Time Runs Through Our Veins.

Oh shit!

Here they go again. And there i go hiding back in the bathroom.

Me and Jordan lock the door and run to the back corner, where i've hid too many times before.

George, Joey, Dylan and Steve are all banging on the door. I can tell that they are screaming really loud, I just cant understand them through the thick door.

Jordan looks at me, "Do you think we'll make it out without bruises? Its been so hard trying to hide them from Rylan."

I look down at my feet and shake my head. They did this everyday. Why? I dont know, well I know why they beat me up. It's not like they dont tell me everyday. Fag. Queer. Homo. I've heard it all.

But Jordan, he's straight, friendly, not to mention a James'. Why would anybody want to hurt him?

I check my watch and freak out when I realize the time. “Uh…Jordan?” he turns from staring at the door and looks at me. “We was supposed to meet your brother 10 minutes ago.”

He looks at his watch and points at the door, “what can we do?”

We could still hear the boys banging on the doors. I sit back down and pull my backpack onto my lap. Since it seems that they’re not stopping anytime soon, I minus well start on my essay.

After writing about 2 paragraphs me and Jordan hear somebody else talking outside the door.

“Sounds like Rylan,” Jordan says with a hopeful sound in his voice.

“The queer and his boyfriend locked the fucking door. They need to grow a dick and face their asskickings like men and not like bitchsquealers!”

We move closer to the door so we could hear, and understand, whoever was talking.

“Who are you talking about?” The new voice ask. Yeah, it was defiantly Rylan.

“That faggot Nolan and his butt buddy Jordan” Dylan says.

The next noise we heard made us jump. It sounded like something was being thrown against the lockers.

“My fucking brother? You fucking know you don’t mess with him. I suggest you get the fuck out of my sight before my dad fucks up your life!” We can hear Rylan shouting at one of the boys.

The noise starts to settle and Jordan looks at me, “It’s Rylan out there. He can keep us safe.” I never realized how kidish his voice could get.

“Don’t go out there.” I try to grab his arm but he’s too quick. He quickly unlocks the door and run out the bathroom. The door swings back behind him, so I push it back out and slide between Rylan and the row of lockers with a dent in them.

Rylan slightly turns his body towards Jordan, “Are you okay?” He ask.

“Yeah, can we just go?” He starts to grab my arm so we could leave.

“Go to the car, I’ll be there soon.” I go to walk out, but Jordan shakes his head no. This is our chance to escape, and he wont move?

“Im not going without you” Jordan says to his brother.

Rylan nods and looks at George, “Leave. Jordan. Alone. I’ve said it once and I swear to god if I have to say it again I’ll make sure the only job you’ll ever get is a burger flipper. Nolan, too. Understand?”

George and Steve take off in one direction, and we go in the other towards the car.

As caring as what Rylan just did was, he shouldn’t of done it. I could tell by Jordan’s face that he was thinking the same thing.

“You shouldn’t of done that.” Jordan eventually admits to his brother. “They only get worse.”

Rylan stops walking once he realized what was just said to him. “Wait, they do this often?”

I stare at my feel and sigh, “Everyday.”

Jordan starts to walk, so we both follow. Rylan ask Jordan, again, how often they did it, as if he didn’t hear me the first time.

“Yes Rylan, everyday.”

At this point Rylan looks furious, “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Because I don’t wanna be the pussy who ran to his brother just cause he was getting picked on.”

They both are almost at a speed walking pase, so right now my main goal is keeping up with them.

“It’s not okay, Jordan. You need to let me know whats up.”

Before I am able to realize what I’m saying, I blurt out, “what about twin telepathy?”

“It works most of the time.” Rylan answers.

“Broken bones, bad breakups, excitement, finishing sentences. Half the time I’ve done what he wants before he asks.” Jordan finished.

We pull up into the James’ garage and head to the boys rooms. I’ve been here enough times to know where Jordan’s room is, and to know that the room directly next to it is Rylan’s.

So, Jordan disappears somewhere, and Rylan takes me up to his room.

The first thing I notice is the bright purple walls, I mean how could you not? But one thing that made my jaw drop, literally, was a sketch on his wall. It was a ,beautiful, rabid wolf. There’s one thing I love more than star wars: wolves.

