Going to Theo’s room right now didn’t seem right. I didn’t know what was going on with him, and he’d said earlier that there were no “bad side-effects.â€?

He had to have been lying.

Soon, about twenty minutes after I’d sat on my bed, I decided to leave, to go back to Theo’s room. He didn’t seem to be feeling so sick now; he was playing video games on the TV.

“Don’t do that again,â€? he said, keeping his eyes and attention on the screen.

“Do what?â€?

“You were… scared. Don’t be afraid of me.â€?

“I wasn’t scared.â€?

“Yes you were. Everyone is, they just don’t tell me. You ran away from me-“

“I wasn’t running away! I thought you wanted to be let alone! Why would I be afraid of you?â€?

He paused. “There are reasons.â€?

“Like what?â€?

He waited a little before answering, “Not now.â€?

We both stopped talking, and I heard Darren enter the room. He grabbed something, then left. Theo turned off the game, and said, “So what happened yesterday… when you were in your room?â€?