Hatchetfield.

Loving yourself is harder than loving others.

Max felt like shit.
He hasn't slept in days, and he hasn't been to school in two weeks. When he was at school he was distant and quiet. Rumors had started, some people said he was sick, and others said he had finally given up on school. The one that spread the fastest was that his dad finally snapped, finally killed Max. Everyone at school knew Max's dad was abusive. No one could ignore the black eyes and days when Max would be especially violent after a lost game or a failed test. Not even Max's friends dared ask or mention it. Kyle asked about a black eye once teasing Max about losing a fight; it ended with Kyle on the floor broken and bloody. Max had gotten reprimanded hard for that making it all worse.
The truth however was something worse to Max, something that would ruin him. The rumors were partially true, his dad had beaten him badly but that's not why he had stayed home. He had stayed home because he felt disgusted, sick, and ashamed.
He was gay.
He couldn't admit it. He had tried everything he knew to accept it but every time he thought about it his stomach churned, bile climbing his throat.
He tried to hide it from his dad, he hid his laptop, hid his phone, hid any possible hints and any possible thing he could think of. More than usual he had to be the perfect son, the perfect boy, that meant being straight for his father, but it wasn't enough.
Max woke up with sharp pain shooting through his body. He groans as he sits up grabbing his phone. He stares at the unanswered messages and calls, he is too tired to explain any of it to anyone, even himself. He had to go to school, he was being threatened with no graduation, and he wouldn't care if that didn't mean no football. He stood looking around his room. There were empty water bottles and dirty clothes everywhere, trash piling out of the trashcan in the corner of his room. Max grabbed a shirt off the floor and sniffed it. He shrugged, throwing it on quickly. He stared at his letterman hanging up, the one clean and unaffected thing in Max's room. It was a symbol of his status at the school, perfect and polished the pure masculinity he strove so hard for. He puts his shoes on haphazardly, not bothering to tie them. He starts to leave without his letterman but changes his mind grabbing it and putting it on as he leaves out the front door.
When he gets to school he realizes it's already the end of first period, he decides it's not worth it to go to first period. He makes his way through the school to the locker room to wait out the rest of the period.
He enters the locker room silently. He sits his bag down on a bench making a loud thud. He sits down against a wall letting out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
After a long while of Max sitting there staring off into the distance he heard a loud thud, the door to the locker room being shut, someone else was in the locker room and he was off his game.

Richie woke up late, his uncle Paul woke him up and rushed him out the door for school. His hair was messed up and he hadn't gotten a chance to shower. He was extremely grateful Max hadn't been at school for a couple of weeks, his overactive sweat glands made him a prime target for Max's bullying.
How long had it been since he had seen Max? What happened to Max to make him leave school? Why did Richie care?
Richie made it to school with just enough time to shower before first period. He walked through the halls distracted by his phone:
R41NBOW RUMPUS P4RTYTOWN
Ruth: RICHIE WHERE ARE YOU!!!
Ruth: The teacher is looking for you
Pete: he's probably skipping class
Ruth: HE HATES ME
Pete: Ruth he skips first all the time
Ruth: he hates me and wishes I was dead
Richie: Guys I DON'T HATE YOU!!! I woke up late!!
Ruth: You better be there for chemistry Richie the project is due today
Richie: I'm going to!! >_<
Pete: I worked on it over the weekend we should be fine Ruth stop freaking out!

He looked up from his phone reaching the door to the locker room. Pushing the door open mindlessly going to his locker to grab a towel and put his backpack away. He heard someone else in the room but assumed it was someone getting ready for gym class and continued toward the showers.
After his shower he quickly got dressed, he knew it was close to the end of the period and he did not want to be caught naked skipping class. As he stared at the mirror trying to get his hair right he saw something moving in the mirror behind him. He screamed when he saw who it was. Max Jagerman.
"MAX OH MY GOD '' Richie jumped back slamming into the locker with a loud thud.
Max jumped at the noise, shushing Richie.
"Shut the fuck up a teacher is gonna hear you dumbass" he sat down staring at Richie. Normally Max would have shoved Richie against the wall or teased him in some way but he was just tired.
Richie noticed Max's behavior and he was afraid to mention it, he just let out a small "Sorry..."
They stood there together neither saying anything until the bell rang or second period. Richie got out of the locker room as quickly as he could. Despite Max being relatively tame he didn't want to push his luck. He pulled his phone out to text the group chat:
R41NBOW RUMPUS P4RTYTOWN
Richie: GUYS
Ruth: what? Did a girl finally touch you?
Pete: What happened?
Richie: I WAS JUST IN THE LOCKER ROOM WITH MAX
Pete: JAGERMAN???
Ruth: DID YOU FUCK?
Pete: RUTH
Pete: Are you ok? Like did he hurt you?
Richie: No that's the thing he kinda just told me to shut up and we just stood there
Pete: Why is he at school? Is he alright?
Ruth: Were you naked?
Richie: NO RUTH I WAS DRESSED
Richie: and he seemed odd
Pete: How so?
Ruth: odd like in love with you?
Richie: I'll tell you after school
Ruth: UGH YOU BETTER TELL ME IN CHEM
He makes his way to the second period knowing he would have to deal with Ruth for the rest of the day. The day passed slowly and Richie didn't see Max.

