Trigger Warning: This chapter includes homophobic language, graphic violence, and graphic gore. Feel free to skip if you don't feel comfortable reading.
- 🐥 & 🐬 -
There were three boys approaching Chenle, the same three boys who had been following Chenle since he had arrived at school that morning.
He thought he could recognise their faces, but he couldn't place his finger on where he had seen them before. They seemed to know him, or at least know of him, if the way they were stalking him through the halls was any indication. He was quite sure that a total stranger wouldn't care enough about him to do such a thing.
They were much bigger than Chenle.
They were tall, and buff, and frankly terrifying.
He didn't know if they were taller than Jisung -they were probably near the same height as the younger male- but they looked like bodybuilders, and while Jisung had muscles from his dancing, they were not the same kind of muscle. The boys could easily beat Chenle and Jisung into a pulp, Chenle especially.
He may have been on the basketball team, but the boy was in no way strong. He was trembling in fear as he sped up his walk, desperately hoping to get to the cafeteria before they could catch up to him.
The halls were mostly empty, and the three students Chenle could spot were not the type who would be willing to help him if anything were to happen.
He suddenly felt a large hand grabbing onto the back of his sweater, and he was violently pushed back into the lockers, his back hitting the surface with a sickening thud. Chenle had to bite down on his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. He didn't want to give the bullies any kind of reaction, he knew it would only spur them on.
Chenle had been thrown against the lockers before, but it had been in a much different way, with distinctly different implications behind it.
"Look at that," The first bully, the one who was holding him against the locker, sneered, "The fag is gonna cry."
The other two started to laugh. Their laughs were loud and ugly, mocking and cruel. Chenle wished he could fight back, but the hand on his throat was causing him to struggle to breathe, let alone do anything that would require more energy than that.
Black spots started to dance in his vision, creating beautifully terrifying mosaics around him, colours blurring together. The laughter ringing in his ears was muffled, but he could still distinctly hear every breath from his attackers, like the soundtrack of a horror movie.
Finally, he felt everything stop as the bully dropped him to the floor.
He could feel himself falling for only a moment before his knees hit the ground. A hard crack sounded in his ears as his bones hit the ground, but he was too focused on taking gasping breaths to focus on the pain he was feeling. It was something he would have to handle later, though luckily the fall had been a short one, and he didn't think he had broken any bones.
"Listen up gay boy," The same bully, Chenle guessed he was the leader of the three, threatened, "You keep doing this and you're going to get a whole lot worse, got it?"
Chenle nodded, blinking back his tears.
The bullies proceeded to leave as if nothing had happened, but Chenle stayed crouched on the ground in the exact position that they had left him in until the bell rang, notifying the school that their lunch break was over and it was time to return to classes. It was only when students started streaming into the halls from every direction that Chenle dared to push himself up into a standing position, ignoring his aching knees.
- 🐥 & 🐬 -
"Baby?" Jisung asked, and Chenle flinched at the word.
He quickly glanced around the classroom, hoping the motion seemed inconspicuous enough. Luckily, he didn't spot any of the three boys in the class, but he had no idea if there were others watching him. He worried someone would gossip and it would reach their ears.
"What's wrong?" Jisung asked quietly, placing his hand on top of Chenle's thigh.
At least it was underneath the desk, so Chenle didn't have to worry about anyone spotting them, but still, the fear was too much. The older could feel himself starting to shake slightly, his fingers tapping restlessly against his arm, his heart racing.
"Nothing," He lied.
It was an obvious lie, anyone could hear the panic in his voice. Chenle expected Jisung to call him out on his lie, to force Chenle to tell him what was wrong, but he didn't do anything of the sort. He just kept his eyes on his boyfriend for a few more moments, then turned his head away to face the front of the classroom.
And when Jisung took his hand off Chenle's thigh to pick up his pen, diligently writing down notes that Chenle would have to copy later on since he wasn't paying attention, he tried to pretend that it didn't make his heart hurt.
