Boarding School Boyfriends

Chapter Twenty Five

"There's no way it will work, Danny. As much as I really, really want it to, it just won't happen. I mean- neither of us have jobs or money, so what will we do?" The two of them lie in bed together, entangled in each other's arms. Although they never say anything, Dan's dorm mates, if he could call them that, have become used to seeing Kyle around. As much as some of them might not like it, most of them do, so there is a general consensus that nobody snitches on them.

"Well... Woody is going to apply to all these football academies, you know how they have them, so if he gets in that'll be something. And I can get a job somewhere or another, and so can you, and then we can pool our money together and get a flat. Will might have a job, so he can help. Then Charlie will hopefully still be alive with all of his limbs intact, so then there's him as well." Deep down in his stomach, he knows this probably will not work. They aren't even planning on living with Woody or Charlie, so that's them cut out.

It's all so complicated. Why had none of them thought of it before?

Kyle just shakes his head, "I don't know, Dan. For once I think you're being too optimistic about this."

Both of the boys laugh. That's very unlike Dan.

"We'll just see what happens, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Every day, the exams seem to be approaching faster and faster. Every hour felt like a minute, which meant their revision didn't feel effective in the slightest. Woody was pretty chilled out about it, whereas Dan was a bundle of nerves and stress- how can he ever pass his exams when there is still so much to learn?

Between the hours of revising, sleeping, eating, and being in lesson, he had been able to pen a few letters to his mum (and definitely not including his stepdad), questioning exactly what will happen when he comes back from finishing his A Levels. Her replies had been simple: you get a job. Yes, of course, mother, but what about Kyle? He doesn't want to live in that house anymore, he wants to have the independence, he wants to be with Kyle.

Kyle. He hasn't even told any of his family about Kyle- he dreads what they'll say. His dad would probably be more accepting than his mum (she had questioned many times in the letters to if he has a girlfriend yet. Kyle was in fits of laughter as he saw the reply 'definitely not' on the paper), but he's still so worried. School has become his mini-society, he is comfortable here. He's scared of going out into the big world.

"Come on, Dan. Have a break will you?" Will suggests to the teen as he lounges on his bed. The fluffy haired boy sits over his desk, coloured notes covering every surface. "You'll make yourself ill."

"I'm okay," his voice is hardly audible as he replies. Two hours into his revision, he hardly feels like he's learnt anything. Will has only been in there for half an hour, and he feels the second-hand stress already.

"No, come on, take a break. Let's go out for a bit, yeah?" His proposal is rejected with a shake of Dan's head. "Dan-"

"Will, I'm going to fail my exams," Dan growls, still not lifting his head from the books. "I am going to fail my exams, and then everything I have ever tried to work for will be nothing. Please, please let me revise."

Will rises from his position on the bed and walks over to Dan, picking up the coloured sheets of paper on the way and showing it to him. "Dude, look at your report man. C, C, B, A, A, C, B, A. That's brilliant. Mine are all D's. You'll not fail."

Dan lifts his eyes to look at him, "Yeah, and if I forget something? Those C's? D's. Then they become E's. Then U's. Then there's no grade and no chance of me getting a job."

Will rolls his eyes and throws the sheets of paper down on the desk. "Fine, well make yourself sick. Don't say I never warned you."

The door slams shut behind him, and the boy disappears down the stairs and heads out the front door.

He's been so overwhelmed with panic about the looming thought of leaving school that he hasn't given himself chance to revise. The way he sees it is that he's never been destined for much, anyway. Probably homeless. He's already doomed to lead a depressing life.

Nonetheless, he skips down the front steps to the door and heads towards the main gates to disappear into the town for a little bit- more specifically, the call phone there. There is one in the main reception, but he'd rather do it where there is nobody from school there to hear him.

"Oi, Farquar!" He hears a familiar voice shout him. His lanky friend is stood metres behind him, hands in pockets. "Where you off, then?"

"Just into the town," he shrugs carelessly, "Need to talk to someone."

"Oh, right. Is Dan in his room?" Kyle has concern on his face, though he doesn't bring it up.

"Stressing and refusing to not revise as always, but yeah, he's there." Will shoves his hands into his trouser pockets with a light laugh. Kyle gives him a thumbs up and thanks him, before disappearing.

"I think we'd make really awesome roommates," Charlie tells Woody as they lounge around in the drummers' room, a few PAFC posters plastering the walls. "It'd be such a laugh."

Woody grins along with him, "Hell yeah. I did ask the school if they would let us share a room since some are doubles, but they said absolutely not under no circumstances. Chambers' said we'd make too much trouble."

"They're probably right, to be fair."

Woody nods. "Yeah, course they are."

"Please answer, please answer," Will mumbles as he stands in the small booth, one hand cradling his head and the other holding the phone. Both of his hands are visibly shaking.

"Hello. Unfortunately, your call cannot be taken at this time as the person you are trying to call is out of office or otherwise busy. Please leave your name and message after the tone, and we will get back to you."

Will sighs and slams the phone back down into the receiver in annoyance, hiding his face in his hands. Even when he tries to reach out and get help, there's still nobody there for him.

Tears pool in his eyes, a feeling of absolute hopelessness filling him. In times like these, he wishes he didn't have to put up with any of this- if the crash had never happened, he would still be with his parents, he wouldn't be at the school.

But if he had died in the car crash, things still would have been better.

He tries to rid his head of those horrible, familiar thoughts by shaking his head. He has friends, now. He has no reason to say any of that- after everything everyone has done for him.

You're so ungrateful. He tells himself.

Sometimes he looks at the buildings, specifically at the height of them. He wonders that, if he just happened to fall, would it kill him? Yeah, then it'd look like an accident. He's envisioned this many times...