Fast Times At Clairemont High

16

Vic's POV

I drove into my driveway and jumped the steps to the door. Mike was sitting on the couch with his foot up on the table with ice on his ankle. I can't believe I almost lost him today. I think I would have died if he hadn't made it out.

"Hey Vic!"

"Hey Mike, how's your ankle?"

"Sore, but it's alright. How's Cameron?" He asked. The last he had seen her, she was unconscious in the hospital.

"Fine. Maybe you could go see her tomorrow, check on her yourself." Mike pointed to his foot and turned to look at me.

"I'm not supposed to walk for a few weeks remember?" Oh that's right. The doctor said it was completely shattered, the worst break he'd ever seen.

"Oh right. Then, uh, maybe I'll go over..." Mike let out a dramatic laugh.

"Ooo! Little student teacher relationship we got going on here huh?" He mocked. I stared at him in shock, which I guess he took as a denial.

"What? No! I just mean she was burned and stuff...I just want to make sure she's okay." Mike rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, that'll make her happy." This got my attention.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I walked over to the couch to look at Mike.

"Dude! Have you not noticed it? She's like in love with you!"

"What? I thought she flirted with everyone. And doesn't she have a boyfriend?" Mike laughed.

"Andy!? Ha! He only uses her for sex! The only reason she's still with him is so they don't cause a ton of drama within the school. I think she's about done with his shit though. She's been avoiding him for like two months!"

"Why?"

"Did you not just hear me? She likes you! And yeah, you're right she flirts with everyone, but that's just to annoy them. She only actually tries to have any sort of effect on them when she likes them."

"Well she's annoying me." He nodded and had a cheeky grin on his face.

"Mhmm. Okay." I cocked my head.

"What?" He shrugged and looked back to the TV. I sighed and went into the kitchen. "Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Ooh! Yeah! Make me food!"

"Kay, what do you want?"

"Uh, food?" I rolled my eyes. Why was Mike acting so weird? I started making dinner for us and tried to relax. "Crazy what happened today, huh?" Mike asked as I handed him a plate of tacos. I nodded.

"Yeah...I thought you were dead for a few minutes there..." Mike looked up at me.

"Really?" I nodded. "Aww big brother, you know I'll never leave you!" He said with a mouthful of food. I shoved his shoulder.

"You will someday. As soon as you're out of college you're getting your own place!" I demanded. He chuckled and shifted uncomfortably. "You okay?" He shrugged.

"My ankle just hurts."

"A lot?" He nodded. I got up and got some Advil out of a cabinet in the bathroom. "Here." I handed him the pills and a glass of water. He swallowed them and put the water on the coffee table.

"Thanks." I sat on the couch next to him and stared at the TV. Mike dropped his head a little and I felt him slip his hand into mine. I glanced down at his fingers wrapped around mine tightly and up at him. His eyes were squeezed shut and he had a scared expression on his face.

"Mike?" I asked him quietly. As soon as I said anything his arms were around my neck.

"I love you Vic." He said. I was confused by his sudden affection but hugged him back.

"I love you too, Mike. But what is it?" I pulled him away from me so I could see what was going on with him. He dropped his head again, but I thought his face looked red.

"Today...it was just really crazy..." He said. He sniffed and I tilted his head up a little to see that he was crying. I sighed and pulled him into another hug. He leaned into my chest and cried harder.

"I-I was so scared. I thought we were going to d-die." He sobbed. I put my arm around him and squeezed his hand.

"Hey, it's okay, you didn't die; you got out." I said softly, trying to comfort him.

"But I almost did. I thought y-you were dead a-and I thought I'd never see you again and...and--" He started rambling.

"I know, I know, Mike. I did too; but you're okay. You're safe now. You're safe here and I'm never going to let anything hurt you." I promised him. He continued to mumble into my shoulder and I just let him. Poor kid was exhausted and hurt. I don't know if I'd ever seen Mike cry like that. I felt so bad. What could I do? Eventually he fell asleep and I slowly laid him on the couch. I threw a blanket over him and let him sleep.

My clothes were still covered in soot since I hadn't gotten to change out of them. This had been such a crazy day. If I had lost Mike, I don't know what I would have done. He was only eighteen, he didn't deserve to be that scared. None of the kids in that school did. As far as I knew, everyone had gotten out which I was thankful for. As I walked up to me room to get cleaned up, I thought about that moment when I saw Mike being brought out; all covered in soot and leaning on Cameron.

Cameron.

I was glad she was okay too. I mean she was obnoxious, but no matter what she did, you couldn't help but feel some level of affection for her. Even if it was just friendly, I couldn't deny that I kind of liked having her around. I could do without the flirtation, but when she wanted to be, she could be really nice.

I sighed to myself, realizing that this is probably just what Cam and Mike want me to think. I have no feelings for her other than the purely platonic; she could be a good friend. I shook my head, trying to clear it and let myself rest. After I had changed, I laid down in bed and let myself sleep.