You Help Me, I'll Help You /// Mullette

3 - Stand Up for Him

Song: Bleak December - Set It Off

Lafayette threw his bag down on a table at the back, having been screeched at by Ms Antoinette to sit there and stay quiet.
Adams leered at him from the table next to him. Lee was next to Adams, looking a little pale but offering a half-hearted sneer. Jay was on Lafayette's right, grinning like a maniac.
"Gentlemen", Lafayette greeted coolly.
"Victim", Adams nodded solemnly.

As soon as he sat down it was living hell.
Tacks were pushed into his arms, pencils were sharpened and jabbed into his face, even blades from mangled pencil sharpeners found a new home in the Frenchman's skin.
Lafayette grit his teeth, biting down on his bottom lip to stop himself from making noise. The teacher had something against him, he didn't know what he had done but she turned a blind eye and screamed at him if he ever made even the slightest of sounds.

An hour of this torture later and he was free to go.
Lafayette gingerly picked up his bag, swinging it over his shoulder before making a beeline to the nearest restroom.
Once inside, he locked himself in a stall and began removing the pencil lead, sharpener blades and thumb tacks from his skin, leaving behind tiny bleeding holes on his face and arms.
He sighed quietly and dug through his bag, looking for band-aids for the deeper cuts.
He came up empty, instead just pulling up his hood, wincing when the fabric brushed an especially deep cut on his cheek.

He walked to his next class, muttering an apology to the teacher, Mr Washington, who directed him to a table where Hercules, John and Peggy were sitting. Great.
Lafayette sat down between Hercules and Peggy, John across from him. He stared defiantly at the table as the others muttered to themselves.
He could almost feel Hercules' gaze burning into his skull like laser beams.
He clenched his fists in his lap, gripping tightly onto the ends of his hoodie sleeves.

Why would others be concerned for him? He just dragged along his problems everywhere he went, ruining friendships and somehow angering everyone he attempted to make friends with.
Why else would Alex hate him? Why else would Adams and his stupid friends target him? Why else would his father-

Hercules cut off his train of thought by reaching under the table and gently taking his hand.
Lafayette kept his eyes on the table but slowly unclenched his fist, relaxing it in Hercules' grip.
The other boy gently squeezed his hand, turning back to converse with Peggy over some project they were supposed to be doing.
Slowly, Lafayette looked up.
John caught his eye, raising a concerned eyebrow at the cuts on Lafayette's face.
The French boy shook his head slightly.
John stared back stubbornly.

"Excuse me", Peggy interrupted. "But if you two are done with your silent conversation, we have a project to do."
Lafayette cleared his throat. "Oui. Sorry, Peggy. What's the project on?"
"The American Revolution."
"Do I get out of it because I'm not American?"
"That would mean I get out of it too", Hercules grinned. "Have fun, you two."

"No way, Mulligan", John protested.
Hercules shrugged, smirking.
"Wait, wait, wait", Peggy interrupted. She pointed between Lafayette and Hercules. "Are you holding hands?"
Hercules laughed as Lafayette turned red and returned his gaze to the table.
Peggy squealed. "You are! Oh my God, John! This is quality ship material!"
John sighed.

"How would you even know if I'm gay?" Lafayette protested weakly.
"You mean you are?!" Peggy squealed.
Lafayette just nodded, finding no point in denying it. "Pansexual."
"Awesome! Everyone in our squad is! I'm lesbian, James and John are gay, Herc's pan, Aaron and Theo are bi and Thomas says he's straight, but my gaydar tells me otherwise!"
"Oh he is not straight", Lafayette smirked.

The others looked at him with renewed interest.
"We know you have a story, Laf", Peggy said, threateningly. "Tell. Us."
Lafayette raised his right hand in defense, the other still in Hercules' gentle grip. "Okay, okay", he laughed.