Only Fools Rush In

As Alex strolled along the path to his apartment block, he could hear the sound of laughter and cursing, as well as strenuous grunts. Getting closer to the main door, his eyes no longer had to strain themselves to see the silhouettes of the two men he knew far too well.

The young man didn’t go any closer, taken a few minutes to watch their antics while holding back his own sounds of amusement. The tanned skinned, short haired male known as Vinny Vegas continued trying to pull the locked door open, much to no avail. Thrashing the handle back and forth, shouting, and even punching the sturdy door was all the man could do.

The other was the handsome dark haired, green-eyed Matt Flyzik. His tactic was to use the buzzer and annoy the people who lived in the apartment until one of them let the two young men in. Though, it didn’t look like it was going to work anytime soon.

Yes, Alex had a soft spot for the male but Matt was straighter than the Empire State building and the teacher had known him for so long that it would be a mistake if anything happened between them. They were best friends and that’s what he was happy with. And besides, Flyzik had a strange obsession with a certain Disney character that freaked many folk out.

With them both hard at work trying, and failing, to get into the building, Alex finally let himself be known to the two friends by letting out the built up laughter he had been attempting to conceal. Their heads were quick to turn to him and, once they noticed it was the boy they were here to see, they stepped away from the main door and tried to act nonchalant.

“How long have you been standing there?” Flyzik asked, an embarrassed smile etched onto his face.

“Long enough to see that you guys would be the best burglars.” Alex chuckled as he sauntered past them and unlocked the door himself. “It helps if you live here.”

They followed him inside and into the elevator, Vinny talking animatedly about some woman who sounded ‘really hot’ but no matter how much he aimed to persuade her, she still wouldn’t let them inside. After Alex asked the name of said female, breaking the news that she was the building’s middle-aged cat lady, who was rather scary looking, was hilarious.

Stepping out into the teacher’s penthouse, the light from the gray overcast flowed in through the windows scattered around the home. His two friends went straight to the luxurious couch, kicking their feet up onto the mahogany coffee table and flicking the large flat-screen television on.

Alex took his shoes off at the door, shaking his head at the others as he went to the kitchen to retrieve three bottles of cold beer. Joining them on the sofa and placing his feet in the same position as the others, he handed them each a bottle.

Their eyes were all on the TV as they opened their drinks at the exact same time, taking a swig of the alcohol before letting out a quiet sigh. At least 4 times a week, the boys would come over and spend time just hanging out, so it was clear they had the routine down to a tee.

“What have you got on your shirt?” Vinny asked after they had been speaking for a good couple of hours.

“I’m not falling for that trick! You do it enough when I’m drunk.”

“No, seriously. Is that blood?” Matt spoke, pointing out the areas where speckles of the crimson liquid had landed.

As Alex examined the marks, he realised where they must have come from.

“Ah, yeah. One of my students was getting the shit beat out of him so I went and helped him. Some of the blood must have dripped onto me while I was walking with him.”

The dark stains were already dried in so a trip to the dry-cleaners would be in order. It wasn’t Jack’s fault so he wouldn’t send the bill to him or anything like that, like he normally would.

“Aww! What a hero!” Vinny cooed, resulting in a punch to the arm from Alex before they laughed it off.

The guys ordered pizza and had a couple more beers, watching movies and catching up with one another. Though it had only been three days since they last saw each other, it felt like a very long time to them. They were still young, so partying and generally hanging out was still something they all depended on.

But by the time it was 11pm, Matt and Vinny had left and Alex was tucked up in his big bed. Though they were young, they still had work.

***

Stepping out into the morning sunshine and heading to his car, Alex was yet again anticipating another good day. Even though he despised school when he had went, he actually enjoyed working in one. Maybe it had something to do with the respect the students gave him or maybe it was because he got paid to go. Whatever the reason, it was easier to get up early when there was something to look forward to.

Driving down the quiet streets to his dearly loved Starbucks to salvage his much needed coffee, Alex decided to have the radio playing instead of a CD. But as it filled the silence, the teacher couldn’t help but feel the songs lacked depth and meaning. He knew himself that he could easily write something more heartfelt.

Alex pulled up next to the coffee shop a few minutes later and made his way inside. There were a few people who completed the queue; the usual customers he found to be here every morning just like him.

As the line shortened, the brunette noticed it was the usual barista on the till, a smirk making its way onto his face as we walked up to her. A light blush filled her cheeks as she tucked a stray lock of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“Hi, Alex.” she grinned, “just the usual?”

“Yeah, thanks Jenna.” he offered her a wink before she hurried off giggling.

While he waited for his hot beverage to be made up, he took a moment to check out the attractive waitress’ long, slender legs and pert behind. It was part of his daily schedule, something that started the day off well.

Though he found her to be stunning, with her luscious lips and sparkling blue eyes, he never felt the crazy butterflies fill his stomach when he was around her or thought of her. She was just good to look at and, when he was his charming self, he got a queue skip when it was busy.

“Here you go, Alex. Can I get you anything else?” the girl smiled brightly as she handed him the drink.

“No, that’s great. I’ll catch ya later, yeah?” he let his eyes scan over her body once more with a smirk, causing her to bite her lip and blush some more, before walking out of the shop and getting into his car.

The day progressed rather slowly, however Alex wasn’t one to complain. There wasn’t anything to look forward to at the end of the day; his friends most likely wouldn’t show up again like they had the day before.

