His (BxB)

Part 13

They asked me to join prom committee. Could you please wait a bit? We're going to have a short introductory meeting later after school. - W

I reread the text that William sent me half an hour ago. He's probably heading to that meeting right now. The clock in my phone is currently showing 16:05. It's only been five minutes since the school bell rang. Now I have to be somewhere to wait for him. After putting all my books back in the locker, I carry my messenger bag and make my way to the parking lot behind the school building.

There are a lot of benches near the parking lot. But I don't plan to sit there though. Usually, those benches are crowded and fully occupied at this hour. Many students stay there before going home to do various activities with their group of friends. Chatting, eating snacks, playing guitar, having discussions, singing, copying friend's notes or homework, and many other things including making out.

Even though crowd is no longer appear to be a threat to me as it used to be, I still have this unsettling feeling like I don't belong there. I don't think they'll be acting fine if I decide to just join in sitting on their benches. I know it's probably just my lacking in self-confidence, but it's difficult to get rid of this feeling. I'd like to think that it might have been embossed too strong on my personality.

I walk to the right side of the building, heading to a less crowded area. I know there's one bench in that area that's almost never been sat on by most of the students. Why? Because it's located nearby the dumpster corner and is too secluded for their liking. I know this place because this used to be one of my hiding spots whenever I tried to avoid meeting with bullies. But of course, most the time, Ethan could always find me here and instructed his friends to throw me into the dumpster. Now that those painful days have passed, I realize something that never came across my mind before. Despite Ethan's unarguably deep hatred towards me, somehow, he still knows a little bit or two about me and my nature. That's probably why he could easily find my hiding spots back then.

I take a sit at the only bench in this secluded area. As expected, it is unoccupied and there's no one here other than myself. Alright, this is perfect. I can just sit here until William finished with his meeting. He said it won't take too long for it's only an introductory. I pull out my phone and earphones from my bag. I decide to watch some cooking videos in YouTube to kill time. But by the time I'm about to put my earphones on, I hear someone groans in pain. I hold my breath to be able to listen more carefully. That's when I hear more groans and whimpers. I look around but I am the only one there.

In a haste, I put my earphones back in my bag and put the phone inside my jeans back pocket. I get up from my seat and start to cover more areas to look for the source of that voice. Someone's probably hurting and in need of help.

It's not until I take a right turn that I find the sight of Ethan kicking someone in his stomach repeatedly near the big dumpster. In a complete silence, I walk a bit closer to see the poor boy who happens to be Ethan's new victim. And I'm really shocked when I find out who the victim is. He is Tim. His tall and skinny figure is now curling on the ground, trying his best to avoid those s******c kicking. He has blood dripping from his lips and a black eye, from the previous beatings I suppose. But no matter how concerning Tim's current condition is, Ethan doesn't seem to show any signs of mercy, nor even slowing down. He's probably in an absolute rage.

"Ethan, stop!" I dare myself to grab Ethan's right hand to pull him away from Tim.

Ethan can't hide his surprised expression upon seeing my face. He must find it really hard to believe. Of all people, I am the one who has been so daring to interrupt his matter. To be honest, I'm as surprised as he is. I don't know what came over me, but I just can't stand this sight. And it doesn't mean I'm not scared of him anymore, no. Ethan looks even more frightening than the usual right now.

"What do you think you're doing?" He pulls his hand to free it from my hold.

"Please stop this, Ethan." My lips are trembling when talking. But I beg anyway. "He's badly injured."

"You're wrong, Louis." Ethan smirks. "The way I see it, this f*cker here does still look perfectly fine coz he's still able to scream."

Ethan kicks Tim hard on his stomach once again before he places his right foot on his chest. That earns more unsettling groans from Tim.

"The perfect punishment for such a big-mouthed loser like him is to make him silent." Ethan adds.

Big-mouthed? Is this about the rumored poster? Does Ethan think it was Tim's doing?

"The next time you're about to open your mouth again, you’ve got to make sure you're not talking s**t about me." Ethan gives warning while pressing his foot harder on Tim's chest.

"Ethan, please. That's enough." I plead him but he doesn't even budge. "If this is about the poster, I don't think Tim was the one who made it. Let him go."

"Whoever made it, this loser and his running mouth must be the sources. He probably wants people to think of me as a fag like you." Ethan spits his bitterness on me.

