BBC Ghosts: Teatime Club

Barriers

Fanny was feeling down.

Not only were her parents laying into her about her grades slipping but they'd now moved onto a different subject entirely - dating.

Fanny sighed as she was regaled with stories of how her parents met and how traditional their meeting had been, which quickly moved onto Fanny and the desperate need for them to have her meet someone while she was still so young.

They'd reprimanded her for not already having a boyfriend, reprimanded her for taking so long to simply 'choose' any old boyfriend, and continually called her weird for not wanting a boyfriend yet. She just wanted to focus on her grades and do the best she could at school without any distractions, but her parents had other ideas.

"You're the right age now, Fanny, you need to start thinking about these things!" her mother sighed, walking past her daughter as she got herself ready for school.

"Your mother is right. You need to use your looks to your advantage and bag yourself a boyfriend before you lose them altogether."

Charming. Fanny rolled her eyes as she brushed her hair.

"Don't you like ANYONE at your school? Is there nobody suitable for you to pair off with?"

I have a crush on George Button but I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me back. Cap... let's not even go there. You just don't understand how I feel. I don't trust anyone as it is. Just leave me alone. her thoughts collided as she pulled her hair into a bun.

After trying to ignore her parents' unhelpful advice for the past thirty minutes, Fanny made her way to school and in the courtyard, spotted Cap writing in his school planner. She found herself blushing at first but shook the emotions away, trying to remain aloof.

Cap wasn't the one. He didn't need this, and neither did she.

"Hey Fanny." Mary approached her from behind, causing her to jump.

"Don't do that!" she screeched, holding a hand on her chest.

"I'm sorry. Just noticed you here and wondered what you were doing, that's all."

"That's fine Mary. I'm sorry, I'm feeling a little moody today."

"Aren't you always?" Robin teased from behind. Fanny scowled but felt it melt away and she smiled.

"How are you two doing?"

"Fine thanks."

"You always seem to walk to school together now. Do you live by each other?" she observed.

The two went strangely silent. Fanny seemed to understand and found herself smiling at the irony of the situation. She dismissed herself, waved them goodbye, and walked to her tutor.

~~~~~

Humphrey was fed up.

His parents had been particularly grating this morning and he was feeling completely uninspired and down in the dumps. He'd told them he was thinking about a career in the arts and they practically crapped all over the idea, saying Humphrey wasn't talented enough for that, as well as the subject not being 'credible' enough.

Humphrey sighed and crossed the courtyard towards the back entrance of the school. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the sounds of a scuffle coming from nearby. Frowning deeply, the elegant teenager dipped his head around the back of the school building by the bins to see nobody was there.

Weird.

Getting lost in thought, Humphrey missed Pat scuttling past him, until he walked into the corridor and saw the shorter teen with his back to him.

"Hey, Pat!" he called out aimably, but his friend did not turn around. Instead he increased his speed towards the unused toilets he was obviously aiming for and Humphrey swiftly followed. "Pat, are you alright?"

He tried pushing his way into the toilets but found the door blocked from the other side.

"Pat?"

"I-I'm fine, go away please!" came his trembling voice through the door.

"I'll believe that when I see you!" Humphrey pushed against the door again. "Open the door!"

Pat audibly held back a small sob.

Humphrey's eyes widened. "Don't make me break the door down 'cause I'll do it! You know I will!"

After a few moments, Pat relented. "It's open..."

Humphrey pushed the door open to see Pat sitting on the sink with his hands cupping his eyes.

"Patrick?"

Humphrey slowly approached his friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I-I'm fine."

"You're not though, are you? What happened?" he replied softly.

Pat wiped away his tears and removed his hands from his face, allowing his friend to get a good look of the damage. Humphrey gasped. Pat's face was covered in bruises and welts.

"I can't let my parents see this..." he whimpered.

"Balls to that! Who the hell did this to you?" Humphrey scowled, "Was it those jokers who came into class yesterday?"

"I-It doesn't matter, really!"

"Pat!"

"Y-You can't say anything!" Pat begged, grabbing hold of Humphrey's arms. "Please!"

"You have to tell someone!" Humphrey screeched. "How long have they been hurting you for?"

"Go and get Kitty!" Pat cried, "She can cover them up!"

"But that doesn't fix the problem! You're still hurting!"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does!"

"I don't matter!"

For the second time that morning, Humphrey's eyes widened in shock. Pat was now crying again, hands covering his face as he sobbed.

Humphrey was furious. "Who told you that?"

Silence.

"Pat?"

Nothing.

"Answer me!"

Pat refused to say anything. He just trembled on the basin as he tried to stop his sobs.

Humphrey let out all his tension with a sigh and pulled Pat into a hug. It was clear his friend had been holding in this emotion for a very long time.

"Okay Pat, let it all out..."