Ralph woke up to his aunt's dog barking outside his door. He dragged himself off of his mattress and wrapped a smaller blanket around himself. It was neering mid November and Ralph couldn't wait for the snow. The house was now colder in the mornings and evenings. The chill made him smile softly.
As he opened the door, he was knocked over by the large creature. His paws pinned his shoulders down as he licked all over Ralph's face.
"Bruno, stop." Ralph laughed, using his legs to roll himself over. Once his ear was exposed he knew he'd made a bigger mistake. Bruno nibbled and licked over his ear, making Ralph shriek and squirm away.
"Ralph dear, please hurry. The bus will be here in twenty minutes!" His aunt called. Ralph quickly shut his bedroom door to get changed into his uniform.
He clomped down the stairs while pulling on his jacket. He never slept this late, but maybe it was because he spent most of the night and early hours of the morning reading a novel.
"Sorry that I'm up so late," he said while shoving half a piece of toast in his mouth. He chewed it quickly and swallowed it while rushing with his nice shoes.
"Don't scuff those up, Ralph," his aunt warned."I haven't got the money to buy you new shoes."
"Yes, Ma'am." Ralph said, grabbing his notebooks. "I'll see you after school!" he calls as he rushes out the door. The bus is already waiting there with the school's name printed in black bold letters. Ralph climbs on and cautiously makes his way to the back seat, resting his head against the cool glass. He was undoubtedly tired and all he wanted to do was climb back into bed and go to sleep. He didn't understand how he could be tired all day but so restless during the night. It made no sense to him.
Ralph's head shot up when he felt someone sit next to him. He looked over to see Jack smiling warmly at him. Ralph smiled back, greeting him with a quiet, "Good morning."
"You look awfully tired," Jack said. Ralph nodded and went back to resting his head on the window. "Did you get any sleep last night?" Jack was genuinely concerned about the smaller boy. Jack gently took Ralph's hand, lacing their fingers together. Ralph shrugged his shoulders. All his energy was used to get dressed and drag himself on the bus. Jack sighed, knowing that Ralph was probably only asleep for an hour before he was woken up.
"I don't want to go to school," Ralph mumbled sleepily. His voice was soft, almost a whisper.
"You can nap at my house after," Jack offered. "Or I'll do the work in psychology today and you can rest?"
Ralph nodded his head and pulled his knees up to his chest, pulling Jack's hand closer to his stomach. Jack smiled at the tired boy, admiring how adorable he looked curled up on the bus seat. Jack unzipped his jacket as quietly as he could and gently took it off, leaving his hand in a sleeve so that he wouldn't wake Ralph. He laid his jacket on Ralph, cooing softly when Ralph snuggled into it.
***
Ralph's heart was pounding in his chest. He was crashing through the bushes as he tried to escape. He could almost feel them grabbing at his legs, the shouts and hoots were all around him. The fire licked at his arms and chest, burning his skin. If he didn't die by the hunters, he would certainly burn to death. At that moment, he thought burning would be better than getting caught in the hands of Jack and his savages.
"I've found him!" He heard Roger, his leg was grabbed and suddenly, he was being dragged out of his hiding place. Above him stood the hunters, with evil in their eyes and crooked smiles on their faces. He couldn't even recognize them anymore. They were painted and cut up. They looked like true monsters.
***
"Ralph, wake up." Jack panicked, gently pushing at the boy's shoulders. Ralph woke with a start, jumping away from Jack. He was shaking with fear. "Hey, are you okay?" Jack reached for him, but drew his hand back when Ralph winced.
"S-sorry." Ralph said, trying to keep himself calm. "I had a bad dream but I'm okay now." Jack nodded his head, skepticism written on his features. Ralph handed Jack his coat and they quietly exited the bus. Ralph held his books tightly to his chest as they walked through the over crowded hallways of the high school. Psychology was on the first floor, near the cafeteria, making Ralph a little happier. Ralph didn't want to talk to Jack after having that dream, but he didn't want to just leave him. It didn't make him a good friend, at least that's what he thought.
"Ralph, are you sure you're alright?" Jack asked, placing a hand on Ralph's shoulder. Ralph awkwardly shuffled away, nodding his head. This made Jack's chest ache. He knew something was up with the boy, but he didn't want to push him too much in case he decided he didn't want to be Jack's friend anymore.
But were they friends after they'd kissed?
Ralph put his head in his hands. He thought about telling Jack his dream, but he didn't want to drone on about how scared he was on the island. It seemed that Jack had gotten over it, so he thought that it was in his best interest to get over it aswell.
The psychology teacher droned on during the lesson, encouraging the students to take notes because most of the material "would be on the test". This made Ralph and Jack groan. They, like any other student, despised tests. They knew what they were talking about, they participated in class, they even got high nineties on their projects. To them, they didn't think that a test would be necessary.
