"I'm gonna fail. I just know it. I'm gonna fail this damn exam." Gwil says stressed, pacing around the school hallway.
Rami rolls his eyes. "Come on Gwil, I have seen how hard you studied. There's no way you're going to fail. You are the nerd of the group, remember?" A small smirk appears on his face when Gwil shoots him an indignant look.
Gwil crosses his arms, trying to hide his annoyment. "How are you not freaking out? Are you that sure you'll pass this exam?" Gwil asks in surprise.
Rami shrugs. "Oh no, I'm not sure at all. I'm just freaking out on the inside." He simply says. And he's not lying. While totally calm on the outside, on the inside Rami is just as panicked as Gwil.
This exam is a huge one, since the students need to score at least a C if they want to graduate later this school year.
Gwil sighs softly. "Whatever. Where is Joe? Our exam starts in ten minutes and he's still not here." He looks around with a worried look on his face, scanning all the people standing in the hallway to see if he can spot Joe.
"Relax, I'm sure he'll be here soon." Rami says.
Exactly at that moment, a soft 'hey' is heard behind the two friends. Both Gwil and Rami turn around, seeing Joe standing there.
"Finally, there you are." Gwil immediately says to Joe.
The latter doesn't say anything to that for a second, taken back a bit by his friend. "Hello to you too." He says to Gwil.
Rami chuckles softly. "Don't mind him, he's just freaking out." He says with a wink.
Joe lets out a soft giggle. "Just like we predicted." He says. He holds out his hand towards Rami. "You owe me ten bucks." He grins.
His friend pushes his hand away. "You wish." Rami says.
Gwil rolls his eyes. "Anyways...- How are you feeling about the exam? Studied hard enough?" He asks Joe.
The ginger immediately looks down. "I uhm- I tried to but....-" He takes a deep breath. "My father has been trying to contact me all week. So my panic attacks have been all over the place. It makes studying quite hard. I've been nauseous the whole week." He admits.
His friends both shoot him a worried look.
"I thought he got a restraining order after last time's meeting?" Gwil says with a frown.
Joe sighs and nods. "Yeah well, apparently he doesn't care about that. The police says they can't do anything about the texts." He mumbles.
Rami clenches his fists. "That doesn't make any sense!" He exclaims. He bites his lip when Joe slightly flinches at his raised voice. "I'm so sorry Joe. You don't deserve this. Do you think you're still gonna pass the exam after all this?" He says with a look of sympathy.
"I hope so." Joe says with a shrug. He smiles when both Gwil and Rami hug him.
"Okay everyone, put your phones into the box before entering the classroom. On the clock of two you may start your exam." One of the teachers calls out.
Rami takes a deep breath. "Well here we go. Off to hell." He chuckles.
"We can do this." Gwil says, even though he's not sure whether he really believes it.
Joe starts fiddling with his hands. "Promise me we're still going to your place after the exam? I don't want to deal with my mom asking me how it went over and over again." He says to Rami with a serious face.
The black-haired boy nods with a chuckle. "Sure."
///
"What did you guys answer to question seventeen?" Gwil asks Rami and Joe once the three are on their way to Rami's place. They're glad it's only a ten minute walk.
Rami thinks for a moment. "I truly have no idea. I think my mind erased everything right after I was done. I tend to do that with traumatic experiences." He laughs.
Joe giggles softly. "Been there. I believe I filled in 42,1233 as answer. But that's probably wrong anyway." He sighs.
Gwil thinks for a moment. "I think I had something around the 42 as well." He smiles when he sees Joe's eyes lighten up with hope.
Joe looks up in surprise. "Oh well, would you look at that. Maybe I'm a math genius after all." He looks at his friends full of pride.
Both Rami and Gwil burst out in laughter. "Sure Joey." Rami giggles.
When the three arrive at Rami's house, the black-haired boy immediately disappears into the kitchen to get them all something to drink.
When he returns with a bottle of soda and a bottle of vodka to the living room, he frowns. "Joe, are you okay?" He looks at his friend in concern.
