Roommates (2doc/Studoc AU)

IX

I wake up to a gentle shake on my shoulder and see Murdoc standing in front of me. "Hey, kid. Get ready for school," he orders before walking into his room.

After sighing and wiping my eyes, I finally get the motivation to sit up.

Murdoc walked in the room actually wearing a shirt for once. "I have to go to work after I drop you off," he informed me as he walked to the kitchen to make coffee.

"Where do you work?" I asked as I got dressed.

"It's a little record shop downtown. Mostly sells some rock shit. The pays pretty nice, but I like getting stuff for free more," he laughed, pouring the coffee into his mug. "If you want, after school I could take you there," he offered.

"Sure! Sounds fun," I smile, as I tie my shoelaces.

Murdoc was still banned from campus, so when he dropped me off, he had to let me out a couple of blocks away. He told me to have a good day and said he'd pick me up right where he let me out.

On the walk in, people started. They stared more than usual, but honestly, I just don't care. It wasn't until I walked into the building that people actually started to talk to me instead of staring.

Audrey, Paula's best friend, came up to me, screeching "I can't believe you did that to her! She's absolutely heartbroken now!"

"No, she's not. I know she's not. She can't be that hurt if just a minute before she was cheating on me. How long had she been with him, anyway?" I asked, wanting to know how long I was in the dark.

"Not important. Are you really gay?!" She asked.

"No!" I scoffed. "I lied about something like that knowing everybody would look at me differently and got kicked out of my house just for revenge," I snapped, throwing my hands up.

"Oh thank God! I thought I'd hung around you all this time and didn't know. Should have never doubted my gaydar. You know, my mom took me to get my hair cut and the stylist was gay. I even asked him and was right. I can always tell when I'm around a gay person. Also-" she raved.

"Alright, I gotta go to class," I cut her off. Never really did like Paula's friends. A little too dull for me. And I think that's saying something.

School was hell. It was long and tumultuous. Everybody and their mother wanted to know if it was true, to which I gave them a similar, sarcastic response. What did I have to lose at this point? Only a couple of months left before I'm out of here anyway.

When Murdoc picked me up that day, he seemed a lot more cheerful than usual.

"What's up, kid?" He asked me. "How was your day?" Strangely inquisitive today.

"It was good. A was the main focus of everybody. Even teachers acted weird around me," I said, furrowing my eyebrows.

"It'll die down," he reassured. "Probably," he added. 

"So are you ready to see Toxicity Records?" He asked. "Named after one of the best records to ever come out of the 2000s by System of a Down," Murdoc elaborated.

"Of course," I affirmed, buckling my seatbelt.

"So, how was today, really?" He asked again.

I hesitated before admitting, "It was terrible. It's not like anyone hurt me, but I could just feel what they were thinking about me,"

Murdoc nodded sympathetically and tousled my hair. "You'll get through it, Blue. I believe in you. Plus, that's one day less than yesterday until you graduate," he reminded.