***
"Ralph, you can either pay attention or leave." Mr. Jackson, one of the three history teachers in the high school, snapped harshly at the fair boy. Ralph stared at the older man with wide eyes. He usually was one to pay attention during history, but he could hardly keep his eyes open long enough to finish writing his name on their worksheet.
"S-sorry, sir." He stuttered out quietly. He looked up at the clock and was happy to see only five minutes left of this class and he could leave the school. He had already phoned his aunt, informing her that he would be at Jack's house until eight o'clock. He planned on taking a nap once he'd got there, but he was sure that he'd end up having a nap on the bus as well.
The ring of the last bell made Ralph snap his head up. He had hardly done anything but drift off all period, so he had to do the worksheet for homework that night. He didn't mind though because he knew that he would be up anyways.
Ralph greeted Jack on the bus, the boys sitting in their usual seat at the back of the bus.
"I need a nap." Jack sighed, rubbing one of his eyes.
"Me too." Ralph yawned, resting his head on Jack's shoulder. Jack wrapped an arm around Ralph and leaned his head on top of the smaller boy. They were going to be one of the first stops, but they still had a few minutes before the driver called for Jack's stop.
"Is your dad going to be home?" Ralph whispered. Jack shook his head. Jack knew how afraid Ralph was of his father, so he always invited Ralph over when his dad wasn't going to be home for a while. He didn't like seeing Ralph afraid; it broke his heart.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked. Ralph nodded his head and yawned again. Jack laced their fingers together and looked out the window at the rain. He liked this kind of weather because it reminded him of his home country. It reminded him of his grandmother's warm cookies and treats from when he was younger.
"Jack Merridew!" The bus driver called. The two boys rose and climbed off of the bus.
Ralph collapsed on Jack's bed and inhaled deeply. He felt Jack lay down next to him and scooted away for him to have enough space. Jack saw this and pulled the boy closer to him, smiling when Ralph cuddled into his chest.
"Hey, Jackie-" Leonard squealed as he opened his door. He froze when he saw the two boys. Leonard saw Ralph fast asleep and corrected his loud behaviors so he wouldn't wake him. Jack's breath caught in his throat, thinking that Leonard would say something about this to his father "Jackie, I drew you a picture." Leonard whispered loudly. He held a picture of what appeared to be a cat.
"Wow, Leonard." Jack praised quietly, smiling wide at the small boy. "You can put it on my desk if you'd like."
Leonard's eyes gleamed with happiness. He clomped over to Jack's desk and set it on top of Jack's school binder. Leonard was just about to leave when Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him closer.
"Don't tell my dad, okay?" Jack pleaded, gesturing to him and his friend cuddling on his bed. Leonard just nodded his head, confused why it was against the rules, but he wouldn't say anything if Jack didn't want him to. Leonard quietly exited the room, leaving the two boys to peacefully nap.
***
Ralph was the first awake when Gregory slammed open Jack's bedroom. Ralph was quick to get off of Jack and give them a lot of space. Jack sat up, confused at first on why Ralph had done so. That was until he saw his father standing in the doorway with clenched fists.
"What are you doing?" Though his voice was calm, Gregory was clearly angry with his son. Jack felt his heart pounding. He could feel his palms and ears get hot; he knew he'd been caught.
"N-nothing, Sir." Jack stammered. Gregory stomped over to the two boys and roughly grabbed Ralph by the back of his shirt, scratching him as he did so. He ripped Ralph off of the bed and onto the floor.
"I will not have a faggot around my son." He yelled. Ralph scrambled to his feet, feeling his heart slamming against his ribs. "GET OUT!" Gregory roared.
"Dad, stop-" Jack tried.
Gregory pointed a finger at Jack. "I wasn't talking to you." He growled. Ralph had quickly gotten to his feet and was leaving as quickly as he could, ignoring the stinging on the back of his neck. Jack got up and tried walking out the door, only to be blocked by his father. "Where do you think you're going?"
Gregory's chest puffed out as he crossed his arms over them. Jack couldn't bring himself to look him in the eye. His father was the only person that scared him. He hated the man because of it.
"You're staying in this room for the rest of the night. And if I catch you around that faggot again, I'll have your head on a pike." Gregory threatened. Jack swallowed hard. He wasn't going to be able to stay away from Ralph. He knew that, but he would just have to stop bringing him over to his house.
"Yes, Sir." Jack said, lowering his head. His father turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him. Jack sighed and plopped himself down in his desk chair. He smiled when he saw the picture of the cat Leonard had drawn for him. He picked it up and put it in his desk drawer with the rest of his own art work. He then saw that Ralph had left his books. There was his psychology textbook, his book for English class, and a brown leather covered book he always scribbled in. On the cover, Ralph's initials were indented into the leather and colored in with black pen ink. He took the book and sat on his bed with it.