“I didn’t know you liked art this much. This is amazing.” I try to pry my eyes off the walls, but I couldn’t manage to.

“Thanks, but nobody really knows. Just Jordan and my parents.”

I lay my jacket down and look out the window over downtown. I realize that next to the window is a row of band posters.

I just stare at the posters, amazed at who was on his wall. shouldn’t preppy boys listen to the boring mainstream music?

“I didn’t know you liked Framing Hanley or Bullet For My Valentine. I didn’t know you liked rock at all.”

“Dude, rock is all there is. What’d you think I like? Drake? Katy Perry? Pitbull?” He looks at me and laughs.

I stare at the windows, almost feeling ashamed of how accurate his predictions were.

“You didn’t think I liked Katy Perry, did you?” Rylan ask me again.

“Well…” I let my voice trail off and I just bob my head.

He looks down covering his face with his hands. “Pierce the Veil is my favorite. I might look prep, but theres a little more to me than that.”

He goes to get the rest of the things we need from his car and is back within minutes.

He plugged his ipod in and, to my surprise, I enjoyed just about every song.

We zipped through the project in 2 hours.

After we finish the project, I go get cleaned up in the bathroom.

I walk out the bathroom to see the doors to “the room”. I’ve always known that this room was off limits, but I couldn’t understand why.

I go over to open the door and, once again, what I saw made my jaw drop. 2 drum kits, 4 keyboards, 3 electric guitars, I acoustic and 2 violins.

I float over to the Maestro (by Gibson) sitting on it’s stand. I can’t help myself but to pick it up ip and sit on the closes chair with it on my lap.

I close my eyes and let my fingers curl around the neck of the guitar. I start to play the first thing that comes to mind.

I start to play the first chords to ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’. I’ve never felt so at home. Like this is the place I have been searching for my entire life.

But nothing last forever…

“What are you doing?” Oh Fuck! Rylans question breaks me from my trance.

What am I supposed to say? I can’t lie, because I am obviously sitting on a char, holding his guitar in this forbidden room. So, I will plea, and hope he forgives me. “Rylan! I’m so sorry!”

I jump up and put the guitar back on its stand. I walk over and stand in front of him. “I think it’s time for you to go. Do you need a ride home?”

Home? I have to go home? He wants me to go back to that hell hole of a place?!? Since he wants me to leave, I’ll save him the ride, “No, Jordan said he’ll take me home.”

I push pass him and walk to Jordan’s room, staring at my feet the entire time. Jordan looked up from his calculus book and noticed the tears in my eyes. “Nolan, whats wrong?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, just take me home, please.”

He grabs his keys from his desk, gets my jacket from Rylan’s room and is in his car, where I am waiting, within 2 minutes.

***************************************************************************************

I reach my hand for the door knob, trying to brace myself for the worse.

I open the door and step into a dark house. A sudden blow to gut knocks me down to my knees.

“Where have you been you fucking queer.” His raspy voice and stankin’ breath proved my theory; he’s been drinking.

I attempt to crawl back to my room, but he kicks me in my stomach, causing me to flip and land on my back.

“Boy! You never answered me! Now, where the fuck have you been?!”

I breathe in giant gulps of air, then eventually replied. “At a friends house, I did and art project.”

He stares at me with the ugliest eyes I’ve ever seen. I swear, I wish my mom was still here. Before she dies, we was a perfect family; both parents, 2 kids, 1 pet, and I swear we even had a picket fence.

But bow I get beat almost daily, and my 4 year old sister, Allegra, gets treated like she doesn’t even exist.

“A friend? Boy, do you take me for a fool? I know damn well you ain’t got no friends.”

“I have an art partner, and we had to finish a project, and now im gonna go to bed.” I make my way to my feet and head to my bedroom. Surprisingly, he didn’t follow me.

I turn on my laptop, the last nice thing my dad ever gave me, and play the only mix that is even close to Rylan’s ipod. I take off my shirt, pull down my pants and sit on the side of my bed. I rummage through my nightstand and pull out a little black ring box. I open the box and look at my tiny reflection in the thin piece of metal.

I hold the piece of metal softly in my hand before gliding it over my body. I glide it 4 times over each of my thighs and six times over my stomach. I lay back in my bed and let the numb feeling of the pain take over me, while tiny drops of blood stain my sheets.

Its only a matter of time…