"I told you that fighting was a bad idea, Declan, but did you listen to me? No, you didn't. Now look at us."
"What are you talking about? We won! Be happy."
"I'm more in pain than happy."
"It will get better soon. For now, be grateful. We are in one piece and Greg and his little friends won't bother you anymore," I exclaimed out loud, proud of myself and I was sure that Joshua was rolling his eyes at me.
Joshua and I were currently on his scooter. Joshua was driving me home now that we finished kicking his friends' asses. Okay, to be honest, I received some serious hard blows here and there and it really hurt like hell but it did not matter as we were alive and of course, the ones who won the fight.
It was extremely hard to do so though. Greg, like a scaredy-cat, mostly stepped back and watched the whole fight. The boy was near the verge of tears over his broken nose. I seriously wondered what Joshua like so much about him. I did not know much about Greg but I already guessed that he was an ass. He basically had the words 'bad news' written over his forehead.
Well, to sum it all, it was Greg's four friends that did most of the job. They were slow with theirs punches but as we all know unity is strength so it was easy for them to outnumber us and attack us more efficiently. Besides, they were football players and football players normally had muscles which they use to push people and act like bad boys.
The fight was basically like this; while one of them grabbed my arms, making me stay still, another one was punching me in the face like if I was a punching ball. I did not know how many punches and kicks I got in all. My assailant was not gentle and I received blows in nearly all the places of my body. It was, sadly, the same for Joshua.
The poor one.
I nearly regretted to have made him fight with me. I saw him with my own eyes getting hit violently. I saw the way his expression turned into a painful one and the blood getting out of his mouth. He already got hurt before and they were hitting him all over again in places that were still in pain. Seeing this scene boosted my mood and made me more furious than ever, to the point that I succeeded to get out of my assailant's grip and beat both of them before going to help Joshua.
In the end, they were all lying on the ground in pain. And concerning Greg, I made sure to punch him a few more times and he couldn't do anything at all to save himself. It was actually Joshua who stopped me in my attack thus preventing me from hurting Greg too much. It was then that I saw a familiar face getting out of the building and that person was Mr Harold.
Of course, Joshua and I immediately ran away at the sight of him. It was hard for both of us to run when our bodies were suffering like hell but being in pain was better than having to face Mr Harold's wrath. Much to my joy, Joshua informed me that he had a scooter and now here we were, both sat on the engine making our way home.
I could feel a little amount of blood slowly going down from my bottom lip which proved to me that it got cut during the fight. I could taste the blood in my mouth. My teeth seemed to be intact though. My nose was not broken thankfully. But about my face, I knew that it was not so great to the sight. It would surely be swollen in a few hours. I did not know if something else was broken with me but I was sure to discover it later.
I could sense a painful night waiting for me.
"Declan," Joshua said and I replied with a simple 'yeah', observing everything around me. Joshua was not driving too fast so I could feel a small breeze touching my skin. "Let's not fight again. I think that if I receive one more punch, I will cry for the rest of my life."
"I wasn't planning on fighting again. I got my share amount of blows for the day," I told him.
"Same. They gave me a whole lifetime of punches and kicks. Tonight is going to be for sure a very rough night," he said, "I need to take some medicines for the pain and a cold bath as soon as I get home. It's a good thing that I will be alone tonight."
Alone?
Why would he be alone? Where would be his parents? Did he have brothers or sisters? These were the type of questions that came to me but before I could voice them out, Joshua spoke again.
"Won't you get any trouble at home for fighting?" he asked me and I huffed. The boy really did not know my family.
"My parents won't care at all," I told him honestly and he paused.
"It's hard for you at home?" he wondered out loud and I nodded despite the fact that he could not see me.
"Yep," I gave him a simple answer and he did not say anything else about it. It remained silent for some minutes before I decided to say something, "Will you be okay tomorrow for your detention? Or do you need me to wait for you after school?"
"I'll be good. You don't have to worry," he reassured me but I was not one hundred percent sure.
"But will you manage with those little rats?" I questioned.
"You are finding new names to describe them as time passes," he joked before adding, "But didn't you say that now they are no longer going to treat me like a punch bag?"
"I did but-"
"But nothing. Don't worry about them. After what we did to them I don't think that they will dare to hurt any of us so soon. They seemed to be really suffering when we left them. Even Greg seemed like he wanted to cry," Joshua said and I chuckled.
"I still can't believe that you like that guy," I told him.
"Liked. Honestly, I don't really feel anything for him anymore. He succeeded to make me dislike him in a matter of days," he admitted and I made a sound of approval, "But Declan, thank you for defending me. I won't forget it."
"No problem," I told him just as he slowed down his scooter.
