My phone vibrated. Ben's name appeared on the screen in front of me, making me look over at his seat to find the space empty. I must've gotten carried away at some point and hadn't even noticed him leave. I sighed and quickly stretched my neck and back before opening the message, feeling my body relax from the tension I'd exerted this whole time.
My posture wasn't straight, but neither was I so it was best to keep things consistent.
"Where u?" the text read. "Dnt b late."
It was already less than ten minutes before the bell. I'd normally be in class goofing off since ages ago, so hopefully this would attest to my dedication and commitment. I tapped a quick reply, then packed up before heading to class. During the walk, I realized I felt lighter. Like I'd become somewhat liberated from just a little of my ignorance. But in reality, that was far from the case. The constant stares from students I didn't know reminded me just how far my ignorance went. It'd take more than a Google search to clear this debt.
Passing the lockers, I noticed horse-man Donavan cornering someone against a locker. Normally it'd be some soul from junior year, so I was surprised to find Ikeisha being pinned there. They were surrounded by his obnoxiously loud friends, and I could sense her irritation. She didn't look scared or intimidated, just incredibly annoyed. Their conversation grew clearer as I approached.
"... been quiet about this all, don't ya reckon? To find out he's disabled, I mean, you were shocked, too, right?"
"Don't call him that," she said, biting her teeth together. "Back off before I kick you so hard, you find out just what it means to live with a permanent disability, yourself."
The boys started howling and whistling through patronizing fits of laughter. They all looked down at her. Like her brother, she was strong and cool, usually held in high regard by everybody. But in this instance, she was nothing more than a sheep being circled by rabid wolves. Glossed lips thinning into a tight line, she balled her fists, ready for a fight.
Well, to compare the likes of Donavan with a wolf would be incorrect. He was a horse, through and through. And he wasn't built like a stallion, either. Not like Mr. Hardy. Nothing was impressive about Donavan's long face and freakily dark, beady looking eyes. The way he stood over her made my heart thunder with involuntary emotions. My legs took me forward, also involuntarily.
"Do you mind backing off her a bit?" I asked, coming to Ikeisha's side. I slid myself between her and his hand, using my hip to bump her out the way. "She can smell your last week's run. That's not how you win the pretty girls, dude."
Donavan retracted his hand and slammed it back against the wall, inches from my face. It was an obvious intimidation tactic, but being a little on the gay side, I'd read way too many kabedon clichés to be overly affected by it. Instead, I stuck my hand up and waved it in front of my face, fanning myself hard enough that its wind reached him.
He scowled, expression faltering into a look of mild confusion. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"Sorry," I said, flitting my eyes to the side, expressing my best rendition of sexy shyness. "It's not often I get pinned against a wall. And while you're not exactly my type, I'm starting to get the appeal."
Ikeisha snickered from beside me. Donavon made a noise and quickly backed away while his friends howled louder than before.
"Freak," he said, rubbing his hands through his hair.
Watching his taut muscles move in the process, I realized even ugly guys could make it look good. Who would've thought?
"Now that I have your utmost attention, gentlemen," I said, stepping away from the lockers so as not to be cornered again, "let me just say this. Aubrey Keats is not a topic up for discussion. The word 'disabled' is permanently forbidden from your horse lips, and you should use your intimidating presence to silence all of the idiots who drag this mess out. Got it?"
The guys started cracking up and smacking each other's backs. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that I'd be that horse's fodder after this. Donovan, who was considerably taller than me, stepped closer to me. He kept closing the distance while I took deliberate steps back to avoid it. Our stalemate took us in careful circles, while I remained cautious not to get pinned back again.
"You think acting like a preachy faggot's funny, huh, clown?" he asked, cocking his head. We might as well be going around a merry-go-round with the rate we were going.
"Daddy, chill," I said, sticking my hand out between us to maintain some distance. "No one's acting anything. I'm just making very clear that I'll be upholding an absolute zero-tolerance policy on any kind of threatening behavior towards Ikeisha, or anything that drags Aubrey through the mud."
Everyone was quiet now, eyes focused on me. Maybe testing how far I'd go. Donovan's lips curled into a snarl.
"Playing the hero all of a sudden, are we?" he asked. "I didn't know it was that easy after ruining someone's life like that."
I gritted my teeth. As if I needed that reminder.
"I'll never be able to take that back," I said, choosing my words carefully. "But what I can do is make sure nothing bad comes out of it. And if it means sorting a bunch of high school thugs like you out, then that's something I've come to terms with."
That was a lie; I hadn't come to terms with it. Not one bit. Rather, I wanted to shit my pants and run. But Ikeisha was still standing close to me, watching, listening, and gaging every exchange between us. If there was anything positive to come out of this, then it'd be her seeing me as some kind of hero. In an ideal world, this would bring us a foot closer to sorting her out with Ben, too.
Two birds, one stone.
But I wasn't that lucky. My ability to fulfill any challenge or bet was a mixture of perseverance and audacity. None of it ever came down to luck. And if suddenly did now, then it wouldn't likely be on my side.
"You're not a hero, Rascal," he said, sticking his finger out and prodding it into my chest. Being a little on the skinny side, I felt the stinging pressure linger even after he moved it away. "You're a nuisance. And if you think I got any sort of sympathy for a disabled kid then you're dead wrong."
My careless reply was about to stem from the truth. His background wasn't exactly a mystery here at school. He lives with his single Dad who owned and ran a lower-class whorehouse. Most of the women were illegal immigrants or runaway victims trying to make a living. At some point, the police built a high enough case against him to shut it down and give the women refuge.