The ginger boy is sitting on the couch, his face buried in his hands.
Rami looks at Gwil for a bit of explanation.
But Gwil just shrugs, to say he doesn't know what's wrong either. "He got dizzy so he had to sit down, that's all I can get out of him." He says to Rami with a worried look.
"I-I'm fine." Joe mumbles, his voice muffled away by his hands. "Just a bit nauseous again. It's probably from all the stress about that exam." He looks up, showing his friends a forced smile. "Honestly, I'm fine."
Rami and Gwil both shrug, not thinking too much of it.
"Now give me that booze. I could use some." The ginger says with a weak smile, his eyes on the bottle of vodka in Rami's hands.
Rami hesitates for a moment. "Well uhm, I only grabbed the vodka for Gwil and me. You're underaged, remember?" He says with an apologetic smile.
Joe lets out a loud groan. "Don't be such a saint, you started drinking when you were fifteen as well." He holds out his hands, waiting for Rami to give him the bottle.
"Alright alright. But let's not make this a habit." Rami says as he hands Joe the bottle.
Meanwhile, Gwil just looks at Joe with a frown. "You're nauseous and you decide drinking is the best option?" He says, trying not to sound too judgemental.
"Come on Gwil, let him be." Rami says as he rolls his eyes. "Just don't get wasted and don't tell your mom I gave you this." He shows Joe a stern look.
Joe smirks. "I won't. Thank you." He takes a big sip of the vodka, shivering at the burn it leaves in his throat. "Here Gwil, have some too." He passes over the bottle of vodka to Gwil.
Gwil rolls his eyes with a smile. "Fine." The tall boy mumbles with a smile.
"Do you have any food in here? I'm getting kinda hungry." Joe says with a innocent smile once they've all finished their first shot of soda.
Rami shrugs. "I don't know. I'd say go to the kitchen and find out. Grab whatever you like." He says with a wink.
Joe lets out a soft giggle. He puts down his phone and gets up. "I'll check." He soon disappears into the kitchen.
The boy has been gone for less than a second when his phone starts buzzing.
The first time, Gwil and Rami don't pay much attention to it. But when it buzzes again, Gwil picks up his phone. "That must be important." He mutters, not sure if he should check who texted Joe.
Rami slowly starts nodding, as a sign for Gwil to check. He gives his friend a questioning look when he sees Gwil frown after he has checked who messaged Joe.
"It..- it's his father." Gwil whispers before handing over Joe's phone to Rami so he can read the messages for himself.
(03:02 Pm) Anonymous number: Joseph, stop ignoring me. You know better than that. Give me something back or I'll look you up myself.
(03:02 Pm) Anonymous number: You shouldn't believe the things your mother says about me. How dare she file a restraining order against me. You have ten minutes to respond. You know what happens if you don't. I'll bring the knife if I have to.
"This is awful. I had no idea his father talks to him like this. No wonder he has panic attacks." Rami says softly.
Gwil stays silent, not sure what to say after reading these texts.
"I think I've found something edible! You guys in the mood for popcorn?" Joe shouts from the kitchen.
Gwil takes a deep breath. "We- we should tell him." He mumbles.
Rami shakes his head. "We can't do that to him. He'll go straight into another panic attack." He says softly, not wanting Joe to overhear anything.
Gwils sighs. "I know, but what if his father isn't just bluffing? What if he really looks him up? Did you miss the part about the... about the knife?" He whispers the last part.
Rami doesn't get the time to say something to that, since they can hear Joe's approaching from the kitchen.
"Everything okay here?" The ginger asks his friends with a frown when he notices the tense atmosphere.
Gwil and Rami look at each other, still doubting what to do.
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Boy we are jumping right into this fanfic with quite some drama, aren't we?
There will be more drama to come, stay tuned!
Much love from me xxx
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Let me live | Hardzello♡
FanfictionJoe's childhood has been really hard, which has resulted in him having frequent panic attacks now. It makes school even harder than it already is, and some friends have left him for it. One day, the boy suddenly gets a huge attack, worse than any o...
