My Lion. || BXB

chapter twenty-three.

i hated this. i hated the confusion, i hated the stress, i hated the drama. i had only been at this school a few weeks, and my world had already been turned upside down.

lionel is so nice to me, he treats me with respect and can make me laugh at the lowest moments. but he can be vicious and a violent bully to the people i love, so how can me and him truly be together? how am i supposed to be with someone who can be so cruel?

but he's right. i knew about that before kissing him for the first time. i should've said no that day. i should've shoved him off and ran, but i didn't. i kissed him, and fuck i loved it. i loved it so much and now it won't leave my mind. he wont leave my mind.

so now, while i'm sitting on the field, skipping last period as i tried to get my thoughts in check, i cried. i had cried more in this past week than i had this past year. my twisted, shock of a relationship with lionel has brought me so much pain. how could i truly move on from that?

i think...

i think i should end things with him. maybe in the future we'll meet again, but right now i can't. i can't do this to my friends, i can't hurt them like that. cormac, isaac, nick, freddie, mickey... they have been nothing but supportive of me since my first day at this school. and now i have to honour that. if that means me being heartbroken for a few weeks, so be it.

isn't that the right thing to do?

i stood up from the patchy grass, wiping off my trousers with a shakey hand as i walked back into the school.

"mr thompson." shit. i turned to my side and saw the head teacher, mrs wilson, staring at me. "skipping class? you've only been here a few weeks. its a bit too early for all these shenanigans isn't it?" i sighed, and then looked up into her eyes. her face changed, she no longer looked mad but now worried.

"huntley? have you been crying?" yes, over your son.
"no." i denied simply, but she of course didn't buy it due to my puffy eyes and snotty nose. i wiped my face, this was so humiliating.
"come with me, darling." she offered me a smile before walking down the hallways. i let out a deep breath and follower behind her.

we ended up in her office with me sitting opposite her desk as she typed away at her computer.
"why were you skipping class?" she asked while typing. i didn't respond, just listening to the nice noise of clicking and tapping. but then it stopped, and i realised she was staring at me. "mr thompson, are you going through any trouble with your peers?"
i glanced down at my shakey hands, "...no."
"are you sure? i can't help you if i don't know." she said, extending a hand over the table and placing it on my shoulder comfortingly.

a knock at the door urged her to pull back to her original seat.
"come in!" she spoke loudly, and we both turned to watch the door handle slowly open. my eyes widened at the big mop of red hair that followed through to the room. i instantly turned back around and faced the floor, trying so desperately to cover my swollen and pink face.

"lionel, i'm in a meeting." she face palmed, and i could feel his gaze on me.
"uh— sorry. i just- it can wait." he said, but i kept my eyes fixated on the wooden floor below me.
"well you're here now so spit it out."
"dad, he called me." he said simply, and then i realised i didn't know much about lionel's family. i guess i never asked, damn.

"oh, i see." mrs wilson seemed to understand what that meant, which confused me. "leave it to me, lio. get back to class."
"uh- okay." he said, and i finally glanced up from the wooden floors. my eyes trailed from mrs wilson to the red headed boy who was staring at me so intently. his eyes adventured around my face, probably examining the swollen mess of it.

"huntley.." he mumbled, and i cursed him for talking to me with such care when someone else was here. his voice was small and calm, it broke my heart knowing i had to break his.
"you two know eachother?" the principal asked, and i cringed internally.
"we're friends."
"not really." we both answered at the same time, i of course said the latter.

mrs wilsons eyes switched between the two of us, "right."
"yeah." i mumbled, fiddling with my fingers anxiously.
"actually, now that i'm here. huntley we need to talk, mom please just five minutes. he's upset and i can help." lionel said, and my eyes flicked up to him with rage burning in them.
"what—"
"okay, but only because he's clearly upset." she sighed, and i looked at her with beg in my eyes. please no, i can't talk to him. not now, i don't want to do it yet. i want more time. we deserve more time.

"huntley." lionel said quietly after realising i wasn't moving. my legs shook, but i forced myself to concentrate on what i was doing as i got to my feet and followed lionel into the deserted hallway.

he wasted no time with his words, "is this because of me?"
"lionel please don't..." i whispered, not wanting to have this conversation yet.
"i'm going to apologise to mickey and cormac at the party tonight. you're going, right?" he said quickly and i glanced up to him with fright in my eyes.
"don't. don't apologise. there's no need."

"of course there is—"
"no. there's no need because this is done."