Robert was not a deeply introspective man. At 25, he was still driven by impulse, and he had that much in common with Bruno. Bruno, however, was an enigma to him.

He knew that Bruno was attracted to him on some level, I think, but he was by no means equipped to deal with such an eventuality. So their relationship, if I could even call it that, at that point, was characterized by mutual denial.

"How come he's not here?" Robert complained, raking a hand through already disheveled hair.

"He'll come, Robert," I replied, none too sure myself that Bruno would appear.

"Maybe I scared him away," Robert muttered, clearly talking more to himself than to me.

"Why? What did you say to him?" I asked, my newfound loyalties not surprisingly aligning themselves with the one I considered to be the needier and more wounded of the two.

"Nothing!!" Robert cried, guilt permeating every part of his face, lending him a vaguely haunted expression I would come to associate with him. "I didn't say anything!" His barely perceptible emphasis on that word did not escape me.

"Did you do something to him?" I asked, as kindly as I could, because the picture in my head of Bruno being violated was all too easy to imagine.

"No!" he shouted, too loudly and too quickly. Something happened between them. The only question was...what?

A few tense moments passed while I wondered what I was going to do with Robert if he did hurt Bruno somehow. Then Robert whispered, "He kissed me."

My God. Was that all? The boy sounded like he'd been set upon by wolves.

"Did he?" I managed to keep most of the surprise out of my voice. "How do you feel about that?"

He looked up suddenly, his brows knitting together in a terrible frown that must have hurt. "That's it."

Now it was my turn to frown. "What's it?"

"I don't know."

"Ah, I see."

"You do? Then could you bloody well tell me?"

I sighed and sat down behind my desk. The irony of sitting at Jerry Devine's former desk filled me with a curious elation every time. This time was no exception. But the feeling hardly seemed appropriate under the circumstances. "You have this idea of yourself." When Robert nodded encouragingly, I continued. "And up till now..." I steepled my fingers and tried to look as if I knew what I was talking about.

The truth was...I had never had a problem coming to terms with my own sexuality. I knew I was gay when I was still a schoolboy. But I could understand how someone like Robert, who didn't seem to be all that in touch with his feelings, could be confused. All right, I'm being charitable. Robert's usual state of mind was somewhere between confused and notoriously slow on the uptake.

"Up till now..." I repeated, "you thought you were straight."

"But I am," he protested weakly. "I think."

I nodded sympathetically.

"I like girls. I do. I had a girlfriend-"

"Ah," I said, sounding like I had just discovered a cure for glitter-induced depression. "Then you don't care what happens to Bruno..." I deliberately let my voice trail off, and Robert did not disappoint me in taking the bait.

"Of course I care! He's a-a-a-"

Spit it out, dammit. "-friend." Sigh. All that build-up for nothing. Maybe the problem wasn't Robert's self-image at all. Maybe he was just fucking stupid.

Oh, dear, that came out mean. But honestly, since the boy was so poor, I would gladly lend him some money if he would only use it to buy a clue.

I leaned forward on my elbows and captured Robert's attention. "Do you usually kiss your male friends?"

"I didn't kiss him. He kissed me."

"You're..." I counted to ten, and then, when I was done, I counted backwards. "...missing the point, Robert."

"Aye...I usually do," he lamented. He slumped into the chair opposite me and hung his head, his shaggy reddish-brown hair falling across his face in a way that I could only describe as appealing.

Oh, God, I was going to have to lead the horse to water and make him drink, wasn't I?

"Robert...have you ever considered why Bruno's kiss bothered you?"

"I told you. I don't know," he said sulkily.

"Maybe I'm making this too complicated. Did you like the kiss?"

There was no answer save a subdued nod of the head.

"Would you like him to kiss you again?"

He sighed and shook his head.

Oh, that was disappointing.

"I wish..."

"What do you wish?" Suddenly I was filled with infinite patience. I treated him the way I would treat Arthur...because there was something in Robert worth saving. Perhaps he and Bruno would even save each other.

"I wish I'd had the courage to..."

Again he stopped. Again I waited.

All at once Arthur came to the door, an anxious look on his face. "Jack!"

Sensing I was on the verge of a breakthrough with Robert, I waved a hand at Arthur. "Not now."

"You'll want to hear this."

I almost leaped out of my chair. Arthur was white. "What is it, my love? Not Curt or--?" I felt fear grab a hold of me, and I almost couldn't breathe.

"No!" Arthur exclaimed, a warning glint in his dark brown eyes, and I realized how dangerously close I had come to revealing Brian's true identity. "It's Bruno."

Robert did jump to his feet. "What? What happened to him? What?"

"No one's seen him since last night."

"Perhaps he's with friends."

"Jack," Arthur ground out, equal parts outrage and worry coloring his usually bland tone. "He doesn't have any friends. 'Cept us. He didn't come to school. He's not answering the phone."

"Maybe he's sick," I offered, trying to squash the growing sense of dread in my own chest.

"Maybe that bastard he lives with beat the shite out of him, too," Robert groaned.

I stared at Robert. "One of us should go-"

Robert grabbed his jacket and shrugged his way into it before I could utter another word. "I'll go."

"Robert!" I cried out. He turned on his heel and faced me, the pain winning out over the confusion in his strangely wounded blue eyes. "I've gotta see if he's all right, Jack. I don't care what that makes me."

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I'm not making any fucking promises, Jack. If that bastard did anything to Bruno-"

I grasped him by the wrist, and I think he was surprised that my grip was so strong. "You call me. No matter what."

Something indefinable grew in Robert's eyes, and I would have felt hopeful, if only the situation were different.

"I will."

Then he left. But not before I heard him mutter, "Just as soon as I take care of that bastard."

End