"Finally!" Christian exclaims giddily as we head out of the school. "Friday, the weekend. Being lazy and no school!"
"I thought you liked school," I poke at him.
He gasps, "I thought you knew me much better than that!" I shrug and take his hand as we continue to walk to my car. I seriously need to get a better parking space much closer to the actual school building, but I don't mind the walks with Christian everyday. The breeze flows through his brown hair, making him look infinitely more handsome. I love fall, especially when the weather compliments my boyfriend in every way possible. Sometimes I feel creepy thinking about and staring at Christian, but I kind of know for a fact he does the same exact thing sometimes. We only made it about halfway to my car before we get stopped by someone.
"Hey, Jay?" I hear a voice I never wanted to hear ever again.
"Luke. Hi," I say slowly and turn around to face him. I can see his shit eating grin budding already. Get ready for some bullshit, Jay, I tell myself.
"Heard you were a fag now. Couldn't believe it, until now. Is this your bitch?" He looked to Christian and Christian's grip on my hand tightened a lot. I grit my teeth so hard, I thought I would bust them.
"Do not disrespect him. I'm fucking warning you." He stood right beside some cars that were parked, from which about 5 more guys emerged. Guys I used to play baseball with. Guys I used to call friends. So this is the toxic taste people get in there mouth when they see despicable people.
"What are you going to do, Jay? Beat me up? You're outnumbered."
"Luke, why are you doing this? Is it because your mommy and daddy are high off their rocker so much that they don't pay attention to you, so you have to torture me to feel better? Like filling a void, isn't it?"
"You shut your fucking mouth, Wilson. This isn't about me and my fucked up life. It's about you and your fucked up fucklife."
"What do you have against love?" He smirks, that shit-eater.
"I'll show you love." He charges toward me with a raised fist, swinging it at my face. I duck down, dodging the blow, and come up with my fist into his chin, knocking him back. He lands his ass onto the asphalt, groaning because he probably bruised his tailbone.
"You and your little boyfriend are fucking dead!" He stands and the other 5 guys come at us as well. Two of the guys go past me, and I turn to go catch them to keep them away from Christian.
"Christian, RUN!" I shout, hoping he gets away, as I am caught off guard. I get kicked in the back of the legs, my knees caving and slamming hard into the road. The pain shoots all the way up my body, and I feel the blood pricking my kneecaps. I roll over from lying on my stomach for a moment, but the three guys pin me down. I kick one in the groin, I believe Tristan, making him jump back and groan in pain. Serves the fucker right. I look up at the grimaces of two of my old friends, Josh and Pete, as they hold me by my arms and lift me from the ground.
My eyes are blurring from the immense pain in my knees, but I see a crowd has formed around us. I hear Christian grunting in pain from hit after hit, the tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. Luke walks up to me slowly, readying his fist. He's a pitcher, so this is going to hurt like hell.
"Please let Christian go, please," I whimper, losing all dignity and hope at this point.
"Hmm, let me think, no." Then his fist is slammed into my nose. Holy shit. I hear the crowd yelling, cheering, booing, every sound available. Slam after slam, my face bleeding so hard I can't even smell the air, only blood. My vision is failing, and so is my mind.
This is what I get for being open about love...
I hear a sudden thud to the ground, followed by no more punches. Then I fall to the ground again, Josh and Pete being pummeled down. I can't open my eyes, it's too hard, but I know someone is saving me.
"Fuck all of you!" I hear a voice scream to the crowd. It's Quentin! Oh my God, my smol bean of a gay best friend. I am crying even harder now that I know he was here to save me. I hear Hector as well, saying things to the people they are fighting and to the crowd. I thought I heard girls grunting, but I'm not exactly sure, because I'm becoming unconscious. The last thing I hear is Christian screaming my name, and I finally white out.
~
"Jay. Jay, please wake up," a woman's voice says softly to me. My eyes creep open and a fluorescent light from the ceiling blinds me, making me groan.
"Just a little longer, I'm sleepy," I mumble through swollen lips.
"I know it's hard, but just try and wake up," she says and thankfully dims the light. I sit up, looking around and realizing I'm in the school infirmary. There are a few others sitting around on their beds, some lying down, and then I panic.
"Where's Christian?" I ask.
"I know you are worried about him. He is fine, but right now we need to worry about your injuries." She asks me a few questions, basic motor operations and reflex tests. Once she is done, she begins typing things into her computer.
"Can I look in the mirror?" I ask.
"Yes, you may use the bathroom as you wish." I stand and walk to the restroom, passing a few people that were also in the fight, but I don't see Christian. I see Luke, who actually sends me a friendly wave and a soft smile. Fuck that guy, there is no way I am forgiving him. I shoot literal fucking explosive flaming swords toward him with my stare and turn away, continuing on to the bathroom. I close the door behind me quickly, sending a prayer up to gay heaven that this is a single person bathroom.
