One World

Chapter 2

⚠️TW⚠️: homophobia, slurs, physical violence, sexual assault
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The locker room is mostly empty by time I make it into the room. A thick musty smell lingers in the air and I feel nauseous just breathing it in.

My locker is towards the back of the locker room, and when I turn the corner, I'm faced with yet another run in with Darren, Aiden, and Jason.

The wrestlers.

Of whom I have several problems with.

I turn away from them and try to ignore them, but I see a person approach me from my peripheral vision.

My eyes dart back and forth between him and the inside of my locker. He slowly takes off his shirt and leaves it off. While his wrestler abs are nice, he in fact, is not.

A panic arises in my throat as he approaches me, getting closer and closer to me every second.

As I'm taking off my shirt, he's only an inch away from me.

"Hey." Darren whispers.

I feel myself growing more and more nauseous as my anxiety blows through my roof.

"Why are you here?" He asks.

I assert myself, in the most confident voice I can conjure up at this moment, I say; "I need to change."

He looks me up and down. "Oh yeah? Is that all?"

Jason and Aiden snicker from behind me.

"I'm not sure what your saying." I nearly yell.

"You're not gonna, you know." He traces a single finger across my back. "Fuck me?"

I feel the heat rise through my neck up to my cheeks.

"No." I say.

He grabs me, pulls me into his arms, and starts licking my ear.

I struggle against him but my strength against his is nothing. "Stop." I groan.

"Fuckin' faggot." He spits. "I bet you love this."

Aiden and Jason get right in front of me. I squint.

Aiden administers the first punch, right in my stomach.

A blinding pain shoots through me.

The shove me to the ground and I'm essentially useless in this situation. I close my eyes and try to think about how I'm a good person. But they make me question that idea a lot.

"Sure you ain't wanna fuck one of us?" Jason asks as he kicks me.

They continue to laugh as they bruise nearly every square inch of my body.

I can hardly comprehend what happens as everything blurs together.

Eventually, the blurring and the tears fades away as I begin to bask in a sleep.
-

I can hear someone, feel someone.

Someone is running their thumb across my wet cheeks, pushing my hair out of my face. I finally open my eyes to see a boy, green hair and a beanie, sitting above me.

I squirm as I recognize him. He hangs out with Darren, Jason, and Aiden.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." He whispers. His voice is smooth and soft, and for a minute, I embrace the moment and let his voice soothe me.

I find my head resting on his chest as he fluffs my hair.

"Listen kid, I'm Blake, and I know I hang out with those guys, but to be honest, they're jerks." He pauses for a moment. "I'm just like you." He whispers. "Gay and all. No one but you and me know, and I didn't think you'd be the first to know, but here we are. Don't cry, don't be upset. We're going to stick together and I won't let you get hurt anymore.

His words almost make me feel fine, but the pain of everything makes me wince. I don't want to look like this is in front of someone, so I pull myself away and nod slightly.

"Gabriel." I say. "You don't have to protect me. I can do it fine myself."

He looks at me. "From what I saw, those guys aren't trustworthy near you. Wether you like it or not, I'm staying by your side at all times." His words are forced upon me and buried into me.

I nod. "Okay." My injuries only become more painful as he tries to readjust his position. I wince slightly.

I stay silent for a moment. "Blake, please don't hurt them. I can see you're a nice guy, but protecting me doesn't mean hurting others." I beg of him.

After all, fighting fire with fire doesn't do much.

He helps me towards the showers and helps me clean my cuts and bruises.

I finish getting dressed and head towards our next class.

I look over to him. "Thank you. Also.." 

I'm barely able to get it out, but I have to say it.