By Monday morning, Alex was back to his usual bouncy self. He was worried about going back to school though. He'd missed an entire week of lessons and homework, he had Dramatic Arts first lesson, and Tay knew about anything.

He went through his morning routine as usual, perhaps paying a little more attention to his hair than usual. He pulled on a white t-shirt with a Blink logo on and his second best pair of black skinny jeans, and trotted downstairs for breakfast. His mom was already awake and dressed and was sat at the kitchen table eating some toast and flipping through some gossip magazine. She looked up as he walked in and smiled wildly at him.

''Morning sweetie! How're you feeling?''

''Morning mom. I'm feeling fine, thanks.'' Alex headed over to the corner and put some more bread in the toaster.

''That's good. Hey, sweetie, I'm working most of today, might be back a little late. Will you be alright on your own until about 7?''

''Yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry, mom.''

''You can have some friends round if you like, but don't do anything... stupid, alright?''

Alex could tell by the way she stressed the word 'stupid' exactly what she meant. He turned around to face her. She was sat watching him over the top of her coffee mug, eyebrows raised in a 'you know what I mean' expression. Alex just sighed and turned away again. Buttering his toast and checking his phone. He had a text from Rian.

From; Rian Dawson
- hey, you at school today?

He tapped out a reply.

To; Rian Dawson
- yeah, can i get a lift?

He nibbled at the toast whilst he waited for a reply.

From; Rian Dawson
- sure thing, see you in 10

Alex turned back round to his mom and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

''Mom, Rian's gonna be here in ten, okay?''

''When isn't it okay? I know the routine by now.''

Alex went back upstairs to fetch his bag from the end of his bed. It wasn't until he leaned down to grab his iPod from under his pillow that he realised his pillow smelt like Jay. Coffee, cigarettes, peppermint, and that feint musk he always had. Alex buried his face in the pillow for a moment, inhaling the smell, before realising that it was a bit of a strange thing to do. He stood up, gently running his fingers across the sweet scented spot before picking up Zack's black hoodie (now fresh and clean courtesy of his mom) from the back of his desk chair, one of his own from his wardrobe, and headed back downstairs. He finished his other slice of toast and went into the hallway to put on his shoes, just as the familiar Trans Am's horn blared from outside. He pulled on his Converse, kissed his mom goodbye, pulled on his hoodie and left.

''Heya, Pansy!" Rian called from the driver side window.

''Oh yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking.'' Alex laughed sarcastically.

Rian grinned at him as he hopped into the back. ''Good to see you again, man!"

''Yeah yeah. Just drive, Dawson.'' Alex looked across at Zack. He looked happy to see Alex again, but his eyes looked tired. ''Hey Zee, you alright?'' Alex said, leaning across to hug him.

''Hey, yeah I'm good thanks. What about you?'' Zack gave him a gentle squeeze, his voice sounding a little hoarse.

Alex didn't think Zack was entirely okay, but Zack probably didn't want to talk about it. ''I'm good, yeah. Oh hey, I've got your hoodie!" Alex opened his bag and produced the black jacket, handing it to Zack who smiled.

''Oh thanks! You know, I wouldn't have minded if you'd keep it...'' He said quietly as he put it in his own bag.

Alex just smiled at him as Zack went quiet. ''Zee, it's way too big for me! What would I do with it? Anyway, it's yours, I couldn't keep it.''

''Oh... okay.''

Zack was hiding something again. Alex didn't understand why he had to be like this. He'd told Zack that he could talk to him anytime. But now Alex had realised that some secrets weren't meant to be told. Zack was his friend. If it was really important, Zack would tell him in good time.

When they reached school, it was just starting to rain again, so they hurried inside and to their lockers as fast as possible. When they got there, there was a nasty smell hanging in the air. Alex sniffed and grimaced. Rian saw this and just nodded in agreement.

''Yeah, I know.'' He said with an equal look of disgust on his face. ''It started smalling around Thursday, but it's gotten worse since then.''

''Do you know what it is? Can't someone do something about it?''

''We think it's coming from your locker. We don't know what it is, and don't really want to know.''

Alex thought for a second before remembering that last Friday. Shit. His hoodie. He quickly twisted in the combination and opened his locker door.
The smell his them like a freight train. They all cried out and covered their mouths and noses with their jacket sleeves. Alex peered into the locker and, sure enough, there was his hoodie.

In the ten days it had been hanging there, it had not dried one bit. There was a small puddle in the bottom of the metal box, and the water looked faintly brown. Alex gingerly reached out to pick up the hoodie, but tugged his hand backwards when his fingers touched the fabric, only to find that it was slimy. Actually slimy. All he could do was look at Rian and Zack in horror at the festering thing in his locker.

''I'm not touching that. No way!"

''Well neither are we! We'll have to get the site team out!"

''We are not getting the fucking site team out for a manky hoodie!" Alex shouted.

''It could be a biohazzard.'' Zack piped up, sounding like it was a serious discussion.

''We just need to get rid of it... either of you got something I can wrap it in?''

''No, sorry.''

''Rian?''

''Nope.''

Alex sighed. This was pretty disgusting. He could only think of one other person.

''I'll ask Mr Barakat, yeah?'' he said, nodding at the other boys.

''Is he even in school yet?'' Zack asked.

''Yeah I mean,'' Rian said laughing, ''he hasn't tried to break Alex yet, he must be in the classroom already.''

''Shut up Ri. I'll go ask, alright?''

Alex walked over to the door of room 15 and knocked. He heard some shuffling from inside the room, then footsteps getting closer. The door quickly swung open, and Mr Barakat looked down at Alex, taking a moment to realise who it was.

''Oh, hi Alex.'' Mr Barakat said, sounding calm and pleasantly surprised.

''Hi, Sir.'' It felt weird calling him sir after spending most of his time calling him Jay.

''I have you first thing this morning, what's so urgent it can't wait 10 minutes?''

''I was wondering if you might have something I can put my hoodie in?''

Mr Barakat leant on the doorframe and looked him up and down. Alex noticed the way the tip of his tongue ever so slightly poked out the corner of his mouth as he surveyed Alex.

''Your hoodie looks fine to me.''

Alex laughed, obviously having not explained. ''No, I mean my hoodie in my locker. It's soaking wet and I left it here all last week. I have to bin it.''

Mr Barakat stood up and said ''Oh dear. Well, I'm sure I have something in the cupboard, come in.''

Alex stepped inside the classroom as Mr Barakat walked over the cabinet behind his desk. It was essentially an oversized locker-wardrobe with a few shelves and boxes inside. The man opened the doors and bent down, rummaging through the bottommost box. Alex couldn’t help but stand back and admire the view, probably the same way Jay had on Friday when Alex was going through the videos. Mr Barakat looked over his shoulder at Alex, who was blatantly staring at his ass.

He laughed and said “Like what you see?”

Alex laughed back “You know it...”

Mr Barakat straightened up, walked over to Alex and handed him a plastic carrier bag. He gently brushed his thumb over the back of Alex's hand, sending electricity through both of them. Mr Barakat blinked and smirked. Alex could tell that that was Jay, his Jay shining through the teacher.

“Not in school, eh?”

“Sure thing, sir.”

They both laughed and Alex walked out of the room with the bag. He then tried to shove the hoodie into the bag while touching it as little as possible. He tied it up and walked down the hall, depositing it in the nearest bin. It hadn’t been anything special, but he was kind of sad that he had to throw away what had been a pretty decent hoodie. He walked into the boys toilets opposite his lockers and grabbed a load of toilet paper, walked back to his locker and tried to mop up the water in the bottom of his locker. It was rancid and smelt like a sewer. He picked up the sodden tissue and took it back to the toilets, muttering “Ew, ew, ew” all the way there. He dropped it into the nearest cubicle and flushed. He washed his hands thoroughly and went back into the corridor where Zack and Rian stood next to their bags.

