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~.O.~
"Why couldn't you have fallen for someone else? Anyone else?!"
Lan Zhan froze in place as he was putting the books he'd taken out back on their shelf. The library was supposed to be a quiet place to work in. No talking above a whisper was allowed and no loud noises should exist once inside, and yet Jiang Cheng's voice carried over several shelves without any care for others and their space. A usual thing for someone like him.
"The heart wants what it wants, Jiang Cheng. I can't help that."
The reply came from none other than Wei Ying. He who felt the need to harass and bully Lan Zhan at any possible opportunity. The one who got others to laugh at him and make jokes about him. The one who always had that damnable smile on his face and always seemed to get off on Lan Zhan's discomfort.
Yet here he was in the library, sounding forlorn and tired and not at all like his usual, annoying, exuberant self.
When Lan Zhan peered around a shelf, he found the two brothers sitting at a table nearby. They were the only other people on this floor of the library it seemed, so it wasn't as if they were disturbing anyone else but Lan Zhan, whom they didn't seem to know was there and being very much disturbed. Still, it rubbed him the wrong way how they had no sense of common decency for others.
Jiang Cheng looked as surly as ever. On the verge of hitting someone or something probably. Lan Zhan couldn't remember a time where the teen had been happy. He was unpleasant to be around and unpleasant to listen to. And he was always rude to others, even his family.
"I just don't get why you haven't been turned off yet. Literally, even the peacock would be a better crush. At least he isn't a fucking homophobe! And he looks better too."
Wei Ying seemed to sink even more in his chair, looking more and more depressed by the second.
And despite the fact that eavesdropping was rude, and his brother and uncle would be disappointed, Lan Zhan was curious. What was going on?
"Please, Wei Ying, just think it all over very carefully. You deserve better. I know it, shijie knows it, and even you know it somewhere deep down. Find someone actually worthy of you and get the fuck over that walking icicle."
Jiang Cheng's need to swear in every sentence was truly abhorrent, and yet his frustration seemed to need an outlet and swearing seemed to achieve the right level for him. At least he wasn't being violent for once, that was a nice change.
As for Wei Ying… he'd buried his head in his folded arms and refused to even look at his adopted brother.
Lan Zhan hadn't ever seen the bully look so down before. He almost felt pity for him. Almost. It was too easy to remember the way he acted every day and any pity vanished instantly.
Jiang Cheng didn't seem to like being ignored and slammed a fist down on the table, making both Wei Ying and Lan Zhan jump at the sudden noise.
"Dammit, Wei Ying! Get over that asshole! Everyone knows that you have been in love with Lan Zhan for years, and everyone also knows he's a fucking homophobe who won't ever change! Get over him and find someone actually worth the effort!"
Wait…
Stop…
Did he just hear…?
Lan Zhan's mind was caught between two different thoughts.
One: Everyone knew that Wei Ying had been in love with him for years?
Two: Everyone knew that Lan Zhan was homophobic?!
What? How? When?!
He'd never given any indication that he didn't support the Queer Community. Lan Zhan was gay himself. Had been aware of it for almost ten years. Sure, he didn't like rainbows and didn't partake in most Pride events because they annoyed him with how loud they got, but that didn't mean he hated people in the community. And surely, he'd never given such an impression to anyone before.
How could people have gotten it in their heads that he had… such horrible beliefs?
And on the other hand, Wei Ying. Jiang Cheng seemed incredibly certain of his statement that Wei Ying was in love with Lan Zhan and that everyone knew it to be a fact. And the other teen hadn't denied it either.
Wei Ying had sunk even further into his chair by then and by now had buried his face in his hands.
Jiang Cheng wasn't finished either, it seemed. "Just yesterday he told you that you were an awful person. He once said people like you should have more shame and learn to be more righteous to be considered acceptable. He pushes you away very roughly. He's fucking hit you hard enough that he dislocated your arm. I know you come on too fucking strong but the fact that he can't even be civil when trying to avoid you is really fucking telling of him. I'm sick of seeing you waste your tears on such a nasty person."