After school, Richie, Ruth, and Pete made their way to the library. Ruth hung onto Richie's arm as they walked into the library.
"Are you going to tell us about your 'alone time' with Max Jagerman now?" she jumped up and down as she spoke.
"Ruth calm down he will tell us" Pete glared at her putting his bag down and sitting pulling Ruth off of Richie and making her sit too.
"Ok so I woke up late, and you guys know how I have to take showers in the morning, or else i'll stink all day." They nodded as he spoke, Ruth anticipating the story. "I got to school late and didn't get a chance to take a shower so I just went to the locker room to shower" Pete nods and Ruth speaks up.
"And then you saw Max? Did he see you naked?"
Richie shook his head "No I saw him after my shower" he paused remembering how Max had scared him and decided to leave that part out "After I got dressed I noticed Max just kinda standing there"
Pete spoke this time "Did he do anything or say anything?" Pete questioned the truth of the situation but knew Richie wasn't the type to lie about something like this.
"He told me to shut up and we just stood there" he sat down finally staring at his friends "It felt weird like he was just standing there" he paused again thinking "It was like he was distracted, I don't think I've ever seen him that quiet.."
Pete takes a second to process what Richie told him. Ruth couldn't come up with a joke just sat there shifting uncomfortably. "I uh...wow" is all Pete had to say.
"I know it's weird, I didn't stick around to ask but I think something is wrong. I mean have ya'll even see him in the past two weeks?"
Pete thinks back and realizes he had seen him at the Beanies next to his brother's work "I saw him last week at Beanies, he was quiet and had an arm sling." he thinks harder about it "It was after he beat Kyle I think"
"Oh shit," Ruth said as she stood to move around. "What would make Max Jagerman of all people miss school like this?"
Richie and Pete didn't know the answer to that question. What would make Max leave school for so long and especially what would make Max stop going to football practice?
"He hasn't been at football practice either" Richie realizes "What if he's hurt?"
Pete says, "What can we even do? It's not like the school cares, people go missing all the time in Hatchet Field." Pete admits a sad look on his face as he pushes up his glasses. "Do you think he would be pissed if we asked about it?"
Richie shrugged, not sure what to do with all this information. Ruth sat back down picking at the sleeves of her sweater "I'm not asking him I don't want to get shoved inside a locker again" Richie put a hand on Ruth's shoulder.
"I won't let that happen Ruth" Ruth leans against Richie's touch and Richie lets her before pulling his hand away with a whine from Ruth "If I see him again I'll try and ask and that's a big if though.."
The topic shifted to their school work and animes they had recently watched, the thought of Max drifted away but it ate at Richie. The image of Max standing there clearly shaken by Richie's presence made his stomach turn.
Richie knew he should hate Max, should he be glad he's been gone but he wasn't. Richie was worried for Max because he wanted to help. Max had bullied Richie for so long, he knew about Richie's dad. What everyone didn't know was that Richie had the same thing. Richie's parents kicked him out at 16 for reasons he had forgotten at this point. Before he was kicked out his dad hit him for every little thing and his mom did nothing to stop or defend him. He has lived with his uncle Paul since then. He knew how Max felt, scared, alone, and in pain.
"Richie you ok?" Ruth asks shaking Richie
"Y-yeah I'm fine just tired. I should be getting home it's late." he stood shoving his books in his bag. He couldn't stop thinking about how Max must feel he needed to let Max know he wasn't alone.