Chapter Seven: CUT!

"What is it?" Rohan asked.

Dustin swallowed his saliva, thinking whether this was the right thing to do. "I have been getting bullied these past few months, and I didn't know what to do."

Tears started filling Dustin's eyes, alerting Rohan. He stood up, moving him to the bed. "Who did this?" asked Rohan, furious.

"I can't tell you, otherwise it'll just get worse," Dustin replied, looking down.

"Dustin now is not the time to hold back. We can stop whoever is doing this, just tell me."

"So what? So, they could get suspended and just start all over again. I can't."

"Are you just going to let them do this to you?" he asked, angrily.

"It's been happening for a few months now, what's a few more," he said, smiling.

"Why do you do this? I can help you with everything that's been going on. There is no need to keep it from me or the rest of the group" he replied.

"You aren't going to tell the rest of the group, are you?" Dustin asked.

"No, but you should. We can help if you just opened up more otherwise, you're going to continue to get bullied. As your brother, I need to make sure you're safe from these types of people. Take off your shirt."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Take off your shirt!"

Without hesitation, he took off his sweater, revealing all the bruises and scars, including the cuts on his wrist. "Dustin, don't you see how serious this is?"

"Please stop shouting. I don't want to worry Mom and Dad," he said, putting on his shirt.

"I can't believe you right now," he said, shaking his head.

"Then don't. I'll handle it myself."

"No, you can't," he replied.

Dustin took a heavy breath before looking at Dustin. "It's fine."

The next day...

"How can you do that?" Rohan complained.

"It's Dustin. I've known him since middle school. You know he's not one to open up easily. It must've taken all the courage to even tell you what happened," Thandi replied.

"I just want to help him. I hate seeing him like this," he replied, drinking his water.

"You know. I didn't know you had this side to you."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"No offense, but you come off as some overconfident ladies' man, but deep down you're a softy," she answered.

"You know, I don't know whether I should take this as a compliment or an insult," he replied.

"Take it as a compliment," she said before kissing him. Stunned, Rohan's cheeks turned red.

"What? Just because we aren't dating, doesn't mean I can't sneak in a few kisses. Anyway, I have to go. Good luck with your practice," she said before walking away, with Rohan still being speechless.

Rohan stood up with joy before joining the rest in practice. "I love her."

In the auditorium, Elijah and Matthew began their first day in charge of the drama club. Elijah made sure the actors were practicing their lines, while Matthew managed the props and costumes. "It's no use. My family would never allow us to be together," said Juliet, doubtful.

"Are you really going to let our family tear us apart? The families that had a stupid feud for some stupid reason," Romeo replied, in a stronger tone.

"Don't speak about my family like that," she said, throwing her rose down on the ground, angrily.

"I am just speaking the truth. I don't want us to be apart like this because of them. I love you, Juliet, I really do but I can't stand us like this," Romeo replied, holding her hand before she turned away.

"I am going to need you to leave, I need some time to think."

"Juliet—"

"Leave now!"

"And SCENE! Good job everyone, I can see you've been practicing. Gosh, I am so proud of all of you. Keep it up. Matthew has brought food for us so please take your well-deserved break," Elijah said before they cheered. On the other side, Matthew was helping in the production of the props.

"Marlene, that is such a cool window. Eric, keep it up with great foliage. Great job every—one— What is that?" Matthew asked, looking at a huge boulder prop.

"It's part of the scene where Romeo almost gets killed by a huge boulder. Inga asked us to make it all over the top because she needs everything to be perfect," Logan said. Matthew sighed before looking around the humongous prop. "Are you almost finished?" he asked.

"We just need to add some grooves and then it needs to dry so it should be finished by tomorrow," they replied.

"Excellent. You guys can go eat. There are donuts and cake for those who want," he said.

"Really?" Logan asked, excited.

"Of course, you all deserve it for working so hard. Inga would be proud, come let's go eat," he said before they cheered. All the different committees met up in the auditorium, chatting and eating. "I can wait for Inga to see all of this. We are almost done and ready for the final rehearsal. Once this is done, I can study for the exams," Elijah said.

