d r e a m b o y | t. russell

4: r e a l i z a t i o n

The bell rang for class to begin, and Ty sat at his desk with his head in his arms. He wore a slight scowl and his grey eyes had an unfamiliar, decaying tint to them. Ty hated to admit it, but he could be quite volatile, and this was one of those times where he was on edge. His cheery attitude could change in the blink of an eye.

His friends knew to give him space when he was like this, and although he appreciated it, he felt like he was being left alone to deal with it. Mr. Ellison dropped his bag behind his desk and popped the cap off of the whiteboard marker. Ty stared blankly as his wrist flew around the white surface, the black streak of the marker dancing behind it.

"Pull out your textbooks, this assignment must be finished before the end of class. Voice levels may not rise above a whisper." He eyed the students. "You know the consequences." He always knew how to make something sound so threatening, even though the punishment wasn't all that bad.

With a few grumbles from his classmates, they all started taking out their textbooks, the covers colliding with the wooden surfaces of their desks. Ty reluctantly took out his textbook, and mindlessly flipped to the assigned page. There were fifty questions to be done by the end of class, 'This is going to be a long day.'

Just as Ty was finishing the last question, the sound of the bell rang through the air, and the whispers of his classmates immediately burst into loud chatter. Ty ignored the commotion as he packed his bag for the next class.

"Come on, you're being slow." Pip leaned on his desk, flashing him a soft smile. She was giving an attempt to lighten the mood, but Ty was still distant.

The remaining three were waiting as the other two were leaving the classroom. Ty walked past them silently, his eyes fixated on the tiled floors. Harrison and Matthew were chatting as they lingered a bit behind the group, and Pip was anxiously walking in silence, giving Ty a few concerned glances here and there. Raymond, however, seemed to be acting normal.

Ty could feel Pip's gaze set on the back of his head, he subconsciously clenched his fists and bit his lip, he could feel the negative attitude growing stronger by the second. He hated it, he hated how he could change to a distant asshole in the blink of an eye, he didn't like feeling this way. It was no better than a depressive mood swing.

The five entered their next classroom, and before Raymond took his seat, he hesitated, seeming as though he was going to say something. But proceeded to sit down. Ty let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes and biting his lip once again.

The rest of the classes went by with the same tense atmosphere, Ty hoped to lighten up by the end of lunch. The bell rang and all of the students made their way to the cafeteria. Harrison, Matthew, and Pip were gathered at the usual lunch table, but Raymond nudged Ty's shoulder before he could leave the lunch line.

"Come on, we're sitting over here." Raymond tilted his head towards a different lunch table. They would eat there every once in a while when either of the two wanted to avoid too much socializing.

The two boys sat across from each other, neither of them spoke a word. Ty had been involuntarily tapping his foot when Raymond spoke up.

"What's up with you?" He grumbled. He seemed annoyed, almost.

"Nothing, fuck off." Ty scowled, but didn't lift his gaze to meet Raymond's.

"Don't give me that bullshit, you hardly curse." Raymond set down his fork. "And your foot is tapping." Ty gripped his fork tighter.

"So what if my foot is tapping? That's normal." He made a conscious effort to stop his leg from bouncing.

"Yeah, it's normal when you're stressed, anxious, or on the verge of a fucking breakdown. Now what's wrong?" Raymond's words had a bite. Ty could practically feel his eyes piercing through him.