Second (History Plays, Book 1)

11: lay not violent hands upon him

Gaveston

Parents weekend comes and goes. It's rather quiet as many spend at least Saturday with their parents, or go away the whole weekend entirely. All activities are cancelled for this reason, so Edward and I have loads of time to wander about together and not be noticed. A few of Teddy's friends in the lower classes stay, as does his little girlfriend, so they wind up playing games in the main hall and at the sports complex, where the Coaches watch over a few semi-friendly dodgeball games and such.
That gives Edward and I hours to spend hidden away in the dorm room, or off on the grounds enjoying the quiet. With no one about, I'm free to lie in his arms, pretending life can always be like this. We pointedly don't discuss our parents or the future, wanting the present to continue to exist as long as it can. The weekend passes though, and I'm almost annoyed how accustomed I've become to sneaking food up to the room, to eat it pressed against his side while he reads aloud to me. This makes it sound like we don't study at all, which is entirely true. We do not. When Teddy isn't busy with his friends the three of us also have fun, either playing cards till past bed time, or racing to the lake and back, or teaching Edward to sword fight with broom sticks. The lake's too cold now for swimming but that doesn't stop us tossing Teddy in while he laughs and begs us to again and again.
But sadly our weekend has to end, and with it our pretense of normalcy. Monday means classes, and sports return. I'm not sorry. I like classes and I did miss fencing. But I also like our family and I feel the ache in my palm for Edward's fingers when he's forced to stand beside me, just a hair's breath apart.
I have little time to think, which I suppose is good. Thursday is an away game for hockey, not the first away game, but the first one far enough away that they have to stay all night and fly back in the morning. Edward is quiet about it, asking if Teddy and I can come to. Yeah, the answer is no. It's only one night, I remind him. And we have classes we won't be excused from. Edward concedes that.
Tuesday morning, however, Teddy wakes up ill.
"You okay?"
I wake to find Edward standing over his bed.
"No," Teddy, sobbing actively, face down in pillow, covered up in blankets.
"What's wrong?" Edward asks, nicely.
Long pause, "My stomach hurts."
We all ate the same thing and I eat twice what either of them do so it can't be food.
"Okay, do you want me or Izzy?" Edward asks, tucking the blanket around him.
Another long pause, "Izzy?"
"Okay, I'll go get her," Edward says.
"Shouldn't we get a nurse?" I ask.
"Teddy doesn't go to doctors," Edward informs me, flatly, "Izzy will do. Won't she?"
Grunts and sniffles.
"He's just feeling low," Edward says when I continue to frown.
"I'll get her," I say, when he shrugs I say, "Ed, we both know I knock any room window of the girls' dorm, they'll let me in."
"Yeah go on," he concedes, sitting down on the end of his bed.
I slip out. The dog wakes up and nearly barks, but the dog can be bribed with love and affection. And I run quietly through the morning air to the girls' house. I don't know which window corresponds to the girls. But I rap on one and yes, I wind up being let in.
"Sorry, I'm looking for Izzy," I say as three girls happily drag me in, "Edward has a message."
"Oh, that's fine!"
"Come back any time!"
They let me out into the hall. I slip down the hall to Izzy's appropriate room and rap gently as I can.
"It's me," I hiss.
"You are so damn dumb; literally anyone can say 'it's me'," she opens the door anyway though. She's in sleep shorts and her hair is in a towel, "What? We have wake up call in two minutes?"
"Teddy's ill—he says his stomach hurts, he wanted you," I say, shrugging.
"Oh fuck," closes the door in my face.
"Okay then, I'll stand in the hall where I'm not supposed to be—,"
"Sorry," she drags me in, "Early, stand there."
She disappears into the bathroom for a few moments. Her roommates are—Mannix and Clare, okay. Did not know that. Was probably told that though.
"Morning," I say, as they wake up, they have bunk beds? Why don't we have bunk beds? Never mind, it's probably cause we'd act like idiots on them. I mean, that's why I want them. But still.
"What are you doing here?" Clare asks, sleepy-eyed and glaring at me.
"Delivering messages," I say.
Mannix just throws a pillow at me so I take that to mean she doesn't mind my presence.
"Ready, come on," Izzy remerges with a backpack, dressed in sweats and a sweatshirt. "Did you tell them—Mannix, we need a nurse's pass for Teddy for today."
"Done," she mumbles, pulling a pillow over her head.
We leave via the window, which is a surprise, but I guess I couldn't go out the doors. The campus is just waking up as we make our way back.
"We can't go in the doors!" Izzy says as I lead her to the doors.
"Coach will already be at the stadium and Father Thomas and Mr. Ambrose really don't care that much," I say, buzzing us in.
Edward is ready to go to practice with our water bottles filled. Izzy promptly walks past him and immediately hugs Teddy.
"Come on," Edward says.
"Tell Coach I'm not coming," Izzy says, petting Teddy's hair.
"What should I say?" I ask.
"That I'm not coming! Duh!"
"You heard her, feel better mate all right?" Edward says, squeezing Teddy's shoulder. Then he and I head out. We run all the way down to the sports complex but we're still late.
"Izzy and Teddy won't be here," I tell Coach, boldly.
"Do I get to know why? Or is a clearly forged nurse's note from Clare and Mannix gonna show up?"
"Ah—-second one?" I wince.
