Secluded - Jeffmads [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter Two

James sat on the closed-seat of the toilet, the putrid-smelling bathroom being almost like a storm shelter to the small boy. He had no desire to go back out and join the class, already being able to see the students' mocking and cruel faces, their fingers pointed at him. The teachers weren't any better. They didn't mock or taunt him of course, but the lack of discipline in the classrooms, and their prominent dislike of James made them almost as bad of the students.

He didn't know how long he'd been in in there, but the more minutes that passed by, the more unbearable the confined space became. But James dealt with it, finding it to be the lesser of two evils. He picked at the grout between the tiles of the wall, almost not noticing the squeak of sneakers entering the bathroom.

James didn't dwell on the noise, understanding that it was a normal thing for people to walk into a bathroom, but he couldn't help the panic that surged through his chest. The mere thought of human interaction terrified him.

He listened carefully, hearing the noise get closer and closer until it was just in front of the stall door. James' chest tightened as the sound of knuckles rapping against the cold metal stall doors filled his ears. At first he froze, not knowing what to do, until it repeated, a little louder this time.

"Uh J-James?" an awkward voice asked. James didn't respond, living by the hope that if you ignore something long enough it'll go away. Well this person didn't seem to want to go away. "James I know it's you in there, please open the door."

James let his shaky hand drift up, slowly unlocking the door, letting it creak open. James' eyes clouded with confusion as he saw the empathetic looking boy from earlier standing just out of the stall. He gave James a shy small and a quick wave. James raised an eyebrow, giving the tall and lanky boy a once-over, noticing his mass of curly hair, the shadow of peach-fuzz across his face, the letterman jacket he was wearing, the letters TJ stitched into the corner, he had a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Hi," he began, feeling awkward by James' lack of response. "I'm Thomas, Thomas Jefferson."

"I'm J-James," James mumbled, his eyes widening at the realization that he actually spoke to the lanky boy. "I-I mean you already knew that but I just thought I'd say it because that's usually how you respond when a stranger tells you their name. I'm sorry," James rushed out, his fidgeting hands getting clammy.

Thomas chuckled and James froze, the laughter scaring him. "Hey it's okay, I'm laughing because that was kind of adorable."

James' face flushed, unsure of how to react to the compliment, not even knowing if it was a compliment. "Th-Thank you?" He said, more as a question than a remark.

"Well I wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened, Reynolds can be a jackass sometimes, you didn't deserve that. You seem like a nice guy," Thomas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. James just shrugged, staring at the dirty floor. "The bell is going to ring soon," Thomas pointed out. James nodded, not sparing Thomas a glance. "And lunch is next period."

"Y-Yes," James responded, not quite sure of what Thomas was trying to insinuate.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" Thomas asked, adjusting the strap of his backpack, a nervous tick of his. James looked up, eyes wide, like Thomas had suggested they go and rob a bank.

"I usually just stay here," James mumbled, staring back at the ground.

"What?" Thomas asked, making James look up at him, unsure of why Thomas seemed so confused by the concept. "You spend your lunchtime in a bathroom?" James nodded, fidgeting with his fingers. "Come on, that's no place for someone as cute as you to spend their time," James' face went bright red, having never really received a compliment from another student before. "Have lunch with me? Please?" James sighed, leaning down to pick up his books from the ground only to have Thomas lean down to pick them up for him, mumbling a "let me" as he did so. Thomas held James' things with one hand, the other held out for James to take.

James shook as he gave Thomas his hand, letting the taller boy pull him from the stall. It wasn't until then that James' mind caught up with him, he pulled his hand away, making Thomas' frown. "Lunch is next period?!" James asked, his eyebrows furrowed. Thomas nodded, slightly confused. "I couldn't have been in there for three hours."

Thomas' eyes widened. "James, I didn't know you were in there for that long. I thought you just skipped first period, you aren't in my next few classes so I figured you just-"

"I-I," James heaved, feeling his chest squeeze. "No, no, no, no!" James screamed, running off through the hall. The bell rang, and students filled the hallway, flooding the small space, blocking Thomas from reaching James.

Thomas huffed, running his hands through his curly hair with the hand that wasn't still holding James' things. "Fuck."