The teacher’s next class marched in a couple minutes after the bell, and as they entered, part of him was aware that lunch was not too far away. However, the other part was rather anxious to see if a particular black haired boy had shown up.

His pupils talked enthusiastically to one another as he checked some paperwork on his desk and kept an eye on who he was looking for.

Alex’s heart sank for unknown reasons when the door shut after two girls came in, signalling the last students. There was no sign of Jack, which worried him somewhat. He knew the beating had been pretty intense and it made sense that he should stay home.

But even with that thought, Alex couldn’t shift the troubling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Once he had taken the register and the class had settled down somewhat, he spoke up.

“Alright guys. So, you have a little assessment coming up next week. It’s nothing major, so don’t get too stressed about it. The test is just so I can determine how much work we have to get through before your finals.”

There was a chorus of disgruntled moans and a few complaints, all of which Alex rolled his eyes at.

“It’s in two parts; practical with your chosen instrument, and a short theory section. You know the stuff, since I’ve been drilling it into your thick skulls for the past year. I expect high pass marks!”

The young man picked a kid to hand out sheets filled with example questions as he continued to speak. He could faintly hear the door to his classroom creak open but carried on anyway.

“I don’t have anything set out for today’s lesson…” his voice drifted off as he caught sight of who walked through the threshold, his stomach dropping as his face contorted with shock.

Jack Barakat concealed his face as best as he could behind his hair while walking into the room and going straight to his seat. The teacher stood in stunned silence as he took in the boy’s injuries.

A bust lip and a black eye were accompanied by more cuts and bruises scattered around his dejected face. Alex wondered what the rest of his body looked like, questioned whether the bruising on his torso was as dark. By the looks of it, the boy hadn’t obtained any medical help.

Although, with all the harm done to the teen, his beauty became more apparent to the teacher. It made him observe the boy in a new light, a dangerous one that he needed to stay away from.

Clearing his throat to gain the attention of his class, Mr. Gaskarth finished his instructions.

“Eh, yeah… You can either complete the worksheet or work with your instrument. Whatever you need to concentrate on more.”

The students shuffled around as they got on with what they were asked of, while the brunette’s eyes lingered on the new kid. After a few minutes of watching him, the boy looking completely lost, Alex made his way over to him.

Bending down next to beaten boy and keeping his voice low, he spoke. “Come with me.”

Walking off to the little conjoined room that was meant to be an office, Alex waited for Jack to limp inside before shutting the door. Though the area was cramped, there was a desk and shelf situated against the furthest away wall.

They were both silent for a while, the young man letting his eyes wander over the damage as the student kept his sight on the floor.

“You shouldn’t be here, Jack. You’re not fit.”

“I’m fine.” the kid answered shortly, still avoiding eye contact.

“What did your parents have to say about this? They can’t have agreed to you attending today…”

But it was the grunt and the eye roll that told the teacher otherwise. Alex got more worried, fearing the worst, that he didn’t have a loyal family to fill the gap of no friends.

“They don’t really care what happens to me as long as their name isn’t spoiled. I’m weak in their eyes, no matter what. They believe I must have done something and deserve the shit I get from those douchebags” the raven haired boy sighed and ran a hand through his locks. “That’s why I moved here. I thought they would stop but, as you can see, they really haven‘t.”

“I… Jack, do you know why they keep doing this? I mean, have you antagonized them somehow or…”

“No! I’ve never done anything to those bastards. They just fucking hate me for no goddamn reason!”

Alex immediately pressed his hand against the boy’s upper arm, rubbing it as soothingly as possible as he quietened the boy, fearing his other students may be listening in.

“It’s okay, calm down.” the teacher breathed. When he found Jack to be a little more relaxed, he thought of reasons as to why anyone could think of harming the pupil. “Is…eh, how long has this been going on for and how did it start?”

The teen looked uncomfortable, his arms wrapping around himself as his dark eyes darted around the floor avoiding Alex’s. The teacher could tell his student knew of some reason as to why they did such a thing. Though, he wasn’t too sure if he’d open up or not.

“Jack, whatever you tell me is just between us.” he reassured.

Swallowing hard, the kid nodded his head. “It’s, well, they always teased me for how I look b-but it got worse when…um, ugh, it’s nothing…”

“Tell me, okay?” he tried to give the boy the most persuasive and compassionate look he could muster, hoping it would work. He didn’t want Jack suffering in silence.

“When they… When the school found out that I’m g-gay.”

Alex’s heartbeat picked up as the words passed the student’s lips, a shiver running down his spine at the knowledge of this very attractive teen being gay. He wasn’t sure what was coming over him and tried his best to push away any thought of such a thing. No matter how much he kind of wanted it…

“Kids are fucked up in the head, they have been for years. But, Jack, you honestly don’t need to worry about that here. And if anyone does give you trouble, tell me and I’ll sort them out.”

The teenager still didn’t look too sure on that idea, and Alex knew it was because he was a teacher. And when teachers get involved in this kind of thing, it usually ends up worse for the kid.

“Whatever happens, I’ll be here. Even if it’s just to talk.”

The younger male gave a nod and quirked a smile, letting the teacher know he’d gotten through to him. Alex went into a drawer in the desk and pulled out a packet of painkillers, handing them and a bottle of water to the boy standing opposite him.

It wasn’t much, but he hoped it would help at least a little. Something to ease a fraction of the pain he knew Jack was in.