Together Again (wolfen_graal & phantasmagoricStoner)

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Derick tried hard not to cry. He could only imagine the rumors and trouble that would be caused if someone saw him crying in the nurse's office alone with another guy. They'd twist things around, make it seem as though he were cheating on Eric. Then he'd get mad, beat up both of them... Derick didn't want that to happen. He tried to take a deep breath, to calm himself, but no luck. He nearly burst, tears starting to flow down his cheeks as his breath became a bit more ragged, but he held on.

"N-no, I'm okay... i-it was a long time ago... and no, Eric doesn't know... he just knows that I had... a traumatic experience, and that's why we haven't... well, been together." Derick wiped his eyes, looking up at Zac. "I've cried enough about it. Now's... not the right time." He swallowed, still trying not to weep. "But I've told you about my first kiss, technically. They all kissed me that night. I don't remember which was first, but... it was one of them." He smiled weakly, glancing away. "S-so... you're really my friend? You're not... just saying that, right?"
 
"Yeah, of course," Zac said, watching the crying boy in front of him, "you seem to need someone who isn't Eric and I think I should make a friend." Well, Zac knew the boy in front of him should have friends and someone to rely on, other than Eric. Plus, Zac has been observing the duo and was very intrigued by their relationship when he first laid his eye son them. And, his best friend that moved to Romania kept telling him to make friends and stop being lonely because it hurts him whenever Zac talks about his lonely life in school. He patted the boy's shoulder awkwardly.

A few minutes later, the door opened, revealing the school's nurse, who seemed like she was in a rush with her messy hair and uniform with makeup smudged all over her face. Zac removed his hand from Derick's shoulder and faced the nurse, "We were waiting for you."
 
Derick wiped his face quickly, trying to clear it of tears, but the nurse noticed. Immediately, she started asking questions and checking him over. Derick nervously skirted the questions, never really revealing what happened, only that his throat was sore and he'd been having trouble breathing. He looked at Zac, somewhat pleading with the boy not to reveal the truth. The nurse, after the examination, looked to Zac and placed her hands on her hips. "So, you brought him in, yes? And stayed with him? That's a good lad. His airways were constricted. If he'd fallen asleep, his lack of air could have caused brain damage. Now, what can you tell me about what happened?"
 
He hesitated for awhile before answering the her, occasionally shifting his gaze from Derick to the nurse. Should I tell her? He glanced at Derick's pleading face then back to the cabinets, that were directly behind the nurse. I promised him I won't. His eyebrows furrowed as he pondered. Promises are meant to be broken.

"Hey, kid? Did you hear me? What happened to the boy?" the nurse's voice made Zac snap out of his trance, giving the nurse his full attention. The nurse added, seeming a little bit impatient then previously,"Well?"

"He was standing, facing the railings in front of the school. Someone pushed him towards the railings. I guess the impact must have been quite hard since from where I was standing during the time of the incident, it seemed like he was choking as though someone was really holding him by the neck. After that, he fell, face first." Zac lied, saying whatever that came to his mind. What the hell was that?! Zac wasn't really good at lying to someone unless they weren't face to face. For example, he once texted his dad that he'd be spending the night at his "friend's" house but instead, he was sneaking into a concert. The friend was non-existent though. Somehow, seeing someone's face whenever he lies, only made Zac nervous. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, silently hoping that the lie made sense and the nurse would fall for it.
 
The nurse sighed, but waved her hand. She didn't believe him, but it was fairly clear that she wasn't going to get the truth. "Fine, fine. Anyway, I'll give you a breathing treatment in a moment. For now, I have to get a tardiness note to your friend." She walked into her office and started to rummage around, looking for the late slips. Derick looked to Zac, feeling guilty that he'd made the guy lie for him. It was obvious that Zac wasn't comfortable with lying, which made Derick feel even worse.

"Hey, er, thanks..." He spoke quietly, hoping his voice wouldn't carry. He gave a small smile, though his eyes were still showing guilt. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to have to lie or anything." He shifted, looking around, and quickly stood to give Zac a peck on the cheek, his own face turning brilliantly red afterwards. "For helping..."

The nurse walked back into the room with the signed note. "This will excuse you from trouble, Zac. Now get to class, sir." She set the breathing machine down on the nightstand beside Derick and began to set it up, looking at him in a confused manner. "Are you okay? Your face is really red."
 
