Chapter 19

Morgan's vague description the other day helped Ethan recognize the guilty girl. A rather short blond girl with a doll's face was chit-chatting with her friends. Her ringing laugh spreading around the campus' park made Thomson angry. So, apparently, while Morgan was suffering from endless bullying, she was chuckling and pointing at some fashion magazine with her sharp nail? Or maybe she was choosing another pair of shoes and a new silk scarf, not having a single thought about Noah, who was locking himself up in a restroom to give vent to his feelings? Well. Ethan wanted to bring her down to earth and remind her that there are usually consequences to people's actions.

Even though the phone calls ended the next day (some bullies just got bored after this kind of interaction with Morgan since he never picked up; others were afraid that Ethan would be the one to pick up the phone), however, messages were coming in rather often. On Tuesday, after their pointless search for the girl who had taken a photo, Noah and Ethan were sitting in the cafeteria, when Morgan, after scrolling through the new messages, suddenly became pale.

"What's going on?" Ethan asked, reaching for his hand to take the phone from Noah.

"N-nothing," Morgan stuttered. However, the answer didn't match his facial expression. Despite his weak opposition, Ethan took the phone and looked through the text.

"I want to press your face against the table, spread your legs, and fuck you in your dirty hole," Ethan read eagerly and looked at Noah's reaction from under his brows. Morgan was no longer pale. He was scarlet-red.

"Jesus Christ, why did you need to read it out loud?" Morgan exclaimed, confused.

What do you mean, and why? So that every next message you receive, you read it in your head with my intonation. Hopefully, you'll get a reaction different from fear.

'My dirty hole belongs to Ethan Thomson. Go fuck yourself,' Ethan typed the message, sent it, and erased it immediately after. Noah's attempts to see what Thomson had written didn't work, and Ethan didn't give any answers, despite how hard Noah was asking.

"How much will it cost if I blow you? I'm good at it," Ethan continued reading the new messages.

'My boyfriend sucks dicks like he's God. You can't beat him. Go fuck yourself.'

"You're such a sweet boy. I want to lick you from head to toe."

'You better pray my boyfriend doesn't see this message, or else he'll lick your balls with his knife. Go fuck yourself.'

"I want to come on your face."

"Please, stop!" it seemed that even Morgan's flushed red. He finally managed to get his phone back from Ethan's hands and hid the phone back in his pocket.

"Wait, don't put it away. Let me copy the numbers of those bastards first," Ethan asked. Some numbers were hidden. However, there were still some of those who were either too lazy to hide the number, or maybe they truly believed in their innocence. They would be the first to get their punishment.

"Why do you need them?" Morgan tightened. Ethan just shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"Just because. For my collection."

Duncan could find everything they needed on these bastards with the help of those numbers.

"What collection?"

"Private."

"Ethan, don't try fooling me."

"I wasn't going to. I know the guy who can find some useful information on these phone numbers' owners. We'll find out all their names."

"No. I don't want to do that," Noah said, shaking his head.

I want to do that, though.

"By the way, that person can also help us find your bully," Ethan added carefully. He came to know him well enough to understand Noah's possible reaction. And Thomson wasn't wrong.

Morgan's facial expression became incomprehensible for a second. It seemed that he dove so deep into his thoughts that there was only an emotionless physical shell left.

"N…no, please. I think we're doing just fine on our own!" Noah stated.

They didn't do fine at all. They were just going nowhere fast, just showering guesses.

Sometimes Morgan behaved like a true idiot. He was committing a fatal error at that moment: he was trying to refuse effective help in favor of spending more time with Ethan. Morgan persuaded himself that they talked every day only because of Ethan's curiosity, trying to be Hercule Poirot. However, everything was completely opposite in reality: the detective game became a good excuse for Ethan to see Noah more often. Well, of course, Thomson's strong sense of justice also took place. However, Noah was always in the first place for him, everything else didn't matter as much.

Ethan decided not to insist that day, choosing a different, softer strategy. Though he noticed the next day that, whenever Morgan would open a new message on his phone, his cheeks would start burning. His plan was working. Reading messages out loud did make Noah think the way Ethan wanted. Thank you for your sensitiveness, Morgan.

"Wait," Ethan was about to approach the blondy when Noah grabbed his hood from the back and pulled it towards himself.

