Content warning: Verbal abuse
dude this shits sad lol
Word Count 6,707
26 August 2004
“Lucas, is that everything that happened?”
Lucas blinked before looking over to his mother, meeting her horrified stare as her eyes twinkled in the dim lighting of the room. He shrunk in his seat sickly at the sight of her expression. He had never seen her so terrified before, but he couldn’t blame her after everything he told the officers.
“Pretty much.” He muttered quietly before looking down at the table, squinting hard as his head swayed. He would kill to be able to be left alone for a bit; he’d been talking to police officers for at least 10 minutes now with a break every now and then due to vomiting and getting lightheaded, but they insisted he try to get as much information out possible so it’d be easier to catch Cheren and find out where Kayden was. He did what he could to stay focused long enough so they could at least find his friend, but his mind couldn’t bother to last long enough on Cheren; he just hoped he was long gone and would never come back.
The two adults that had been interviewing him looked to Akira, their eyes clouded with pity and concern.
“I think we’ve got enough. I’m...extremely sorry we had him go through repeating that. Its…”
“It doesn’t bother me. I’m alright.” Lucas quickly interrupted the adults, the room’s discomfort had its hands wrapped around his neck, suffocating him with each second. He couldn’t stand it. “Can I go back to my bed? It kinda hurts to sit up with my head feeling like this.”
Please don’t make any of this a big deal.
I just want to go home.
Please just leave me out of it now.
“O-Oh, yes, hun. We’ll go in just a second.” Akira placed her hand onto Lucas’s, her gentle smile trembling as she looked down at him. Lucas hated to see her like this; she was doing everything from keeping herself from bursting into tears in front of him.
The officers apologized to the two of them and let them on their way, allowing Akira to take Lucas back to his bed. The two of them walked the long, white hallway in silence; it was quite late, at least two in the morning. Most of the patients on the floor were asleep or allowing the TV to drain the last bits of their conscious away until they drifted into slumber. Lucas found it stupid that he had to stay in and be monitored for a few days, but his mother and the officers stressed that he wasn’t in the best of condition. He had a limp and was covered in bruises and cuts, had a pretty bad concussion that caused him to go unconscious for a while, was apparently malnutritioned and dehydrated even though he felt pretty okay. Since he walked to the police station in the dead of night covered in his own blood, everyone had been treating him like a possessed spirit, fearing to even lay a hand on him or allow their eyes to cross his body. His presence had struck fear into everyone who had once loved him, their faces failing to hide what they were feeling.
With the way they were acting, he had to check his own pulse to make sure he wasn’t actually dead.
They made it halfway down the hallway before Lucas felt himself growing weary, his balance faltering as he stepped. Akira must have noticed considering she stopped to lift him up into her arms, cradling him similarly to what she would do when he was a child. He had hesitated and resisted her touch at first, unaware of what was happening or what she was planning to do, but after hearing her soothing voice and her handling him with the most tender care, he allowed himself to relax, allowing his face to rest under her neck. He had never realized how strong his mother was considering how she lifted him with ease, not showing a sign of strain as they walked to the room. It had to be either that, or he must have really lost weight over the summer.
Once they got into the room, Akira went to lay Lucas down but he whined, refusing to let go of his mother. He felt his face grow hot as his eyes welled with tears upon feeling her try to loosen his grip around her shoulders.
“Alex, I’m not going anywhere, I’ll be right here in the chair next to you. I have to call your daddy.” Akira looked him in the eye weakly, patting his head as he finally let go. Lucas grimaced, allowing himself to lay back on his pillows and cover himself up. The TV was still muted from earlier due to the sound bothering him, so looking up at the animated screen which was silent kinda spooked him.
His mom had already started talking to his father over the phone, her voice shaky as she explained everything that had been happening. He could barely focus on her conversation with how heavy his head felt. Growing drowsy, he clumsily reached for the cup of water on his bedside and sipped, staring off at nothing. The nurses would be in any second to hook him up to the IV to get his health back in shape, there was word he’d be in the hospital for at least a week or more. He saw no good in it considering he wanted to just go home.
He felt like shit, definitely, but he missed his room so much. He could barely remember what his own house looked like. When he saw his mother, it took an uncomfortable amount of time for him to actually realize it was her. Granted, being hospitalized meant he wouldn’t be forced to attend the first month of school, but that would mean everyone would find out what had happened during the summer.
He closed his eyes as a groan escaped his lips.
Great.
Hopefully, his peers would have enough maturity to back off of him if they did end up hearing about his summer vacation. He quickly promised himself if they began pulling the same shit prior to this, he’d simply kick everyone’s ass.
He had already decided to put the events of what happened behind him and was prepared to move on. They had already happened, and he dealt with it and was finally back with his mother. That’s what mattered most.
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“Mommy, can I have some fries too?” Ariana attempted to whisper to keep from bothering Lucas, but her squeaky voice still ended up waking the boy up. Lucas opened his eyes groggily and looked over to his side and saw Ariana rocking back and forth on her heels, tugging at her mother’s sweater.
“Ariana, I fed you before we got here. Would you just sit down and stop askin’ for shit?! You see that I’m talkin’ to Kiki.” Vee snapped at Ariana, scowling at the tiny girl before shooing her away. Lucas blinked, looking up to see his mother holding a cup of coffee, obviously drained from the long night. They were leaning against the wall, whispering quietly to one another; Akira must have been catching Vee up on everything that happened.
As much as Lucas wanted to be pissed at his mother for telling everyone what was going on, he really couldn’t. His mother only seemed to be briefing those who knew him the most, or, the people who cared about him from her perspective. It was fine since these were the people who respected him prior to any of it happening, but the aching feeling in his gut that their perspectives would shift for good after learning what he’d done refused to settle.
He rolled over, wiping the slob from the corner of his mouth before looking off to the furthest wall. The TV’s volume was turned up slightly, most likely to keep Ariana entertained. He squinted, feeling his stomach claw against his walls; he hadn’t been able to bring himself to eat due to his nausea and sore throat. He closed his eyes again, figuring it’d be best to just sleep. He was still discombobulated from rolling out of the car, which was the source of his concussion and bruised leg. Just the thought of what had happened caused him to grow heavy once more.
Kayden’s alive.
Calm down.
His mother woke him up hours prior after she received the news that the boy had been discovered unconscious, deep in the local woods and had been brought to the hospital to be stabilized.
“Mom?” Lucas turned his head in his mother’s direction, his eyes still shut. “Can I get some food?”
He opened his eyes and met her look; she seemed pretty shocked to see that he was awake and talking. Vee was staring at him too, a french fry hanging out of her mouth.
“You’re hungry? Thank God. Yes, hun, what do you want?”
“Borgar.”
“...just a burger?”
Lucas nodded, stifling a yawn before rolling over again. He went to wipe his eyes as the mothers began talking again, listening as Vee questioned the scratchiness of his voice. It didn’t take long before Ariana approached him, her wide blue eyes staring at him.
Lucas met her stare and smirked goofily. It’d been so long since he remembered seeing her. She looked no different, which was comforting.
“Hey.” He croaked.
“I thought you died.” Were her first words.
Lucas remained silent, averting his eyes for a second before shrugging. “Nah. Not yet.”
“You look really bad.”
“...thanks.”
“What happened? My mommy won’t tell me so I thought you were gone forever.”
“Uhh…” Lucas glanced over to their mothers and grimaced. “I’ll tell you some other time. My head hurts.”
“Are you going to die?”
“...No? I don’t think so.”
“You have the tubes they had in my arm when I was in the hospital and almost dead.”
“If you didn’t die with them in your arm, why would I be dying?”
“Because you look really sick and when my daddy had the tubes in his arm like me, he ended dying. And your voice is all ‘rrrrrrrr’.”
“What?”
“It sounds like my radio.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah! It’s weird.”
Lucas blinked before looking away, staring up at the ceiling. He went blank for a second.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...Oh wow, I do sound terrible.”