“Thanks for the help, guys.” He said sarcastically, folding his arms and looking at the two boys.

“Hey, you were doing fine on your own, I thought.” Rian shrugged.

Zack muttered a small “Sorry.”

Just then, the bell rang for first lesson. The boys slunk into room 15 and took their usual seats. Mr Barakat greeted them as usual, same musical chirp of “Good morning, boys”, same wide smile, same everything. He was good at this, Alex thought.

Soon the classroom had filled up with the rest of the students. The jocks being their normal boisterous selves, the cheerleaders were being loud and giggly as usual, though Lisa was being strangely quiet this morning rather than joining the cheerleader’s conversation. Cassadee trotted over at one point and quickly pecked Rian on the lips before returning to her seat. Alex tried to say good morning to Tay when she arrived, but instead she just gave him a small smile and a nod of the head. She must still have been weirded out about Friday. He really needed to make sure she wouldn’t tell.

Mr Barakat called for silence. “Okay, okay! Happy Monday everyone, I trust you all had a good weekend?” There were a few grumbles from the class, a few laughs, a few ‘yes, sir’s before everything went quiet again. “Okay so, shall we carry on from next week? Get into your groups, grab your books, and away you go!”

Everyone moved from their seats and started milling about the room. Alex had no idea what was going on. He hadn’t been in school for a week, and people seemed to be working on something new. Mr Barakat started making his way across the classroom towards Alex, carrying a bunch of papers. Alex sat up in his seat, feeling a little bit lost.

“Don’t worry, Alex. I’ll help you out.”

“What’s everyone doing?”

“Don’t worry about that now. Look, let’s just finish your script yeah?” Mr Barakat reached Alex's desk and knelt down next to him, placing Alex's annotated script on the desk infront of them. He shuffled sideways, gently resting his shoulder against Alex's, and began speaking, pointing at the paper as he went. Alex wasn’t listening though. He could only hear the blood pounding in his ears. This time, it wasn’t because Mr Barakat was so close. It was the way Tay was watching them.
Rian had wandered off to join Cassdee and her friends, and Zack was sat opposite Tay, so she had a full view of Alex and Mr Barakat. She was glaring at them, pen gripped so tight in her hand that her arm was visibly shaking. Alex could see her jaw muscles clench and unclench even from the other side of the room. Zack was seeing none of this as he was too engrossed in reading his work, earphones in. Alex couldn’t help but stare, paying no attention to Mr Barakat, fear stealing over him.

Mr Barakat obviously noticed that Alex was distracted. “...so just add... Alex, you listening?” Mr Barakat looked over in the direction Alex was, and he froze. Tay was fuming, and Alex could tell that Mr Barakat was afraid. “Co-come on Alex, let’s just... finish your work, yeah?” Mr Barakat stuttered out, and swallowed hard. He turned his head down, letting his hair fall over his face, and he shuffled sideways away from Alex. “Do you, er, think you can manage on your own?” He said quietly, eyes still cast downwards.

“Er, yeah, I think I can manage, sir.”

“Okay.” And he left, not saying another word and without another look at Alex.

Another group of students called him over, and he returned to his usual self. Alex glared back at Tay, who held his gaze for a moment before returning to her own work. Alex carried on with his work until the bell rang. He hurriedly packed his things away and went over to Tay's desk.

“Hold on a second.”

“What for? Why?”

“Just... wait ‘til the classroom’s empty.”

She sighed but remained seated. Alex looked over to Mr Barakat, who saw what was happening and closed the classroom door as the last students left. It was just Alex, Tay and Mr Barakat now. No one said anything. Mr Barakat leaned against the door, Tay stayed in her seat, and Alex leaned on her desk.

“I thought we’d sorted this, Tay.” He said quietly, holding her gaze.