Zac let out a sigh of relief as he watched the nurse walk into her office and not asking him further questions. He was relieved since he thought his lie seemed quite stupid. But a promise is a promise and he made himself not to break any promises he made to anyone. He stiffened as he felt a peck on his cheek, making a light blush appear on his face. He faced Derick although his attention wasn't on his face as he tried to retain his blush from getting too obvious, "Ah, n-no... it's no problem a-at all. I mean, what are friends for, right?"

As the nurse walked back in, she handed him the slip of paper while telling him to go back to class. To his ears, she made it sound as though she's trying to tell him to scram from the room. He looked down at the slip of paper in his hands, reading the contents written on the paper before glancing up at nurse then to Derick. He waved with the hand that was clutching his excuse note, "Well, I'll see you at lunch," he added, glancing at the breathing machine the nurse had just set up, "hopefully, you'll be out by then. See you!"

Before heading out of the nurse's office, he glanced back at Derick, smiling. Luckily, the hallways were empty, not a single teacher or hall monitor present. As he walked to his homeroom class, he placed his hand on the cheek Derick kissed him on. His face turned red like a tomato at the thought of it. He has a boyfriend, you idiot! He tried to dismiss those thoughts away as he looked at his watch, noticing that he only had ten minutes left of Homeroom. He might as well make an appearance to his teacher or else it'll seem as though he skipped first period. He quickened his pace, arriving in front of his homeroom class door in a few seconds. After knocking a few times, he opened the door, only to be greeted by a stern looking Mr Pearson and his classmate's face. Zac held up the hand that was holding the slip of paper as he made his way towards his teacher, "I have an excuse."

His teacher eyed the note suspiciously as he read the contents before telling Zac to take a seat. Zac made his way to the back of the class, where his seat was. A minute or two after he settled down, the bell rang, signalling the end of the first period. He groaned in annoyance, Should've took my time... He quickly stood up from his seat and made his way out of the class and into the sea of students in the hallways. As he made his way to his Art class, he passed by the nurse's office, I wonder if Derick's released already. Well, he should be by the end of second period, right? Maybe I'll check after lunch if I don't see him in the cafeteria by then.
 
Derick, after the breathing treatment, felt much better, although the nurse made him stay so she could watch him for a little while longer. During the second period, though, she pronounced him okay and gave him a note, excusing him for being late. As he made his way to class, he stopped at the restroom. Standing at the urinal, he heard a noise, a sort of muffled panting along with a strange noise he couldn't quite place. He looked around and saw, to his shock, a girl's heel sticking out from underneath the door to a stall. He blushed even brighter, but hurried up. As he washed his hands, though, he heard something that crushed him. A voice, a very familiar voice, whispering. "Shh, someone could be out there. I'll take a look."

Derick slid into another stall, his heart hammering, and stepped onto the toilet as Eric peeked out into the bathroom. He gave the girl the all-clear and guided her out of the room before quickly washing his hands and heading back to class. Derick, waiting himself until the coast was clear, stepped out, numb with shock. "He's cheating... Eric's cheating on me... with a-a girl!" He nearly collapsed, but managed not to. The floor was filthy anyway. He rushed out of the bathroom, walking slowly to his class, dreading seeing Eric. What was he supposed to do?
 
Zac sighed in frustration, staring at the object that was at the front of the class. It was an assignment given by his art teacher as she grades art pieces by her other students from another class. Zac glared at the teacher before looking at the clock that was placed above the whiteboard. Not even a half an hour has passed. He glanced at his seatmate's sketch, his mouth slightly gape as he watched his seatmate draw the object. He's halfway done... he looked back to the empty page of his sketchbook, I'm no where near finish...

He tapped his pencil a few times on the table lightly before raising his hand to get the teacher's attention. She looked up from her work, giving Zac the 'What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy' look. Zac pointed at the door as he mouthed 'bathroom' to her. The teacher nodded, bringing her attention back to grading assignments as she held up the toilet pass for Zac. Zac got up, took the pass and walked straight out of the classroom. Once he exited, he released a heavy breath. He despised art class, not really sure why he decided to take it up in the first place. It's only a few more periods before lunch starts, he could feel his stomach grumbling already. As he was walking down the hallways, he saw Derick rushing out of the bathroom, walking really slowly. Zac picked up his pace, making his way towards Derick. Zac asked, clearly oblivious to Derick's current state, "Hey, the nurse let you out already? How are you feeling?"
 
