The Loner's Journey

Chapter 20

Archer's POV
Once we get outside I look around for a bench close by. I spot one and start walking towards it. I can hear Danny and Grayson following. I sit on the bench and wait for Danny to sit down before holding my foot up for him to inspect my ankle. He gently moves it around and checks my facial expression to see if I'm in pain. "It seems like it's still ok, but you should probably ice it and wrap it up when you get home later." He says. I put my foot back down and nod at him. Then I remember I didn't go home yesterday. My dad is gonna be pissed when I get home. I visibly cringe and Danny looks at me funny. I lean over and whisper to him what I just thought. When I pull away he has an angry look with a hint of concern on his face. "Will you be ok?" He asks quietly. I try to smile and nod to reassure him but I don't think it works cause he still has that same look on his face. I decide to just leave it alone for now and stand back up to go back inside. As I stand up I loose my balance and fall into Grayson, who catches me. I turn my face away as I blush and then right myself. I peak at his face to see he's kind of flushed too. I look at Danny and see he's smirking. I walk over and hit him in the head. "OW!! What was that for ace?!" He whines. I pout at him and turn away. I begin to stomp back inside and I hear the boys scrambling to catch up. I walk straight to the gym, seeing as it's my last class of the day, and climb to the top of the bleachers and sit down. I hear the boys coming up too but don't acknowledge them right away. Danny sits on one side of me and Grayson on the other. "Ace!" Danny whines again. I look at him. He's making puppy eyes at me. I look away because I know he'll win if I keep looking at him. He calls me again and I ignore him. I feel him shift next to me. I look over and see that he's still got the puppy eyes but now he has his head turned slightly to the side and is pouting. I sigh. I smile at him and he knows he's won. He fist bumps the air and wraps his arm around my shoulder. "I knew you couldn't stay mad!" He says happily. I roll my eyes but don't do anything else. "I thought you hated gym, Ace. Why'd you come here?" Danny asks. I shrug and look at Danny. "You don't know?" He asks. I nod. He seems to accept that. "So do you guys mind answering some more questions since I didn't get to finish at lunch?" Grayson asks. I almost forgot he was here. I turn to him and he smiles at me. I blush and look back to Danny. He gives me a questioning look and I nod to tell him it's ok. "Yeah, that's fine." He says. "Ok, how did you learn that archer was being bullied?" He asks. "Well I caught him in the act. I had known something was up with him but he would never tell me what it was. One day I was getting ready to leave after practice and heard a commotion. I went to see what it was and saw those jackasses beating him up. He was lucky I got there when I did too or it would have been much worse." He says. I nod and smile at him. "Oh. Well why do they do it?" He asks. "I don't really know. I guess cause he doesn't fight back." Danny says. I stiffen up at the mention of the reason they do this. Danny notices this and rubs my back lightly. I relax at the feeling and smile slightly at him. He smiles back and stops the action. "We'll do you know why?" Grayson asks, directly to me. I look at him, then at my feet, and shrug. "Come on. There has to be a reason." He says. I start getting a little uncomfortable. I start ringing my hands, which I do often when I'm stressed, embarrassed, or anxious. I look away from him and shrug again. "You know you can tell us. We won't judge you." He says. I start trembling when I remember what Trent had said to me the other day. My breathing picks up and I start sweating some. Danny notices this and tries to get me to move. I tense up and can't get my limbs to move. "Ace, you need to calm down. Listen to my voice and breathing. Try to match your breathing to mine." He says calmly.  I try to do as he says but can't quite get my breathing to even out. "Ace. Focus on me." He says. I try to look at him and focus, but I can't. "What's wrong? Is he ok?" I hear Grayson ask. but it's muffled like I'm under water. "He's having a panic attack." Danny says. I start to curl in on myself. "Ace, I need you to listen to me. You need to lay down before you pass out. Your breathing isn't stable." He says calmly. I can't get my body to work. I can hear myself making noises but I can't understand what they are. It could be whimpers or I could be screaming. I can't tell because everything sounds so muffled. Eventually, I feel someone laying me down. I can't remember much after that though because I pass out.