Boys Are Dogs

Chapter 4 - Derek POV

School went by too slow today. All my classes suck, and it doesn't help that I got literally no sleep last night. But whatever, I made it through the day, right? At least I'm still alive. 

I found myself subconsciously looking for Collin all day. I don't know what I felt for that boy, or why I felt it, but it wouldn't go away. There's nothing I can do about it. But besides that, he wasn't here today. I wonder why?

As I was walking to my car after school had ended, I saw Isaac, and changed my path so I could go talk to him. He hadn't had the best day, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. 

"Hey Isaac, you okay?"

He turned around and I saw the bruise that had spread across half of his face already. I gasped and rushed over to him, appalled by what I saw. 

I touched his face gingerly. "Who did this to you?"

He just shook his head and jerked away from me in response. He got into his car, started the engine, and drove off, almost hitting me with the car in the process. What did I do? And who did that to him?

I brushed it off. I didn't do anything, so I shouldn't be worried, right? The feeling of guilt was still sinking in my stomach like a stone. Why in the world did I feel responsible for whatever happened to him?

I jogged back to my car and got in. I had agreed to meet some friends at the public library to work on a big group project, even though I would've rather done the project all by myself. But it was an excuse to hang out, so I was going to go. 

I pulled into the parking lot of the library and shut off my car. I took a few minutes to just sit there and think. I thought about a lot of things like what I was going to do for the project, how I was going to cram the rest of my homework in, things like that. But I mainly thought about Collin. No matter what I did, he was always in my mind. He has made me question who I am for the past couple of days, and that's weird because nobody has ever made me do that before. Ever since that awkward hug I gave him at the party, my mind hasn't been the same. I've been longing for another hug. I've been longing to breathe his scent in and just never let go. I just want him. It's just so weird because I've never felt this way about a guy before. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I've ever said I wouldn't think about a guy this way, it's just strange because it's a first for me. 

I was interrupted by a tap on the glass. I looked out to see Emily, a friend of mine, beckoning for me to get out of the car. I rolled down the window instead. 

"Are you gonna come inside?" she questioned, slight confusion playing on her face. 

"Yeah," I responded, "just give a few more minutes."

She nodded her head in acknowledgement, and found her way back inside the building. 

Once she was out of view, I started my car. No way was I going to go in there, especially with the thoughts currently racing through my mind. I didn't want my friends to ask me what was wrong, mainly because I didn't even know myself. 

I texted a quick excuse to Emily and drove away.

***

The playground was buzzing with little children playing around and having a good time with their parents on standby. I was sitting against the fence with my headphones in, just enjoying the sun and my music. 

"You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece."

It was so fun watching the little kids play their little kid games. You could see the pure enjoyment in their eyes. Watching them made me long for my childhood days. Everything was so much simpler back then. You and your friend could go on a playdate and literally just enjoy each others company for hours. Now that we've all grown up, things have gotten so much more complicated. 

"I think there's a fault in my code."

I got up and walked over to the gas station nearby to get some coffee. I really needed a pick-me-up. I opened the fridge door and just stood there for a few seconds . 

The lady at the register was annoyed by my actions. "Are you going to pick something or are you just gonna stand there?" she sneered at me. 

I simply rolled my eyes. I picked out a coffee, payed for it and left. I found myself back at the park, but this time I was back in my car and out on the road again. I drove in silence. I had no clue where I was going, but my body sure did. I just went along with it. 

My body parked the car in some random parking lot. My mind was still at the park, thinking about life. 

I broke out of my haze and looked up. I had ended up in the mall parking lot. 

"Well, I might as well go get some new jeans while I'm here," I thought to myself. 

I sighed and got out of my vehicle. 

***

My mind was on Isaac when I walked into Hot Topic. Why did he have a bruise? Was it my fault? No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a reasonable answer. There's no way I could have caused it. 

I payed for my jeans and left the store. I walked out to my car threw and my purchase in the backseat. I hopped in the driver side and sat down. Right when I was about to start the car and leave, I saw a piece of paper pinned down by my window wiper. 

I stepped out and snatched the scrap, careful not to rip it. 

I nearly yelped when I saw what it said. 

"Text me. We need to talk. -Collin"