Clark felt sick to his stomach sitting outside of Ruby's home. He'd arrived ten minutes ago and he still hadn't climbed out of the car and walked to the door. He wasn't even sure if he could take off his seat belt. He took slow, deep breaths, hoping that the action might calm the nerves that fizzed and bubbled in his stomach like a fresh can of soda.

Then he remembered every forced smile Ruby wore when she'd been with Dex. He thought back to every time she left his house early to go hang out with Dex, all the time feigning happiness. Clark zeroed in on this emotion and unbuckled his seat belt. He pushed himself out of the car and up to the front door. His knock wasn't as strong as he wanted it to be, but he had knocked. He was going to do this.

Dex opened the door. "The fuck do you want? A matching bruise on the other side of your face?"

"Get Ruby," he said simply, clenching his fists. Dex smirked and crossed his arms. He leaned against the door frame and looked the other boy up and down.

"Or what?"

"Dex, I don't have time to fuck around with you again. Go get Ruby." Clark looked at him with bored apathy, trying his damnedest not to let the guy get to him. Dex called out her name and turned to leave.

"You're lucky I just got some ass, otherwise she wouldn't be coming downstairs." He walked back into the living room. Clark imagined running forward and giving him a quick RKO, slamming him down to the ground. Ruby appeared a moment later, her hair a mess and her eyes red. Clark knew she'd been crying.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She dropped her gaze to the ground to avoid showing that she'd been in the bathroom sobbing.

"We need to talk," he said. He guided her out to the bench on the porch and took a seat. The two were dead silent for the longest time, Clark trying to figure out what he wanted to say and Ruby waiting patiently. He finally formed some kind of angle to approach this. "I know you're not happy, Ruby." He expected her to deny it, to put on that same well-rehearsed grin, but she stared at the floor solemnly. He'd never seen her like this before.

"I... I know you're not happy, and I think you need to break up with Dex. He's a toxic person in your life. You don't love him the same way you did when we graduated."

"I can't break up with him, Clark."

"Why not? You can do anything you want in your own relationship. He doesn't control you, you know that, right?"

She shook her head and said, "No. I can't break up with him. Nobody else will love me if I do."

Clark could feel his heart breaking deep in his chest. He'd never expected such a phrase to come out of someone like Ruby. She was the most confident person he knew, and it was like he was talking to someone else completely now.

"What? Don't say that, that's not true. Who told you that?"

She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "It is true, Clark," she insisted, "Nobody wants to be with someone like me. Dex is the only person who's ever been able to tolerate me like that. He's probably the only person who can."

"Stop," he said lightly. "You're amazing, okay? You're funny, and sarcastic, and beautiful, and intelligent. You have qualities girls would kill for."

"I'm a bossy bitch. At least that's what Dex says. He says nobody wants to be with a woman who's more of a man than they are. He tells me that all the time, that I'm lucky to have someone like him around who can tolerate me."

Just hearing what Dex said secondhand made Clark see red. He'd never been as livid as he was now. He saw himself with his hands around Dex's throat, choking the life out of him, only releasing his grip once the boy stopped struggling. He was angry enough that he could cry.

"Ruby, I've wanted to say this for so long, and I didn't because you're my friend, but Dex is the worst person I've ever met. I fucking hate him. I hate how he treats you. I hate how he talks about you. I hate the way he makes you feel about yourself. He's a piece of shit. He's a bully. He's a leech. And I fucking hate him." Saying all this made Clark feel like he had emerged from underwater and he was finally able to suck in oxygen. Ruby even nodded just a bit.

"I know you probably love him, but you should know that a lot of people love those who aren't good for them. He doesn't want the best for you, and that's not the kind of guy you want to share your love with. He'll never appreciate you the way you deserve," Clark continued.

He knew what it was like to see yourself as something less than worthy. He knew how damaging it could be to hold onto negative self-image, especially when it came from a romantic partner. He knew that all too well.

Ruby's eyes filled with tears and she dropped her head into her hands. Clark held her in his arms. He pressed his forehead to her back and ached with her.

"I hate him," Ruby gasped, trying to catch her breath. "I hate him so much. He's hurt me more than I could ever tell you and I hate him, but I love him and I don't know what to do." Clark ran his fingers through her curls.