I lock the door, and realize I have to piss really bad. Once I finish that, I wash my hands and look at my busted mug in the mirror. At least I still look okay. That is a fucking lie. I look like the loser of a MMA fight. I basically was, to be quite honest. Small adhesive bandages on my face, a weird makeshift thing on my nose, which feels broken but apparently isn't, and dark red swollen lips. I have cloth wrapped around both of my knees, which are slightly stained red. I can't believe I let this happen to me, and to Christian. Panic swells inside of me as I remember him being out there somewhere. I rinse the dry blood off of parts of my face and hands, then leave the bathroom. I make my way back to my bed.
"Hey, is it okay if I go and find my boyfriend?" I ask the nurse.
"Of course, just please do not start anymore fights, okay?"
"Wait, I didn't start the first fight, is that what people think?"
"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. We are aware of it being Luke and his friends. Just please behave yourself. Also, you must stay here until your parent arrives."
"How long was I knocked out?"
"Near a half hour. But you are okay, no brain damage or anything."
"Thank you so much," I say and walk away, scanning the room for Christian. I walk past a few of the guys that were in the fight, none of them looking as bad as I did. It makes me livid, and I wanted to screw up there faces a bit to get even, but I was too worried about Christian to stop. There were curtains around each bed, so I had to peek in every one of them until I spotted him. Finally, I stop at one of the beds and see Christian sitting up talking to the nurse that was with him. He glanced over at me standing here and immediately leaped mid-conversation, running to me and hugging me.
"Oh my God, you look awful..." he says with a somber face. I cup his cheek, the one that isn't riddled with bruises. His eyes gloss over at the sight of me, but he looks pretty spent as well. His nose is, also, wrapped up and looks broken. He has one eye blacker than the other, but both are pretty swollen and almost shut. His lips are a little swollen, but they still look delicious enough to kiss. And seeing him like this just made me want to do it more to ease his pain.
"You look pretty terrible, too," I say and we both chuckle.
"Is anything broken?" he asks.
"No, you?"
"Thankfully, no." We hug in the middle of the chaos and I feel safe and okay for the first time since I became conscious again. "God I want to kiss you right now," he whispers. "I feel so bad about this whole thing happening. I just want you to hold me."
"We will, later. You can stay at home with me tonight, okay?"
"Okay, I love you," he says, like it is nothing. I feel like he shouldn't love me, I don't deserve it. Those damn baseball guys were my friends, and it was me who is gay and got Christian caught up in my bullshit. I secondhand got him hurt, and I can't seem to forgive myself for it.
"I'm sorry about all of this, and I love you more," I say and we let go of each other. We sit down on his bed together, while the nurse checks a few more things. After a few minutes of silence and us just holding hands and worrying, the principal walks in.
"Hello Christian, Jay. I'm seeing a lot more of you lately."
"Sorry, sir, I swear this is completely unrelated," I try explaining but he holds a hand up, silencing me.
"Don't worry. I know the situation, and I just wanted to come and apologize for this happening to the both of you. This kind of thing should never happen on this campus, but it did. I hate that you are being so harshly discriminated. It makes me sick to see how hurt you boys must be, inside and out, and that other students did this because they are insecure or homophobic."
"Th-thank you, Mr. Nolan. That means a lot. I just don't understand the violence. What provokes them to be so cruel to us? Like we're fucki- sorry, like we're animals!"
"I'm so sorry, and I hope you both will be okay. The school will cover any possible expenses, to make up for it."
"But it wasn't your damn fault!" Christian says. "Those guys, they need to be punished for this, they should pay for this. Their parents should be liable, if you ask me."
"They are, and they will all be suspended next week. For now though, I'd like for you to avoid them and wait for your parents to arrive. I know you both drove here, but we need for them to be here for liability purposes."
"Is that why you are apologizing? For liability purposes? So, what, we don't sue you for unsafe school atmosphere?" I spit at him.
"Trust me, I am deeply remorseful in this entire situation," Mr. Nolan explains, his eyes glistening as I watch him speak. "But yes, it would be very nice if the school didn't suffer for this."
"Trust us when we say that it isn't the school's fault. These... immature children that think beating up gays is manly, its their fault."
"Well, I believe you have some visitors, so I'll see you two later." Mr. Nolan gives us a reassuring smile and steps out. Then Quentin, Hector, Rosie, and Kelsey all walk in, their fists bandaged.
"Hey," Quen says when he sees me. I open my arms and allow him to hug me, which prompted him to begin crying.
"Hey, I'm okay, man." He stands again and rests his head against Hector's shoulder, which warmed my heart.
"Rosie and Kelsey helped me, Jay. If you didn't know why they were here," Christian explains. I give them a big hug.
"Thank you for saving him, I'm a loser who was getting his face beaten in."
"They had a serious hold on you, Jay. You shouldn't feel bad," Rosie says very sweetly to me.
"Yeah, those stupid fucks and their straight boy brains don't know when to stop," Kelsey jokes and we all laugh.
"A room full of queers," I say with a big cheeky grin, finally feeling 100% sheltered for once. We all talk and laugh, trying to lighten the mood as much as possible. Kelsey and Rosie dance around, I make Quen and Hector kiss and we all watch giggling, and I just try to enjoy a few normal moments before things become inevitably more complicated. Eventually, my mom shows up and everyone decides they will leave. I feel a little disappointed and say goodbye to everyone, but Mom hugging me made me feel better.