Ariana stifled her giggles as Lucas groaned robotically. He glanced over at her and smiled weakly, allowing himself to join in with the girl; it didn’t hurt to do so, especially in his current predicament. He actually missed Ariana alot since he’d been gone, he hadn’t had anyone to really joke around with since the last time they hung out. His giggles ended quickly as they shook his head, spurring his headache once more. He shut his eyes, growing irritated with the discomfort.
“Hey, Ariana?”
“Huh?”
“Where’s Barry?”
Ariana seemed to light up at the question. “Oh! He’s at home! The hospital wouldn’ let us bring him in here cause he looks too scary to them, but he’s at home probably sleeping. He sleeps a lot lately but I think it’s because he’s growing! He’s taller than me now..”
Lucas blinked. “Have I missed a lot at home?”
“Kinda! You missed my birthday party. But it’s okay! I saved you a slice of cake and it’s in the fridge behind the milk, it’s kinda old though and Barry ate a bit of it since we only bought a tiny cake since only Barry came to the party and we didn’t have a lot of money for a bigger one. My mommy tried to throw it out too cause it’s gettin’ kinda moldy but, if you still want it, I can bring it tomorrow!”
“It’s...moldy?”
“Kinda, it’s been in there for a while.”
“...Wait, your birthday was last week right?”
Ariana shook her head. “It’s almost September, Alex! I’ve been 12 for two months now!”
Lucas felt his body tense up upon hearing that.
I was gone that long?
He sat up on the bed, staring off toward the TV and shelves before grimacing. He looked over to his mother, studying her before looking back to Ariana, her blue eyes meeting his once more.
“Are you okay?” Ariana asked quietly, her face quite similar to how his mother’s looked hours ago.
“...Yeah. I’m fine.”
----------------------------------------------------
1 September, 2004
Lucas stared at the door of his house, an uncomfortable bubble swelling in his chest as his mother went to open the door. He knew it was his house, but his body grew heavy as he stared at the door and listened to his mother’s keys clinking against one another. He took in a shaky breath before exhaling noisily.
...I don’t want to go in there?
He looked down the street at his neighbor’s houses to make sure they were the same. Nothing had changed, obviously since it’d only been two months, but it didn’t feel right. He looked back to his mother as she opened the door, stretching as she walked inside to kick off her shoes. Lucas hesitated before stepping in, studying his surrounding anxiously.
Everything is the same.
This is home.
Calm down.
“We’re finally home, hun! Phew, that was a lot, you know? Do you feel better now that we’re here?” Akira went to plop down on the couch, allowing her worn down body to sink into the comfort of their home. She had dark circles under her eyes, which were red from staying up to keep her son company through the nights of being in the hospital. Lucas stared at her from the front door, still unable to move.
“Alex, are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m coming.” He took off his shoes and walked over to her before taking a seat. It was only seconds before he allowed himself to be cradled beneath her arm. Familiar scents flooded his senses, allowing his tension to lift from his shoulders. His vision grew blurry with tears as he registered the fact he was actually home, laying beside his mother on his favorite couch.
He thought he’d never see the place again.
“I missed being here.”
“...I know. I’m sorry baby.” She patted his back, which caused him to flinch slightly before he allowed himself to relax.
It’s just mom. She’s not going to hurt me.
“Is dad coming home, too?”
“Yep, he’ll be here in a couple of days.”
“For how long?”
Akira looked off into the distance and let out a sigh.
“Until about March or April. He’ll be here for a while, he’s really worried about you after what just happened.”
“...” Lucas lifted his head up and looked his mother in the eye.
“Mom.”
“Yeah, hun?”
“Is dad gonna beat me for being gay?”
Akira’s eyes widened. “Honey, no! He’s not angry about that, he’s angry that...we let this happen to you, so he’s coming home to help keep an eye on you. Your daddy loves you a lot and will love you no matter what, so don’t you go on worrying about him being mad about that, okay?”
