𓈊 A Poppy By Any Other Name

Act XV

"Put two and two together, idiot," Scott spat, sticking his tongue out.

Zach let out a frustrated huff. "Watch it, cupcake."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Make me."

Zach shoved Scott against the wall again, though this time to press a harsh kiss to the other's lips. Scott squirmed, his sounds of distress muffled against Zach's mouth until Scott was finally able to push the blackette away.

"Get off of me!" Scott whined as he turned his face away, presumably so Zach wouldn't be able to kiss him. The cyanette whimpered when Zach grabbed his jaw and forced his head to face him. "You're such an ass-"

It wasn't until Scott whined again when Zach slid his knee between his boyfriend's legs that Jimmy realized Scott had been crying.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Jimmy stepped out from behind the curtain, finally having enough of watching this.

Zach turned to glare at Jimmy, who stepped backward. "What?" Zach growled. Scott made another uncomfortable sound beneath him, and Jimmy didn't miss the way Scott looked at Jimmy.

"I said," Jimmy began, stepping closer again, "leave Scott alone."

Scott squirmed again, somehow managing to pry Zach's hand from his face. "Jimmy, don't, it's fi-"

Zach's free hand collided with Scott's cheek, and Scott let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a gasp.

Rage filled Jimmy like fire in his veins, and he was seeing red. Time seemed to freeze as Scott froze in a dazed state, his hand on his stinging cheek and Zach standing over him, a cold, dark glint in his eyes.

Jimmy hated that. He hated the way Zach looked at Scott. Like he was worthless, a disgrace and a disappointment. That gaze of disgust made Jimmy dizzyingly furious.

He didn't remember taking that first step forward, nor did he remember the next, or the one after that and the one after that. He couldn't recall what was going through his mind, even if he wanted to, as he pulled his fist back... and swung.

Working out during swimming season clearly paid off, as Zach had stumbled back from the force of the punch.

"Jimmy!" Scott gasped, though Jimmy wasn't paying attention enough to hear him as Zach retaliated after a moment of recovery. "Zach!"

Jimmy had fallen to his bottom on the floor, and Zach didn't hesitate to pull him back up by the collar of his shirt and knee him in the stomach, hard. When Zach let go of him, Jimmy fell to the floor again, on his knees and clutching his arms around his torso.

Scott, horrified, ran off to the other side of the curtain after glancing between the other two boys. He ended up on the stage, mind foggy, where Sausage and Grian were rehersing Scene IV. Everything seemed to stop when disheveled Scott walked out from behind the curtains, stumbling as he wiped at his nose - which he'd only just now realized was bleeding.

Ms. Gold stood from her place at the desk before the stage, Scott's condition off-putting. "Scott? Dear, are you all right?"

Scott shook his head. "I'm- I'm fine," he murmured. "Zach and Jimmy-" He cut himself off. What about Zach and Jimmy? Oh, right. "They're fighting backstage-"

Mr. Harding took that as a signal to leave, storming off presumbly to break up the fight.

Scott grimaced when the taste of iron hit his tongue and he wiped at his nose again. "Ew," he muttered looking down at the red on his hand.

Sighing, Ms. Gold made her way toward the stage to help Scott down the steps. "What happened?" she asked softly as she checked him for other injuries.

"They, uh..." Scott trailed off, the thoughts in his head as unclear as they could possibly be. "I got caught in the crossfire," he managed to lie finally, receiving an acknowledging hum from the drama teacher.