• TW: Alcohol & Drug Usage , Offensive Remarks , Violence & Some Implied SH •
Steve walked through the school doors with a black eye. Everyone watched as he walked down the hall to his locker. The whispered amongst themselves as they watched the boy, laughing and giving him dirty looks. As Steve approached his locker, he seen something written on his locker. He looked at the word that was written in black sharpie. "FAGGOT" is what it read. Steve could feel his chest tighten as he quickly opened his locker, shoving his bag in the locker and closing it. He looked at the word again. It felt as if daggers were stabbing him from all angles, but why? He knew he wasn't.. gay.
He sighed deeply as he headed towards Robin's locker. She stood there, putting her stuff in her locker. She closed the door and turned to see Steve. "Harrington! How are yo- oh my god your eye!" She yelled in surprise, tocuhing the boys left eye. He winced in pain, pushed her hand away. "I - I'm fine, Robin." "No you're not! How did this happen?!" She demanded answers from the boy with a black eye. He sighed and smiled a bit at the girl. "Look, I'll tell you everything at work. But right now, I just want to get through the day, ok?" He pleaded her. She nodded slowly and gave up.
Steve smiled and they both began to walk to their class. From the corner of Steve's eye, he could see Jason standing there with his, "buddy's", laughing at Steve as he passed. He shook his head and ignored them. Robin looked at Steve with worry in her eyes. She didn't know what had happened, but she feels bad for the boy who she calls her best friend.
They entered the class and taking a set in the far back corner. They turned their attention to the teacher as the bell rang and he began the lesson.
- Time Skip / Lunch -
Steve entered the lunch room alone, all eyes turned to him. His chest tightened once again as they all began to whisper and give him the same dirty looks they gave him that morning. As he walked to the lunch lady, he could hear Jason yell from his table. "NOT WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND TODAY HARRINGTON?" The whole lunch room began to laugh. Steve didn't know how to react to this. His heart rate started to increase and it felt like there was a knot in his throat. He grabbed his food and sped walked out of the room, ignoring his friends yelling for him to slow down.
He rushed into the restroom and went into a stall and closed it behind him, locking it. He sat on the toilet, laying his food on his lap. He then let it hit him like a truck. Tears started flowing out of his eyes as he breathed heavily. Why was this effecting him so much? He gripped onto his arms, digging his nails into his skin. He felt the blood drip down his fingertips, down his arms. He heard the door open and he quickly tried to control his breathing, trying to stay quiet.
"Steve? You in here?" It was Dustin. He let out a sigh and cleared his throat. "Y-yeah, I'm in here.." he responded quickly, almost in a whisper. He heard as the bathroom door closed and footsteps towards the stall he was in. He seen Dustin's shoes stop in front of the door. "Can you unlock it? I just want to talk, make sure you're alright.." he said quietly. Steve hesitated, before unlocking the stall door for his friend. Dustin opened the door to see Steve. His eyes we red and puffy, his nose a shad of pink, and his arms.. blood dripping down them from where Steve had drugged his nails into his skin.
Dustin looked at the boy with worried eyes. He took Harrington's food and placed it on the sink. "What's going on man? You know you can talk to me.." Dustin said in a reassuring voice. Steve took a deep breath, wiping away the tears that were brimming at his eyes. He looked at Dustin with sadness in his eyes. He knew he could trust him with anything, so explained everything.