"I wanted to ask you; do you maybe want to study together?"

Elijah felt his heart beat throughout his body before realizing he's been staring for a few seconds too long. "Of course, when do you want to start?" he awkwardly answered, looking away.

"Today should be good. Do you have a place you want to study or should I decide?" he asked.

"You could come over to my house. I'll prepare some snacks and you could just bring your textbooks," Elijah replied before stuffing his face with a jelly doughnut.

"Quite a messy eater aren't you? Let me just—" Matthew said before rubbing the jelly off his face.

Caught off guard, Elijah swallowed his doughnut, choking. "Are you okay?"

"Yep— I'm fine. Fell down the wrong-- pipe," he replied, coughing.

"Let me help you before you die right in front of me," he said, knocking him on the back as he spat out the piece of doughnut. "Eww."

As the short party continued, the auditorium door slammed open and the chatter came to a sudden stop. "What is happening here?" asked Inga.

"Inga, just the person we were looking for," Matthew said, as they walked toward her.

"Why are you guys partying instead of practicing, did you forget we need to be done by this Friday?" she asked, slowly getting angry.

"Inga, calm down," Matthew asked.

"How can I calm down when I come back after a few days just to see everyone not doing their jobs? I knew it was a bad idea to leave you guys in charge. I didn't expect this from you Elijah, but it seems you get influenced just like all the others. EVERYONE GET BACK TO WORK!" she shouted.

"No," Matthew said.

"No? What do you mean, no?"

"We have all been working our asses out and decided to have one short break. Now you just walk in and decide to shout and command as, please. You might be my cousin but I'm not going to let you speak to everyone like that, especially Eli. He has worked hard to make sure everything is on track, just to please you," he said. Elijah's heart started beating fast again, just by hearing him calling his nickname. Inga looked at everyone and sat down before crying, confusing everyone. "Inga, are you okay?" Matthew asked.

"No, I'm not. My mind has been everywhere, here, my school work, my parents, and my boyfriend. I just can't handle all of this pressure," she cried, covering her face.

"Inga, I—"

"And then I took it out on all of you and my boyfriend, now we aren't talking anymore," she ugly cried.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were going through all of this. I think you need a longer break," Elijah suggested.

"But then who's going make sure everything goes to plan?"

"That I don't know," Elijah replied.

"What if come to the final rehearsal?" she suggested.

"That could work," Matthew added.

"Then so it shall be. Now take a doughnut, go find your boyfriend, and makeup with him before it's too late," Elijah said, handing her a doughnut.

"You're right. Thank you, Elijah," she thanked him before running out with her bag. The chatter continued between the club while Matthew and Elijah had a chat while sitting by the stage. "Thanks for saying that earlier."

"No need to say thanks. What she said was wrong, you don't deserve that, they don't deserve that," he replied, looking at the club members.

"If this is okay, have you ever dated someone?" Elijah asked.

"I have but it didn't last long," he replied.

"What happened?"

"I don't really know how to be honest. I think we were both under the concept that we liked each other but when we got together we just didn't click. What about you?" he asked, turning his head.

"I'm too scared to date. My parents are divorced so every time I think about having a relationship, it is hard because I don't want to end up like them."

"Do your parents still communicate?" he asked.

"I have never met my father because he left when I was young," he answered, looking down.

"Do you wish you had met him?"

"Well, as much as I act like I wouldn't, there's still a part of me that wonders who he is. You're probably very bored with my non-stop blabbering, so I'll just stop."

"No, why would you think that?"

"Most people don't really care for what others say, I'm surprised you didn't take this opportunity to change the conversation," he replied.

"Don't worry, you can talk to me anytime you feel troubled or need to get something off your chest, talk to me, chat with me or call me and I'll be there."

"Thanks, I really—" he said before getting interrupted by Matthew's ringing phone. "You can talk on."

"No, take it, it's probably something important."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yes."

