teach me [muke]

intro

luke hadn't slept well in weeks. his dark eyes and slouched posture made that apparent to anyone around him. he would sulk through the halls, flipping off and scowling at anyone who looked at him, and would plop himself down in his last period history class every day, waiting to be bored to death by his history teacher.

the man would walk in, faded red hair in his eyes, his blue jeans loose, little care in the world. he drank black coffee (though luke was positive the man put a small splash of milk in, due to it's color), and he would be finishing a sandwich on most days, others he wouldn't eat lunch. luke noticed how annoyed and aggravated the man would get if he didn't eat.

luke noticed most things about his teacher. from the tall man's mood to the outfits he knew michael thought he looked professional in.

today though, his eyes could barely hold themselves up long enough to focus on the man. his head would keep dropping to his desk, and eventually, he just let it stay there.

'hemmings? you alright?' luke shot up, his heavy eyes barely able to open as he tried to look semi-normal. he rubbed at his eyes, trying to get the last of the sleep out of them, noticing then that the classroom was empty, and his teacher was sitting on the desk in front of him, a worried, yet amused look on his face.

'uh, yeah, sorry, um.' luke scrambled up, trying to grab his bag from next to his desk, only to find it was caught under the leg. his cheeks burned as he bent down to undo it quickly.

'woah, slow down. it's alright. you passed out early in the class, figured you needed the rest. if you ever need to just talk...' luke heart raced in his chest, unsure of whether or not this conversation was real.

'oh, uh, yeah okay.' was all luke could force out of his sleep-clogged brain, but as he raced for the door, suddenly self-conscious under his teacher's stare, he muttered a quick thank you.

-

the next day, pissed off as usual, luke slumped down into his seat in his history class. he had noticed some writing on his locker right before (words like "fag" and "kill yourself"). he allowed a scowl to remain on his face all class, wanting to hopefully discourage people from talking about it in his ear shot.

"clifford," luke raised his hand and spoke anyway, hooding his eyelids to make himself feel and, hopefully, look more threatening.

michael looked up from his desk, not caring enough to correct luke on the usage of just his last name. he saw a different look in the boy's eyes today, a sadness was held in them, despite whatever cover-up luke was trying to use.

"yes, hemmings?

"can i use the bathroom"

"i don't know, can you?" a sing-songy voice behind luke spoke, followed by laughter. luke, already anxious from everything else, was mortified by the single thing, and he grabbed his bag and papers and left the room swiftly. michael watched sadly, knowing luke just needed to go.

"all of you will be staying after with mrs. green to help her clean her room, understood?' groans and profanities were heard, but michael ignored them as he continued teaching, occasionally glancing t the empty desk, wondering what luke was getting up to.

-

luke was sat on the bathroom floor, head leaning against the cold tiles. he had downed half a bottle of tequila, the taste making him sick but the feeling his body had made it all better.

he couldn't remember why the people around him treated him like this, he was just a kid. in his mind it all happened suddenly, like one day he was friends with everyone, and the next everyone hated the things he did.

luke hiccupped as his eyes slipped shut, his body feeling warm and relaxed. he had heard the bathroom door open and shut a few times, getting scared after each one. he didn't want to get in trouble, he just wanted to feel better.

an hour later, the bell rang through the building. michael walked to sit at his desk as students left for the day, ensuring all of his students made their way to detention. he opened his laptop, sending emails to parents and responding to faculty. a knock at the door interrupted him, seeing a tired-looking luke stumble into the room, a from etched deeply onto his face.

"hemmings! god, i was worried you got lost or something!" michael joked, watching as the blond jst ignored him, swaying as he walked and eventually slumping into his seat and putting his head down. michael stopped what he was doing completely, watching the boy.

"hemmings?"

"why," luke hiccuped, "why are they so-so mean." luke's voice was muffled, tears and sobs present in his tone. michael sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood. luke rarely spoke to any of his teachers, let alone michael.

"luke, i'm not sure. i wish i had an answer from you but people, by nature, are just really fucking cruel. you're a good kid, you don't deserve that kind of treatment."

luke scoffed, and his head shot up. michael could finally see his bloodshot eyes, and he could tell they were definitely not just from crying.

"yeah, well, maybe it is my-my fault! why the f-fuck would they just random-ly pick on me! it has to be something," luke was screaming, tears streaming down his face as he laid his head back on the desk, "all they can talk about is how gay i am, so it must be that! and it's not like i can change anything, so i just sit and fucking take it!" luke slammed his fists on the desk, emitting a loud bang that even luke winced at.

michael frowned, watching anxiously as his student completely broke down. "you know, i happen to be gay too." luke laughed a little, his eyes shut. he lifted his swaying head and opened his eyes before speaking.

"well, yeah, obviously." luke sniffled.

"hey! what do you mean 'obviously'." luke sat up and wiped his eyes, suddenly extremely embarrassed he was crying in front of his teacher. michael smiled a bit, noticing luke seemed to be calming down a bit just from talking.

"i mean, people look at you and it's very clear that you would like men.' luke spoke slowly. michael just laughed, shaking his head a bit. he grabbed a box of tissues from his desk, handing them over to the blond, who took them gratefully. michael watched as the boy's body swayed, clearly intoxicated.

'now look, it's very obvious you have been drinking, which for the record i do not condone. so i'm gonna walk you out of the building so no one sees you and drive you home, alright?' luke rolled his eyes, standing quickly. this resulted in the tall boy to trip and crumble back to the ground. michael laughed.

'just do as i say, hemmings.'