Doodled Hearts

Chapter Nine

Dirk stood in front of a mirror in the dorm bathrooms. The room smelled of cheap air freshener. The lighting made Dirk look sick and pale, his eyes surrounded by a dark red hue. His platinum hair lay flat on his head, dripping wet. Water followed his jawline and landed in the sink. 
Showers normally calmed Dirk, but this morning nothing would help him. 

After Rufioh forced his lips onto Dirk's, Rufioh attempted to go further. Dirk pushed him away, his eyes red and puffy. 
"Get the fuck away from me you disgusting fuck!" Dirk shouted as he breathed heavily. Rufioh stepped forward, pressing his hand against the other's mouth. He tried to lull Dirk to be quiet, but Dirk refused. He tried to push away again, and the only way to keep Dirk quiet, he thought, was to kiss him again. Dirk continued to fight, and Rufioh continued to parry. 
After fighting for moments, Rufioh attempted to slip his hand up Dirk's shirt. Dirk could not push Rufioh away at this point, so he let him do what he wanted to do. 
The rest of the night was violent and tearful. 

Now, standing in front of the mirror of the dorm bathroom at five in the morning, Dirk looked at his abused self. His lips were dry along with his throat, and he really didn't want to go back upstairs. Instead he slipped on his pajama pants, threw his towel in the laundry shoot, and stormed out the dorm. He stepped hard and rough, his baggy pajama pants bouncing as he walked.
He followed the path and entered the Green House dorm. He was upstairs and in front of Jake's room in a matter of seconds, and when Jake opened the door, Dirk collapsed into him.
Jake gently guided Dirk into the room, and sat him down on his bed. He let Dirk sit in silence for a bit. No tears were shed; Dirk needed to show Jake he was angry, not scared and pathetic.
Jake gave the other one of his shirts, and let him sit on the bed while he on his desk chair. He let the chair roll to Dirk until their knees knocked against each other gently.  His hair was messy, his eyes naked and his green sweater hung over his shoulder. He leaned forward and raised both his eyebrows. Dirk's eyes stayed glued to the floor. Jake sniffed, and looked over at the clock on the wall: quarter to six. 
"So Strider, what's the matter?" Jake said softly. Dirk pressed his lips together.
"I just had a tiresome night, and I want to be with my best bro." He looked up at Jake and forced a smile. Dirk struggled to maintain it, and so he dropped his head again, hiding his face under his damp hair.
"Oh okay... well your best bro is here." Jake smiled, showing off his teeth, "But Dirk, please don't shy away and act all mysterious like you always do. I am here, and I can help you, ol' chum."
Dirk nodded, and mouthed the words 'I know'.
"If you don't want to talk to me, then you have Roxy and Janey." Jake added. Dirk didn't want to talk to Roxy or Jane, though. He wanted to speak to Jake. He wanted to be with Jake. All of sudden, the dark bruises Dirk had inside of his mind had vanished, and all he focused on was Jake. Nothing else could distract him.
"Listen, Jake..." Dirk piped up as he looked up at Jake. He froze when he saw Jake, with his dark messy hair and face outlined by the lamp in the background. Dirk lost his thought, and was instead, lost in the other's emerald eyes.
Jake tilted his head to the side like a puppy, humming quickly as a response. Dirk stayed silent.
"Strider?" Jake said softly, edging forward to get Dirk's attention. Dirk blinked and swallowed hard.
"Uh..." He looked at Jake's hands and he took one, holding it tight, "thanks for being the best person I know."
Jake leaned back in his seat, "Don't say thank you for something so silly, you jolly twit."
Dirk smiled at the nickname.

***

By late morning, Jake and Dirk both went to the Red Dorm. They reached Dirk's room, and luckily it was empty. Dirk got dressed while Jake stayed outside the room. Once Dirk was finished Jake walked him to his class before going to his own.
Before both boys fell asleep for a couple of minutes, Dirk said that Rufioh was the cause of his 'dream' (which was what happened the night before). He said that he was feeling anxious about Rufioh, and so, Jake promised to protect Dirk until he felt better.

Dirk entered the class and collected what he had missed from class. After collecting the notes, Dirk sat down and worked. He looked over at Roxy, who sat next to him, and gave her a thumbs up. Roxy smiled and returned the gesture. The room was quiet and tense. Dirk began to stress, he had a feeling that the class was tense because of him. He chewed his lips, and listened to the teacher's lecture, trying to distract himself.