“Is that why he’s staying so long?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, it’s nothing to worry about. I-I’m just going to warn you now...with your daddy being off work, money is gonna be a bit tight. I’m not gonna be able to treat you to extra games and McDonalds all the time, so I don’t want you throwin’ fits when I tell you you’re eating at home.”
“Okay. That’s okay. I don’t really like McDonalds that much anymore.”
Akira raised any eyebrow goofily. “Oh really? Your favorite food place that you’d scream in the car over if I would pass it up without buying you anything? What could kill your love for Happy Meals?”
“It was the only food Cheren would give me if he did feed me.”
Akira’s smiled quickly vanished.
“Can we have nachos tonight?” He looked away sheepishly, avoiding his mother’s odd stare. “I’ve been craving them for a while.”
“...Yeah, hun. We can eat those for dinner.” Akira patted his head before heading off into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Lucas laid there in silence, pulling at the loose threads from the couch cushion. They were the same ones he’d pull at before he went on vacation.
Things didn’t change that much then.
His thoughts drifted onto the topic of his father, considering he’d be dealing with him for the next six months of his life. He should have been ecstatic to know his father was coming home from his job to take care of him, but Lucas felt little to nothing even close to being excited to see him right now.
His father coming home for vacation always left them in tight spots, but with the recent situation, all of their income was dumped into settling cases surrounding his kidnapping and medical bills which were stacking horrendously to cover everything he was given during his hospital stay. The last time his father came home for nearly a year after injuring himself on a trip, they would visit Veronica’s to have dinner since things were much too hard at home. His mother was incapable of working, so they relied on him for everything. And while he made a hefty amount of money, there was only so much to spare if there was nothing coming in to replace what was lost.
Not only did his arrival home mean newfound frugality, but it meant he’d be slammed for his snarky attitudes and habits. His mother was never bothered much by his behavior, but his father would always find something to nag about. He couldn’t stand it and would often scream at his father to shut up and end up getting a whack to the back of the head for “getting too loud” and “not respecting his parents”.
Lucas rolled his eyes with a groan, placing his arm over his face. The fact his father was aware that he’d been having sex with men made him dread his visit even more. His mother might’ve said his father would still love him, but he knew damn well she was simply trying to reassure him because there was no way his father would let it slide by, especially if this is what got him taken away in the first place.
“Lucas?”
Lucas lifted his head up on the couch and looked over into the kitchen where his mother stood, holding a bowl in her hands.
“Do you want to help me cook?”
He shook his thoughts of his father away and nodded quickly with a smile. “Yeah.”
It’d be a long time since he did so.
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3 September 2004
“Lucas, can you get the door? It should be your dad!”
Lucas blinked at his mother’s call as he raised from the couch, delirious as he’d almost fallen asleep. It was still very early, and he wasn’t used to getting up anymore. Lazily dragging himself to the door, he opened it to meet the eyes of his short, stocky, long haired father staring right back at him. Lucas squinted.
He’s gotten hairier.
“My boy, my god you’ve gotten big!” His father’s voice boomed, causing him to wince as he threw his arms around him, hugging Lucas tightly much against his desire. Groaning, Lucas hugged back before pulling away.
“Hi, dad.”
“Can ya help your old man with his bags? I’ve got a couple of em’ this time.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Lucas walked out to his father’s Jeep and pulled the suitcases from the back before dragging them back to the house. From inside, he could already hear him talking obnoxiously loud to his mother about how much he missed her.
He’d been quick to send him away, which was actually upsetting.
Walking back into the house, Lucas dragged the suitcases upstairs and sat them down in his mother’s room before looking around. He had slept in there the night before due to waking up in a sobbing panic, but failed to notice how messy it was. He frowned before straightening his mother’s blankets and papers up to avoid his father questioning of why she hadn’t cleaned up. He’d be quick to question Lucas why he wasn’t helping around the house or why he hadn’t called him earlier to tell him that his mom wasn’t up to her usual activities, since messiness wasn’t her thing.
