2 The Bully

3 months had passed and things were going well so far. Nothing much happened between me and Taylor. We would occasionally acknowledge that we were in the same class but that's about it. I had wondered if us being in the same class meant something, but I didn't really want to force anything to happen. Surprisingly, Ivan still hasn't done anything to me. He probably got over it or something.

It was now the time where we did all the college stuff and things were getting intense. The stress barely got to me though because I guess I had prepared myself in advance for all this work. I like to plan things out ahead of time, seeing as it tends to make life easier for me. Doing things last minute would just ruin things for me. I wonder how Taylor is doing.

As soon as I turned to look over at him, I had seemed to catch Ivan's attention as he mindlessly looked around during this time of chaos. He scowled at me once again and I just looked away without any hesitation. Guess he won't bully me if I don't pay any attention to him. 

The class bell rang and everybody was getting ready to leave. Like always, I would stay behind because I had a lot to pack up. However, I wasn't alone today and I was alone with the last person I wanted to be alone with.

"Hey Haden!" 

I instantly recognized that loud booming voice. I haven't heard it for 6 months and I had hoped I'd never hear it again. 

"Why the hell were you looking at me earlier?!"

"I-I wasn't looking at you."

"What did you say?!"

"I wasn't looking-"

I was abruptly cut off by Ivan's fist to my face. I stared in horror as I watched the blood drip from my nose. And there goes the beginning of the worst few more months in my life. 

The rest of the next few minutes were a blur to me, I could barely remember anything. My body couldn't get up from the floor. Ivan had never gone this far before. I felt weak. I couldn't call for help either. No one came in for a while until a student from the next class came in and found me. She alerted the staff and they took me to the nurse's office to lie down. They gave me an extensive amount of care, which is unorthodox for a school nurse.

After a few hours, I regained strength. I had a black eye now along with a bruised cheek and arm. The damage wasn't as critical as I thought. Guess he knew breaking a bone would land him in juvie. After getting dressed, I opened the door and found a girl standing in front of me. She must've been the one who helped me. 

"Hi, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, thank you so much for helping me."

"It's no problem, but who did that to you?"

I fell silent for a while, I wasn't one to call people out because I was afraid it would just make matters worse. But perhaps a white lie might save me from this.

"I don't remember, I think he must've hit my head pretty hard."

"Ah, well he must've been in your class. If you want, I can help look for him and then he can get what he deserves."

I was terrified. I didn't want him to get in trouble because that would make things much worse for me. I can't let this girl do anything that will result in a higher risk of danger for me.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure he won't do it again. He's never been this physical before."

"Before? So you're saying he bullied you several times before?"  

Oh no, that slipped out. God, I'm an idiot. What do I say now? Should I just run away? I'm feeling very uncomfortable with this conversation. 

"I'm gonna just go now. I'm going to be late for class. Thanks for helping me!" 

I ran out of the room and bumped into someone. Before saying sorry, I looked up and I froze at the site of who it was. It was Taylor. What was he doing here? Did he hear everything I told the girl? I didn't have time to talk, I continued to run away. I didn't want to start any problems now. 

•♡•

The bell rang and I was one of the first few people to leave. I barely take anything out for class because it's not like I do anything anyways. Deep down, I wanted to change that habit but it was something I grew accustomed to. Maybe all this was because I lacked motivation. Maybe I needed something, or someone to help me.

The thought of Haden crossed my mind, and I didn't know why. He's been on my mind for a while now. It's probably because we have the same class now so I technically see him every minute of every day now. But still, I felt this strange feeling within me. I ignored it and continued towards my next class. Then out of nowhere, Scarlette shows up again.

"It's been 3 months now, have you decided yet?" 

"Yes, and it's still no."

"Come on, stop being an asshole. You and I could make the perfect power couple."

"My answer is still no. How stubborn can you be?"

"Come on, give it a chance."

"I said no! Okay?!"

Scarlette gasped and slapped me across the face.

"I'm gonna get you to say yes someday." she said as she walked away from me furiously. 

