Bringing You Back
One
Xerx
“Go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-od morning, Andréa,” I sang happily when he sat down next to me in English.
He brushed his black hair to the side and shrugged his shoulder. “Good morning, Xerx,” he said quietly and opened his notebook. Inside, it was decorated with tattoo designs and sketches of wildlife. “How was your day?”
“I had toast for dessert,” I told him with a huge smile on my face. “After that I ate pancakes for dinner. What did you have?”
“I dunno,” he answered. “Waffles I think.”
“So, did you do anything interesting this week?”
“The teacher is coming,” he said.
I sighed and faced the front of the room. Andrea was always like this. He never talked to me much. Sometimes I wish he would. I really liked Andrea. He was an amazing person. I just wanted to get to know him even more.
~X~
“What are you doing today,” I asked Andrea in Geometry, trying once again to get him to open up.
“Nothing,” he answered. I was going to ask him to elaborate but he kept talking. “I was going to go but the new Bring Me The Horizon CD, but I think it’s going to rain and I don’t have a car.”
I’m sure I looked like a star struck boy with big puppy eyes. I adored BMTH. It was so cool that he loved them too! “Andrea, that is amazing! I love them too! Did you know that they were coming here?”
He shook his head. “Really? When?”
“Tonight,” I told him. “Do you want to go? If you’re parents say it’s okay. I’ll pay for you.”
“Seriously? Great…Wow…thank you.”
There was an adorable blush on his face. He seemed to really want to go to the concert with me. I wanted him to go too. I really hoped that his mother and father let him go. That would be the perfect bonding experience.
“I can pick you up,” I offered. “Give me your address and I’ll be there at six.”
He scrawled his address down on a little piece of paper and handed it to me. “I’ll see you then.”
Yes…This will be an epic day.
~X~
Andrea’s house was pretty big. I felt like I was picking him up for prom as I parked across the street. I was about to get out when I saw something dangling out of one of the windows. I thought it was a sheet but then it dropped to the floor and started running.
It was Andrea.
I got out of the car and called out to him. He didn’t stop. He kept running. This didn’t seem like he was going out for a jog. Not now. Who would do that when they’ve got some place to be? It finally came to me.
He was running away.
Why would he be leaving? Could his parents be abusive? I never saw any bruises or scars on his body. Maybe they mentally abused him. But how is it that he could talk so much? I would have thought he wouldn’t be stable. So what is it?
I sighed and said a mental ‘fuck you’ before tearing down the street after him. He was a fast runner. I was surprised that he wasn’t on the track team. If I didn’t run on a regular basis, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
Ah, man. This was just the day for this to take place. The concert started in two hours and here I was, chasing after this kid. However, I had no other choice. I wasn’t going to let him become some homeless person on street. He’ll be starving and dirty and no one will care for him.
“Hey, Andrea,” I yelled. “Wait for me!”
He didn’t stop. He took a sharp turn that had me stumbling when I followed. He didn’t even slow down. Maybe I was way over my head. I just felt like this was something I had to do. Something stupid? Maybe. But I had to bring him home.
He took another turn. One that had me cursing.
“Andrea, damn it! Wait!”
This wasn’t the best part of town to be in. It consisted of thugs, gangs, thieves, and murderers. Sooner or later, one might show up and rob him. I’d rather keep him from getting hurt. After all, I was the one trying to get him home.
“ANDREAS!”
He stopped and so did I. I stopped running about ten feet from him. He still didn’t turn so I called his name again. He heard and slowly turned.
It happened then. A man dressed in dirty clothes jumped from around the corner and tackled him. He fell to the ground with the man on top of him. The man saw his wallet, took ahold of it, and ran.
If it wouldn’t have been for the fact that his wallet was on a chain hooked to his pants, I would have never made it in time. The man was yanked back, catching him by surprise. That gave me the perfect opportunity to punch him. And that was exactly what I did.
He fell to the ground, clutching his cheek. I kicked him once in the side to add an extra effect. He groaned and tried to struggle to his feet.
“Leave,” I snapped. He did so without me asking him again.
It started to rain then. I turned to Andreas, who was still on the ground. He was wide eyes and his black hair was sticking to his face from being so wet. I held my hand out but he refused to take it. Okay, fine. He can stay on the floor.
“What were you thinking,” I asked. He opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “Do you know how much of an idiot you are? I mean, running away from home? You’re going to give your parents a heart attack!”
“They don’t care about me anyways,” he growled, looking away.
I grabbed his t-shirt and jerked him to his feet. “What the fuck does that mean? Of course they do! I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you running. You’re such a…kid! You don’t listen to me. You don’t talk to me! You’re all alone!”
