Who Knew?

Chapter 6:

POV-Wyatt 

Oh, the pain. 

My head throbs like there are ten thousand little hammers banging on my brain. Or ten thousand huge hammers banging on my brain. The pain radiates from my head, throughout my entire fucking body. Everything hurts. 

I groan and throw my blankets over my head, desperately trying to block out the light of the sun that shines through my thin curtains. Something has to be done about that . . . soon. 

A relentless banging sounds on my door, sending shockwaves through my head. "Wyatt, time to get up, you're late." I've never thought of my mother's voice as obnoxious before, but right now, at this moment, it's worse than nails on a chalkboard. Other than my mom's voice, another thought pops into my head. The overpowering thought that I really, really have to piss. 

Groaning, I hoist myself to my feet, half stumbling into the bathroom to relieve myself. Coming back into my room, I see that I am, in fact, twenty minutes late. Sighing dramatically, I throw on some sweat-pants and a sweat-shirt, not really bothering to care. I think back to the night before, and suck in a deep breath. What the everbloody fuck have I done? I kissed Ruben Walker. I kissed him. We'll I guess I kinda fell onto his lips, but it still counts. I was drunk, and I kissed him, and I . . . liked it. Like a lot. 

I press the tips of my fingers to my lips, trying in vain to remember the feeling of his lips on mine, our tongues battling for control. The thought sends shivers down my spine. I shouldn't be thinking about these kinds of things. It's not right. Not natural. A boy can't like another boy like that. They shouldn't want another boy to touch them, hold them, kiss them. Right? 

I never even entertained the idea that I could possibly like guys. I mean, sure, I may have caught myself staring in the locker room every now and then, but it doesn't mean anything, does it? But then I think about Ruben. About how he took care of me last night, and reassured me that everything would be okay. I practically melt, just thinking about it. And then, I remember that other guy. The one that Ruben had pressed against the wall, ravishing him. A burning jealousy takes control. How could Ruben ever like me when I'm so . . . me? And why the fuck did I suddenly want him to like me so bad? 

Ugh, everything hurts. I don't know what's going on. I shake my head to clear it, succeeding only in bruising my already battered brain. How about we just focus on today, hmm? Then we can worry about everything else later. I nod, yeah, that's what I'll do. 

I slowly make my way downstairs. My mom is sitting at her computer, when she looks up and sees me. She raises an eyebrow. "That fun huh?" The way that she's looking at me, I can tell that my hangover looks almost as bad as it feels. 

I groan and make grabby hands toward her. "Mommy, hold me." 

Her face breaks into a small smile as she gets up and walks over to me. She wraps her arms tightly around me and holds me close. "Oh sweet pea, I'm hoping that this will teach you for next time." I nod and she inhales deeply. "Honey, I hate to say it, but you still smell like stale beer and vomit. Go take a shower and I'll drive you to school." 

I sigh. "You're gonna make me go to school?"

She smiles. "Consider it your punishment for drinking when I told you not to and breaking curfew. Now go get cleaned up."

"What about Jake?"

Her smile widens. "Oh honey, your little baby hangover is nothing compared to what your brother will have when he wakes up. That'll be punishment enough." 

Twenty minutes later, mom drops me off at school. Shit. School, in all its loud, teenager glory, is complete hell for anyone with a hangover. I'll admit though, that I'm a little anxious to see Ruben again. I missed the first period, so that means that I'll have to wait till lunch to catch a glimpse of him. I resign myself to two more hours of torture. 

Said two hours are not as bad as my overdramatic self made them out to be. When Beth and Kevin first take a look at me, they both burst into laughter, making my brain shake in my skull. When Kevin began working himself up for the customary bro hug, I just hold up a hand in his direction. I don't think my head can take the yelling aspect of the tradition. He just shakes it off, laughing at my expresion. 

Heading into the lunch room, I scan the surrounding area for Ruben, coming up blank. I wait for a little while, expecting that maybe he's just a little late, but when ten minutes stroll by, I start to get worried. What if something else happened last night that I don't remember. What if I did something wrong, and he'll never forgive me. What if I did something so completely stupid that he doesn't want to see me ever again. 

All of these thoughts swirl through my head, only halting when a grape hits me in the forehead. "Dude," Aaron says. "You good?" 

I manage a smile, before deciding to look around campus for Ruben. We are allowed to eat lunch outside, so maybe he's just doing that. "I'll see you guys later." After receiving a bunch of half-interested waves, I duck out of the cafeteria. 

I check all of the bathrooms first, then the library and computer lab. Catching Mr. Mason, our bio teacher, in the hall, he informs me that Ruben is indeed on the campus. He had this odd expression though. Consern maybe? It makes me worried. Finally, after spending almost the whole period searching, I find him sitting against the big oak tree by the student parking lot. The same place I first really noticed him. He has a book open on his lap and is staring down at it intently. 

"Hey," I say as I come to a stop next to him. He jerks in surprise. "I've been looking for you. What are you doing out here? Usually your in the lunchroom, but you weren't so I literally searched like, the whole school for you but you weren't there so I decided to look out here and-" 

My words stop flowing abruptly as he tilts his head back so I can see his face. Oh my god, his face. His beautiful, wonderful face, bruised and broken. A drastically split lip, clearly broken nose, and a puffy, black and blue eye. I take a step back, my hand flying up to cover my mouth in shock. His eyes are blank and emotionless. 

I rush back to his side. "What the fuck happened to you?!" I say. I crouch down and run my hands over the bruising and his lip, staying away from his nose, just in case. He winces and I immediately pull my hands away. "Was it another fight? Who did it? I swear to god I'll kill them. Actually, I'd probably hate to see the other guy. If he did this to you I'd hate to see what you-"

"It wasn't a fight." His voice is hoarse and quiet. He sounds exhausted. 

"Then what the hell happened?"

He swallows hard, and stands, shaking his head. "Nothing, Wyatt." 

He turns to walk away. "Well it's clearly not nothing!" I grab his shoulder, ready to turn him around, when he lets out an anguished yell. I stumble back in horror as he grasps his shoulder, a look of utter pain etched across his features. Pain that I caused by grabbing him. "Ruben." 

He shakes his head. "You can't fix everything Wyatt. I'll be fine." 

When he begins to move away again, I run to step in front of him, making sure that I don't touch him in case of any other hidden injuries. "Ruben, I need you to talk to me. Who did this to you?" 

All of the sudden, he's in my face, barely an inch away. "I'm not like you Wyatt. I don't have friends who care about me or a good home life. You may have kissed me last night in some drunken stupor, but it changes nothing. We will never be the same, you and I. I am broken, Wyatt Parker. And you can't put me back together, whether you want to or not." 

With that, he turns and walks away. I think about stopping him again, but I know it won't do any good. All I can do is watch his receding form, and listen as the bell for sixth period rings out in the distance. 

A/N

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I certainly enjoyed writing it. I'm trying a new system for spelling and grammar stuff so hopefully it works! Please remember to comment, and let me know how you're feeling about the book so far!