And what better way to accept something than admit it to the one person you never thought you'd speak to again?
Andrew lightly scoffed, but his gaze softened, his eyes darting to the floor "I was wrong, okay?" He muttered, his fingers now fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.
Before Paul could say anything, Andrew continued talking "I thought I was doing the right thing, I simply wanted to be normal like everyone else and not have to worry about what they'd all fucking say." He continued explaining.
Paul's eyebrow raised "Oh, so now I'm also an abomination, or what?" He asked, before taking another drag from his cigarette.
Andrew shook his head in disbelief "Jesus Christ, you're fucking stupid." He mumbled, walking closer to Paul. "Do not start with that, Paul, you know damn well how I felt and you know that's not what I meant." Andrew continued, reaching out to touch Paul's hand.
Paul pulled his hand away, some ash falling from his cigarette in the process "Hey, do not fucking touch me." He said firmly, biting the inside of his cheek.
Andrew opened his mouth to speak, but Paul was the first one to speak after their temporary silence "You think that you'll fix everything with your stupid apology?" He asked, his tone dripping with disdain.
Andrew looked at him and grabbed his chin, forcing their eyes to meet "Just tell me what you want me to do so I can fix it all, Paul." He begged, pleading with his eyes.
Paul slapped Andrew's hand away with his free hand "I want you to go fuck yourself and never speak to me again." He declared, taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing the smoke in Andrew's direction.
Andrew nodded for a moment before he turned to the side and his fist collided with the cold tile wall of the bathroom. He muttered something under his breath, shaking his hand while walking out of the bathroom.
Paul watched him walk away in silence before his eyes fixated on the wall that Andrew punched with such fervor. "Coward," Paul muttered, taking a last drag from his cigarette before throwing it on the floor and stepping on it with his shoe.
Paul shook his head in disbelief "What a fucking coward you are, Andrei.." He murmured, reaching to the sink to wash his hands.
"Ready to go, Paul?" A familiar voice said from the doorway, making Paul turn his head to whoever dared to interrupt his thoughts. But it was just William, no one Paul should worry about.
Paul smiled, shaking his head in disbelief "Why is everyone sneaking up on me today?" He asked teasingly, turning the water to the faucet off and grabbing two paper towels, drying his hands with them before throwing them away in the nearest trash can.
"You're a hard man to reach, maybe we all need to catch you off guard to even catch you at all." William joked as Paul picked up his backpack from the floor and joined him on their walk to their next class.
Paul shook his head in disbelief "Yeah, well maybe you should call next time instead of sneaking up on me when I'm enjoying a smoke." He smirked, nudging William lightly.
William shrugged, smiling at him. "Yeah, maybe." He nodded, continuing to walk with his best friend. "So did you do your English essay?" William asked, leaning closer to Paul.
Paul gave him a nod, "Yeah, I think I outdid myself." He smiled, chuckling. "You'll probably get outdone by no other than Andrew himself though, like usual," William commented, his eyes darting from wall to wall.
Paul scoffed, his smirk making an appearance once more "I wouldn't put it past that woman, she's so old she probably doesn't even know what Andrew writes." He responded, gripping his backpack strap.
William laughed, "Aw come on, you know Andrew is really good at English, it is probably his only redeeming quality." He joked lightly.
Paul remained silent, simply nodding. William looked at him, raising an eyebrow "Are you okay?" He asked, a little concerned.
Paul gave him a nod, "Yeah, just peachy." He responded, not looking at William, his gaze remaining fixated on the floor. William lightly nudged him, chuckling "You should act like it, too." He suggested.
Soon, they reached their next class and walked in, making their way to their shared desk once more.
As they settled in and spoke to one another, the door opened, and in walked Andrew and Nathan. Paul knew it would be them just by hearing the way the door was opened, and he refused to even take a glance at them - at either of them.
The two friends walked to their shared desk and sat down, Andrew throwing his backpack on his desk, and Nathan leaving it next to his chair.
"So, what's up with your knuckles?" Nathan finally asked after having stared at them from the moment Andrew joined him again. Andrew looked at his knuckles and shrugged.
Nathan let it go, he wasn't going to press on such a matter. Plus, he had other things to think about, that weren't his friend's red and bruised knuckles.
Class started soon after the teacher walked into the classroom. Just as predicted by Paul and William, their teacher admired and complimented Andrew's essay from top to bottom, re-reading it constantly like a madman. It was a funny sight to take in, an expected one either way - by everyone in there.
When class was done, Andrew was the first one to leave the classroom, along with his sidekick, who seemed less than thrilled to be at school at all.
William stood up, gathering his things "Alright, I'm going to walk Erika to her next class." He declared, already making his way to the door.
Paul threw his things in his backpack in a hurry "I'm coming with you, man!" He chuckled, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and rushing to his best friend's side before walking outside of the classroom.
They both walked to the classroom Erika was in and watched as she walked out with Makayla, still chatting with her. Makayla was soon pulled aside by Polly, leaving Erika with Paul and William.
William wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders "Hey, beautiful." He smiled at her, kissing the side of her face. Paul chuckled as he watched the loving scene unfolding in front of him "Hey, man, you still have some lipstick on your cheek." He pointed to William's cheek.
Erika giggled as William looked over at Paul "Are you serious?" He asked, trying not to laugh. Paul chuckled and spat in his hand, beginning to wipe the lipstick from William's cheek with his wet hand.
"God, man, you're so fucking gross!" William laughed, swatting Paul's hand away and wiping his cheek with his hoodie sleeve. Luckily to him, it was a black hoodie, so the remaining lipstick that stuck to it wasn't visible.
Erika looked at Paul "How are you doing, Paul?" She asked as they fell into step together, walking to their next class.
Paul shrugged, smiling "As usual." He responded, holding his backpack over his shoulder by its strap. Erika smiled and nodded, leaning slightly closer to Paul.
William leaned his head closer to Erika's "I can't wait for lunch." He chuckled, biting his bottom lip slightly. "Rory stole half of my breakfast this morning and I didn't have time to eat anything else." He continued.
Erika giggled, shaking her head "Must've been really hungry if he took such desperate measures." She said, crossing her arms. Paul chuckled "I agree, you probably also ate half of Rory's food or something." He added.
William shook his head, smiling in disbelief "No way, man!" He chuckled, "Rory just decided to steal my food because all he had for breakfast was an apple." William explained, shrugging.
As William finished his sentence, Rory rounded the corner and walked right past the trio, Rory's steps being quick and efficient.
Paul looked after Rory "Speak of the devil." He chuckled, shaking his head. Erika laughed and nodded, her eyes darting to Paul's face as he spoke.
William laughed, "I sometimes wonder where Rory gets all that energy from to be able to walk like there's a marathon in town." He said. "Must be from all that stolen breakfast," Paul commented, grinning.
William looked behind him, trying to see if he could still see his sibling, but to no avail - they had rounded the corner already and probably made their way to their next class in the time the trio made a few jokes and comments.
Rory opened the door to the classroom and walked in, immediately seeing Finn at their shared desk. Rory walked up to the desk, being unable to contain a small smile "I thought you were sick." They said to Finn.
Finn looked up at Rory and laughed, "I just didn't feel like coming to P.E. or Chemistry, man." He clarified, leaning against the chair. Rory sat down, shaking their head in feigned disappointment and disbelief.
Finn smiled at Rory "So, what'd you do this weekend?" He asked, stretching his arms. Rory looked back at him, "I tried that pickle-ketchup combination you kept telling me about." They revealed.
Finn's eyes lit up immediately, "What did you think of it?" He asked, enthusiasm evident in his voice. Rory chuckled "It was really gross." They admitted, placing a hand on Finn's shoulder.
Finn rolled his eyes playfully. "You have terrible taste." They both said in unison, before laughing.
As the two laughed, the doors to the classroom opened, and in walked Juana, along with Diana. They were the eldest people in Rory's grade and often didn't speak to any other person but each other - even when they didn't have class with each other.
Rory looked at the two and smiled, looking over at Finn "I like Juana's hairstyle today." They remarked. "Go tell her that, don't tell me." Finn gently nudged them, chuckling.
Rory watched as Juana sat down at her shared desk. "Hey, Juana," Rory said a little louder for her to hear them, although she wasn't too far away from Rory's and Finn's shared desk.
Juana turned her head to Rory, a confused look on her face. "I like your hair." Rory complimented her, pointing to her hair with a grin on their face. Juana simply nodded, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly as she did so. She then looked away and back at Diana, who had finally sat down after fixing her clothes on her body.
Rory looked at Finn, who had a smirk on his face. "Trying to seduce her?" Finn chuckled, "She might catch a case if she ends up liking you." He joked, leaning back against his chair.
Rory shook their head in disbelief "She's like a few months older than me, calm down." They explained, punching Finn's shoulder. "Also, where's Lynn?" Rory asked, looking around the classroom.
Finn scoffed as soon as he heard his cousin's name, "I think she's in the bathroom, said she had something to do or whatever, but I didn't pay attention." He explained. "How nice of you," Rory responded sarcastically.
Lynn walked into the classroom right as the bell rang and she rushed to her desk, which was in front of Finn's and Rory's. "Good morning, losers." She smiled at the two friends.
Finn rolled his eyes, "Good morning, princess." He responded sarcastically, taking out of his backpack his book. "What's up your ass this morning?" Lynn tilted her head at her cousin's words.
Finn ignored her words, and Rory shook their head. "He's just annoyed that you even exist," Rory remarked, laughing. "Ah, the dilemma of the century." Lynn grinned, "To love or to hate your awesome cousin." She joked, kicking the two friend's desk lightly.
Finn rolled his eyes playfully "Quit it, you jerk." He said, kicking Lynn's chair instead. "You quit it, too!" Lynn argued back, scoffing.
Rory shook their head, placing their hands on their face in disbelief. They put down their hands after a few seconds "Alright, both of you quit it then, I'm not having this right now." Rory said, their tone firm but affectionate to both of them.
Lynn raised her hands "Alright, you're the boss." She giggled, unable to contain it as she noticed the feigned annoyance on Rory's face and the actual annoyance on Finn's face.
Lynn's eyes darted around the classroom and fell on Diana and Juana. "Oh, Juana looks so cool today." She remarked, smiling. "Right?" Rory chuckled, crossing their arms.
Lynn nodded "Yeah!" She smiled wider, waving at Juana as their eyes met. Juana quietly waved back, immediately looking back at Diana. Rory looked at Juana then at Lynn "Do you know why she never talks to anyone else?" They asked, rubbing their arms a little.
Lynn shrugged "Not really, but maybe she's just shy." She suggested casually, her eyes fixated on the two girls. "But each their own, right?" Lynn smiled at Rory as she shifted her eyes to them.
"Yeah, each their own.." Rory nodded, going quiet afterward while fixing a piece of clothing from underneath their hoodie.
As the teacher arrived and took attendance, Rory couldn't help but feel watched. As they looked around the room, all they saw was Juana stealing glances at them, but each time their eyes met, she would simply look away without saying anything to them.
Rory brushed it off as it being a pure coincidence, not wanting to jump to any conclusions. After all, the two of them had never spoken properly to one another.
As the minutes went by, the end of class was rapidly approaching. Rory began gathering their things before the bell rang and just two minutes later, class was over and they were dismissed. And luckily enough, it was lunchtime now.
As Lynn and Finn gathered their things, Rory waited for them. Rory's eyes were fixated on Juana, watching her take her backpack and coat, before fixing her hair briefly and walking to the door with Diana next to her.
Rory looked away afterward and focused their attention on their two friends "Are you two done?" They asked, smiling. "Yeah, boss, done now." Finn chuckled, grabbing his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder, holding it by its strap.
The trio walked out of the classroom and headed to the cafeteria. As they walked, Rory seemed to be the center of attention of passersby, as usual. It was nothing new to the trio, but sometimes it was annoying.
They walked into the cafeteria at the same time and after each picked up their food, they made their way to a table, sitting down and dropping their backpacks next to them.
As Lynn took a bite from her sandwich, she turned to Rory "Did you see what I posted on Tumblr?" She asked, beginning to chew on the oddly textured bite of the sandwich.
Rory nodded, trying to make their way through a semi-cold slice of rectangular pizza "Oh, yeah, I saw." They said before taking another bite from their food.
Finn chuckled, "How many likes did you get this time?" He asked, knowing Lynn was dying to talk more about her beloved Tumblr page.
"I got 20 likes." Lynn grinned from ear to ear. Rory nodded, continuing to chew on the bite they had previously taken. "Maybe you should post some of that poetry you write," Finn suggested, shrugging.
Lynn shrugged also, "Isn't it kind of boring?" She asked, fidgeting with her necklace. Rory finally managed to swallow the piece of pizza they had fought so hard to chew on. "Boring?" They frowned, "No way, Lynn, I like your poetry."
Lynn giggled and shrugged "I'll see then, thanks.." She nodded, looking around the cafeteria. Her eyes landed on another group of friends.
