Saving Scott

8: Horny Gay Teenager Word Vomit

The first day of school went exactly the way I expected it to. I'd stepped up from freshman level, made a name for myself with the upperclassman, the year was going to be a breeze.

The party hadn't hurt, and no one outside of my close friends had realized I'd completely disappeared for an hour. I hadn't even told Matt that I'd spent that time in my bed with Lakyn, running my fingers through his hair until he'd fallen asleep.

He'd been awake again by the time I had gotten the party taken care of, watching some movie surrounded by pillows. He'd been surprised that I hadn't been wasted, but I'd stopped drinking after his meltdown. I hadn't even wanted to go back to the party, but I knew that if I didn't, someone would have come looking for me. I had a feeling Lakyn didn't want anyone else seeing him.

I kept my eye out for him during the day. He hid behind his uniform and his hair, faded into the background as much as he could. It wasn't possible to watch him as much as I wanted to, which was why I lost track of him during lunch.

What I hadn't expected was to come back to a crowd of people. I pushed my way through it only to find Lakyn at the other end. His jaw was red and angry, Matt was posted up in front of him, and somehow Kaitlynn had ended up in the middle of it all.

"What the hell did I miss?" I asked.

All three of them looked at me and Matt ruffled Lakyn's hair before throwing an arm over his shoulder, very much like a proud older brother. "This jerk is fighting on the first day."

I felt my eyebrows shoot up. Fighting was very contradictory to Lakyn's fade-into-the-shadows personality. "Really?"

I'd almost forgotten we were in public, but then everyone within a fifty foot radius was bearing down on me, all trying to tell me what had gone down. All of the stories were different, but I knew I'd get it straight from Matt and Kaitlynn later.

I listened to enough to be polite, then shook the bag of take-out I'd gotten in Lakyn's direction. "Want some chicken?"

He stared at me for a moment, then shook his head and moved out from under Matt's arm. "Nah. I'm fine."

I dropped my gaze to a tray of food on the ground. It was scattered and trampled on and I had a very strong feeling it was Lakyn's.

"I'm fine, Scott," he said again, stronger that time. I wasn't going to win. I shrugged instead, and Matt clapped his shoulder in a sign of silent support before letting him go. Lakyn disappeared into the crowd. Even if he'd been the center of attention for a hot minute, no one cared about him enough to follow.

"What the hell?" I asked the other two. Kaitlynn threw her hands up in annoyance but Matt shook his head slowly.

"Dude," he said, with an emphasis that I felt in my soul.

***

After lunch, I couldn't concentrate. I put in just enough effort to keep myself from falling behind in my social standing, but that was it. I had gym last, but the coaches just made us run laps. I pushed myself the way Lakyn always did. Hopefully, I'd figure out how to keep up with him one day.

I found him at his locker well after the dismissal bell, and wiped my forehead dry before approaching him.

"How was it?" I asked. I hated that I sounded worried.

Lakyn sighed. "I'm not going to go home and swallow a bunch of pills, if that's what you're asking."

I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't know what I was asking. I didn't know if I was even doing the right thing, trying to talk to him. I stared at my feet while my fingers tapped against the lockers. I was good with people. They were pretty much the only things I was good at. But Lakyn James was a different kind of beast.