Matthew got to answer his call while Elijah sat, looking at the club members. For some odd reason, he felt lighter. As if he had this huge weight taken off him. He didn't know if it was because he was getting comfort from Matthew or because he was able to talk about the things that trouble him the most. Whatever it was, this happiness, he wish he could have it forever. Elijah unknowingly smiled, before Matthew came back from the phone call. "I'm really sorry but is it okay if we have our study session tomorrow? My father needs help with renovating the house which is weird because they just decided on doing it out of the blue."

"It's fine, plus now I have more time to prepare," he replied.

"I really am sorry; I'll try to make it up to you, I promise."

"Don't. It isn't a big deal."

Soon, the drama club dispersed and the two went home together just speaking about random things. When Elijah came home, he found his mother speaking to Luke. "Hello, how was your day?" asked Monique.

"It was okay. Also, Matthew is coming over tomorrow so I was wondering if I could buy a few snacks for us if that is even okay with you. I forgot to ask for permission, so?"

"Of course, I can't wait to meet him. You seem so fond of him," Monique replied.

"Elijah's boyfriend is going to be here, then I'm going to be here too."

"Mom, please don't encourage this."

"I'm just kidding sweetie; just tell me what he likes and I'll hit the supermarket tonight. Also, Luke, don't be a jerk in front of Elijah's friend, okay?"

"Thanks, Mom. I'm going to go study."

"Okay. Now, how are things with Evelyn?" Monique asked.

Elijah took out his book and sat on his bed before taking out his contacts and started using his glasses instead. Elijah never really liked using his glasses, he prefers using contacts even though it's slightly irritating to his eyes. No one has seen him with it except his mother, his brother, and Ally. Sitting on his bed, legs crossed, Elijah began reading through his notes but couldn't help but be focused somewhere else. All he could think about was Matthew, how nice he was, how thoughtful he was, how cute he was. "No Elijah, you should be studying, not drooling over some dude," he thought to himself.

"But he isn't some dude," said the angel, poofing on his right shoulder.

"Yeah, he's THE DUDE," said the devil, poofing on his left shoulder.

"You know, my day has been better without you two," he thought.

"Hey, we are just your consciences. Don't get angry at us."

"What do I do? Every time I think about the fact that I'm not straight, I feel like I'm not supposed to be here, or that my very existence is going to make someone else uncomfortable. I hate it. I hate me," he thought.

"Whoa, calm down now. I don't think we're at the point where you should be saying stuff like that," said the angel.

"It's just how I feel. When I think about Matthew and the slight chance we could be something, it ended up with him being disgusted to even think that I thought just maybe, I had a chance with him and it kills me inside," he thought, taking in a deep breath.

"Maybe you're insecure," suggested the devil.

"What?" asked Elijah and the angel.

"When you can, you try to change your opinion to fit others and you do this because you care about other random people's opinions. With Matthew, he encourages you to be yourself. When you're with him, you feel the most comfortable because he allows you to be who are," they said before a picture of Matthew popped up. Elijah rest his head on the wall, closing his eyes, thinking about what they said. As much as he wanted to deny what he was saying, Elijah knew they were right. He did care about other people's opinions of him, stopping him from doing certain things like the audition for Romeo. The only person who was able to push him to do this was Matthew. This annoyed him. Slowly, he slid into a comfortable position with all of his books surrounding him before drifting off.

"I like you, I really—"

"Eww, you really think I would go out with you? Disgusting."

"But I thought we were—"

"You thought we were friends. Oh please, I just felt sorry for your pathetic ass. You and I will never be. You and I will never be. You and I—"

"AHHHHHHHH!" he shouted internally, springing awake. He looked at his phone to that he had been sleeping for about an hour and had a message from Matthew. Instead, he put his phone before burrowing his head into his pillow. Elijah washed his face before heading downstairs to his mother. "Are you okay? You seem tense, is school being too much?" she asked while cooking food.

"I wouldn't say that. The school work is quite easy and I'm going to be studying with Matthew to make sure I'm ready for examinations," he replied.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I don't know, ever since this year I've learned some interesting things, and it's things that allowed me to do some pretty interesting things but now my feelings are in a situation where I don't know what to do and it's driving me insane," he explained, sitting down.