He knew it was an invasion of privacy, but he couldn't stop himself from opening it up and looking over the ink covered paged. The first page had a drawing of what appeared to be a map of the old island. It was sloppy, of course. The boy wasn't a very talented artist, but Jack could make out what he drew easily. On the top right corner in his perfect handwriting was 'Hell'. Jack flipped the page and started reading the first entry.
***
Ralph's hands shook as he took in ragged breaths. He'd had to stop on main street because he could hardly breathe. He was sitting against the bricks of an old building. The dull light from the sign shined on his pale skin. He kept his knees close to his chest as he tipped his head back. He couldn't stop thinking about what might be happening to Jack. Would his father hit him? Would they'd be yelling? Was Jack okay? He felt his chest tighten more as he choked on his tears.
"Are you okay?" A woman said to him. He looked to his left and saw the woman was standing in the entryway of what seems to be a coffee shop. She went over to Ralph and crouched down next to him. "Are you alone?" She asked. Ralph nodded his head. "How about you come inside for a coffee and a croissant? It's on me."
"O-okay." Ralph's voice came out hoarse and shaky. He let the nice woman help him up and walked in with her. The shop was empty and rather warm. The smell of fresh coffee filled Ralph's nose and he felt himself relaxing. She sat him in a stool by the counter, sliding him a croissant.
"How do you take your coffee?" She asked as she pulled out a large white mug.
"Could I have a hot chocolate instead, please?" Ralph said quietly. The woman smiled at him.
"Of course you can." She said. "My name is Laura by the way."
"I'm Ralph." The fair boy replied.
"So, what seems to be the problem?" She asked as she set the mug of hot chocolate in front of him.
"My best friend's dad hates me." Ralph confessed. He didn't know why, but he found himself explaining everything to Laura. He'd never really talked to anyone like this before. He never was one to spill his feelings out to anyone, let alone an entire stranger. Laura sat there listening to him ramble on his whole life story without talking at all. Just soaking in the information. She was trying to make sense of it all, as was Ralph.
"And then his dad threw me out, calling me a faggot." Ralph finished. It'd been a whole hour of him talking. He'd hardly touched his croissant.
"So what are you going to do about it?" Laura asked.
"I'm not sure." Ralph sighed. His head was pounding and he could hardly sort out his thoughts. "Probably go home and sleep."
"You have trouble sleeping though." Laura pointed out.
"Then I'll read. I'm not sure. I might write in my journal." That was when he realized that he'd left it at Ralph's house.
***
Jack had snuck down stairs after his father went to bed so he could get a glass of water and a sandwich. He was sat in the center of his bed only wearing a pair of plaid pajama bottoms. He ate while reading Ralph's journal. He was on the tenth entry. Some of them were four to five pages long while others were only a sentence or two.
' I had another nightmare today. It was the same as it always is. Jack and the savages were hunting me on the island. Smoke filled my lungs and choked me. I was trying desperately to get away, but Roger caught my foot. I was dragged out of a tree while they chanted about killing me. Though every time they said the chant, their voices sounded deeper and more distorted. They dragged me to the fire and threw me in it. I could feel the sticks jabbing into my ribs. I thought I was going to die. '
Jack knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he didn't want to stop reading. Reading this was the only way he could actually know how Ralph felt over these few years. He didn't know what he'd done to the boy. He didn't know that he was the reason for him staying up late at night. He didn't know that he was the reason why he was so jumpy anytime someone would touch him. Knowing that he was the reason for this, made Jack hate himself. He felt like he didn't deserve any of the nice things Ralph had said to him.
He kept reading though. One entry after another. It was getting later in the evening, but Jack could care less. He wanted to finish it, but he wasn't willing to skip any parts to get to the end. He needed to know everything.
' I saw him today. It was probably the scariest moment I've experienced since the Island. At first I didn't believe it. I thought that I was just seeing things, but then we had to check into the school and I heard him say his name after mine. Jack Merridew. I thought I was going to have an episode right there in psychology. He sat next to me the whole time; he even tried talking to me. I did my best to keep myself away from him, but he would not shut up.'
The last line made Jack's chest tighten and a breathy laugh escape his lips. It wasn't the last time that Ralph wrote about Jack talking to him. It was almost comical at how annoyed he was at Jack when they'd first reconnected. He found himself laughing at a good amount of them, until one in particular made him stop.
'Would it be insane of me to have feelings for a boy? Especially for a boy who just so happened to have hurt me around eight years ago? Would it be worse if I told you that boy is Jack Merridew? I don't understand how this could have happened. I mean, I hated him. I hated him with every bone in my body, but suddenly I can't get him out of my head. Every time I'm around him, I feel my heart beating faster. I can't help but laugh at his terrible jokes or smile when he says my name.
My aunt says that it's normal to develop feelings for people we're close to, but I'm not so sure. I know that Jack and I are close now, but I don't think that he could ever have the same feelings for me. He likes women, like every other boy in our school. '
Jack felt his heart swell as he read this. He couldn't wipe the smile from his face as he turned the page to continue reading.