the kids aren't alright | brallon a.u | dallon's song |

Breathe

He always seemed so quiet. So secluded from the rest of the world; secluded from himself even. It kind of scared me.

If you didn't know him before, you would have thought he was mute. Though that was after it happened, before it happened he seemed like the happiest kid in the world. But his mother passing changed everything for him.

I knew that he had seen something, it wasn't just his mother passing away from cancer or some disease, he had seen his mother die unexpectedly. Something traumatic happened
He would have a handful of absences during freshman year during third and fourth period. And I knew he went to go to talk to the counselor, I knew this because I had to wait on the seat next to the door because I sold porno magazines to a few seniors (and apparently that was against school policy).

I never heard him talk sadly, probably because he was so quiet, or maybe he talked to the counselor via paper.

And now, it is sophomore year, and I may be stalking him, looking at him from across the hallway, observing him as he grabbed his books, put books away, adjusted pictures of his mother on the inside door of his locker.

As soon as he was about to shut his locker, Ryan, my ex-boyfriend, shoved him to the ground and started to kick at him, kids were quickly scurrying, wanting to avoid the scene, but I hid a bit more into the restroom.

I wanted to intervene, but then Ryan would beat the both of us to a pulp, so my only option was to wait and see what would happen next.

He kept kicking Dallon until he wasn't even fighting back by putting his hands on his sides to cover the blows. "Come here, fag," Ryan snaps at Dallon and brings him up by his collar dragging him to this bathroom. I run in the first stall and lock the door. I hear Dallon's body being dragged into the stall next to me. "Get on your knees, Weekes." Ryan snaps again.

Oh, god.

"Put it in your fucking mouth, Weekes, or I will beat you to a fucking pulp."

I hear Dallon gag, and the tears immediately come out of my eyes. I hear the popping and sucking and it makes me want to gag myself.

"Take it, Weekes, you slut." Ryan curses, letting out a groan.

After a while Ryan finally climaxes and Dallon's body is pulled up and I hear Ryan smacking him and punching him. He then laughs and drops Dallon on the floor, and Ryan leaves the restroom.

The tears stop flowing and I exit the stall and look at Dallon. Blood surrounding him, Ryan's remains on his face. Dallon eyes were threatening to shut.
I immediately pull him up to me, his head on my lap, and I grab a few towels that have touched the floor recently, but don't seem to be dirty or wet, I dab his face, cleaning him.

Tears fall out of his face as he looks up at me, and his breathing becomes shallow.
"Hey, focus, on me. Okay? My name is Brendon. I am here to help you okay, but I need you to cooperate with me, alright? You think you can do that?"

I feel him nod against my lap and it makes him yelp, my heart pangs with guilt for not intervening sooner.

"I'm going to take you to my house, and you have to tell me everything okay?"He nods again, and shuts his eyes.

"Shit," I mutter.

I pull Dallon's body up to me, his head in the crook of my neck, and I pull both of us off the floor and I wrap my arm around his legs and another around his back.

I walk as fast I can down the first hall, without attracting any attention from the classrooms and I push my way out of the school doors and to the parking lot.

I put him in the front seat of my car and used my back pack as a pillow for his head.

+++

Once I got home, I picked Dallon up from his seat and took him straight to the couch.

"Dallon, hey, bud, I need you to wake up." I whisper as I put my sleeve to his forehead to wipe some dry blood.

He opened his eyes quickly and he started to panic, clenching at his chest, "Hey,hey, calm down, I'm here to help you out."

It looked like he wanted to speak, but he stopped himself and wrapped his arms around my neck.
He started to sob, hiccuping at random times and was trying to breathe in and out regularly.

"Hey, shh it's okay Dallon. I got you. " I coo, he releases from me and looks into my eyes shaking his head slightly.

I tilt my head and he uses his hands to signal a pen and paper. I nod and grab a notebook off of the coffee table and hand him a pen from my pocket.

He writes quickly, "Thank you for helping me out but you don't really have to worry about me..."

"What? Of course I have to worry about you! Ryan could've beaten you to death." I reply in a slightly higher pitched voice. "Why would you even think that?" I ask him, the volume of my voice coming to a whisper.

"No one ever cared about or even helped me out, so I just assumed you did this to have a good reputation." He replies via white board.

"Dallon, don't you ever feel like that, I would never ever make you feel unloved. I want to take care of you.I want to be here for you. Okay?"

"Okay." He mouthed.