He didn’t want to be blamed for why she was suddenly so sad.
He headed over to his room and picked up his clothes and shoved them into his closet while he was at it; it wouldn’t hurt to make sure the upstairs was okay since his father would be coming up there any minute. He hadn’t been in his room very long the day before, so stepping into it again kinda freaked him out.
So much had happened in there before.
Cheren and him had done so much in there when they were alone.
I can’t.
He closed the door before heading towards the stairs again, feeling a bit woozy as he went to step down. Delirious, his leg buckled, sending him tumbling until he smacked the wall.
“Lucas? Hun, are you alright?” He opened his eyes weakly as he listened to his mother rush in his direction, reeling from his stumble. He sat up, eyes watering as he looked up to face her and his father who looked at him dumbfounded.
“Ye-ah.” He squeaked, stifling a sob.
Please don’t cry the first day dad is here.
“What the hell were you doin’, boy?”
“Hun, is your headaches still making you dizzy? You can go lay down if that’s what’s wrong.”
“N-No! I-I was just cleaning up but I sl-slipped on the steps. I’m okay. I-I-I’m gonna go back upstairs, sorry.” He stood up and rushed back up the stairs, seeking refugee in his mother’s room.
“Lucas, come back!”
He ignored her and hid on the side of the bed, sniffling through tears as he listened to his parents murmur to each other from the bottom of the steps.
“...He’s been really off lately, Ray. Give him some time.”
“Kitty, this seems more than just off. He barely gave me a hug.”
“I know, he’s still gettin’ used to being back home. He hasn’t been able to sleep in his room on his own since he’s been back.”
“Ya kiddin’, right?”
He listened as his mother went silent and sighed.
“Babying him through this isn’t gonna help him.”
“I’m not babying him. Ray, he just needs t-”
“I know, but if we cradle him through it, it’s just going to leave him lastin’ like this even longer. He’s gonna be 14 soon. He isn’t a little boy anymore.”
“Raymond, I know that! But we can’t force him to doing everything immediately, especially not right now, even the doctors recommended we let him re-adjust at his own pace. Are you not grasping what he just went through?”
“Yes, I have. I get it, he’s dealing with...a lot. But, Ki, you’re gonna let his break extend too far. You always do that, and it’s why he still acts like a child.”
“He acts his age, Ray.”
“Rather, below his age. Isn’t he still struggling in school? We can’t have him missing out on the first month, Ki. He’s gonna end up flunking.”
“I’ve already settled everything with the school to make sure he stays afloat. Would you please give it a break for at least a day? Lord, you haven’t even sat down on the couch to relax and you’re already on fire! Our son is sick right now!”
His father went silent, only a few grumbles of distaste erupting from his mouth.
Lucas shut his eyes uncomfortably upon hearing his parents immediately argue with one another on the topic of him. He had composed himself from his fall, but couldn’t bring himself to face either of them since he was the topic of the night, already.
This was definitely going to be a long six months.
---------------------------------------------------
21 October 2004
“And, and when I finally caught him, he had the whole thing swallowed already!!” Ariana chirped, bouncing down the sidewalk while Barry hovered above her head, flapping his wings as he listened to Ariana recite his latest killing spree. Lucas trudged along silently, his backpack hanging over his shoulder. He was drained and exhausted, but his mother insisted he go to school anyways.
“Hun, it’s been a whole month already. You’re going to be too far behind if you stay home longer. Your teachers know what’s been going on, so they’ll let you call me if you get too overwhelmed, okay? I promise it’ll be okay. You even have Ariana to keep you company so you don’t feel so alone and scared!” She was practically begging him to go, considering if he’d took a leave any longer, he probably wouldn’t be able to properly catch up and end up needing to repeat the grade.
He had been being taught by his mother for the short time, where she’d assign him chapters to read from novels and teach him short Algebra lessons. Though, most of it would escalate to Lucas simply becoming defiant and whining until his mother would end up giving him the answers and allow him to go play video games. His father took note of his tactics and quickly decided he was taking advantage of her, demanding he be sent to school. After flailing about, sobbing at his mother’s final decision, he threw on his shoes and walked down to Ariana’s to follow her to school.