"If you do that one more time, I swear we'll fight," Thomson said in a metallic voice. He hated feeling weak. And he also couldn't ignore when someone else was weak. Especially when that 'someone' was Noah. That was why Ethan hated changing roles with Noah and becoming a crazy dwarf who could be grabbed and pulled around by his hood instead of the juvenile lead he wanted to be.

"I'm sorry, I just got scared," Noah mumbled, releasing Ethan's hood immediately, "What are you going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to ask her about the photo."

"Why do you think she'll tell you everything?"

"They all tell," Noah said, cracking his knuckles.

"You… You won't punch her, will you?!"

Actually, no. Usually, threatening was enough. However, it would be interesting to look at Noah's reaction if Thomson's position was way more radical.

"The enemy has no gender," Ethan stated, "No gender, no age, no other characteristics."

"Who do you think is the enemy, then?" Noah frowned. Weird question.

"Currently, everyone who's poisoning your life."

Noah sighed heavily.

"Ethan, please, let me speak with her first," he said with pressure.

"I'm not sure it'll turn out well, considering that you think that this whole conversation is pointless from the beginning," Ethan noticed.

"It will, it will," Noah assured him, "After all, I've got my 'Devil's Eye' with me," he reminded him with a sad smile.

"I thought you didn't like using it against anyone," Ethan couldn't believe his ears.

"I don't. However, it doesn't mean that I've never used it before," Morgan grunted. What a little villain.

"Okay. I'll try not to interfere," Ethan lied. He definitely wanted to interfere anywhere he wasn't invited.

"Thanks," Noah nodded and then approached the girl. Ethan followed him a half step behind to cover his back. He kept noticing how people were looking at Morgan. Some even looked like they wanted to say something to him. However, right before doing that, they would meet with the eyes of Ethan, and, surprisingly, all their comments were untold. It was a pity that Ethan wasn't able to be near Noah all the time. While Thomson was in the class, he always wanted to text Morgan every other minute to make sure that he was okay. Sometimes Ethan controlled himself. Sometimes he did text Noah. However, Morgan, in his usual manner, assured him positively that everything was, at least, 'wonderful', so 'don't worry.' If there was anyone else saying 'don't worry', Ethan would answer something like, 'I wasn't even going to.' When it was about Morgan, however, Ethan had to worry. Of course, Noah had built a thick skin after years of constant bullying and aggression towards him. Still, deep inside, he was just a vulnerable guy. He didn't learn to ignore the hard knock; he had rather learned to hide his pain and bruises. And each day, each time Morgan said something depressing, Ethan wanted to find out the bully more badly. It would be awesome if he could do it and humiliate that person publicly. However, it'd depend on how the cards fall.

Noah and Ethan went across the park to the group of freshmen girls who were gossiping and giggling about the new young philosophy professor. The blond girl responsible for the photo was standing half-turned towards Ethan and Noah, completely concentrated on her conversation with the friends. The girls who were facing the guys made it look like they were too tough after noticing them approaching. Luckily, neither Morgan nor Ethan wanted to hit on them.

After coming close enough, Morgan got a bit confused. Probably he was trying to come up with a way to get the girl's attention.

"Hey, you, bitch," Ethan told him. Yes, it was rather rude. However, that move drew everyone's attention, including the blonde girl.

"What have you just said?" one of them snapped back.

"You heard it."

"Go fuck yourself!"

"Ladies first."

"Men are fucking garbage!" they heard from the side.

"Fucking garbage is someone who doesn't understand the consequences after doing something. Just like your girlfriend here," Ethan looked at Blondy. At first, she seemed confused, then she noticed Noah, and her face became pale. "You fool a person into taking a picture and then become a criminal participant since the picture was used to bully that person. Don't you think you're garbage now? It's time to explain."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the blond girl said bravely, since she was surrounded by her friends. They would never let anyone hurt her. It would be a lot easier to make her talk if she was alone. But Ethan thought it would be safer for him and Morgan to do it publicly. Or else they would give this suspicious, unreliable girl an opportunity to turn the tables for her own benefit, accusing them of assault afterward or something worse. The thing that scared Ethan the most was the fact that, because of people like her, real victims could find help.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," Ethan clenched his teeth unintentionally, "You took a picture of Morgan on Monday. The one that appeared in the anonymous chat later," Thomson took out his phone, found the message he needed, and demonstrated the picture.

"Yes, I took it," the blonde confirmed suddenly, "He was the one who asked me to do it," she said, completely unbothered by the fact that Morgan was standing right there. She lied without batting an eye. Noah looked pale.

