Drowning In The Crowd~ A short Drander Fanfic~

Chapter 3

Drowning In The Crowd
Part 3

~Drander~

10:45AM

...

Zander opens his eyes to be met with the bathroom floor. On the bathroom floor were two feet, carrying a boy wearing a black hoodie and an expression on his face telling Zander that he was nervous. His face was tinted red, the periwinkle boy couldn't tell what was going on.

But he suddenly feels a cold breeze on his shoulder, longing for a warmth that was previously there.

"Drew? What are you doing?"

Did we fall asleep? Zander thought.

Wait.. did we fall asleep on each other!?

...

Drew POV:

I suddenly wake up, finding my head resting on Zander's shoulder.

On Zander's shoulder!?

I stand up and turn around to face him, peacefully sleeping.

It's okay, he won't know.

But then he opens his eyes, and they dart straight at me.

"Drew? What are you doing?"

I didn't know how to explain the current situation. The position we were in.. we were only just sitting down in silence a while ago. We must have both fallen asleep at some point. I felt my face burn. If the ground could open up and swallow me whole, now would be the time.

Zander stands up and turns red almost in realization.
Embarrassment washes over all of my current feelings, as the boy stares at me, eyes widened. Somehow, I feel as if it was my fault we slept through first period like that, so I apologize.

"S-Sorry."

Oh, well done for stuttering, Drew.

Zander doesn't say anything, which makes the situation even worse. I should probably leave. And so I do.

...
No One's POV:

Zander watches as the so-called cocky teenager that suddenly becomes shy hides his face with his hair and quickly walks out of the bathroom. At that moment, he felt as if he wanted to d!e.

I shouldn't be blushing, I shouldn't be blushing, I shouldn't be blushing, I shouldn't be blushing, He thinks to himself as he paces out of the bathroom, with no intention of following Drew.

~

"Zander, are you okay? You weren't in math this morning." Sean asks, as Zander aggressively rearranges the books in his locker.

"Never been better, Sean."

Although Luke would take the hint to not bother Zander when he seems to be in a mood, Sean happens to be a persistent person.

"Zander, come on. You know you can always vent if you need to."
The ebony-eyed boy wouldn't give up on trying to help his friend.

Zander slams his locker shut, startling Sean, and turns to face him.

"You say that all the time. You say I can vent to you if I need to, but what if I don't? There's nothing wrong, Sean, I'll be on my way chemistry now." He reassures him.

"Okay, if you say so Zander. But don't forget what I said."

Zander knows that the words he said to Sean were complete and utter lies. His hurt was sinking deeper than anyone else's hurt. The arrow pierces his heart further than anyone's else's heart. His fingertips were barely sticking out of the crowd he was drowning in. But he wouldn't let anyone else know that. He couldn't let anyone else know that. Especially not Sean.
And so, he turns away and walks to his biology class....

Drew POV:

I usually hate chemistry. But Zander walks in. Not that Zander walking in makes any difference. But the encounter we recently had makes me even more nervous. I'm not usually nervous. I never am. Something is going on.

Zander is in the stool in front of me, and I can't pay attention to the teacher. But then, something whizzes past me straight into Zander's hair. I turn around and see Liam, giving me a wink, indicating that he threw something into the boy's purple hair. Should I smile back?

No. It feels weird to go straight back to bullying Zander after that strange scenario we were both in together. Also, his hair looks so neatly combed, and the random ball of paper only as large as a pin ruins it. I lean over my desk and delicately pick it out of his hair. I put the piece of paper back on my desk, and I turn back to Liam to shake my head ever so slightly at him. He wears an expression of confusion, but that didn't bother me. I currently have bigger problems to deal with anyway.

"Drew, the current star of the school, you take your first pick." The teacher says, out of the blue.

She must have noticed I wasn't paying attention.

"Sorry, what were we doing?" I say, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

The teacher sighs, and repeats what she must have said before.
"You're choosing a partner to work with for our practical activity? Ring a bell?"

"Oh..right."

I look around, and my eyes dart to Liam. But he'll ask me why I took that paper ball out of Zander's hair.Zoey is a definite no. Elliot's going to pair up with Milly anyway. Stacy seems to be with Jake and Henry seems to be with Sadie.

"Well?"

"Zander." I blurt out.

Oh God, seriously? I must have said his name because I was thinking about him.

Zander's voice is the first one I hear.

"Me?"

Most people know that Zander and I don't really get along. I suppose they think of me as a bad guy and him as a victim. Some people eye me weirdly when I say his name; they could be assuming I'm doing this to make fun of him.

But I'm not.

Everyone's staring at us. Mostly at me, but at both of us. Even the teacher. When I say the ground could swallow me up, this time I really mean it. This time, I'm in a crowd. A crowd of judgmental, unforgiving eyes trying to make me feel like I was alone. _Stop looking at me. Stop looking at me. Stop looking at me. Stop looking at me._
But they won't. They never will. Once again, I'm in a helpless situation where I'm drowning in a crowd where I'm not as worthy as everyone else. But it's okay this time, right? Because Zander's sitting next to me. And we're going to be lab partners.