“How do you even digest the bones? Doesn’t it hurt?” Lucas finally spoke up, his curiosity bubbling as Barry landed to the ground to walk beside him. He was wearing Ariana’s favorite jacket tied around his waist, and it was weird because he’d gotten taller when Lucas was gone. Lucas finally looked eye to eye with the creature rather than being able to stare down at the top of it’s head.
“Nope, they just crumble up normally. I think my stomach is full of super strong acid, so everything just kinda, woosh. Like ashes and shit.”
“You don’t even know how your own body works, huh?”
“How would I know in the first place? Does it look like I care?”
Lucas rolled his eyes as the three of them approached the sidewalk neighboring the school. He looked up, letting out a heavy sigh at the sight of the building. Barry sat down, his tail wagging slowly as he made soft “mrrps”.
“I’ll see you afta school, Barry! We’ll meet you right here, okay? I gotta take Lucas in!” Ariana squealed, waving to her demon friend as she pressed the crosswalk button.
“Okay, I’ll be here. I’m gonna go pee on the one police dude’s car again first, then, I’ll come back and be here. Bye Ari, bye Alex!!” Barry winked and trotted away, mewling at the strangers who walked the sidewalk just to freak them out.
Ariana took Lucas’s hand, much against his desire, as the two of them went toward the school. There was a decent crowd of students waiting to be let in which sent shivers down his spine.
“Did your mommy tell you what homeroom you’re in?”
“Y-yeah. I can go from here, I don’t need your help.” He shook his hand loose from her grip and walked ahead, quickening his pace. The quicker he got into the building, the quicker he’d have class and get the day over with. He didn’t want to be here. Immediately he could feel his peers glancing at him as he passed by.
“Wait, I can walk there with you!” Ariana cried out.
“NO! I’m FINE. Go to class.” He snapped, looking away as he headed down the hall, leaving Ariana standing there with a dumb look on her face.
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The second he took a seat in his class, everyone’s eyes burned into him, considering he had tripped at least twice entering the classroom and yelled “fuck” in pure irritation as he dropped his bag in his seat. Staring back, he furrowed his eyebrows and glared at the teacher. Majority of his classmates were the same from last year, which churned his stomach. Cheren was gone, so they probably knew something had happened between him and Lucas.
The silence continued for an uncomfortably long minute before his teacher cleared her throat and got the class’s attention.
“We all know Lucas, so let’s get back to the lesson, shall we?” His teacher smiled brightly at her students who nodded, still glancing back at Lucas from time to time. It was like being in a room filled with Arianas. All Lucas could do was place his head on his desk and act as he wasn’t even there.
As usual from previous years, Lucas watched the teacher like a zombie since nothing stuck with him. She moved quickly and called on kids, who spoke just as fast before he could even get a few notes down into his notebooks. He gave up and decided to simply draw along the lines of his book since no one bothered to come and help him.
He almost rose his hand to call for Cheren, but obviously he wasn’t there. He was in jail, which was a relief. He’d never get taken by him again, but now he had no one to talk to or help him. The thought rattled his chest as he flipped a page of his book, mumbling under his breath.
“Lucas, do you have the answer to number 9?”
Lucas glanced up to his teacher, blinking slowly.
What?
“Um. No?”
“...Dear, can you please focus on the work?”
“I don’t know what’s happening.”
“Well, you aren’t paying attention. Can you get out textbook? We’re on page 230.”
Lucas squinted as some of his peers giggled, causing his face to grow hot.
“I’m on the page, I...I’m just confused.”
“Ms. Shaw, I can help Lucas catch up so we don’t have to wait on him!” A light, cheery voice popped up from the front of the class, catching everyone’s attention. Lucas winced as it set in who it came from.
Oh God, please ignore him.
“Oh, Nathan, that’d be wonderful! It’d help us out a lot if you could. Just switch seats with Miranda, okay?”