"That's not true!" he exclaimed in despair, as if he was sure that Ethan would believe her if he didn't deny her words immediately. Thomson looked at Noah.

"I know," he said calmly.

"Everybody knows about Morgan's reputation. If you're his new fucker, that doesn't mean that he would suddenly become sweet and nice," the girl, who called all men garbage, said.

"The most disgusting people are those who build an opinion about a person based on nasty rumors," Ethan grunted, looking daggers at the girl, "Now you're no better than European men of science from the 19th century who assumed, with no scientific proof whatsoever, that women's hysteria was caused by their uterus and the best cure for it was penis. Or else — a dildo."

Ethan gave this example on purpose, assuming that this kind of absurdity would be more understandable for the girls. Penis isn't a magic pill for women, just as Morgan isn't a local slut. Unfortunately, everybody didn't seem to care about Thomson's arguments. His proof just caused a wave of annoyed shouting. Somebody started saying aggressive phrases about men again.

"Oh, you don't like how it sounds, do you? I guess Morgan doesn't like being gossiped about for three years, either. You do it like you know something about him. If you don't even want to try thinking critically, that's your right. But, please, don't yell about it everywhere. Don't bring shame upon yourselves," Ethan said sharply.

The girls were still arguing that these two topics 'weren't the same.' However, their arguments were weak because they started getting the idea after some time that these topics were actually talking about the same thing. The only difference was that the victim wasn't part of the whole population, but one person.

"Answer, who asked you to take this damn photo?" Ethan demanded, staring at the blond girl, "If you tell us, we'll pretend like we've never seen you before."

"I've told you already, he was the one to ask me!" the girl shook her hair, insisting on her point. Ethan narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists unintentionally. This move didn't go unnoticed by the other girls.

"Rufus!" one of the blonde's girlfriends jumped from the step where she had been sitting and waved her hand, drawing the guy's attention. Ethan hoped that it was some other Rufus, not the one he knew. After all, there were probably thousands of Rufuses around the campus. The universe, though, decided not to miss the opportunity to make another joke about Thomson.

Hughes approached the girls, beaming with his Hollywood smile. He was smiling until his attention moved from the freshmen to Morgan and Ethan. At first he noticed Noah and frowned in disgust. Then he noticed Ethan. And then he turned pale.

"What's going on?" Hughes asked drily.

"This jackass accuses our friend of God knows what. And he also threatens to punch her!"

Here was what Ethan was afraid of. Lies, lies, lies.

Rufus knew that Ethan would never accuse anyone for no reason. But he also remembered how Thomson attacked the guy at his party. Hughes didn't know the reason for the fight, which meant that he probably pictured Ethan as a complete freak.

"Ethan, is it true?"

"No. I haven't threatened anyone yet. Now I'm just trying to dig for the truth," Etha hissed, shifting his gaze from one girl to another.

"Your department is located the other way," Hughes notices, trying to sound peaceful, "Maybe you should better dig for the truth there?"

"Maybe, you should hold your pointless advice to yourself then?" Ethan suggested coldly.

"Aren't you satisfied with your punk reputation? Do you want the whole university to hate you?" Rufus just wouldn't stop demonstrating to Ethan his peculiar way of worrying about him. That was why Audrey never reciprocated his feelings. He was a wimp, dependent on other opinions.

"As far as I know, you don't need to do anything to make the whole university hate you. There's some jerk who can always make up stupid gossip and send it to the anonymous chat," Ethan said angrily.

"The more you try protecting Morgan, the worse your position is," Hughes noticed, "I don't know what he told you, but…

"He told me nothing but the truth," Ethan cut off.

"Thomson, wake up already! This guy" — Hughes pointed at Morgan — "He's dragging you down with him! Why do you think he doesn't lie to you? Do you think you're that special? He told you a couple of tearful stories, and here you are feeling sorry for him, right? Do you even know what he's been texting about you to those prankers? That you're his boyfriend. That you're fucking! Everybody's been talking about it for the past couple of days!" he exclaimed wholeheartedly.

"We do fuck, okay," Ethan confirmed immediately. It was worth telling, at least to see Rufus' reaction. "Didn't you notice? We're doing it right now," Thomson added with pressure, "Here, I already pulled Morgan down to the ground. Do you see it? I'm taking his pants off. Right here. On the lawn. It's the perfect content for the chat, don't you think? Come on, text about it to the administrator of that filthy machine. I hope that by the end of the day, everybody will have been talking about Thomson and Morgan fucking passionately on school property in front of all these people. Is that how it works? Did I get the rules of the game right?"

