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

1 | Of Grim Horizons | [2]

Everyone seemed excited to meet up again. They were all smiling, their voices mingling into a constant roaring of bustling chatter. I began my approach to the front doors, and as I feared, the further I got, the softer the noise became.

I watched them whisper in the corner of my eyes - their eyes were fixated on every last move I made. I tensed up, slowly walking down the path between the groups of boys and girls. Their voice was no more than an odd buzzing; a few were more vocally distinctive than others.

"That's Xavier Shaw. Stay away from that fucking creep."

"Isn't he the guy who forced-"

"Yeah."

"Ah... no wonder you guys despise him."

The feeling that I had done something wrong rose in my mind again. I averted my gaze, looking down at the ground as I continued, having to endure listening to the crude remarks that made my life an absolute living hell last year. The subtle smile I wore with my first few steps forward had completely and utterly been viciously torn apart.

Still, I endured the anguish.

Pacing through the hallways leading up to the stairs - vividly remembering Mrs Cho's counselling office being on the third floor -I stumbled upon a group of girls near the lockers. I recognised the girl with chocolate brown curls as Nelly Wilson, our exquisite drama queen. They were bundled up, texting and chitchatting like they had years to catch up on.

Nelly looked up from her iPhone, loudly calling to her mindless followers. "Why, look at that cute guy."

I tightened my hold on my backpack's straps. A sensation of nearly-painful discomfort was all I felt - and Nelly knew that all too well. She thrived at the mention - or even the faintest trace of an opportunity to stir around a moment of dramatic tension. It was basically her only personality trait at this point.

I ducked my head, wishing none of them would jump in at the chance to further sour my brittle mood.

To my surprise, none of them responded until a girl rose to her feet. She had been pulling some stuff out of her locker. The girl looked over towards me, then back to Nelly. Was that - that couldn't be, Jess, no? She appeared like her, but the Jessica Greeneway I knew had jet-black hair, definitely not blonde.

Then she spoke, "Oh my god, of all the people you could pick on, you chose Xave," she paused, her voice confirming it was indeed Jess. She bent down to reach for her bag, pulled it up and began walking toward me. As she did, she passed Nelly, looked at her with her iconic anime-inspired death glare, "You're a pathetic thot, Nelly." With those words, Jess jabbed her elbow into Nelly's side.

Nelly's body jerked momentarily upon the impact of Jess' blow. She groaned, then hissed, "Fucking hell, Jess, that hurts," Nelly placed a hand atop the area Jess struck and grabbed onto Jess' arm - digging her long nails into the girl's arm.

Jessica had always displayed a seemingly-inhuman pain tolerance. She looked at her arm with a fully collected, calm demeanour, then back to Nelly, kindly expressing, "I suggest you let go right this instance."

Nelly rolled her eyes, "And what if I don't?"

Hearing those very words, I covered my mouth pre-emptively with a hand. I had seen these scenarios play out a thousand times before. Obviously, I had already realised what was bound to happen.

Zero hesitation.

And a deadpan stare later...

Not even a second had passed, and Jess slapped Nelly's phone out of her hand, hurling it to the ground. The screen fractured upon collision - broken bits littered the floor.