*****
Theodore lifted his phone above his face to look at the screen and sighed seeing no new messages before he dropped his hand back down onto his abdomen, still clutching the phone as his gaze shifted to the cloudy sky above.
It was currently lunch, and he was on the roof, alone as always but it felt different. He did not want to be. Earlier, no one had been on the football field he figured maybe Cassian would come to the roof, but that had not happened.
Theodore did not really know why he thought Cassian would come to the roof to see him when they had not spoken to each other in days. Cassian just stopped answering his messages, but what was weird was that his last seen was five days prior, on Sunday evening which was also the last time they talked. Maybe he had broken his phone...
They didn't speak at school either, though.
Whether Cassian's phone was broken or not, there was something up with him. He had been hyper-focused in class, which was a good thing, Theodore guessed, but it seemed like odd behaviour from Cassian, based on how he usually acted. He was not as talkative in class, focusing more on his work even when his friends were joking around and when their teachers began asking questions, he seemed to avoid being called on by focusing on writing notes and keeping his eyes down.
Maybe Theodore was just reading into it too much. Maybe he was just upset about Cassian's sudden silence towards him. Had he said something that made the guy want to stop being around him? Did Cassian notice something about him that he did not like? Why did he care whether the guy liked him or wanted to talk to him anyway?
He did not transfer to the school to make friends. He should have been relieved not to have someone constantly running into him and wanting to hang out with him and his brother now. There was no risk of Cassian seeing drugs in the car or hearing his parents fight and maybe Cassian's group of friends would stop glaring at him and shoving him around... well, they would not stop but he wanted to bet they were extra aggressive because he was hanging out with their 'President'.
Theodore sighed as he rolled his eyes away from the sky. People were always so much effort to deal with. But Cassian usually wasn't... Theodore found it easier to speak to him without overthinking every word he was going to say. He really missed their conversations despite it only having been a few days.
He shoved off his back as the bell rang. He had been lying on the bench because when he attempted to sit on the ledge, he heard Cassian's disapproving voice in his mind telling him not to. Grabbing his bag and checking his phone one more time, he began to make his way back into the building towards his next class. He did not share it with Cassian and was a little bummed by that but shook away the feeling. He should not be thinking about the guy so much, he had work to focus on.
He jogged his way down the stairs and immediately turned to head down the hallway on his left despite his class not being that way when he spotted a few of Cassian's friends. He did not want another run-in, even if avoiding them meant having to walk around the entire school building to get to a classroom that would have been just down the hall initially.
He walked through the increasingly crowded hallways, avoiding stepping too close to anyone or making eye contact as he kept his eyes on the ground before he paused at the library suddenly looking up when he remembered finding Cassian in there the other morning. He raised his brows in surprise, spotting Cassian packing away some books near the front of the library, his bag already on his shoulders to head to class. He had been in the library during their break?
Theodore began walking again when Cassian turned to head towards the doors. Maybe he had just been too busy to check his phone. He frowned at himself. Once again, he was thinking about why Cassian was not checking his messages.
He brushed the thoughts aside as he reached class, deciding to focus on his work in the one class he would not have the urge to look over his shoulder in, because Cassian would not be seated somewhere in the back of the room, only to let out a groan when he remembered he had forgotten his sketchbook on the roof. He had not even drawn anything. He planned to before getting distracted by thoughts and now it was still just laying up there on the edge of the bench. He could fetch it after school.
By the time there were just minutes left of the last class, Theodore had been doodling on the back cover of his Spanish book for a while as it was keeping him from turning around. When the bell rang, he went through his usual routine of packing up slowly enough to allow everyone to leave before doing so and then he walked out, heading back to the roof to find the book.
He walked slower than usual, allowing the halls to clear as he did not want anyone to see him go through the doors that led to the roof because it was off-limits. When he made it up there, he grabbed his book but instead of heading back down immediately, he walked over to the balcony to look down at the front of the school.
