Forced to look up at Gabe, Niles couldn't hide what washed over him. He felt betrayed. Wounded. Afraid. Desperate. Why couldn't he have them both? As a student, it seemed an impossible concept. How could he ever have two when he wanted them both the same? But now it was different. He wanted them in different ways. Gabe, his ever-present friend. Amanda, so caring and gentle. He swore he could see a future where having them both was possible.

"Don't say that," he pleaded, his hands moving up to Gabe's waist. "You just don't know her. She didn't trust us, either. When we first arrived she hated us. Despised everything we stood for. But that's changed. Just talk to her and you'll see."

No one else could make him sound so very weak. Pathetic and begging. But there was no one else quite like his friend.