"I'm so glad you two are okay, I've been so worried all the way here. I heard the whole story already, I'm so sorry!" She hugs both me and Christian tightly.
"I think we're okay, we've had a little while to cool off, but my face really hurts." Mom is crying and I keep telling her not to worry. I know she is just feeling like she should be doing more, but I assure her everything is alright. "Is it okay if Christian stays the night?" I ask.
"Of course, if that would make things better for both of you."
"Thank you, Ms. Wilson," Christian says. "I guess we wait for my dad."
"Are you on good terms with him?" Mom asks.
"We're wonderful," Christian smiles.
"I guess I finally get to meet him again." I see the look of nervousness flush over her face. I rub her shoulder in comfort, knowing it's going to be weird for her. I'm glad I forgot about Christian in a way, because it wasn't as awkward to become reacquainted. Soon, Ethan walks into the infirmary and finds us.
"Christian, Jay, you guys are okay. Thank God, I was so worried on the way here that you guys would be horribly disfigured or something!" Ethan hugs us.
"We are okay, Dad. Thanks for coming. I'm ready to leave!" Christian says impatiently and Ethan laughs.
"Impatient as ever, but you get it from me. Jay, you doing okay?"
"I'm fine, Ethan. Thank you."
"Jay," Mom gasps, "don't address him by his first name, that is rude and disrespectful."
"No it's not, Mom. That's what he told me to call him! Stop embarrassing me!"
"So this is your mother, Jay?" Ethan asks me and, at this point, I really don't care if he gets mad. If he finds that my Mom being an old girlfriend is weird, it won't change anything between Christian and I.
"Yes sir," I respond.
"Ethan, it's nice to see you again," Mom says like a badass. A long silent moment passes as he stares into her eyes.
"I have no idea who you are," Ethan says and I choke on my water.
"Are you kidding me?!" Mom says in a loud tone.
"What, was I supposed to know who you are?" he asks defensively, backing away from my Mom as her eyes flicker with yellow demon light.
"Erica, your ex-girlfriend. 14 years ago!"
"Look, Erica. I don't know why you expect me to be so adamant about this, it's been 14 years!" Mom cools off and sits back down.
"We were engaged, for about six months. Then we broke up, because you are immature human filth."
"Hey now," he says, "I may be immature, but at least I'm not uptight and bossy. Holy shit, I remember you now. Ha! That attitude is unmistakable." Mom's eyes light up a bit as Ethan lifts her from the chair and hugs her. "I know this is awkward, but I remember you now and I'm so happy to see you."
"It's good to see you, too, I guess." She plucks his arms away from her sides and he gives her a poor grin.
"So, how is Jay?" I facepalm.
"Are you serious?" she asks. "He is right there, you dimwit!"
"Oh. Ohhhh!! Well this is so coincidental and weird, isn't it?"
"Not really, you are the only one who didn't know," I say. "I would've told you, but I didn't know how you would react and I liked that you liked me for who I was. I didn't want the fact that I was almost your stepson to put you off." He surprises me with a hug, and I melt into his fatherly embrace.
"I understand, Jay. I'm not upset. It's so cool to meet you, after all these years."
"Sitting right here!" Mom says, making me chuckle.
"You, too! I didn't forget about you, I promise. At least, not again."
"Well, we should probably get going, what do you all say?" Mom says, rising from her seat. We all agree and head to the door to check out. While they are signing us out at the desk, I hear someone whisper my name. I turn around and see Luke peeking over his curtain. I ignore him, but then he gets louder.
"Fine, I'm coming! Shut the fuck up!" I say in a loud whisper. I make my way over to him, keeping about three feet between us.
"I just want to apologize for everything. I was wrong. You should be happy with who you are. What you said about my parents hurt me, but it made me realize that you're right. I need to stop filling the void in my heart with the pain of others and fill it with love I've denied myself of."
"You really wanted me to come over here just to hear a bullshit speech about your sad life? You just beat me the fuck up! You think I'm going to accept your apology and we can be besties? Hell no."
"I know that, I just wanted you to know that I am sorry, for the record. Whether it means anything to you or not. I wish I had a relationship like you do with your boyfriend, of course, with a girl instead. I promise I'm not homophobic, but I'm also not gay either."
"Yeah, I know there's a difference. You don't have to explain it to me. Listen, I have to go, stay out of my life, but good luck figuring your shit out. I've got mine mostly figured out. I pity you, but that's all you get from me is pity. You're dead to me, Luke Dickhead."
"It's Dixon! Whatever, I'll see you around?"
"No! What the f–" I cut myself off and walk away, not even wasting another breath and that asshole. In the story of my life, Luke is a deleted character. So are my other so-called "friends". I meet Christian and our parents at the desk and we finally leave this depressing scene.
At home, Christian and I are intensely monitored by Mom, making sure we are well and that there is nothing wrong. It's nice to know she is worried about us, but I want some privacy. I just want to snuggle my man, leave me alone, Mom!
<~~chapter end~~>
this one was long, omg!!
my eyes hurt, oh well