Oakleaf Academy For Boys

twenty one

Elias Black spent his week surrounded by forgotten accents and overbearing family members. His own voice seemed to bend and twist into his old tongue without his consent, but he didn't fight it. Before he knew it, he was almost Scottish again. His family was big and welcoming, asking him about school and friends and his nonexistent workload. He came from a rough neighbourhood, so no one judged him for ending up where he did. They just saw it as an ordinary boarding school and if you could convince yourself that things weren't quite as they seemed, then why wouldn't you?

Sebastian Steel had a quiet week, redecorating his bedroom and taking down ancient photos of him and Alex. He piled them all into a shoebox, along with little souvenirs that reminds him of the dead boy, and closed the lid. Alex would always be a part of his life, but for now, he needed to let him go and focus on Lucky. For now, Alex was contained in a shoebox under his bed, and that was okay, because even though he wasn't marking every surface of Sebastian's bedroom, he was still there.

Quinn Starr barely strayed from his elaborate bedroom all week, curled into Kit Samuels' side, sharing hickeys and kisses and whispering 'I love you's. Kit was still in utter shock at how the other boy lived, surrounded by possessions worth more than his entire life. The house was huge and heavily decorated, finished off with an indoor pool and its very own movie theatre. Quinn had rarely used the word love before this week, and now, he could hardly stop saying it. In no time, the fake boyfriends turned into real boyfriends, though Kit still refused to put a label on it.

Benji had done little but sleep and rest his broken body all week. When he would wake up from a nightmare, Lucky was there. He had lost count of how many times he had stayed up late, crying into his best friend's shoulder. The family was one of the kindest Benji had ever met, and he was reluctant to leave. Some days, when he was feeling strong enough to leave Lucky's bed, he would help Rose with dinner preparations or assist Harriet as she cleaned up muddy paw prints. He had even accompanied Lucky's little sister, Penny, on dog walks a few times. And not once did he feel like an outsider, because Lucky's family made him feel at home.

"You ready?"

Benji fixed his glasses on his face and nodded, sparing one last sweeping look around the room to check he hadn't left anything behind. "Yeah. I think so." He responded. His bruises were faded by now, but still prominent, his lip still scabbed as fresh scars healed all over his body. "You think they'll confiscate these?" He held up a packet of pain meds, ones he had been taking constantly since he arrived at Lucky's house.

Lucky shrugged, "Probably. But keep them on you just in case." He replied as Benji tucked them into his back pocket. He knew the guards would pat him down once he arrived, but he was willing to test his luck.

"Thanks, Felix. Should we go?"

"Fuck sake, Pup. Just 'cause my parents call me that-"

"It doesn't mean I can call you that." Benji rolled his eyes, reciting the phrase he had heard millions of times by now. "Right, whatever. Are you looking forward to seeing Steel?"

Lucky blushed as they left the room together, lugging their bags behind them. "Not looking forward to seeing him, just...y'know, warmly anticipating it."

Benji smiled sweetly as they started to load the car, deciding to say no more on the matter. The car ride was long and boring, the boys shared headphones and listened to forgotten songs from the 80s, preparing themselves for another term in hell. When they arrived, Benji watched Lucky hug his parents goodbye and taunt his sister one last time. Benji thanked them for everything they had done for him before Rose pulled him in for a tight hug and told him to come back next half term. The hug was followed by one from Harriet and another one from Penny, and then they left.