The Special One

Oli knocked on a house door. A guy Oli's age opened it. He had blonde hair and he was tall.

"Ready?" Oli asked. The guy nodded, and waved to Lee.

"Tom, this is Matt Kean. We call him Vegan, since he was the first vegan. Vegan, this is Tom Sykes," Oli introduced. I smiled politely at Vegan, and gave a short wave. He did the same thing.

Off we went to another house, this time a brown-haired guy came out, with gauges.

"Oli! Vegan! Lee! Random kid!" He greeted happily. The guys greeted him back, and Oli introduced him as Matt Nicholls.

"Hey!" Matt grinned. I waved shyly.

"Where's the fish?" Matt asked loudly.

"We're going to get him now," Lee answered. Why the hell are we getting a fish?

"Jordan Fish, Tom. Not an actual fish," Oli cleared up. I nodded. After getting and meeting Jordan, we went to a venue.

"Gotta fag?" Matt asked. Oli pulled one out and handed it to him, along with a lighter. I frowned, hating the smoke. I never liked it, and Oli didn't mind putting his out for me.

"Smoke it over there," Oli ordered. Matt scoffed, lighting it up.

"Why?" He took a drag, then let it all out around us. I turned away, trying to get fresh air.

"Tom doesn't like it. Go over there, fuckin' cunt." Matt took a few steps away. I smiled thankfully at Oli, and he smiled back. Vegan elbowed Oli, and wiggled his eyebrows at him.

"No, I haven't fucked him," Oli sighed out.

"Suuuuure you didn't," Vegan said, sharing a doubtful look with Lee.

"I'm asexual," I stated quickly, because I wasn't 100% sure what I was.

"Yeah, and I eat meat," Vegan laughed.

"You'll be eating my meat if you don't shut up," Jordan joked. Vegan just laughed with him.

"Maybe you should choke him on it," Lee joined in.

"Not too rough. Then he'll be too sore for mine," I said, deciding to join in too. The others laughed, but Oli gave me a shocked look. I wasn't one to joke around with random people that I just met.

"They're starting soon!" Matt yelled. We've been sitting around for a couple of hours, waiting.

We all got up, and went to the crowd. I kept a tight grip on Oli's arm as he expertly maneuvered through the crowd. We got to a perfect spot, where people weren't pushing and we could both clearly see the stage. The others soon got there.

This was gonna be fucking amazing.

"This one is called Beaten In Lips!" The singer yelled. They already played the rest of their set with a break between.

I listened happily, then my breath caught in my throat as the chorus was sang. Oli held onto my arm, rubbing it.

This is for the kids with the beaten in lips

Whose parents tried to shut them up using their fists

Keep living loud and proud

They never can hold you down

This is for the kids with a soul like mine

When people tell you living is a waste of your time

Keep living loud and proud

They never can hold you down

I listened to the rest of the song, feeling... free. Free from the fear of my dad, free from the fear of getting hurt. I, Tom Sykes, shy and awkward, loved this feeling more than anything in the whole fucking world.

We all left once they were finished. I started to drag behind, getting lost in my thoughts.

"Hey, Tom, what's wrong?" Lee asked. They all stopped and looked at me.

"Nothing," I answered quietly.

"Come on," Oli said softly, taking my arm and pulling me away from the guys. I felt their eyes on us, but Oli sat me down with him on the ground.

"What's wrong, Tom?" He asked softly.

"It's just... That song, Oli. I always see signs in school and shit that say to get help. That song made me feel free and weird. It's hard to explain. I felt like I could actually do something against the asshole. I felt like I wasn't under his reign anymore," I explained quietly.

"You can get help, Tom. You know you can," He told me. I thought about it for a moment, then looked up at him.

"They'd probably move me to another city. Country, maybe. I don't want to leave you, or these friends I've made today, who I actually quite like. It's only two more years. Maybe I can survive," I sighed.

"If you need to be selfish, then you need to be. We don't want you to leave either, and I sure as hell don't, but if that's what it takes for you to stop getting beat, then that's what I think you should do," He whispered after a few moments of silence.

"I can't make a new life again. I've just started to adjust to life here, even in the shit school and shit neighbourhood. I have you, I have Leslie, and now I have all of your mates that seem to like me. I can't just up and leave. I can't."

"Then how about this. Anytime he's angry, you sneak out of your window and to my house," He offered. I gave him a doubtful look.

"If he needed me, it would be a lot worse when I came back. I'm sorry, Oli. I'll just deal with it for two more years. He doesn't beat me too often. Just when he's had a bad day at work or a fight with my mum..." I had no idea why I was finally being open about it. Even after Oli clearly saw it, I refused to tell him anything about it.

"A-And I don't know, Oli. I think I might deserve it, y'know? Sometimes I backtalk him, or be mean. I'm not too good of a son, anyhow. I don't make perfect grades. Maybe I deserve it. He says I do..." Embarrassment started to wash over me. I shouldn't be telling Oli all of this. I looked down at the ground, away from his peering eyes.

His hands cupped my cheeks, and he made me look up at him. He had emotions dancing around in his eyes, sadness and caring. Surely not for me.

"Thomas, you do not deserve any of it. He's an asshole. You're being abused, and nobody deserves that. You do not deserve to be hit or yelled at like you're nothing, because you are something. If you were nothing, you wouldn't be here in the first place," He cooed softly, his eyes never faltering from the intense hold they had on mine. I slowly nodded, only half believing him.

I had an unbelievably bad urge to kiss him. I started to lean into him, and he did a little too, then pulled away. Disappointment ran through me.

"I'm serious, Tom. Now come on," He stood up, and took my hand, helping me up. I wiped the dirt off me, then went back over to our friends with him.

"What was all of that about?" Matt asked, only to receive an elbow to the stomach from Jordan.

"Are we ready to go?" Lee asked. Oli nodded, and we started heading to Oli's.