Alan's POV

I walk down the hallway with Aaron close by my side, my paranoia in full alert. I didn't want to see Austin today. Scratch that, I never wanted to see Austin again. I had ruined everything. Any chance of us ever being friends had completely obliterated the moment I kissed him. Lord, why did I kiss him? I was doing so well at hiding my feelings and then I just had to go and let them all out. Way to go Alan, you messed up again.

"Don't worry Al. We probably won't even see him." Aaron whispered as he put a hand on my back and smiled sympathetically at me.
I relaxed and smiled back at him. He's right. I never see Austin much at school except for at lunch. He's a senior and I'm a junior, which means we're never in the same classes. All I needed to think about was how quickly I could get out of here and be done with the day.

"Faggot." I hear being shouted down the corridoor.
I roll my eyes and carry on walking. I don't even feel bad for not going back and sticking up for whoever's being shouted at because I know perfectly well that no one would do it for me.
"Alan Ashby. I'm talking to you, faggot."

I pause and feel my heart begin to race. I didn't even have the guts to turn around and see who shouted it. No one knew me and no one ever called me out in the middle of the hallway. I was invisible and I liked being that way because it meant I could stay out of uneccessary drama.
Suddenly, I was pushed against a locker and a fistful of my shirt was gripped in Tino's fist. Aaron stared at me, his mouth open and his eyes filled with horror. He shifted uncomfortably and started fumbling with his hands, looking at the people around him. I knew he wouldn't step up and help me. Of course, I wasn't mad because he was just like me. He wanted to be invisible and even I knew he was no match for Tino.
Tino moved closer so his face was only inches from mine. I could feel his breath against my face and it smelt of tobacco.
"So, I heard you like kissing boys." He chuckled.
I flinched and felt tears welling up in my eyes. There was a large crowd of people gathered around now, at least thirty students and I eternally begged that one of them would step up and defend me. It was obvious I was much weaker than him and there was no way I would fight back.
"Listen here." He spoke, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "I'm going to make it very simple for you to understand, ok? Stay the fuck away from my friends or I swear to God I will make your life more of a living hell than it already is. You got that?"
I opened my eyes and felt the tears pour out. I could see Austin stood next to Aaron. His hands were in his pockets and his hood was over his head, his gaze fixated on the ground. At this precise moment I honestly didn't care what Tino did to me. I already felt numb.
"Are you fucking deaf, faggot? I said have you got that?" He shouted before punching me in the stomach.
I fell to the ground and clutched onto my stomach, more tears rolling down my face. He kicked me repeatedly while the crowd just remained silent.
"Help." I croaked out.
"Tino. Stop. Leave it, come on." Austin spoke quietly as he pulled on the arm of Tino's jacket.
Tino stared down at me for a moment, contemplating whether or not to leave. He crouched down to my level and spat in my face before laughing and walking off down the hallway with Austin and Phil. I watched after them, waiting for them to disappear out of view so that I could get up but noticed Austin turn around to look at me. He looked sad. He wasn't smiling and his eyes were deep with guilt. He mouthed a slow "sorry" at me before turning away and following his friends.

"Alan!" Aaron cried as he bent down next to me and took my face in his hands. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have just stood there. I should've ran and gotten help."
"It's fine." I replied, whincing as I stood up. "It would've just made him more mad if the teachers got involved."
Aaron put his arm around me and I heard him sniffle. "I'm sorry. Let's just go to class."
"No." I say and pull away from him. "I just want to go home."


Austin's POV

I felt awfully guilty about what happened to Alan earlier. I should have done something. I should have stopped Tino. But I didn't. I just stood there and watched him get beaten to a pulp. He looked so worn out and hurt once I walked away. I should have stayed. I should have helped him. It seems that my life is one big 'I should have'. I'm not even friends with Tino. I mean, I pretend I am but that's only because he took me in when I moved to this school and didn't know anyone and if I ever leaved the group he'd probably beat me up and make my life a living hell. Alan is a year younger than me so I started high school without him. I planned on staying friends with him but Tino made it hard to have any other friends. I had Phil though. Me and Phil stick together and I can tell him anything. Him and Tino were friends before they started high school but they're polar opposites. I can trust Phil with my life, which is why I told him about what happened with Alan the other night. I knew he wouldn't tell anyone. But that didn't stop Tino from over hearing. I didn't know how I felt about what happened with Alan. In all honesty, I hadn't even processed it properly yet. I'd know Alan my whole life, we were best friends and yet the idea of him liking me more than that confused me. Why would he like me? Does he even like me? I didn't even know if the kiss was genuine or if was just an in-the-moment thing. All I knew was that I needed to talk to Alan. And soon.

"Mr Carlile, are you paying attention?" My teacher boomed from the front of the classroom, causing all the students to turn and stare at where I sat in the back right corner of the room by the window.
"I'm sorry sir. No, I'm not paying attention. I need to go." I replied, while gathering my stuff and quickly running out of the classroom. Once out of there, I continued until I got to the parking lot and into my car. I put the key in the ignition and drove to where my head was shouting at me to go.

* * *

"Alan!" I shouted up towards his bedroom window. "God dammit Alan, please just come out and talk to me."
I saw a head of ginger curls poke out of the window. "I don't want to talk to you." He answered, his face red and tear streamed.
"Please Alan. I'm sorry. I should've done something but I was scared. I was scared, ok Alan? I'm so so sorry."
His head disappeared and I sighed, turning to leave until I heard the door creak open.
"I'm sorry too." He whispered.
I walked to where he was stood and tilted my head in confusion.
"Sorry for what?" I asked.
He looked down at his feet, his cheeks turning red. I smiled at how nervous he always was. Was it me that made him like this? I smiled at the thought.
"You know what for." He choked, a new set of tears streaming down his face.
I put two fingers under his chin and lifted his head so that he'd make eye contact with me. I always loved his eyes. My heart rate began to quicken when his gaze connected with mine and I brushed my fingers against his cheeks, wiping away the stray tears.
"Sorry, for this?" I asked before connecting our lips.

Notes

This chapter is awfully short, I am so sorry. I was going to make it longer but I didn't want to drag it out too much.
Hope you like it anyways and thank you for all the subscriptions and views so far.

- Georgia x