The Boy With the Bruise - benjey

15 - Three On the Dot

"You did WHAT?!" Syd shouted, causing Jorge to slap his palm over the boy's mouth to shut him up.

"Shhh," Jorge hissed. "You can't tell anybody about this, ok? Promise me!"

Syd nodded quickly, his lips tugging into a frown. "Y'know, you should've told me about what happened with Kaden. You can trust me... you know that."

"I know," Jorge sighed, averting his eyes from the white-haired boy. "I know, I know. But what good is it telling someone if nobody can help me but myself?"

Syd shook his head. "Don't say that. I could help you. I don't care what my parents say - you can sleep over at my house for as long as you want too. Even if they kick you out, you know how to sneak back in through my window, we've done it plenty of times. It wouldn't be that hard to keep you a secret."

"He'd find me," Jorge mumbled. "He knows you're my best friend. He'd check if I was staying at yours, eventually. And then, you'd get in trouble with your parents, Kaden would probably lock me in the apartment forever, and the whole situation would turn into a shit-storm."

"Ok, fine. But, you're still sleeping over tonight, right?" Syd sighed, shifting to his feet along with Jorge as the bell rang.

"Yeah, of course. See you at three?" Jorge asked.

"Three on the dot," Syd confirmed, tapping his watch in a mocking way and disappearing down the hallway filled with an ocean of students rushing to get to their next class. As quick as they appeared, they disappeared, and Jorge was left standing in the middle of an empty hallway.

Sighing, Jorge turned and opened his locker, grabbing his books and putting away the lunch he hadn't eaten. He jolted in panic at the sudden sensation of someone whipping him around.

"Well, well. Look who's back," a platinum-blond boy smirked, his band of bullies behind him as they collectively studied the cowering boy. "I thought you had run away, like the smart boy you are."

Jorge ducked his head, trying to push past him, but a strong pair of hands caught him and threw him back against the lockers with an unnecessary amount of force that knocked the wind out of him.

"No Benji to come save you this time, huh?" one of them sneered, walking forward and pressing Jorge harshly against the lockers.

The platinum-blonde boy's calm demeanor plummeted as he stalked forward, his amused expression quickly replaced with a sadistic one. "I thought I made it clear, Garay. Stay the fuck out of my school, faggot." The use of his last name made Jorge shudder.

"Axel... chill out, man," a small voice says from the back of the group, causing the attention to be drawn to him. Out steps a boy with raven-black hair and freckled cheeks, his expression steely but his eyes giving him away - he's terrified. Jorge recognized him - Benji had called him Liam the day the first day they had met.

"I thought we talked about your fucking mouth," Axel threatened, backing off Jorge temporarily and grabbing Liam by the collar of his shirt. "And how you need to keep the damn thing shut."

"I-" Liam started, but was cut off by a swift punch delivered by Axel. He stumbled back in shock, holding his jaw in pain as he tried to regain his posture. Everything was still for a few seconds, before the pair lunged at each other, throwing punch after punch. Jorge took the opportunity to run but a pair of hands pulled him into their chest and tightened their grip on his brown hair to keep him in place.

Unsurprisingly, Axel was the one who got up when the fight was over. He had to be twice the size of Liam. He spit on the poor boy, who writhed on the dirty floor, beaten and clutching his ribs in agony.

"You know, if you keep on defending the spanish faggot, it won't be much of a surprise if a rumor starts getting around that the precious Liam the Linebacker is gay," Axel spit, wiping the blood that dripped out of his mouth off with his sleeve. "I'm sure dear-old-daddy would be delighted to learn that their only child, the only heir to their inheritance, can't even have a normal fucking family."

Liam didn't answer, which bored the terrifying boy. He turned to Jorge, who immediately shrunk back into the arms of whoever was holding him in fear. With a grunt, the person threw him next to Liam, causing him to land on his hands and knees in a weak position.

Axel was truly terrifying. He had to be at least 6 feet, maybe over, and was built with a naturally muscular build and steely looks. His skin was a rich chocolate brown and his hair was buzzed down to the scalp, but the little hair he had appeared to be a vibrant ginger color. His eyes were a dark green and distant, giving Jorge the feeling that he was staring right through him. The blood that dripped from his wounds didn't make him look any more friendly. If he wasn't so terrifying, Jorge would say that Axel looked handsome. He bent down to pull Jorge to his feet, holding him closely in an intimidating way.

"Next time, it'll be you," he sneered, spitting blood in Jorge's face as he threw him down next to Liam. "And don't expect me to be so nice, Garay. You're in for a real treat."

Axel kicked Jorge in the face as he left, leaving him to bleed in the middle of the hallway.

...

"I want to dye my hair," Jorge pressed, staring intently at Syd as he gently dabbed the rubbing alcohol on Jorge's newly cut lip. It had finally stopped bleeding by the time Syd and Jorge had gotten home, hitching a ride on the bus to get there faster.

"And tell me - why in the actual hell would you want to do that," Syd sighed, rolling his eyes as he threw away a dirty gauze and reached to get a new one.

"When I left this morning, Kaden complimented it," Jorge mumbled. "And I got so fucking angry because of it... I don't know why, I just... I just... I hated it. How he talked like everything was normal, when it wasn't.

Syd stared at Jorge for a second, placing himself in his shoes. "Ok," he agreed. "I have all sorts of hair dye - what color do you want?"

Jorge shrugged. "Anything."

Syd nodded and finished up cleaning the cut, putting various ointments on it. Handing him a bag of frozen peas to ice it with, Syd instructed Jorge to follow him to the bathroom, where he dragged a chair in front of the mirror and yanked open a drawer.

"Is black good?"

"Black is fine."

Jorge stared down at his phone as a notification popped up.

Banjo♡:

Are you free this weekend?

---

No, I am not stereotyping black men as bullies. This is just
how I imagine Axel. His character came to my mind as I was
writing a different story, and I felt like I should include him in
this one because he is one of the best representations of a bully, in my mind.

also.. who likes the new cover?
love you xx