Happy Anniversary.

Rian drove me to the hospital to fix my stitches, despite my arguing that I would be fine without them. As mad as he was, in the end, he agreed not to tell my parents when they got home. Even he knew that telling them would do more harm than good.
However, even though he wouldn't tell them, he became so much more protective of me for the rest of the time my parents were away. He slept in my room with me and made me check in with him between classes so I couldn't go to the bathroom and hurt myself. He texted me every half hour during classes we weren't in together and he never left me alone for more than five minutes. Jack and Vic weren't much better. Vic seemed to be just as attached to me as Rian, and Jack texted me all day and freaked out if I took more than ten minutes to respond. On my side, I felt a little overwhelmed and like this was a little much, but I could see how it made sense. They were trying to respect my wishes of keeping me out of the hospital but at the same time keep me safe. Don't get me wrong, I knew they were trying to the best of their ability, but I could feel myself getting more and more agitated as the day went on.
How are you doing right now? Jack asked me for the third time today while I was at lunch. Rian and Vic had already coaxed me into eating an apple, but after that I claimed my stomach hurt and they left me alone.
I feel like you guys are smothering me.
I'm sorry :( we just want to keep you safe.
I know, I know. I'm just not used to this much attention and tbh it's kind of really annoying.
I'll talk to Rian, see if I can get him to back off. Rian and Jack had traded numbers while they were in the hospital with me, and as far as I know, they've spent a lot of time talking to each other about me. Yet another thing to go on the list of Things They've Done To Annoy Me.
Cool. The warning bell rang, signaling us to head back to class, and I didn't talk to Jack for the rest of the school day.
~~~~~
While I was driving home with Rian from school, my right leg was bouncing and my fingers shaking. I wasn't sure if it was out of fear or nerves to see my parents. Rian told me they would be home when I got home from school, but I still wasn't prepared to face them yet. Being home with them would be like a bloody steak in a den full of sharks. They would probably make Rian leave, too, so there would be no buffer between us. Just my parents, their unsolicited thoughts, and me.
The car began to slow to a stop. Rian put the car into park on the side of the road and looked at me. "What's on your mind?"
I stared at my hands clasped in my lap. "I...home...parents..." I stuttered, the words getting lost somewhere between my brain and my tongue.
He sighed. "If I didn't have to leave you home alone with them, you know I wouldn't. I'm sorry, Alex." He reached he arm over to me and gave me a side hug, not knowing what else to do. "You know, I'm always just a phone call away. So is Vic. Give either of us a call or text, and we'll be there as soon as we can."
I rested my head back against the seat, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths. "Just drive. I want to get this over with sooner rather than later." To this, the only response he gave me was to start the car again and finish taking me home.
"Thanks, Ri." I whispered as he pulled up to my house.
"Of course." He replied just as quietly, as if we spoke any louder my parents would hear.
Rian stayed in the driveway as I walked up to my house and searched through my bag for my key. However, my mom opened the door before I could get it. She smiled and waved at Rian, making it obvious she wouldn't go inside with me until he left. Hesitantly, he pulled out and drove away, keeping his eyes on me more than on the road.
My mother guided me inside. "Come on." She said in a monotone voice.
We ended up in the dining room, where my father was sitting rigidly across the table. "Alexander William." He nodded at me, and I shivered. Rarely, even when I was in deep trouble, did either of my parents use my middle name.
My mother joined my father where he was, and I sat at the opposite end of the table. "So, what's my punishment?" I asked.
They looked at one another; the tense silence sucking the air from the room. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I knew if I went to so much as check it I would probably get in deeper than I already was. I began to bite my lip so hard that I tasted blood. By the time my father opened his mouth, my stomach was churning and my heart was racing.
"Nothing."
What?
"Nothing?" I spluttered.
"Nothing. We're not giving you the attention you seem to need so badly. Maybe soon you'll get over this little 'phase' and realize how stupidly obnoxious you're being right now." My mother snapped coldly. "So no, no hospital, no change. You can go, now." She flitted her hands at me in a manner that told me to go away, so I grabbed my bag and ran up the stairs, not stopping until I was behind the comforting closed doors of my room.
I remembered my phone in my pocket as it once again vibrated, telling me I had a notification. Of course, it was from Jack.
Hey. Just so you know, nothing your parents tell you will make me think any less of you. I still care. Don't worry about your parents - they don't understand what you're going through. Call me when you can. x
For the rest of the night, I chatted with Rian first, then Jack until I was tired enough to sleep.
It was the first night in awhile I didn't feel the urge to hurt myself.
~~~~~
Jack's POV.
Today was the day.
The air at school was different. It was energetic, lively, excited instead of the usual normal monotony. Everyone was ready to have nearly a week off for Thanksgiving. The teachers hadn't even tried to teach us today, instead putting on random movies and telling us to be quiet and pay attention, but nothing they told us was enforced. They were all too engulfed in their own plans for vacation.
The energy that flowed through the student body was also in me, but mine was mixed with a nervous buzz. Sure, I had seen Alex before, but this is the first time we would both be conscious and able-bodied. What if the way I was in reality didn't meet his expectations? Sure, we've Skyped before, but he hasn't seen my lanky, awkward body. What if he was expecting some great big, muscled dude? I knew these fears were most likely irrational, but my mind couldn't focus on anything except the "what ifs" of what could happen tonight.
A small ball of tin foil hit the side of my neck. Looking in the direction the gum wrapper came from, I was met with Zack's worried glance. "You alright?" He whispered so no one else would hear.
I smiled back. "Yeah, just...nervous for tonight."
His expression changed from worried to excitement. Zack was nearly just as excited as I was about this. "You'll be fine. You've got everything you need?"
