The Stepbrother [BXB]

Chapter 21

"So, the more NH or OH-bridges there are, the higher the boiling point of the molecule. Now we're going to move on to the Vanderwaals connection. Write down.

The higher the mass of the molecule, the higher the boiling point, the stronger the connection."

I was writing down the information my chemistry teacher was writing on the board. Molecular substances... Not my favourite thing in the world. I hated working with the mol more though. For some reason, I just didn't get it, even though it was very important and often used in science. I looked at my right and Elio was staring outside. He looked pale and unhealthy. He didn't care about his hair and his clothes; he wore a sweater on some joggers and his hair wasn't done. Elio was always very broad build, yet he looked so skinny today. I once watched the Harry Potter movie with some creature called a Dementor. That thing sucked the happiness out of you, and it looked like Elio got attacked by one of them; empty, powerless and no need to do anything. He didn't seem to care about science anymore after the start of the new week after the party, just like many other things. I could get why. Mike was sitting on the other side of the room. It was like they had switched places; now it wasn't Elio who was ignoring us, but Mike. It was weird how one simple campfire was the start of this long going drama between Mike and Elio. Who would've seen that coming? Defiantly not me! I didn't even saw Elio being gay coming. And having to keep that a secret even though it was breaking our group made my stomach twitch even more. Seeing Elio so devastated I knew it was a good thing for him to keep his distance. He didn't like it, you could see that, but it was better for him then seeing Mike lick off some girl. Dealing with Mike's sadness was another challenge; I wanted to tell him the truth and help him, but I couldn't. Having to lie to him and watch him break down everyday was so hard.

I looked over at Mike. He as well looked tired, but not as lifeless as Elio. He was focussing on the clock. I had noticed he lately packed his stuff like one or two minutes before the warning bell and then ran out of class. I had no idea where he was going of to. Away from us, that's for sure.

Owen was as calm as always. Just following the class with a frown because he didn't understand. He played with his pen and doodled something what I could only guess looked amazing. It seemed like all the drama didn't affect Owen that much. He didn't care about Elio not being there for a few weeks, he didn't care that Mike was avoiding us now. He didn't seem to care about a lot of things. "Just chuck it in the fuck-it bucket and move on." Is something he would say. It's cool of him to be always so down to earth, but I wished he showed a little bit more interest about some things. Like the mental health of his own mates, for instance.

Mental health. Fuck. I could talk about that for ages. My mental health has been going downwards after the stuff with Newton. Now that I don't have him all the time, I realise how much I need him. I have more panic attacks and more nightmares. I miss him holding me, or saying that it would be alright. I miss the little things; just a dumb text would be enough. I would even settle with the conversations we had at the beginning of our friendship.

Just anything.

"Hey, can you send me those notes?" Elio packed his bag and pointed at my still open notebook.

"Sure, whatever." I answered and packed my stuff as well. Together with Owen, we walked towards the new class.

"So I have been thinking." Owen started while walking in between Elio and me. "The Ice rank has opened again after the fire. Should we go there this weekend?"

A few months ago an ice rank burned down to the ground. Kind of ironic.

"Sure. Would be fun to see Ash fall on his face a couple of times." Elio and Owen laughed and I punched them playfully in their sides. They always make fun of me not being good at sports, but I gave in anyways.