how to save a life

3: Joe's thick toddies highschool

Over the next day things had gotten worse at home, but school had become a getaway. He enjoyed Langa's presence. He enjoyed teaching him how to skate, he was a quick learner.

When Reki was with Langa he felt whole. He felt complete. He felt happy.

When Reki was with Langa his smiles were genuine. When Reki was with Langa he felt the same butterflies he felt with the brown haired boy.

As of lately, everything seemed to remind him of the brown haired boy. But he didn't mind, he was passed it. Sometimes on the bad days, it was bad, but usually he reminisced on the good memories instead of letting the bad ones overwhelm him.

Some days the thought of his death hit him like a shockwave and he felt numb. All his feelings were still there, but they were covered in what can only be explained as a thin, goopy layer of emotional whiteout. All his colorful feelings had been muted into boring grey tones.

But being with Langa helped.

Being with Langa made him happy on the bad days.

Things were going good for Langa. His mom seemed to be satisfied that he was happy, and school had become a way for him to see Reki. He could be himself around Reki. He had opened up to Reki.

When Langa was with Reki he could be himself. He could laugh out loud. He could smile genuinely.

When Langa was with Reki life felt real. His feelings felt real. Life was colorful with Reki there. Butterflies sparked in his stomach when the red haired boy was around.

He was weary that he may have found himself a small crush, but he didn't mind. He thought Reki was perfect. He didn't mind staying friends as long as he could keep skating with him. As long as they could keep studying together. As long as they could keep being group project partners.

There were days when Reki would walk into school in a concerning state, and today was one of those days.

He walked in with a partially healed black eye, a still swollen nose, a busted lip, and a limp. Langa was clueless to what was happening, especially later during their lunch break, when Reki collapsed into his arms.

He woke up about a minute later, Langa and a teacher or two hovering over him. He hadn't eaten or drank anything since the schoolday before, when Langa gave him cheezits. He hadn't slept in 48 hours.

He tried to sit up but was hit with a wave of dizziness. The teachers helped him up into a chair and brought him a bottle of water as well as a snack.

"You gotta make sure you stay hydrated kid." The teacher said. Reki nodded. Langa couldn't help but notice how upset he had been today, he didn't understand. He had been so happy last night.

So what happened?

The two teachers talked to eachother with the occasional concerned look at Reki. Reki sat there taking small sips of water.

One of the teachers walked back over, "why don't you go to the nurse's office and can home?" Reki looked up and shook his head, "no no I'm okay. I can stay here. My parents are at work and I wouldn't want to bother them."

Reki was thinking hard. He didn't want to go home. He could call Oka, but he skipped work yesterday so he wouldn't have to talk to him about the situation.

Langa piped in, "Reki I think it's a good idea for you to go home. You don't look too good. Go home and eat something. You gotta take care of yourself man."

Reki looked at him, tears welling up in his eyes. Langa looked back at him and his heart skipped a beat. He felt like he had done something wrong.

Unknowingly, he had.