[Boy x Boy] When Stars Fall | On-Hold

1 | Of Grim Horizons | [1]

It was still early when the first rays of sunshine crawled up below my curtains. I had been wide awake all night. My mind was hazy and cluttered with paranoid thoughts of what was to come. 

The morning had come.

 I had been wide awake for most of the nightly hours, but I was still somehow energised. And so, I got up from bed in my pyjamas - making doubly sure to tiptoe across the creaking floorboards.

Mum probably was awake already, and given the hour, Dad had likely left to oversee the construction place in the south of Oxford already. I reached out for the wardrobe and sifted through my jumpers, hoodies and other comfy clothes until I found what I was looking for.

Barton's school uniform.

A moment of brief hesitation occurred. My hand began to shake soon as I drew near to the fabric - flinching fully when I traced the jacket with my index finger. I had been contemplating staying at home this morning, especially after Mrs Cho's email. I had not expected my mentor from the year before to reach out, requesting me to pay her a visit as soon as I was on school grounds.

However, there was no chance calling in a sick day right away was going to happen. Much to my regret,  Mum became excellent at spotting feigned illnesses over the years.

"Xavier!" Mum shouted from downstairs, snapping me out of my train of thought. 

I immediately pulled back from the uniform, then stutteringly answered with a soft-spoken, "Y-Yes?"

"I'll be driving to the office today. Want me to drop you off at school?" She asked.

"Sure thing, I'll be in the kitchen in twenty minutes," I yelled back, pacing back to my bed upon realising I had forgotten to tidy up the sheets. 

I stared out the window beside the bed; I had always kept the curtain near my pillow open to gaze at the night sky. Often getting lost in thoughts whilst fixated on the stars above.

Mum responded once more, "All right, sweetie."

I got my things together and walked toward the bathroom. Having showered and brushed my teeth, I put on the uniform. I looked inside the mirror. The sight instilled a sudden rush of anxiousness. I nervously readjusted the crooked tie around my neck and straightened it out.  

Squeezing my eyes firmly shut, I slowly inhaled. My mind was full of poor ill-natured memories of last year, from the disgusted expressions to the homophobic slurs. It was safe to say I was uncertain whether people had forgotten about my outing. Then again, some school rumours retain their relevancy for a painfully long time.

I opened my eyes only to find my own pair of blue eyes perfectly framed in the centre of my thin, rounded glasses. I scanned my appearance; my hair was a mess; rocking that freshly out-of-bed haircut. I ran my hands under the tap, then through my blond, wavy hair. There were a few spikes here and there. I tried flattening them, which made it arguably worse by far.

"Ugh," I couldn't help but complain out loud, "Of course, my hair protests on the very first day of school." I shook my head, some hair locks falling in front of my eyes. I had refused to visit the hair salon during the summer break. Foolish, really. My hair had grown to the point it could definitely qualify as an eye curtain. 

Then I heard Mum's voice from the kitchen, "One moment, Mary," she paused, "Xavier! Hurry up. I'm leaving in ten minutes."

"Coming!" 

I ran to my room to pick up my backpack beside the bookshelf. For a moment, I halted, tossing a look at the calendar on the wall; a red circle marked the first day of the school year, September 3rd.