"Ethan, you're going from one extreme to another, as usual," Rufus said, frowning, "But I won't let you raise your hand against the girl while you're being hysterical! You should go to the doctor! I'm telling you, you need professional help!"

"This whole 'hysteria' used to be called the truth. Unfortunately, people seem to love swimming in these lies, so that every crusader looks insane to them. No, I think that you should see a doctor. You're people who enjoy bullying others. Moral sadism is a serious psychiatric deviation. We need to be a civilized society. The university used to be a place for thinking and talented people. We're going to be responsible for the future of our country. I don't think people will be happy when they find out that their future is in the hands of intellectual marginals who fight for human rights on social media, and yet still bully an innocent person and accuse him of everything just because it feels comfortable for them."

"Ethan, I've warned you…" Rufus grunted, taking a step towards Thomson, "Don't think I'll be afraid to punch you. You can threaten me with court all you want, I won't let you touch innocent people."

"Everybody's guilty," Ethan said in a rage, "Some are guilty of bullying. Others — of being indifferent. But, okay, I swear, there'll be no court. Punch me. I'll warn you, though: punch me hard and right. It would be better if I never stood up after that. Because that is the only reason that can really affect me. Your position, unfortunately, will be way weaker than mine, right, Rufus?"

"What are you talking about?" Hughes looked nervous.

"Right now, your present and future lives depend on sports. Which means that if I injured you hard enough, you would be able to be a part of our basketball team. The life you've been dreaming about will be over. The only simple fracture of your leg should be enough."

Rufus stepped back unwillingly. The girls were silent. Things were heating up.

"Okay, enough," Noah's voice sounded lower than usual, which gave Ethan goosebumps. Thomson thought that he had already gotten used to Noah's voice. But he was wrong. "There will be no fight. And there will be no injuries, either," he said, looking at Ethan, "We just want to find out who asked you to take the photo. We'll leave as soon as you give the information," he told the blonde girl. She smirked skeptically. No, she definitely didn't want to speak. "May I tell you something? In private?" Noah asked calmly.

"Yeah, sure," the girl snorted, folding her arms against her chest. Her friends gathered around her, ready to protect her at all costs. This loyalty in their friendship felt unreal. Ethan would be impressed unless he didn't know that they'd been protecting lies. Even though they couldn't understand it themselves.

"I can whisper it in your ear. May I?"

"Don't you dare come closer," one of the girls threatened.

"Say it so the rest can hear," the other suggested.

"I can't," Noah said, shaking his head, "She wouldn't want any of you to know," he said, cracking a sly smile. Smart move. Playing dirty and not giving important information, though, shows that you're aware of something. Good job, Morgan.

"I've got nothing to hide," the blonde girl told everyone.

"Are you sure?" Noah asked as if he was perfectly aware of the opposite. The blonde got confused.

"Okay," she changed her decision suddenly, "I agree, not because I've got secrets. I'm just curious," she assured her friends. Noah came close to her, covered his mouth, and started whispering something. Her face changed immediately, and then she even jumped back from Noah. Her eyes were screaming, 'How the hell do you know it?! '"

"Somebody texted me," she rattled, forgetting about her friends and what they might've thought, "They promised me a hundred bucks for a picture. They told me everything they wanted to see in the picture."

"A hundred bucks," Ethan grunted, "You're cheap."

"Ethan, enough," Noah grunted at him.

"Okay," Thomson shrugged his shoulders, "Why did they want exactly you?" he asked the next question.

"What do you mean?"

"The guy could offer a hundred bucks to anyone. There are thousands of people at the university. Why did he offer them to you? Have you already helped them with something before? Do you know them?"

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I don't know who admins the anonymous chat. It was the first time they've texted me."

"Then why did they choose you?"

"I'm telling you I don't know."

"It happened on Monday, right?" one of the girls suddenly decided to take part in the conversation. Everybody looked at her. "Do you remember that morning when you were screaming that you wanted to buy a new vinyl for your collection? But you were short on money, and your parents didn't want to pitch in. Remember?"

The girl frowned, trying to recall Monday morning events.

