t be bad. He seemed really smart too. 

[COLOR=9A5B8A]”Do you know why I hurt?”[/color] he then asked softly. 

“Where do you hurt? How? Can you explain your symptoms and how you got them?” Franklin's mind shifted as the question was asked.

[COLOR=9A5B8A]”Um, my face hurt really bad after I ate the candy - and then I got knocked over by a dragon and stepped on, but that was fine - but now I just feel… it’s like I’m cold, but on the inside,”[/color] he said, pointing at his chest. [COLOR=9A5B8A]”And my eyes keep on running with water.”[/color]

Franklin scooted closer to Jake now, lowering himself  to place his head against his chest. Listening for any irregularities within. It was strange, the way that Jake felt and sounded, even now as he breathed. Something was surging within him, and it made it harder to diagnose anything. “You seem to have wild magic, its volatile and unpredictable which may explain a few things. Though –” Franklin wiped away a tear on Jake's cheek. “Sounds to me like your issues are more emotional than physical. Cold, crying, an ache in your chest you can't explain? You sound like you're sad, almost heartbroken. Usually happens later in the year but it's possible for it to be one the first day. Especially if someone's homesick.”

He had wild magic? Was that bad? Did he need to get rid of it somehow? He opened his mouth to blurt out his concern, only to be rendered speechless as Frankie touched his cheek. It wasn’t like how the pretty boy from before had touched him. And as much as it felt wrong, it felt warm, too - a warmth he wanted to lean into. [COLOR=9A5B8A]“Homesick? I don’t - heartbroken? I don’t think I could be that. I don’t remember anything before I got here. There’s nothing for me to be sad about.”[/color]

“Please, if people needed reasons to become depressed it wouldn't be a mental illness. Its natural to feel this way, even if Alpha Male bros want to pretend it's not. It just means you're human.”

[COLOR=9A5B8A]“Alpha male bros?”[/color] Jake tilted his head. And then, he frowned. [COLOR=9A5B8A]“Are you depressed?”[/color]

“Sometimes. It happens, but it can't be helped really.”

Jake nodded. He looked at Frankie - really looked at him. 

[COLOR=9A5B8A]“Is that why you’re out here?”[/color] 

Franklin's expression fell slightly. “I just wanted some fresh air before I went back to our dorm. Maybe…we should head back. We have mysteries in the morning to deal with and will need plenty of sleep.”

Sleep. Jake didn’t know what he would do while the others slept. He hesitated for a moment. It felt wrong. But he wanted to do it anyways. Quickly, as if he’d be caught, he hugged Frankie. And then he pulled away like he’d been burned. 

Frankie chuckled at Jake's reaction. Like a closeted gay trying to show affection. He nudged Jake softly. “Come on, let's get to bed.” He said with a smile on his face. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad?