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Bashers
This time, Simon showed up in class early, a good ten minutes before the bell rang, finding a seat in the nearly empty class. At the back, he noticed two guys stop their conversation to look his way, causing blood to quickly rush to his cheeks in embarrassment. Averting his eyes to the board, he took the same seat as the preceding day, right in front and in the center, placing his book nice and centered on his desk before sitting down, proceeding in trying to pass time by tapping the surface of the smooth wood with a pencil in some incoherent rhythm.
Not even started started and I already can't wait for class to be over.
Ugh.
This is not going to be very fun.
So pessimistic, maybe nothing will happen and we'll just take notes all session.
Maybe.
The brunette from last time entered with two fashionista friends, also stopping all conversation the moment they saw Simon, making him shift uncomfortably in his seat. But she seemed to be less judgmental and they all approached and took their seat, all of them mumbling a little 'Hey', though she actually leaned over and began to talk to him.
"Man, it was really awful what happened to you yesterday. He was a real jerk. No one blames you for reacting how you did."
Maybe not the girls but apparently the guys seems scared I caught the plague or something.
And god that was embarrassing.
Simon just grunted, blushing a little for the second in less than five minutes. He tried to give her a smile but it came out more as a grimace than anything else.
"Look, I just...it's a looooooooong story. But I'm not usually violent and...."
The girl looked to be very deceived to have her gossip time cut short when the creaking of the door opened and the teacher in the frame, distracting Simon. So far it seemed like he wasn't getting any special attention from the man, which was a good thing.
Whew.
With class time approaching, students began to arrive in shorter intervals, quickly filling in the classroom.
Haylen stumbled into the classroom just moments too late, looking up at the teacher with unapologetic eyes. "I'm late, I know. Don't feel compelled to tell me."
He made his way to his seat near Simon, all the while being the object of the other students' scornful stares. He tried to ignore the way that a lot of the boys were whispering about him, and gave his full attention to what was going on outside the window - which was, in fact, pretty much nothing, other than a thin tree blowing in the breeze, but it kept him distracted.
He felt a nudge on his upper arm and turned his head to face an amused-looking boy with sandy hair and crystally blue eyes.
"What do you want?" Haylen demanded under his breath, making sure that his words were of a low enough volume that they wouldn't reach the ancient teacher's ears. He surely didn't want to be the center of attention again.
"Whatcha lookin' for outside that window, huh?" The blonde kid snickered, scrunching his nose. "You lookin' for rainbows, fairy boy? Wanna find a pot of gold? I'll show you a pot of gold." He winked and licked his lips, all the while making rude gestures with his hands.
The kid's words were well-received by a few of the other surrounding guys, all of them swiveling in their desks to face Haylen.
Oh my god.
This reminds me...
I hate all of them.
He began to swerve around and look the other way, but as he did, he found himself face-to-face with another sneering idiot who was puckering his lips and smacking them together. Haylen pulled back, surprised and mildly disgusted.
"What's wrong?" The boy snorted. He gyrated his hips in his seat and laughed cruelly. "Don't you wanna kiss me? Or am I not man enough for you?"
The class received the comment uproariously, and Haylen frowned, anger brewing beneath his ribcage.
I hate this place.
I hate this place.
I hate this place.
Without many other options, he sat back and just took every crude comment that was being thrown at him, wondering if they'd ever stop or if the words would just keep going and going until class was over.
When the bell rang, Simon gave a nervous look to the door. Haylen hadn't arrived yet. He couldn't fight the sensation that somehow this was partly his fault. Everything started in silence, rumors and gossips quieting. The only sound that could be heard was the teacher's clay on the blackboard. Reading, Sy joined the rest of the class in a group grimace.
Take out your pencils and lined sheets. Today, grammar exercise. Copy the sentences, circle the preposition...
The door creaked and in unison, the student body turned their head to watch the late body. Haylen.
"I'm late, I know. Don't feel compelled to tell me."
Sy nodded but wasn't feeling the shame he would have before. If only slightly, he was starting to know Haylen, if just a little. These outburst weren't exactly attention cravers, if anything, he'd say they'd become to a level a compulsion, something he couldn't help but do. After all, he seemed to have been more prone to being a jerk when others put him under the magnifying glass. It wasn't to get attention but a reaction to the attention itself. At least, that was Simon's diagnosis.
He followed Haylen with his eyes, not truly noticing he did so, getting a little late in his note taking, just like a big portion of the class busy with the same distraction. His seat from yesterday in the back of the class was taken, leaving only a window seat in diagonal behind Simon.
With a cough, Mr. St-Clair, or so it said on the class schedule, regained the attention of the distracted ones. His hand quickly numbing, Simon began to quickly scribble down the sentences. There wasn't that much to write down compared to what he'd expected and soon, they were left in silence to finish the exercise while the teacher noted them that he was just going to the neighboring class to fetch some supplies. It was like a get wild signal, and gossip began to be heard all around. A lip smacking noise stood out and Simon turned his head to his left to see the kid beside him tease Haylen.
"What's wrong? Don't you wanna kiss me? Or am I not man enough for you?"
It didn't take a rocket scientist to know, from the reaction of the guys behind Haylen that Sy had missed part of the joke...though he found none of it funny. It was more a reflex when the following words were muttered out of his mouth.
"You guys are such a bunch of retards." he said before returning his attention to his homework.
It had been so compulsive, though he honestly did believe and think those words, but it hadn't fully registered that he'd said them out loud. Apparently, he'd been heard though. Smacker-lips with the cupid hair was now looking square to Simon while the two kids behind Haylen were back with their lame jokes, asking something about how long he'd had aids or something.
"So what, that really was a little lover's fight you had yesterday, huh sissy boy?"
Simon had to glance twice to realize it was to him he was talking to. With a eerie disgusted look, not nearly as embarrassed as he'd thought he would be. It was more offensive than anything, and he couldn't really believe these immature kids were his own age.
"No. If you must absolutely know he's my roommate and we were just not getting along. Now, if you'd shut up, grow up, and do your work. I have better things to do than deal with the ramblings of a bunch of idiots."
Discouraged by the fact that Simon wasn't reacting all hurt and offended by his insults, cupid-kid resigned to scoffing and turned to mock-flirt Haylen again.
They're off my case, why is this still bugging me?
I don't know but it is and...
His thoughts were cut short when he caught sight of Haylen's expression while being ganged up on. He could easily assume how stuck he was. This school was high class enough and with two outburst on the first two days, he'd be sent home without hesitation. He was left without much space to defend himself, and that made Simon feel a little sick inside.
I guess I can...
"Pssst..."
His little psst toward the teasing crew was practically venom filled. Yet, none of them really took him seriously. One of the kids behind Haylen turned to Simon with an annoyed look to his face.
"Just mind your own business, sissy boy and do your homework."
Simon stood up in an intimidation stance he'd learn during his few years of football, tensing up most of his muscles under his splatter pattern maroon shirt, smacking the back on his hand to the palm of his other, repetitively, like a simple habit....a habit that was usually successful at enhancing the fact that he was in a violent mood, his eyes much, much to serious. A good part of the class looked his way, turning silent, many wishing for another fight.... or something like it.
"Go....go back to y-your seat."
The kid was scrawny and Simon was unable to stop the little rictus at the corner of his mouth when he noted the fear in the kids face. Looking to each guys, one by one, he finally spoke.
"Apparently you guys have some mental challenge here. The things to do are written on the board, and you're annoying me by being a bunch of kids, thinking you are all cool and stuff, but sorry, recess is over. If I hear anything else, Ill be very glad to introduce each of you to the surface of your desks. Thank you."
It had just the effect he'd hope, at least on the spot and they all began to focus on doing their work, leaving Haylen alone. Simon shot a little subtle side smile to Haylen before going to his seat.
Wow....
I never, EVER would have had the guts to do that before.
Mmmm, I kind of like it though.
I hate kids like them, they should be caged in a zoo or something.
Not like I'd ACTUALLY smash their faces on the desk or anything either...though they sure the hell don't know that.
His thoughts contributed to the smugness of Simon's face, and it was even better when the teacher walked back in to a rather silent class, only the buzzing of whispers heard from the class. He should be ensuring that they would remain quiet from now on. At least he hoped.
Just as he was about to get up and leave the classroom out of frustration towards his idiotic torturers, Haylen found himself being helped out by Simon. The redhead purposefully told Mr. Blonde Boy and Cupid-hair to mind their own business and stop being so ignorant, and miraculously, they listened.
Huh?
Did he just stand up for me?
That... was pretty.. nice of him.
He didn't have to do that.
I hope he didn't feel obligated to do that.
Awh, it was kinda nice though.
But he didn't have to. I could've handled it myself, right? Sticks and stones, sticks and stones. It's not like I haven't been bashed before. Hah.
Haylen twisted to face Simon, scrutinizing the boy's lovely face for a self-indulgent moment before speaking in a low whisper. "Hey. I don't need your help, alright? I was just fine. It's not like I care what these jerks have to say, anyway."
I wish I could be outwardly grateful, though.
The dark-haired boy looked emptily at the chalkboard, and instead of dilligently copying notes, opted to sketch in the margins of his notebook. He drew his usual subjects - twisted little demons, odd-looking symbols, long-limbed skinny people with stitched-up mouths... but soon he found that his strange drawings were transitioning into curvy collarbones and heart-shaped lips.
What?
He'd always enjoyed art as a hobby, and liked to draw things that disturbed his mother just to spite her, but now he found his copybook illustrations becoming more realistic with each new little doodle. Clawed fingers evolved into nimble hands, bony chests became more defined and muscled.
It was only when he began drawing a miniature boy's portrait in the very corner of the page that he realized he'd been drawing Simon for more than half of the time. In a fit of embarrassment and denial, he clapped his book shut, staring up at the teacher.
"What's the matter, Mr. Vega? Decided to stop taking notes already? Class isn't over yet, and we still have a lot to write."
Haylen's lip pulled up into a sneer and he glared darkly at the old man. "My hand hurts," he lied quietly, his voice bubbling with anger. He couldn't believe that once again, the teacher was directing the class' attention towards him.
Now would be a better time for Simon to come to the rescue.
He cleared his mind with an amused smirk, and drowned out whatever the teacher might have been saying to him. He just wanted to get out of this damn class. Again.
Preposition, subject and way too many words. Simon's head began to ache with the repetitiveness of the work, having trouble to focus. He was a little annoyed by Haylen's reaction to his helping him but nothing too great. In a sense he got it, it wasn't anything abnormal for a guy to protect his pride. Still, he would have preferred a 'thanks' kind of look.
I'm being selfish.
I shouldn't be requesting anything for helping someone out.
Not really a reason for him to be ungrateful.
But still...aw man! Look what I just did..
Simon scoffed as he began to erase the circles he was now randomly been placing on every word while he had lost all of his concentration. Apparently though, he wasn't the only one not focusing...
"What's the matter, Mr. Vega? Decided to stop taking notes already? Class isn't over yet, and we still have a lot to write."
Like everyone else, once again, Sy felt compelled to turn his head and stare in Haylen's direction, Cupid trying to muffle down a chuckle.
"My hand hurts,"
Mr. St-Clair rolled his eyes, returning his attention to his notes before replying without even bothering to look up.
"Well I think you can handle another ten minutes. Back to work, and no lazying. You're distracting the classroom."
Simon quickly turned his head to sneer at the teacher. Sure, at first he didn't think the reprimand was out of place, but he felt the last little speech to be unnecessary. That was just being unfair and very possibly vengeful from yesterday. Still, today wasn't one where Simon would dare to oppose a teacher, not directly at least. And so, in silence, he just tried again to focus on his work, his initial determination to achieve good grades helping to motivate him.
The ten minutes went by rather fast and he'd managed to complete the work, standing in line like everyone at the sound of the bell to place his sheets on the corner of the teacher's desk before getting out of the room. He was feeling rather distracted, now that there was no more work to keep his thoughts somewhat in line, and he had enough time to make it to the next class.
I want to talk to him.
Maybe I can get him to get his act together.
Mmmmm...maybe that's just arrogant.
Yeah, might as well not push it and just...
Right when he was about to change his mind and walk away, Haylen walked out of the class, right on cue. A little embarrassed that he now had nothing to say after visibly having waited for him, he couldn't help the light little blush to hint his golden cheek and the hesitation from tainting his voice.
"Oh um hey. Well I just, yeah. Look if I got you embarrassed I'm sorry ok. And um, you know maybe you should just ignore it, like you said and try to focus on school stuff and um, yeah."
Idiot.
"Ok well bye."
Just as he was about to walk away as fast as his legs gave him permission to, he came face to face with the three from class. All sense of embarrassment blew away in a single irritating second. Sighing and rolling his eyes, visibly unimpressed, he began to move forward as if showing that he wasn't about to stop for them. But then three more guys showed up behind them, all standing with their legs apart, arms crossed with either something reproachful in their eyes or some kind of maniacal grin. Two more joined, and another, and looking back, he saw that him and Haylen were surrounded by something close to fifteen guys. He even took note of two girls joining in.
"Um...I need to pass?"
He said, knowing far, far too well that this wouldn't change anything. The confidence he had in his own physical strength diminished at a rather fast rate, replaced by a little bit of panic...which was quickly becoming more and more.
Very stressed, he backed up a step until he was pretty close to Haylen, whispering so only he would hear.
"Has that ever happened to you? Because if it has, how the hell do we get out of it?"
Apparently it hadn't been low enough, and the Blondie/Cupid duo seemed to volunteer themselves as the pack's leaders, breaking out in a pretty loud laughter.
"You aren't getting out of this! Are you mad? What are you going to do, punch each of our face in? You're nothing but a big queer jock with his little psychotic fairy friend."
Every member of the small crowd broke out in a fit of laughter, but it was more the kind that just pushed the insult further, something cruel than it was them actually finding the comment humorous.
Damn, damn, damn I don't know what to do!
Am I going to get a beating!?
And I saw the teacher leave before Haylen came out.
We're screwed.
Damnit.
We are royally screwed.
Haylen shook his head anxiously when Simon asked him if he'd ever been in such a situation before, and clenched his jaw as Cupid made a pretty promising threat that no one would be going anywhere fast.
The sandy-blonde boy from earlier then stepped forward, his breath hot in Haylen's face, and offered a few words of encouragement. "It's okay, widdle fairy. We won't hit you hard. Though you'd probably like it." His words rolled from his lips and into Haylen's ear like poison, causing rage to rise deep in Haylen's chest.
"Shut up, you ass," he managed, hoping he didn't seem as skittish as he actually was. In a situation like this, where fists could easily become involved, he felt particularly uncomfortable. He surely didn't want a mini-Matt at boarding school.
Maybe Sy and I could just escape out that way. Or maybe I could think of something really witty to say that'll stun people enough to give us time to run.
Shit, I've never been good at this whole 'fighting back' thing.
Blondie sniggered, leaning back on the balls of his feet with a cocky smile plastered to his face. "Did you just call me an ass? Hmm... coming from someone who surely appreciates them, I s'pose that's a compliment. So, thank you, darling Haylen. You're really too sweet." He made a face of mock shyness and received more bitter laughter from his cronies.
With his fingers dancing over to just barely brush against Simon's wrist, Haylen glanced over at the redhead, who apparently was having just as hard of a time coming up with ways to get out of this situation.
Maybe I could just punch them all.
Yeah, I could just punch 'em all, throw 'em to the floor, and tell them that I really don't care what they think...
Oh, easier imagined than done.
Before Haylen could even consider taking action on his thoughts, he was literally beaten to 'the punch' by Cupid, receiving a harsh blow across his jaw. The way the kid had hit him... it so eerily reminded him of how Matt always moved, with impeccable swiftness and yet such cruel intentions. His nose began aching again, and his jaw clicked and popped when he opened his mouth to talk.
"Guys, there honestly isn't any point in this-"
"Hah, look at you, pretty-boy, trying to play nice. Of course there's a freaking point in this. The point is to beat you two up and rid this world of two more disgusting people." The boy ran a hand through his ashy blonde hair, turning in Simon's direction and sizing him up. "Fairy, you're not the one I really care about hurting, I'm sure you've got plenty of others who happily do that for you... but you," he snarled, jabbing a fist into Simon's chest. "I am so incredibly tempted to just acquaint your freckled little cheek with my knuckles. You just.. even looking at you makes me mad."
Haylen glanced over, rubbing his jaw. He tried to ignore the little snippet about 'other people who were probably willing to hurt him', and stared at the floor. He wanted to step in and do something, but judging by how he hadn't wanted Simon's help earlier, he doubted that Simon wanted his assistance now. So he sayed silent, all the while wishing he could charm himself out of the situation and waiting for the thrill of the fight to disappear so that he and Simon could just have a minute's peace.
We really are so screwed.
ugh
A loud cough shook Simon's lungs, followed by the flare of agony he needed to boost start his adrenaline into high gear. This little weakling would need to get up early to kill him over with something like that. Not too mention better aim. You don't hit a guy in the chest when he his built the way Sy is. No, go for the face. No matter the muscle mass, the face is always more frail, and from the looks of it, Haylen's face was about to be broken beyond repairs unless they did something.
If they think....
From a red blush of embarrassment to the crimson sight of fury, Simon gritted his teeth together, recovering from his stumbling and jotted at very firm claw-like hand right to Blondie's throat, grasping it hard. The kid's eyes became wide in shock, glimpsing at what was now, a VERY pissed off Simon.
"Are you stupid enough to think I'm just going to stand here and get beat up!?"
Cupid intervened, still too arrogant for the situation, stepping in with a smug face while Blondie seemed to hesitate between swinging at Simon or trying to pry his throat free, his face beginning to turn an eerie shade of red as the oxygen made itself scarce.
"Hah, you think you have a chance?"
Simon's eyes darted to Cupid, the speed and menace of the glimmer seen in his poison-green eyes sending a jolt of doubt in Cupid.
"No. Right now, you think I care?" he spat out, dropping Blondie before the choking would kill him.
Cupid sneered, and almost like under a command, five guys screamed and rushed forward on Simon. He looked back, watching Haylen cowering a little, angry that he hadn't reacted more than that...no, just really, REALLY furious about it.
Unbelievable. The kid can spill out profanities like nothing but he can't defend himself against a few hits?!
The memory of his bruises and the little confession came to mind, but Sy was far beyond the control of his body. Right now everything was red, including his mind.
No wonder he's all black and blue...
"Haylen....offf." he scoff as particularly powerful hit nailed him in the stomach, bending forward a little under the pain. Still, he kept looking back, staring at Haylen with those crazed eyes.
"You just gonna sit there and take it or are you going to stop being such a sissy and help me out!?"
With that out of his system, he just went in the mass and grabbed two sets of hair that were of different color and swung, clasping them together like a set of cymbals. There was a loud crunch and a large gush of blood, one of the person he'd got fell to the ground, unconscious. The two girls that had been close, horrified and gasping continuously rushed to the boy and dragged him out of the mosh pit. Somewhere, some guy yelled out.
"Grab his arms!"
Simon had lost count of the hits he'd gotten, but in this chaotic melee, nothing had been so bad because of how much trouble they were having trying to hit him without injuring each other...but that was all ending when his arms were grabbed and held by two guys. He tried to wriggle himself free but to no avail. By the time he thought of using his feet instead, it was too late, he'd already received a hard punch to his right eye, destabilizing him with only recourse to relieve some of the pain through a groan. The rest just took each their turn wailing at him, though a few were still busy picking at Haylen.
Haylen couldn't take this.
Couldn't take the noise, the smells, the heat, the punching - it was all far too reminiscent of everything he feared from back home. His head was spinning and chest heaving, hysteria grasping at his system. The harsh blows that he was receiving in his side were nothing compared to the mental agony he was suffering. Vivid memories flashed behind his eyelids like he was reliving them, and he was about to go into total panic mode.
Simon's right. I should fight back, he needs help - I mean, look at him, pinned against the wall over there.. damnit, he's gonna be so battered after this...
And it's my fault.
Raising a trembling fist, Haylen turned to Cupid, who appeared to be enjoying his task of watching Simon get beat up. He raised his clenched hand to strike, but just as he was about to hit Cupid square in the nose, he realized that he couldn't physically do it.
If I hit him, I'll be like Matt.
I will be like Matt. Oh god.
Instead, he opted to go with his only other option - words.
"Hey, all of you little shits," he greeted oh-so-pleasantly, his voice wavering a bit. "Listen up."
Surprisingly, they all did. Even the kid who'd been taking his turn on Simon froze and looked over his shoulder at Simon.
"What, do you think you're gonna scare us with your big, threatening words?" Cupid looked thoroughly amused.
Haylen smirked. "What's your name, and that blonde kid over there?" He pointed to Blondie, who stared back at him with large eyes.
Cupid sneered. "I'm Peter, and he's Jake." He swayed his hips a bit, and it looked too unnatural for it to have been unintentional. Haylen furrowed his brow.
"Alright, good. Listen up, Peter. I don't think you know how much power I hold in my hands. I don't have the cleanest of records here, but due to the stuff you were saying to me, and by this fight you started here, it wouldn't be hard to get you in biiiig trouble."
Pete looked unresponsive. "That's the lamest thing I've ever heard... do you honestly think I'm afraid of getting into school trouble? Wow."
"I think you would be if the situation arose. And I want you to let Simon go right now, because if you don't, I would be more than happy to do the honors of providing you with some serious harm. Trust me, I can.. do things that none of you would enjoy in the least, and if that's what it's gonna take to get him out of your little blockade, then so be it."
No one budged, but Jake began to look mildly appalled. "We're not worried," he managed, but the look on his face would have said anything otherwise. "There's nothing you can do to us to make us go away."
"Oh really?" Haylen asked, lunging towards the blonde boy. "Then how about this?"
With a showy lick of his lips and dip of his head, Haylen gave Jake an obnoxious smooch, right on his juicy lips.
He couldn't think of any way to better freak out a group of homophobes than to 'act all gay' on them. And going by the look on Jake's face, things were working.
Jake looked wide-eyed at the rest of the people in the room with a horrified grimace. "Fine, fairy-boy. We'll let 'im go, but just this once." He wiped furiously at his lips with the sleeve of his jacket, paling and looking like he may actually be nauseous. The boy who'd been cluctching Simon let him go, throwing him against the wall.
Just as Jake and Peter and posse were traipsing unhappily through the door, Haylen remembered one small thing. If the headmaster were to find out about this, he'd surely be kicked from school. This wasn't exactly 'A' behavoir.
"And if you don't want me doing anything, all of you had better keep your friggin' lips shut about this. Thank you."
Regrets...some heartfelt, some pushed in. Those Simon now felt were pushed in, very, very roughly. Each new hit, each inch of skin he felt tear up, each drip of blood echoed as regret. Regretting what? Does it truly matter? He just wished he'd done or been something different, at least right now. Pain was easy to take and face in the wilderness of a fight, but to be held like that, defenseless with no other options but to feel, to see each blow arrive in slow motion, from the curling of the fist, the gritted teeth of the assailants doubled in his now faulty vision, the swing and the horrible crunch of the landing. Would it ever end?
Help...
Please help me...
I don't care anymore just anyone, someone, do SOMETHING.
He wished he could scream his agony and despair. Free this ball of sound reverberating within. But he was choking on his own blood now, there was no way he could even make a sound....and then, it all stopped.
Please don't be a pause...please.
At first it was too hazy to distinguish, the words said by voices he knew to be so close to him, panting, barely having enough left for him to be conscious. As the fear subsided to something more along the line of relief, he became able to understand the words being said, the embodiment of why he stopped living a personal little hell.
Haylen....
He glanced to the side with his left puffy eye, the other too swollen to be able to open, and saw Haylen, attacking Cupid with something a little more original than a fist. The shock and horror on all their face could almost be tasted on Simon's tongue. Even in his current situation, the shadow of a smirk could be seen appearing on his lips.
I wish I had those guts sometimes.
He can be quite the freak, but I couldn't be happier about it right now. Thank you Haylen.
With that and few more exchange of threats, the little crowd gave up and retreated. Of course, it was expected of them to just let go and run away instead of nicely place him down. He wasn't delusional yet. With a loud thud, Simon met the floor as the last hit he need to fully cave in, groaning and choking with pain.
"Hay...len...."
With his last pleading, Simon slipped into unconsciousness. After so, he fell into deep dreams while Haylen carried him off to the nurse's office.AT THE NURSES
The sinking feeling that had nestled itself somewhere beneath Haylen's collarbone was making him physically ache, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't peel his eyes from Simon's bloodied face.
The nurse - who was the same kind woman he'd had from his broken nose incident - was hunched over Sy, mumbling sympathetically and wiping at his face with a warm wet cloth. As Haylen watched, he couldn't help but think of how Simon had done the very same thing for him just the night before. He sighed.
"You okay, sweetie? Is this boy your friend?" The nurse caught his eye for a moment, giving him a warm, consoling smile.
"Y-yeah... he's my friend," Haylen stuttered, though the words felt strange rolling from his tongue. He couldn't remember a time when he'd actually referred to someone as a friend before.
How sad is that.
The nurse straightened her back, tossing her deep russet hair over her shoulder and turning to face him. "I'm sorry. Between the two of you, your luck has been pretty shoddy, hasn't it?"
Haylen nodded.
"Oh, you poor boys. This one looks like he's going to be enduring some pain for a while, unfortunately. Just by looking at him I can tell that he's going to have some pretty nice shiners, and he'll probably have quite an array of bruises. You can see some of them forming already. Now, I'm just going to take a quick trip up to the front office and get a new bottle of ibuprofen - we just ran out, and I'm sure he'll need something to soothe the headache and pain." She spoke in the most matronly tone - so caring and sweet - and if she had children, Haylen imagined that they were well-loved.
Imagine that.. a mom who actually acts like a mom.
What a twisted concept.
She offered the cloth to Haylen, her brown eyes warm. "I'll just be a few minutes, but if you'd like, you can clean some of that blood from his handsome face."
"Yeah... not a problem." Haylen took the red-stained washcloth from the nurse and watched her as she left, and though he normally welcomed silence and solitary, he suddenly felt so lonely. Even with an unconscious Simon in front of him, he felt completely alone, which made him start to think.
He confuses me so much.
I've never actually worried about someone enough to want them to be okay like this.
I kind of hate him for it.