"Where is your house again?" he asked me, looking around.
"Just turn to the left, it's along the next street," I replied and he did as I instructed him to. Once my house was in sight, I told him where to stop and I got off the scooter, removing the helmet that he gave me before returning it back to him.
"Good thing that I always keep a spare one with me," Joshua said, referring to the helmet which he hanged around his hand. He looked at me with a grimace, "You have an ugly face."
"You clearly haven't looked at yourself in a mirror," I retorted, examining his face which was worse than before. I could now say that he got two black eyes and the blue and violent marks on his face weren't too good to the sight. His cheeks seemed to be scraped and that could have only been cause by something sharp or hard. I frowned, now realizing it.
"Actually, I did look at myself in a mirror," Joshua said, pointing to one of the side mirrors of his scooter. "Fuck Scott and his stupid ring! He did not even bother to remove it before punching me. Now look at what he did to my beautiful face."
I chuckled. So that explained how his cheeks got like this. I looked in the direction of my house and said to Joshua, "I'll see you tomorrow. I need to go take care of myself and lie down for some time. I really need it."
"Okay. See ya, Declan," Joshua told me goodbye. He started the engine and flashing me one last smile, he started to drive away. Letting out a sigh, I turned around and walked towards my house.
I could feel the muscles of my body tense as I walked. I must say that it was a long time since I last got in a real fight. My body kind of forgot the pain. Now it was aching.
When I reached the front door, before I could open it, the door opened and the face of an angel appeared right in front of me.
"Declan! What happened to you?" Pierre exclaimed in disbelief, looking at me in complete horror. I smiled widely despite the aching feel that it caused to my cheeks.
"Love," I said happily just as my dad appeared behind Pierre.
"What happened to your face?" my father questioned with a frown.
"I got in a fight," I simply replied to him before giving my attention back to my love.
"You fought with someone. Are you crazy?" Pierre exclaimed once again, touching my face and I immediately pulled away.
"Don't touch, it hurts," I told him, "And I did not fight with someone. They were four in all and it was hell."
"You ah!" Pierre groaned and he gave me a look which said that he wanted to slap me in the face but thankfully, he did not do it. Instead, he looked back at my dad, "Do you have a first aid kit?"
"I have one in my bathroom," I replied before my dad could say something and Pierre grabbed my arm.
"Take me to your room then, I will take care of your bruises while you tell me more about your fight, you ignorant child," he said, dragging me inside of the house. He then glanced at my dad, "Bring me some packs of ice in his bedroom. I will need it."
I was surprised by Pierre's words and my dad too seemed to be surprised. It was also clear on his face that my dad did not like the idea of Pierre and I being alone in my room but strangely, he did not protest nor say anything. He simply nodded and went away, probably going in the kitchen to get the ice.
"My bedroom is upstairs," I told Pierre, trying to hide my happiness and he pulled me towards the stairs. When we passed in front of the living room, I took a glance of my mom taking some empty glasses from the small glass table to place them on a tray. I immediately guessed that it must have been Pierre and my parents who used those glasses to drink when they were having their 'talk' about me.
We arrived at the top of the stairs and I showed Pierre my bedroom in which he quickly pushed me in without any care. I let my bag fall on the floor and went in the bathroom to get the first aid kit while my love remained back and observed my bedroom. Funny thing, I always wanted him to come here and now here he was ready to take care of me.
"What did you do to get in a fight? Your parents told me that you got a detention," Pierre said, coming to stand in front of the door of the bathroom just as I removed the first aid kit from the cupboard that I had. I was not surprised that my parents knew about the detention. The high school must have called them to inform them.
"Don't talk to me with such a scolding tone, love," I pouted and he snatched the first aid kit out of my hand. I leaned against the sink while Pierre opened the aid kit to search for what he needed. "And why do you need a first aid kit anyway? I'm not so hurt. The ice will be enough."
"Your face is bleeding if you didn't know," he said angrily, "Just look at yourself in the mirror."
I frowned and turned around to look at myself in the mirror behind me. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw the small cuts on my cheeks, they were a little bit like Joshua's. I did not even realize that my cheeks were being scraped during the fight. And the blood dripping down my face, I actually thought that it was sweats.
I did feel kind of hot when I was fighting earlier.
And Joshua could have told me that I was bleeding, the idiot.
I suddenly received a slap on my arm and I hissed, "Love, I received more blows than I can count and I just realize that an asshole cut my face so please avoid hitting me."
Pierre sent me a glare and took out a packet of cotton-tipped swabs from the aid kit which he then placed to the side, "Rinse your face a little bit. I will apply the cotton-tipped."
