The Missing Boy

Chapter 20 - Shocked

The two boys only skip school once more after the first time. And Axel once more after that. Miles doesn't plan on making a habit of ditching school as the chances of his mother finding out grows with every lesson he isn't marked in for. So Miles decides to stay in school while Axel leaves and goes to smoke in a park instead.

Axel sends Miles a text saying that he'll come at the end of school to walk home with him and after that, pulls out his second cigarette. Then, sitting alone in the park, Axel does something he's deathly afraid to do. He thinks about the future. And then he throws away the cigarette and pulls out a joint instead.

•••••••••••

Axel is shocked when he sees Miles. And not in the way he's always shocked when he sees him, like when he realises just how beautiful Miles is. Or like when he realises time and time again that he's in love with the boy living across the road and that it took him too long to figure it out. No, today that isn't what shocks him, it's Miles' black eye.

An ugly bruise has blossomed on the right side of his face. The flesh around his eyelashes swollen and tender. Miles can't help but flinch at Axel's touch.

There's a different type of rage swelling up in Axel.

"Who did this to you?" Axel asks, his voice laced with anger.

"Just some guy, it's no big deal. Can we just go home please?" Miles attempts to walk past Axel, his broken pair of glasses in his hands. He looks down at the ground and not at Axel or at the other students staring at him. They know what happened. Axel doesn't.

"Miles, I'm going to ask you again. Who did this to you? And I want a fucking name this time."

"Axel calm down. It was just some guy who used to bully me. He stopped for a while, I think it was because we started hanging out. But he saw me on my own today and well...he did this."

Axel's heart breaks when he sees Miles' lip quiver slightly, a stray tear falling from his left eye, the one that isn't swollen shut. So Axel buries his rage, and takes Miles home.

•••••••••• 

Of course Cassie is concerned, her son comes home with a black eye. But after Miles tells her the story, she finds that she can't hold Axel accountable for this. She gets a frozen pack of peas out from the freezer and tells Miles to rest it on his swollen eye. Cassie ignores Miles' objections and promises to call the school about her concern for her son's wellbeing. Miles sighs in defeat then goes up to his room and isn't even surprised to see Axel waiting for him, having climbed through the window.

And there's something about seeing Axel so concerned for him that makes him cry. He goes to Axel and hugs him. He lets the tears fall freely.

"He's never hit me before. He's pushed me, knocked my glasses off, he even emptied my bag once but he-he's never punched me."

Axel's grip on Miles tightens, but he loosens it once he releases how tightly he's holding him.

"Tell me who it was."

"Lewis." Miles whispers. "His name's Lewis."

•••••••••••

"I swear I'm going to fucking kill him."

"No you're not."

"Watch me."

"Axel just forget about it. Please."

"I'm not going to let him hurt you and get away with it."

"Axel!"

"Lewis!" Axel yells, storming through the school car park in hopes of finding the asshole who dared to hurt Miles. It's the following morning, Miles' swollen eye has gone down a bit, but Axel is still as angry as he was the day before.

From the way all the students are turning towards a group of guys, Axel deduces that he must be among them.

"Oi which one of you assholes hit Miles?"

All the guys laugh and a particularly douchey looking one steps forward.

"That small nerdy looking kid? Yeah, that was me. Why, did you come to thank me?"

"I came to give you a taste of your own fucking medicine."

"How about you do us a favour and get lost. Again."

The guys laugh at that one.

Axel pushes Lewis in the chest causing him to fall back against his car, leaving a dent in the process.

"You're gonna fucking pay for that." He says but before he can throw a punch a voice interrupts them.

"Stop!" It calls. It's Miles standing between the two.

"Miles, move." Axel says, his hands clenched by his side, a fight on the brink of falling out.

"Awww look at the little nerd coming to the rescue." Lewis laughs before harshly pushing Miles to the side and takes a step towards Axel. They glare at each other, waiting for one to make the first move. Lewis feels a tap on his shoulder and the second he turns around Miles punches him right across the face with all the power he can muster.

Lewis doubles over in pain, completely taken off guard and is shocked to see that the punch has caused his nose to bleed.

"Fuck you!" Miles yells before walking off proudly. Axel, astonished, follows after him. Once Miles has walked out of the school (he doesn't plan on coming back for the rest of the day) and leaves the crowd of students behind him, Miles shakes his hand and groans in pain.

"Fuck me."

Axel laughs loudly. "You-you just punched him? Just like that?" Axel is still laughing. "It was incredible."

"It was fucking painful." Miles says, looking down at his bruising knuckles. Axel takes Miles' hand, kissing every one of his knuckles and Miles blushes when he literally feels like with every kiss his hand hurts less.

"You're a fucking superhero, Spider-Man."