- 🐥 & 🐬 -
Jisung had dance practices for the school dance club three times a week. The days alternated depending on which days every member was available, so Chenle never knew whether he would be able to walk home with Jisung until he got to school in the morning and asked the younger male for his schedule.
Chenle pressed a quick kiss to Jisung's cheek before leaving his boyfriend in the dance practice room. He still felt too scared to kiss Jisung on the lips, no matter how small of a peck.
Chenle followed the crowd of students rushing out of the school like a wave, talking excitedly amongst themselves now that classes were over for the day, and they had the freedom to do whatever they wished. Chenle couldn't help but feel jealous of the joy he could see on the faces surrounding him, it made him feel impossibly alone as he scuffed his shoes against the concrete pavement.
He just wanted the day to end, before it had the chance to get any worse.
Chenle followed the same route home as he did every day. It was routine, which meant that he could get lost in thought and trust his feet to lead the way.
A hand pressed against Chenle's face, covering both his mouth and eyes. It smelled of cigarette smoke and sweat.
Chenle was picked up off the ground, and not in a kind way. He was lifted off the ground, and he could tell by the way the wind moved around him, blowing his shirt up to reveal a slimmer of his stomach, that he was being moved. The thought was further confirmed when he felt his back hit something hard, something rough and dented, like old bricks.
"Guess who, little fag?" The mocking voice asked in a sing-song tone, and then colours flooded Chenle's vision.
The tall male didn't give Chenle time to answer before he grabbed a hold of the smaller boy again and threw him against the wall of the alley to which he had been carried. The two other males, the same boys who had been by his side in the school hallway earlier that day, were moving towards Chenle, who shrunk back as much as his trapped position allowed.
One of the males -Chenle was unable to distinguish one from another due to the tears blurring his vision- kicked him in the stomach.
He cried out in pain, which only made the second bully join the first.
They beat him, striking blow after blow, and didn't stop until tears were streaming down Chenle's cheeks, his voice ragged from screaming, every part of his body feeling broken and bruised.
Finally, the bullies walked away, cackling amongst themselves as they went and Chenle dared to think that maybe he was safe. He didn't move, waiting for the three to leave the alleyway before he dared to do anything, but he prayed that he would be left alone. He didn't know how much more he could handle, and if they started beating him again, he was genuinely afraid that they would kill him, perhaps accidentally or perhaps on purpose.
As a final parting gift, the tall leader grabbed a glass bottle that had been abandoned on the side of the road and threw it directly at Chenle.
The brunette male was unable to move, paralysed in fear, and the bottle hit the brick wall directly above his head, showering him in glass shards as the bottle exploded into pieces. Crystal shards fell all around him, and it was oddly beautiful. Since Chenle was already numb, he couldn't feel the thousands of minuscule shards of glass piercing into his skin one by one, and it was strangely poetic. He could taste drops of leftover alcohol that had been in the bottle falling to his lips, mixing with the blood that was dripping from his head down his face.
He stayed that way until he started to feel dizzy from the blood loss. He wondered if he was going to die, and the thought made him laugh humourlessly to himself. He wondered how Jisung would react if he found Chenle that way.
"Hey? Are you okay? Do you need help?" But it wasn't Jisung's voice. No, Chenle would recognise his love's voice anywhere, but he couldn't recognise the one that was ringing in his ears.
"What the fuck- Chenle is that you?"
Why was everything black? Chenle wanted to be able to see his saviour, maybe he could thank them when he regained his ability to speak.
"I'll get you to a hospital, you'll be okay. Just stay awake for me. You're awake, aren't you? You can hear me right now, right? Give me a sign that you're awake, Chenle. I promise everything will be okay but only if you give me a sign that you're awake. Only you can keep yourself breathing."
A warm hand was placed on Chenle's wrist, feeling for his pulse. Chenle hummed softly, the pressure was grounding, and he heard a sigh of relief escape his saviour's lips.
- 🐥 & 🐬 -
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟.
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 26 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼'𝑚 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑢𝑒.
𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, 𝐼 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝐼 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑑 𝑎 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟.
𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒?
𝐼 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑠.