Chapter Ten
Author: Keishi
BIG FAT WARNING:
Contains m/m relationships
ONLY read if you are of age and open-minded!!
Lunchtimes at Willowbrook High were staggered due to the immense size of its student body. Gade had first lunch with Sebastian, Chasey had second; Will and Drayne attended third lunch. For the first time in his life, Gade voluntarily skipped a class, waiting outside the lunchroom for second lunch to end and the students eating third lunch to file in.
He saw Will first, walking slightly behind Drayne like a bodyguard, the pair talking quietly, seriously. When they saw him standing by the cafeteria entrance, Will immediately pushed Drayne behind him, whispering for him to go on ahead into the room. Slipping on headphones and not looking up from the floor, Drayne slipped by Gade.
"Drayne!" Gade tried to shoulder past Will but he was blocked, the older man just plain bigger and stronger. "Out of my way, Jones!" he hissed.
Will shook his head, solemn. The expression looked alien on his normally grinning face. "Not a chance, man. Not before I know what's going on with you guys."
Gade narrowed his eyes. "Funny, I was wondering the same thing."
Will growled low in his throat, grabbing the sleeve of Gade's sweater. Hauling him down the hall, he flung open the door to the nearest boy's bathroom and unceremoniously threw Gade inside. Gade immediately pushed back, shoving Will into the door. "Get the fuck off of me."
Will closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. "McKay, don't do this. I just want to know what the hell's going on between you and Drayne, because he sure as fuck ain't talking."
Gade's face twisted, warring between confusion, pain and anger. "How the fuck should I know?! I'm not the one who's been by his side this past week!"
Will's fists clenched, but he visibly tried to calm himself. "Someone had to be there for him when his own best friend didn't even want him around."
Gade couldn't have explained his next action if he'd tried. Vision clouding red, he pulled his fist back and hit Will, hard and square on the cheek. He put everything he had in that one punch, sending Will reeling back with its force. For a second, everything slowed down to a crawl, Gade watching, agape, as Will tried to remain standing. He lost the battle, arms wheeling, crashing down to the dirty tile floor in a heap of blond hair and long limbs.
"Don't fucking touch him!" Before Gade could react, he was attacked from behind. He had just enough time to turn his head and put his arms out in front of him before hitting the floor hard, the side of his face being beaten into the tile by whoever was on top of him. Books and backpacks went flying.
"Drayne!" Will's voice crept into his consciousness through the repeated punches to his back and cranium. The fists never once let up.
"Don't you dare touch him!" Drayne screamed, on top of Gade. "You fucker, you don't have a clue, do you!?" Fingers gripped his shoulders, squeezing hard. He dully felt nails rip through the material of his sweater. "Fuck you, you asshole!"
"Drayne, stop!" Using all of his strength, Will wrapped his arms about Drayne's middle and wrenched the smaller boy away from Gade's prone form. "Stop it, you're hurting him!"
Gade blinked open his eyes, aware of the weight finally off his back. He turned over on the floor, gasping for air, his head throbbing. He looked up into Drayne's angry face, his own bloodied due to one of his teeth slicing through his lower lip, hand held to it gingerly. Hurt was plain in his eyes.
Tears flowing freely from his own eyes, Drayne scrabbled in Will's arms. "NO! Lemme go! Gade, you fucker, you'll never know, will you! LET ME GO, WILL!"
Obediently Will lowered Drayne, still keeping a guarding hand on him. For a moment, no one said anything as Drayne slowly calmed himself, his fists throbbing. "Want to know what I said Saturday night out in the backyard?" he asked, finally. "I fucking told you I loved you." Shaking off Will's hand, he stared at Gade for a moment before turning and leaving, his footsteps echoing down the empty hall.
Will and Gade stared at each other in shock, both unable to move even when a teacher entered the bathroom a few minutes later. Taking in Gade's cut lip and Will's purpling cheek, he quickly gave them both afternoon detention.
--
"This is all your fault, McKay," Will said lowly, shooting Gade a pissed look when the teacher left the classroom. They had both been given an hour's detention after school for allegedly fighting; the punishment would have been much more severe had Mr. Brown actually seen the fight take place.
"You could have just told him you weren't the one fighting," Gade reasoned, equally angry, careful not to aggravate his split lip. Both boys had been sent to the nurse's office, individually, throughout the day. Will shot him an 'are-you-stupid?' look and turned his face toward the window. "Man, I don't want to be stuck in here," Gade fumed, crossing his arms on the desk.
Will shook his head, disgusted. "Like this is the ultimate joy of my life? Fuck off, Gade."
"Ooh, original, Jones."
"You know," said Will, ignoring Gade's comment, "it's pretty fucking stupid to leave two people caught fighting alone in a classroom together. What sort of fucked-up logic is this?"
Gade shrugged, sticking the end of his pencil into his mouth. "Maybe they figure we'll just finish each other off, freeing the school of two mouths to feed and two brains to wash," he mumbled.
"What, and let us kill one another before they've had a chance to fully take away our individuality and free thought? Not likely," Will scoffed, still not looking at Gade. The other boy didn't answer.
"You could have said something to him, you know," Will said after a while. Gade looked at him, surprised. "I think he was waiting for you to." He continued to look out the window.
Gade stared for a minute at Will, eyes wide. "What could I have said to that?"
Will finally looked at Gade, the baby blue of his eyes intense. "How about 'I love you, too?'"
"But I'm not sure if I love him like that!"
"Then you do feel something for him," said Will.
Gade rested his chin on his folded arms. "Yeah," he admitted, softly. When Will hiked an eyebrow at him, he said louder, "Yes, I do. I care about him a lot. More than I should."
"Then tell him," Will stated, as if it were the simplest matter in the world.
"I planned to!" Gade said, exasperated. "I was going to, if you hadn't blocked me in front of the cafeteria--"
"You didn't look like someone about to declare their love," the blond interjected. "In fact, you looked pretty pissed to me."
"That's because I saw you," said Gade heatedly. "I thought you and Drayne were a-- were... ah hell, I thought you were fucking Drayne."
Will's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "This is news to me. Where was I during all the fucking, 'cause believe me, I would've certainly remembered, and enjoyed, that."
"Look, I know its not true now," Gade sighed. "I mean, that's obvious now, right? It's just... you guys were spending so much time together. It got me worried."
"Gade," Will said, closing his eyes as if he had a headache. Scooting his desk closer, he bent his head to whisper, "Someone had to be there for him, McKay, because you dropped the ball. I don't know what fucked-up shit was going through your head, but when you pushed Drayne away, he came to Theo and me. I tried to help him the best I could, but it has NOT been easy. Do you have any idea how fucked up his life is? Believe me, if you care at all about this boy, you’d better tell him. He needs to know."
Gade stared hard down at his desk when Will finished. The blond said nothing else to him the rest of the hour, and when Mr. Brown came back to release them from their punishment, Will walked out without a word or backward glance. Gade hardly noticed; too many other thoughts occupied his brain at that particular moment.
Drayne loved him, and Gade might have thrown away any chance of ever having him.
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