He… dislocated Wei Ying's arm?
He wanted it all to be lies. But he also knew they weren't.
Whenever Wei Ying came around, he did push him away. Very roughly usually, because he wanted to be left alone. And he had hit him before, many times. Yesterday he did say he was an awful person, but he thought Wei Ying was making fun of his father's failing health! He didn't mean it in a homophobic way! And Lan Zhan's family believed very strongly in upholding righteous and morally good behavior. That wasn't a religious thing looking down on homosexuality, it was him believing that Wei Ying wasn't a good person and trying to tell him to be decent for once!
How was he supposed to know his words and actions would be taken so far out of context? And how had he not known about this until now?!
Then again… Lan Zhan wasn't very good at conversation or socializing. He knew people often misunderstood him but to know that people honestly believed he was homophobic and intolerant of others... That Wei Ying was the one being bullied by a homophobe this entire time. It hurt.
He never thought he'd care all that much what people thought of him, but this one really did hurt.
"The only reason I haven't fucking broken that asshole's legs is because you still love him when he sure as hell doesn't fucking deserve it! Jin Zixuan doesn't even treat shijie this terribly, Wei Ying! Get some fucking common sense already!"
Lan Zhan didn't know what to do. Or say.
He needed his brother.
"Wangji, what's wrong?"
Lan Huan was a good brother. Had always been such. He understood Lan Zhan better than anyone ever had. Could read his most minor attitude changes with ease.
In this moment, where he knew he was safe and understood, Lan Zhan broke down, unable to stop himself from crying. And he hadn't cried since his mother had passed away years ago. That was a long time for him to remain in control of his emotions without cracking.
"What happened?" Lan Huan asked as he folded his little brother into his arms. "You haven't cried like this in years."
"Everyone thinks I'm a homophobe and they hate me for it."
He could feel his older brother stiffen. "Come again?"
Lan Zhan took a deep breath and tried to wipe away his tears so he could see more clearly. It didn't work. He had to talk, but talking hadn't ever been a skill of his. His throat was tight, and it hurt. "I was studying in the library at lunch... Jiang Cheng was there with Wei Ying- he was being very loud. Too loud to ignore. And he was complaining about me being a homophobe."
His brother's arms tightened. "That's a terrible lie to spread about someone. We never raised you to believe in such terrible ways of thinking."
"But it makes sense!" the younger Lan insisted as he pulled away, his frustration making him more verbose than usual. "Apparently Wei Ying's been in love with me for years and everyone knows, but because I've done nothing but physically and verbally hurt him since I've met him, they all think I'm a homophobe and they want him to get over me. Jiang Cheng wants to break my legs! He said I'm a nasty person."
Lan Huan's mind was obviously trying to work through this revelation as quickly as possible. He'd been there every time his little brother wanted to complain about Wei Ying being a bother, and now he had to deal with this entire one-eighty to the known situation in mere seconds. A new point of view changed the meaning of everything instantly and it was too much to grasp in so little time.
And it still made no sense.
"Go back to the beginning, Wangji. What have you done to physically and verbally harm Wei Ying?" Lan Huan asked, ever the voice of reason and serenity, even if there was a tightness to his eyes that hadn't been there before. It made him nervous because it meant admitting his own faults. "I was under the impression that Wei Ying was the only aggressor here."
Lan Zhan sighed and looked away as the guilt reared its ugly head. "Jiang Cheng cited examples in an attempt to convince Wei Ying that his affections were better placed elsewhere." He paused, thinking them through. "Yesterday, Wei Ying had asked after father's health because he'd heard rumors floating around the school, and I was so angry and thought he was mocking me about it that I told him he was an awful person."
On his end he seemed to be in the right at the time.
"Weeks ago, he'd been bothering me in the library during lunch and I assumed he'd been mocking me then as well, and told him that people like him needed to learn shame and be more righteous to be considered acceptable."