Dragging up a stool next to the cot where Simon lay, Haylen inspected the boy's face, cringing as he imagined how much everything must hurt. His eyes were shut tightly, purple rings already forming around them. Muddy purple was pooling along his jawline, and dried blood was smeared along the cleft of his lip and down his chin. Haylen almost had to look away.
Am I... am I seriously worrying about this kid?
Blinking twice and exhaling slowly, Haylen gently cupped Simon's jaw, raising up the washcloth to set about clearing his face of the mottled crimson. But just as he was about to start, his hand began quavering uncontrollably, and a sharp pang ripped through his chest. He barely kept hold of the cloth and swiftly pulled his hand back, dropping it into his own lap. It was only then when he noticed how terrified he was by the fact that he was so horribly concerned about Simon.
Shit.
I am worried about him.
I'm... I can't... I can't be like this.
I can't let myself get attached to him. I can't.
The idea of actually having a place in his battered heart for someone scared Haylen out of his mind. He couldn't associate people with anything but hurt. Even his dad, who he'd once loved so much, had just hurt him in the end. And how was he to be sure that Simon wouldn't do the same?
Oh, hell, it's not like we're 'in love' or anything. Oh god no.
But even just... remotely caring about someone... it's... it's weird.
After taking a moment to compose himself, Haylen brought his hand back to Simon's cheek, running his limber fingers ever so lightly over the broken skin. He reached up and touched the golden-red tips of the boy's hair, his touch lingering for a long moment before he sat back in his chair in silence.
He seriously hoped that the nurse would be back soon so that he didn't have to fill the quiet with perplexing thoughts in regards to his feelings about Simon.
"Failure, nuisance. No one wants you around."
Mr. Welsh stood stern in his suit, disgusted by what he was looking at. Mrs. Welsh joined his side, arms crossed and eyebrow raised in a judgmental fashion, imposing in her tailored crème suit.
"Repulsive."
A rebellious looking blond teenager arrived behind them, stopping in front of mister Welsh, the same disgusted expression on his bright green eyes under a few messy hair tendrils.
No wonder I pulled the trigger. I didn't want to stay around that." he ended in a scoff, pointing at Simon, sitting on the ground as if he'd been pushed there.
In harmony they tilted their head back, laughing manically,before staring him down, pointing as they kept their horrible laughter, their voice deformed in something twisted.
"Stop! Please stop!" he screamed in his nightmare and groaned on the nursing room table, twitching a little as his head went from facing one way to facing the other, a cold sweat beginning to form on his forehead.
The vision of the three laughing figures pulsed, zooming in and out, morphing in the face of Jack, laughing in a fit and pointing. More faces right out of his memory, laughing like mad hyenas, pointing at the ridiculous being he was.
"Worthless!"
"Useless!"
"Alone! You'll end up alone!"
The faces, every thing began to spin and blur, faster, and faster, louder and louder while poor Simon had little recourse other than to try and hold on to his own hair, pulling at them with both hands, wishing for it to end while rocking back and forth.
"Stop!" like before, this had been only a whisper in real life, but it was enough to let Simon wake in a jolt with a loud gasp.
The soreness and pain coming too was enough to hit his nightmare in a blurry scramble of images which he could no longer recall, the dream now erased until a distant night. Groaning, he opened his one eye that still had the ability to move the eyelids.
There he was, the boy who'd help him. He felt something warm pierce within the thick layers of soreness and aching, not yet able to decipher what, given his current stat of confusion. Heck, he'd barely been able to place the name on this now familiar.
In a choked voice, he whispered to Haylen, one of his hand reaching out a little, wanting to understand more, his memory having trouble returning. And this light, god the light hurt.
"Haylen.....what happened?...where, where am I?"
The amount of relief that washed over Haylen when Simon finally roused from his sleep was almost ridiculous. "Oh, thank Christ," he murmured, gazing anxiously at the redhead. "You're in the nurse's office. Those bastards in english class beat the shit out of you. You're gonna be okay, though."
Hah.
Reeeally encouraging.
Haylen leaned back in his seat, unsure as to what to do. Part of him felt obligated to offer his aid to Simon, and the other part felt like this would all just be easier if he went back to treating the kid in the same way that he treated everyone else. He didn't know if he could mentally handle the emotional half of getting to know people.
That's why I always liked my hookers nameless.
He briefly thought back to one of his first experiences with a callboy, smirking sorely at the recollection.
