Be My Escape

“Dude, wake the fuck up!” Alex yelled, shaking me awake.

“What the hell man! It’s like 7 in the morning!”

“Well yeah. I think you’re forgetting we have that thing called ya know. . School?”

I groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“Get up!” Alex called, leaving the room. I got up from the bed in the guest bedroom, to see that Alex had gone to my house and picked up all my stuff for me. I smiled, so grateful for the friends I had. I pulled on my skinny jeans, and my Of Mice & Men t-shirt, purposely avoiding the mirror next to his bed.

I yawned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I had gotten 5 hours of sleep the night before, which was more than usual so I was also grateful for that. I walked out of the room and saw that Jack was over. He gave me a sympathetic look, informing me that Alex had told him everything that had happened. I looked away, uncomfortable with not knowing how to respond.

“Hey, how come you got all my stuff from my house? When?”

“Yesterday while you were out. I got it from your house because I didn’t want to make you go back there.” Alex said with a cheeky smile. I honestly felt like crying. I can’t believe that Alex would go out of his way to do things for me. I couldn’t help but be appreciative. “Are you hungry?” Alex asked, wiping his mouth of the milk he got on his lip.

“I’m fine. I’m not that hungry.” I replied.

Alex nodded and turned back to Jack. Jack smiled and leaned in to kiss Alex, still smiling. He made Alex so happy. They were cute together, and I knew that Alex was sure about Jack being the one. I went to the bathroom, spotting myself in the mirror, upon stepping in. I had bags under my eyes, but it was better than how my eyes usual were- swollen and red from crying myself to sleep. I plugged in Alex’s hair straightener, noting that it was my first day back and I should probably look decent.

I took one last look in the mirror and sighed. I really didn’t want to go back.

“You ready?” Alex asked, on Jack’s lap.

“As I’ll ever be.” I sighed.

“It’ll be alright, Kell-bell. I would offer to stay home with you, but you and I both have some catching up to do and can’t afford to miss any school. Plus, you can’t hide from everybody forever. You gotta face them sometime. I’ll be right by your side.” Alex smiled at me reassuringly. “And I’m sure that Vic guy will be too.” He added with a wink. I rolled my eyes, but who I couldn’t deny the butterflies filling my gut. “Well, let’s go to hell. I mean school.”

As soon as I stepped out of the car, these two girls started whispering. Alex’s grip around my arm tightened. “Ignore them.” He spoke, lowly. I shrugged in response.

I stopped by my locker, and looked up to see Vic right across the hall from me. We caught eyes, but instead of acknowledging me, he put his head down. My stomach dropped, and I felt like I was going to be sick, but I had nothing in me. Alex lead me to my first class, which I had with Vic’s brother, Mike. I knew I shouldn’t have been here today. This is all a mistake.

******

The hour and a half took longer than expected. I guess it really shouldn’t matter anyways, I wasn’t paying attention anyways. I walked out of the classroom, which Alex was waiting outside of. He smiled at me, which I only half-heartedly smiled back to. Vic was once again in sight, and when he saw me this time, instead of looking down, he turned around and walked in the different direction. I felt tears pricking at my eyes, but was determined not to let them fall. Through all the talking with everybody, I had had an emotional day, but wasn’t going to let it get to me. Alex noticed too, and frowned.

“What the hell is his problem? Did you two fight or something?”

“No… That’s the thing. I don’t know what I did. Alex, why is he avoiding me?” I cried. Alex brought me into the nearest bathroom, knowing if anyone saw me crying it would only make things worse. He wiped the tears from my cheeks and pulled me into an embrace, soothingly rubbing my back. “I honestly don’t know. I wish I could tell you. He’s probably just being a dick, ya know? And you don’t need those people in your life, kay?” Alex answered me in an attempt to comfort me, but I just nodded, not feeling better. We walked out of the bathroom, after my face had been cleaned of tears. Alex walked me to my next class in silence. I knew he felt bad because he didn’t know what to do, but honestly neither did I. He was confused about the situation just as much as I was.

During all my classes, I couldn’t even think. My mind was whirling, and I was trying my best to keep from crying at school again. My doctor had called all my teachers and had let them know what was going on. I could tell by the way they looked at me- like I was broken, and fragile. I mostly avoided their looks, because the only thing it did was make me feel worse. By the end of the day, I had had enough. The bell rang, and I walked quickly out the door. While doing so, I bumped into someone, knocking all their books out of their hands. I dropped to my knees and helped pick them up. “I’m so sorry,” I muttered, looking up and seeing familiar brown eyes. I gasped, horrified.

Vic POV

The bell rang, and I walked fast trying to get to my car quickly, so I didn’t have to run into Kellin again. I walked past a classroom with my head down and bumped into someone. Before I knew it, my books were scattered all over the floor. I looked down and saw familiar raven-black hair. SHIT. I ran into the person I had been avoiding the most. He muttered something, that I hadn’t been able to catch. He stood up, handing me all my books and saw that it was me. He gasped, and I did the only logical thing I could do; run. I ran until I got to my car. I was breathing heavily, and got in. I couldn’t even think straight. I needed to go somewhere, bad.