He could see the wheels turning in his brother's mind, and the disapproving frown on his brother's face grew more and more pronounced.
"According to Jiang Cheng, I've been too rough when shoving Wei Ying out of my personal space and I've even dislocated his arm. I remember when he had to wear a sling for it. He'd laughed about it and told everyone that he and his crush got a little too physical in private the day before. And yet, when his brother brought it up in the library as an example of me being a horrible person, he looked to be on the verge of tears."
It all made perfect sense now. And his heart hurt. From his perspective, he'd been relentlessly picked on by someone infinitely more popular than him. For years. From Wei Ying's perspective, the boy he liked and tried to befriend thought he was disgusting and awful because he was gay. And the reason people glared at Lan Zhan and why no one wanted to be near him was because they saw the outgoing Wei Ying constantly being treated terribly by Lan Zhan because he was queer.
Lan Huan sighed, eyes closing as he turned away. "Wangji, you know we were taught to never get violent with someone unless they got violent with us first. We train from a young age and have deceptive strength. Uncle taught us to never start a physical altercation not only because we're dangerous, but because it makes it easy to be implicated. And we must always be mindful of the strength we use in those instances. You're incredibly lucky that Wei Ying never reported you or let others report you because this behavior deserves punishment. Uncle is going to be furious."
Ashamed, Lan Zhan could only bow his head. He could feel his brother's disappointment and couldn't fault him for it since he felt the same way.
"This situation needs to be handled and the misunderstandings cannot be allowed to continue. I want you to write down every single altercation you've had with Wei Ying. In order of the first to the most recent. I want you to write down how you perceived what was happening. We will be telling Uncle. He will choose your punishment and we can only hope he's lenient enough to not expel you.
"Wei Ying will have to be brought in so he can give his own testimony on the events. His perspective will better help us understand. His guardians will also need to be brought in because they deserve to know what has been happening. And you will seriously need to think about what happens after this is brought to light, and evaluate your mistakes, failings, and feelings."
He never once said that his little brother would have to apologize, but that was obviously a given.
And yet the act of apologizing was embarrassing and so very difficult.
"Lan Qiren has called you to his office, you are doomed."
Wei Ying groaned. Again. What was he about to be blamed for this time? It could be anything based on Lan Qiren's history of singling him out for whatever reasons he'd come up with. "Don't make me feel worse before I even get there!" he told Jiang Cheng.
"Don't worry, I'll carry your corpse for you."
"You've been carrying it for years by this point," Wei Ying remarked blandly. Many of those times Jiang Cheng had to help him for no legitimate reason even, but it's not like anyone would ever listen if they said it was because Lan Qiren was using some grudge against Wei Ying's mom against her son who barely knew her because she died young.
"Yeah, it's getting pretty heavy by now, so please stop adding weight on. I don't think my back can take much more of this."
"Your back is fine! And you know it isn't my fault more than half the time."
"...Yeah. Whole mess of family they are, huh?"
Wei Ying chose to say nothing because he still like Lan Zhan and thought that he was sweet... when not around Wei Ying at least.
The door to the main office was right in front of him. Jiang Cheng was right beside him for emotional comfort, though he wasn't very comforting as a person to be honest. It was like walking to the guillotine and finding out what his crime was at the same time.
Was is an accusation of cheating again? Perhaps Lan Qiren would claim he vandalized school property? Or was caught smoking in the boy's bathroom? Or some other ridiculous thing Wei Ying wouldn't even have the time for.
"Just get it over with," his brother advised. "Get in, get out, and get over it."
"Yeah, yeah."
The secretary recognized him immediately and gestured to her boss' door. "He's already waiting for you. Good luck."
Wei Ying's heart practically stopped when he stepped inside to find Lan Qiren, Lan Huan, and Lan Zhan waiting in the room already, along with Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu? He must have come up with quite the severe accusation this time if they had to be involved.