Lynn tilted her head at the sight "Hey, isn't that your brother?" She asked Rory, subtly pointing to the table where William, Paul, Erika, Polly, and Makayla all sat together.
Rory turned around and looked at them "Oh, yeah." They nodded before turning back to their food and continuing to fight with the slice of pizza.
Lynn's eyes remained fixated on the group of friends as if trying to analyze their dynamics just by looking at them.
William was struggling to eat a sandwich from the cafeteria, along with Paul who had grabbed a similar sandwich, curious as to how it was.
Erika watched the two in amusement, shaking her head "Are you sure you don't want some of my food?" She asked, pointing to her mashed potatoes, which although looked a little odd, definitely seemed better than a weird and chewy sandwich.
Paul shook his head "I will survive, I think." He said, making a military salute to the rest of the group before laughing. William looked at his girlfriend and nodded, grabbing a plastic fork and taking some of her mashed potatoes with it. "Thanks, beautiful." He said, with a smile.
Polly and Makayla weren't talking as much to the group, but mainly to each other, but Paul wanted to make them feel included regardless.
Paul put down the rest of his sandwich, "Polly, how's your dad feeling?" He asked, before taking a sip of his coffee - coffee he had taken from a vending machine.
Polly looked at him whilst playing with her food on her plate still "Oh, he's doing better somewhat." She said, nodding. "The doctor said that if he's lucky enough, they'll find him a liver donor soon." She explained.
Makayla looked at her with empathy shining in her eyes and a sense of appreciation for the girl sat next to her. "I bet he'll be okay." She said, leaning closer to Polly, gently rubbing her upper back.
Polly nodded, smiling "I think so, too." She said, kicking her feet slightly. Paul gave an agreeing hum, smiling at her "And then he'll be okay in no time." He added.
Makayla chuckled, nodding "And you, Paul, how's your dad doing?" She asked, leaning towards Polly while talking, her hair lightly hitting Polly's shoulder.
"Oh, he's great." Paul chuckled, shrugging. "He's been working late though, but he brought me a pizza last night, so that was awesome." He revealed, a smile forming on his lips.
Erika looked at him "Oh my god, I love pizza." She revealed, smiling widely. "I just didn't want to get the one from here because it just looks so odd.." She made a groaning noise, which made the rest of the group laugh.
Polly picked up the slice of tomato and cheese pizza from her plate with her hand and looked at Erika "This is what you're missing out on." She joked, holding it in front of Erika.
Erika recoiled, "Oh, lord, get that away from me." She immediately exclaimed, her eyes widened. Polly laughed, wiggling the slice of pizza in front of Erika "It's not going to hurt you, is it?" She teasingly asked.
Erika shook her head in disbelief, "I sure hope not." She said, still keeping her distance from the odd-looking slice of rectangular pizza that Polly was holding in front of her, against her will.
Polly laughed, putting the pizza down and away from Erika "Alright, you win, no more pizza for you." She teased. Erika rolled her eyes playfully "Definitely not that pizza, no."
Makayla leaned closer to Polly, looking at the slice of pizza "You know what, let me try that then." She chuckled, fidgeting with Polly's Star of David necklace.
Polly broke the slice of pizza with her hands, grabbing a portion of the slice and hand-feeding it to Makayla, who accepted it with no second thought.
Makayla struggled to chew on it for around 15 seconds before she swallowed and frowned "It's like eating tomato-flavored gum." She explained, shaking her head.
Polly laughed, leaning her head back, wrapping an arm around Makayla's shoulders after wiping her fingers clean with a tissue to not get Makayla's clothes dirty.
Paul reached for Polly's slice of pizza "I have to find out for myself." He chuckled, then broke a portion of it and put it in his mouth, beginning to chew. After a few seconds, he swallowed the pizza, scrunching his nose.
Paul frowned, "That's horrible." He revealed, his nose still scrunched up. Erika giggled "Then I'm definitely not trying this pizza.." She said, slightly pushing Polly's food further away from her.
Paul shook his head, "This isn't even a pizza, this is just a pizza you get from those weird scamming sites." He remarked, drinking the rest of his coffee to drown out the flavor of the pizza.
William laughed, crossing his arms "It can't be worse than this sandwich." He reached for Polly's pizza. Erika swatted his hand away "We need to survive, not willingly put ourselves in danger." She said, earning laughs from the group.
