Roadtrip Oneshots-Requests open

Randy

High school au
Andy doesn't want anyone knowing about their relationship

"Rye, babe please don't-"

But it was too late. Rye had already stormed off towards the group of boys and girls who were loitering near them, speaking rather loudly about each and every one of Andy's flaws. Andy sighed and buried his head in his hands as Rye approached them. He heard an angry voice over the rest of the protesting and jousting ones:

"Screw off! Andy is the most precious human being alive and if you don't see that...I didn't realize how stupid you actually were."

Andy tried to keep himself out of sight, but he was kind of obvious in the short grass wearing his favourite red shirt. So instead, he hid his face, but he couldn't help but to peek out occasionally.

Rye continued to become louder as he grew more and more angry. Andy was afraid that maybe they'd say something about his sexuality, about how Rye was only defending him because he was with poor little Andy. This, of course, was true, but Andy didn't want anyone knowing that.

All Andy really wanted, though, was for Rye to come back and finish his lunch by his side. Kiss his temple discreetly and maybe share the chocolate he'd gotten himself at the vending machine.

But suddenly, Rye's voice cut off mid-sentence. Andy peeked his head out and immediately got to his feet, running over to the scene.

Rye was on the ground, knocked completely unconscious. The others continued to kick and punch at his limp body, as though it were a game and Rye was the new toy.

"Stop it!" Andy yelled as loud as he could without his voice cracking. "You bloody idiots!" Andy stooped down to pick up his boyfriend, stumbling a bit on the way back up from the weight. There was blood running from Rye's nose, a dark red; more cuts and bruises from the rings and shoes of the group slashed across his face and splattered down to his collarbones. Andy was sure that there were plenty more over the rest of his body.

Instead of continuing to confront the group, he took Rye immediately to the school nurse. She was immediately worried when she saw how beaten up Rye looked, a purple hue forming around his eye. Andy's heart pounded as he set Rye down on the bed. He swept the hair out of Rye's face, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

"I'll clean him up and then we need to get this sorted out." The nurse was hell-bent on telling the principal what had happened, even though Andy didn't want it to blow up even more than it already had.

"Is there any way I can help?" Andy asked. She smiled and handed him a damp cloth, saying that if he could clean around the cuts where the blood was running, then she could sort out the rest. She had to go get some things, she told him.

As she left, Andy let the cloth slide over Rye's skin as carefully as possible. He rubbed away the blood around the cuts, dabbing at them to clear it away. The cloth was soaked in red once he was done, most of it from Rye's nose. Andy briefly wondered whether it was broken before he sat on the edge of the bed, Rye's limp hand in his, running his thumb over the soft skin there.

The nurse came back and they finished patching Rye up. His mother was already on the way. Andy was unsure as to how she would react, but hopefully it wouldn't be too bad.

Once she arrived, she signed Rye out, and Andy signed himself out. Rye was still out cold and was showing no signs of waking up. The nurse was worried about a concussion, so they were strongly advised to go to the hospital once Rye had woken up.

Andy picked Rye up from the bed, maneuvering his way out of the school. He set Rye down as carefully as was possible in the front seat of Mrs Beaumont's car, and Andy sat in the back. She started the car and drove them to her own house, often muttering this or that about how Rye "has never gotten in a fight, I wonder what provoked him?"

Once they'd gotten to the house, Andy decided he'd explain everything. As soon as they'd gotten Rye in bed and tucked him in, they went to the living room and Andy confessed.

"Rye and I...we're dating," he told her. He expected her to be shocked, but she just shrugged.

"I thought so. It's alright, dear, you're always welcome as part of the family."

"Well-he's like this because of me."

He launched into the story as to how it was his fault and how sorry he was that her son was in this condition.

She smiled sympathetically to him.

"It's not your fault, Andy. Of course it isn't. Rye's just very...protective, you know?" The two spoke for a while until Andy finally cracked, asking if they could go check on him. Mrs Beaumont smiled warmly.

"Let's go."

Rye was just waking up as they got to his bedroom. Andy sat on the edge of the bed, fingers fiddling with Rye's hair as he blinked his eyes open.

"Mum? Andy?" He croaked, then winced.

"You don't need to talk if it hurts," Andy said quietly, smiling softly at him. He hated seeing Rye in pain, as anyone would.

"I'm sorry, mum," Rye pursed his lips, taking a breath. "They were saying things about...me. And I yelled at them-"

"Rye, you don't have to lie. She knows about us, baby." Though his heart warmed in his chest as, even though Rye was in a state, his priority was protecting Andy and making sure he was comfortable. He was willing to lie to his parents, for Andy.

Rye smiled up at Andy. He puckered his lips, causing his boyfriend to laugh softly. Andy pressed his lips against Rye's, pulling back immediately as he whimpered.

"I'm sorry!" Andy squeaked out. Rye held a hand to the cut on his lip. Andy hasn't noticed that one before. He could see Rye's eyes filling with tears.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay baby. It'll go away in a minute." Andy tucked a few loose hairs behind Rye's ear, watching him miserably. He felt awful for Rye.

Neither of them had noticed that Mrs Beaumont had left the room until she returned with a cold cloth.

"This will help with his eye," she told Andy. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." She gave Andy a smile, Rye a kiss on the forehead.

Andy laid the cloth over his bruised eye, pressing down on it gently to make sure there was contact. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Rye, who had his eyes squeezed shut, but a few tears still made it to his cheeks. Andy carefully wiped them away, not wanting the salty water to get into any of the cuts.

"I love you Andy," Rye breathed. Andy smiled, half sympathetic and half fond. As Andy removed the cloth from his eye a few minutes later, he saw that Rye was no longer squeezing them shut. He seemed much calmer.

"I love you too, darling. Have you got a headache?"

"At the back," Rye whispered. That must have been where he hit it. "Please cuddle me."

At the request, Andy found himself slipping off his shoes and into the bed. Neither of them had covers on, it was warm enough without them.

"I'm sorry that this happened," Rye whispered, slowly getting comfortable with his head on Andy's chest.

"It's not your fault, sweetheart. I promise."

"I didn't want them insulting you."

"I know." Andy's fingers were threaded through Rye's hair again, being careful to avoid where it had hit the ground.

"I don't want you to hurt, though, so maybe don't protect me that well next time," Andy chuckled. Rye hummed in response, his eyes closed. His hand was lain next to his head on Andy's chest. He liked to be able to feel Andy's heartbeat.

"I love you, Andy." Rye's voice was so incredibly soft that Andy was surprised he heard it. Gentle snores soon came from the broken boy as he slept.

"I love you to infinity, beautiful."