The old goat looked frazzled and in a terrible mood, his eldest nephew looked sad but resigned, and Lan Zhan was staring at the floor on the other side of the room, far away from Wei Ying. Uncle Jiang seemed confused and Madam Yu's glare promised pain if she found out he was in trouble. She was not above a smack or two to the head, of that he was well aware.
"We need to have a talk," Lan Qiren said stiffly, motioning for him to come in and sit beside his guardians. On the desk was a lone packet of papers, stapled together. It seemed ominous.
"This," said the headmaster, holding up the packet, "is Lan Wangji's account of every time he and Wei Wuxian have ever spoken to each other. From his perspective. How he perceived the situations and why he reacted accordingly."
He really didn't know why that was important for this meeting. The Jiangs obviously didn't either.
"Our Wangji has admitted to eavesdropping on a conversation of yours in the library the other day and came away with some concerning information that he brought to his brother's attention."
Wei Ying's stomach sank immediately. He'd only been to the library once in the past month, and it was with Jiang Cheng, and he ended up getting chewed out by his brother. Over his crush on Lan Zhan.
Noooooooooooooo!
He was going to diiiiiiiiiiiie!
"This is important for you to know because he has perceived all of your interactions as one way and has learned that you perceive them completely differently. Lan Wangji is homosexual and in no way has he ever reacted the way he did, out of some outdated and reprehensible perception of people in the Queer Community."
So… Lan Zhan didn't think he was disgusting for being Bisexual?
It felt like hope had bloomed within. Jiang Cheng and the others were wrong! Lan Zhan was in fact very sweet, just misunderstood!
Lan Qiren sighed again and cast a narrow-eyed glance at his youngest nephew before continuing. "Wangji was under the impression that you were bullying him the entire time, because he was new to America. He is very emotionally stunted, which is my fault, and as a result he has poor social skills. Everything you've said or done to him was taken as an attempt to hurt his feelings or reputation. He noticed that people began treating him worse every time you were around and assumed you were trying to alienate him further in some twisted game he thought you were playing. We reacted accordingly."
Wei Ying's jaw dropped. "I've never bullied anyone!" he said, the same time Uncle Jiang said, "Wei Ying would never!" The man's support was very appreciated.
He'd been bullied himself back when he was orphaned and homeless for a time and wouldn't wish it on others. He was just popular because he was sporty and nice. And cute. That definitely helped him a lot. People wouldn't care if he wasn't cute, he was very well aware of that fact.
"We can see that now," Lan Huan said softly, joining the conversation at last. "My brother simply couldn't see it for what it was. Therefore, we need you to go over this packet in great detail and explain what intentions were behind each and every instance. We want this misunderstanding cleared up as soon as possible so we can all move on from this appropriately and hopefully not have a repeat."
Madam Yu was glaring at the packet like it had deeply offended her sensibilities. Wei Ying knew very well she was suppressing the urge to demand corporal punishment, but that kind of thing wasn't allowed at their school, thank goodness!
The packet was placed in Wei Ying's hands for his perusal. The first item listed was their first meeting. Four years ago, when they started as freshmen the same year Lan Zhan and his brother moved to Boston to officially live with their uncle who was the new headmaster of their high school. His father's health had been on the decline, so it was best that they stay with other family for the time being.
"I wanted to be his friend," Wei Ying explained for everyone's benefit. "I saw him, thought he was pretty, and wanted to be his friend. I just did what I did every other time I made a friend. Sat beside him and asked if he wanted to join us for lunch." The fact that it didn't work hurt until this day.
The next item was a week after that. Lan Zhan had been in the library and Wei Ying had gone to bother him into having a conversation and tried to ask for his Snapchat, which Lan Zhan did not have. "Still wanted to be his friend."
On and on the list went. Asked for his Twitter, his FB, his TikTok, his number, asked if he wanted to partner up for classwork, offer to show him around Boston on the weekends. On and on it went. His standard answer changed around Junior High though. 'Wanted to be his friend' became 'wanted to be his boyfriend but didn't know how' with small details added on to each instance. The instances of flirting increased more and more but nothing seemed to work.