“Yeah, we have. I’m not gonna tell, Alex.” She huffed exasperatedly

“Fine, just don’t glare at us in class.” Alex said quietly in a warning tone.

“I’m sorry Alex, but I just don’t fucking trust him!”

At this point Mr Barakat had had enough, he stalked over, winding his way through the desks until he stopped next to Alex, looking down on Tay.

“Miss Jardine,” he said in a firm, authoritative voice, his stance rigid, “here, I am your teacher, nothing more, nothing less. I am here to further your education and, in certain cases, care for your emotional well being. Granted, Alex and I have overstepped the mark, but that never happens in school. What I do in my own time is none of your concern I would hope. The same goes for whatever there may be between Alex and I. Is that understood?”

Tay had visibly backed down, she didn’t look nearly so assertive as she had only moments before. She sat quietly, looking up at Mr Barakat, who continued to look down at her waiting for a reply. “Yes sir. I’m sorry, I just care about Alex, that’s all.”

“Completely understandable. I know that you two are pretty close. I promise that I will never hurt Lex, okay?” Mr Barakat looked over and smiled at Alex, who nervously grinned back. “And if I do, you have my full permission to rat me out to the cops.”

“Okay, sir. Can I go now?” Tay asked timidly.

“Of course. See you around, guys!” Mr Barakat bounded over to the classroom door and opened it wide.

Tay and Alex made their way out, walking through the crowd of students from Mr Barakat's next class. “I’m sorry Alex. I know you’re happy, I’m just a bit...” she lowered her voice so only Alex could hear her, “Why can’t he date people his own age. It’s just a bit weird.”

“He doesn’t have any friends, Tay.” Alex sighed, remembering how sad Mr Barakat had looked when he’d told Alex. “His friends all abandoned him when he started teaching. He’s only got his brother left, and he can’t go out coz he’s busy planning lessons and marking papers.”

“Oh...”

“Yeah, oh.” Alex replied sarcastically. “Tay, I’m his second chance. Just... leave it be, yeah?”

“Of course. I understand, Alex. You can trust me. I swear.”

“Okay, I know, I just... I needed you to understand. That’s all.”

“Okay, Alex. But seriously, he does anything, you tell me. I mean it.”

“I will. Don’t worry, Tay. Thanks for this.”

“Hey, if friends aren’t allowed to threaten to kick the asses of anyone who hurts their friends, what are they good for?” she laughed, gently nudging Alex's shoulder with her fist.

They hugged briefly and went their separate ways to their classes.

---

The one thing that Alex hadn’t missed about school was double English on a Monday. Mrs Fielding didn’t even bother to help him catch up with the work he’s missed, and instead moaned at him for not being there and told him to look at the work in someone else’s book. This was not useful, as no one in the class would even look at him, let alone let him borrow their book with their hard work in. Instead, Alex ignored the lesson plan and did his own version of war poetry. It ended up being more along the lines of ‘BODIES, BODIES EVERYWHERE’ than a mournful lament of lost hope in a foreign land, but either way he considered it well written.
He relaxed for a few minutes while Mrs Fielding shouted at the jocks at the back of the room, before packing up his stuff and leaving as the bell rang. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t as bad as it had been all last week. It was a little damp underfoot but the leaves had started falling, mottling the grey streets with crimsons and ambers. There was a gentle breeze rustling through the trees, carrying the earthy smell of autumn through the dull grey air. It was now November and Fall was Alex's favourite time of year. In a month’s time, he would be eighteen. The only thing standing between him and Jay would be school, and even that was temporary.
It was strange to think that he was thinking about what he and Jay could be one day, like there was a future for them. Surely Jay wouldn’t risk this much just to fool around? No, Alex was sure Jay was in it for the long haul... Alex smiled at this, knowing that Jay was serious about them. A moment later though, his happy thoughts were interrupted but a loud shout from behind him.

“Hey faggot!” Jason Tate and his goons sauntered up the street behind Alex, taking up as much of the sidewalk as possible.