"You need to leave him. I know it's hard, and I know right now you believe everything he tells you, but you need to. It's what's good for you."

Ruby nodded and wiped her eyes. She hadn't removed her eye makeup from last night and black tears ran down her cheeks. "Will you help me?" she asked.

Clark nodded. "Absolutely."

"Okay."

He helped her up and walked her back into the house, his eyes flitting across the yard to Nakota's car. He could see the man looking in his direction. He jerked his head towards the house and Nakota nodded. The man opened the door and climbed out.

Clark guided Ruby back inside. "That faggot finally gone?" Dex asked from the living room.

"Nope, I'm still gaying it up," Clark replied. "Ruby has something she wants to tell you." Dex looked between the two of them, instantly suspicious.

"Does she?" Dex looked Ruby over and smirked. "Let's hear it then."

"I... We're over," Ruby said quietly. Clark gave her a reassuring squeeze. "We're not a couple anymore. So – so you should go." She forced herself to look at Dex. He was smiling even wider, as if he were listening to the incoherent joke of a child.

"We're not breaking up, Rubes. You need to stop hanging out with this homo. Probably wants you to dump me so he can get with me."

"Your neck and your head are the same width, you're the last person I'd want to get with," Clark said. "She said she's not interested in being with you anymore, so you need to get your shit and get on."

Dex calmly placed his controller on the table and stood up. He walked towards Clark until they were close enough to touch noses. Clark could feel his breath on his face, hot and angry, but he didn't flinch. He could feel Ruby tense up and he didn't want her to worry.

"I'm not afraid of you," Clark said, gritting his teeth. "In fact, I dare you to hit me. Give me a reason. I'm not your girlfriend, and if you put your hands on me, I'll do the same."

"I should punch your fuckin' teeth out," Dex growled.

"Like the Rock'em Sock'em Robot you are," Clark replied. "But the fact of the matter is that you won't. You won't put another finger on me, because if you do, not only will I beat the fuck out of you, but I'll stop midway and let my guy continue while I catch my breath." Clark glanced at the door where Nakota stood, watching the two of them exchange threats. Dex clenched his fists so hard his knuckles changed colors. Then he took a step back.

"I'll go," he said calmly. He walked back to the couch and began packing his belongings. He looked at Ruby and grinned wolfishly. "Ruby, I just want you to know one thing. You'll never find another guy like me."

"Hopefully," Clark interjected.

"You'll never find someone to genuinely care about you. Your personality, your aspirations... You'll be alone for the rest of your life. And when you come crawling back to me, don't act surprised that I turn you away. Remember that it was you that decided to be a cunt. It was you that did this." He slung his bag over his shoulders and pushed past Nakota on his way out. Clark followed him out, and Nakota reached out to stop him.

"Fuck you, Dex. I hope you never meet a girl half as good as Ruby," he called after him. Dex looked back and smiled at him.

"Why don't you worry about not being murdered, bitch."

"Why don't you worry about every angle of your body being a right one, bitch," Clark shouted back. Nakota pulled him back inside the house. "Fucking Rubik's Cube ass bitch," he muttered. Ruby had started crying again, but when Clark went to see if she was okay, he realized she was smiling. Her tears ran down her face and met the upturned corners of her mouth.

"Thank you," she said, looking up at him.

"Don't thank me. I didn't break up with him, you did." Clark pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tight. He glanced at Nakota who stood by the door, watching Dex leave. He closed the door and looked back at the two of them hugging. His and Clark's eyes met and Clark nodded appreciatively.

"Let's sit," he said, steering Ruby to the couch. She took a seat and caught her breath. Her hands still shook but she didn't try to hide them. Eventually they'd stop. Besides, she wasn't scared anymore. She felt so relieved that she could double over and cry again. Instead, she looked at Clark.

"Stay with me today," she said.

"Of course."

"I have to make it up to you, for being such a shitty friend." Clark started to protest but she held her hand up. "I know you're going to say that I wasn't, but I was. I was a shitty friend and I feel so awful about how many times I left you. Obviously it wasn't just ditching you to go have fun, but still. I don't like going back on my word. So, we can spend the night hanging out if you want." Ruby turned around to look at Nakota in the hall. "You can stay too. We usually sleep down here on the pull-out couch, but there's a recliner for you. Probably better than sleeping in your car."

