Hansol rubbed his eyes as he sat up.  He turned off the alarm and reluctantly rolled out of his bed.

“Xero, get up, we have class in an hour,” he said.  With all that happened the previous day, Hansol was excited to experience some form of normalcy.  Xero yawned and stretched as he got up.  They showered and got dressed before walking down to the lounge.  Sehyuk and Sangdo were back; they were sitting on one of the couches while Hojoon and Gohn filled them in on yesterday’s events. 

“This is a lot to process… I suggest we continue business as usual, no need to act strange.  This reformation thing is already drawing attention to us, we don’t need anymore.  Don’t worry you guys, I’ll come up with a plan to save the knights, I just need some time.  I have Mr. Kwon’s class this morning, so I doubt I’ll be doing much work, I’ll come up with something then,” Sehyuk said.

Hansol and Xero were almost late, but they arrived in the classroom just before the bell rang.  Mr. Cho seemed nervous.

“Um, what’s wrong Mr. Cho?” Hansol asked.

“Well… I’m personally really happy that you two are in my class again this year, there’s a lot I can still teach you two about web design… the thing is, some of the other students feel threatened by you, now that they now what you are.  I think it’s best if you sit over there,” Mr. Cho pointed to two desks that had been separated from the rest of the class.  Hansol couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and based on the look on his face, neither could Xero.

“Are you serious? This is... well it’s just… it’s wrong!  It’s no different than racism, or ism, or homophobia!” Xero shouted.  The other students glared at him, some looked away shamefully.

“Racism?  There’s more differences between us than just a skin color, you aren’t even human!” shouted one of their classmates.  Xero shot him a fearsome look.

“Oh no man, he’s gonna turn you into a frog!” said one of the others.  Xero stormed out of the room.  Hansol noticed the sky darkening outside as he ran after Xero.

“Xero wait!  Don’t listen to what those s said!  We’re no different than them, we are human… at least on the inside,”

“Because what’s on the inside counts? It doesn’t change what we truly are!  Remember what I told you when you first found out you were a wizard?  Humans can sense the differences between us and them.  No matter how much we pretend, we will never be like them!”  Xero screamed.  The wind was picking up quite a bit, but Hansol ignored it.

“Listen Xero… I know that we’re under a lot of stress right now, but you have to calm down.  We don’t need any more negative attention, just like Sehyuk said!”  Hansol was speaking very loudly, trying to talk above the insanely high wind.  The darkened sky lit up with flashes of lightning.

“Will you stop telling me what to do!? Damn it, I just need to think!”  Xero screamed before disappearing in a flash of light, leaving Hansol standing outside alone.  He didn’t even have time to walk back into the classroom before the P.A system came on.  Mr. Ahn rattled off the boys’ names and it wasn’t long before they were crammed into his office.

“Ah, Sehyuk and Sangdo, glad to see you’re back.  We seem to be missing a wizard though?  Is there a problem?” Mr. Ahn asked.  Everyone looked at Hansol expectantly.

“Uh, no, there’s no problem.  Xero’s just in the bathroom, those breakfast burritos from the food truck don’t sit well with everyone,” Hansol said with a nervous smile.  Mr. Ahn shook his head, clearly not wanting to ask any further questions regarding the subject.

“Anyway… it’s almost time for you to embark on your mission to save Jiwon from the BTS facility, are you ready?”

“I must request that we have a little more time to consider a strategy.  In my absence, Hojoon was leading the team, but now that I have returned, I need to be brought up to speed on everything we know.  A few hours?” Sehyuk said.  Mr. Ahn nodded.

“Fine, you have three hours.  I will email your teachers and excuse you from the rest of today’s classes.  Meet back here when you’re done planning,”

Once they were outside, Hojoon pulled Hansol aside.

“Where is he really?”

“I don’t know… we were facing some rough discrimination in class and he freaked out and teleported somewhere,”

“If he was that upset, there’s only one place he’d go.  We’ll be in the hideout, so just teleport back there after you find him,” Hojoon pulled a pen from his pocket and wrote an address down on the back of Hansol’s hand.  Hansol nodded his thanks and closed his eyes.  Seconds later he was standing in front of a small, seemingly abandoned house.  It was in terrible condition.  The windows were broken and there was graffiti all over the outer walls.  Looking around, Hansol realized that this neighborhood was… less than ideal.

He used his magic to unlock the front door and cautiously walked inside.  There was dust everywhere, which caused him to sneeze a few times.  A small, black cat scattered away from the door and jumped through one of the shattered windows.  With the cat gone, the house was completely empty… almost.  Hansol could hear sniffling, and when he turned the corner into what he assumed was once the living room, he saw Xero crouched in the corner, crying into his hands.  He looked up when he noticed Hansol’s presence.

“How did you find me here?”

“Hojoon told me where to look, you okay?” Hansol asked as he sat down across from Xero.

“I’ll be alright, I just needed a moment alone,”

“Why’d you come here?”

“This is the house I grew up in… honestly I’m not sure why I come here when I’m upset.  There aren’t many happy memories,” Xero admitted.

“What those guys said in class, it really struck a nerve with you.  There’s something you aren’t telling me isn’t there?”

Xero immediately looked away.  Hansol put his hand on Xero’s shoulder.

“You’re my best friend Xero, you can tell me anything.  Whatever it is, it stays between us,” Hansol assured him.  Xero took a deep breath.

“When I was a kid, about eleven years old, my dad found out my darkest secret,” Xero began, tears already welling up in his eyes.

“That you’re a wizard?”

“No, worse than that… Hansol… I’m gay,” Xero burst into tears as soon as the words left his lips.  Hansol was stunned; he never would’ve imagined that Xero could be gay.

“Xero, you shouldn’t feel bad, it’s not like it was your choice, it’s just who you are,”

“You’re right, I didn’t choose this… just like I didn’t choose to be a ing wizard!  I’m so sick of people treating me like crap because of a life I didn’t choose!”

The sky outside darkened again.

“But, I thought you loved being a wizard… and being part of the order?”

“I do, I do.  But, part of me just wants to be normal.  I want to feel like I really, truly fit in!  Even among you guys, I’m still different!  Magic makes me different from humans, but my uality makes me different from my best friends… there’s nowhere I belong,” Xero started to cry again.

“But that’s the thing… being different, doesn’t make you a bad person.  Yes you have magic powers, and no, Miss A’s ‘hush’ video isn’t gonna turn you on, but that stuff doesn’t determine who you are… what matters is what’s on the inside.  And inside, you’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met,”

Xero just blinked at Hansol and without warning, he kissed him.  Hansol’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean to! It just… and you... and I just…”

“Don’t apologize, let’s just forget it happened okay?”

“Okay,” Xero’s face turned red with embarrassment as the two boys stood up.

“Now let’s go, the guys are waiting,” Hansol said with an awkward smile.