Alex glanced at them over his shoulder, but decided to just ignore them and keep walking. Bad idea.

“Oi, fag, I’m talking to you!”

Alex stopped and turned to face them. There were six of them again, the same ones from the first week back in town. He’d had a pretty good day, and this was the fucking iceberg to his Titanic.

“What do you want?” Alex said, fearing what the jocks would spit back at him.

“Oh nothing, really, just wondering about your boyfriend.” Jason said casually, picking at his fingernails.

“What?” Alex asked fearfully. What did these guys know?

“Oh yeah, we know, Gaskarth.”

They must be bluffing, Alex thought. “You don’t know shit, Tate.” He turned around, making to walk away until he heard footsteps behind him and his arms were seized, his bag falling to the ground

“Ha, yeah, right. We heard you and that little skank this morning talking about him.” They all laughed. Jason stepped closer, and Alex struggled against the boys gripping his arms, but to no avail. He was stuck tight.

“Don’t talk about Tay like that!”

“Oh, that’s the little skank’s name, is it? Ugly bitch, isn’t she?”

“Shut up, Tate.”

“Make me.”

Alex struggled again, but the hold on his arms stayed tight. The boys laughed at him, so he did the only thing he could think of. He spat at Jason. The small blob of saliva hit his Letterman jacket, and he stopped laughing. He stepped even closer to Alex and delivered a short, sharp punch to Alex's stomach. Alex doubled over, bringing his knees to his chest as the boys dropped him onto the cold ground. Jason stepped closer still, looming over Alex, casting his shadow over the smaller boy lying in pain at his feet.

“Yeah, we heard you two talking.” Jason put on a mocking girly voice. “ ‘If he does anything, you tell me’, ‘Friends are meant to kick ass’.”

All the boys laughed from above Alex, who lay helpless on the floor, in pain and surrounded.

“Getting skanks to fight for you, faggot?” Jason kicked Alex in the stomach, making the boy cry out. “Well, where is she now?” Another kick. “WHERE IS SHE NOW?” Jason shouted.

This was some kind of signal for the others to join in. Seconds later, Alex had at least 6 feet digging into him from all sides. He couldn’t do anything but lie there, crying out, begging for them to stop. It was only when a particularly hard kick was delivered to his head that Jason called them off. They stood back for a second, watching Alex curled up, sobbing on the ground, coughing every now and again.

“Get him up.”

Two rough hands grabbed Alex again and pulled him to his feet by the shoulders. He cried out again, tears streaming down his face, every bone, muscle, joint screaming in protest at the movement. Jason got as close to Alex as he could and pulled his head to his level by his hair. Alex whimpered at the sight of Jason’s face.

“You got off lightly this time, fag.” He whispered into Alex's face. “Watch your back, yeah?” He let go of Alex and let the other boys drop him to the ground again, making Alex cry out again. They left him there. Alex couldn’t do anything but lie there, crying quietly as the tears tricked down his face and stung like acid in the bleeding grazes from the rough sidewalk.

He could feel the dampness from the leaves seeping through his clothes, the old sensation soothing his bruises slightly. He didn’t know how long he lay there. No one came out of their houses, no one passed by on foot or by car. The streets were silent. He was just about to try and move when he heard a car coming down the street. He remained still, hoping and praying that whoever it was would stop and help him, call someone, anything. He could hear it getting closer and closer. Moments later, it stopped beside Alex. He heard a car door open and slam shut again, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

“Help... Help me, please.” He cried out desperately.

“Are... Oh my... Fuck, Lex!” Alex's brain went into over drive as soon as he heard the voice.

“Jay? Jay... help me!” Jay crashed down onto his knees next to Alex's crumpled figure on the sidewalk.

“What happened Lex?”

“It... Jason Tate...He...” Alex began crying again, fresh tears spilling down his face. “He called me... a... fag.... The he did... this!” Alex lost it. He started sobbing uncontrollably, his shoulders shaking and sending waves of pain through his whole body. He could feel Jay next to him, but couldn’t see him, couldn’t touch him. He needed reassurance right now. He needed to know that he was going to be okay.

