Only Fools Rush In

Stepping off the bus and walking the 10 minute saunter back to his house, Jack let his mind wander over the details of the day while music filled his soul. It had been better than what he anticipated. He suffered no harm, hardly any ridicule, and had found his favourite subject. Oh, and the very attractive teacher had enhanced the day, too.

The boy hadn’t made any friends, which he expected, but it was still a vast improvement from his old high school. Jack would prefer to blend into the background than be terrorized by everyone; he just wanted to get through his educational years as quickly and painlessly as possible.

The raven haired boy lived in the suburbs of town, on a street that was lined with beautiful mansions with flawless gardens, a street where the snobbiest and wealthiest people lived. It was all about keeping up with the Jones’ here, and the Barakat’s were no exception.

Noticing his beloved car wasn’t parked in the drive, the boy moseyed inside his ostentatious home, the scent of a delicious home-cooked meal filling his senses. It was a welcoming smell that made his mouth water and his stomach growl, causing him to walk straight to the kitchen without thought.

His mother was sitting on a stool at the island in the centre of the room, the day’s newspaper laid out in front of her. When she took notice of her youngest son, all she did was look him up and down before turning back to the paper.

Jack was used to the brief, displeased glance she gave him at least once a day. It didn’t phase him as much as it used to but it still left him with a feeling of worthlessness. The teen learned that it was best to ignore these little things, especially since there are much worse issues he’s had to deal with.

“What’s for dinner, m-mom?” he asked, the nervousness he usually felt making itself known through his voice.

“Just some chicken dish.” Mrs. Barakat said shortly, her eyes never leaving the article that was so much more interesting than speaking to her own flesh and blood.

Jack gave a nod before turning on his heels, beginning to walk away, until he heard his mother speak. “The garage phoned. Your car’s ready to be picked up.”

“Great! Can you drive me over there, please?”

“For goodness sake, Jack. No! I’m busy. It‘ll only take you a few minutes. Don’t be so lazy!” the woman glared at her son, making him recoil.

Apologising, Jack backed out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs, heading to his bedroom to dump his bag then left the house in need of his car.

The day hadn’t warmed up even a little since the morning, so the boy nuzzled deeper into his thick, dark hoodie, trying to keep the heat in and the cold out. Though his mom had said the journey to the garage would only take a few minutes, it really wouldn’t. It was a thirty minute walk at least, and with the way Jack’s mood had dropped, the walk would most likely take longer.

This gave the senior time to clear his head with the satisfying sound of New Found Glory filling his thoughts instead of the woman claiming to be a ‘mother’. The black haired boy was accustomed to this sort of treatment as it had been going on for a good few years, only getting worse once his siblings left home. He puts up with it only because he knows they’d easily throw him out of the house with nothing to his name.

It surprised the teen that his parents agreed to him moving schools since there were only a few months left until he graduated. They saw the harsh injuries he would come home with, they received the letters from guidance counsellors, and they knew of the agony their son dealt with daily. They felt he needed to stand up for himself and not have others do it for him.

But Jack had no one. And he knew that if he had at least one person on his side, one person who cared about him more than anything, he would be able to defend himself. And that’s all the boy really wanted. Someone who would actually care when he got hurt.

His brother and sister could only do so much, and even when he asked for advice, he felt like he was burdening them. He just didn’t know what to do anymore because befriending people seemed like an impossibility. Pigs would fly before Jack Barakat got friends.

“Look who it is, guys. The lanky faggot!” called out an all too familiar voice, making Jack shudder as his face went pale. Another reason why he wanted his mom to drive him to the garage; so he wouldn’t run in to anyone from his old high school.

The group that were making their way over to the frightened boy were laughing like hyenas, pointing and making more snide remarks. The teen could see the place of his destination across the street and all he wished was that the cruel kids would leave him be. But this was Jack, and nothing ever went in his favour.

“We missed you today!” one teased as they circled around the fearful boy, beginning to shove him from person to person. He had found that giving into them was the easiest thing to do and sooner or later they’d get bored. “Are you so stupid that you actually thought moving school would stop this?” the same kid chuckled darkly.

When the biggest male of the group threw Jack to the ground, he was already anticipating what would happen next. It had happened enough times that the boy could probably say exactly where they would kick first and the areas they would pay more attention to while attacking.

As the first of many blows to his kidneys occurred, a low groan was all the raven haired boy would allow himself to reveal. He knew they took pleasure in hearing and seeing his suffering, so he tried to keep how he expressed his ache to a minimum. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it made them try harder.

With the pack of 5 guys kicking in union at his back, chest, and sides, all Jack could feel was the well-known, immense pain. He could feel the dark bruises forming already as he lay helplessly on the cold, dirty ground, the rough pieces of gravel digging into his face.

The teen never knew what the right thing to do in these situations was. He used to fight back but the beatings would only get worse, leaving him in a bloody, sore mess. Though, not doing anything wasn’t working either, especially right now. He was just tired of trying to stop something that was inevitable. He was just tired of everything.

The gang were all sniggering as the carried out their malicious act on the innocent boy, revelling in his outcries and feeble attempts at cowering away from them. When the leader straddled the raven haired boy, pinning him down, the sickening smirk he gave Jack told him to prepare for more injuries.

Squeezing his eyes shut and wincing, he waited for the approaching onslaught.

As the first punch collided with his delicate face, it was soon followed by a streak of similar strikes, all with the same force. The poor boy withered in pain, his lip and nose running with blood while he laid there receiving blow after blow. The chuckling coming from those who surrounded them was drifting off into the distance as consciousness tried to escape him.

“Hey! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” someone shouted, their voice nearing the scene. “Get the fuck off of him!”