I instantly obeyed to my love's order while he opened the cupboard from where I removed the first aid kit to look inside of it. I heard him make a sound of approval to himself and when I looked at him, I saw him removing a small bottle of alcohol that I kept just in case. He opened the bottle and took one of the cotton-tipped and slowly drown one of its end in the alcohol.
"I need to disinfect the cuts. This is going to burn," he told me before pressing the cotton-tipped against my cheek and I hissed at the burning sensation.
"Be more soft, love," I complained but he did not listen to me.
"You searched for it," he said angrily, "Now tell me what happened."
"Ah! Okay," I said, trying to not mind the burning sensation that I was feeling, "It's about this boy, Joshua. At lunch, he came talk with me and declared that he wanted to be my friend."
"You became friend with Joshua Lance," Pierre said and he looked surprised.
"Yeah, somehow I did," I said with a sigh, "I know that it seems unbelievable for me to have a friend but-"
"No, it's not unbelievable," he protested, shaking his head, "You have the right to have a friend like everyone else. I'm happy that you got one, really. I just did not expect this friend to be Joshua Lance."
"You know him?" I asked Pierre.
"Oh I know who he is but I never really talked with him before. I only saw him a few times outside of the high school. I know his mom very well though. She comes to do benevolent from time to time and she talks a lot about Joshua. He seems like a good son," he informed me and I hummed.
"He is gay," I spited out and a gasp escaped my love. He stopped what he was doing with the cotton-tipped and looked at me with wide eyes.
"W-what?" he stammered and I wanted laugh at his face but I succeeded to contain my laughter.
"He is gay," I repeated, "He told me so himself."
"But his mom told me that he got a girlfriend the last time I talked to her," he said in disbelief.
"When was it?" I questioned.
"About one month ago," he replied, unsure of himself.
"Well, I don't know about that. He must have broke up with her and he was probably just dating that girl to not raise any suspicions about his sexual orientation," I told him and he seemed lost for words.
"I can't believe it," he admitted before adding, "But why would he even hide that he's gay and make people think that he likes girls?"
That was the dumbest question that Pierre could ever ask.
"Pierre, isn't it obvious?" I had to prevent myself from raising my voice, "My parents hate me, my siblings don't even talk with me and most people here think that I'm the devil incarnated. I don't think that anyone wants to have that type of life. People here are just so closed minded. It's impossible to be yourself without being judged."
Pierre stared at me, not saying anything. He lowered his gaze and bit his lip. Without looking at me in the eyes, he returned to disinfecting my cuts.
"Joshua was getting bullied by some guys," I continued my little story, "Well, those guys were supposed to be his friends but they did not like to learn that Joshua was gay so they beat him. Joshua did not want to do anything about it but I could not let that continue so I went to talk with them and we ended up all fighting."
"Did you get bullied before?" Pierre asked me, finally meeting my eyes.
"I did," I replied, "But my bullies don't come after me anymore. I took care of them and now they leave me alone."
My love hummed and he took another cotton-tipped from the first aid kit and drown it once again in alcohol. I stared at his face as he started to press it against my other cheek.
"I don't know what to tell you," he finally admitted, "Honestly, I'm still not okay with the fact that you like guys or me more particularly but people shouldn't treat you like this. Joshua or any other gay guys shouldn't have to live through all of this."
"It has always been like this," I informed him, "And it's not about to change."
"I'm sorry. I did not know, it's.." he did not finish his sentence, "I always thought that people are treated in the way that they deserve. I thought that everyone was harsh with you because they wanted you to change for the better. Harsh words seemed to be the solution for you to realize that you are in the wrong."
"That's stupid," I told him.
"I know," he said, "I realized it recently. What an idiot I am! You are not so bad. You are nice to me, you defended a boy that you barely know and I'm sure that you have so much more to offer so people should not be so horrible to you. There are better ways to make someone change."
"It never came to your mind that I did not want to be changed," I murmured but the way the body of Pierre tensed told me that he heard me but before he could say something, someone cleared his throat. We both turned our head to the side to see my dad standing near the door with three packs of ice in his hands.
"Oh," Pierre said, placing the cotton-tipped to the side. Once that done, he went to take the ice packs from my dad, "Thank you."
My father nodded, "When you are over with him, come down so that I can drive you home, Pierre." He then glanced at me, "We'll talk about your behavior later, Declan."
Great! I was so not impatient for that.
Giving us both one last glance, my dad left and Pierre walked towards me. He took one pack of ice and pressed it gently against the bruises on my cheek. I let out a breath at the cold feeling.
"I need to lie down," I told my little angel and he nodded, removing the ice on my cheek. He was going to say something but before he could, I took off my shirt and threw it on the ground carelessly. Pierre's mouth remained wide open as well as his eyes and I smirked, "What? You never saw a boy shirtless before?"
