***Ant’s POV***
“ANT PLEASE DON’T GO!”
“Mom,” I groaned, pushing her off of me. “I’m fine. Really. I can go to school.”
She sniffed and reached out, stroking my hair. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again. You’re my baby boy,” she whispered. Obviously someone hadn’t taken her pills today…
“Mom, I’ll be fine. I promise,” I said, forcing a smile. I didn’t want to go to school. I was beyond terrified. But I didn’t want my mom or Zane to worry about me.
“You call me if you want to come home. I’ll come pick you up Anthony. I promise,” mom said, pulling me into a tight hug.
“Okay mom,” I said, kissing her cheek. I knew she always worried about me, and now that I had gotten the shit beat out of me, she would be a wreck. I had to try to convince her that everything was fine.
I waved to her and left the house, trying not to clear my mind as I drove to school. My hands began to tremble violently as I got out of my car, locking it twice just to be safe. I put in one earphone, looking around suspiciously and trying to keep calm as I stuck close to a group of kids as I walked up the hill.
I entered the school and drifted towards a security guard as I looked around for Zane. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I was just being paranoid. They wouldn’t come after me again in front of all these people.
“Ant, how are you?”
I jumped and turned to face a concerned looking Zane. I forced a bright smile despite the bruises on my face and the fear in my heart.
“I’m fine!” I lied cheerfully.
He gave me a doubtful look but nodded. We walked down to the senior hallway together and he watched me as I put in my locker combination. I felt much safer now that I had Zane with me. He would never let anybody hurt me.
I turned and jumped back in shock, hitting my locker and groaning. “Collie, sneaking up on me and not saying anything is almost worse,” I grumbled.
Collie shrugged. “Whatever. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I lied again.
“You’re lying. So who did it to you, Ant? Anyone who’s friends with my brother?” Collie asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“No,” I said, working hard to keep my voice steady. “Collie, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I don’t care what you want or don’t want, Ant. The fact is, I can see it in your eyes. You’re afraid. But if you let Colin and I get the bastard who did this to you…” He shrugged again.
“Colin can’t,” I said, dropping my voice. “You know he can’t. You don’t want to risk his sexuality coming out, Collie.” In reality, I was just scared that Collie and Colin would get hurt if they went after those bastards.
Collie eyed me before shaking his head. “Whatever. Colin wanted me to tell you to go to the stage. Come on; I’ll walk you there.”
“I’ll find you first period Ant,” Zane said, patting my back and walking away towards his locker.
I followed Collie down the hallway to the stage. He opened the back door and let me in. I glanced at him curiously.
“Private meeting. I’m not invited.” He rolled his eyes. “Just walk straight and he’ll be there. I promise.” He shut the door.
Feeling afraid, I hurried down and relaxed when I saw Colin sitting against the wall. He stood up and hurried over to me, wrapping his arms around me.
“Are you okay Ant?” he asked.
“My mom told me you came over yesterday,” I said, kissing him deeply.
He pulled away from my lips and nodded, gently tracing his fingers over the bruises on my face. He frowned deeply and kissed me again.
“So, what’s up?” I asked, smiling at him. I felt better, and safer, in his arms.
He sighed and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure Collie’s talking to some guy. I…uh…” He blushed lightly. “I kind of went through his calls yesterday. But I guess it’s good he’s moving on from you. I would’ve felt bad dating the guy my brother liked. But with you, I can’t help but be selfish.”
“You’re too adorable!” I gushed, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.
“I’m going to keep an eye on you today, Ant. I won’t let anyone hurt you. And even if you don’t tell me who did it to you, I’ll find out. I have my ways, and Collie’s intimidating. I’ll keep you safe. I promise I will,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist.
I tried to keep my smile, but knew it was completely unbelievable. It wasn’t even myself that I was so worried about. It was Zane and Collie. If those guys hurt Zane and Collie, I would never forgive myself.
Maybe sneaking around with Colin was okay, as long as we were careful, but openly talking to Collie wasn’t safe anymore. I would have to stop talking to him in public if I wanted to protect him from Vance, Jake, and Drew.
Oh my god. What if they did go after Collie and hurt him? Not only I would never forgive myself, but Colin wouldn’t forgive me either. Collie was his fraternal twin. His little brother. The only one who fully understand what he was going through with his sexuality.
He loved Collie to death, and if Collie got hurt because of me, they would both hate me forever. I would hate myself forever.
No. No, I wouldn’t let Collie get hurt. Collie or Zane. I would cut-off ties with Collie, at least enough to convince Vance, Jake, and Drew that it wasn’t an act. Then I could just call Collie and explain everything to him afterschool.
“Ant? Come on. We better get to class,” Colin said as the warning bell rang.
I nodded and kissed him. “You go out the front of the auditorium. I’ll go out the side of it,” I said. I couldn’t risk being seen with Colin. Not right now.
Colin nodded and hugged me tightly before sneaking around to the front of the stage. I carefully exited out of the side of the auditorium and hurried to class.
When lunch time came around, I nervously glanced over at Colin’s table. Vance, Jake, and Drew were sitting there today, talking with the other kids at the table happily. I noticed, with disgust, that Drew was smiling pleasantly and talking to Collie.
“Ant, aren’t you going to eat?” Zane asked curiously.
“No. I’m not really hungry,” I mumbled, pushing my food away from myself. My stomach was twisted into nervous knots. I knew that soon, I’d have to pretend to get away from Collie. Plus, people kept staring at my bruised face and whispering. Today was just not my freaking day…
“Ant.”
I jumped and turned to face Collie. My eyes slid passed him and I gulped as I saw Vance shoot me a warning look. His gaze flickered to Zane and then back to me, the threat very clear.
I took a deep breath, preparing myself for this. Yes, it would hurt Collie at first. But I would call him tonight and let him know that it wasn’t serious.
“Leave me alone Collie!” I snapped.
He stared at me in surprise. “Ant, what’s wrong?” he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I smacked his hand off and narrowed my eyes at him. I ignored the fact that everyone at his table was now watching us curiously.
“Leave me alone! Don’t talk to me anymore!” I cried, standing up and shoving him away from me roughly.
Collie stumbled back a little, giving me an honestly hurt look. “Ant, what the hell? What are you doing?” he asked, struggling to sound angry instead of hurt.
“Leave. Me. Alone,” I hissed. “Don’t ever talk to me again Collier!” I roughly shouldered past him and left the cafeteria.
I hurried to the senior hallway, which was, thankfully, quiet. I sank down against my locker, chewing on my lip. I had to do it. It was the only way to keep Zane and Collie safe. Still, that hurt look in his eyes kept flashing through my mind.
“Ant?” Zane sat down next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. “Ant, what’s wrong? And don’t lie to me.”
I rested my head on his shoulder, my eyes watering. “I had to do it Zane,” I whimpered.
His expression darkened. “Whoever hurt you threatened to hurt Collie too, huh?”
I nodded and squeezed my eyes shut, wiping at a stray tear on my cheek. “Why can’t people just leave me alone, Zane?”
I tried to hold tough, but people just didn’t understand how much their words could hurt. It hurt worse than a beating. Bruises would fade. But words? Hell, the things people said to you were stuck in your brain forever. You would never forget them, not really. And once someone said something, they could never take it back.
Why was being homosexual so wrong? Who I loved wasn’t anyone else’s business. Why did people get to judge me just because of my sexuality? Why did being my sexuality give them the right to beat the shit out of me, emotionally destroy me, and threaten my friends?
Zane hugged me tightly. “Just tell me who it was Ant,” he begged.
I shook my head stubbornly, trying to get control of myself. I didn’t want people to worry about me. I was a big boy. I could handle myself. Ever since my dad had been killed in the accident, I had dealt with things by myself.
“Well, come on. The bell’s going to ring soon,” he said, standing up and offering me his hand.
