Boarding School Boyfriends

Chapter Thirty

Dan doesn't get chance to see Kyle much for the next few days- even when he tried to visit his dorm late at night, talking quietly through the door, Kyle claimed he was too sick to even let Dan in. He would sit his exams away from everyone else, in a room by himself (the school had let him do that because of his illness, or so Dan thought. Realistically, Kyle just played up Hell until they let him. Some other people got to do it, so...), and leave them as quick as he could. He wouldn't eat with them, he would be in his room.

But this fact in itself was having an effect on the boy. He wouldn't eat as much as he should be, and he was losing a lot of weight. He wondered if he should just let Dan see his now fading bruises- if you had seen him when he had his bruises, you wouldn't notice them now, but Kyle fears that Dan will notice the dull yellows on his skin. 

The once happy, smiling basketballer is now covered in fading bruises and healing cuts, his clothing hanging off of his frame- but as long as Dan is protected, he doesn't mind.

"Come on, man. He's gonna find out." Will tells him quietly, sitting on Kyle's bed next to him. Charlie had gone into the town with Dan whilst Woody was playing football to distract him for a little bit. "We're leaving here soon, he's gonna want to spend time with you, he's going to want to make memories. You can't hide this forever."

Kyle grunts as he looks over his book full of notes for his PE exam tomorrow. He wishes he didn't have to hide it, but the fact is that Dan will put this on his own shoulders if Kyle tells him the truth- and there's no other lie he could say to cover it up.

"They'll be gone in a few days," he murmurs, not looking up. He feels bad already, he doesn't need Will guilt tripping him like he is now. He wishes he was never friends with his old clique in the first place. "We can play this off a bit longer," 

"No, we can't," Will says, shaking his head. "He's stressed enough from exams and shit, and now you're 'sick', he's feeling even worse. He's your boyfriend, Kyle, you need to be open and honest with each other." 

"What, so he'll just feel guilty that I didn't tell them where he was? God, if he wasn't getting bullied before by my old friends, then they try and jump him! What if I told them, Will? What if I was stupid enough to tell them?" Kyle asks, finally looking up with tears in his eyes. "God, they hate him and I don't know why! I can't even do anything to stop them if I'm not there!"

"Then all the more reason for you to be there for him, then," Will shakes his head, "Come on, man-" 

From down the hall, there is a strangled, "KYY-YYYYLLEEEEEE!" As footsteps bound down the hall, following a 'get the fuck out of this dorm, freak', before the door bursts open.

"Really fucking sick, huh?" Dan asks, appearing by the door with anger and hurt on his face.

"Kyle I'm sorry!" Charlie yells as he appears in the door, but Dan slams it behind him and narrowly avoids hitting Charlie in the face. "I tried to-" 

"Or avoiding me, huh? Fucking... Fucking lying to me." Dan finally takes a look at his boyfriend, his features softening in concern as he the yellows on Kyle's face and the scab on his lip begin to stand out. "What... What have you done?" 

Will stands up from the bed and walks towards the door, taking Charlie with him and mumbling about 'give them some space', and the door clicks shut.

"Kyle-" 

"They wanted to hurt you, Dan," Kyle says, standing to hold the boy in his arms. "They wanted to know where you were so they could hurt you. I wouldn't let them do that, Dan, I couldn't let them hurt you." 

"So they hurt you instead?" Dan places his hands on either side of Kyle's face, his thumbs gently gracing over the healing bruises. "That's why you haven't been around us, then?" 

Kyle nods sheepishly, biting his lip. He buries his head in Dan's neck and takes a deep breath, savouring the touch and smell of him. "I'm sorry, Danny. I shouldn't have lied." 

Dan nods, though remains silent. He quietly rubs Kyle's back and puts one hand in his hair. 

"I love you." Kyle adds quietly, his arms wrapped tightly around Dan. "I really do." 

"I love you, too," Dan replies, thankful that he's bruised and not more. "You're just a dick sometimes." 

"I know," 

A silence falls over the room, and Kyle begins to fear that the prefects may come and yell at them, but then he stops caring. Dan is his main concern right now. 

"Man, I'm not ready to leave here," Woody says a few days later, when most exams are finished and there are only a few days left. "When you turn up here you kinda feel as though you'll never leave, no matter how much you want to. But then you make friends, and you suddenly are told that you have to leave." 

"It's home..." Will mumbles in agreement, though they know it's deeper than simply being somewhere to live. It's far more than that...

Charlie looks down to his hand, which had its cast removed a few days ago, "It'll always have a part of me. Literally." 

The group burst into laughter at that, and Dan looks to his group who are pretty much his family, and wonders what life will be like without them.

But that's something he's not going to dwell on. They'll always be there.