Stop Judging Me! (boyxboy)

Chapter Two

I was in a world of pain when I came to. I held a hand to my head, trying to force back the headache that was coming on.

"Careful, cutie. You hit your head pretty hard." A voice spoke. I glanced over to see the redhead frowning at me in concern. "How are you feeling?"

How was I feeling? I was feeling pretty terrible, extremely embarrassed, and in a load of pain. 'I must have passed out,' I decided with a groan as I sat up. Looking around, the first thing I noticed was that I was no longer outside. I then noticed Jan and her friends. Jan lightly flicked my cheek. "God, you had us all worried, Jack."

I was stunned. They were all worried about me, yet they barely knew me. I wasn't even there long enough for them to even have an opinion on me, yet here they were, standing around the bed in the nurse's office enquiring about my health. It was overwhelming for me.

'They're only being nice people. Don't get ahead of yourself, Jack.' A voice murmured in the back of my head. I lowered my eyes, and rubbed the back of my head. "D-Did th-they..."

"The school has called your mum," Jan reassured with a small smile. "She should be here soon."

I nodded and lowered my arm so that it was laying in my lap. I didn't really know what to say, or do. I was too embarrassed. 'I've probably blown any chance I had at friendship when I collapsed.'

"Have you eaten anything today?" The bluenette asked with a frown. 'Casper... Colin?' I frowned, struggling to recall his name, and shook my head. I had been far too nervous to eat, which, now that I think about it, had been pretty stupid, on my part.

"Anything to drink?" He asked.

Again, I shook my head.

Blue glanced at Jan who scowled. "Of course you've passed out. It's been a hot day, you're probably dehydrated, not to mention you haven't eaten today."

"Who hasn't eaten today?" A new voice demanded from behind me. Everyone turned to see my mother who, quite frankly, sounded absolutely livid. I couldn't look at her, not now. I knew that she'd be wearing that look of disappointment on her face, and I couldn't bear to see it.

"Honestly, Jack. What am I to do with you?" Mum said as she walked over to me. She made me look her in the eye. Her brow was creased in worry, and her lips were pursed tightly. She studied me for a moment, before letting go. "Just because you're nervous doesn't mean you can skip out on breakfast. What have I told you? You had me so worried."

"Sorry." I mumbled and looked back at my hands.

Mum sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Maybe you were right. It's too soon to send you back to school. I'm unenrolling you."

I snapped my head up and stared at mum in shock. I should have been happy that I was finally getting my way, but I really wasn't. I liked who I'd met, even if we weren't necessarily friends.

"What?" I heard the group behind me argue. "Why are you unenrolling him?"

"And who are you?" Mum asked coolly as she glanced at Jan.

"His friend." She responded stiffly. "And I want to know why you suddenly want to unenroll him. And what did you mean by it being too early to send him to school?"

Mum stared at her for a few moments, before back at me. "You didn't tell them?"

"Tell us what?" The brunette guy demanded.

My eyes widened, and I shook my head, staring almost pleadingly to my mum. She glanced at me and frowned further, before sighing. "Jack has previously been home schooled. He's always kept to himself because of it. I see now that it was a mistake. He isn't sure how to deal with social situations, so he panics."

She paused, and glanced at the group, looking a little wary. "I shouldn't be talking about this with you. Jack isn't coming back after today."

The group stared in disbelief for a moment, before exploding into an array of shouts and complains.

"What? You can't do that!"

"All he did was faint. It's not a big deal, we've all done that at least once!"

"You do know that this isn't going to help him any, right?"

"We've just met him, and we want to get to know him better!"

Mum didn't pay them any heed, though. She knelt down, and picked my bag up off the floor, before nudging me off the bed. "I've already spoken with the office. If you want, you can wait in the car while I sign a couple of things, and then we can go."

I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling unsure. I was surprised when Jan and her friends turned up at the sick bay to inquire about my health. Even more now, that they're still trying to convince my mum to let me stay, despite the fact that she's blocked them out. I didn't want to stay, not really. Truthfully, I was still pretty terrified at the prospect of school. Figures of authority made me nervous; the teachers I had met so far weren't all that welcoming, and other students stared at me oddly when I refused to open my mouth and greet them.

Sure, Jan would later tell me that I had been rude, but the fact that she said that with a grin made me realise that she rather gleeful over the fact.

So yes, I wanted to take the out my mother had given me. I wanted to take it so bad, but at the same time, a sense of failure was weighted heavily on my shoulders. It was a feeling that made me feel sick to my stomach. I didn't want to give into it. Not this time.

I tugged on her shirt and leant down to whisper into her ear. For a fleeting moment, a look of pride flashed through her eyes. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, and she sighed, shifting my bag on her shoulder. "I'm still taking you home. I've come all this way, after all."

A wave of guilt washed over me. Mum didn't notice the lowering of my head, and glanced at the others, who since fallen silent. "I'm taking him home for today. Jack, let's go."

I couldn't look at them. I felt shame; I felt like a child with how my mother was coddling me. I felt pathetic. I knew that they viewed me the same way. I couldn't bear to look.

"Wait!"

Mum paused, pulling me to a stop when I tried to walk ahead of her. I closed my eyes and began to count in my head. One, Two, Three, Four...

I reopened my eyes as my shoulder was grabbed. Jan appeared in front of me, a look of concern on her face. "Hey, I'm sorry about today. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm sorry anyway. We all are. Hopefully tomorrow we can start all over again; wipe the slate clean, yeah?"

Something blossomed in my chest. Lips shaking, I nodded at her and then gave her and her friends a small wave, before pulling my stunned mother out of the sick bay.

I kept shifting on the spot as my mother signed me out of school for the day and tugging on the bottom of my shirt on the way back to the car. I was practically shaking with excitement. I hadn't screwed up. They didn't view me as a freak or want to avoid me completely. They were being so kind and, to be honest, I could hardly believe it.

For the first time in my life, I felt a small sense of pride for myself and Mum felt the same way. I saw the way her eyes had welled up with tears as I pulled her away from Jan and her friends. Once we were outside of the school gates, she pulled me into a tight hug and pressed her lips to my forehead. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. I already knew.

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Where have I been?! I don't know, I was defeated by writers block, but I'm back, I hope. I'm mostly procrastinating at the moment because of an assignment, which is apparently a huge motivaor to get me writing. Go figure.