Band-Aids On Bruises

Falter

[The Next Day]

"Hold still..." I grumble as I fix Dustin's tie.

He shifts on the spot a little before stopping and continuing to stare at the floor. We're both wearing suits and ties, mine dark blue and Dustin's black, because that's what the police officers had asked in their email about the trial.

I had come early to Dustin's house this morning just to be with him and reassure him that everything is going to be fine since my parents had allowed me to skip school today as well, so I had gotten permission from my brother to use his car and drove over here.

When I had gotten here, Dustin's parents let me in without any questions or strange looks. I guess Dustin had told them I was coming, or maybe it wasn't that much of a surprise that I was coming to the trial.

"Everything's going to be okay D." I tell him and remove my hands from his now fixed tie. He nods and a few curls fall over his eyes. I brush them aside and it takes all my willpower not to press my lips to his forehead, he's going through too much right now. Dustin then steps back and rubs his hand against his arms, still staring at the floor.

He hasn't looked at me once since I got here nor has he spoken very much. The speaking isn't new, I know there's so much going on for him and that's it's overwhelming him and that's causing him to be much more quieter lately, but I don't know why he hasn't looked at me.

'Have I done something wrong?' I ask myself 'Maybe he actually doesn't want me here...?' I try not to let the hurt that my thoughts are causing me to show, and I keep my mouth shut. Dustin has gone through so much in such a short amount of time, I can't even try to guess what's happening in his mind right now.

Instead of asking him, I step forward and pull him into a hug. He flinches away at first, then I feel him relax into it. He sighs sadly then I suddenly feel him shake and his shoulders rise and fall quickly; he's crying again.

I push him away lightly and lower myself so we're the same height. I wipe away the tears falling down his face, and he goes back to staring at the floor. I hook my fingers under his chin and lift it so our eyes meet. Dustin's not looking at me though, he's staring through me, and it hurts, but I ignore it.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. It's okay. It's going to be alright." I close my eyes and press my forehead to his and his breathing hitches for a moment "I will protect you, I promise everything's going to be fine. You've got to be brave though."

He pulls away and clutches his arms again "I can't though. I can't be brave, I'm so pathetic Fisher. I'm-I'm not going to be able to face him, I'm too weak." he sobs.

I pull him into another hug "You can do it. I know you can. The Dustin I know is strong, brave and courageous. You're still the same person, aren't you?"

"Maybe... but-but around him...I'm not any of those things..."

"I know, but you can't let him know that."

"What?"

"Tyler..." Dustin shivers and his breath hitches at my venomous mentioning of the name "He feeds off of that. You need to show him that you're stronger than what he thinks. Even if it's not the truth, it's what we need him to believe."

"I don't know if-"

"You can. I know you will be able to do it. At least try."

"But..."

"Can you at least try? If you can't, I will be right there."

"I guess I can..."

"Promise me."

"What?"

"Promise me you'll try and not give up the moment he looks at you."

"I-"

"Please."

"I promise." Dustin sighs.

"Thank you."

Dustin nods into my chest, then pulls back. He looks like he did before for a second, scared, hopeless and defeated, but suddenly he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. His back straightens and he squares his shoulders. When he opens his eyes, I see no trace of the previous emotions. I do see hatred though. Dustin's uses his hatred of him as a fuel.

"I'm ready." Dustin announces and I nod.

We walk downstairs to where his parents are waiting, both of them dressed in formal attire as well, and Dustin nods to his parents and walks out the door to their car.

His parents watch him as he leaves, then turn to me. His dad nods and shakes my hand before walking after Dustin, and his mother pulls me into a tight embrace with a few tears pricking her eyes. She whispers "Thank you." in my ear before pulling away and walking with me to the door.

I walk to my brother's car while Dustin's parents lock up the house. I enter the car and see Dustin sitting in the backseat of his fathers car. He looks up at me and I give him a reassuring smile, but he doesn't return it, only stares back down.

Suddenly, Dustin's dad starts their car and drives off, so I follow.

The drive to wear the trial is being held is one of the longest drives of my life. Not because of distance, it's only ten minutes away, but because time seems to have slowed down. Every second seems to expand to a week, and I can't seem to speed it up.

When we finally arrive at the building, I step out of the car and look at it. There's a couple police cars sitting in the parking lot, along with a couple others that I can only assume is the judge's and jury's vehicles.

I sigh and walk up to Dustin, who's also viewing the building and parking lot. He doesn't look at me, just begins walking after his parents and I follow. At one point our hands brush, but neither of us make any motion that we noticed it. How I wish that Dustin had grabbed onto it, giving me some sort of sign that he was alright.

'Please let everything be okay.' I silently beg.

The trial could make everything better, but it could ruin everything as well.

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Chapter done, more tomorrow! Sorry for not updating sooner, couldn't think of anything to write.