Minutes went by and lunch was over, and they needed to go to class now.
Hours went by, and as the last class was dismissed, Paul and William made their way out of the school, heading to where William had parked his mom's car. They waited for Rory to arrive while putting their backpacks in the car.
William turned to Paul after getting in the driver's seat, "I have to take Rory to a dentist appointment, want me to take you straight home or do you want to come with us?" He asked, putting on his seat belt.
Paul chuckled, "I'll join you guys, I don't mind." He said while putting on his seat belt.
While talking, Paul noticed someone familiar walk past the car and as he looked at them, he noticed it was Andrew.
Paul frowned in silence, his eyes fully fixated on Andrew. His mouth had gone dry and his heart was beating hard against his chest. William was now busy setting up the aux to put on some music, so he wasn't paying attention to whatever Paul was up to.
Paul's heart clenched with frustration as he watched the boy only distance himself further from the car. He couldn't shake away the feeling of Andrew's hand on his chin, the feeling of the smoke that Andrew exhaled right on his lips, the feeling of Andrew being so close to him as if nothing had ever happened between them.
Paul hesitantly looked away from Andrew and redirected his attention to William, who had now put on some music.
Paul chuckled as he heard the lyrics of the song, "Kesha?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Really, man?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.
William laughed "Hell yeah, man, she's like a guilty pleasure for me." He joked, punching Paul's shoulder gently. Paul shook his head and looked out the window, watching as Rory was making their way to the car.
"There's your sibling, man." Paul pointed out, making William look out the window at Rory. "Finally." William chuckled.
Rory hopped into the backseat, throwing their backpack next to them, "My teeth fucking hurt from that stupid pizza from the cafeteria." They said as soon as they closed the car door.
"Oh my god, tell me about it." Paul shook his head in disbelief, "It was like chewing a tire." He continued.
William chuckled, "Well, good thing you're going to the dentist." He said, starting the car "Seat belt on, Rory, I don't need to see you flying through the windshield when I hit the brakes."
Rory rolled their eyes but put on the seat belt, before reaching for the button that controlled the volume of the music from the aux and turning it up a bit. William started the car and began driving down the road.
Paul turned to Rory "I didn't know you also like Kesha." He remarked with a grin. Rory shrugged "I guess I got used to her because William won't stop putting her on whenever he drives." Rory flipped William off even if he wasn't looking at them.
William chuckled, "Fuck you too." He said, practically sensing the middle finger just by hearing Rory's complaints. "But Kesha is good, so if you don't like it, you can go to the dentist by walking," William added.
"Yeah, whatever." Rory rolled their eyes, shaking their head. They looked out the window, quietly stomping the floor of the car with their foot to the beat of the music.
After a 20-minute drive, they arrived at the Dentist's. Dr. Popescu was one of the best dentists in the city - He had been a dentist to Rory and William for 3 years now. Dr. Popescu usually called Rory 'Roy' as he liked how it sounded better, which Rory never complained about.
Rory, William, and Paul made their way inside the dental clinic and sat in the waiting room. It was Paul's first time in that clinic, he usually went to a different dentist.
As Paul looked around the waiting room, taking in his surroundings and analyzing them, he spotted a bunch of diplomas, which proved a high level of safety that Dr. Popescu could provide to his patients thanks to his experience.
After 10 minutes of waiting, Dr. Popescu walked into the waiting room, immediately shifting his focus to William and Rory, with a smile on his face.
"Hello Roy, and Will." He said as he threw his gloves into a nearby trash can and grabbed a new pair.
William waved with a tight-lipped smile and Rory got up, getting ready to go get their teeth checked. But Paul was the most confused one. Dr. Popescu seemed so.. Familiar. But he couldn't quite put his finger on where he knew him from.
The door to the clinic opened and in walked someone not even Paul could've expected to appear there.
"Hey, Andrei, how was school?" Dr. Popescu asked his son, Andrew, as soon as he walked in.
Andrew smiled, "Hey Dad, it was good." He responded, soon enough watching his dad leave with Rory. Andrew looked over at William and gave him a quick nod, but when he saw Paul, he paused entirely.
Paul and Andrew stared at each other for a few seconds in complete silence before Andrew looked away and rushed to a door, opening it. He made his way into the room that the door led to, before closing the door behind him.
Paul swallowed hard, his gaze still fixed on the door Andrew had just disappeared behind.
To escape your demons, you must face them. But can you really always do that?