My face stung from the slap. I should probably check on it in the bathroom. I headed to the boys bathroom and there was a guy washing his hands in the sink. He was muttering angrily, but I didn't care enough to ask why. I just went to the sink that was one farther away from him. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my cheek had a light shade of red. Maybe I should go to the nurse's office just to make sure it isn't serious. 

The guy next to me finished washing his hands and angrily stomped out. Now that he was gone, I could finally leave. As I was walking to exit the bathroom, the sink that the guy was at caught my attention. It was stained with a dark red liquid. What the hell? Was he washing blood from his hands? Did he punch someone? Now that I thought about it, he did look familiar. I couldn't clearly remember his face though, so I guess I wouldn't figure it out now. 

I headed to the nurse's office but before walking in, I heard a conversation going on between a boy and a girl. The girl was asking what happened to him, and he seemed hesitant to give her an answer. The conversation ended with him having to head to class, but I think he was lying to get out of telling her anything.

When he ran out of the room, he bumped into me and shockingly, I found Haden looking up at me. He had a black eye and a bruised cheek, it was much more visible than mine since his skin was paler. Haden was hurt and I felt my heart drop to my stomach. It was then I realized that now was the time we had to talk.

•♡•

After school ended, Haden and Taylor walked home together but unlike today, things were going to completely change for the both of them. 

"Haden, what happened to you?"

Haden stopped walking and looked completely surprised by the fact that Taylor was actually talking to him. Everything was happening so fast, and after 3 months into senior year. Haden didn't really know what to say because he had never expected that Taylor would talk to him so soon. This was the first time that Haden wasn't prepared, so he had no idea how to reply.

"Haden?"

"I'm sorry, I just never expected you'd talk to me right now."

"It's okay, I understand where you're coming from. I didn't expect to talk to you today either, but I saw you were hurt and I couldn't help but ask what happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I tripped on something and fell."

"Haden, you don't have to lie to me."

"I'm sorry, I just don't wanna tell anyone what happened."

"Haden, it's okay. I won't say or do anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, if you're telling the truth then...I was bullied."

"Bullied? For how long has this been going on?"

"Since freshman year."

Taylor's heart sank when he heard those words come out from Haden's mouth. All this time, he never talked to him and Haden was struggling so much at school. The worst part is he wasn't there to protect him. What would his mother think of him now?

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"I've been a terrible friend to you. We were living together for 10 years and I failed to be there for you when you needed it most. If you didn't hate me before, then I'm sure you do."

Haden was completely taken aback by Taylor's actions. He would've never guessed that Taylor was actually warmhearted. Perhaps them finally talking was exactly what Haden needed for him to get through senior year.

"It's okay, I don't hate you, and I never did, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah, all along I thought you hated me."

"What? Why did you think that?"

Haden fell silent. He didn't want to bring up some silly memory from 10 years ago. He probably didn't even remember what happened.

"It's nothing."

"Haden, don't do this again."

"I don't wanna tell you. At least not right now."

Taylor sighed and said, "Fine, you don't have to tell me now. You can tell me when you're ready. I'm just glad we're finally talking. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"We sure do." Haden smiled, but winced a bit at the pain in his cheek.

"We should probably head to a store to get you an ice pack or something."

"Okay."

The two boys headed over to a small store to get an ice pack, or something, for Haden's bruised cheek. While there, Taylor had a memory of the last time the two came together when they were a bit younger. Taylor's mom had taken them out to get some dessert after they ate dinner. Taylor remembered when Haden's eyes lit up at the sight of a cake that would end up becoming his birthday cake for the next few years. Haden's birthday was coming up in a few months, and now that the two were speaking to each other, maybe Taylor could throw him a proper birthday party. 

"I found the ice packs!" Haden yelled.

Taylor broke from his daydream and headed over to where Haden was. He found them in the freezer, where the ice cream was too. Suddenly, Taylor had a crazy idea.

"Hey, instead of getting the ice pack, do you wanna get a popsicle for your face?"

Haden giggled at the idea and let out a small smile, small enough to not cause pain in his cheek. However, his eyes lit up the same they did when he saw the cake. He most likely had a sweet tooth.

"That's such a silly idea, but sure, why not?"

Both boys each got their own popsicle, but Haden had to put his up to face, robbing him of the satisfaction that his sweet tooth would feel.

