How to stitch wounds

4. Why me?

Nathan POV

Lunch was over so my friends had started to leave to their other classes. My girlfriend had a free period and was going to hang out with some of her friends, I on the other hand was staring at the lunch table where only one other person remained and was debating on wether I should just leave or not. He looked so peaceful. I don't know if I should wake him up. I walk slowly over to the boy who had tackled me in the hallway. I couldn't help but smile at the sight, it was the cutest thing on earth.

What am I thinking?! I mentally yell at myself. I shake his arm softly trying to wake him up. He flinches at the slightest touch, pulling his arm away as If I was going to rip off and eat it. He stares up at me nervously.

"Uh, lunch is over and you fell asleep." I say simply, trying not to scare him. "S-sorry,I-I'll go." He stutters.
"Why,you got somewhere to be?" I was kinda offended. I knew I was big and scary, but I was literally just trying to be nice.
"I-I have t-to get to class." He says nervously.
"Reeeally. What class? I'll walk you there so you don't get bullied." I say with my arms crossed.

"Literature." He mumbles. "Cool, let's go we'll be late and I gotta get my books. I'm Nathan by the way."

I get up and begin walking to my locker and when I glance behind me I notice he's following me. I grab my books and we continue walking to class in silence. A few students gave us some awkward looks but I gave them an intimidating glare and they seemed to catch the drift. I sat in the back like usual, and because there were no other seats, the boy had to sit beside me.

"So, what's your name?" I whispered to him. He glanced over at me. I shrugged my shoulders at his confused look. None of my friends were in this class. I needed someone to talk to.

"Micheal." He mumbled.
"Sorry about this morning Micheal." I said with a soft smile. He nodded in response.

"So,you got any friends?" I asked. He started to glare at me which was when I knew I went to far.

"You don't want to be my friend. If you want to know why, ask your girlfriend, she'll tell you." And with that he stared back down at his work.

What does Kayla know about him? Why can't we be friends? I was just trying to help. He looks so lonely.

He looked away from me, but I could see the pain in his eyes. I watched as he stared at his paper. He looked almost...lifeless. I went back to my assignment. I wanted to talk to my girlfriend now. He's a weird kid, but why would that stop me from being friends. After class was over, I tried to follow Micheal, but he was good at disappearing.

"Kayla! Wait up." I called. She was talking to a few of her friends and waved me over when I called. "Whatcha want babe?" She asked sweetly. "I wanted to talk to you about a kid I met today. His name is Micheal." She gives me a weird look. She was about to speak when one of her friends spoke above her. "Oh him? Yeah, you don't want to be friends with him." She said snootily. "But why?"

"Dude, he has like the biggest crush on you and he's really weird." One of the guys said with a smirk. "How is he weird? He seemed fine to me." I said as I ignored the butterflies in my stomach that suddenly came to life, sending a fiery feeling to my heart.

"I heard he's mentally fucked up." Another girl said sadly. "Plus, why should it matter? You shouldn't hang out with gay guys. It might raise questions about you and start rumors. We all know you're straight, aren't you?" She says with a fake laugh. "Duh, I have a girlfriend." I say as I kiss Kayla on the cheek. She smiles in response, but I can't help but feel it was a fake smile.

School ended not long after and I made my way out to my challenger. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Micheal turning a corner. Kayla had made some excuse about going to the mall to get her nails done and I didn't want to sit through that hour long process, so I told her I would text her later. I pulled up beside Micheal and rolled down the window.

"Hey, need a ride?" I said with a smirk. Micheal looked up at me, pulling his headphones downs. "N-no, I'm fine." He says quickly as he continues walking down the street. "You sure, it won't bother me." I ask again. He looks at me again and something about his eyes makes my heart flutter. "Will you leave me alone if I say yes?" He asks, slightly annoyed. "Sure!" I say a little to happily. The shy boy opens my door and sits in the passenger side. He had his legs crossed and his backpack in his lap. He didn't look at me once as he got in, he just stared out the window. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

"You know w-why you shouldn't be my," he paused on the word. "Friend." He finishes bitterly. "Yea, I heard you are kinda into me, and my friends don't want me to look gay if I hang with you." The butterflies started dancing in my stomach with no restraint. I didn't know why I felt this way. It was a strange, yet happy experience. "Yeah." He sighs. "Are you into me, or is it just a rumor?" I ask, secretly hoping it wasn't the latter. I glance over and see his cheeks flush a bright red and I couldn't help but smile to myself.

Why is this making you happy? You don't like him. That's not how you roll! I curse myself out in my brain.

"Uhm, t-this is my place." He says simply, trying to hide his rosy cheeks. "I don't care what my friends think. Can we be friends?" I ask hopefully. "Why would you want to be friends with me?" He says with a sad smile before opening the car door and leaving. I felt my heart sink, like all of those butterflies just drowned in sadness and are now sitting in the pit of my stomach. As I drove home, I contemplated his question.

Why would I want to be friends with him? I mean, he's weird and gay and that's not a good look on me if people see me hanging out with him, and yet I get this overwhelming feeling that I just want to be around him all the time. Look into his eyes and be by his side wherever he goes, protect him, and I don't know why.

The drive to my place seemed longer than usual, but once I made it I ignored the calls from my siblings,asking how my day was, and went straight upstairs to my room, shutting the door behind me. The rest of the night, I kept asking myself that question, but every answer was blank. I couldn't find a reason why I wanted to spend every second of every day with him. I finally dozed off,dreaming of him.