Hopelessly Devoted

Chapter 8- Patching Up

"Hey!"

A voice shakes me out of my pity party. I can't turn my head due to my injuries, but the rapidly approaching footsteps inform me that I'll be able to see the person shortly.

"Hey, what the Hell happened to you?"

Well, if it isn't Pizzaface. His mouth was wide open with a lit cigarette still in his hand

"Ah, not much." I croak out. "Just got a little visit from the Pain Fairy."

Pizzaface stomps out his cigarette before he bends over to lift me off the pavement. I'd like to say that my manly frame made it difficult for the scrawny kid, but we'd all know that's a lie. The kid practically plucks me off the ground, bracing my body against his for support. 

He guides me around the corner and plops me in his chair at the ticket booth. 

"Shit, dude. You look awful."

"Thanks?" I mumble around my now-bruised throat.

"Not what I meant." The kid shoots me a glare. "Give me a second, I'll be right back."

Pizzaface darts into the school faster than you'd think a kid like him could run. Before long, he returned with a bottle of water and a stack of napkins.

"Here, drink this." He unscrews the lid of the water bottles and, gently, leads it to my face. The cool water feels like heaven as it pours down my sore throat.

When I finish drinking, Pizzaface silently caps the bottle and begins to use the napkins to clean the blood off my face. For a few minutes, we sit there in peaceful silence. Me, leaning against the chair as I try not to fall asleep due to fear of concussion, and Pizzaface, going way beyond his job description.

I'm the one to break the silence. "I'm Luke."

"Toby."

More silence. Eventually, Toby finishes cleaning me off before he leaves to dispose of the dirty napkins.

"Thank you." I say when he returns.

"Don't thank me, thank Lover-boy."

Lover-boy?

"Thanks to Jackson pre-paying for all your snacks, I was able to get that water without having to explain why to my boss."

I roll my eyes. "He's not my boyfriend."

Toby chuckles. "Sure, he isn't."

Toby sits on the side of the table, facing away from me. "You gonna tell me why I found you how I did?"

"I got jumped." 

Technically, not a lie.

"Well, yeah. I sort of guessed." He looks back at me with a smirk. "Last time I checked, the Pain Fairy ain't real."

We sit there for a few more minutes, admiring the stars. 

"You really aren't Jackson's boyfriend? Not even a fuck-buddy?"

I scoff. "Gosh, no! Why does everyone keep thinking that? We're just friends!"

"Well damn, I gotta get me a friend like Jackson. No guy I know would just give me a free ticket to one of the biggest games of the year AND pay for me to stuff my face." Toby laughs into the cool night air.

Suddenly, I hear the school doors burst open as fans pour out of the building. 

Guess I ended up missing the second-half anyway.