"Oh, that's true," she mumbled slowly. It meant that the person they needed was somewhere near enough to hear what she had said. The bully went to the same cafeteria as Noah and the blonde girl. He could see Morgan every morning. The suspicions about them being close to Noah were verified.

Ethan took his phone out.

"Forward me the messages from this person," he asked.

"I can't. As soon as I sent him the picture, he deleted everything."

"Did you delete your messages in the chat with him?"

"No."

"You should've. It's extremely important to destroy all the evidence immediately," he chuckled, "Okay, show me the chat."

Blondy opened the chat unwillingly.

"All data is hidden. You won't see any names or phone numbers," she warned.

"Nickname is fine," Ethan assured her. He copied that random nickname and turned to Noah, "See, and you said that would be pointless."

5' 8"-5' 9"

Noah shouldn't have felt embarrassed because of the girl who became a partaker of another stupid joke. He shouldn't have felt embarrassed because of her friends. Especially because of Rufus Hughes. However, he was sick at heart for some reason.

"I don't like your style," he said, as soon as Thomson and him left the company of students and shocked Hughes.

"Do you like the way these people treat you?" Ethan asked in a businesslike manner.

"I don't, but I don't want to sink to their level."

"You can't do it the other way with some people. The thing is not to sink to their level. Most importantly, you need to find the right time to go back up after sinking in."

"I can't agree with you on that one," Noah said, shaking his head.

"Okay. You don't have to agree with me on everything. As well as I don't need to. So what? Does it mean you'll stop talking with me?"

No. But…" — Noah seemed confused — "If you had hit that girl, then, I think, I would've stopped," he confessed.

"I wouldn't have hit her," Ethan said coldly.

"You looked as if you had."

"I wanted it to look the way it looked. I've never hit a person weaker than me in my entire life. Never. And I never will," Thomson said, "Who do you think I am, God damn it!"

"I think you're a person who's capable of doing anything," Noah grunted.

"Then why don't you expect something nice?" Ethan suggested, "By the way, what did you whisper in her ear so seductively? I'm curious."

"I won't tell you," Noah frowned, "That's her secret."

"My lips are sealed. I won't tell anyone," Ethan assured.

"Sure. You'd rather use it against her," Noah frowned. He thought Ethan would get mad, but Thomson just shrugged his shoulders. He decided not to argue with Morgan.

"Do you have classes today?"

"Yes, in half an hour," Noah confirmed.

"Skip."

"Huh?"

"Skip the class. There are more important things that we need to do," Ethan showed his phone with the nickname of a possible bully. Noah had no idea what he wanted to do with it. "I insist we ask the person I've already mentioned before. Something's got to give. Even if you think you can handle it, don't forget that you might not be the only victim. If you don't want to protect yourself, protect those who can become the victims of that bastard after you."

Fair enough. Noah swallowed soundly.

"Is that friend some hacker, or something?" he asked modestly, trying not to think about the answer.

"No. He's not a hacker. He's not my friend, either. He's our family's bodyguard. Duncan can easily find those who don't want to be found. I think it is about time to ask for his help. But, of course, I won't do it unless you agree."

Noah hesitated. It sounded a bit too serious and threatening.

"I'm not sure…"

"What are you afraid of?"

Noah was afraid of many things. For example, he was afraid of the truth he might not like. Andrea was still silent, and the more she didn't text, the more suspicious Noah was. He felt guilty for that. He knew that Andrea was his friend. One fight couldn't change anything. However, Thomson's suspicions and his ambiguities about his friends were slowly making Noah paranoid. Maybe Ethan was a bad influence, after all. Apparently, Scott was right again. Did it mean that he could be right about other questions as well?

What if Ethan was right, not Scott? What if Andrea was responsible for that? Noah wouldn't want to talk about it publicly, or tell Thomson about it. Should he speak to his friend privately? Firstly, they still couldn't reach her. Secondly, if Noah brought the subject up and then it turned out that Andrea was innocent, their friendship was over. Why does everything need to be so difficult?

Enough. Andrea and Scott are innocent. There was nothing to be afraid of.

"Ethan, promise me that no matter who is responsible for that, you won't touch them. I'll agree to accept your offer only under this condition," Noah tried to articulate his thoughts and fears as consistently as he possibly could. He hoped Thomson wouldn't draw any extra conclusions, even though there was little hope for that.

"Deal," Ethan said immediately, like it was something he expected Noah to say. "Let's go see Duncan right now. He has a day off. And I know exactly where to find him."