To Belong | Protector 5.25

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

       I had barely been able to focus in school the past couple days, though that wasn't really anything new to be honest. School wasn't exactly somewhere I enjoyed going to, so it wasn't easy to try to pay attention anyway.

       But because of the whole thing with my birth parents not showing up to the court hearing, I had been thinking about them a lot more than I would like to. As much as I tried convincing myself that everything was going to be okay with them, I just couldn't believe it.

       Yeah, maybe the police couldn't find them because they decided to leave the country or something. That would be a dream because as much as I would like them to get arrested for not showing up to court, them leaving the country would mean they were far away from me.

       But the other part of me, the bigger part, was thinking that they were just hiding somewhere in the area and they might try something against me. I didn't know why they would, but it was the type of people they were. They wanted complete control over me, even though they clearly didn't want me as a kid.

       Dad and Poppa tried convincing me to stay home from school, but I already did the past two days and I didn't want to do it for a third. I know I could always leave school if it got too much for me, but I needed to at least give it a try.

       I was glad when lunch finally rolled around because it meant I didn't have to sit in class and struggle to pay attention to whatever the teacher was talking about.

       I went to my locker to put my belongings away but as soon as I opened it, a lot of paper and notebooks fell out. I sighed heavily. My mind wasn't exactly in the best state to try to keep my locket organized, so this wasn't much of a surprise.

       Honestly, part of me just wants to leave the stuff on the ground, but I know I would get in trouble for the mess and my stuff would likely be thrown out. So I had to bend down and gather everything up.

       Someone bent down and started helping me, so I looked over and sure enough, it was Webster. "Thanks," I said.

       "Of course," Webster said. "You doing okay?"

       "Oh, yeah," I said sarcastically. "I'm totally fine, as you can see by the mess my locker made."

       "To be fair, my locker looks like this sometimes," Webster said. "Even on my good days." I went to pick up a piece of paper, but Webster stopped my by gently placing his hand on mine. "Arjun, you know you don't have to be sarcastic with me if I ask you how you're doing. I just want you to talk to me."

       I sighed, now feeling guilty that I gave my boyfriend attitude when he was just trying to help me. "Sorry."

       "Don't be sorry," Webster said. "Just don't be afraid to talk to me, okay? I want to be here for you. Why else do you think I go to your house after school whenever you stay home?"

       "Honestly, you probably just like coming over so much because you know that it bothers Kingsley."

       "I mean, that's a bonus, but it's not the main reason I come over." He cleaned up the rest of my stuff for me and instead of just putting them back in my locker, he quickly organized my locker so this wouldn't happen again. "Want to skip school?"

       "I shouldn't," I said. "I already missed two days. I don't want to miss another day."

       "I once skipped three days a week and look at me. I'm still on track to graduate."

       "You're almost failing English. You keep getting me to tutor you even though I'm two years younger than you."

       Webster was silent for a bit before he said, "Okay, so yeah, maybe don't skip. But we can hang out after school if that will make you feel better."

       Even though I was still feeling kind of crappy, I did want to take the opportunity to tease Webster since it was something I loved to do. "I don't know. You're kind of annoying."

       Webster glared at me. "Thanks."

       "I'm just kidding," I said. "I would like to hang out with you after school, though. We can..." I tried to think of something we could do but honestly, I didn't feel like going out anywhere after school. I was already spending a lot of energy by being at school. I didn't want to feel completely drained by the end of the day. 

       Webster figured out I didn't really want to go anywhere, so he said, "We can just hang out at your house?"

       "You don't mind?" I asked.

       "Not at all," Webster said. "I like spending time with you no matter what we're doing."

       I couldn't help but smile, feeling a tiny bit better. Only a bit. It was nice to know that I didn't drag Webster down or make him feel like I was boring just because I would rather chill out home. Eventually, I would want to actually go out somewhere but as for right now, I needed to focus on my mental health more.

       The rest of the school day went by as slow as the first half, and I couldn't be happier when the dismissal bell finally rang. At least tomorrow was Friday, so I only had to make it one more school day before I could spend the weekend relaxing.

      After school, Webster and I meet up at the front of the school so he could drive us both to my house. Kingsley was already home so the moment Webster and I walked inside, Kingsley asked, "Why are you always here?"

       "Because I can be," Webster said. 

       "You should go away," Kingsley said. "I'm trying to enjoy my time after school in peace."

       "Oh, relax, he's not going to bug you," I said. "We'll probably be in my room the entire time."

       "You better keep the door open," Kingsley said.

       "You don't even keep the door open whenever your girlfriend is over," I pointed out.

       "Well, that's because..." Kingsley tried to think of a reason, but he couldn't, so he just said, "Shut up."

       I just grabbed Webster's hand and pulled him up to my room, making sure to close the door loud enough for Kingsley to hear. I let go of Webster's hand before I walked over to my bed and laid down. "I'm probably going to sleep," I said. 

       "That's okay," Webster said, lying down beside me on the bed. "I'll probably take a nap too. And I can also watch Hamilton when you're asleep without you stopping me."

       "You're obsessed."

       "I know."

__________________

i've been back in my animal crossing new horizon obsessed phase, but i basically finished my island as much as i like it for the season, so i took my brother's switch and i'm playing it for him. last time he played was, like, a year ago and he only had the first two villagers so it's like i'm making my own island lol.

anyway i love the small feud between webster and kingsley lol.