Silence Says Shorts
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Months after the end of the story, but not many…
Toby sat on the grass outside the school gates, back against a tree and knees pulled up against his chest, and glared down at his phone as he did his best to let the game he was playing distract him from the taunts of the three other boys who had decided to ruin his day. Noah would be there soon. He was always late on Wednesdays because his college classes ran a bit later, but he would be there soon.
Toby had always been a popular victim, but things had gotten worse lately. His social problems were one thing, but being gay was somehow far more of a stigma. Though he and Noah were always careful not to do anything obvious when they were in public, one of the boys in Toby's year had seen them together and figured it out. Maybe Toby should have denied it, but when he was confronted all he'd been able to do was hunch his shoulders and avert his eyes and now everyone knew.
It didn't seem fair. There was another boy a year below Toby who wore a rainbow earring in one ear every day and frequently painted his nails barbie pink, and he didn't seem to get picked on. If anything, he was more popular for his differences. Toby had concluded it was all to do with confidence, something he was unlikely to ever have.
Noah would be there any minute and Toby was just starting to think he'd walk away from this with nothing worse than a bad mood, but then one of the boys grabbed his phone out of his hands. Toby jumped to his feet and clenched his fists at his side.
What people generally saw of Toby was the victim, the quiet and submissive side of him, the side Toby could control. Sometimes they saw the hurt side, when he would be pushed past his limits and left sobbing. That was probably why the boy who had taken Toby's phone was so surprised when Toby's fist collided with his face. Somewhere, distantly, Toby was surprised too.
Even as one of them punched him in the stomach and another, after he fell, kicked him in the ribs, Toby didn't feel scared. Just angry. He should have been afraid now that the wrath of the three larger boys had turned physical, but even the pain didn't feel quite real. All Toby could do was try to reach for his phone, which had been dropped at some point, like that even fucking mattered at all. His brain was just stuck on the goal, like the change of circumstances needn't change his priorities.
It took Toby several moments of protectively clutching his phone to his chest to notice that he was no longer being hurt, and then another couple to realise he could hear Noah's voice. He rolled onto his side so that he could see Noah and did his best to focus on processing words.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Noah shouted, and then his gaze cut to Toby and when he spoke next his voice was tight with forced calm. "Get away from him."
"Or what?" one of the boys asked.
Noah took in a deep breath and let it out again as he pressed his lips into a tight line. He pulled out his phone and pressed a button before holding it up and taking a picture of the boys. "Oh look. Evidence."
"Fuck. Get the phone!" one of the boys shouted.
"Ah ah," Noah said as he held up a hand. "It uploads automatically to the cloud. You can do whatever you want to me, to the phone, but the picture's not going anywhere. Now, do you want two counts of assault, or would you prefer to settle for one?"
The boys paused for a few seconds before one of them spoke up. "He hit me first!"
Noah raised his eyebrows. "Oh you poor, innocent victim. I'm sure the courts will see this as the act of self defense it so obviously is."
"Let's just go," one of the boys murmured, and then they did.
Noah approached Toby and knelt in front of him, though he was careful not to get too close without first having assessed Toby's current mental state.
"I really wanted to kick their asses," Noah said, careful to keep his voice quiet and steady. "I'd have lost, though. So badly."
Toby pushed himself up into a sitting position and dusted himself off, then focussed his attention on picking grass off of his clothes.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked. "I mean, obviously not, but do you think I should be taking you to the hospital or can we wait until your foster mum gets home from work before making those kinds of decisions?"
"Ngh," Toby said as he pressed a hand to his face.
Noah forced a smile. "Right, questions and decisions. Difficult right now. How about I take you back to your place and check you over for anything serious, and then if you seem okay we can wait for your foster mum?"
"Ngh," Toby said again, but this time he nodded.
Toby's body ached as he stood, but he was fairly sure it was just bruising. Noah opened the door to the back seat of his car to let Toby in. He knew Toby preferred the space and the slightly darker conditions of the back seat when he was upset. There was a blanket there for these occasions, and Toby immediately buried himself under it. Noah pulled on his hoodie and then turned up the air conditioning as he started the car so that Toby wouldn't get too hot under the blanket.
The drive back to Toby's house wasn't actually very long, only about ten minutes, but it was long enough for Toby to come back to himself a bit. When Noah offered a tentative hand to help him out of the car, Toby took it.
They headed straight for Toby's room, and though nobody was home Toby reflexively locked the door.
"You can touch. It's fine," he told Noah.
Noah's hands were gentle, slowly pulling Toby's tie off and then unbuttoning his uniform shirt while his eyes watched Toby's face for any sign of disapproval.
Toby's injuries weren't actually that dramatic. Mostly his skin was just pink in the areas he'd been hit, and if there was going to be bruising it would be fairly minor. It felt tender when Noah pressed down on his chest, checking for cracked ribs, but nothing worth more than a wince.
"Yeah, I have no idea what cracked ribs even feel like," Noah said as he dropped his hand back to his side. "I think you're fine."
"I'm fine," Toby agreed.
Noah leant forward and pressed his forehead against Toby's. "They won't hurt you again. No matter what we have to do, they won't, okay?"
Toby nodded, his head rubbing against Noah's. "Okay."
When Toby's foster parents got home his foster mum fussed over him, and his foster dad paced and grumbled. Toby took the next two days off school and Noah skipped a few classes so that he could take care of him. When Toby returned to school on Monday, he found out that the three boys had been expelled.