The four males surrounding Jack quickly dispersed, going their separate ways to avoid whoever was coming over. But the kid on top of the brown eyed boy continued to hit him, ignoring whoever it was that was now the teen’s saviour.

“I said, get the fuck off him!” the familiar voice growled, and before Jack’s face could undergo another smack, the bully on top of him was hurled off. Not really sure what was going on, he laid still to avoid anymore harm.

“Hey, Jack, are you awake? Jack?”

The boy opened his weary eyes to the mention of his name, though with who it was staring back at him, he felt like he must have been either dead or dreaming. But if one of those options were true, surely the ache that was radiating throughout his body wouldn’t be there.

“Jack, I think we need to get you to the hospital or something…”

“No! N-no hospitals… Wh-what are, are you doing here, Mr. G-Gaskarth?” he asked, confused by everything.

“Alex. Call me Alex. We’re outside of school and you’re in pretty bad shape.” Jack nodded his head and tried to sit up, which seemed more difficult than it should have been. With his teacher as an aid, he managed to sit up. And though his head was spinning, he managed to notice the leader of the group was now gone. “What are you doing here?”

The black haired teen blinked and looked around. “Uh, I’m picking up my, eh, my car.” he swallowed and let his eyelids droop before they shot open when he realised something. “Shit! What time is it?! My mom and dad are gonna to kill me!”

The boy tried to stand up, using Alex’s shoulder to steady himself. Once they were both in an upright position, it showed how much taller he was compared to his teacher. It wasn’t a massive difference and it wasn’t one that made the kid feel awkward.

As he said thank you to his attractive teacher, he began to wander off towards the garage. That was until someone grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Whoa! Where do you think you’re going? You don’t think I’m actually gonna allow you drive in this condition, do you?”

“Uh…well, yeah. I need to get home and I need my car. I’ll be fine, honest.”

“Just you go ahead then.” Alex let go of the boy and watched expectantly as Jack limped down the quiet street, stumbling over his own feet. Just as he was about to completely collapse to the pavement, the young man was quick to rush over and secure his arms around his waist, keeping him stable. “Yeah, just what I thought.”

Jack let the older boy help him across the street, the throbbing all over his body a distant memory as all he could think about was the arm around his small waist. He’d only had one other person walk with him like that, and that was something he wanted to forget.

This was different though. This felt nice.

When they reached the garage, Alex left the boy near a wall to lean on while he went and spoke to the mechanics. All the brown eyed senior could do was stand awkwardly, trying to keep his balance and his eyes open.

He felt someone gently tugging on his arm in an attempt to get him moving. “Jack, we need to go.” the handsome man said soothingly, pulling the boy towards his beloved car. Helping him in, the wounded teen relaxed into the comfortable seat while he listened to Mr. Gaskarth get in the driver’s side.

Pulling out of the site, Alex asked, “so you don’t want to go to the hospital. Then where do you live?”

Explaining the directions was a lot more complex than it should have been, what with the condition Jack was in and the fact the teacher wasn’t great at following instructions. When they were parked outside the teenager’s large, opulent home, it was an even bigger struggle to get him to the front door.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Alex asked, real concern flooding his words to which surprised the young victim.

“I’ll be fine. It’s nothing more than what I’m used to.” though the look of worry on the young man’s face was probably not meant to be seen by the boy, it was. It was bizarre to him how a person who didn’t know him that well could show so much anxiety for him.

“Thank you Alex, for, eh, well, saving me. It means a lot.” the raven haired boy offered a smile, not really sure what else he should do.

“Anytime. And I’m sure you’d do the same for me.” he gave a wink which got the butterflies in Jack’s stomach fluttering about like crazy. With a nod of his head, Alex spoke. “Get some rest, okay? And don’t feel obligated to come to school tomorrow if you’re not fit.”

“Will do. But how are you getting home?”

Alex smirked as he walked backwards, “I actually don’t live that far from here. I’ll see you around, kid!” when the boy gave a wave goodbye and opened the door, his teacher spoke once more. “Oh, and Jack? If you ever need to talk, I’m here.”

As the gorgeous man walked away, the raven haired boy was left amazed at the last words spoken as he made his way inside the warm house. He could hear his parents chatting away in the kitchen, his stomach filling with dread at the thought of what they’d say when they saw him.

Passing a mirror in the hallway, Jack took a moment to look at the damage done to his face. It wasn’t the worst beating he’s gotten; ending up in hospital unconscious with broken ribs was at the top of that list.

He tried to wipe away some of the blood that was lingering but there was nothing he could do to hide the darkening bruises on his cheeks and around his left eye. Giving up on avoiding the impending event, he let out a defeated sigh and continued on his way to where his parents were. As soon as he walked into the room, their fierce eyes were immediately on him.

“Jack, what on earth did you do to get yourself in such a mess?!“ his father asked, a glower set on his expression.

The boy knew it was useless trying to explain what really happened, so he stayed silent with his sight on the floor. It was better to say nothing to his dad when it was clear he wasn’t in the mood for Jack’s words.

“The Callaghan’s are coming over for dinner, you can eat in your room. I don’t want them having to look at such a disgrace.” was his mother’s statement, no compassion at all for her son.

Instead of collecting a plateful of the appetizing cuisine, the black haired boy marched out and headed to the upstairs bathroom, taking a couple painkillers to ease his severe headache. He gave his face a light wash, cleansing the dried blood from his soft skin; an act he was in the habit of doing.

The rest of his evening was spent in his room, fast asleep in his comfortable double bed. His iPod was plugged into its docking station, quietly playing the songs he loved the most. Before he had dozed off to a happier place, there was enough time for him to accept that yes, Jack couldn’t have something good without something terrible following suit.