He slapped me. It was a hard sting to my cheek that had me cursing in pain. Andreas pressed his back against the pole.
“I’m already alone! I can’t do anything! They’re never home yet I am stuck there! All the time! I haven’t had a good day in years! I tried today! To get to know you! Why? Because I like you, Xerx! I tried to convince them to go! But they wouldn’t let me! Do you know where they are? LA! They’re thousands of miles away and I can’t do anything! So stop yelling at me for wanting to run! I have my reasons!”
He fell silent. It wasn’t because he had run out of steam. He as obviously still very angry. However, he must have found it hard to cry and scream at the same time. I suddenly felt bad for what I did to him. I shouldn’t have scolded him. I didn’t know what was going on.
“Andreas…I’m sorry,” I apologized. “You’re right. I did not know…I shouldn’t have…wait…you like me?”
A blush crept across his face. “Now who’s the idiot? You can’t even hear right, Xerx.”
“So…you do like me?”
I couldn’t really remember if I had heard right or if I was imagining it. I was leaning towards it not being real. But then…he wouldn’t have said I couldn’t hear, would he?
“Yes, I said that already, idiot,” he said, sticking his tongue out at me.
I don’t know what made me do it. Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was that he looked edible. Maybe it was because he was mocking me. Something made me kiss him.
Andreas just stood there at first, unable to respond. I thought that maybe he was joking and didn’t really like me. But then he wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me closer. I smiled against his lips and pulled back. He had this innocent look in his eyes.
I took his hand and pulled him along as I started walking back to the car. It was raining hard now and the sooner we leave, the faster we could get out of the rain.
“Where are we going,” Andrea asked, following obediently behind.
“We’ve got a concert to go to, don’t we?” I was half worried. What if he decided that he didn’t want to go with me? Oh…Please, don’t do this to me!
He didn’t say anything as we walked back, which made me worried. When we reached the car, I unlocked it and opened the door. He didn’t get in. Instead, he turned to me with the most serious expression on his face.
“What is it,” I asked.
“You need to shave,” Andrea told me with a smile and climbed into the car.
I rubbed my chin. It was a bit fuzzy but not much. I shook my head and got into the car.
“Get rid of it, cave man,” he ordered. “Or you won’t be getting another kiss next time.”
Next time.
“Go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-od morning, Andréa,” I sang happily when he sat down next to me in English.
He brushed his black hair to the side and shrugged his shoulder. “Good morning, Xerx,” he said quietly and opened his notebook. Inside, it was decorated with tattoo designs and sketches of wildlife. “How was your day?”
“I had toast for dessert,” I told him with a huge smile on my face. “After that I ate pancakes for dinner. What did you have?”
“I dunno,” he answered. “Waffles I think.”
“So, did you do anything interesting this week?”
“The teacher is coming,” he said.
I sighed and faced the front of the room. Andrea was always like this. He never talked to me much. Sometimes I wish he would. I really liked Andrea. He was an amazing person. I just wanted to get to know him even more.
~X~
“What are you doing today,” I asked Andrea in Geometry, trying once again to get him to open up.
“Nothing,” he answered. I was going to ask him to elaborate but he kept talking. “I was going to go but the new Bring Me The Horizon CD, but I think it’s going to rain and I don’t have a car.”
I’m sure I looked like a star struck boy with big puppy eyes. I adored BMTH. It was so cool that he loved them too! “Andrea, that is amazing! I love them too! Did you know that they were coming here?”
He shook his head. “Really? When?”
“Tonight,” I told him. “Do you want to go? If you’re parents say it’s okay. I’ll pay for you.”
“Seriously? Great…Wow…thank you.”
There was an adorable blush on his face. He seemed to really want to go to the concert with me. I wanted him to go too. I really hoped that his mother and father let him go. That would be the perfect bonding experience.
“I can pick you up,” I offered. “Give me your address and I’ll be there at six.”
He scrawled his address down on a little piece of paper and handed it to me. “I’ll see you then.”
Yes…This will be an epic day.
~X~
Andrea’s house was pretty big. I felt like I was picking him up for prom as I parked across the street. I was about to get out when I saw something dangling out of one of the windows. I thought it was a sheet but then it dropped to the floor and started running.
It was Andrea.
I got out of the car and called out to him. He didn’t stop. He kept running. This didn’t seem like he was going out for a jog. Not now. Who would do that when they’ve got some place to be? It finally came to me.
He was running away.
Why would he be leaving? Could his parents be abusive? I never saw any bruises or scars on his body. Maybe they mentally abused him. But how is it that he could talk so much? I would have thought he wouldn’t be stable. So what is it?