"I-I..." his eyes gazed slowly over my chest and he gulped, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment. God, it was so easy to get him in the most uncomfortable position. I passed by him with a smirk still on my face. I made sure to pass as closed to him as possible and he stepped back immediately, hitting against the wall behind him.
"Bring the ice," I told him with a chuckle. I went to my bed and slowly laid down on my back, closing my eyes. After some seconds, I felt someone's presence beside me.
"Three packs of ice won't be enough," I heard Pierre say as he placed the ice on my bruises. In the end, I had one pack of ice pressed against my cheek by my hand and the two others on my chest.
"It's okay," I said, trying to relax.
"You should just move the ice around from time to time," he paused for one second, "And don't forget to change the ice."
"I know, love. It's not the first time that I treat bruises," I reminded him.
"Oh okay," he said with a sigh, "I should probably go. My parents must be wondering why I am taking so long. I will ask your mom to bring more ice for you and some medicines for the pain. I did not find anything of the sort in the first aid kit nor in your cupboard."
"Stay," I told him, opening my eyes, "I didn't get to talk to you enough."
"You won't get to talk to me again if I don't return home immediately," he said, touching the back of his neck.
"Five minutes," I pleaded him, "I'm hurt."
He rolled his eyes and looked at the door which my dad had, of course, left wide opened. He hesitated for some seconds before finally giving in. He sat down next to me on the bed.
"I'm giving you only five minutes," he said, looking around the room, "I'm counting the seconds."
"Of course, you are," I chuckled and I stared at the ceiling, "So, what did you talk about with my parents?"
"You," he replied and he looked down, "But I'm guessing that that's not what you want to know." I nodded slowly and Pierre seemed to think, "My arrival surprised them but politely they took me to the living room. I was served some juice by your mom. It was really good."
"Is it me or are you turning around the bush?" I asked him, "Don't forget that I have only five minutes."
"Four minutes and half seconds now," he corrected me, "But if you really want to know, I told them about what truly happened after church and they apologized to me even though, I was not searching for any apology. They did not seem to understand what I was trying to tell them."
"I'm not surprised," I told him honestly.
"Well, I asked them to be nicer to you but according to them, it's you who is at fault," he explained and I mentally cursed, "They told me a lot of things actually. They said that they did everything for you but it seemed to never be enough and that you are ruining the whole family but you don't even care."
"I changed my mind. I don't want to hear anything," I told Pierre but he did not stop.
"Let me finish," he scolded me and I sighed, tired of everything, "I never said that I believe them if it is what you are thinking. I can think for myself and I made my own assumptions about all of this."
"What did you think about exactly?" I questioned.
"I don't know if what your parents said is true or just a complete lie but I have always been told to believe in what I feel is right and I chose to believe in you," he told me, "I still need to get to know you better and the only way to do that is to give you a chance to explain yourself as well as to prove to me that what people say about you is wrong."
I looked at him in shock. I did not expect him to say that. My love was always surprising me in the most unexpected ways. I wondered what he had planned for me next.
"I love you," I let out and he gave me an incredulous look.
"Great, you ruined the moment," he said and I chuckled, "Can't you let a day go without having to remind me of your feelings?"
"No," I said, touching his cheek, "I love you."
"Okay, that's enough," he stated, standing up and I grabbed his hand, letting the ice pack fall on the bed beside my head, "Declan, I really need to go."
"When will I see you again?" I asked him and he sighed.
"Tomorrow at the high school," he replied.
"When will I talk to you again?" I formulated my question in a better way.
"I already told you that we needed to wait a little bit more. I will send you a text as soon as I think that we can talk," he told me before adding with a smile, "You have a friend now. You won't feel so bored. It's only for the week."
"I will miss you," I gave him a small pout and he rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that you will miss me too. Don't deny it."
"Goodbye, Declan," he said and he advanced towards the door, his hand slowly slipping from mine. He stopped right in front of the door and looked back at me, "I guess that I will miss your attitude."
"My attitude?" I repeated in disbelief and he nodded, a smile appearing on his face, "Really? That's the only thing that you will miss about me?"
"You should feel happy," he said and I was confused, "As surprising as it may seem, I like your attitude and not having you around will be different but not a good different."
Did he just tell me in his own way that he was going to really miss me?
"Bye, Declan, Please get better and don't fight again," he told me before walking away. I let out a laugh.
I really love this guy.
***
Chapter 15 is here!
I hope that you all like it. This chapter is dedicated to ridridrid. Thank you so much for reading and commenting :D
Sorry for the errors in the chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment and I hope that you have a fantastic day!...or night!