This Is Me

Multiple Problems (Part Three)

Multiple Problems (Part Three)

It took most of the morning for me to calm down completely. Well, to calm down as much as I could in the situation—I was in one hell of a situation. The worst part of it was, I could have prevented it all if I hadn't been such an idiot. I had no one else to blame but myself.

As the morning wore on, I finally heard the bell ring for lunch and stepped out into the hallway and began my search for Blaire. Usually, I would try to find Andy and Leroy as well, but from what Blaire had told me in the morning, I wanted to put the inevitable off for as long as possible. I even managed to avoid both Andy and Leroy in the halls in-between classes and didn't look around the classroom when I was in maths. I didn't want to catch a glimpse of Leroy. The thought of him may have helped with my panic attack, but I could bring myself to look him in the face.

"Watch it, Pete!" Donny's sharp voice ripped into my ear, right before a towering figure knocked into my shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. 'Cause there's definitely no room to walk around me, is there?" I called after him and watched him turn around and begin walking backward, before yelling back.

"Sorry, I don't listen to dipshits!"

"How clever," I mumbled before making my way down the hall along with the rest of the students.

"He really holds a grudge, hey?" a deep voice came from beside me, and I turned to see who was speaking. I recognised him straight away as Mitchell. We had talked before but only briefly.

"You know about the thing with his sister?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, and he let out a small chuckle.

"Most people do. The day after you rejected her, he went off and pretty much told everyone you were dirt."

"Gee, I'm glad only a few people gave a damn."

"Yeah, it could be worse." Mitchell laughed. "It could have been because you were a fag."

It felt as though the world around me stopped at Mitchell's words, and I did my best not to show how much they stung. The fear I felt about coming out became solidified as Mitchell's voice echoed in my mind.

"Anyway, I gotta go. See ya around, Pete!" Mitchell shot me a smile before pulling away from me.

Giving him a small wave and a forceful smile, I watched him disappear into a crowd of students heading to have lunch. Still trying to get my thoughts straight again, I scanned the hall for Blaire who I spotted waiting for me near the exit.

It had taken me all morning to get my mental state back in check, I wasn't going to let an off-hand comment by someone send me spiralling again. Coming to rest next to Blaire, I already felt myself becoming calmer, and as she gave me a quick hug, I felt as though I would be okay.

"How are you feeling?" she asked almost instantly.

"I'm all right. Could be better. But I think I'm handling it okay."

"Andy and Leroy told me that you were avoiding them."

"That is true but for a completely different reason," I defended myself, and Blaire nodded, understanding where I was coming from.

"I'm sure Leroy is just having a fling," she reassured.

"Yeah, that doesn't help."

Blaire gave me a sympathetic smile before we began making our way outside where we always had our lunch. We found sitting in the field always seemed to be much more peaceful, though considering a stranger was most likely going to be sitting with us, clinging onto Leroy, it was going to be anything but peaceful for me.