From Straight Lines to Circles (bxb) ***ON HOLD***

Chapter Twenty Three

Thanks for reading :) enjoy!

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***DANE***

Discomfort filled my system, as I pulled up to a nice house in my beat up truck. It was in a clean-cut area, the trees bright and children riding bicycles along the spotless streets.

I hate children... and trees.

A few mothers were standing and talking, and paused to stare disapprovingly at my bruised, tattooed body. I glared back at them, annoyed, as they flushed and turned away in fear when they saw me looking. Bitterly, I laughed, ignoring the shame that flared up in me at their fear. I glanced to both sides of the street, crossing towards the house, walking up and ringing the bell. It was an annoyingly cheery sound, and made disgust fill my brain as I stuffed my hands in my back pockets as I waited. When the door finally opened a vaguely familiar guy opened it, a pitying smile on his face.

"Who are you?" I asked rudely, glaring at his pleasant expression. His smile never faltered, as he rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"You and your friend must be oblivious, or I must be more invisible then I thought." He mused, tapping his hand on the door frame as he thought.

"Look, I don't know who the fuck you are, but I'm looking for Collin and if he isn't here I might as well just go, I'm pissed at him anyway." I spat, turning away from the door and starting back to my truck.

"Wait." He called quickly, his tone apologetic. "He's here." He stated, leaning against the door. "Actually your boyfriend is up there too, comforting his friend. He'll probably ne happy to see you and-" Immediately, I turned around, furiously grabbing his collar and lifting his face to glare at him. His infuriating smile still didn't falter, almost morphing into amusement. "Problem?" He asked, his tone teasing.

"I'm not a fucking fairy, and I have no boyfriend." I growled, making him nod sarcastically.

"My mistake then, sorry man." Slowly, I released him, shoving my hands back into my pocket to hide how nervous they truly were.

"Where is Collin?" I asked, my tone curt. He pointed up the stairs to his right, making me turn and walk towards them without any thank you. I could hear him following behind, his quiet footsteps padding against the flooring.

"Oh and by the way..." He started, his voice bemused. "My name is Ray, I've been in the same class as you since the third grade." I didn't bother responding, too focused now on finding Collin. However I didn't know that things were about to get even more complicated.

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***CHARLIE***

I stood in the room, crying, as I worriedly stared at Collin's battered body. He gave me a weak smile, as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't look as pretty as usual, do I babe?" He joked, his pained tone removing any chance of humor from his sentence. Regardless though, I walked towards him, softly sitting on the bed beside him and making sure not to touch him. Rolling his eyes a little, he moved forward, pulling me into his arms into a soft hug.

"You're still pretty beautiful." I stated shyly, kissing him softly on the cheek. Cutely, his face scrunched at my wording, as his hair fell into his face.

"Now I feel like a chick." He complained, making me laugh as I brushed the lock of hair out of his eyes.

"I'm glad you aren't one." I said seriously, making him chuckle softly. My face sank though, as I remembered why I was there. "Seriously, what happened?" Collins face grew guarded, as he shook his head slowly.

"Nothing, I just fell." He said cryptically, shifting slightly away from me in clear guilt.

"Collin..." Ray spoke from behind me, his tone surprisingly worried. Collins expression grew harsher at his interjection, as he shook his head again.