Trauma - Skephalo

Chapter 20: The Talk

(Surprise Pov switch!)

Zak's Pov:

It has been a bit over a week since Oliver harassed Darryl in the bathroom. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it. Just as I told Darryl, I followed him wherever he went. I would accompany him to his classes, even if I was late to mine, and I left my classes early so that I could catch up to Darryl as he left his class. I needed to make sure that Oliver doesn't lay a hand on Darryl. So far, we have seen glances of Oliver, but he keeps his distance from us.

Right now, we were at the dining hall eating with our friends. We are having a pretty good time, but then something catches my eye. From a distance, I see Oliver leaving the dining hall. I suddenly get the urge to go up to him and confront him right now. I mean- Darryl's right here safe with our friends, so Oliver most likely won't do anything with our friends around. This is probably the best chance I'll get. I start getting up and say, "Sorry guys, I need to use the restroom."

The others just nod at me while Darryl says, "Don't take too long, okay?"

I smile and say, "Of course, love."

I give him a small pat on the head and make my way out of the dining hall. I try to speed walk so that I don't lose sight of Oliver. From a distance, I see that he entered a bathroom, so I follow inside. I wait near the doorway for him to finish his business. He doesn't even notice me as he washes his hands. He only finally sees me once he looks at me through the mirror. He turns to look at me and says coldly, "What?"

"Oh, I'm just here to talk to you."

He raises an eyebrow but then quickly realizes what I'm referring to, and he smirks. He says, "Oh? You want to discuss something about Darryl? Have you finally come to your senses and want to leave him all to me?"

I scoff and say, "In your dreams. I'm just trying in a civil manner to tell you to leave Darryl alone as it's clear that he doesn't want anything to do with you."

Oliver's gaze quickly becomes cold. He spits out, "I'm not going to let go of something that has been mine for a long time."

I then let out a laugh. How could I not? What he's saying is so ridiculous that it makes it seem funny. I say, "Darryl is not yours. He's not an object that can be sold or traded with here and there. He is a human being with feelings that can make his own decisions. Plus, last time I checked, he's MY boyfriend. If he 'belongs' to anyone, that would be me. But if the day comes that he breaks up with me, I wouldn't get all obsessive over him like someone and act like I own him just because he was my boyfriend at some point. As much as it would hurt me, I would have to learn to let him live his life and be happy with whoever he wants. That's just the way of life."

Though if he did break up with me, I wouldn't be able to get rid of my feelings for him. Never. I would just have to hope that he'll let us be friends so that I can at least be there for him whenever he needs me and somehow be a part of his life. As long as Darryl is happy, I'm happy. Oliver just gives me a death glare. After a few moments, I ask, "Tell me, why is it that you love Darryl?"

Oliver seems stunned by my question. That reaction alone tells me all I need to know. But I wait for him to answer. He says, "Well- I- He's a helpful and noble person which is very admirable. Plus, he's adorable and a bit petite."

All that I heard from that explanation is that he 'loves' Darryl because he wants to take advantage of him, manipulate his vulnerable mind, and use his body. Just the thought of that makes me want to punch him in the face. I can already feel my knuckles clenching. But I know that I need to control myself. I then say coldly, "We both know very well that you don't mean that. I know perfectly well that you just want to use Darryl for your own benefit, and let me tell you, Darryl is not some sort of doll or puppet for you to use to your own liking. Unlike you, I want to make Darryl happy and help him flourish with his abilities and qualities. I want to help him through a journey to make him even more amazing than what he already is. I want him to grow, while you just want to break him down into pieces and mold him into your liking instead of letting him be free of who he wants to be."

Oliver looks at me a bit dumbfounded for a moment. He then quickly glares at me and then chuckles. He says, "Well, what can you do about it? It's not going to be easy to stop me. I'm not going to give up on what I want. You should just give up."

God, he just won't understand, will he? I groan and say, "You know what, this is pointless. I've tried to drill some sense into you, but clearly, you don't want to think rationally. You've made it clear that you're sick and mental."

Oliver smiles sickly as if he won, while I just turn around and head to the door. Once I grab the handle, I stand there for a moment. I then say, "Also, you should have one thing clear in your mind. One day, karma will come back to bite you from all the things you've ever done to Darryl. I'm sure of it. People like you will at some point have to pay the price of your consequences."

Oliver scoffs and says, "Is that supposed to be a threat? Because I'm not scared. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, I'm just a man determined to be with the person that I want to spend my life with."

I grit my teeth and don't say another word as I leave the bathroom. Another moment in there with that man and I would've lost it. I make my way back to the dining hall. Once I return to the table and take my seat, Darryl turns to me and says, "What took you so long?"

He has this adorable pouting face as if he were annoyed or mad at me. I chuckle and say, "Aw, were you worried about me? Or did you just miss me?"

Darryl flushes and mumbles, "I-... A bit of both..."

I giggle. He's acting like a child who needs to constantly be next to his mom. I say, "Don't worry, there was just a bit of a line in the bathroom."

"Oh, okay then."

He continues munching on his food, and I do the same. As I'm eating, I glance at Darryl and just admire him. He's of the purest and most innocent people I've ever met. It's hard to imagine that someone would dare hurt such a beautiful person. Don't worry, Darryl, I'll make sure that you're safe and happy. Away from that monster.