Never Gonna Be Alone

Chapter 21--Back To School

Laten flung his alarm clock to the other side of the room as it blared through the early morning. He groaned. He just wanted to sleep more. Turns out, it was Tuesday, so no more sleeping in for him.

Laten dragged himself out of his bed, and proceeded to do his routine.

He never knew going back to school would be so hard, Any other times, Laten could care less, but for some reason, there was something different now, that made him not want to go back to school.

Oh right. Tankie and him kissed yesterday. Laten sighed. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate already. He just hoped that Tankie wouldn’t do anything that suggested they had a relationship going on. 

Laten put on his shoes once he got everything together. As he waited on the time, he wondered if he should call him, just out of curiosity. Just to see what Tankie’s reactions would be. What would he say, do, think---Wait. Why was Laten thinking all this? Why the hell did it even matter anyway? The only important thing was to survive this day in school. 

This would be the last week the damn kids were outta the school. What the hell would happen if they came back? Laten wasn’t sure how he would survive the next beating that they were sure to give him. 

Why couldn’t everyone just stay the hell away and leave him the hell alone? 

The thought crossed his mind.

To cut. Laten closed his eyes and breathed. Then another thought crossed his mind.

Why the hell should he even stop? 

Oh right. He might cut in the wrong place. 

Why the hell should it matter if he cut in the wrong place? It wouldn’t exactly be suicide, just…a cut that went too deep by a small little slip. It would be like pure darkness…peace, for at least a few minutes. No worrying.

That’s right. Tankie, Ryan, and Dad.

No way in hell he was going to let them down. 

But the thought was still there. 

He thought of the swim.

Tankie just basically said save it for the night. 

Laten smiled. He will do that. All he has to do, is keep thinking about tonight. 

As far as Laten knew, screw the damn kids. 

Laten went outside when the bus came. He climbed in and sat down. He sighed. Hopefully this will be a good day. 

On the next few stops, Tankie sat next to him like always. 

Laten felt himself blushing, although he wasn’t exactly sure why. Right. That damn kiss.

Tankie looked really nervous too. Almost too nervous for Laten’s taste. Tankie was nervous. Usually Tankie was the one who kept cool unless it had something to do with Laten. Tankie wore a black fanny shirt, with a chess like pattern to his pants. Tankie knew he had to choose his words carefully. He thought long and hard about that kiss. He really wants to kiss him again, but he needs to talk to Laten again…carefully. “So…do you regret it?” He asked, as the bus started up again.

Laten shook his head. He didn’t exactly regret it. He wouldn’t call it that. 

Tankie nodded. This was going good. “Do you want to do it again, sometime?”

Laten smiled.

Tankie took that as a yes. So, he liked where this thing was going. “We don’t have to tell anyone. Not even your father if you don’t want to.”