𝕁𝕦𝕝𝕚𝕖 & 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕞𝕤 𝕆𝕟𝕖 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕤

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟞: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑶𝒇 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑵𝒆𝒘

Occasion- 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟷
Context- 𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚡 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚌 𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚝. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍, 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚑𝚎'𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎.
Idea Credit- 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚜|𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚋𝚢 sav_and_the_phantoms 
Ships Set Sail- 𝙼𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚛 𝙻𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚡
Warning- 𝙿𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢.

____________________

Alex's POV

"Alex time to get up honey!" His mom yelled through his door as he lay awake in bed. Alex groaned, throwing an arm over his face. This day was not about to be fun.

——————————

"Is everything alright Alex? You seem off." Mrs. Mercer brushed his hair aside.

How was he supposed to tell his mother that seventh grade wasn't all sunshine and rainbows? That he was getting bullied every day, often beat up just because of his sexuality and the fact that the bullies were close minded and homophobic. That he didn't want to tell anyone because he'd have to come out to them too.

"Yeah, just...worried about a math quiz."

"Oh honey I'm sure you'll do fine." She rubbed his arm. He offered a tight lipped smile. They said their goodbyes, the car door shutting before she drove away.

Alex turned to face the cold metal doors of his middle school.

The week's almost over, he told himself. Sighed before heading to his homeroom.

Everything will be fine.

——————————

"Hey Mercer!"

Alex tensed and squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of Eric's voice, praying that another kid with his last name had suddenly transferred to Sunset Middle.

Hands slammed down on the table beside him, making Alex flinch as his eyes flew open.

"I said hey, Mercer. Does being a fag make you deaf too?" Eric Sullivan leaned over Alex. The friends Steve and Chris claimed seats beside and across him.

Alex stared a hole through the table, previously having learned that it was better not to engage. Eric, however, was apparently in a mood that day, swiping Alex's food tray to the floor. He watched in dismay as the mashed potatoes and beans splattered everywhere, his apple rolling across the tile.

"Oops. I guess you'll have to get on your knees and clean that up now. But it shouldn't be a problem right? Since you like doing that so much."

Steve and Chris snickered as Eric hauled Alex out of his seat, forcing him to the floor. The bullies surrounded him while people slowly turned to watch. He was frozen in place, embarrassment scorching his skin.