"Thank you," he said.

"That sounds nice," Clark said. "It's been too long since we've hung out like that."

"I don't think it's been ten days yet," Ruby said, smiling.

"Yeah, whatever." Clark stood and looked around the living room. Dex had made a mess. Little bags of chips littered the table, empty Pepsi cans decorated the floor, and the whole area smelled like a locker room had been bottled up into a can of air freshener. "We need to really get rid of this asshole," he said. "Ruby, you get the disinfectant spray and some towels, I'll get started on this." She went off to grab those few items.

Clark began tossing empty cans into a fresh trash bag he'd found in the kitchen. He looked up when Nakota began helping him.

"You did good," Nakota said, bending down to pick up a smashed Twinkie package. He was almost offended that someone had wasted perfectly good food, but then again, it wasn't all that surprising that Dex didn't care about that kind of thing.

"Thanks," Clark said. He held back a smile. "Was I intimidating? I felt like an ant standing up to a giant."

"Did I believe that you'd have put up a good fight? Yeah. But he's strong and you're quick, so it was anybody's match," he smirked. Clark smiled as well, stuffing bags of chips away. If it really came down to it, Clark felt like he could win in a fight.

Ruby returned with supplies to clean, and after ten minutes of scrubbing and swiping, the living room looked brand new. She and Clark moved the table out of the way and brought out the bed from inside the couch. They both planned on falling asleep watching movies, and sleeping on the ground was quite undesirable. Across the room, Ruby's grandfather clock rang to alert them that it was five. They squeezed in four movies that night.

+

Clark woke to the sound of ruffling plastic. He rubbed at his eyes and blinked sleep away. Ruby stood beside the bed, emptying out a few bags. Clark started to speak but yawned instead, stretching out his legs and arms.

"Morning," he said lazily. "What'd you buy?"

"Oh, just a couple of things." Ruby held up a bottle of lighter fluid and a box of matches. "I figured I'd burn all the shit he left over here. Wanna help?"

"It would be my honor," he chuckled. "What about that bag over there?" On the recliner beside the couch, Ruby had put down a fancy looking bag.

"Oh, that," she said. She crossed the room and picked it up. She removed some of the clothing and showed it off proudly. "I bought some things for VlogCon. I figured I might as well get some stuff while I'm out."

"VlogCon," Clark exclaimed. He felt like slapping himself in the head.

"What, did you forget or something? Forgetting your own convention, that's professionalism for you," she teased.

"I completely spaced, dude," he mumbled. He felt like an idiot for forgetting something as important as that. He'd never been to one of these conventions before. Last year, he'd had everything in order but had fallen victim to a nasty stomach bug. Unfortunately for all of the people looking forward to seeing him, he couldn't make it. This year, though, he swore he'd be in attendance.

"You might wanna start getting ready! You've got like two weeks before we're on that plane and out of the state." Ruby stuffed her clothes in the bag and brought them upstairs while she whistled. He knew she was trying to remain positive and seem happy. It was the same thing his mother did when something bad happened. She needed to think about the good things in life and not about how many years she gave Dex. Clark climbed out of bed and went looking for Nakota. The man was out in his car, talking on the phone. He hung up as Clark approached.

"I was just talking about you," he said. Clark leaned down to get a better look at Nakota.

"Were you?"

"Your father called, wanted to make sure we were okay. I told him everything was good, but judging from the look on your face..." Nakota wasn't a skilled psychologist and couldn't detect every time someone was lying, but he knew enough about body language to see that something was bothering Clark.

"It's nothing, I just... I really need to convince my parents of something and I know they're not going to agree to it."

"What trouble are you getting yourself into now?" Nakota asked.

"It's not trouble, I swear! Come inside and I'll tell you?" The man didn't look entirely convinced. Clark figured he might as well sweeten the deal a little bit. "I'll cook you breakfast." That did the trick. Nakota tried to appear reluctant as he undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the car.

They headed inside to figure out the best way to convince Stacy and Darin to let Clark leave the state with a killer on his tail.

+