“Oh.. okay Alex? We need to move you...”

Alex could tell from his voice that Jay was crying, which made him choke out a sob. Jay stood up, opened the car door to the back seats and quickly threw Alex's bag in.

“Jay... it hurts... It hurts everywhere...” Alex felt Jay return to his side, and the warmth of his hands ghosting over Alex's weak body.

“Okay, okay, Alex we have to move you. I’m going to pick you up, okay?”

"Jay... Please, it hurts...” Alex couldn’t manage more than that at that moment. He just wanted the pain to go away and for Jay to stop crying.

A few moments later Alex felt Jay's hands gingerly work their way under him and lift him up. His body felt like it was burning from his stomach outwards, every limb shouting in protest. He cried out again, not being able to stop the sound escaping his lips. Jay gently lifted him with surprising ease and carried him to the car, continuously muttering “Sshh, it’s okay... Alex it’s alright... you’re going to be okay... I’m here, okay, I’m here...” even though his voice was thick with tears of his own.
Jay carefully laid him down across the back seat and did his best to put a seatbelt around him. Alex couldn’t do anything but lie there, sobbing quietly as Jay climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine, still cooing to Alex, “It’s fine, you’re going to be okay Lex, I’m here okay...” Jay started driving as fast as he could without jolting the car and causing Alex pain.

A few minutes later and they stopped outside Alex's house, and Jay stopped the car. He flew out of his seat and opened the back door, but before he could lift Alex out, the boy spoke. “Jay... my mom’s out, she won’t be back ‘til late...”

“Erm... okay... where are your keys?”

Alex coughed slightly before answering “In my bag.”

Jay rummaged in Alex's bag until he produced the keys, and ran to Alex's door, unlocking it as fast as he could. He opened the door as wide as he could and ran back to the car. He gently lifted Alex from the seat, the smaller boy whimpering in his arms.
Jay repeated his soothing words again and again as he carried Alex inside and lay him on the sofa. Alex stayed as still as he could, trying not to cry again, but as he felt Jay leave the room and go back outside, then hear the car door slam, he panicked and called out. “Jay! Jay, where are you?”

He heard pounding footsteps again, and the front door slam. A moment later Jay was crouched at his side, hushing him and stroking Alex's hair out of his eyes.

“Sshh, Lex, I’m right here, okay? I won’t leave you.” He whispered to Alex, the tears audible in his quaking voice. “I’m going to go get something to clean you up, okay. I’ll be right back.”

Alex felt Jay move away from him and into the kitchen, he heard cupboards opening, then the freezer, then the tap running. A few minutes later Jay was back at his side. In his arms he held bags of frozen vegetables wrapped in tea towels and a damp cloth in his hand. He asked Alex where it hurt the most, and gently laid the DIY ice packs on him.
He carefully dabbed at his cuts and scrapes, hushing Alex soothingly everything time he hissed out in pain. Jay fetched some Advil and a glass of water from the kitchen and slowly helped Alex to sit up and drink.

As they sat there, Jay tenderly dabbing any still bleeding wounds, adjusting any slipping ice packs, Alex slowly began to feel better. He found he could move his head, arms and legs a little more now, but he still ached. He looked over to Jay, who was watching him intently, his eyes brimming with concern and care.

“Lex, I think we should get you to the hospital.” Jay said quietly, trying not to worry the boy.

“No, I’m... I’m fine. Really.” Alex replied weakly, turning his head away.

“But what if something’s broken? You could be really badly hurt.” He kept the same calm yet concerned tone, reaching out and gently stroking Alex's hair. Alex shifted, leaning into his touch slightly.