"Well honey, that's going to happen when you're a teenager. You are going to go through these times of self-reflecting and you need to make one of many decisions which are going to shape you and your future. I am here when you need help and assistance but I can't help you with everything. It's going to be okay because I know you will choose the right answer."

"But what if I can't? This feeling is growing and it's unbearable," he asked.

"Eli, find the cause of all of this, and your solution will pop up. Do you know what is causing this?" she asked.

"I think it's me but then what's the solution? I don't know why and I'd rather not be going through this right now," he added.

"Oh, I understand now. You're having an identity crisis."

"Huh?"

"What you need to do is find out who you are, only then will all these problems start disappearing."

"How do I do that?"

"You're already doing it. You've been trying to put yourself out there even though you would rather just stay at home. Just continue being who you are, there's your answer. Now eat before you pass out," she said, dishing some cooked food to him.

"Thanks," he smiled.

After eating, Elijah found himself in his room, confused and conflicted. He took his laptop and when turning it on, searched what an identity crisis was. An identity crisis is a period of uncertainty and confusion when someone's identity feels insecure, usually due to changing expectations or roles in society. Certain words clicked with him before he realized maybe he was having an identity crisis, but now another question arose, how to solve it? The search showed that exploring your past and present help, however, Elijah didn't know what they meant by that. "My past, my past, my—"

Suddenly, a thought popped up. "What about my father?" He stopped to think for a second before abandoning the idea, entirely. He took a deep breath in before closing all his books and laying on his bed. He opened his phone and checked his message from Matthew.

Matthew: WUD? (what are you doing?)

Elijah: You know, contemplating life, you?

Matthew: Why would you do that?

Elijah: Ever since our chat this afternoon, it made me question a few things. Haha.

Matthew: Were the questions answered?

Elijah: No, but I'm going to.

Matthew: Good for you. I'm here if you need any help <3.

Elijah: Thanks. Are you going to the football game tomorrow?

Matthew: Yes, are you?

Elijah: Of course, my friend Rohan will be playing, so I have to support him even though I don't know the rules of the game.

Matthew: I guess I'll see you there.

Elijah took a deep breath and typed in "I Like You," before deleting it and replacing it with "Goodbye." He rested the phone on his chest before closing himself and falling asleep. The next day, Elijah and Matthew continued managing the drama club. "We're done, we're actually done. I can't believe it."

"Not yet, we still have the final rehearsal," Matthew replied.

"I know but still, we're so close to finishing this off," Elijah said excitedly.

"Should we head out?"

"I think so, let's go. My mother bought some chocolate chip biscuits, especially for you," Elijah answered, picking up his bag.

"Really? How does she know?"

"Because I told her," he replied.

"Oh. How did you know," he asked as the two began walking home.

"I saw you buying a lot of it when he was at the concert and it was pretty clear you liked them so I thought you'd like some," he said as Matthew smiled at him.

When they arrived home, Matthew greeted Elijah's mother, setting down their jackets and backpacks. "Good Afternoon, Ms. Stein," he greeted.

"You must be Matthew, Elijah speaks very fondly of you. It's about time I finally met you," Monique replied.

"Mom, shouldn't you be at work right now?" Elijah asked.

"I'm off this whole week, plus I have to make sure your friends have good intentions with my son, don't I?" she replied, smiling at Matthew.

"Of course, mam," he replied.

"You have manners too, call me Monique."

"You can go up to my room. It's upstairs, the second room down the hallway," he said.

"Okay," Matthew replied before heading to his room.

Monique looked at him, smiling. "Why are you smiling?"

"No reason. Your snacks are all set, have fun," she replied. Elijah picked them up before thanking his mother. He went up to his room where Matthew sat down on the floor by the mat. "What are you doing? Why are sitting on the floor?"

"Am I not supposed to?"

"There's a bed for a reason, plus I'm sure it's uncomfortable."

"Then where are you going to sit?" he asked.

"I have a seat, don't worry, and just go sit there. Here are your biscuits," he replied before throwing the packet on the bed.

"Okay, don't laugh but—" he said, putting on his glasses.