Lucas stared at the ceiling as the taller, ginger boy scooted next to him, his green eyes scanning Lucas within seconds before a smirk fell on his face. Lucas looked back and grimaced, closing his drawing journal and shoving it under his desk.
“What’s up, faggot?” Nathan’s back-to-school welcome was just as Lucas expected.
“Just give me your answers so you can go back up there.”
“Nah, not yet. It’d be fun to catch up. You were gone for a while.” Nathan leaned on his desk, slamming his books down on top of Lucas’s, causing him to flinch. He pulled a pencil out and lifted up a folder to shield the two boys from the teacher’s view. From there, Nathan hunched over to view him, a mischievous grin settling on his face.
“Where were you? Everyone thought you killed yourself or something.”
“I was in the fucking hospital.”
“From trying to kill yourself?”
“From fucking your mom too hard. Give me the answers.” Lucas snatched up his classmate’s book and translated the math problems into his journal, scowling under his breath. Out of all people, their shitty teacher just had to let his bully be the one to help. Lucas didn’t give a damn that he was smart, he did nothing but make fun of him and find something to point out for the entire school to see.
“Would you even be able to fuck a girl, though? Everyone said you got fucked by Cheren and that’s why he got fired. They were giving us speeches about ‘no touch’ rules and stuff and mentioned that Cheren wouldn’t be coming back to the school anymore. His picture was in the newspaper too because they found his brother and apparently he was raping him with some other little boy and girl.”
Lucas froze for a second before hissing, writing the answers down harder.
“Wait, that actually happened then? You were the kid?”
“N-No.”
“You had to be. Wasn’t he like your boyfriend for a while?”
“Fuck off.”
Nathan wheezed, pounding his fist on the desk before giggling into his hands. Lucas stared at him, his chest tightening as tears gathered into his eyes.
“I-It’s not funny.”
“Elijah owes me so much fucking money, oh my god. Dude, that’s fucking crazy.”
“I have the answers, you can go back to your desk.”
“Nah, I wanna stay here. So, you had sex with him then? What was it like? Did you suck his dick?”
Lucas stared at the teacher, hoping she’d get the hint that he was at the verge of exploding. Unfortunately, she ignored his looks and continued to teach the class.
“Lucas, come on. I won’t tell Eli or Jake about it. I’m just curious, you know? I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“I can show you want it feels like if you’re that curious.”
“Ew, what the fuck!?”
“THEN STOP ASKING ME. GET AWAY FROM ME.”
“Lucas Alexander, what is going on back there?” Ms. Shaw’s head shot around the second he shrieked, the entire class following suite with stupid looks plastered on their faces.
Lucas stared back at the woman, his eyes bubbling with tears as he took in deep breaths. He glanced over at Nathan, who gave him a look of discomfort before grinning.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
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The day dragged on horribly. In each class, at least one kid questioned him if he were the kid the teachers spoke about at the assembly and he had no way to avoid it since one of Nathan’s posse would simply confirm their theories. He could barely focus with everyone watching him and teachers were quick to pick on him knowing damn well he wasn’t catching up.
Lunch was a disaster as Nathan and his posse surrounded him, forcing Lucas to reflect on his months away. He only told them enough to get them to fuck off, but it had to be the worst thing he’d done considering they used the power against him. As he would step into the halls, Lucas’ peers would frown and cringe at him before running off.
“Look at him...no wonder why he’s always been creepy!”
“Can’t you catch being gay? That’s what my dad told me.”
“Maybe that’s why his hair is so long.”
Stepping into locker rooms was a death wish as his peers refused to change in front of him, leaving his coach to direct him to the stalls with his shorts and shirt in hand.
“I’m sorry, kiddo, but it’s for everyone’s safety.”
It was nice to know his teachers believed his peers before he even got the chance to say anything.
After what felt like was years, the bell rung and the day had ended. He rushed out of the school so quickly, he’d completely forgotten to wait for Ariana. Upon reaching the corner, Barry jumped out at him with a loud meow.