I took it and he pulled me to my feet. I mentally groaned, realizing I had next period with Collie. I didn’t want to see his expression.
“Zane, I’m not going to go to my next class. Collie’s in it,” I mumbled.
“Then we can just leave school now. Come on, we can go get some Taco Bell,” he offered with a grin.
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get in trouble for skipping,” I said nervously.
“Ant Andrews, we’ve been best friends for three years. When have I ever picked school over Taco Bell?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I guess you’re right,” I said, laughing a little. “Let’s go.”
We gathered our stuff and left school out of the side doors. We went down the hill and got into my car. I drove the two of us to Taco Bell and we ordered and sat down together.
“Ant, if you ever want to talk about what happened yesterday…you know you can trust me. I just want you to keep that in mind,” Zane said once we had finished eating.
“Thanks Zane,” I said quietly.
We left and I dropped Zane off before driving myself home. I went inside and up to my bedroom since my mom wasn’t home from work yet. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Collie’s number.
“Hey, you’ve reached Collie. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you,” Collie’s voicemail announced.
I sighed and hung up the phone. I scrolled down my contacts and pressed Colin’s name, holding the phone to my ear as it started to ring.
“Ant,” Colin answered. “What the hell was up with you during lunch? Why did you snap at Collie like that?” He sounded like he was desperately trying to keep calm and patient with me.
“Colin, where is he? I need to talk to him,” I said.
“He went to Emma’s house. Why were you so mean to him?” Colin demanded. “You really upset him, Ant!”
“I had to do it Colin. I had to do it because-” I snapped my mouth shut, realizing that if I told Colin that Collie had been threatened, it wouldn’t take him long to put the pieces together and find out who had beaten me up. Homophobes who wanted Collie away from me. That, and the fact that Vance, Jake, and Drew hadn’t been at the table yesterday. Colin would put it together quick. Collie would, too, for that matter.
“Because why?” Colin pressed.
“Never mind,” I mumbled.
“No! Ant, that’s my little brother! Why did you snap at him?” Colin asked, starting to lose his patience. “Look, I don’t want to yell at you or get mad at you. But you really hurt Collie. He never gets that upset. Not even our parents have made him that upset.”
“Colin, do you trust me?” I asked.
“Yes, I trust you Ant. But you-”
“Then trust that I had my reasons,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” he asked. “Just tell me why you did it. Did he say something that upset you?”
“No. Just trust me Colin. Please,” I begged.
He hesitated. “Fine. I’ll trust that you had your reasons. But don’t do anything like that again, Ant. I don’t care if you have reasons. He’s my brother, and I hate seeing him that upset,” he said sternly.
“I know. I’m sorry,” I mumbled, feeling awful.
“Ant, can we just talk about this? Does it have something to do with whoever attacked you?” he asked.
“No and no,” I lied. “I have to go now Colin.”
“You’re lying! You do not have to go. Listen, my parents are going to be with friends tomorrow. Come home with us. We can pretend you’re coming home with Collie, not me. The three of us can talk about it and-”
“No,” I cried, afraid now. Vance, Jake, and Drew could not me see me going home with Collie and Colin. “No! I…I don’t want to hang out with you Colin! I don’t want to talk to you!”
I hung up my phone and threw it across my room. I buried my face in my hands, fighting back tears. I was making this so much worse, but I just didn’t know how to go about this situation correctly.
“I hate homophobes,” I moaned, pulling my hands way from my face. If it weren’t for the homophobia of Mr. and Mrs. Archer and the three guys that had attacked me, none of this would be happening. I would be in a happy, open relationship with Colin, and could be friends with Collie with no trouble.
I wiped at my eyes and pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. I couldn’t do this forever. I had to find a way to fix this whole mess without revealing who had attacked me, and without hurting the Archer twins anymore than I already had.
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A.N.- So a few people have already said yes to this, but do you guys want Collie to have his own story/spin-off? It would be about his love-life. Or I can just toss that into this story. Up to you guys :p