In Too Deep. Klance AU

Chapter 16

It was a few days later that I realised I wasn't out to John yet. I had just been sitting at the dinner table, rambling to Louise about a gift Lance had randomly given me. It was pretty basic but, to me, it was extremely special. He had drawn us together in cartoon form and, as soon as I had gotten home, I had rushed upstairs to stick it up on my wall. It stood proudly above my bed's headboard so that it was one of the first things you saw when you walked into my room. John was just watching with a smile on his face and some furrowed eyebrows.

I had barely touched my burger because I was just talking. I hadn't paused at all with the exception of the thirty seconds I had spent taking a sip of my water. I knew they were begging me to shut up in their heads but that didn't stop me because I loved that boy more than anything. He rendered me a love-y dove-y mess. My face was plastered with a wide smile and my cheeks were tinted a soft pink. Then John randomly said, "You and Lance seem to be getting closer lately."

And I realised that, whilst Louise knew every tiny detail, John had been left in the dark for most of it. I never expected coming out to John to be so easy but all I had to do was reply with, "Oh we started dating. Didn't I tell you?"

John didn't seem very shocked at all. I didn't receive any harsh words or slurs: all I got was a wide, toothy grin and a "congratulations, Keith." I didn't think it was possible but I ended up smiling even wider than before. I was a living embodiment of the sun and I loved it.

-

"I told John last night!" I practically screeched as I ran up to Lance. Lance seemed to be just as happy as me because he pulled me into a long hug with the widest grin on his face. It wasn't as wide as mine but it certainly was up there. I buried my head into his shirt, feeling extremely satisfied with everything. Just. Everything. My entire life was perfect and there was no way it could get any better- not even if I won the lottery. Maybe.

When he pulled back, I noticed a wet patch on the shoulder of his Zelda shirt. I blushed a little bit, having not noticed I had been crying. Then we just started to jump up and down in the middle of the school corridor with most people's eyes on us. I didn't care. He didn't care. We didn't care. We were just so goddamn happy and it felt amazing. It was like we were walking on air and suddenly all of our teenage responsibilities didn't mean anything at all to us.

"I'm proud of you, dude!" He yelled, holding out his hand. I slapped mine against it and leaned forward to peck his lips. My stomach did a back flip.

-

Maybe I didn't care about the bullies when I was around Lance but I couldn't help the paranoia when I was alone. Louise used to tell me that bullies had their own issues they were trying to overcome and they just took their internal anger out on other people. They were the weak ones in her eyes. I wish I could take Louise's glasses and put them on so that I could see it in that same positive light but I couldn't.

Being surrounded by three people in your year who were much more muscle-y and cooler than you was slightly intimidating or, rather, extremely intimidating. My back was pressed up against the brick wall and I could feel something dripping down my face. It was most likely sweat but there was a chance it could have been a tear. Lance was in an art lesson so I had just been walking around the school, waiting for him to finish so we could go to lunch together. There were only about ten minutes left until the end of the lesson; hence why I was lingering.

Lance's classroom was literally a two second walk to the left but he couldn't save me. The group surrounding me were muttering harsh words and laughing like a cackle of hyenas. I was their prey and they were going to rip me apart and kill me- even if their weapons were words rather than sharp teeth or claws. I chose not to beg or plead to be freed because there wasn't much point. If I survived the next ten minutes or however long the torture was going to last. I would look stronger than someone who had desperately cried and begged. I dared not meet any of their gazes, as much as I wanted to send them a pleading look.

Every part of me wanted to start screaming horrible words or to fight back but I didn't want to descend down to their level so I stayed quiet.

I kept my eyes trained on their shoes. Two out of the three were wearing Nike trainers, the other one wearing some cheap knock off of Converse (I think the one with the knock offs was Lotor but I didn't dare look up long enough to find out). All of their shoes were dirty and in need of a good clean but that wasn't something I should have been dwelling on when I was just about to partake in a fight. Sort of. A fight where I was unable to return the punches and words. Army green Converse guy swung a fist at me. It hit me right in my chest and winded me for a moment. Before I could even think about bending over and catching my breath, a fist came from another direction.

I wasn't really sad- only terrified. I think the terror must have been making me delusional because I suddenly had a random wave of confidence. It was probably my fight-or-flight response kicking in. Lance had learnt about that in psychology and told me exactly how it worked. Something to do with messages in your body and the hypothalamus. Either way, a threat was detected and it leads to your body producing the chemical of adrenaline so you can respond. 

I shoved one of them backwards to give me more space and they stumbled, obviously not expecting me to put up a fight. I didn't say anything, just throwing a single punch and hitting blue-Nike-dude square in the face. As he recovered from the initial shock, I bolted through the tiny gap he had opened up. They were screaming curses and threats but I couldn't make much of it out. I turned as many corners as possible, my legs a blur beneath me. When I finally ducked into a bathroom. I thought I was going to puke. I was waiting for someone to start banging on the door and screaming death threats but nothing happened. The bathroom was completely silent other than my heavy breathing. I must have lost them. The bell rang but I blocked it out in favour of calming myself down.

I leant against the wall, closing my eyes. My face was wet with tears, more out of terror than sadness. Black spots danced in front of my vision so I ended up taking a seat on the closed toilet lid. I placed my head in my hands and tried to get my breathing back to its regular rate. I inhaled for so many seconds then exhaled heavily. I was almost breathing normally when my phone vibrated in my pocket and made me jump.

Lance: Where are you?

Right. I was meant to meet him.

Me: Sorry. I completely forgot. On my way!

Lance: Okay

I stood up, my legs like jelly beneath me. I was actually impressed by their ability to support my body as I walked back to the art block. Lance was leaning against the wall with his arms folded so I waved at him. He waved back with a tiny smile and we headed off in the direction of the library as we did every day. Lance didn't even suspect anything was wrong which was for the best.