"Laugh at what? Your glasses?" he asked, eating the biscuits.

"Yeah."

"Why would I laugh at your glasses?" he asked, continuing to eat the biscuits.

"I don't know, I look stupid so I prefer to wear contacts."

"I don't think so. If anything, it makes you look more adorable," he replied, "wow, these are really god."

Elijah smiled before pushing his glasses on.

Many years ago...

"Why are you wearing glasses? Do you know how stupid you look?" they said, laughing.

"Because I can't see well," replied a younger Elijah.

"So what? Now you have four eyes. FOUR EYES. FOUR EYES."

Elijah took a breath of relief, looking at Matthew, sitting and eating his biscuits.

"Let's start," he said before pulling out a chair.

The two began studying and comparing their notes, going over the different topics that would be relevant to the examinations. "Your notes are so clean and organized."

"Without organization, my life would be in shambles right now," he replied, "do you mind if I take this off, it's getting quite hot?"

"Sure."

Matthew took off his jersey, revealing his good build, and muscular body which made Elijah swallow his saliva. "Do you work out?" Elijah asked.

"Yep. I have to take care of myself because apparently, strokes run in the family. You know what, have you ever thought of working out? I need a gym buddy to help, who would be better than you?" he suggested. Elijah looked down at his slender body figure, while it wasn't bad, he definitely could work on it. Maybe build up some muscle. "I never actually thought of working out, but that wouldn't be so bad. When can I begin?" Elijah asked.

"You'll need a membership so you should probably ask your mother, but if you do, you can start as soon as possible. I work out on the weekends, doing simple exercises during the week to keep up. Do you think you can manage?" Matthew asked, stuffing himself.

"I think so. I'm not some expert but don't you think eating those is bad?"

"Well, I don't get this often but you're right," he said, closing the packet.

"I didn't mean for that to happen, you should keep it," Elijah replied.

"No, I must watch my diet, thanks for reminding me," he thanked, "shall we continue?"

The study session went on for a few hours until it became dark. Elijah and Matthew studied as much as they could before getting distracted by other topics about each other. Soon, it was time for the two to part ways. "Before you go, Matthew, I am having Sunday Lunch, and I was wondering if you could join us to keep him company because his brother's girlfriend is going to be here and I'm sure he is going to be so bored?" she asked.

"I would love to if Eli agrees," he answered, turning his head towards Elijah. Elijah looked at his mother, bending his eyebrows before looking back at Matthew, smiling. Of course, he couldn't say no, not to him at least. "Yes, I agree," Elijah answered awkwardly.

"Great. Is there any dress code I need to follow?" he asked, taking his jacket off the hanger.

"Nope, just casual," she replied.

"Okay then. Thanks for inviting me but I should probably get going. See you at school," he greeted.

"Goodbye Matthew," he greeted back, waving awkwardly before Matthew waved back. Matthew left and Elijah sat down while his mother cleaned the kitchen. "Since when were we having a Sunday lunch, and why didn't you tell me beforehand?" Elijah asked.

"You know, hearing him call you Eli, just shows that you have been getting more comfortable with others. I can't wait to see your future partner," she said before walking upstairs.

"You didn't answer my question," he shouted before hearing the door closing and clicking.

Confused, Elijah looked through the fridge for any quick snacks to consume before finding an ice cream with his name on it, labeled M. Thinking it was from his mother, Elijah sat down on the couch, eating his chocolate and strawberry ice cream. The next day was the first final rehearsal and the night of the football game. "Okay people, we have about five hours before the football game tonight. We're lucky the school even gave us this much time off but let's not waste it, let's begin," Inga said, sitting with her aesthetic-only clipboard. Elijah and Matthew were also there, as well as the actors and the production committee. Matthew worked behind the scenes with the backstage committee to work on sound effects and lighting. Scene after scene, Inga had someone write down certain points as they watched the production. Elijah watched from the back, very invested in the modern version of the classic.

"Maybe we can bring this feud to an end, then I can finally be Mrs. Montague

"If not in this life, then the next or the next. One thing is for sure, I love you, Juliet."

