Beyond Friendship [Remastered]

Chapter Six.

"Abuse Will Change You."
trigger warning(s);
swearing, abuse, blood & SA.
Word Count; 2,025 (2.0k)
~~~{❤️‍🩹}~~~

Elijah and Josh come back and Josh sits beside James and tries to kiss him but James retracts, his stomach still being turned from how he grabbed him earlier. Josh plays it off.

"Will you come to my house tonight, James?" Josh asked calmly.

"Yeah, sure," James answered hesitantly and Josh smiled, grasping James' hand again.

James smiles slightly while glancing at Josh. Elijah and Roselyn look at each other and immediately know something is off.

"I got you food," Josh states, handing James a bag of food.

"Thank you!" James exclaims, grasping the bag gently.

James opens the bag and smiles,

"My favorite...Thank you." James says, planting a kiss on Josh's cheek and Josh nods, looking over at Elijah.

Josh knew that Elijah knew his plan was, but maybe he wouldn't say anything to protect James' feelings.

"Do you guys want any?" James asks, looking around at them, they shake their heads, denying the offer.

"I have a feeling you'll need it," Roselyn mutters under her breath.

Elijah heard what she said but it seemed like no one else did, he kept getting a bad gut feeling about today but he didn't know why. He couldn't shake the feeling, what was Josh up to?

"You should eat it yourself, I had a big breakfast," Elijah states, smiling warmly.

Josh hates the closeness they are achieving and shoots Elijah a look. Elijah can't help the feeling rising in his stomach, he gets whenever he's around James and Josh.

"I'm gonna head out early...get extra work done," Elijah said, getting up and walking away.

'That was strange...' Roselyn thought to herself, watching him leave.

James begins eating and Josh pulls out his phone and scrolls through Instagram. Roselyn glances back at the building, wanting to see what is wrong with Elijah, but doesn't want to leave James alone with Josh. She sits back on the bleachers and closes her eyes, listening closely. James finished eating and Josh threw the bag away. Roselyn glances at James and shakes her head. She began doubting herself and thought maybe she was thinking wrong about Josh, but a side of her didn't trust him. The bell rang, and the school day was now over. James headed back to the building Roselyn looked at Josh with doubt before walking toward the building as well.

The evening

James and Roselyn are in James' room. James takes off his shirt, changing it, and Roselyn gets a good look at the bruise.

"How did you get that?" Roselyn asked, and James looked over his shoulder,

"Uhm, Physical Education...Someone threw a ball and missed. It hit my back." James replied hesitantly.

Roselyn looks at him with a confused look.

"Huh...had to be a strong force." Roselyn replied, sitting back on James' bed, and James chuckled,

"Yeah, it knocked the wind out of me." He said softly.

Roselyn can tell he's lying through his teeth but she isn't going to call him out on it, not wanting to upset him.

"When was this?" She questioned, and he paused for a second, trying to make an excuse.

"...Last week,"