Foggy skin and empty bones // Joshler angst //

Ch. 2: Thanks for caring

Tyler's POV:

Previously...

Without giving it a second thought, I unlocked the door and came out, looking directly at those four people. I was so flooded with adrenaline that I didn't even notice I was about to face some random bullies all on my own.
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"Huh?" the guy with the deepest voice said as the three of them turned to face me and stopped hitting the other boy curled up on the floor who I guessed was trying to proctect himself. His terrified face was the first thing I saw, he started shaking his head at me once the bullies weren't paying attention to him. "Is he trying to tell me to... Leave?" I wondered. My thoughts were interrupted by that guy with the deep voice once more, I guessed he was the "leader" for he always spoke first while his two 'friends' only supported his statements. The leader walked up to where I was menacingly with a smirk plastered on his face, his two companions scuared up behind him one at a side and, as he approched me, he started talking to the guy lying on he floor while facing me "Oh? Who do we have here, one of those pathetic friends of yours? How cute of you to think anyone can save you, hah." I started backing off slowly, but he didn't stop walking until my back was against the wall. He grabbed me by the collar of my hoodie and looked me dead in the eyes as he continued talking, to me this time "You should have known that messing with me leads to a dead end. I've never seen you and, from now own, I better not fucking see you again because if I do..." he finished his threat motioning his index finger across my neck, clearly suggesting he will kill me. I gulped painfully, having him that close was seriously scary. I could see it inside his eyes, he wasn't joking at all. In fact, I would dare say he was already making up said scene in his mind. His words were clear, his tone was confident and his smile was frightening. My body was paralyzed, I didn't even feel capable of looking away from his hatred-filled eyes. "Actually, I do not trust neither of you bastards, I think a little 'waring' will do you good. Your turn, assholes." the leader stated, letting go of me as soon as he pronounced the last word, making a quick motion with his hands to indicate those two people behind of him to come at me. They clenched their fists tight and surrounded me, pressing both my arms against the wall and punching me in the stomach at the same time with their free hands. They moved so fast that I had no time to scoot away before they grabbed me. Their first punch was harder than I had expected, so much that they managed to kick the air out of my lungs for a couple of seconds, let alone the pained moan that escaped my mouth. I lost all the strength I had in me, if they weren't holding me from my arms, I would have fallen to my knees right away. Once I managed to breathe again, I looked up from the floor to see the leader bully stepping on the boy's ribs with the biggest of smiles on his face. I tried to break free from his companions' strong grip, all I thought of at the time was helping that poor guy no matter what could possibly happen to me. "GET OFF OF HIM-" I hopelessly yelled, being cut off by another two punches, one on my left cheek and the other on my right eye. I coughed up blood, for I had bitten my tongue accidentally when they hit me. "Shut the hell up!" they demanded.

Then, thank god, the bell started ringing once more. "God fucking dammit-- This was the first warning, brats, next time we wont have any kind of mercy on you. Let's get the fuck out of here before anyone comes in. NOW." the leader said, getting off from the boy and motioning his subjects to let me go, which they did by unhanding my arms and making me fall onto the floor. Gladly, I saved the fall by quickly placing my hands forward and bending my knees. The three bullies left, closing the bathroom's door behind them.

And there we were, two skinny losers down on the floor after a beating trying to hold the pain without screaming our hearts out. "Hey... Are you alright...?" I asked quietly as I clenched my teeth and held my stomach, all in an attempt to bare with the pain that invaded my body. The boy didn't move his head to face me this time, he just spoke on the lowest tone I was able to still hear, his voice cracked so much that it sounded like a whisper with stuttering "...Wh-why have yo-yo-you done.. Tha-that...? They.. A-are dangerous pe..people... I'm ssssso-..sorry" His words were full of guilt and sorrow, I could tell he was blaming himself for me getting hurt even though he was hit too. I felt incredibly bad for him. "Don't be sorry, please, nothing about this was your fault, alright? They are the ones that go around kicking people with a smile on their faces. I just... I had to do something about it, man... Do you think you can get up? Do I call anyone?" I insisted, allowing my worry to flow inside me and make act of presence. I tried to approach him, struggling to move my body as I crawled closer. "I-I will be fi-fine... Just gi-..give me a minute.. Yo-you?" he replied after a bit, dragging his body back with his legs so he could face me. I saw suprise and concern on his face when he was able to see me, "Your.. No-nose" he pointed out.
I used one of my hands to feel my nose, there was a liquid substance dropping from it. I moved it forward so I could see what I had touched and it was blood. "Now my nose is bleeding too? Today is going great..." I told myself sarcastically. "Right-, I have tissues in my bag... Are you bleeding anywhere?" I asked him, covering my nose and breathing through my mouth. There was blood dropping down from both my mouth and nose. Nevertheless, keeping the bathroom's floor clean was something I couldn't care less about at the moment, there were better things to think about. He shook his head, looking away. I was about to say something when he interrupted me quietly, saying "I-Im sorry you mi-missed cla-class... If you g-..go to the nu-nurse's she wi-will give you a pa-paper to justify yo-your absence to the te-tea-teacher, tha-...that will save you fro-from tro-tro-trouble." I nodded, looking up at him afterwards "Thank you, ...? I don't know your name yet- Think you can get up on your own or do I help you up?" I asked calmly, moving one of my knees forward so I could rest my weight on it and get up from the ground still holding my stomach tightly. Making such an thing just made my everything hurt even more, at least it was worth the effort. To my surprise, the other guy shook his head as he said "I'm used to thi-this, I can ge-ge-get up, thanks for the o-offer... --Gi-give me a second.." he struggled to move his arms in order to place the palms on the floor, pushing his body up until he was standing on his knees. Then, he managed to get up using the sinks table's surface as support to help him up, surface where he later rested his body and from where he offered me a hand, which I immediately grabbed as he pulled me up from the ground. I mumbled a 'thank you' and washed my face on the sink, getting rid from all the dry and fresh blood even if it was still coming out. The other guy beside me let go a pained sight, getting my attention once more. Now that he was stranding I could stop to actually see him. He wore a white short-sleeved t-shirt with a skull drawn on both front and back in black and red, I remember how I thought that the drawing was pretty epic.
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A/N: I couldn't help myself but draw all by myself that skull that Josh has in his shirt right in this moment- Im sorry for the interruption, this is how I pictured it to look like: