Know Me (College AU)

11. Home

The two boys parted quickly, both their heads turning to face a furious looking, seemingly homeless man.

He glared grimly at the both of them, eyes fuming. He was an older man, shaking with anger as he walked closer, limping with one foot.

Fandy was frozen with fear. The only thing in his body he could remotely feel was his hand, and the only reason for this was because Zach was holding it.

He cursed at them. "Sinners, fucking disgusting." He shook his head, and Zach realized, from this statement, that he only meant trouble.

He turned to Fandy, who seemed completely still. Terrified, one might even infer. A swift tug at his hand made his head snap to face Zach. "We're gonna have to run, Fandy, can you do that?"

Fandy nodded, though he still looked apprehensive. Zach pulled him one step back, then another, then finally turned completely away, beginning to sprint past dorms and class buildings.

"Hey, get back here, you fucking-" they turned behind a building, and all the man's shouts became muffled in the night wind.

They were now squatting in a bush, and Zach turned and laughed, only because the situation was so insane. But Fandy didn't return the warm sound, instead, the expression of fear stayed evident on his face. "Fandy?" Zach offered his hand, and Fandy took it, taking a shaky breath before even trying to speak.

"Does that happen a lot?" He asked, looking at Zach innocently.

Zach stood up, squeezing Fandy's hand, as they continued on the path home. "What, you mean getting harassed by random old guys on the street."

Fandy nodded curtly. Zach continued. "I mean, occasionally. But this is Taiwan, not China. Most people are pretty open minded these days." He shrugged. "Of course, there's always people like that. But you have to remember they're old or mentally ill or homeless or something. You have to just let it go."

"I never pictured myself with a guy before." Fandy said, looking at the ground, then up. "I never pictured myself with anyone, really, but I especially never had any thought that I would like a guy."

Zach sighed, then smiled softly. "I'm happy you like me."

"I'm happy with you." He said, swinging their hands together. "Nick talked to me about it a few times. Told me it came to him naturally, and he never had to think about his preferences."

"Did you think?" Zach asked, making Fandy shrug.

"It's less of a gender I tend to care about, its more like... a person." He paused to think for a minute. "I prefer one person who cares for me rather than tons and tons of boys and girls." Fandy began to feel words escape his mouth without him wanting them to. "It's hard for me to trust people. But I trust you."

Zach smiled, feeling the weight of Fandy's words in his stomach. He swore, in that moment, to never betray Fandy's trust. He would be loyal and honest as he possibly could.

"I trust you, too." Zach said, raising their intertwined hands, then kissing the back of Fandy's, just as he had done on their first date. "How far away is your house? I feel like we've been walking forever."

Fandy laughed. "It seems like we have. But it's just over there."

Fandy jogged up to his door, pulling Zach behind him. He reached for his key, but was surprised to find the door already unlocked.

"Nick must have someone over." He said quietly, more to himself then Zach. "Let's keep going in, but be really quiet."

Zach nodded, pressing his pointer finger to his lips and winking. Fandy lead the way, glancing briefly at the shoe rack, where nothing was out of place. There was no extra pair of shoes, so he wondered what might be happening in the room not far from his.

His question was answered when a yell was heard from that room, making Fandy flinch and Zach's hand tighten on his.

"Fuck off, Patrick." Nick's voice said sternly, then a silence followed. Haunting. "I said that I'm fucking finished with you."

"You wouldn't dare." Patrick's voice battled, sounding like he was biting his tongue. "You know what kind of shit I saved."

Zach looked at Fandy, eyes wide. Silence poured from the other room, making the muscles on Fandy's back tighten.

"You wouldn't dare." Fandy knew that voice from his best friend. He was clearly on the verge of tears. "You shouldn't have screenshotted those and you know it!" On the word, 'it', Nick's voice cracked. "Patrick." He whined.

"C'mon, baby, you know why I did it." Patrick's voice was sneering and mean. "You know how hot you look when you're ruined like that."

Fandy heard a sob, and his heart broke. Through the cracks, a different Fandy slipped out. A Fandy the world hadn't seen in a long time.

He let go of Zach's hand, walking, no, storming to Nick's room, the door flinging and banging against the wall. Zach stood behind him, watching over his shoulder to observe the scene in the bedroom.

Nick had sunken onto the bed, crying, while Patrick stood, towering over him. He had now turned around, staring at Fandy with a fire in his eyes that Zach was terrified of.

He swore though, if Patrick even breathed wrong on his boyfriend he would swing.

"Get out of here, man." Patrick said, shaking his head. "It's not any of your business."

"Oh, but I think it is." Patrick was much taller than Fandy, but that didn't scare him. He grabbed the older guy by his collar, using it as leverage to look him right in the eye. "Take out your phone. Let me watch you delete every single picture you have of my friend."

"Or what?" Patrick stood taller, raising his chin to compete with Fandy.

"Or I won't let you leave." He yanked Patrick down, holding out his other hand. "Give me your phone."

Reluctantly, Patrick took his phone out his pocket, unlocking it and handing it to Fandy. At the very least, he could watch Fandy's face as he deleted all the vulgar content from his photo album.

Patrick had some 1,400 photos, meaning Fandy had to find the closest part to the time they started dating.

His mouth gaped open, a gasp spilling from his chest.

Kiss swollen lips, tear stained cheeks. Nick sitting with his bottom up, the flash of the camera exposing bruises and bright red skin. Parts of men Fandy had never seen before now exposed, making him swallow.

"Fandy." Zach's voice from behind him was quiet. "Just delete those. Stop looking."

"Sorry." Fandy muttered, deleting them all and checking twice to make sure there was no more.

He handed the phone back to Patrick, who took it, shaking his head. "Assholes." He pushed past Zach, and when the door slammed, he was gone.