Derick looked up, jumping slightly as Zac approached him. "Uh, yeah, I was let out a little bit ago, um, bathroom." He gestured at the door, clearly distracted. He fidgeted a bit with his hands, trying to take deep breaths to calm himself, but his lungs didn't seem to want to work right. "I just, er, had a... bad incident..." He glanced around, feeling as though the walls were closing in on him. He back-pedaled toward the bathroom, thinking to splash some water on his face. "Er, I-I need to talk... c'mon..."

Once they were in the bathroom, Derick leaned against the wall, trying hard to remain standing. "I-I heard was in here just a bit ago and... and Eric was with some girl. I-I dunno what was happening, they were in that stall, and I could see her heels, I think she was blowing him, and I-I just..." He gasped a bit, wiping some tears from his eyes. "H-he's cheating on me, Zac, a-and I don't know what to do, I-I mean, is it my fault? H-he's wanted some sexual stuff from me for a while, sh-should I have given him something? I-I just..."
 
Bad incident...? Zac thought as he followed Derick to the bathroom. On their way, he eyed the back of Derick's head, trying to figure out what in the world happened to him. Once they were in the bathroom, Za watched as Derick leaning against the wall, a few tears escaped his eyes as he explained what happened to Zac. As the boy explained to him what happened, Zac stood there in shock, his mouth slightly gaped as he stared at the boy in front of him. He didn't know what to say. He experienced love betrayal before but he saw it coming, he knew it would happen to him. But soon, he felt the rage growing in him as his eyebrows furrowed, his fists began to clench. He gritted his teeth, his voice turned cold, "Break up with him, he's not worth your time."

He reached for the tissue dispenser and pulled out a handful of it then handed it to Derick. He placed his hands onto Derick's shoulders as he leaned closer, "It's not your fault and you shouldn't give in to someone like that. Your relationship... he's only playing with your feelings, he's only playing with you."

Soon after that, he realized the position they were in and let go of his hold on Derick's shoulder as he leaned back against the wall. "It's best to break up with him before today ends. Maybe during lunch or something. If you're not confident, send a break up text." he simply stated before he went quiet for awhile.
 
Derick, dabbing at his eyes with the tissues, was still trying hard not to fully break down. "I-I can't send a text... I don't have a cell phone..." He remained off the floor, still trembling a bit with a desire to start crying and an adamant refusal to allow himself to do so. "I-I'll see him... in class, when I get there. I-I'll break it off..." He looked up at Zac, clearly still shaken and hurt. "Thanks... I-I didn't know what I was going to do... I've never been in this situation before."

He stood slightly, holding still a moment to get the cramps out of his legs, and looked to Zac again, his face turning red again. "O-oh, and about the, er, kiss in the nurse's office... sorry about that. I tried to keep it innocent and all, but if it made you uncomfortable... I just wanted to show you that I appreciated your help. I, er, won't do it again..." He coughed slightly, shifting his feet, and mumbled to himself, trying to make his words hard to hear, despite the quiet, echoing bathroom. "Unless you liked it... I did."
 
"If he forces himself onto you, run away from there as soon as possible." A small smile crept onto his face, he really hope it won't happen. This whole situation kind of reminded him of himself when the first girl he ever dated cheated on him with some guy from the football team, except he didn't have anyone to turn to. He didn't want to bother his father who was already too busy with work and his father is the only family he has. He didn't have a mother figure from the very beginning. His only friend is in Romania and they didn't really get to communicate often because of their busy schedules and timezone difference.

"Ah, oh yeah.. the kiss..." his face turned a light shade of red, remembering what happened in the nurse's office. He tried to avoid eye contact since he could feel his face getting warmer. "I... uh, don't mind it. I actually liked it as well." He felt as though he was a middle school girl with her crush which was weird since he's not acted this way before. Glancing at his watch then to the toilet pass that he was holding in his hand, he realized that he was out of class for too long. "Come on, we should get going," he gripped Derick's wrist, making their way out of the bathroom, "we should probably head to class or else the teachers might think we're playing truant or something."

"A-and, if you need someone to sit with during lunch, you can sit by me... only if you want. I'm not forcing you." he said, his face getting redder.
 
Derick nodded, allowing himself to be led away. Being pulled by the wrist was very close to having his hand held, and it was more than Eric had ever done. Soon, though, he had to disentangle himself from his friend. "My classroom is this way, Zac. I-I'll see you at lunch, okay?" He shifted his feet, nibbling his lip lightly. "I-I'd like having someone to sit with, but Eric will probably come by and... well, make a scene. Thanks for... well, being my friend." He screwed up his courage and gave another kiss to Zac, still on the cheek, but much less fleeting this time, before waving and rushing away, his chest feeling both tight and airy at the same time.