“No, I know what broken bones feel like. When I was little, I was pretty accident prone.” He remembered how when he was younger, he’d be the one to lead all the other little kids on grand expeditions in the neighbours gardens, and how he had a knack for falling out of trees and breaking bones. “But I was never as clumsy as you.” Alex laughed, his ribs aching slightly.

Jay just looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re like, the clumsiest person I know!”

“How?” Jay sounded genuinely confused, and Alex just giggled more.

“Think about the first time we met, you basically went flying down the corridor.”

“Yeah but-“

“And the same day you ruined my copy of Batman and cracked your head open.”

“That could have-“

“The time you got your watch stuck in Rian's hair?”

“Okay, so that-“

“When you fell off the table?”

“When I... What?” Jay's face was a portrait of pure puzzlement. Suddenly he went a bright shade of crimson and lowered his head, uttering a small “Oh, that.”

“Yeah, that. I was, er... Watching you from the corridor. You looked pretty damn fabulous, with that feather boa, wiggling your hips.” Alex laughed again, his chest hurting but him not caring.

“See, Lex...” Jay was still bright red and very quiet as he spoke, “I only mess up when you’re around.”

Alex stopped laughing, and just watched Jay, his face hidden behind his hair again. Alex could still see the now dark chocolate eyes watching him, though.

“It’s... It’s a stress reaction. From... the moment I... I saw you, I... knew there was something, you know?”

“Kind of, yeah.” Alex said, just as quietly, still watching Jay.

“I tripped on the first day... because I was watching... looking at you. I couldn’t look away. I tried to play it off as nothing, just nerves from my first day. But when we shook hands... I... Oh, I don’t know. There was, something. I thought, from the way you looked at me, that you had felt it too. I knew how stupid I was, how illegal anything would be. But, just talking to you in that first lesson, there was some connection. I tried to show off, but I can’t. Like, I can’t flirt.” Jay looked up at Alex this time, his eyes watery and nervous.

Alex just smiled at how stupid he was being.

“Hey, don’t laugh.” Jay said defensively. “I... I hadn’t been with anyone in so long, not since Jaime left...”

“Wait, you were with that Jaime guy?”

“Oh, er, yeah. We got together because I was so clumsy. He worked in a music store, and I would go in every now and again, sometimes to look at music, sometimes to look at him. Every time though, I’d knock over a CD stand, or sheet music off the shelves. One day, I was in there admiring a guitar, my guitar actually. I nearly knocked it over, but Jaime caught it, asked if I was interested in buying it. If I was interested in lessons. Our relationship kind of blossomed from there.” Jay said with a small smile and a shrug.

Alex sat back a little, shifting slightly, his back aching. “You tried that with me.”

“Tried what?” Jay looked up, and Alex smirked.

“The guitar thing. Offering me lessons. You tried the exact same thing!” Alex actually laughed now, Jay obviously not realising that he’d done.

“Oh yeah!” He cried with realisation, “I guess I did! But, hey, it worked, didn’t it?” he said with a wink, making it Alex's turn to blush.

“I guess it did...” Alex said quietly, looking at Jay through his eyelashes.

Jay leaned forwards and pressed his lips to Alex's carefully, no more than a mere brush. Alex longed for more, but the side of his face ached where the grazed were starting to heal over. He raised his hand to his face, feeling all down his left cheek. Along his cheek bone and around the edge of his eye was slightly sticky and warm, some parts feeling dry and crusty. He hoped that it didn’t look too bad. He dropped his arm again, only creating a short sharp twinge in his shoulder.

Jay stood up and held out his hands to Alex. “Can you get up?”

“I... I think so...” Alex took Jay's hands and allowed himself to be pulled upright. His back and stomach almost burned with pain, but his legs and arms we’re too bad. The back of his head felt like it had been put in a vice though.

“You okay?” Jay asked, crouching down slightly to look Alex in the eyes. Alex nodded gently and allowed Jay to guide him into the kitchen. He turned on the light and stood Alex in the middle, right under the bulb.
“Can I take your hoodie off?” Jay asked tentatively, pulling at the zip. Alex nodded and allowed Jay to remove the jacket. “What about your t-shirt?”

