/ 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 /

/ 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 /

bruce stayed up a long time thinking of what his mother said earlier.

his boyfriend, ryan, was in his grade. they hardly ever met up during school, since ryan was a closeted homophobic gay. he always took it to far, even to the point of making fun of bruce for being "one of them".

all summer ryan had been at a his grandparents in Wisconsin. it was a great escape for bruce to say the least. the brunette didn't have to listen to his constant whining.

'we meet up when i want to'

'bruce stop they'll think i'm a gay scoot over'

'meet me here or else' 

bruce shoved his pillow into his face at just the thought of seeing ryan again. to be completely honest he forgot all about his boyfriend, and most definitely forgetting he's returning to school tomorrow.

"this is so unrealistic of him. he knows he could have stayed there but noooooo. he has to come back." bruce told himself, not caring if he sounded weird to be talking out loud.

"just break up with him and get with vance hopper." his sister amy poked her head into his room. "AMY WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT KNOCKING!" bruce screeched at her, throwing his pillow. she dodged it and walked in.

"whatever, you had the door open anyways." amy crossed her arms and waited for an answer. bruce rolled his eyes, "i've only actually known vance hopper for a day, chill out." he reminded her.

"you say that, but soon enough you'll be telling me and mother about him. not to mention-"
bruce cut her off before she could go any further. "AMY!" she grinned and started walking away. "yeahh i know it's gonna happen."

bruce's mind raced wild with thoughts. he didn't have a crush on vance. no. he just fully met him. how stupid would that be? a faint buzzing sound made the brunettes train of thoughts break.

he decided to ignore it ang just try to get some sleep. maybe this will be his last peaceful night.

————————

"hey, bruce." the brunette cringed at the sound of his "lovers" voice. debating on just walking away, he instead turned to face him. "what do you want ryan?" the boy scowled at the time bruce used, stepping closer to him.

"the fuck did you say to me?"

"i said, what do you want?" bruce stated, like he was talking to a toddler. ryan's face flashed with anger, clenching his fists. "stop being a bitch yamada, i'm gone for a few months and now you start acting like this?"

"oh why do you care? you don't even like me anyway. you spent all summer talking to your new girl toy!" bruce's voice raised a few octaves. ryan's eyes widened. how did bruce know that?

ryan's face turns sour as he walked closer to bruce. the shorter backed up, getting slightly afraid of what the other could do. the taller didn't seem to take a hint, trailing close in front of bruce.

when bruce's back hit the wall, a wave of panic washed over his face. was ryan really going to hurt him? no, he couldn't. he wouldn't.

bruce's sureness of ryan not hurting him deteriorated by each step he took. the boy closed his eyes, afraid of even watching the scene unfold.

he yelped in surprise when he was grabbed by the arms and pinned to the wall. struggling to break free, bruce felt tears prick his eyes. "s-stop!" the brunette pleaded. ryan had a sickening look on his face, as if this was an enjoyment to him.

"look at you all defenseless like this, oh how i love watching you squirm. like a scared little bunny~" ryan taunted. bruce had enough. he swung his foot out to kick his ex in the no no square.

ryan howled in pain, letting go of the boy to save his child makers. bruce tried to take this opportunity to escape, but wasn't fast enough. ryan grabbed him by his throat and slammed him on to the wall again.

bruce felt the wind be knocked out of him, gasping and scratching at the air. "ple-please...stop...." bruce whispered. ryan didn't listen, only tightening his hold on the boys neck.

"i'm pretty sure he said stop, dipshit."

ryan and bruce heard a deep scary voice say from beside them. the boy choking bruce looked over just in time to be socked in the jaw.

hard.

he flew away from bruce, stumbling for a second before being shoved to the ground.

bruce sat there and watched the whole ordeal with blurry eyes, partly from the tears and partly from the lack of oxygen he got depleted from for quite some time. letting himself sit down, his eyes dazed over.

"hey buddy, you still with me?" he felt a strong hold on his shoulder. bruce batted his eyes and raised his head. "huh?...." he gasped. the blonde rolled his eyes with a smile.

"hey bud it's me, vance."

"oh yeah....heyyy~" bruce giggled and waved his hand. vance laughed a little before picking the boy up. instead of going crazy, bruce let the blonde carry him like he weighed nothing. there was just something about vance that made him feel at home.

on the walk home, vance couldn't help but feel heat rise in his cheeks. maybe it was the cold? he brushed it off though, mainly focusing on the beaten boy in his arms.

the walk was short, just going around the corner to another block. well, they were going to vance's house. the older was unsure of where bruce lived, and it looked like he wouldn't even remember right now. the boy in his arms was fast asleep.

"okay..... maybe he won't freak out too much." vance whispered to himself as he opened the door to his house.

———————

"where.... where am i?"

bruces eyes slowly opened, hurting in the process. his head throbbed with every move he made. the boy slowly sat up, noticing he wasn't in his bed. going into frantic mode, bruce scrambled to find his phone.

he fell off the bed with a loud thud, groaning at the impact. 'jeez that hurt.' crawling around, he eventually touched someone's foot. snapping his head up, bruce came face-to-face with vance.

vance, who was obviously startled at the sudden movements of the boy, stared wide eyed at him. clearing his throat as to not scare the boy, he held out his hands, which carried a tray off food and ibuprofen in his other, a bottle of water. "here...." vance handed the boy the bottle.

wearily taking it, bruce chugged the water, adding the pain reliever pill shortly after. "t-thanks." the brunette replied, an evident blush on his cheeks. vance's face lighted a little, "of course, you were in trouble after all."

flashbacks of the incident just a few hours ago made bruce's eyes water. ryan had never put his hands on him like that before, so why now?

"look i'm uh.... i'm sorry he did that." vance tried his best to apologize, even when he wasn't in the wrong. there was silence between the two before bruce spoke up. "did you save me?"

vance's face turned pink. "y-yeah...." suddenly he felt two arms around his neck, pulling him into a weak but secure hug. "thank you," bruce whispered. vance felt heat rise in his face again., "it's not a big deal, really."

"bruce?"

"yeah?"

"if he ever touches you again, tell me. i'll beat his ass."