To Put On An Act [bxb]

Chapter 7 - stage fright

Youngbin had been invisible to everyone but few his whole life. Then came last summer, and he was visible to those that got a kick out of observing the invisible. And then came Alex, and it was impossible to not be seen anymore. Something Youngbin knew would happen when he agreed to all of this. And when Alex was with him, it wasn't that bad.

But when he wasn't there? It was like being pushed on a stage without having glanced at the script once. And Alex wasn't here today. He'd texted him ten minutes before class was starting, » robyn emergency so not gonna be at school today «.

This shouldn't have been a problem, and at first Youngbin thought that maybe not walking around with Alex would reduce the stares he'd get. But what he hadn't considered was that Alex was basically a shield for him. Maybe people were staring at him, but with his fake boyfriend by his side, at least nobody approached him. Because what idiot would dare to touch someone that was dear to Alex Hill?

That shield was dropped today, and Youngbin was left vulnerable again, this time with more weak points exposed than ever before. Of course people had used that opportunity already. He'd been tripped up, walked into, had pieces of paper thrown at him- Sure, these were common occasions, but today it was worse. It was a week's worth of making his life hell stuffed into one day.

And Kaya had noticed this as well. After the lunch break, she wouldn't leave Youngbin's side anymore, she'd stand behind him at all times, follow him like a guard dog. Too bad nobody really took her seriously, and in the end there wasn't anything for her to do except glare at anyone that'd come too close.

Now, on this school day that had been going on for way too long, there was one last hurdle left until Youngbin could return home and hide in the comfort of his own room. He leaned against the cold stone wall next to the large doors to the atrium, patiently waiting for his theatre teacher to come to the rescue and open them up for the class. Kaya had positioned herself in front of him, towering over him the same way Alex did, almost like a human shield protecting him from the sight of the passing students.

Theatre class was usually the highlight of Youngbin's week. Every thursday afternoon, when most regular classes had come to an end, Youngbin would stand right here next to the atrium and wait for Mister William Davis, a man shorter than some of the youngest students here, as passionate about music as one can be, well meaning, yet painfully oldschool.

To Youngbin's dismay though, Mister Davis had undergone surgery two or three weeks ago, and thus, theatre class was cancelled. The old man had returned back to school today, and theoretically Youngbin had been waiting for this day since the moment he had read the cancellation notice, but- Well, this day had been draining, exhausting, and it felt like this class wouldn't give him much joy today.

His heart hurt. He hated this, hated when things that were supposed to be great were ruined because he wasn't in the mood, wasn't functioning right. He easily let his passions be soured by just being too exhausted.

"You know, you can just go home. I'll tell Mister Davis you're feeling unwell." As though Kaya had read his mind, she frowned at Youngbin, crossing her arms.

"I can't just go home and skip school."

"You're not skipping. You're going home because you're not feeling well."

"I'm not sick though."

"In the head you are."

"Wow." Youngbin furrowed his brows, though appreciative of his best friend's worry. "I've just had a bad day, not spiralling into clinical depression. I don't need to go home because of that."

"You have that face though." Kaya leaned in a bit closer to Youngbin, examining his expression. She always knew what he was feeling by looking him into the eyes. And then she learned things about Youngbin's mood that even he didn't know. "That 'If one more person talks to me, I might as well break down' face."