Golden

twenty-three

Ian's performance was so blatantly awful during PE on Tuesday that the coach held him back after his lesson ended to ask if Ian had any physical problem or sickness.

Ian made up a fishy story about how he had problems sleeping lately, which wasn't even that far from the truth, and the coach finally let him go. Ian hurried to the locker rooms, aware that he would be inevitably late to his next class.

Since his classmates had left for their next class several minutes ago, Ian was alone. At first he was glad because he had always felt slightly uncomfortable getting changed next to fifteen other guys, but his attitude changed as Kyle and Omar showed up in the doorway.

"I knew you weren't with the others," Kyle said, his gaze darkening as he walked towards Ian.

His friend Omar stayed in the doorway, his gaze fixed on the hallway in case anyone decided to join them. Ian frowned as he backed away from Kyle. "What do you want?"

Kyle reached for him and pressed him up against the wall, annoying Ian with their proximity. Omar glanced at them over his shoulder.

"Don't hurt him, or he'll run to Moreno again," he said to Kyle who chose to ignore him.

Instead, he pressed his right arm against Ian's chest to keep him pinned against the wall as his other hand closed around his throat. "You like that, fag?"

"Get your hands off me, bastard."

Kyle's expression darkened. "I once respected you."

"And I made the mistake of doing the same," Ian replied, kicking his shin against Kyle's thigh which caused the taller boy to back away.

Kyle didn't hesitate to turn violent as well, and his blow against Ian's stomach was quick and strong. He used enough force to bring Ian to his knees, arms wrapped around his aching stomach as he gasped for air.

"We're done. Never come near me again," Kyle growled before walking back to Omar and pulling him out of the locker room.

Ian stayed on the floor until he had gotten his breathing under control, and he hissed in pain as he lifted his shirt up to glance at his stomach. A colourful bruise was already forming on his pale skin.

It wasn't fair and Kyle's action wasn't justified, but there was nothing Ian could do about it, so he forced himself to swallow his anger and change back into his school uniform, ignoring the sharp pain crossing his torso with every move.

Besides, he had more important things to worry about than Kyle Adams. His dad was coming back home today, and he wanted to meet Ian for dinner tomorrow. Ian hadn't heard from him since their phone call yesterday. His nervousness was almost unbearable, and it seemed to grow with every passing hour that brought him closer to reuniting with his dad.

The day passed agonizingly fast, and soon enough, Ian and Finn were back in their room, changing out of their uniforms since they were done with school for the day. Ian had almost forgotten about his encounter with Kyle until Finn cursed under his breath.

"Fuck, Ian, what happened?"

Ian quickly reached for a shirt but Finn yanked it out of his grip, his eyes wide as he stared at Ian's stomach.

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Ran against a wall."

"Are you dense?" Finn's surprise turned into irritation. "Who did this?"

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Ian used the moment of Finn's eyes slipping away from him to take his shirt back. Finn's hold on the fabric tightened and he refused to let go, even when Noah appeared in the doorway.