"But the source could also be me." I try to reason with him.

"Tch..." He snorts. "You wouldn't have the gut to do it, Louis."

I can't deny it. He's right. I'm not sure if this is the right time, but somehow, I feel Ethan still knows me as well as he used to, just like those times when we're still childhood friends.

"But I think he gets the message already." It's not that I'm forgiving Tim for what he's done. I'm also feeling betrayed by him. But I don't have the heart to let Tim or anyone being Ethan's victim. I had experienced that and it was hell. "I'm sure he won't repeat the same mistake. Please let him go."

Suddenly I hear my phone rings. And by the time I am about to reach the phone in my jeans back pocket, Ethan starts his kicking again. Ignoring my previous attempt.

"No! Please stop it."

"Hey, don't fall asleep. I'm not finished yet." He pokes Tim's by his cheek with his foot. Tim is almost passed out.

"Ethan, please. You're killing him." I beg again. Ignoring my phone that keeps on ringing.

"You might want to take that call." He ignores my begging and chooses to give me an advice. "Your boyfriend is famous for not being one of the most patient types."

At a split second, I'm quite surprised by how easy he's guessing that the call is indeed from William. But I can't really think too much about it because I know I have to take the call right now. I move away a little backwards to distance myself from Ethan and pick up the call.

"Hello."

"Hey, Baby. Where are you?" His voice doesn't sound too bright. Was it that long before I finally picked up his call?

"Your meeting's over? Uh, I should probably get going now. Where are you?"

William is taking a short pause before continuing. "I asked, where are you?" He repeats the question.

I can sense the temperature dropping from the other end of the phone line. I know I've made a mistake. William hates it when his question is being replied with another question. "I'm sorry. Uh... I'm waiting for you near the parking lot."

"Where?"

Of course, he's going to need details. William cares a lot about me. He doesn't like to be kept in the dark. That's why he has to make sure that I hide nothing from him. I guess I have no choice right now. "It's near the dumpster corner."

Suddenly the painful whimpers are heard again. I don't realize that it is quite loud until William asks, "What's that?"

My eyes immediately look for Ethan. He is now grabbing at Tim's hair and pulling it as hard as he can. He plans to force Tim to stand up by doing that. "Ethan, stop!" I shout at him in reflex. And that leaves my boyfriend's question hanging unanswered.

William hangs up the call without bothering to close the conversation. Now he knows that I'm in the middle of a situation and he needs to know what it is. I'm sure he'll be here pretty soon. I hope he doesn't get a wrong idea after witnessing this whole scene. I quickly put my phone back in my pocket and try to grab Ethan's hand once again to pull him away from Tim.

"Don't interfere, Louis." He snaps. "Just go if you don't want to be the next!"

I let go of his hand and step a little backwards subconsciously. After many months of peaceful period, I just know that his threat can still bring some sense of horror to me. But no matter how scared I am, I can't just leave Tim alone. "Ethan, please."

Ethan releases Tim's hair and takes a few hasty steps towards me. He grabs the neck of my T-shirt with his two hands and pulls it up. "Don't you get it?" His question comes in a hiss. "This is all because of you. All of this wouldn't happen if you could just stop wearing that ridiculous necklace a long time ago."

"I know, I'm so sorry." To be honest, I don't know why do I have to be sorry for wearing my own stuff, even though that thing is from him. But I just want him to stop grabbing me. I'm too scared of being this close to his angry face. I can barely lift my chin to face him. "Uh... And I no longer wear it."

"Did you hit your head or something? We met at the library yesterday and I saw you wearing it!"

"No. Look." I carefully pull out the Cartier pendant under my T-shirt and show him.

He falls silent as he looks at it. He frees my T-shirt and continue staring at my necklace with an undefinable expression. He seems lost, or more like hurt. And it's weird because why would he? I put the pendant back under my T-shirt to make him stop staring. "It's been replaced already?" He asks. To me, the question sounds as weird as his facial expression. So, I choose to ignore it.

"You can now be at ease." I try to calm him. "If anyone asking about my necklace, I'll gladly tell them it's from William, not you. Obviously, no one's going to believe that stupid rumor." No matter how bad our relationship is now, I'm still willing to help him keeping his social image intact. I know he does not want to be associated with me or homosexuality in general, and I respect that. He's still one of my childhood friends anyway. It's the least I can do to respect our past friendship.