Toby sat on the grass outside the school gates, back against a tree and knees pulled up against his chest, and glared down at his phone as he did his best to let the game he was playing distract him from the taunts of the three other boys who had decided to ruin his day. Noah would be there soon. He was always late on Wednesdays because his college classes ran a bit later, but he would be there soon.
Toby had always been a popular victim, but things had gotten worse lately. His social problems were one thing, but being gay was somehow far more of a stigma. Though he and Noah were always careful not to do anything obvious when they were in public, one of the boys in Toby's year had seen them together and figured it out. Maybe Toby should have denied it, but when he was confronted all he'd been able to do was hunch his shoulders and avert his eyes and now everyone knew.
It didn't seem fair. There was another boy a year below Toby who wore a rainbow earring in one ear every day and frequently painted his nails barbie pink, and he didn't seem to get picked on. If anything, he was more popular for his differences. Toby had concluded it was all to do with confidence, something he was unlikely to ever have.
Noah would be there any minute and Toby was just starting to think he'd walk away from this with nothing worse than a bad mood, but then one of the boys grabbed his phone out of his hands. Toby jumped to his feet and clenched his fists at his side.
What people generally saw of Toby was the victim, the quiet and submissive side of him, the side Toby could control. Sometimes they saw the hurt side, when he would be pushed past his limits and left sobbing. That was probably why the boy who had taken Toby's phone was so surprised when Toby's fist collided with his face. Somewhere, distantly, Toby was surprised too.
Even as one of them punched him in the stomach and another, after he fell, kicked him in the ribs, Toby didn't feel scared. Just angry. He should have been afraid now that the wrath of the three larger boys had turned physical, but even the pain didn't feel quite real. All Toby could do was try to reach for his phone, which had been dropped at some point, like that even fucking mattered at all. His brain was just stuck on the goal, like the change of circumstances needn't change his priorities.
It took Toby several moments of protectively clutching his phone to his chest to notice that he was no longer being hurt, and then another couple to realise he could hear Noah's voice. He rolled onto his side so that he could see Noah and did his best to focus on processing words.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Noah shouted, and then his gaze cut to Toby and when he spoke next his voice was tight with forced calm. "Get away from him."
"Or what?" one of the boys asked.
Noah took in a deep breath and let it out again as he pressed his lips into a tight line. He pulled out his phone and pressed a button before holding it up and taking a picture of the boys. "Oh look. Evidence."
"Fuck. Get the phone!" one of the boys shouted.
"Ah ah," Noah said as he held up a hand. "It uploads automatically to the cloud. You can do whatever you want to me, to the phone, but the picture's not going anywhere. Now, do you want two counts of assault, or would you prefer to settle for one?"
The boys paused for a few seconds before one of them spoke up. "He hit me first!"
Noah raised his eyebrows. "Oh you poor, innocent victim. I'm sure the courts will see this as the act of self defense it so obviously is."
"Let's just go," one of the boys murmured, and then they did.
Noah approached Toby and knelt in front of him, though he was careful not to get too close without first having assessed Toby's current mental state.
"I really wanted to kick their asses," Noah said, careful to keep his voice quiet and steady. "I'd have lost, though. So badly."
Toby pushed himself up into a sitting position and dusted himself off, then focussed his attention on picking grass off of his clothes.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked. "I mean, obviously not, but do you think I should be taking you to the hospital or can we wait until your foster mum gets home from work before making those kinds of decisions?"
"Ngh," Toby said as he pressed a hand to his face.
Noah forced a smile. "Right, questions and decisions. Difficult right now. How about I take you back to your place and check you over for anything serious, and then if you seem okay we can wait for your foster mum?"
"Ngh," Toby said again, but this time he nodded.
Toby's body ached as he stood, but he was fairly sure it was just bruising. Noah opened the door to the back seat of his car to let Toby in. He knew Toby preferred the space and the slightly darker conditions of the back seat when he was upset. There was a blanket there for these occasions, and Toby immediately buried himself under it. Noah pulled on his hoodie and then turned up the air conditioning as he started the car so that Toby wouldn't get too hot under the blanket.
The drive back to Toby's house wasn't actually very long, only about ten minutes, but it was long enough for Toby to come back to himself a bit. When Noah offered a tentative hand to help him out of the car, Toby took it.
They headed straight for Toby's room, and though nobody was home Toby reflexively locked the door.
"You can touch. It's fine," he told Noah.
Noah's hands were gentle, slowly pulling Toby's tie off and then unbuttoning his uniform shirt while his eyes watched Toby's face for any sign of disapproval.
Toby's injuries weren't actually that dramatic. Mostly his skin was just pink in the areas he'd been hit, and if there was going to be bruising it would be fairly minor. It felt tender when Noah pressed down on his chest, checking for cracked ribs, but nothing worth more than a wince.
"Yeah, I have no idea what cracked ribs even feel like," Noah said as he dropped his hand back to his side. "I think you're fine."
"I'm fine," Toby agreed.
Noah leant forward and pressed his forehead against Toby's. "They won't hurt you again. No matter what we have to do, they won't, okay?"
Toby nodded, his head rubbing against Noah's. "Okay."
When Toby's foster parents got home his foster mum fussed over him, and his foster dad paced and grumbled. Toby took the next two days off school and Noah skipped a few classes so that he could take care of him. When Toby returned to school on Monday, he found out that the three boys had been expelled.