"Your family is the cause of all of this, why don't you ask your father what actually happened?"

"You lied to all of us and now I'm losing the love of my life."

"I'm sorry Romeo, but Juliet's dead. She committed suicide."

"Until we meet again."

Hours later, it was five o'clock and the first final rehearsal was complete. Inga and the rest applauded before Inga gave her criticism. "That was amazing, the props were beautiful and the acting was stellar and convincing. Putting Matthew and Elijah in charge was such a good move. For the first full rehearsal, this was very good. Of course, there are still a few things to improve on like the voice level and the transitions between scenes. I have asked some clubs and staff if there are any announcements and there will also be breaks for people to go to the bathrooms and buy food so we are almost set. You are free to go, enjoy the game," she said.

The students of Cape Coast soon filled the field as the game was about to begin. Elijah, Matthew, and Thandi sat down before Dustin sat next to them. "Are you going to talk to us?" Thandi asked.

"I'm sorry, I needed some time to myself," he replied, rubbing his thumbs together.

"We understand, just know that you can always tell us," Elijah replied as Dustin smiled in return.

"There's Ally," Thandi mentioned.

Ally and the rest of the cheerleaders ran out as the crowd cheered. Following them were the actual teams and before they knew it, the game began. "I don't really know what is happening but I'm enjoying it."

"Matthew, I heard you're an Anti-Romantic, is that true?" asked Thandi.

"I can confirm that is true," he replied as Thandi got excited. The two of them began talking while Elijah and Dustin began talking. "I don't know why I'm here, if it weren't for Rohan, I'd probably not be here," Dustin mentioned.

"I'm here for moral support too," Elijah replied. As they talked, the crowd jumped as Luther Palmer scored a goal. The crowd cheered louder as Elijah had a short flashback. "Hey, isn't that your friend?" Elijah asked.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I've seen you with him before, why aren't you cheering for him?"

Dustin just kept quiet and Elijah knew his suspicion was right. The crowd calmed down as the game continued. "Look Dustin, who is he?" Elijah asked.

"He's someone I met on the Gossip app. Nothing big, why?"

"I was just wondering."

The game continued, keeping the crowd on their toes as goals were made and missed. However, time was against them. The teams now tied had about a few minutes to settle the scores. Just as the time was about to run up, dodging and running, Dustin shot the ball through the poles, spectacularly scoring the last goal. The crowd loudly cheered as the football team lifted him in celebration. Thandi ran down to the field as Rohan kissed her in front of everyone, shocking their friends. "Did they just?" Elijah asked.

"Yes, they did," Matthew replied.

"He did it," Dustin said.

Rohan released himself before apologizing. "I'm so sorry, I guess I was just so excited that I—" he said before Thandi kissed him again.

"Don't apologize, there was no reason to hide it anyway," she said before they kissed.

Right next to them, "Good game bro."

"Hey, look over there, that's my answer to all the examinations," Luther said, pointing at Dustin who was celebrating with Elijah and Matthew. Rohan looked over before getting filled with rage.

"I need to get out more, this was so fun," Elijah said as they stood up.

"You don't get out much do you?" Dustin asked.

"Well, no but I try to."

"At least you try, I don't—"

Suddenly, a loud commotion came from the field. Elijah and the rest turned their head to see Rohan fighting with Luther. "You son of a bitch."

Elijah looked at Dustin before they rushed down to them before they got pulled apart by their team members. "What the hell?"

"It was you. It was you the entire time," Rohan mentioned, being held back.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You're the reason—"

"Rohan don't, please," Dustin interfered, scared.

"But Dustin."

"Please?"

Elijah looked at them, pulling the points together before Ally showed up. "What happened here?"

"Rohan got into a fight with him," Matthew answered. After catching everyone, the school secretary walked out, "Rohan Ross, you have been called by the Principal."

"Wait what?"

"After your little incident, we have decided to place you in a disciplinary hearing to decide what your punishment will be?"

"Dustin?" Rohan called.

"I—"

Dustin looked down before Rohan agreed to the disciplinary hearing. "I'll accept the necessary punishment."

TO BE CONTINUED...