How Green Becomes Wood

"I think it will help you more than you think it will. Apologizing isn't just for the other person. You don't have to get on the phone now, you don't have to hitchhike to his house, you're more than allowed to stay here, and be angry, because he upset you, too. You're allowed to take a day, or even a few days, to think through what you want to say, and to relax a little yourself. You can spend all night wallowing. But it will help you." Daizi promised, bending down at an awkward angle to kiss the top of his head.

"I did, yes. Thank you again." Dark replied, "What happened at school?"
 
"Okay," Alec whispered. "Because I am mad. I am sad. I'm... I'm all of it, and it hurts."

Xander's expression darkened at Dark's question. He looked away, one hand clenching into a fist. He wanted to hit something so badly right now! He settled for lightly thumping the counter before stalking toward the back door. "Why don't you ask Alec what happened?" he growled. "Let him get his side in first."
 
"That's okay, you're allowed to be." Daizi promised. "I'll warn you, your father and I aren't happy with how you handled this. But we still love you, and still worry about you."

"I already did. He refused to say anything about it to me. In fact, he screamed like I had almost never heard when I told him I was taking him home." Dark nearly commented how he nearly thought he was about to be hit, like the last time he heard a yell like that, but held his tongue. "That is why I am asking for your side."
 
Alecheaved a sigh but offered no excuses or attempts to justify himself. "I couldn't stay," was all he said. He knew he could have called them, but... He just... couldn't in that moment.

Xander snorted, but he could see he wasn't getting out of this conversation. The scream thing was weird, and he didn't know what to say about that, but he was too angry to be derailed. "Alec proved himself to be a s**tty friend when he yelled at a guy who's fragile as glass. Then he walked off, and I had to deal with the fallout."
 
Daizi sighed along with him, and went back to stroking his hair, "I'm afraid that's not good enough, baby. You know how many times we've had this conversation."

"I see." Dark answered simply, standing up to make a cup of tea, "Why did he yell at his fragile friend?"
 
"I know," Alec admitted. "I just wanted away from everything and didn't make a good choice. But staying was worse."

"Does it matter why?" Xander demanded, crossing his arms. "Does it really matter why? I don't think it does since I then spent an hour in a janitor's closet with said friend trying to keep him from peeling his own skin off." He paused and added as an aside, "I missed a class, by the way. The teacher gave me my homework and wished me luck."
 
Daizi sighed, "I can understand that feeling, but we still can't... we can't just let it slide this time, baby. We'll talk about it more with your father, after you've had more time to settle. I just want you to be aware. We care so much about you, but we can't just let this go."

"Stop him from what?" Dark asked, turning around sharply, feeling a different kind of concern.
 
"Okay," Alec agreed. He had no rebuttal for that. He knew the rules. He'd broken them. Going might have been better than going, but he could have left in a better manner.

Xander hesitated, feeling he likely overstepped and said too much, but of all the people to understand... "He scratches," he finally said. "Says it's not a big deal because he doesn't break the skin, but I'm not sure that's always true. Sure wasn't going to stay true today. His mother is five states away and useless anyway, and his grands don't know a thing about it. Not that he'd tell them. He thinks they're the devil, and they ain't exactly shiny clean even if they aren't that level of bad."
 
Daizi nodded, not knowing what else to say, but she stayed with him, stroking his hair.

Dark nodded slowly, eyebrows deeply furrowed, as he thought this through. For all of his concern about Alec, this seemed a different problem. "I see." He turned back toward the counter, "Do you want advice for that or do you want to just have it out there?"
 
"I don't know," Xander huffed, turning away and finding things to fiddle with as an outlet for his agitated energy. "It's not the point right now. The point is, for whatever his faults, the kid's not capable of dealing with that kind of crap. He's not. Not like that. Couldn't take it from me, but at least then he was able to say something. Alec just," he mimed an explosion, "unloads with no warning."
 
Dark nodded, "I understand why you are angry with him. It's important to be conscientious when you have friends like that. Still," He nodded his head to the other side, dipping his teabag into the water, "I suppose everyone can be pushed too far. The two of you fought last week, I seem to recall there was tension about positivity and negativity. Is that related?"
 
"Same deal, but less dramatic," Xander grumbled. He found a wooden spoon and started messing with it. "Alec made a big deal that Milo was my friend, and then he wants to butt in, and now he's not happy that the guy isn't what he wants him to be."
 
"I am going to ask you a question. Before I do, I want you to try not to bite my head off, and I also want to say very clearly: it does not matter what his intentions were, if what he did caused harm. You know that lesson well." Dark said, taking a sip of his tea, "But, I was not there, so I have to try to get a handle on things as best I can second hand: Is that what he said, or is that what you heard?"
 
"Of course it's what he said, how do you hear something that wasn't what was said?" Xander snapped. Then he hesitated, suddenly uncertain. "Like... what's said is what's said, right? He said some other stuff, but it doesn't really matter, I don't think."
 
Handing Xander the second cup of tea, Dark replied, "Sometimes what we hear is the anger first, and it colours our interpretation, which is why the way we deliver a message matters. But I think the meaning underneath it does matter, because if the under-meaning is just further cruelty, you treat it differently from if it came from a different place. It does not mean he is absolved from hurting someone so severely, but it changes what you do next. Either way he needs to apologize."
 
Xander muttered a colorful statement about how Alec had better apologize before accepting the cup. He didn't drink it, just held it qnd turned it round and round.
 
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