𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 ~ 𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫

Chapter Five

Chapter Five;
Awkward

It was awkward. It was so fucking awkward, and everyone could tell. It was obvious.  Especially when Mike greeted everybody, even Max, but skipped out on his usual hello to Scotty.

When Scotty pulled up to the schoolyard and locked his bike up, Mike wouldn't even spare him a glance. Seeming to be trying to forget he even existed.

God, did that hurt. It hurt to breathe for a moment when Mike did that, and Scotty was sure that he visibly winced by the look Lucas gave him. The brief moment of pain sent him back to last night.

He wasn't sure how long he was in the bathroom, but he did know that by the time he'd managed to drag himself out of the bathroom, his parents had already returned home.

However, everytime Mike did allow himself to look Scotty's way, a feeling of shame overwhelmed him and he felt sick.

When he walked into class, only to see Mike seated in a seat across the room from his normal one, he knew it was going to be a long day. One that he barely had the energy to think about dealing with. Especially when Carly White sat in his place. Which meant she'd spend the entire class period staring at Scotty, trying and failing to get his attention.

"Great." Scotty muttered, letting his backpack strap slide off of his shoulder and fall to the floor. He could sense Mike avoiding any and all sight of him.

"Good morning, Scotty!" Carly greeted, resting her chin on her palm. She sighed dreamily, her eyes trailing over his face. "You look tired.. Something wrong, handsome?"

Scotty grunted, slumping over and resting his forehead on his arms. "You could say that."

~~

"What the fuck is that thing?" Scotty ruffled his hair, squinting at the reptilian creature.

"His name is D'artagnan." Dustin said cheerfully, grinning as he held him up in front of his face. "Dart for short."

"Hmph." Scotty grumbled, rolling his eyes and shifting his weight.

"And he was in your.. trash?" Max said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Doing what, exactly?"

"Forging for food." Dustin answered, his eyes lighting up as he admired the creature squirming in his hands. "Wanna hold him?"

"I'd rather choke and die, thanks." Scotty muttered, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to rid himself of the exhaustion he felt.

Dustin blinked, his smile faltering for a moment. "Welp.. Suit yourself! He doesn't even bite, don't worry!"

"N- Oh, god!" Max gagged, passing him on to Lucas. "He's slimey!"

"He's like a living booger!" Lucas' face scrunched up in disgust as he handed off Dart to Scotty, who shot Lucas an unimpressed look and nodded towards Will.

Will grunted, a slew of noises of disgust leaving his mouth as he handed the creature to Mike.

Mike watched the creature in awe. And for a moment, Scotty let himself wish Mike would look at him like that. That moment ended as soon as it began due to the pain gripping his lungs.