“Don’t do that! For fuck’s sake!” Lucas wheezed, trying to relax himself as Barry cackled from the comfort of the sidewalk. He wore the jacket he had worn that morning and leaned against a nearby fence.
“Where’s Ari?”
“I...I don’t know. She’s probably still in there. I’m going to the viaduct.”
“Oh, we usually go together though.”
“I don’t care. I need to go now. I’ll meet you there.” Lucas scurried down the street, clinging onto the straps of his backpack as he paced.
He’d already began sobbing before he could get there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Alex, you left us!”
“I told Barry I’d already be here.” Lucas looked over his shoulder as he tossed graham crackers to the geese that had once returned. It was weird to see them again, but it was comforting. They welcomed him home pretty well unlike most people.
“I know, but my mommy said she wanted me to stay at your side until you start feeling better because Kiki asked her to.”
“Well, I didn’t ask her to do that, so don’t do it.”
Ariana walked to him, placing her hands on her hips with a pout. She was interrupted as Barry tossed his jacket at Lucas’s head before barging into the river water, sending the geese squawking and fluttering off in terror. He chased one of them and sunk his fangs into it’s neck, leaving it wailing.
It must have taken Ariana’s mind off of whatever she was going to spout, considering she went wailing after Barry to stop and leave the “duckies” alone.
“Does...he always do this?” Lucas watched, his stomach growing sick at the sight of the geese’s innards.
“No! He’s been goin’ crazy lately, so I gotta keep him out the house cause he’s been ripping up the couch and mommy will hit him with the shoe if he does it anymore.”
“...Vee gets mad at him too?”
“Well, he flies out the window and vanishes sometimes before she can get really mad, which sucks because I get left with it! He breaks a lot of things when he gets scared.”
“Wow.” Lucas chuckled at the thought of Vee chasing Barry around in attempt to yell at him.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he were actually here just to wreck havoc in her life. He surely hadn’t vanished after what he just went through, so it definitely wasn’t concerning his issues.
Barry looked at the two of them, his chest covered with blood as he ran his tongue across his legs, still residing in the murky water. It was only seconds before he sprouted his wings and flew off, squawking loudly.
“Someone is going to end up shooting him, Ariana.”
“I can’t stop him. He’s really nice, but he’s just a little crazy lately.”
Lucas looked at her, frowning to see how upset she became.
“Do you think he’s getting crazier since he’s getting older and taller?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think he’ll try to kill us next?”
“I doubt it. He’s been here for almost a year now. It can’t really get any worse.”
There was a short silence as a few geese returned, honking in relief at the fact Barry had left.
“Alex?”
“What?”
“Some kids were talking about...you in my class when the teachers weren’t paying attention.”
Lucas squinted as he looked to the girl.
Did it seriously spread to the 7th graders already?
“I don’t care, don’t tell me about it.”
Ariana looked at him weakly, her eyes were wide, twinkling in the setting sun. She let out a gentle sigh before looking away again.
“You know what they’re saying then, right?”
“I don’t give a fuck what they say.”
“You should tell Kiki...when people made fun of me after my daddy died and my arm was broken, I told my mama and the kids stopped picking fun at me and were nicer.”
“They’re probably only being nice to your face since you snitched on them.”
Ariana shot a look to Lucas again with a twisted expression.
“W-What?”
Lucas glanced at her and shrugged.
“And you look and act like you’re still in Kindergarten so everyone probably felt bad about it anyways. That’s not the case for me, though. No one likes me so even if I do tell, they’ll just beat me up more and hurt me so I don’t fucking care.”
“...Alex…”
“You should probably go home. I have to go home soon since my mom and dad don’t want me out past sunset.”
Ariana studied him for a moment before sighing once more.
“I will. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?”
“Yep.”
And she walked off slowly, increasing her pace in hopes of finding Barry.
Lucas laid his back onto the asphalt, staring up at the sky as the geese honked, floating through the waters below him.
It wouldn’t be a problem if he went home later today.