𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐞 ; 𝘉𝘺𝘭𝘦𝘳 ✓

𝟐𝟒.

Hawkins High | Mon 1:28 PM
Troy Walsh

He looked up for the first time all day and saw the raven-haired boy walking towards his direction from afar. Troy had been trying his best to avoid Mike all day but now it was time to go to the class they had together, which used to be a class Troy would be excited to go to. Troy wanted to avoid Mike in the hall but it was nearly impossible seeing as they were going to the same place and the hallway was so crowded that it was hard for Troy to turn around.

His heart began to sting in his chest and he froze up in that hallway, directly eyeing Mike as he got closer. The air around him felt thin and his breathing deepened to maximize his oxygen intake. He needed the air but it also hurt to breathe, so much so that it caused his throat to swell up like he was having an allergic reaction. Next, his vision began to blur and everyone turned into black and white blobs of themselves. The sound of shoes against tiled floors turned into constant ringing in both of his ears. Troy's final feeling was weight. He first felt the metaphorical weight on his shoulders, but now everything was feeling heavy. His head, his heart, and especially his emotions. The combined mass of reality made it increasingly hard to stand and his knees began to buckle.

Before the earth shifted beneath his feet, Troy was interrupted by someone he didn't recognize. Puberty hadn't completely hit the guy yet, so Troy assumed he was a freshman. His vision became clearer and he stood up straighter, preparing to listen to whatever this stranger had to say. He felt like a different face in view would help to calm him down a bit.

The freshman said in a maniacal tone, "I know what you and Mike did."

Troy went straight into defense mode, knowing that he shouldn't confirm anything without proof. "Pff, get outta my way." He said while brushing past the freshman.

"You might wanna rephrase that pal." The guy said while pulling out a photo of the incident from his back pocket.

Troy slowly turned around and was once again reminded of what happened, as if having to face mike every day wasn't enough. He immediately snatched the picture away and ripped it to shreds.

"Oops, guess my hand slipped." Troy said with a lot of sarcasm.

He turned back around and continued walking to his class, eager to get away from this guy. Before he got there he heard a chilling statement. "I have copies."

Troy paused his movements, inhaled, and speed walked back to the freshman. Once he got closer, he grabbed him by the collar and started saying the only things that logically made since in this situation: threats.

"Listen hear bitch, I don't know if you know this but this is the sophomore hallway. So I suggest you get on your merry way before you get your ass kicked by an upperclassman."

After Troy spoke those words, he dropped the freshman and went to class. The freshman scurried away in fear, taking Troy's threats to heart and feeling intimidated. Troy smirked at the fact that he still had some kind of power in this school, even though there were rumors going around that he and Mike fought and Troy lost. Have people even seen Mike? He was basically a walking stick figure.

For the rest of his periods, Troy was too focused on Mike to give a second thought about the encounter he had earlier that day. He would soon come to learn that that was a huge mistake.

***

Troy had just gotten home from school and was extremely exhausted. Between trying not to have a panic attack every time he saw Mike and trying to do well in school, he hadn't been having a fun time. Before he was able to get comfortable enough to fall asleep, the doorbell rang. He ignored it and let Tom deal with whoever was at the door, until his father started calling his name.