Paper Planes • s.g + c.b

chapter thirteen

Colby wasn't at school and nor was he anywhere Sam could think of either. Their date had been wonderful but come the next day Cole had been no where to be found.

"Hey, Kat." Sam sighed as he sat down at his groups usual lunch table. Elton, Corey, and Aaron were on some trip for school business so it was just him, Kat, Corey and Elton's girlfriends Amanda and Devyn.

"You seem rather down." Devyn took notice as she unzipped her lunchbox, "What's up?"

"Colby.. He's not here. I haven't seen him anywhere." Sam pushed his lunchbox a few inches away from his face so he could rest his head on his arms.

"Well, he is rather anti-social." Kat chimed in while taking a sip of her cherry cola, "Maybe he's hiding out somewhere, like the library?"

"Checked there."

"English?"

"Checked there too."

"Gym?"

"There too. And his geometry class, his chemistry class, his art class, I checked our band room. It's like he disappeared out of thin air after our date." Sam looked around the lunch room hoping to spot even just a little bit of his brown hair, but there was nothing.

"Speaking of that, Brennen hasn't been anywhere either. I heard Mrs. Taylor freaking out this morning when her son didn't show up to her physics class." Kat rolled her eyes as she even began to think about the jerk.

"Aren't you dating him?" Sam stifled a laugh as he thought about them being all lovey dovey together. It was difficult picturing Brennen as a nice person.

"I am!" She acted as if that were the problem, "But to be honest, I don't want to be. Not after the truth came out about what he did to Colby."

"Then end it?" Amanda suggested while she ate her sandwich.

"It's not as easy as it looks." Kat sighed, "Brennen's personality may be horrible but it keeps all those fuckboys away from me."

"I get it." Devyn pointed her spoon at her friend, "Before I met Corey, guys would hang all over me and try to get me have sex with them. It's not fun."

Gasps filled the lunchroom, all heads swiveled toward the south building doors. Sam's head slowly dragged toward the door to see what all the fuss was about. He stared, shocked at the boy who stumbled through the doors.

"Colby?" Sam quickly stood up though everything began to feel slow for him, his movements didn't seem fast enough as he pushed between chairs and bags scattered on the floor. He skidded to a stop and looked at the brunets face, "What happened to you?"

Colby's face was bloody and bruised and his eyes slowly trailed to his shoes, "Nothing."

"Colby-"

"No. Stop, stay away." Colby whimpered as the tears built up in his eyes, he didn't want Brennen to do this to Sam too.

"Cole Brock!" Sam stood his ground as he grabbed Colby's wrist softly, "I'm not leaving you."

"Sam- Sam, you don't understand! He's gonna hurt you too." Colby was dragged back to the table by a furious looking Sam.

"I don't give a fuck, Cole. Sit." Sam pointed at the chair beside his and Colby reluctantly sat down.

"What happened to him?" Amanda asked suddenly, inspecting the teens face.

"Brennen did it." Kat stated as she pulled up a chair next to Colby, the other girls following suit. Colby eyed the three girls with both confusion and curiosity.

"Sam, you've gotta stay away from Brennen." Colby shook his mind away from the three girls and grabbed the blondes hands.

"No way, if he really did this to you.." Sam held onto Colby's hands as if he were making a promise, "I'm going to kick his ass." He almost missed the pride that shined in Colby's eyes.

"You're lucky I keep a mini first aid kit in my backpack." Devyn smiled softly as she pulled it out.

"Why the hell do you have a first aid kit in the first place?" Kat looked to the girl with an exasperated sigh bubbling in her chest

"It came in handy didn't it? Close your eyes." Devyn pulled out disinfectant for the small cuts on cheeks and nose, "This may sting a bit." She bit her lip and sprayed his face with the disinfectant, Colby hissed as he gripped Sam's hand slightly tighter.

"You good?" Amanda asked as she pulled out bandaids and other needed medical items.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine." Colby opened his eyes and saw Devyn dabbing his face with Neosporin.

"I swear- this is the final straw." Kat sighed, "I'm gonna end it."

"With Brennen?" Sam found himself looking from Colby's slightly bloodied knuckles to Kat.

"Yeah! As if it weren't obvious. I don't care about the fuckboys anymore, he said he'd stop beating up other kids and he didn't. So what else am I supposed to do?" Kat sat back down in her seat and made herself useful by attending to the brunets knuckles.

"You're dating him?" Colby found himself asking out loud, "Sorry. That was rude."

"Nah, it's fine. Sam and Corey said the same thing. I knew he was bad news from the start but he kept the other guys away." Kat confessed, "It's not like I was in love with him like everyone else in this stupid high school."

"No offense, but he's kind of a dick." Colby laughed quietly as he winced from more disinfectant being sprayed on his knuckles.

"I think kind of is an understatement." Amanda giggled as she wrapped Colby's knuckles with a white bandage.

"You don't have to do this for me." Colby mumbled as Sam placed a bandaid over the cut on his nose.

"What are you talking about? Of course I do." Sam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "We're dating right?"

Colby's blush seared through his cheeks and for a minute he thought his face was on fire. He suddenly felt awkward, demure, and coy. The brunet knew that every single pairs of eyes were looking at him – all eagerly waiting for a reaction, a response, like predatory beasts. Sam bit back the smile that wanted to bloom across his face. "Yeah- yeah, I guess." He looked away to find a distraction and decided the bandaging on his knuckles were more interesting than the way Sam's eyes sparkled.

"Get it, Sammy." Kat whispered to blonde as she laughed. Devyn zipped the first aid kit back up in her backpack and began eating her food and the others followed.

"Are you okay?" Sam found himself turning back towards Colby and intertwining their fingers.

"Um," Colby hesitated before finishing his sentence, "I'll be okay."

He lied. The words that Brennen threw at him like violent knifes during their altercation weren't making him feel better, they were creating a bottomless void in his stomach that gave him an uneasy sick feeling.