"If you want, you can have mine." Taylor suggested.

"No, it's fine. My cheek needs it more." Haden said with a small laugh.

"It's really okay for you to have it. I'm not much of a sweets person."

Haden gasped in complete shock and stared at Taylor in complete disbelief, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Taylor laughed and said, "Don't be silly, just take the popsicle."

"Well my hands aren't exactly free, I'm holding a popsicle to my cheek right now."

"I'll open it for you and I'll just give it to you on the other hand."

"Okay then." Haden beamed.

Taylor opened the popsicle and gave it to Haden in his free hand and now his cheek and sweet tooth were both satisfied.

"Thank you so much Taylor, I really didn't think you'd be so kind to me."

"Guess I still have a lot to make up to you."

"You really don't have to do that for me."

"Trust me, I do."

"I'm sure your mom will be very happy to see that we're talking now."

"She won't be so happy about the black eye and the bruise on your cheek though."

"Oh my god, I forgot about that. What are we gonna do? She's going to freak out. What if she thinks you did it to me?"

"Calm down, you're gonna be fine." Taylor laughed.

And so, the two continued walking home together, finally talking to each other.

•♡•

The next day, Taylor and I walked to school together and it felt strange to know that we were officially on speaking terms now. It just makes it even more awkward if we don't talk while walking to school.

"Do you wanna tell me who bullied you?" Taylor asked.

I honestly didn't know if I should tell him. It's not that I didn't trust him, I was just scared of the consequences.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I care about you."

That suddenly made my heart skip a beat. What is he saying?

"I just don't want to tell anyone right now. Please."

"Fine." he sighed

We didn't talk for the rest of the walk, which was worrying to me. I was afraid I might've made him mad. I didn't want to do anything to mess up our friendship already. Hopefully, he doesn't think I hate him or anything.

We arrive at the school, but this time, we don't go our separate ways? He actually starts following me.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"I'm not gonna leave you alone anymore. I've heard you've been a loner this entire time. Do you really not have any friends?"

"No, I never took the time to socialize, I mainly studied and stuff."

"Well today, you're gonna meet my friend, Rick."

"Rick?"

"Yeah, you'll like him."

"Okay then."

I followed Taylor to meet his friend and things and for the first time, I knew I wasn't going to be alone anymore. Taylor could actually change my life and I'm grateful for that. There's a lot more to him than one might think.

"Hey Rick!" Taylor yelled.

"What's up!" Rick yelled back.

"This is my friend, Haden."

"Haden? This is him?"

"Wow, it's nice to finally meet you dude. He's talked about you before. Why are y'all suddenly talking though?"

"Uh, something came up." Taylor answered.

"Ah, well it's nice to see you both talking now. We can all hang out now. We'll be like The Three Musketeers."

"Don't push it."

"Alright." Rick laughed.

Gosh, I'm so bad at participating in conversations. I hope Rick didn't get a bad impression of me. 

The school bell rang and it was time to head to class. Taylor and I walked to our first class together. I sat in my usual seat, and...Taylor sat next to me?!

"What are you doing?"

"I told you I wouldn't leave you alone anymore. I'm gonna make up for our 10 years of lost communication."

"I told you, you didn't have to do that."

"Sorry, what's done is done."

"Ugh, you're annoying." I whined.

I actually felt comfortable with him, it kind of scares me. How did he manage to make me feel this way when we haven't talked for 10 years?

There was a loud slam of a door closing and I looked up to see Ivan stomping into the room. My hands started shaking and my palms were getting sweaty. He turned back to look at me and gave me a deadly glare. Taylor looked at him as if he's seen him before which worried me that Taylor will get dragged into my mess as well.

The school bell rang again to signal the start of the class now. All throughout class, Taylor kept looking at me with worry in his eyes as he probably noticed my shaky hands and sweaty palms. This is why I didn't like making friends because people will start worrying about me and they shouldn't be wasting their time worrying about me. I don't deserve to be pitied.

Suddenly Taylor nudged me and pointed to his notebook where he wrote, Don't worry, you'll be okay. Wait for me by the cafeteria after school. I nodded in response, but I wondered what he meant by that. What was he going to do after school that would require me to wait for him after school? I tried not to think much of it and just continued doing my work for the rest of the class.

