Boarding School Boyfriends

Chapter Sixteen

Will and Kyle are quiet as they sit on the playing field later that evening, as the sky turns a bright shade of orange and the trees appear almost black in their own shadows. Everyone else had gone back to the dorms, including Woody and Dan, but Kyle knows Will is upset and didn't want to leave him here alone.

"You didn't need to do that," the older of the boys say, staring out across the field. He has a pen which he spins in his hand, but he doesn't once look down at it. "Honestly, I didn't even expect you, of all people, to even get involved with us. But, well, thanks, I guess. For making Dan happy, for sticking up for me..." 

Kyle watches the boy with interest in his eyes. He looks at the way he slouches forward, the way his eyes are almost glazed over with a carelessness and a lack of attention. Although he doesn't mention it, the look frightens Kyle a little bit.

"Well, isn't it what every decent person would have done? Even if my clique hates the idea of me being friends with you guys, I don't care. You're way better than them, and besides, I love Dan. I really do. I think the world of him- the moon, the stars, everything. I adore him." Kyle takes a moment to think about his boyfriend, to refresh his image his head. "Anyway," he shakes his head, trying to not let himself get too carried away. "What Chambers said to you was totally out of order." 

"Well, not that you even know what it is you were sticking up for me for," the lack of enthusiasm towards everything since the four of them left the office reflects in his voice. He sometimes wonders if all of this is worth it, if it is worth being that kid. He often thinks it isn't.

Kyle just hums in response. He's curious, of course he is, but he has to respect that Will might not want to tell him- and he shouldn't feel as though he hasn't to. Kyle wants him to be comfortable before he tells him, even if that means he'll never find out. But-

"My parents are dead. To put it simply, this is my home now." He says quickly, squeezing his eyes shut as though if he did it tight enough it could take him somewhere else entirely. "Yeah, Will Farquarson: orphan, depressed, loser freak. Here I am." 

The words take all of Kyle's thoughts and words from him, sending him into a stunned silence. Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. 

"I don't think you're a loser." He tells Will, shaking his head, "Or a freak. You can't help these things happening- sometimes, as bad as it is, they happen and there is nothing you can do about it. You shouldn't take it out on yourself." 

Will shakes his head. "If I wasn't arguing with them, maybe we would have seen it... But it makes you think: what if I could... I could just join them? I miss them like a limb, every time something happens I just want to call my mum and I was Dad to be proud of me... But they can't, because they're not here. I wish I was with them. I should have died, too." 

Silence tears begin to stream down Wills' face as he drops his head, looking to the floor. Kyle feels a hit to his chest, almost in pity. 

"Don't think like that, Man. Think about what you have achieved- you have me, Dan, Charlie, Woody. We wouldn't be friends if we didn't know you. Hell, Dan thinks the world of you. He's told me how much he appreciates everything you've done for him, and God knows you have to put up with enough of Woody and Charlie's shit to last a life time!" Kyle tells him, wrapping his arm around Will's shoulders. "Your parents would be beyond proud of you, and I'm sure they are." 

"Yeah, I almost lost, like, all of my hand!" Charlie says the next day when he is back at school, showing everyone his hand which is wrapped in thick bandages. The others are relieved to see him back to his old self, joking with everyone. 

"Looks painful," someone comments from a crowd that has begun to form around him.

"Yeah! I ain't ever doing it again!" School finished half an hour ago, and somehow he already has half the school's signatures on his cast, including Dan, Will, Woody, and even Kyle's, who had moved over to their group only to be teased by his old clique. He told them to fuck off multiple times.

"He's never going to shut up about that now, is he?" Woody laughs, making the others nod. They feel a little bit like their imitating The Breakfast Club by standing against the lockers.

"I mean, I don't think I would if I almost lost my hand," Dan smiles, gently slipping his hand into Kyle's, hiding it behind them so nobody can see. "But it's going to get annoying." 

"It's a shame he couldn't lose his tongue, huh?" Kyle jokes, making the group laugh.

None of them have been happier.