“Why?”

“I need to check your back for other cuts...”

“Oh, er... sure.” Alex raised his arms above his head as Jay pulled the t-shirt up over his head. The cold air of the kitchen hit Alex immediately, making him shiver. Jay just looked down at Alex and his face changed from one of concern to one of horror and pity.

“Oh, Lex...” he gasped as he surveyed Alex's naked torso.

Alex looked down and was himself horrified at what he saw. His chest was littered with small purple and blue bruises, as were his arms. But, right in the middle of his stomach, was a large red tinged bruise. If you looked carefully, you see the individual knuckle marks. Jay walked around to look at Alex's back, and gasped loudly. Alex turned around to look at Jay, who stood with wide eyes and his hands over his mouth.

“What? What is it?” Alex tried looking over his shoulder, but he couldn’t see. Instead, he walked out into the hall where a large mirror hung on the wall. He turned around and looked at his reflection. He too gasped at what he saw. Although his back was littered with large bruises, one across his left shoulder blade was a large and very obvious shoe print. The purple mark was so heavily indented onto his skin, you could see the track marks of the bottom of the shoe. He put his hand over his mouth to stifle his sobs, and he looked back at Jay, who also had tears in his eyes. Alex walked over to him and buried his face in Jay's chest. Jay wrapped two gentle arms around his back and kissed the top of his head.

“Sshh, I know, I know... We’re not going to let them get away with this Lex. I swear we won’t.”

“O-okay...” Alex sobbed quietly.

Jay took them back into the living room, where he gently pressed the cool damp cloth to Alex's bruises and comforted him while watching TV until, at around 8:15pm, Alex's mom returned At first she was horrified at Alex's state. But once Alex and Jay had explained it all, she calmed down a lot.

“Right,” she finally declared, once everyone had calmed down, “I’m going to the school first thing in the morning and reporting this. I’ll make sure I say that you saved Alex, Jay.”

The two boys exchanged worried looks, but quickly composed themselves so as to not let Alex's mom suspect anything.

“No, mom, don’t worry. I’ll report it, you don’t need to go to the school.” He didn’t want anything that might give away the fact that Jay was not quite who he said he was. “I’ll sort it, I promise.”

“Hhmm, well...” she pulled a face and looked at Alex, “I trust you, so okay. Just... take it easy. You get any more hassle from anyone and you call me straight away.”

“Okay, Mom, I promise.” Alex smiled innocently. Now, Alex's mom turned her attention to Jay.

“Thank you so so much Jay. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been going past. I cannot thank you enough.” She stood up and walked over to Jay, leaning up and embracing him. He awkwardly hugged her back, patting her shoulder. She let go and smiled warmly at him. “Right well, thank you again. I guess you should be getting home now, you’re mom must be worried about you.”

“My Mom?” Jay said, confused for a moment. It then registered what she meant and quickly recovered. “Oh! No, don’t worry, I called her earlier to let her know.”

“Oh, okay then. Well, I’ll show you out, shall I?” Alex's mom walked Jay out into the hall, and Alex shifted as close to the living room door as possible to hear anything that might be said. He could hear their slightly muffled voices. “You’re an angel Jay, honestly.”

“It was nothing, Mrs Gaskarth, really.”

“Please, call me Isobel.”

“Okay, Isobel. Alex is my friend, I care about him.”

“Oh, I should think he’s more than your ‘friend’! I’ve seen the way you look at each other. Lex is my baby, my only son. But I can tell that you’ll treat him right, Jay. Have a good evening now!”

“Thanks, Isobel, you too.”

The front door shut, and Alex tried to sit casually. His mom walked in and rejoined him on the sofa, smiling sweetly at her little boy.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“What for sweetie?”

“For everything. I love you, Mom.”

“Aww, baby,” she cooed, gently hugging Alex's shoulder, “I love you too.”

Notes