•♡•

I heard the door slam and I looked up to find a guy stomping into class. He looked familiar and when he turned back to face where we were, I recognized him. He was the guy washing his hands in the bathroom and I'm pretty sure it was blood that he was washing off. He was giving Haden a menacing glare and that's when it all came together. He was the guy who punched Haden. I noticed Haden's hands were shaking so it must be him, there's no doubt about it. I had to think of a way to avoid Haden getting bullied again, so I'll probably just try meeting him after school to tell him to stop hurting Haden.

I wrote a note to Haden telling him that he'll be okay and that he should wait by the cafeteria after school for me. He nodded and I couldn't help but feel relieved that I was a part of his life now. So much had been happening and I felt an immense guilt for not being there for him. Confronting his bully was the most I could do to help improve his life.

I waited until class ended to get the guy's attention because I didn't really want to make a scene, still it would be better to talk to him in public.

"Hey, dude."

He turned around and gave me a nasty look, "What do you want?"

"You seem to have hurt a friend of mine, I was wondering if we could talk in private."

"Private? Man, that sounds pretty gay."

"Please, just meet me at the school rooftop after school."

"Whatever, man."

He trudged away to his next class and I had a meeting to look forward to later. This was gonna be fun.

School ended and I waited at the rooftop for him to come and talk to me. I doubted he would come, but I had spoken too soon. I saw him approaching me and here I was, preparing what I was going to say to him.

"Okay, I'm here. What did you want to talk about?"

"My friend. You punched him."

"Your friend? Is it that queer in our class? Are you his boyfriend or something?"

"No, I'm just a friend of his. It has occured to me that you've been bullying him since freshman year. I mean, let's be honest, bullying is so middle school. Doing it in high school is pretty childish, don't you think?"

"The fuck you just call me?"

"You seem to have trouble taking constructive criticism. I'm telling you to stop bullying my friend. That's all you gotta do."

"Oh yeah? What if I don't stop?"

"I'll personally kick your ass."

"You? Kick my ass? You think just because you're tall and muscular that you can beat me up? Don't make me laugh."

"You seem to have an inferiority complex."

"What are all these big words for?! You're a fucking nerd just like that queer, aren't you?! You two are perfect for each other! Why don't you go and fuck each other in the boys bathroom?!"

"Wow, I'm sensing high insecurities coming from you. Are you alright?"

"You're pissing me off, man!"

"Look, I didn't come here for a fight, I just wanted to give you a warning."

"A warning? A warning?! You piece of shit!" 

He tried punching me but my reflexes grabbed his fist before it touched my face.

"Do you really wanna try doing that?" I teased.

"What the fuck, bro?!"

"I suggest you leave while you still can."

"You think I'm scared of you?"

"Not yet, but I can make you scared of me if you try laying another finger on me."

He backed away from me and said, "Whatever, bro. I'm going home."

"Alright, see you tomorrow at class!"

I watched as he trudged away angrily off the rooftop. I look down and can see Haden waiting by the cafeteria. He looked ethereal even at this angle. Why am I having such romantic thoughts about him? I feel strange every time I look at him or when I think about him. Whatever it was, I didn't want it to ruin our revived friendship.

I headed downstairs to the first floor to meet up with Haden and as soon as I saw him standing right in front of me, my heart started racing. It was then I realized what all these feelings meant. I didn't want to just be his friend because I was in love with him.

•♡•

The dynamic between Haden and Taylor changed that day as one felt uncomfortable with the amount of affection he was suddenly receiving and the other had realized that he was in love with the other. While they maintain a friendship on the surface, both were very much going through a lot underneath. As much as they were happy to be friends again, they didn't know that they were destined to be so much more and that the whole misunderstanding between them had actually stemmed from their feelings for each other. 

Haden's discomfort with Taylor's affection towards him stems from the fact his affection actually makes him feel a strange way. Whether it's happiness or love, it's something that Haden wasn't used to feeling. Taylor has yet to figure out why he said what he said 10 years ago, but when he does, everything will be clear and he'll finally be able to say the feelings he's been trying to convey to Haden.