The Boy Under The Azaleas

Run

Today is Thursday, not much happens on Thursday except art club after school....well I call it a club, Only two people really go and that's including me. The art teacher leaves themes on the board for us to base our work around so today's theme is mythical creatures.
At the moment I am using watercolours and I have almost finished.
It is of a sky of baby pink, purple and blue and puffy white clouds...in the fore ground are Angry looking dragons as a contrast to the peaceful, magical background.

Just as I finish I hear load running, laughing and swearing.
I get up to look but three people from my class barge in, two shouting, one of them, who came is last, is Uriel.
One of them, who I'm pretty sure is called Grayson, is walking up to me. The other one standing still by the door with Uriel.
He reaches my desk.
"Oi, Tranny, what you doin'. "he shouts and grabs my work. "It's drawn a picture, innit." He and one of the others laugh.
"Hey, Grayson! Leave him alone, don't be a prick!" Uriel shouts angrily and walks towards me and Grayson.
"He? He?!" He laughs. "The fuck you calling it that for?"
Grayson pushes Uriel away, violently.
"Stay out Uri, mate. Leave it to me!" He says as he starts screwing up my work.
"Hey, stop it!" I shout and grab it out of his hand.
"You don't take things from me, tranny bitch!" He belts out. He kicks me in the stomach causing me to bash my back into the table I was sat at, winding me. "Fuckin' sket." He mutters, I fall to the floor.
"Hey, Grayson!" Uriel shouts. "What did I tell you to do?!" He takes a hold of Grayson and pushes him to the corner of the room. He grabs the neck of his shirt.
"What did I tell you to do?!" Uriel shouts, gritting his teeth.
"You can't scare me, poshy twat! The fuck is this? A fuckin' joke?" Grayson backfires.
Uriel isn't posh, Grayson just thinks that everyone with a normal, understandable accent is suddenly equivalent to the queen of England.
"Oh I can't scare you, huh?" Uriel mutters and proceeds, using Grayson's shirt neck to bash him hard against the wall multiple times.
"Stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Fuckin' hell!" Grayson bellows with a sense of whimper in his voice.
"If you touch him ever again I won't hesitate to mess you up beyond recognition, you understand?" Uriel mutters, extremely threateningly.
"I understand, I understand!" Grayson pleads. Uriel lets him go and he runs out the room along with the other boy.

"Are you okay?" He asks, concerned after a couple seconds of the two others leaving.

Damn it, I'm crying. I'm in so much pain I don't think I'll be able to even stand up. Why am I such a wimp?
I accidentally let out a small whimper.
"Damn, oh no." He responds, crouching down next to me. "I'm sorry."
"Ow..." I whimper.
"W-what hurts?"
"My....my b-back..."

I feel a comforting, warm feeling come over me. He is...hugging me...
Damn, I feel my cheeks turning red.
"Hu-huh?" I whisper.
He helps me sit up then pulls away.
His face is red too.
"I-I'm sorry you had to see that and be apart of it." he says. "I'm sorry he hurt you, he is an absolute idiot...I won't forgive him."
"I-its oka-"
"It isn't though!...I'm sorry, I interrupted you..."
"No, I-its fine...I said what I needed to say..."
Silence. Uriel gets up and offers me his hand, I take his hand and he helps me up.
"Come on, maybe we should leave now. Can I walk with you?" Uriel asks.
"Yeah, sure." I say and look down seeing we still have each others hands, I panic and quickly let go. That was so freaking weird of me. damn, why do I have to be such an awkward mess?
"Ha, sorry..." I apologise.
"I don't care, it's fine." He explains and smiles at me.
God, why do I feel this way when he does such small things? Surely I can't like him if we have only been friends for just less than a week. Maybe it is just because he is attractive, it is probably just that. Also, even if I do like him I wouldn't be able to be with him as he probably doesn't even date boys, not even to mention trans boys... although...he did call me cute and attractive...that doesn't mean anything! He was just trying to complement me in a friendly way.
We start walking out the school gates, then we see some of Grayson's 'friends' outside, a few metres away from the gate, smoking.
"Tranny!" One of them shout.
"Uriel, da' fuck you doing with that?!" Another shouts and laughs.
Uriel ignores them as we continue to walk away.
They walk over.
"You here me, mate?" He asks and violently grabs his arm.
"Going home..." Uriel says in an obvious voice as we continue to walk away, I keep my head faced to the ground.
"With her?!" He chuckles.
"No, with him." He answers.
"Why the fu-"
"Shut up..I couldn't give two shits even if I tried..." Uriel says as we walk away.
The guy left without any other 'smart' remarks to say stays behind.
"Twat!" The final thing the guy says as he starts walking back to the others.
"You're welcome!" Uriel replies...
He has some sass...I wouldn't have expected that.