The club was bought out and renovated while his Dad was incarcerated, establishing itself into a classy Gentleman's Club. Some of the previous workers were even reemployed under professional, protected contracts to earn above minimum wage. It was a big scandal just a few years ago, and we all knew about it. Donavan lived with his extended family for two years until his Dad was released from prison, resuming a bit of normalcy in their lives. Rumors already had it that his Dad's just about burned through the money, leaving nothing else for them to survive off.
You'd think Donavan would try to keep it on the DL, but his actions made it seem like he desperately wanted everybody to remember. So, I just let him know that I did.
"Doesn't really speak volumes coming from the kid of a squandering hillbilly redneck," I said, ducking the moment his fist came for me. Donovan was wide-eyed, rampant, roaring as he gave chase. Ikeisha's eyes widened as I sidestepped her, giving her a salute as I bolted towards the classroom. "See you in class!"
I heard their footsteps charging behind me, yelling threats and profanities. I was safe the minute I got in the door, slamming it behind me. I leaned against the door, taking a moment to catch my breath while they banged and rattled the handle.
I caught Ben's eyes as he looked at me, mouthing, "Are you okay?" with the most shock and panic I'd ever seen from him.
"A-Okay!" I mouthed back, sticking out my fingers to further validate my put-on bravado.
Mr. Hardy power-walked towards the door. I stepped out of his way and allowed him to open it. Donavan's eyes widened, probably just now realizing the stupidity behind his impulsive, apeshit idea to give chase.
"Can I help you there, Mr. Hughes?" Mr. Hardy asked, putting on his friendly teacher voice. His calculating stare told a different story. He glanced around at the other groupies crowding the door, as well. "Or any of you, gentlemen?"
They shook their heads, some diving their hands into their pockets and looking sheepish, while others dipped and ran. "No, sir," were a few of their replies, while looked almost frozen. Ikeisha came up behind them, unable to get inside the classroom. I exchanged glances with her for a split second before Mr. Hardy noticed her and herded them off.
"If you have no business being here then stop loitering outside my classroom," he said, looking every one of them in the eyes. "Any more noise out of you and you'll be sent straight to the Principal's office."
One of the impressive things about Mr. Hardy, other than being a complete stud, of course, was that he was well attuned to those around him. He'd recognize every single one of them a week from now and they knew it. Their faces showed as much. "Now let my student pass, please," he said, ending it all with that.
Their heads turned to Ikeisha before quickly dispersing from the corridor. Mr. Hardy stepped out of the way to let her through, and all heads were turned to face us. When Mr. Hardy, in all his stallion glory, returned to the front of the class, Ikeisha came towards me. There was a look in her eyes I couldn't quite read, clutching her bag in her arms.
Nervous, I glanced back at Trey whose arms were over the back of his chair, broad chest poking outward like a peacock on display. It was a clear act of intimidation, and it was working. I was very, very intimidated.
Ikeisha's slightly elevated flats clacked across the floor until she was inches in front of me. She leaned forward and kissed my cheek, leaving a warm and sloppy glob of lip gloss on my skin.
"Thanks," she said, smiling, then clacked towards her seat.
I touched the grossly sticky spot, not quite processing what just happened. I turned to look at Ben, whose eyes widened. Face reddening to his neck, I could see he was upset, but he shouldn't be. I rubbed the gloss with the bottom of my sleeve, turning to Trey. I was met with a fire in his eyes. Almost scorched by it. It was clear he was ready to bury me alive. I wasn't entirely sure what just happened or why, but I knew the outcome wouldn't be good.
After just having pissed off Donavan Hughes and his friends, I put a target on my forehead. Then to receive a kiss on the cheek from Ikeisha Hansen, I put another target on my forehead. My life was about to end in Trey's hands. Then to top it all off, I had to see the hurt on Ben's face as he witnessed his crush kiss my cheek. Especially when he hadn't been able to win even a smile in two years.
The risk of losing my best friend over this misunderstanding was far too great for me to shrug off. And yet despite all of this, there was only one thing that truly, truly captured my attention.
That Aubrey's seat was empty.
-
We sat on the floor of a library corner during break. It didn't take much convincing that Donavan Hughes would crucify me the moment he got his hands on me. Jude and Liam sat side by side while Goose and Ben sat at either side of me. We'd been chilling for the most part, playing some games on our phones and looking at some comic books Jude pulled off the shelves.
Jude cleared his throat, bringing our attention to him. He looked a little reluctant; uncomfortable, even. "So, ah, are we gonna address the elephant in the room or what?"
I stilled, while Ben tensed completely. I laughed, albeit nervously. "What elephant in the room?" I asked, looking all around me. I twisted back to look behind me as well, making a show of it. "I see none. Now, moving on-"
"He's right," Ben said, forcing me to face him. He was frowning; hurt and confused. Maybe he wasn't ready for an answer he wouldn't like. At least I didn't have that kind of answer to give. Everything was totally innocent. "We're all wondering the same thing. What the hell was that earlier?"
"The horse was picking on Ikeisha, so I just stepped in a little," I said, putting my hands up in defense. "As for anything that transpired thereafter; your guess is as good as mine."
I looked over at Jude and scowled at him for even bringing this up. "Literally," I added. "No matter how unenthusiastic I can be in PE, I think we're all wildly aware of me at least batting for the same team."
They all stared at me, deadpanned.
"I don't know what you mean," Liam said, hardly blinking.
"So vague," Ben said.
"Mhm-mhm," Goose and Jude agreed, nodding in unison.
I stared at them all, dumbfounded. "I hate the bloody lot of you."