Ignore my little breakdown before. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that I finished this chapter.
The rest of the day Steph wasn't there. She got to go home to spend time with her mate. Nate was happy for her but that meant the rest of the day he was on his own. He was seriously thinking of skipping.
When he got to lunch MatPat wasn't there. And that scared him.
He decided to hide out in the bathroom during lunch, not wanting to be alone in that sea of people. He didn't get to the bathroom though because he spotted a group of bullies and he needed to get away.
He turned the corner but not before the bullies saw him.
"Hey freak!" Ryan shouted out. Nate ran. The group of bullies split up, deciding that this was the best way to spend the lunch period.
All the students were in the cafeteria and the teachers were there or in the teacher's lounge.
Nate didn't know what to do. He needed to get out of sight and then maybe he could duck into an empty classroom or something.
He ran around a couple corners and down a flight of stairs, trying to lose the group of people who have tormented him his whole life.
He ran so fast that he didn't notice MatPat at his locker until he heard his voice talking to the bullies.
"Felix!" Matt said sharply. Nate peered our from the outcove he was in so he could see what was going on. Felix and Arin were stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"I thought I said to leave him the hell alone."
"Come on MatPat. He's not worth whatever you think he is. Why do you care what happens to him. You're popular and he's a nerd. You could have any girl." Felix said, trying to sound confident.
"I don't need you telling me who I can and can't care about. You are going to go walk away and leave him alone. And tell the rest of your little 'pack' to do the same." Boy, was Nate going to have something to tell Steph tomorrow.
Nate was so focused on the conversation that he didn't notice Ryan and Mark behind him until they grabbed him. He let out a squeak as he was dragged away. He briefly saw Felix and Arin walk away.
Ryan and Mark brought him to the back of the school and Felix and Arin walked out from a different door.
"Don't think that you can get away just because MatPat is being annoyingly protective. He doesn't care." Arin said with a push to Nate's shoulder.
All Nate wanted was to hide. His ears were pushed back into his hair. He was shaking. He knew he wasn't going to be let off with a warning.
"Please don't hurt me. Just leave me alone." Nate wanted to curl up into a ball.
"We won't do that. Even with your annoying "protecter""
Nate felt the first punch land on his cheek, definitely leaving a bruise. The punches came until one good punch to his head knocked him onto the ground.
The beating didn't end there. They kicked him while he was down, making sure they hit everywhere. Nate heard them laughing as he slipped into unconsciousness.
Nate woke up much later, school was out and he was just laying there. He found his glasses next to him. Thankfully they weren't broken but one of the lenses was cracked. He picked himself up and dragged himself home. His chest hurt and a rib was definitely broken.
When he got home his parents were out so he went into the bathroom to look at the damage.
His cheek was bruised and his eye was swelling. His lip was cut in several places and there was blood. He lifted up his shirt and his chest was covered in bruises, so many footprints that they blended in with each other.
His rib was definitely broken but he couldn't go to the doctor. He brought an ice pack to his room and payed there binge watching Supernatural until sleep over came him.
When he woke up the next morning he checked the mirror. His eye had stopped swelling. The bruise on his cheek wasn't too bad compared to his chest. He looked for the makeup he uses to cover this stuff but it was empty.
He took a lot of things out of his bag, only taking the bare minimum to be careful of his rib.
He walked downstairs and waited for Steph. The doorbell rang and he opened his door and followed Steph out.
They walked to school Steph filling the silence. She didn't notice that Nate was quite and not looking at her, still stuck in the mating haze. Nate hoped it would last the rest of the day.