Sickening (A Lams Story)

Bad People? Or is it for the Greater Good?

. . .

The steady sprinkle of rain water through the bleachers annoyed the shit out of John. It was his PE class and he was hiding under the bleachers while the class continued in the rain. He always hid under the bleachers during this class.

 He was watching How to Get Away with Murder on his phone until, suddenly, it was snatched out of his hand. 

"Hey, freakshow." 

John looked up. "Come on, Charles. I'm not in the mood today." he said, and reached for his phone. 

"Saw you downtown with your new boyfriend a couple days ago. Why are you watching shit like this?" Charles tossed the phone aside and it cracked. Charles Lee had been tormenting John for years, even before freshman year when John started dating Lee's best friend. "How is your new boyfriend, John?" Charles asked.  It all started when John moved to New York from South Carolina in middle school. John was just a target for bullies like Lee.

"Alex isn't my boyfriend." John stood up and brushed back his curls. 

"Yeah? How do you think Francis would feel if he knew about Hamilton?" 

John shifted his backpack on his back. "He wouldn't feel anything because Alex and I are not dating, and even if we were, I wouldn't care how Francis would feel." 

"No, of course you wouldn't. You don't care about Francis anymore, you care about Hamilton now. Hamilton's a dick, John." Charles grabbed John's backpack strap, and pulled John forward. 

"Charles, stop. Now." 

"Since when do you talk back to me?" Charles trailed his fingers up John's chest, and then grabbed John's face. He pulled John into a kiss. 

John pushed Lee away from him. "I'm going to tell." 

"Tell who? Who the fuck you gonna tell, John? Who the fuck would care?" Charles pulled John back into a kiss, and his other hand grabbed John's crotch. 

The thought of Alex flashed in his mind and he shoved Lee away from him. "I'll tell Alex." 

"The fuck is Hamilton gonna do if he ain't your boyfriend?" Charles laughed, and shook his head. "You don't have the balls to stand up to me. Face it, John. Francis put you in your place, and now that he's not here, I'm going to make sure you stay there." 

John spat his Charles's face. Charles paused. His eyes turned dark, he chuckled darkly, and he wiped the spit from his face. He drew back and socked John in the eye, and John fell to the ground, clutching his face. He felt a sharp pain in his side as Charles kicked him. 

The school bell sounded, indicating the end of the period, and Charles crouched down in front of John. "Saved by the bell, lucky bitch." 

Charles stalked off and John forced himself to sit up. With one hand he covered his eye, and the other held his side. He finally stood up, pain coursing through his side, and headed back inside the school. He went to his next class and the class after that as if nothing had happened out under the bleachers. And when the lunch bell rang, John headed to the cafeteria, just like he did every other day. And also just like every other school day, he walked over to his lunch table where his friends were sitting and sat down

"Hey, John." Laf smiled, but it quickly faded. 

Peggy turned from her conversation with Maria. "John, finally. I was wondering—what the fuck happened?" 

Eliza gasped, and her hand went to her mouth. "John, your face!" 

Without any ice, his eye had swollen immensely and had already started bruising. John just shrugged. "It's fine."