He sighed seeing some guys near his car just tossing trash on and around it. Good thing he did not go straight to the parking lot or they would have tried to force him to clean it all up. He watched them from above as they lingered around, probably waiting for him before they gave up and began to leave. Titling his head at the mess, he wondered if he should clean it up because, in the end, the janitors would have to anyway. The guys that had tossed everything earlier obviously did not care about that, having no respect for anyone that they thought was beneath them.
After a few more minutes of watching cars and people disappear from the parking lot, he began to make his way towards the door but paused to look at the fields and courts in the back of the school. It was Thursday so Cassian should be at his tennis practice.
Despite Theodore telling himself to stop actively looking for him, he could not and stepped closer to the back to look at the courts. He saw the usual people on the team, but Cassian was not with them. Maybe he went home, he had seemed fatigued in the last couple of classes they had.
The halls upstairs were completely vacant as he made his way downstairs and then he began heading towards the front of the school but stopped at the library again. Remembering earlier, he looked back inside and raised his brows seeing Cassian in the back again.
Cassian was alone, hunched over his books as he wrote, and Theodore bit his lip. What was up with him?
He looked down the hall wondering whether he should just leave or try to find out why Cassian had been so caught up in his books. Usually, he would not bother to pry because walking away was just easier than confronting people, but he found himself turning to walk into the library instead. He passed by group a of girls – who happened to be whispering about how good Cassian looked when he was focused – and a few more tables occupied by a couple of people before he reached Cassian's.
Cassian did not stop writing or even glance up as Theodore reached the table he was at.
Theodore chuckled and picked up Cassian's index strips, which the guy somehow also did not notice, before he ripped a little blue strip off and leaned to slide it into the textbook Cassian was currently working on. That's when Cassian looked up just as Theodore shut the textbook.
"Theo," Cassian smiled. It automatically made Theodore smile back as he shut the workbook next to the textbook. "What – what are you doing?" Cassian looked down as Theodore stacked his books on top of each other and then closed his laptop.
"Giving you a break," he surprised himself by saying that.
Cassian laughed.
"What?"
"Come on, let's get some air," Theodore replied.
"I was –" Cassian began.
"Yeah, you were."
He stared down at Cassian as the boy looked up at him and then back down at his books before giving another laugh.
"Where are we going?" Cassian asked.
"I need to pick Zion up –"
"Zion?!" Cassian exclaimed excitedly before he looked towards everyone else in the library and apologized for the sound, "Okay, I'll come." He packed his things.
Theodore smiled as they left the library together, and they headed towards Cassian's locker when he mentioned that he needed to put some things into it.
"How long do you think we'll take?"
"About an hour – maybe two," Theodore replied.
Cassian nodded as he pulled the perfectly fine phone from his pocket and Theodore wanted to ask about the texting but decided against it. He did not want Cassian to think he was obsessed with him or anything.
Cassian focused on his phone and they walked in a comfortable silence until they reached his locker. Theodore stepped back and watched him unlock it before he swung his bag off his shoulders to put it into the locker. In a barely noticeable movement, like he was trying to hide it, slid his phone into it too before he shut the door.
Theodore didn't point out how odd that was as Cassian turned back to him.
"Let's go!" he said.
"Don't you have Tennis?"
"Yeah, I do. Skipping it..." Cassian replied.
"To study?" Theodore asked.
"Yeah. With exams coming up and everything, have to get as much time in, right?"
"That's what you've been doing?"
Cassian nodded. Theodore did not really get it, their exams were a few months away and they had tests to write before that, Cassian was studying like his life depended on it. He seemed to have been doing great before, he was 1st while being his distracted self during class. Or maybe this was what he actually did to be 1st... Theodore had not known him long enough to know which it was. Still, this did not seem like him...
"Have you applied to any colleges or anything?" Cassian asked.
"No," Theodore said, honestly.
"Really? But you said your marks were great."