"Yeah."
"Do you need any help with setup?" I had planned a really nice night, and I was going to the hotel right after school - minus a detour home to grab my bags - to make sure everything was set up before Alex got there around dinnertime.
"I should be good, actually. Thanks though." I wanted to make everything just as perfect as it was in my mind, and Zack didn't know exactly how I wanted it to look. I hoped I would have enough time to get everything ready. My parents were letting me borrow their car for the weekend. I had told them I was going away with some friends from school, and being the awesome parents they are, they let me go with no questions asked. They woke up at 5am this morning and were gone with Joe and May by the time I woke up for school. They wouldn't return until the night before school started, giving me the entire vacation with Alex, who had told me his parents wouldn't be coming back until around that time as well.
Pain blossomed at the nape of my neck. My immediate reaction was to reach back and rub my neck. My hand caught the pencil that had been thrown at me, the tip broken off in my neck. My head jerked around to see who the culprit was, and who I saw didn't surprise me in the slightest.
Kellin Quinn was a dick. There was really no nice way of saying it. He bullied everyone that wasn't in his select group of friends, and just generally wasn't such a nice guy. I don't know what I did to him, but for some reason, I took the blunt of his torture. If I was around, everyone else was safe from his wrath. A lot of times, he just yelled at me and called me names and pulled pranks on me; however, there had been a few times where he would beat on me. We were fairly evenly matched when it came to body strength, though, so he only did that when he knew I wouldn't fight back.
"Pay attention to the movie, Barakat. You're distracting me." He whined, some of his friends snickering behind him. His phone was on his desk, text messages open to someone he named "Bae". I would bet a lot that he couldn't even tell me the plot of the movie we were "watching", but I wasn't in the mood to fight with him today. I simply turned around quietly and trained my eyes on the screen.
Kellin, apparently, was in the mood to fight with me. Seconds later, he was kicking my chair to get my attention. "Aren't you going to apologize?" He sneered. His friends laughed a little louder. All he wants is a rise out of you. Don't give it to him.
I slowly turned around, keeping my face straight and emotionless. "I wasn't planning on it." I deadpanned before turning back around.
I knew I wouldn't get off that easily.
"Asshat! Apologize!" He growled, not caring who heard, trying to attract the biggest crowd as possible.
"Sorry." I whispered harshly.
"Don't give me attitude! Who do you think you are?" Thankfully, before this could get out of hand, the bell rang. I hadn't even opened my bag during the class, so I simply grabbed it and hustled out of the room, running to my next class before Kellin could even get out of his seat.
~~~~~
Alex's POV.
Today was the day.
My fingers twirled furiously around my hair as I tried to pick out clothes for this week. My parents were gone by the time I got home, leaving me with $100 for food. Now that they were gone again, I felt like I could breathe again. They had been home since they came home after Halloween, and all we did was make one another even more stressed out and pissed off. It got to the point where the thought of going home was giving me anxiety attacks.
The door of my room slowly opened, revealing Rian behind it. He was hanging out with me and driving me to the hotel when it was time to. "How are you doing with packing?"
"Alright." I replied. I started grabbing random pairs of jeans and sweatpants, even getting some shorts to wear around the hotel. Top wise, I got mostly t-shirts and hoodies or jackets. I also got some nice button-down shirts, per Rian's request. After that, I threw in a pair of Converse, and pair of Vans, and some flip flops, which completed my packing list - I had packed nearly everything else the night before.
"You about ready to go? We've got like, a two hour drive ahead of us."
"Yeah, think so. Thanks for taking me, by the way." I was so grateful to have someone like Rian; someone who was willing to drive for hours to take me to meet some guy for the holiday.
"It's no problem, really. Cass is meeting me down there and we're leaving from there on our road trip." He grinned widely. The road trip was all he could talk about for the past week. They were traveling down to Florida and staying there for a few days, before turning around and coming home. "You're sure you don't need a ride home?"
"Nope. Jack said he could bring me home." Both of our smiles were so wide that to anyone else, it probably looked really weird. "Anyways, let's get going."
Most of the drive down was spent with us belting out songs on the radio. Rian was keeping me distracted so I didn't have any time to think. Over the past few weeks, him and Vic have done a really good job of doing that. Even though as soon as they left, the sadness came back, for awhile, it was nice to have their distractions. And for this week, I would be with Jack 24/7. Hopefully, he wouldn't get tired of me throughout our time together. I still had fear that he would realize I'm more trouble than I'm worth, despite the countless times he's proved me wrong in that way.
Rian pulled into the nearly empty parking lot of the place where I'd be staying. He turned off the car and looked at me. "Are you gonna help me in?" I asked.
"Nope. I just wanted to talk to you for a sec." He said slowly, like he was slightly uncomfortable.
"Okay...go ahead..."
He began to speak so fast that I had a difficult time keeping up. "Well, I know Jack really cares about you and you really care about Jack, but you've only known each other for, like, two months. I don't know what you guys are planning on doing while you're here but I know your parents wouldn't get this for you and yeah. I just need to know you're safe." He threw a small bag at me and turned to face the window while I opened it.
Inside the bag was a box of condoms and a small container of lube.
My face flamed red. "Uh, I don't know if I should thank you for this or what...I wasn't planning on that..."
"Oh...I guess it's good to be prepared, though..."
"Yeah..."
"Right. Well, you should probably get going. I have to meet Cass and you have a very important date. I'll see you in school, I guess?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Ri. For...everything."
"Shut up, Gaskarth. Get out of my car." Never had I ever seen Rian's face so red as in that moment. It was literally tomato red. Quickly, I grabbed my stuff and watched him pull away, anxiety once again filling me.
This was it.
Breathe.