"I've never liked these places, they're so friggin' grimy..." Haylen hastily shoved the boy against the wall of one of the small back rooms of the club; one of those dark-lit little cubicles that was pretty much intended for promiscuous activity. He'd found a really lovely boy this time, enticing and beautiful as he stood on the streetcorner, and dragged him to the nearest club.
The boy laughed raspily, strands of flaxen falling over his sleepy olive eyes. "Who cares? That's not what matters back here..." His voice was spent from one too many late nights, and as Haylen pressed wet kisses up his neck, he realized how much he smelt of partying and sickly-sweet.
"You're right. How much do you want?" With his lips still against the pale boy's skin, Haylen went digging for his money in his pocket, pulling out a one-hundred dollar bill and hoping it would suffice.
"Usually it's one-twenty, but since you've been so... nice... I'll let you slip with that hundred." He eyed the money greedily, gripping at Haylen's waist and begging for his pay without using words.
With a soft moan, Haylen let his hand fall to slip the money into the waistband of the boy's tight jeans and grinned when the boy let out a string of obscenities. "You should be the one in my spot, you know, you're good at this and people would love you... you'd be filthy rich in one night."
"So I've heard," Haylen laughed silkily, pressing his body stark to the blonde's. "Now c'mon... let's shut up."
"Of course - but I don't think I told you, my name's-"
Haylen cut the boy off, snapping his eyes shut. "It doesn't matter. Just do what I say."
He shook himself from his little memory-land, letting his attention return to the poor broken boy on the cot. "The nurse... she's gonna be back really soon, she said that she's getting you something to make your head feel a little better," he told Simon, his velvet voice echoing in the quiet room. "You know, I..."
Don't say it. Don't say it.
"...I'm glad that we're.. on better terms now. I don't think I'd be able to stand rooming with someone who I truly hated."
Oh. So much tact.
Sigh.
Haylen furrowed his brows before continuing, wishing he could have a few more social graces. "I... don't know. I think I'm kind of starting to care about you or something, which is far from the usual for me... I guess I just thought you should know that."
He's breaking me.
He's friggin' breaking me.
Haylen, and all the light and white vanished from his sight, seeing through it as memories came flooding back, triggered by Haylen's explanation of his situation. The mockery, being cornered and held back like that. He'd been so helpless, it felt so shameful now, diminishing. The face of them, just like his nightmare.
I'm such a failure.
It was a harsh return to reality as the light returned along with the splitting head-ache, like karma laughing in his face, granting him a physical reminder of his shame. Yet, the roughness didn't last. His face quickly warming, he saw Haylen make something of a confession. It made sense that something of this scale, living it side by side would get them at least a little close.
"Thanks. I think I needed that right now. Can I confess something else?"
He looked to the guy who apparently, was now his new friend. Ok, friend with benefits, but if that so irregular in this day and age? Haylen appeared to be listening, showing no sign that he'd tattle tell, not that he would change a lot if he did.
"I can't stand being alone. I hate it. As much as I don't like attention or crowds. Makes no sense. Weird huh?"
Annoyed at the idea of still being helpless, Simon groaned, making an extreme effort just of the simple act of pushing himself up in a sitting position, bringing a hand to his face wrinkled in pain.
"This is going to be a loooong evening..."
The nurse returned just on time to witness him sit up, rushing to his side with a prescription bottle boring no label, a few pills seen through the translucent orange plastic.
Don't strain yourself, but it's good you can move now hun. You just have a mild concussion, so try to stay away from bright lights for a day or two. I'm going to right you a note for missing school today and tomorrow. Same to you love. You don't have much but I still think you should take some rest. Now take this."
She placed two pills in Simon's hand and placed the bottle in his other hand before going to the sink, filling a water glass for him. Without asking anything, Simon took the little pills, wishing for any level of relief.
"That's good sweet cheeks. Now the bad news is, you have to stay up for most of the night. You could have a seizure if you sleep. I also suggest having someone there with you. You won't be alone will you?"
Simon nodded and pointed to Haylen in a lazy gesture.
"He's my roommate."
Looking to Haylen, she changed her target and began to talk to him.
"Oh good, good. Just keep an eye on him ok sweetie. If his eyes become really dilated or you see him start to really twitch, give us a call. If you can't it would be best that he stay the night."
There was no way Simon was staying over night, hating those over cleansed spaces smelling of anesthetics. With another groan, but a little easier than sitting down, the pills already having a little bit of a soothing effect.
"I'm good, really. Haylen, mind giving me a hand back?"
An arm around Haylen's shoulder, he limped his way out of the nurse's and up to their dorm, looking like the weaker one despite his size, for once.