We arrive at my house and I'm nervous...my mums car is there.
The embarrassment sets in as I see Uriel scanning his eyes over my poor, run down, crusty old home..he looks at the chipped, wooden door that can never be safely locked, he looks at the peeling and cracked paint in a muddy, yellow-ish white, the flimsy windows and broken gate to the over-grown front garden.

I chuckle, nervously. "Well, this is my house..." I rub the back of my neck.
"Oh....okay...you're sure?" He replies.
"Yeah...why?" I ask...I know why...I just don't want to draw attention to it.
"Well..I-it just looks..." he thinks. "No it's nothi-"
"Shit..." I mutter.
"Huh?" He glances at me...my eyes on the house..it's barely a house...
"It is shit...you don't have to tip-toe around me like I'll be offended....I know it is what it is..." I explain. "I have to go in inevitably...It isn't like I have some where else to be."
"I wish you did...." he whispers. I look at him...he turns slightly red and looks away...glancing back every couple of seconds. "You know...I uuh...you can always..maybe if you want...stay at mine..just an offer! Like if y-you would feel safer..." he stutters. My cheeks start to turn a similar shade to his. My breath hitches.
"Only if you want to! I know that we have only been friends some days b-but you're quite cool or something...and I don't mind helping you b-because I'm not going out of my way or anything but...if I did go out of my way I wouldn't really mind and-" he stops when he looks at me again. My eyes are wide, my face is red.
"I'm sorry..I'm probably being creepy, right?" He asks, quietly.
I look away.
"U-uh..No."
Pause...
"What do you think then?...of my idea..." he breaks the silence.
"...Thank you." I reply.
"So wha-" Uriel is interrupted by the door creaking open and I tall, thin, messy looking women, holding an almost empty bottle of wine, steps out, she looks extremely angry...she is my mother.
"Excuse me!" She shouts out. "What the fuck you out here for?! Demma!"
"I was just talking to my frie-"
"Shut up, you don't have any friends! Now get the hell inside!" She bellows.
"Okay, mum..." I sigh and start walking, shamefully, towards the door but Uriel grabs my arm.
I look back him and mouth the word 'No!'.
"You have crossed he fuckin' line!" She screams and runs over to us.
She grabs my arm and drags me half way towards the house before slapping me, hard, around the face...then again.
Uriel runs over and yanks me back.
"What kind of parent are you?!" He shouts, walking me away from her.
"Who are you to tell me how to parent my child?!" She bellows, taking a violent step towards us, pointing a sharp finger at Uriel.
"I don't care! This isn't even parenting what you're doing! He has told me all about it!"
I gasp and glance up at Uriel, terrified of what he just said...I know how this will turn out.
"He?! So you're supporting this?! I bet you're one too! I bet you are influencing her!"
She starts taking large steps towards us, I hide behind Uriel, praying this isn't happening.
Suddenly Uriel starts running, pulling me along with him.
"W-where are we going?!" I ask, still shook up, but I haven't cried yet.
"Somewhere not there!" He exclaims.
We keep on running until we reach a park.
We sit down on a bench, panting.
Now I start crying, silently, I bury myself in my school jumper.
I feel Uriel's arm over my shoulders.
"It's okay, calm down...she is gone now...it's okay." He keeps saying to me, but I can't stop.
Then he stops and I hear him take a large breath in, then he hugs me like he did in the art room.
I feel his soft, faded blonde hair brushing against my neck as his head lays on my shoulders.
I stop crying..Some how instantaneously.
I hug back, my short feminine arms around his back..his warm, long arms around mine...
I realise what I'm doing and quickly pull away, quickly covering my face except my eyes with my jumper neck.
I look at him, his cheeks are pink, he looks concerned but consumed in something.
"W-what are you looking at that you're so focused on?" I ask.
He goes more red than before and looks away.
"Uh-Its...nothing..." he stutters.
There is silence. I'm still looking at him...he probably find this a bit weird.
"You are a great person." I say, quickly.
He looks over, surprised. He gulps.
"Not really...I'm just not like most of the idiots at our school...I'd say I'm nothing more than average." He explains.
"No, you are great." I mutter, still looking at him.
"Really?"
I nod.
He looks at the time on his phone.
"We should probably head back...it's almost 4:00 and it gets dark pretty early."
I drop my jumper from my face.
"Back?!" Dread sets in.
"You can stay at mine...if you want."
"I do..." I whisper, relieved. "What about your parents? Won't they mind?"
"No, they will be okay with it...I'll text them now."
"Oh, thank god...thank you so, so much, Uriel!" I say.
He blushes.
".....Can you say my name again?" He asks, staring at his thumbs.
"Uriel..."
he blushes even more.
"Why are you red?" I ask.
"Uh...nothing! I had no idea...I was doing that..."
"Oh okay,"we start walking. I smirk. "Uriel..."
He keeps getting redder each time.
"Stop it..." he covers his face.
This is quite funny.
"Why? Uriel~" I smile.
"Stop it!" He laughs, getting redder.