I sighed and said a mental ‘fuck you’ before tearing down the street after him. He was a fast runner. I was surprised that he wasn’t on the track team. If I didn’t run on a regular basis, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
Ah, man. This was just the day for this to take place. The concert started in two hours and here I was, chasing after this kid. However, I had no other choice. I wasn’t going to let him become some homeless person on street. He’ll be starving and dirty and no one will care for him.
“Hey, Andrea,” I yelled. “Wait for me!”
He didn’t stop. He took a sharp turn that had me stumbling when I followed. He didn’t even slow down. Maybe I was way over my head. I just felt like this was something I had to do. Something stupid? Maybe. But I had to bring him home.
He took another turn. One that had me cursing.
“Andrea, damn it! Wait!”
This wasn’t the best part of town to be in. It consisted of thugs, gangs, thieves, and murderers. Sooner or later, one might show up and rob him. I’d rather keep him from getting hurt. After all, I was the one trying to get him home.
“ANDREAS!”
He stopped and so did I. I stopped running about ten feet from him. He still didn’t turn so I called his name again. He heard and slowly turned.
It happened then. A man dressed in dirty clothes jumped from around the corner and tackled him. He fell to the ground with the man on top of him. The man saw his wallet, took ahold of it, and ran.
If it wouldn’t have been for the fact that his wallet was on a chain hooked to his pants, I would have never made it in time. The man was yanked back, catching him by surprise. That gave me the perfect opportunity to punch him. And that was exactly what I did.
He fell to the ground, clutching his cheek. I kicked him once in the side to add an extra effect. He groaned and tried to struggle to his feet.
“Leave,” I snapped. He did so without me asking him again.
It started to rain then. I turned to Andreas, who was still on the ground. He was wide eyes and his black hair was sticking to his face from being so wet. I held my hand out but he refused to take it. Okay, fine. He can stay on the floor.
“What were you thinking,” I asked. He opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “Do you know how much of an idiot you are? I mean, running away from home? You’re going to give your parents a heart attack!”
“They don’t care about me anyways,” he growled, looking away.
I grabbed his t-shirt and jerked him to his feet. “What the fuck does that mean? Of course they do! I nearly had a heart attack when I saw you running. You’re such a…kid! You don’t listen to me. You don’t talk to me! You’re all alone!”
He slapped me. It was a hard sting to my cheek that had me cursing in pain. Andreas pressed his back against the pole.
“I’m already alone! I can’t do anything! They’re never home yet I am stuck there! All the time! I haven’t had a good day in years! I tried today! To get to know you! Why? Because I like you, Xerx! I tried to convince them to go! But they wouldn’t let me! Do you know where they are? LA! They’re thousands of miles away and I can’t do anything! So stop yelling at me for wanting to run! I have my reasons!”
He fell silent. It wasn’t because he had run out of steam. He as obviously still very angry. However, he must have found it hard to cry and scream at the same time. I suddenly felt bad for what I did to him. I shouldn’t have scolded him. I didn’t know what was going on.
“Andreas…I’m sorry,” I apologized. “You’re right. I did not know…I shouldn’t have…wait…you like me?”
A blush crept across his face. “Now who’s the idiot? You can’t even hear right, Xerx.”
“So…you do like me?”
I couldn’t really remember if I had heard right or if I was imagining it. I was leaning towards it not being real. But then…he wouldn’t have said I couldn’t hear, would he?
“Yes, I said that already, idiot,” he said, sticking his tongue out at me.
I don’t know what made me do it. Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was that he looked edible. Maybe it was because he was mocking me. Something made me kiss him.
Andreas just stood there at first, unable to respond. I thought that maybe he was joking and didn’t really like me. But then he wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me closer. I smiled against his lips and pulled back. He had this innocent look in his eyes.
I took his hand and pulled him along as I started walking back to the car. It was raining hard now and the sooner we leave, the faster we could get out of the rain.
“Where are we going,” Andrea asked, following obediently behind.
“We’ve got a concert to go to, don’t we?” I was half worried. What if he decided that he didn’t want to go with me? Oh…Please, don’t do this to me!
He didn’t say anything as we walked back, which made me worried. When we reached the car, I unlocked it and opened the door. He didn’t get in. Instead, he turned to me with the most serious expression on his face.
“What is it,” I asked.
“You need to shave,” Andrea told me with a smile and climbed into the car.
I rubbed my chin. It was a bit fuzzy but not much. I shook my head and got into the car.
“Get rid of it, cave man,” he ordered. “Or you won’t be getting another kiss next time.”
Next time.