Every now and then he'd sneak a peek at Lan Zhan, whose face and ears were beet red as he stared at the floor without blinking.
When the packet was fully seen through, Lan Qiren turned to his youngest nephew and said, "Have you anything to say, Wangji?"
Lan Zhan stood then, and knelt formally, before bowing low. "I apologize. Even if I was under the impression that I was being bullied, I should never have raised my hand to someone who didn't hit me first. I apologize for making assumptions about your personality. I apologize for my harsh words and judgmental actions. Wei Ying, I'm sorry for hurting you."
Honestly, considering how things had been going, and how everyone had been jumping down his throat over Lan Zhan's behavior, Wei Ying was just relieved that things weren't as they had seemed, and that Lan Zhan actually seemed to not hate him. And, based on what had just happened, he might even like him back given time!
"It's fine, it's fine," Wei Ying said with a nervous laugh, reaching out to try and coax Lan Zhan back to his feet. The kneeling was a bit uncomfortable to see.
"I know I have a habit of being annoying and not respecting boundaries. And I know that Jiang Cheng and my friends are overprotective after some stuff I've been through, and they didn't really hold back on making their dislike of you obvious. I'll talk to everyone and hopefully once they get the full picture, they'll stop, and it'll all be sorted out. In return, you should eat lunch with us at least once a week from now on and study with us in the library now and then. Make some friends here. Deal?"
Lan Zhan looked toward his brother and his uncle, the two who basically were his guardians.
"That will have to wait for some time, Wei Ying," Lan Qiren sighed. "He still needs to be punished for past behavior. You might have settled your differences and confessed what really happened from your own perspectives, but it does not change the fact that he has been physically violent with you and that is not acceptable behavior."
"You won't expel him, right? I know dislocating someone's arm isn't good, but he was feeling targeted and defensive in those moments. Surely his view on the situation does change things? And he even came forward and confessed his guilt once he realized he was guilty!" That had to count for something! It's not like he was that bad! Wei Ying's arm wasn't even in the sling that long!
Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu shook their heads. The Madam looked especially nasty. "He cannot just get away with such disrespect regardless of his feelings, because this behavior has been witnessed by too many people. You are not a violent whelp despite your many deficiencies, so his choice to use violence when it was not reactive to incoming violence, is dangerous. His behavior is also a shame upon himself and his family. There must be a punishment to set an example for his kind of behavior as it is clear the other students have come to view him as a bully who is allowed to do as he pleases because his uncle is in charge."
Wei Ying wilted, and Lan Zhan's brother smiled encouragingly at him. "It's very kind and generous of you to want to protect him even through all of this, but he needs to understand that actions have consequences. This will be a good thing for you both. When Wangji has served his punishment well, you may take your time getting properly acquainted. He will not be expelled, but it won't be an easy experience."
Lan Zhan nodded stiffly, his eyes downcast. Wei Ying felt miserable despite all the misunderstandings they'd managed to clear up. But Lan Zhan didn't seem too bothered. In fact, he seemed determined to see his punishment all the way through.
Wei Ying was just glad they didn't do corporal punishments anymore. It couldn't be that bad of a punishment if he wasn't getting hit. Right?
Before his guardians herded him from the room, Wei Ying nabbed a pen from Lan Qiren's desk and quickly wrote his number on the back of Lan Zhan's hand. "Text me when you can, and I'll send you my details for everything currently online."
He wasn't even back in class before his phone buzzed with a text from Lan Zhan specifically. It simply consisted of a rabbit emoji and praying hands.
With a grin, Wei Ying added Lan Zhan's contact to his phone and proceeded to quickly send him his handles on every single social media site and app he could think of.
Suddenly, he felt as if there was a little more pep in his step… and he was so going to rub it in Jiang Cheng's face that he wasn't in trouble!
~.O.~
A/N: FINISHED!
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