Surrounded by darkness (BxB)

Chapter 6

Ryan's POV:

When Mr. Oliver called Caden's name to read, I was immediately worried for him. He has such bad anxiety that I can already tell that this isn't going to end very well. He looked like a deer in the headlights before he started to read. He got out a few sentences, stuttering a bit every now and then. He paused after that and looked around until his eyes landed on me. I could see the panic on his face. His expression was scared and he began breathing noticeably faster. He got up from his desk and walked over to the door. Not quite at a running pace but fast enough to get him out of there. Everyone in the room was focused on what just happened. After the door closed behind him I knew I had to go be there for him.

"Mr. Oliver, can I go, please." I said anxiously.

"Um, yes you may. Do you think you will be back?" He asked.

"No, probably not. Should I bring his stuff?" I asked as I began putting away my notebook.

"Yes, go." He said blankly before calling on someone else to finish the reading.

I grabbed our bags and headed out the door. It made a creaking sound as I stepped into the hallway. This has never happened before to my knowledge so I don't really know where he would be. But just as I had that thought, I saw a figure moving quickly down the hall and towards a far off stairwell. I started at a jog down the hall, but that's kind of hard to do with two backpacks so I just walked really fast to catch up to him. By the time I got there he was sitting down on a step next to the wall. I put the bags down and sat next to him with open arms. He took that as his cue to lean into me. I rubbed his back in gentle patterns while he calmed his breathing enough to talk to me.

Caden's POV:

After I stopped hyperventilating I decided I could finally talk to him.

"Thanks." I said for starters.

"Yeah, I would ask how you're doing but I don't think that would help you very much." He said as he began to run his fingers through a small section of my hair.

"That's alright. There's not much you can do anyway." I replied.

"Well is there anything I can do?" He asked

"No, this is fine. I like this." I said feeling my body relax.

"Glad I could be of assistance then." He said smiling. "So do you want to talk about anything to take your mind off of what happened?"

"Uh, sure. What are you doing after school today?"

"Just gonna go home. Why, do you want to do something together?" Ryan asked happily as he looked into my eyes.

"If I can find a way to come over then yes, I would." I responded sitting up straight.

"I have an idea." He said turning to me. "Maybe you could ask your dad if you could join a club after school. But not really, it could be a fake club that would be the reason you aren't home directly after school. I hope that makes sense."

"Yeah, it could be like, book club or something. It could be most weekdays and then I can see you more. Plus we do need to finish the art project." I added.

"Great, so how are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays?" He asked.

"Hopefully they fit into my very busy schedule." I said sarcastically. I reached into my bag that Ryan brought out and started texting my dad.

Caden:
I was wondering if I could join a school club.

Ass hat:
What club