Ethan smirks and mocks me in a strong sarcastic tone. "You really are a w***e, aren't you Louis?"

What?

"You can easily accept anyone as long as they can give you what you want." He continues accusing.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" My question is clouded with confusion. Is he trying to bully me again like before? But he never called me a w***e. Why change now?

Before I can fully register his accusations, he moves closer and grabs both of my arms harshly. All of a sudden, he presses his lips on to mine without warning. It feels like the time has stopped ticking for a few seconds. I don't know what happen until he withdraws himself from me afterwards. Did he just kiss me? Dumbfounded, I can only stare at him while overcoming myself from the great shock.

"I thought you said you like me. How come you're so proud of being with someone else? What a questionable loyalty. Doesn't that make you a w***e?" He asks without bothering to drop his sarcastic tone.

Rather than measuring how thick the hatred he is parading right before my face, my mind seems to be stop working and keeps on rewinding the scene from a peculiar event beforehand. "What did you do, Ethan? Why?"

"I hate people like you the most." Ethan doesn't answer my question. "Now I'm asking you to stop messing with my business. Can you do that?"

I don't answer to that and neither do I make a move. My mind is stranded between having too many racing thoughts and nothing to be focused on. I dare not to make any assumption about what just happened, nor trying to wild guess the reason why. One thing I can be sure about is the fact that it's not a dream.

"What's happening here?" A familiar voice asks.

I turn around to find William standing about ten feet behind me. Looking at Ethan, me and then at Tim who's almost passed out on the ground. I hope he just got here and didn't get to see the latest event. I walk closer to him so that he can closely observe my condition. I know he's probably worried. Because ever since the s*x yesterday, I can feel that William is becoming even more protective than he already is.

"Are you okay, Baby?" He asks with genuine concern. He must have thought that Ethan was harming me. "Did he do anything to you?"

"He's fine for now." Ethan answers on behalf of me. "But I can't guarantee he'll still be as fine if he won't stop interfering my business."

"Oh, don't you f*cking dare trying." William immediately warns Ethan before shifting his attention back at me. "What happened, Baby?"

I know I probably shouldn't tell him that I'm actually in the middle of helping Tim, he might get angry for that. But I can't really find other excuses that would make more sense. "I- I saw Ethan was hurting Tim. And I tried to stop him."

William takes a quick glance at Tim who's nearly passed out not far from where Ethan is currently standing. As his attention moves back at me, he stretches out his hand and slowly lifts my chin up to get a better observation of my eyes. I thought he's seeking for signs of insincerity. But with the way his silvery blue eyes stare at me, I know that he actually feels dissatisfied with my previous action.

"You want to tell me why you did that?" He challenges me to answer. His tone is somewhat menacing.

"I'm so sorry. I was wrong." I apologize to him. I choose not to answer his question because I know he will not be pleased with my reason. I hope he understands that I have acknowledged my mistake. I shouldn't have had anything to do with Tim anymore because William does not allow it.

"You are?" He asks again to confirm.

I can only nod.

"Alright, let's go home then." William then proceeds to walk away from the scene.

"But..." I manage to stop myself from letting out an involuntary protest. I don't know what will happen with Tim after I leave him. But I don't want to trigger William by going against him. I'm already lucky enough to know that William didn't manage to witness Ethan kissing me. And I don't want to push my luck even further.

"Hurry up, Baby." William does not bother to look back at my direction. He is expecting me to follow him at once.

With a heavy heart and eyes cast down, I force myself to leave this place. I'm really sorry, Tim. I have tried my best to help you. I hope you won't blame me for leaving. And I hope Ethan won't continue harming you after this.

"Impressive obedience." Ethan makes a sudden comment when I'm about to leave. "Does he scare you more than I do?"

I choose not to respond to him. How easily people think that I'm scared of William is still beyond comprehension to me. What I feel for William is nothing like fear. I love him too much till the last thing I want to do to him is being ungrateful. I care a lot about his feeling.

"You do really have a thing for bullies, don't you, Louis?" Ethan adds and it's thick with mockery.

Feeling undisturbed by his remarks, I continue walking to catch up with my boyfriend. William gives me a smile of approval as I reach his side. He immediately holds my hand and leads us to the parking lot.

Ethan is wrong. William is not a bully.

***