I am relatively new to parenting (2.5 years). I have a good relationship with my 14 yo stepson. We talk regularly and we listen to each other. My concern is that he went into the local secondary school without any cohorts. In order to find friends, he gravitated towards boys with poor behaviour, with school dropouts. He has been in trouble with the police and there are other issues, all of which have involved this small group that hang out together and one friend in particular. His mum and I have asked him not to see this boy but they do still connect online. Yesterday he had a big emotional outburst with lots of tears all around how he has to act "badass" at school to maintain friendships. Obviously, we do not want to overinterfere in his relationships and we are happy that he is expressing his emotions and talking to us but we also want to keep him safe and out of further incidents with authorities. Any thoughts?