Boyfriend Shirt

Chapter 6

Christian's POV

I messed up. I hit him in the face. I can't believe I did that! Worse, he assumed it was on purpose. He even said it was an insult when I tried to apologize. But, at least I had one thing cleared off my mind. The man with him, Josh, was his brother. Not lover, not a boyfriend. It made me feel relieved, but I knew it didn't mean I got to have that position. The boy probably hates my guts now.

When I walked into English the next day - the only other class besides gym I share with the boy - I winced at his appearance. His eyes had dark circles, and his face was pale. But what caught my attention, was the ugly purple bruise right beside his right eye.

Many people were whispering, sharing rumors about what happened. Nick beat punched him. Nick threw him against a wall. Nick stepped on him. Nick hit him with a football. I was almost jealous of the fact that I wasn't the one beating him up in the rumors. It made me sigh, drawing the boy's gaze.

He looked at me, calculating in his mind. Finally, he turned away, placing his face in his hand and looking out the window. I had the urge to go over to him, apologize to him and pull him close, kiss him and make him laugh. In the end, I had basically glued my eyes to the board to keep from attacking the boy.

---

When lunch came around, I didn't sit with my usual group, but I didn't wait for the boy. I set out for the infirmary, hoping to finally learn his name. I figured they'd keep records of it.

After I had hit him, I carried the boy in his uniform. When I placed him down, I realized I could have just checked his shirt for his name. Unfortunately, he hadn't written his first name. Only 'K. Jones.' Knowing the first letter made me more anxious. Kacy? Kade? Kirk? Kolby? Kyle? Kristen? What is it?

Then, I figured I could check the medical records and find out that way. But, the nurse was out for the rest of the day, so I was stuck. I saw her in the hallway earlier, so I knows she's here for me to talk to.

I knocked on the infirmary door, waiting as the scraping chair alerted me to the nurse's presence. She opened the door, looking up at me. "Nelson? Christian Nelson?"

I nodded. "Yes, that's me."

"Please, come in."

I walked in awkwardly, sitting stiffly in the chair beside the nurse. "What can I do for you?"

"W-well... I was hoping you could help me find some information on a student."

"I'm sorry, personal information is not something I can-"

"No! Not personal, just their name."

"Name? Of who?"

"Do you remember the boy I brought in the other day?"

"The boy who was hit? I heard, but I didn't see him."

"Well, he had part of his name written on his uniform. 'K. Jones.' Do you know anyone with a name like that?"

"'K. Jones?' Was it a boy? Small, pale? Brown hair?"

"Yes! That's him! What's his name?"

The nurse narrowed her eyes. I squirmed slightly, my nerves beginning to rise. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I-"

"Look, I'm not going to tell you if you're going to use it against him or make fun of him for it. Got that?"

They must be close. Well, with all the injuries the boy gets, I'm sure they are. He must have told her about Nick. I nodded eagerly. "Yes. I promise."

"-gan." The nurse mumbled angrily.

"What?"

"Oh for Pete's sake! It's-"

"Nurse?"

We both turned to the person standing in the doorway. The nurse gasped and ran over to the boy. "Oh my! Are you okay?! This is from yesterday's accident?! Who was your partner!?" The boy looked over at me, and the nurse followed his gaze. She frowned. "... I see. And you're sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

The nurse led him away, allowing him to sit down on one of the beds and open his lunch. She came back over to me and our conversation continued. "You were the one that hit him?" She hissed in an angry whisper.

"It was an accident!" I looked at the boy. "But, why is he eating here?"

"Why do you think? To avoid the football team."

Guilt rose up in my throat. "Look, I'm going to need you to leave. I don't want anyone to think this place isn't safe, and I know he is afraid of you."

"Okay. I'll leave, but can I at least have his name?"

The nurse looked at the boy nervously. She got up, moving over and whispering to him. He looked at her, then at me, then leaned in and whispered back. She nodded and gave him a small smiled before coming over to me. "No." She said. "If you want to know his name, gain his trust."

"He said that?"

"No. He told me not to tell you. I'm saying you'll need to earn his trust and ask him yourself."

I left the room, the nurse's words ringing in my ears. Gain his trust? How do I do that? He won't even look at me, let alone talk to me. Unless... I smiled. Suddenly, I couldn't wait for gym.

---

The coach had us line up once more, the football unit continuing. I'm pretty sure the coach is just doing this to give the football team more practice but, at this point, nobody really wanted to say anything or risk getting a bad grade.

Even after the ball in face incident, the coach was pumped up. The boy stayed out at the sidelines, helping the coach until his injury healed. Basically, he sat there and listened to the coach yell at us. Or he moved the orange guideline cones. Whichever.

I looked over at the coach and the boy, laying out my plan in my mind. This will definitely help me gain his trust. Or make him hate me more. Whatever the case, one way or another, I will learn his name.