We The Misfits

10//see you again

Zed follows the usual routine.

He wakes up an hour earlier, does his yoga, takes a shower and sits in front of his vanity dresser. He stares at the mirror.

He runs his fingers over his pink lips. Should he or should he not? Doing it would definitely earn him a hard punch.

But as he stares at the mirror, he's filled with this alarming feeling of ...rebelliousness? No, he's not a rebel. How can he be a rebel if he's just being himself?

No, he's filled with this need to be confident. If not now, then when?

•••

When he walks up the steps of Crawson High School, his palms are not sweaty. His heart isn't beating erratically and he's not fastening his pace. No. He takes his time. He strolls to his locker, ignoring the stares that everyone is giving him. Should he proud that he can evoke this kind of response? He smiles discreetly as he reaches his locker. Harper would've loved this.

Unlocking his locker, he stuffs his coat in. Why did he wear it in the first place? There's pin drop silence in the corridor as Zed keeps muttering the lyrics to some song. Usually, it's not like this. Usually, the minute he'd arrive late so that he can avoid getting punched before school starts. Then, he's usually dragged to the boy's washroom and the door's locked to muffle his cries when you know what happens.

Then, he goes back home...well, he sneaks back home, presses an ice pack to the forming bruise, does his homework and goes to bed.

"Faggot! I missed you!"

He freezes, the lyrics getting clogged in his throat. Gone was the calm behaviour. He's freaking the fuck out now, shivering, twitching. He can hear whispers and loud footsteps approaching him. He knows that it's the both of them today. The twins.

Double trouble.

Sebastian taps his shoulder but Zed doesn't turn around. He chuckles and says, "Saxon told me about you and your buddies. Where are they now?"

"..."

"Gone? Man, that sucks. For you," he adds hastily. "Not for me."

"Fucking pricks," Saxon swears. "Bloody millionaires feel like they can have their way around everything."

Zed can hear everyone getting restless. They're like animals. They're hungry to see the prey fed on. Beat him up, their eyes screamed.

Sebastian clicks his tongue. "Well, well, Sax. Rich people have their way around everything, you know that. I saw their face though. Pretty sure all of us have. A pity I couldn't meet them. Saw them on the magazine. Damn, the girl looks hot."

Inhale. Exhale.

"She's a rich bitch," Saxon laughs loudly. His friends join in.

"Aye. Must be filling to spread her legs for me."

Please stop talking.

"And then there's that other guys. Dominic? Yeah, he's quite the badass. Did you suck his cock off to get him to talk to you?"

Please stop.

"Then there's that fucking dumb bat," Saxon growls lowly. "Fucking mute. I let him go because he was mute."

Strike.

"Well," Zed mutters. "That fucking mute gave you a black eye, didn't he?"

Pin. Drop. Silence.

And it felt like everything moved in slow motion. Saxon pulls him around and widens his eyes as he spots the new edition to Zed's face.