It's a Secret, Boy

Chapter 7

We scrambled to do different things - I scrambled to find a way out of the shed, while Andy scrambled to - who knows what - and piled debris over our footprints.

I kept muttering under my breath, keeping one hand over the slim fabric over my chest and skimming my other hand over the dusty wall, looking for covered up doors. I heard footsteps, and voices.

"-Andy?"

"Is he even here?"

"I saw him double back."

"Andy!"

Andy froze, as the boys' grins showered on him, and he gave me a slight glance. I was covered by darkness, and I shook my head fervently. I kept skimming my hand and stopped as my hand ran over a handle. A rusty, steel handle.

"Hey, Andy," I heard Connor clap him on the back.

"Why are you in here?" Logan asked.

"This is a no zone, remember?" Isaac said.

"No way," Logan's voice turned suggestive. "Are you meeting a girl here? Were you meeting one here?"

"Well," Andy gave a smirk and looked at me sideways. I shook my head again, my hand still on the handle.

'Please, Andy, no, please,' I mouthed. He turned back to them, and opened his mouth. I got the horrible feeling that he was going to say that he was with a girl - with me. I checked that my glasses were on my face, grabbed my wig that was on the side and made a decision. On instinct, I pushed the door open, and a loud creak erupted. A silence fell, and I flew out, jumping over the debris and cursing at myself and at the door. I turned at the door fell over, completely unhinged, and with a loud slam, fell on the mud. I saw Andy give me a look that included a gaped mouth and a what-the-hell-are-you-doing look in his eyes.

I turned and ran away, into the school. I panted, my legs turned to jelly as I swung the door open and burst into the school hallway, which was thankfully empty. I rushed to the boys' locker room and twisted the lock. It popped open, and I hurriedly changed my shirt and stuffed the ripped one inside. I looked down into my shirt.

"Ugh," I groaned. "I don't have another bind." I sighed and took a pair of joggers from my locker. I tightly wrapped it around my chest, and tied a small knot at my back. I patted myself down and closed my locker. I locked my lock, and tied my hair up. I held my wig under the blow dryer in the bathroom, and slid it on. I took another deep breath, and calmed myself down.

Did Andy tell them? A small part of my brain whispered in fear.

No, no, no, he's not that type of guy, another part of my head said loudly - in my mind.

But maybe he would, Andy's always some kind of weirdo, maybe he would tell as a gag?

No, no, please, he's a good guy, right?

I wrestled with my mind and my thoughts in confusion. I took another deep breath and sat down on the floor. I needed to be a guy to protect Paris. I thought back to when Paris was five years old, and I was a middle schooler.

"Ivyyyy!" Paris's voice carried to my ears, and I turned, as a small body tackled me. Paris's black hair poked out under my arms and I hugged him and grinned. He looked up at me with a welt on his cheek. I blinked, and I pushed Paris a few feet away to examine his face entirely.

"Paris!" I traced my finger of his welt. "Paris, who did this to you?" Paris was a tiny kid, and he couldn't say anything to teachers whenever he got bullied. The other kids would call him a person with victim mentality, that he was the bully. I thought it had passed, but it hadn't stopped. "Did those kids hit you?"