In no time, he was outside his classroom, steeling himself for the confrontation with Eric. He walked in, handing the teacher the note from the nurse, and walked toward his seat. Eric sat next to him, and as Derick sat down, Eric leaned in to talk to him. "What the hell took you so long, Derick? I was worried about you." Derick looked at him, incredulous at his audacity.

"I went to the nurse's office because I couldn't breathe after you choked me, Eric." Derick was speaking quietly, trying to keep their conversation private. "Don't worry, though, I didn't rat on you. Then I went to the bathroom." He glared at him, his eyes tearing up again as he felt the sting. "I heard you in there, I saw you! Who was that girl, Eric?" Eric sat back, looking at him with an angry expression, which only fueled Derick's outrage. He still kept his voice down, though. "You've been cheating on me! I told you I wasn't comfortable with sex yet, so you found someone who was, huh? Well you can be with her, because we're over."

What happened next was a mystery. The students reports were varied, most simply stating that they didn't know what happened. Some said Eric threw Derick out a window. Others that Eric simply starting punching him. The truth was something of a mix. Eric lashed out and starting to hit Derick, punching him and smacking him with a book. Eventually, as Derick tried to stop him, Eric threw him back, where he hit a window and broke it. After that, he kicked his now-ex boyfriend repeatedly until the teacher, with the help of another, pulled him away. Derick didn't remember, though. The next thing he knew after breaking up with Eric was waking up in the nurse's office an hour later.
 
"Yeah... no problem..." he mumbled, his hand on the cheek Derrick just kissed, his face was as red as a tomato as he watched his figure going to wherever his destination was. He stood there for a few minutes before realizing that he need to be in class. Stupid... what's wrong with you?! He's a friend! He scolded himself as he continued his way back to the Art classroom. Hopefully, there won't be any problems when Zac's new friend breaks up with Eric. "Hopefully..." he mumbled to himself, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

As he entered the classroom, he placed the toilet pass onto the teacher's table. She looked at him, a stern look on her face as though she was about to explode with rage any minute. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Zac stated, grinning mischievously, facing the teacher as he walked backwards to his seat, "Had to take a big business, ma'am. At least I'm back."

As soon as he reached his seat, the bell rang. He sent the teacher a smirk as he packed his things and headed for his next class, which was History. The classroom was next door so it didn't take him five minutes to reach. Plus, he can't wait for Lunch which was the next period. During History class, he tried his best to concentrate, only to be interrupted by the female on his left who wanted Zac to pass a note to the female on his right. Reluctantly, he snatched the note from her and threw it the desk on his right. This repeated every few minutes. Other than that, the group of guys that were sitting behind him were speaking loudly so, it was quite easy to hear what they were talking about.

"So, they were like punching and there were books being thrown. Oh, and Eric threw him to the window and it cracked!" the boy behind him exclaimed the last part loudly. Another voice said, "Then, some teacher had to break it up. They were apparently fighting because they were breaking up and cheating or something. Anyway, it was hella entertaining."

The group of boys behind him were snickering. The pencil in Zac's hand dropped as soon as he heard Eric's name. His eyes widened, knowing that Derick was involved in the fight the boys were talking about. Soon after that, the lunch bell rang. He quickly shoved his stuff into his school bag and ran to the nurse's office again, banging into some students in the process. As he entered the nurse's office, he was panting, his eyes searching the whole room for any signs of Derick. The nurse from before eyed him in a disinterested manner, pointing towards Derrick, "Your friend's there."

His gaze followed the nurse's pointing finger. He was relieved to see that Derrick was waking up. He took a few deep breaths to make his breathing back to normal as he approached the bed Derrick was laying on. He looked back at the nurse, "What happened?"
 
The nurse simply shrugged, sighing. "He got his ass beat, that's what happened. He's lucky, though. He blacked out pretty quick, so he didn't feel most of it then. A few lacerations, some bruised ribs, and a few fractured fingers. We contacted his mother, but it's not an emergency." She looked at Zac intently for a few moments before continuing. "He'll need to go to the hospital, maybe get a few stitches, a cast, and some prescription pain killers. Now, are you going to level with me? The kid who did this, Eric... was he the one who choked Derick this morning?"

Derick tried to sit up, but gasped and clutched his ribs in agony. One of his eyes wouldn't open right, and he could barely see. His hearing seemed off, too. He could hear something, but it was like an out of tune radio, fading in and out. He tasted blood, and his head was pounding. He struggled to remember what was going on. The last thing he could recall was entering the classroom after catching Eric cheating. He groaned as he once more tried to sit up, the pain searing through his body. He was used to pain, though, and managed to push through it, sitting up and leaning against the wall, gasping for air. It was hard to breathe for some reason.
 
