Reid grimaced, and shook his head. Of course Terry didn't do what the other kids simply decided was true. Reid had been there, and he'd been there the day the boys were expelled. Though they gave him death glares and hisses, the decision was final and they were sent off to their families the next day. Reid slid his glasses up his face, to rest in his hair. "I know, Terry. They're just spreading rumors because it's more fun than the truth." He slid his chair forward, closer to the table so he was across from Terry directly, and grasped the young man's hands. "The fact that you talk to anyone at all is a good thing... You're not keeping it all bottled up inside."

He squeezed Terry's hands. "You know I can make them stop. It doesn't have to make things worse, just a notice handed out at the beginning of the first class. Benjamin doesn't tolerate bullying, and even these little rumors are under that category. It makes you feel bad, makes others hurt you, even if it's not physical." He couldn't help but think of the afternoon he had found Terry beaten and violated, filthy. Familiar. "A notice and a serious warning will stop them, and if you're specifically tormented, you know you can come to me, if you feel comfortable." He hoped that Terry's ability to talk to him would count toward that. "I hate knowing that someone suffers the same way I did. But now, I can stop that." He smiled lightly, nodding, hoping it would count.