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him.
                  “I think so,” He whispered.
                  “What makes you think you can treat him this way?” I was hot with anger. “He hasn’t done anything to you. He’s been nothing, but a nice guy to everyone, and all you want to do is humiliate him.”
                  “Whatever.” They said together.
                  “It’s amazing,” I said.
    “What is?” They asked.
    “I didn’t know that three people could share the same brain. You guys are the losers. You can’t see how great he is. You do this every year. Each year it’s a new victim. Well, it stops here!” I turned around and had Alan lean on my shoulder as I took him to my car.
    “Do you mind your seats get a little wet?” He looked at me.
    “No, of course not.” The rest of the car ride was pretty much silent. Neither of us knew what to say. It was very hard for both of us to accept what had happened. Alan broke the silence.
    “Thank you,” He said barely above a whisper.
    “You don’t need to thank me,” I answered.
    “Yes, I do. You defended me. No one has ever done that for me before. I don’t really have any friends to help me out.”
    “Alan, why would you let them do that to you? They don’t deserve to talk to you, and you don’t deserve their treatment. I mean I used to be like you where no one really wanted to hang out with me, but I’ve changed.”
    “I don’t want to change. This is who I am, and if I get hurt for who I am, then so be it. I won’t let them change me.” He responded.
    “You don’t have to change, but you don’t have to let them talk to you the way that they did. It’s not right. I mean, if you ever need anyone to talk to… I’m here. You don’t have to have a limited amount of friends. It’s just I can’t hang out with you in school.”
    “Why? Because I’m a dork?” He inquired.
    I looked at him in surprise, “I didn’t say that.”
    “That’s what you meant. You’re afraid to be seen with me because then you might lose some of your friends. Or you might even lose the reputation that you’ve worked so hard for.” He reasoned.
    “No. That’s not true. I can’t hang out with you in school, because I have other friends and I like to be with them. I like you and all, but I never see you during the day.”
    “You see me in English.”
    “Yes. And I will keep seeing you in English. We will always be friends,” I said.
    “I understand.” Alan looked at me, “Can I ask you something.”
    “Anything.”
    “Why did you do it?”
    I turned into his driveway, “Do what?”
    “Help me.”
    “Because you needed help and I couldn’t stand to see you in such pain.” I helped him out of the car, “Can I ask you something?”
    “What?”
    “Why did you ask her to Homecoming?” I let him lean on me, “Did you think that she would say yes? Don’t you know what kind of a person Jill is?”
    “I do now. I thought she was like me, afraid.” He opened his door and stepped inside. “Can I give you a hug?” He looked imploringly at me.
    “Yes.”
    “Thanks!” He gave me the tightest hug anyone had ever given me. At first, I just sat there stiff as a log as he hugged me. Then I hugged him back. We both had tears in our eyes. It had been a very, very long day.
    “Um…Alan?”
    “Yes, Ashley?”
    “I kind of can’t breathe.”
    “Sorry!” He let go of his jaws-of-life hold on me. “Go in peace.” He gave me the Star Trek hand gesture.  I went back in my car, and he watched me until he couldn’t see me anymore. It’s amazing how dorks can be the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He may be a crackpot with a screw loose upstairs, but I had learned something from him. Nice people come in strange packages. As I was thinking this, I opened the door and picked up my cell phone. Then I called up Allie.
    “Hello?”
    “Allie?”
    “Yes.”
    “It’s Ashley. I really need to talk to you. Is anyone at your house