Comic Boys

I leaned against the shaded stone of the wall of Saviour Comics, my earphones stuffed into my ears as my music blared to drown out the noises of early morning bustle as business men honked in annoyance at the shitty traffic, mothers scolded their screaming, rabid children, and the scraping of a construction site in the distance. I got to the comic store early, maybe because it was my first day of school, or maybe because I was just desperate to see London. He had been on my mind every minute of every day, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get his dimpled smile out of my brain. Not that I minded it- Jaimie just teased me mercilessly every time I spaced out, daydreaming about London.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Were you waiting long?" I heard a voice scream, but the sound's volume was distorted due to the loud volume of my music, and pulled my earphones out, tucking the tangled mess into the pocket of my light jacket. I turned, a small smile playing on my lips as London ran up to me, his hair mussed messily from the wind, his cheeks a bright cherry red as he used his fingers to push up his skewed glasses that had fallen across his little nose. He was basically a blur of colours- wearing orange skinny jeans, a dark Green Lantern T-shirt and lemon-yellow Converse high-tops.

"I just got here," I said, and he nodded in relief, taking a deep breath as he slapped his red cheeks to will them to calm down. His eyes sparkled as he tugged on the sleeve of my jacket, his head nudging towards the direction of school.

I laughed, ruffling his hair once as he huffed, shoving me slightly, but I knew he was just kidding- he had a half-smile toying with the corners of his pink lips and his eyes glimmered with and innocent amusement.

"So... what's school like?" I asked, and his face immediately darkened, and I knew I had stepped on a land mine, hitting a touchy subject with the ever-adorable London, who then looked at his shoes, which were shuffling along the footpath at a steady pace, managing not to step on any lines or cracks. I shut my mouth then, not wanting to question him any more, and opened it again to changed the subject, but London intervened.

"You'll like it. And everyone'll like you, so you don't have to worry about anything," London said, meeting my eyes with a sad look, a slightly heart-devoid smile on his face.

"I'm not the most agreeable person," I mused, and he shrugged.

"The kids at school don't care about how 'agreeable' you are. They'll welcome you with open arms, trust me," he said gently, as if to assure me, but I got the feeling that he was bringing himself down with every word he said. He couldn't be bullied, could he? It was London, the cutest, sweetest, kindest boy the world had ever laid eyes upon. Nobody could possibly hate him, not London, the person who somehow thawed the ice around my heart.

We started chatting about nonsense and other trivial things then, the mood around us becoming light-hearted again, but I still couldn't remove that inkling of anger and worry that had embedded itself in my chest, but passed it off as first-day-of-school jitters. I noticed that London, despite the bubbly smile on his face, continuously twisted and picked at the cuffs of his jumper, and every now and then he'd nibble on his bottom lip in worry.

We reached the school gates, and just before entering the school London tugged on my jacket, his eyes attached to the ground as he shuffled his feet.

"Um... I think you should go in by yourself," he said softly, and I creased my brow, opening my mouth to say something, but London shook his head, smiling gently. "Really, Easton. I don't want to ruin your first day."

"Not being with you would ruin my first day," I said, a humorous grin on my face as London's cheeks flushed red, his mouth opening and closing, before I laughed, ruffling his hair before slinging my arm around his thin shoulders, winking. "And plus, I'll get lost if you're not around me."

And with that, I nudged us through the gates as we picked a hasty pace to walk up the driveway. Almost immediately, everyone's eyes were drawn to the new kid, but for some reason, the attention was actually on London. People's eyes were falling out of their pea-brained heads, mouths agape letting flies lay their eggs on their tongues. People started whispering then, and London's head hung limply from his neck and I felt him lean into my, as if he were trying to hide himself.

"I'll protect you," I murmured, and he shook his head stubbornly, before suddenly yelping, his body flying forward as his legs flew into the air. I reached out, managing to snake my arms hazardously around his waist, but couldn't quite manage to stay upright, my body crashing onto the ground as London whimpered, his weight heavy on my chest. He was trembling slightly, eyes squeezed shut as he basically shredded his bottom lip with his teeth.

"What the hell?" I growled, enraged that someone had dared to try and trip my London. A guy then sauntered up to where I was helping London up, cradling the terrified boy to my chest as he tried to blubber something to me, something along the lines of "Don't worry, it's not worth it," which was something that I could never do and was definitely not true.

"Are you new around here? I've never seen you," the guy said, eyeing me up and down, before grinning. "You don't seem too bad. Why are you hanging around the freak?"

"I told you," London whispered behind me, clutching his back to his chest as he gave me a weak smile. "I'll see you at the shop. Bye."

I internally groaned, grabbing London for a second time, but this time, draped his light body over my shoulder as he gasped, along with the crowd of onlookers who looked like they had mass heart attacks.

"I'm fine handing around London, thanks," I said, my voice chirpy with fake pleasantry. "Oh. And for tripping my friend over? Fuck you, and don't you dare go near London again." The guy's face dropped as I swivelled, walking into the halls before putting London down gently. His eyes were watering, and it wasn't long before tears were spilling out from his bright orbs.

"Y-You..." he choked, hugging me around the waist, burying his face against my chest. "You're the b-best, Easton! I..."

"Shh," I said, smiling as I pulled him away from me to wipe away his tears as he sniffled, calming himself. "It just troubles me how anyone could be mean to you. Does this happen a lot?" London nodded sadly, pulling up the hem of his shirt, revealing a massive bruise on his hip, poking it with a slender finger before shoving his shirt back down again, covering the purple and black mark.

"That was from a few days ago. It's gone down a bit, but that's basically my life in a nutshell. People are going to, um, give you lots of shit about this, so if you don't want to hang around me..." he said, trying to suppress the hopeful pitch-change in his voice, which made me shake my head, wipe some grit from his cheek, and grab his hand as we walked into the front office.

"I'll get lost otherwise, remember? So I'm sticking with you, whether you like it or not." London then squeezed my hand, sending little jolts of electricity up my arm, in his adorable way of saying 'thank you'.