Gary tried to piece together what had just happened in his mind. Rainbow had commented that Barry was 'persuasive', then he'd beaten her up for telling him he was 'persuasive'. Gary wondered wether it was a code word for something, but either way, it seemed like Barry was controlling her and abusing her when she didn't act like he wanted her to. Judging by how she'd reacted, it happened regularly too. Then he'd found out that Aimes's reincarnate, and remember all their past lives and the other Sheffield's. Which reminded him that he needed to find out more about the reincarnation. But then, she'd suddenly got a headache that only eased when he left, which was definitely caused by magic and judging her reaction it was an outside source. That meant that there was someone else in the school with magic.
As Gary contemplated on this, he came across the nerds. Barry was talking to them in a 'persuasive' way. Gary frowned, he wouldn't let them deal with that kind of menace any longer. He marched over, confidently and looking for a fight but Barry left before Gary got there and without noticing him. He turned to the nerds instead.
"You guys okay?" He asked, checking them for injuries but none of them made eye contact with him. He frowned slightly, what was wrong with all of them? They were all standing slightly sheepishly. They stayed silent for a moment until Oscar made his way to the front of the group, staring at the floor.
"Hey Gary…" He started, playing with his hands and fingers nervously twisting them. "Look, truth is… The group has decided that… The group's decided that… We don't want you to be a member anymore… Sorry man…" He explained and looked up to face Gary. His entire world collapsed around him. They were kicking him out? What had he done wrong? He had a lingering feeling that this was something to do with Barry's presence earlier. He studied each of their faces as they turned away from him. They didn't want this, he didn't want this, so why were they doing it?
"Oscar." He called, grabbing Oscar's arm before he left with them. He was Gary's best friend. "Does this have something to with Barry?" He questioned, trying to get an honest answer from him. Oscar looked away and then looked back at Gary.
"Fine." He mumbled, "Barry told us that if we didn't kick you out, then we wouldn't get the school budget for the annual in-school gaming competition. It's like the biggest event of the year, and you're… well… you cause a lot of drama. Y'know, since you and Rainbow Aimes are like… a thing." He explained, making Gary feel worse. He started to walk off as Gary tried to justify himself.
"I don't cause… That much drama! And me and the Aimes are NOT a 'thing'!" He called after Oscar. Gary frowned. So he'd lost his group, the Aimes and Oscar all in one day. High school was hard. He needed to talk to Barry. He needed to know why Barry hated him so much. Then maybe he could join the group again. Gary put his head in his hands. Barry could control everything. He knew how people worked. He knew how to push their buttons to get them to do what he wanted them to. There was a lot Gary could learn from him, those sorts of skills could be very beneficial to a mayor of a county.