"Yeah. I couldn't afford any of that, though."
"What about a scholarship? I'm sure you could get one."
"Don't have the time."
"To study?"
Theodore nodded.
Cassian seemed confused about that but asked, "Then... what are you going to do?"
"Get a better job than the one I have now." Hopefully.
"But..." Cassian drifted, "You could still work and study next year."
"I need something full-time. I just want to focus on that. I won't be able to do both."
Cassian still seemed confused.
"Why not – holy crap. What happened there?"
They had just stepped out of the school and could see the dirt scattered around the far side of the parking lot, there was not much of it left but the wind having blown everything around made it look worse than it was as the janitors tried to catch the dirt rolling around the parking lot.
"Wind," Theodore replied simply as they headed to the mess.
He began grabbing some of the trash from the ground around his car and helping throw it into the garbage.
"Wind doesn't seem to like you," Cassian said reaching to pull a banana peel from the windshield as he grimaced.
Theodore chuckled as he lifted a bag so Cassian could throw it away.
Once they had cleaned the windshield and the dirt was off the ground, they washed their hands and climbed into his car.
"Did you text Jonathan?" Theodore asked, remembering Cassian typing away earlier before he put his phone in the locker.
"Yup. He'll pick me up here later."
"Cool." Theodore started the car and began backing out.
They drove into the city discussing random things as they passed by anything that sparked a conversation. Both seemed to be avoiding topics about school or what they planned to do after school, not returning to the conversation they had been having earlier. When they stopped in front of Zion's school, Theodore spotted him waiting where he always did until the little boy saw the car and ran out of the gates. Cassian began to get out before Theodore could even wonder what he was doing and Zion stopped running as he gasped.
"Cassian!" he yelled out with a grin.
"Hey, Buddy!" Cassian replied with the same amount of enthusiasm.
Theodore chuckled at the amount of energy the pair seemed to have as they hugged each other, particularly Cassian because he had seemed so tired at school, before Cassian opened the back door letting Zion into the car before he climbed back into the passenger seat while Theodore greeted his little brother and made sure he put his seatbelt on.
"Theo, are we going laser tagging?" Zion asked.
They sometimes did, but not usually on a school day. Theodore got the feeling Zion was asking just because Cassian was in the front seat.
"What – are we?" Cassian looked at Theodore excitedly. He chuckled at them.
"Do you need to head back?" Theodore asked.
"No."
"Let's go then." Theodore shrugged earning shouts of excitement as he started the car again.
They drove towards the nearest location, which was one Zion and Theodore had been to before, but Cassian did not recognise it. He said he didn't usually 'come to this part of town', which made sense given that, based on where he lived, it was way out of his route.
After parking the car, they headed inside. Theodore once again held onto his brother's shoulder as they made their way through the building, past food courts and other arcades.
"Whoa – there's a paintballing place out back! This place is so cool." Cassian looked around as they walked. Theodore found it amusing but had to grab Cassian's arm and tug him out of the way before he could bump into people. It was like there were two Zions to look after.
When they arrived at the venue, there were not many other people around and that was how Theodore liked it. There were just a few other kids, which he guessed would make the game more interesting.
"Just so you know, if you two team up on me, you're finding your own way back to school," Theodore muttered to Cassian as he strapped on his vest. Cassian laughed in response.
Once they started playing, they had two random kids on their team that Zion unsurprisingly made friends with. It was a lot of fun running around in the dark. Zion and Cassian turned out to be their best players, and Theodore had been expecting that because the pair were just great at everything. After fifteen minutes of constant running and shouting the game ended with their team having won.
"That was so much fun!" Cassian chuckled as he pulled his vest off. "Want to get lunch?"
Theodore tilted his head. "I'll pay."
Cassian had insisted on paying for the laser tag. Cassian frowned but agreed and Theodore looked at his brother who had yet to take his vest off, instead he had been talking to the other kids.
