scapegoat ━━ mike schmidt

𝟬𝟭𝟭 testosterone

SCAPEGOAT / Chapter Eleven

Malakai was panicking.

He had never been great at managing his emotions but this was a new type of loss of control. He was light-headed, breathing rapid; entire body overcome with alarm.

Picking up the vial, Malakai turned it over in his shaky hands. Yup, he'd read it right. It was testosterone. The hormone transgender men often used.

The thing was: Malakai didn't care that Mike was transgender.

That sounded bad but he didn't mean it in a malicious way. It was one of those things Malakai simply didn't give a shit about. This hadn't changed a thing for him—he still liked Mike a whole lot and he still was overjoyed they were finally considered friends. What was the point of discriminating against, or even changing your opinion on, someone based on something as normal—as natural—as that? Especially when Malakai had been bullied his entire life over his skin colour, his sexuality; all things he couldn't control.

But the problem was...this was why people didn't snoop. Because they found out things they were not supposed to.

Malakai was furious with himself. He'd had many transgender friends in the past but they'd already been out for months. Malakai had never once had someone come out to him before; it had always been well-known that his friends were gay or bisexual or transgender or genderqueer, or that they didn't have a gender at all.

This was different.

Mike hadn't told Malakai. Mike probably didn't want to. And that was valid, Mike didn't owe Malakai—he didn't owe anyone—anything.

But Malakai had been an intrusive piece of shit. He'd been an asshole, as always, and he'd poked around Mike's shit, uncovered a secret that wasn't his to find out. Malakai wanted to go back in time and punch himself. The guilt he felt was immense, and then he felt even guiltier for feeling guilty because this was about Mike. Not him.

"Mal, I'm done!"

Malakai jumped at Abby's voice. Her footsteps thundered down the hallway, heading toward the living room.

Quickly, Malakai placed the testosterone vial back on the bedside table, then placed the 'Dream Theory' book leaning on it again. Hopefully, Mike was too tired to realise it had been moved. Heart thumping in his chest, Malakai rushed toward the door—

SMASH!

Malakai paused. He blinked a couple of times. Please, please, don't be what he thought it was. He turned and there, on the floor, broken was...Mike's testosterone. Pure confirmation the universe hated Malakai, that was.

He didn't know what to do at first. Then, he heard Abby's footsteps running down the hallway again and he rushed out of the bedroom, closed the door quickly but quietly, and pretended like nothing happened. He'd figure out what to do later. Probably.

Abby skidded to a halt in front of Malakai, raising one eyebrow in suspicion, "Were you in Mike's room?"

"No, I was looking for the bathroom. Which is..." Malakai waited for her to answer.

"That one," Abby pointed to the door beside her bedroom. She grabbed Malakai's hand and began to tug him down the hall, "But you need to see my surprise!"

"Alright, alright," Malakai laughed softly at the girl's eagerness and let himself be pulled into her bedroom.

Ceiling to floor, the walls were covered in her drawings. Every single one included Abby herself and with Mike. More often than not, he was pictured with a frown on his face, but there were a few rare sketches of him smiling. Malakai's heart grew heavy as he spotted a drawing of what seemed to be Mike's birthday where the man just seemed...depressed.