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[howtheyshine]

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[howtheyshine]

But... He's scared of me.

[abrightboy]

Is he scared of you or is he scared of hurting you again?

[howtheyshine]

[A pause.]

...Oh.

[abrightboy]

I think he really wants to be your friend, too, for what it's worth.

[howtheyshine]

[A pause, quietly hopeful:]

Really? Why do you think that?

[abrightboy]

Because he’s been protective of you and he cares whether or not he hurts you.

[howtheyshine]

But I don't... [He stops. Goes on guiltily.] I don't know why he cares about that. I don't know if he cares because it's me or because John was unhappy about it. I don't know if it's because of me, or because he doesn't want to be the person who said the things the other version of him said.

[abrightboy]

Why don’t you ask him?

[howtheyshine]

...Because if I ask him then I'll know and if I know then I can't change it.

[abrightboy]

Actually? You can only change it if you know whether it needs changed and how.

[howtheyshine]

[Wait hang on.]

But... [How is he supposed to change something like THAT if it's not the answer he's hoping for?]

[abrightboy]

A person can change his mind if you give him a reason to.

[howtheyshine]

But how do they change their mind? What do I do to help that?

[abrightboy]

Be patient. Be kind. And if you’ve wronged them somehow, apologize.

[howtheyshine]

[He makes a soft, doubtful noise.]

What if I do all that and they still don't.

[abrightboy]

Then that’s the really, really hard part: you have to respect that and let them be. You can’t… be friends with everyone you want to be friends with, just because you want it.

[howtheyshine]

But what if-- What if they'll take away people I love because the people I love, love them more.

[abrightboy]

That doesn't mean they won't want to be friends with you anymore. Both of the people I love the most here are or have been close friends with people who couldn't stand me. They still loved me.