"Can I go again?" Zion asked.
"Uh..." Theodore didn't like the idea of leaving him alone, but if they were getting lunch just across the entrance, it should be fine. "Okay..." he said, still feeling uncertain, but trying to hide that.
"Yeah!" Zion's new friends cheered.
Zion ran into another game as the older boys walked over to the court to order some food while Theodore kept his eyes on the laser tag venue the entire time. Once they had received their toasted sandwich and hotdogs, they sat down at a table closest to the venue.
"You seem protective."
Theodore looked at Cassian.
"Do I?" he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"It's endearing."
Theodore chuckled as Cassian smiled at him before he glanced towards the venue again and then looked at Cassian.
"Why'd you put your phone in your locker?"
"Oh... You saw that?" Cassian gave an awkward chuckle as he looked at the hotdog in his hands.
"Pretty odd thing to do."
"Um... if I'm being honest, my parents track it," he mumbled.
Theodore stared at him, surprised.
"Track it?"
"Yeah, and if they knew I left school, they would..." he drifted with a chuckle. "Let's just say they wouldn't like it," he finished, putting the hotdog down as if he did not want it anymore.
"They seemed... pretty relaxed..." The last time he met them, they just seemed to care a lot about who his family was. They did not really ask about anything other than that. They seemed alright.
"To you maybe," Cassian muttered, "I don't know, they are... just overbearing."
"Oh?" Theodore asked. "Does that have anything to do with your recent studying schedule?"
Cassian chuckled.
"You really are a stalker," he joked.
"Am I?" Theodore asked with a smile.
He was happy when Cassian smiled back and shook his head looking down. He pulled the Styrofoam lid over his hotdog proving Theodore's earlier observation.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Nothing," Cassian mumbled and grinned at him. "Just getting some extra work in there, like I told you."
Theodore did not believe that despite Cassian saying it confidently.
"Come on, Cassian." The boy in front of him frowned at him before he sighed.
"You have to promise not to make any academic placement jokes." He said Theodore did not reply, but Cassian somehow picked up that he had agreed, "I... basically failed those math tests we did in the past few weeks."
"Failed?"
"Basically."
"Really?" Theodore asked because it did not sound like it.
"Yes, compared to how I what I normally do, I did. Anyway, my parents said I'd have to drop the soccer team if I didn't improve so... I'm just trying to make sure it doesn't come to that."
"Soccer means that much to you?" Theodore asked, raising his brows. All that constant studying was for a sport?
"Yeah, it's... how do I explain it...? It's the one thing I've decided to do myself."
Theodore watched as Cassian focused his gaze on the table between them instead of looking directly at him.
"Everything I do is for them, because they want me to, because they think it's what I need to be doing, joining this team was the one time they let me choose. I mean... I..." Cassian gave a laugh that was anything but happy as he tapped his fingers on the table. Theodore figured soccer was important to Cassian because it represented the only freedom he thought he had. Did they really choose everything he did? Maybe Cassian was exaggerating... "I'm so tired..." he stated.
"You look tired," Theodore was joking, but he knew Cassian did not mean physically. Cassian let out a humoured breath. "It doesn't seem healthy though, you seem to be drained and tired, I doubt that's going to help you remember anything you're studying. So what's the point?"
"Distraction," Cassian replied. Theodore furrowed his brows at that and was about to ask more but looked down when his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket.
"It's my boss," he told Cassian who nodded and then he answered it.
He listened to his boss tell him about how one of his colleagues had food poisoning, so he needed him to fill the shift. Theodore figured he needed the extra money anyway so agreed and said he would be there in an hour.
"Off to work?" Cassian asked once he had hung up.
"Yeah."
They looked over to the laser-tag venue hearing a familiar voice call out a 'bye!' and watched Zion run over to them.
"We got you a hotdog," Cassian said.
"Yum!" Zion said.
"Let's go. I have to go to work."