"Teddy isn't feeling well. She stayed with him," Edward says.
"That's not really a better reason, but I'm gonna elect not to care. All right, go on," Coach sighs.
I don't bother to respond, just hurrying to join the rest of the team. Nobody else notices Teddy's absence, or if they do they must assume he's got a doctor's note. Mortimer looks like he's looking for them, but is too antisocial to ask about it.
I see neither of them until lunch, when they both show up, together. Teddy looks perfectly miserable, face puffy from crying. Izzy hugs him often, but her make up is at least intact.
"Hey man, feeling better?" Edward asks, ruffling his hair.
"Yes, sorry," Teddy says, glancing at me.
"Don't be sorry, we were worried is all," I say, dismissively. I'd guess whatever happened was more mental than physical? He came from a bad home life; I know that. We don't all need to share our scars, sometimes knowing they are there is enough.
By Wednesday Teddy and Izzy both return to class normally, including morning run, though Coach glances coolly at Teddy he says nothing.
Thursday rolls around and Edward is ready to not go with his hockey team.
"I'm fine, seriously, Izzy's here to take care of me," Teddy says, wrapped up in his blankets. He's been low all week.
"Are you sure? You realize I genuinely don't care about hockey."
"You like hockey."
"I like you more. I'll stay, even if you want to hang out."
"I'm fine, it's not a big deal."
They quit talking when I emerge from the bathroom, but I make no indication that I heard. Whatever it was they clearly didn't want me involved. That's fine. I have my own miserable memories. Whatever actual ailment or anniversary of some horrid event, I certainly don't need them to go through it again for my sake.
"Go on, I'm fine," Teddy says to him.
"We'll have fun, won't we?" I ask, going to pack Edward's stuff because he wasn't going to do it himself. "Mannix can climb three stories with a jar of spiders in her hands so we'll have no end of entertainment."
"WHAT, SHE CAN??"
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT??"
"I DON'T LIKE SPIDERS!!"
I don't know which one says which.
"Me and Clare are in choir, she was pranking us, third story of the main hall? I mean, it was funny in retrospect," I say, shrugging.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?"
"WE'RE ON THE THIRD FLOOR!"
"The window was open. It was fine, I was pointing out the girls could come over and supervise us," I say.
Edward keeps mumbling about never sleeping again and locking windows, then he walks around ineffectively packing. By the end, Teddy has cheered up and quit hiding under pillows and things.
Edward's flight is mid afternoon so Coach leaves with them after fencing practice. Teddy and I clean up at the dorm before going to final classes. We meet again at study hall, and while I miss Edward, obviously, I'm not overly concerned. I'm more thinking of him than us. Whatever Teddy's got going on, he's got me and Izzy about to help him. Edward isn't particular friends with his hockey team not since his dad paid for him to be Captain. That makes Coach Marlowe sound bad but Edward assures me it was Dean Alleyn who accepted the bribe. Anyway, he wants to be good at it as his father put a lot of stock in it (to be clear his father did die last year) . And they're playing the Bards who are rumored to be just awful, not like bad at it, but like violent. One of their players breaks bones for fun and their captain can score on anyone. And that's just from what I've heard from Izzy and Edward talking about it.
I can do nothing but send him good thoughts, though, and without hockey practice join Teddy back at the dorm to study.
I give up studying after a while. I'm tired and more wondering how the game is going than anything. I have two epees that need rewiring, so I set about trying to get those done before lights out. Teddy typically fixes his own, but with him not feeling well I should probably go check his.
Teddy was trying to read, but now he's curled up on the bed with a pillow over his stomach. "Gaveston, can you bring me my bag?"
"Sure," I say, climbing up, "What do you need?"
"Motrin, my stomach hurts," he mumbles. I suspect it is psychological pain, but I just bring him the bag and his water bottle so he can fish the bottle from the top pocket.
"You sure you don't want a nurse?" I ask, patting his legs.
"No. I don't want to go to doctors, I don't want anyone examining me," he says, firmly.
"Okay," I say, going to sit down on his bed, "So if you die in the night—,"
"You're to give me a water burial in the lake—make sure I'm dead though," trying not to grin.
"I will, noted," I say.
"I'm being serious though. If I die you just have to bury me someplace— don't turn me in they'd take all my clothes and cut me up," he shudders, "And probably call my parents."
"I promise," I say.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I promise, I'm not gonna call 911 or anything. I swear, if that's what you want," I say.
"Don't you want to know why?" He asks, playing with his fingers.
"I know why. You just asked me to, that's it," I say, shrugging.
"You're cool," he says, smiling at me.
"Don't forget very, very sexy," I say, finally making him grin.
"Definitely, Edward doesn't let us forget."
"He does not; do you think he's doing all right?"
"Based off the number of times he gets up in the night, smiles at you and watches you sleep, then goes back to bed? No," Teddy says, seriously.
"He does that?"
"Yeah, you sleep through it."
"I didn't know he did that."
"I know, that's cause you sleep through it."
"What do you think he's doing now?"
"I mean, I doubt sleeping."