That One Kid From Band

Existance Is Gross

      Life was definitely not good. My dad.. ugh. Forget it. I heard Tobi change the topic, seeing my speech falter.
"Have any hobbies?"
He asked, sounding a bit guilty but rolling with it.
"Uh, I've written a few songs, and I like to..."
I blushed, the second thing I was gonna say was reeallly gay.
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad."
He said reassuringly, grinning at me.
"I-I uh- garden"
I said the whispered the last word, face going red as a beet. Tobi looked happy, like it was the best thing he had heard today.
"That's not bad, any specifics?"
He sounded so casual about it and it made me more relaxed
"U-uh, flowers and succulents."
I said, becoming less embarrassed by the second.
"I heard some of those can get really pretty"
He spoke, not making fun of me or anything, which was awfully surprising.
"Oh yeah, the displays people think of just add to it,"
This dude was really hard not to open up to. He just seemed to radiate positivity and that made me confident I suppose. He smiled at me, enjoying how I was talking to him
"I have a few cacti too. This might sound weird but I decorate them for Christmas."
He chuckled, clearly liking our chat.
"That's not weird, I like to paint and stuff."
I blushed, realizing how much I was telling this almost complete stranger about myself. I abruptly stopped talking, looking away from him. He seemed to take note of this.
"Did I say something? I'm sorry if I did.."
He sounded guilty and concerned as to why I had just suddenly become silent.
"I just never open up to people this easily.."
I whispered, disappointed in myself for talking too much.
"You don't have to tell me about yourself anymore, It's alright."
He sounded sincere, and I just smiled and nodded.
"Thank you."
I looked back over at him, my face still a light pink.
"No problem"
He relaxed, seeing that I was alright.
"Hey look, the newbie is flirting with the midget!"
I heard that goddamn voice squeak again. Derek and his gang focused their teasing on me again.
"The best things come in small packages, kid"
I heard Tobi comment from beside me, towards Derek. In highschool, calling someone a kid was like cussing in elementary school.
"Whatever, tall ass"
Derek sneered, giving up on arguing. My eyes went wide and I stared at Tobi in pure awe.
A tall person had just defended me from another tall person.
Oh wow.
"T-thank you.."
I said, smiling in the slightest.
"No, you don't deserve to be treated like that honestly."
Oh jeez. This guy was really sweet. He was thinking about my feelings, maybe I would have a new friend to protect me?
"Anyway, what's your schedule?"
He asked, resting his cheek on his palm. I knew my class schedule like the back of my hand.
"I have math, which is this class, then science, language arts, choir, band, word geo, and computers."
I said, pausing in-between each word.
"I share most of my classes with you
besides band and choir."
Oh good. He was there to protect me in all my classes except the ones that I didn't get teased in. My savior Tobi.
"Oh thank the gods.."
I mumbled, apparently loud enough for tobi to hear, because he chuckled.
"That make you feel better?"
It did. Knowing that he would defend me from all the kids that usually teased me.

"Yeah, but only if you promise to protect me"