"Today? You don't go to work on Thursdays," Zion frowned.
"I know, just today I have to."
"Can I come with?"
Theodore glanced at Cassian who was watching them talk curiously before smiling at Zion. For once he wished his phone would ring again so they would have a reason to stop talking about it.
"No, we'll talk about it later."
Zion pouted as he looked down and ate from his hotdog. Cassian seemed to notice the change in mood from Zion but did not say anything about it for some reason, which Theodore was glad about.
They returned to the car and then drove back to school, mostly singing along to the radio – Well, Cassian and Zion were. Theodore was not the type to sing in front of other people. When they reached the school, Theodore recognised the car in the parking lot.
"He's early."
"He always is," Cassian replied. "See you tomorrow?"
"Sure," Theodore replied.
Cassian leaned over to hug Zion before awkwardly holding his fist out to Theodore who chuckled at it before he bumped his own against it. It became funnier when Cassian's cheeks tinted slightly at Theodore's reaction before he climbed out of the car.
Theodore watched him run across the parking lot to speak to Jonathan before heading into the school. Once Cassian was gone, Theodore turned back to the road and began driving.
"Why can't I come to work with you?"
"Because it's late, you need to sleep."
"I can sleep in the store like last time."
Theodore frowned at the memory. When he worked late shifts, he usually left Zion at home for the few hours he would be gone if just one of their parents was home and decently sober. A few days ago, they had not been, and Theodore did not trust leaving Zion alone in that mess so took him to work. He was the only person in the store at the time so no one questioned him about the little boy sleeping in their break room.
"No, you have homework, also your bed is way more comfortable."
"But I don't want to be home when you're not!" Zion whined back.
"It'll be alright," Theodore replied. "Just lock the room's door."
"They don't like it when I lock the door, they shout for me to open it," Zion mumbled.
"And do you?"
Zion shook his head.
"Good," Theodore said.
"I don't wanna be at home, Theo. Please can I come? I'll do my homework and just sleep – I won't go into the store."
Theodore looked at Zion, suspicious about his adamant protests. Usually, he did not insist on coming along so much.
"Did something happen?"
"No."
"Zion," he said seriously as he glanced at his little brother through the rear-view mirror.
"I opened the door to go to the bathroom."
"And?" He slowed the car as they arrived home and drove into the driveway before turning to face his brother, "Zion?"
Zion looked down avoiding his eyes.
"Dad was mad I came out of the room while his friends were there, so he burnt my arm."
Theodore felt like he had heard wrong when his heart stopped.
"He what? Where?" he reached out to take Zion's arms before his brother could answer and pushed his sleeves all the way up. Theodore found the healing blister on his upper arm and felt his stomach clench as he lifted the small arm closer to study the wound. It did not look infected, but it did not look good either. "W- When did this happen?" he tried to control his voice to keep from scaring Zion even though he was livid and felt sick.
"Last week."
Theodore's jaw dropped slightly.
"Why didn't I see this? Why didn't you tell me, Zion?"
It was so hard to keep his rage from showing. How had he not seen it?
"'Cause you would get angry at him and you'd fight again and he'd hurt you."
He let his brother's arm go as he turned back to the steering wheel trying to clear his mind and hide his furious shaking as he tightened his hands around it. He wanted to go into the house and beat the fuck out of William, but that would just prove that Zion had done the right thing by not telling him. It would just upset his little brother.
"Theo?" Zion spoke up sounding concerned.
Theodore let out a sigh trying to hide his worry and anger as he looked back at his brother.
"You have to tell me if he ever hurts you, Zion. You have to."
Zion nodded.
"Has he?"
Zion shook his head.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Zion said.
"Okay... You'll come with me."
He was not going to bother to head inside to change, because that would result in him probably losing his temper and going at William anyway, so he just started the car and backed away from the house vowing that he would deal with the guy when Zion was not around.
*****
Thank you for reading 😊