Hearing the injuries to Derrick's body made Zac cringe, his fingers were twitching as he listened to what the nurse told him. Whenever someone were to describe him someone's injuries, Zac would feel somewhat uncomfortable although he doesn't show it. He has a habit of visualizing it in his mind as the person explains. The whole time, his gaze was fixated on Derrick's unconscious body, wondering whatever did the boy do to deserve all this. Zac hesitated before nodding to the nurse, eyes not meeting hers as he felt slightly guilty for lying to her, he confessed, "Yeah, it was all him."

He knew he doesn't have the right to tell the nurse everything Eric has physically done to Derrick. Should I tell her...? No, you don't even have the right to. What if Derrick gets mad if you tell her what actually happened? His eyes widened, finally relieved that Derrick had awoken, in tone laced with worry, "You should lie down, you shouldn't strain yourself, ya know."
 
Derick waved his hand as though brushing away concern, but immediately regretted it. His finger felt like it was about to fall off, it hurt so bad. "What happened?" His voice was quiet, and he struggled to move his jaw. He recognized Zac's voice, but still couldn't see him. He faced his friend's general direction, his head swaying slightly as though he were drunk. His head was pounding, so much so that when someone else came to his side and started to wrap bandages around his hand, preventing his fingers from bending, he jumped a bit, gasping in pain.

The nurse, the one bandaging him, hushed him as she went back to work. "I was hoping you could tell us. You were assaulted by a boy named Eric. You'll have to go to the hospital once your mother arrives to take you. You need some stitches, a cast, and maybe some painkillers." Her voice was somewhat quiet, soothing and gentle. Derick felt more relaxed, leaning against the wall and groaning in pain. She looked to Zac and gestured to some pills and a glass of water on the side table, then to Derick. They were two asprin for his headache, though she was wondering now if he could even swallow them.
 
"You passed out, that's what happen." Zac answered, in a straightforward manner. Zac stood back as the nurse bandaged Derrick. Looking to the direction of where the nurse pointed, he took the pills and glass of water, then handing it to Derrick. After that, he took a seat on the chair, nearby the bed Derrick was laying on. He might as well spend the whole of lunch period here, it was the first time he ever felt the need to be somewhere. He looked at Derrick, eyes full of worry, a small frown showed on his face.

He honestly thought that Eric would just shout and yell at Derrick but he didn't think he would cause this much damage. He looked away from the bed, That Eric guy has some major problems... he thought to himself. "So, what happened to Eric? Did he get in trouble?" he asked the nurse since he knew Derrick wouldn't know anything. In actual fact, Zac was quite curious as to what happened to Derrick's now, ex-boyfriend.
 
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The nurse gave a partial shrug. "I'm not too sure about that. My concern was for Derick here. From what I know, he was restrained. He'll face disciplinary action from the school, so he's at least being suspended, most likely expelled." She checked Derick's pulse, letting her words sink in for a moment before continuing. "The police will be involved if Derick's mother files a report. If not, he'll be relatively okay. I'd suggest a restraining order at least, but I can't make anything happen." She stood as her phone rang, going to answer it.

Derick looked in the direction of Zac, his one good eye struggling to focus on him. "Eric did this? Why would he...? Did I break up with him? Is that why?" He shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable. "He cheated, I dump him, and then he beats me? Th-that's not fair..." He coughed a bit, his headache throbbing painfully. He couldn't think straight, and perhaps it was because of that, but for some reason he continued. "Well, I'm on the market now. Maybe you'll make a move now, heh..."
 
Zac mouthed an 'O' as the nurse finished explaining. As soon as she walked away, he looked back at Derrick, noticing his actions. "With your injuries, you should lie down and rest... and I agree, it's not fair and the guys in my class were talking about it and joking while at it... this kind of things spread like wildfire, huh?" he said, getting up to stand next to the bed. "Do you think your mom will file a police report?" he asked, leaning against the wall next to the bed as he looked at Derrick. He added, in a quieter, persuasive-like voice, "Or, maybe tell your mother whatever he did to you the pass few years?"

Hearing what Derrick said, he smiled as he placed a hand on the boy's hair and slowly comb his hand through the hair, "I'll make a move if you want me to, I'm not gonna force myself onto you." He paused, then continued with a smirk, "But, if you really want me to, I will."
 
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