How To Love | Daniel Seavey AU

20 | fear

THE FIRST TIME I ever punched someone with the intention of hurting them was when I was ten years old in middle school when a boy had thought it was okay to reach out and touch my chest, in a way to say that I wasn't growing. I got in trouble, obviously, and grounded but at the end of my punishment, my parents told me that what I did was perfectly suitable to the situation.

Fast-forward eight years later, my back slouched slightly as I watch Nate attend to the wound I had just put upon him, the hallway completely silent as the boy in front of me moans in pain. My hand was tingling, I knew I would gain a bruise from that blow, but I didn't care.

"You bitch!"

I smirked, before curtsying, "Logan Mitchell, at your service—" but my statement was cut short when Daniel dragged me away, and that was when I realized that Nate had gotten up and was ready to run. We pushed through the crowd that had surrounded us before, Nate's heavy footsteps weren't too far from us. I felt a rush at this moment, something I've never felt in a long time and it kept my adrenaline going, my feet going faster each time.

It was a game of cat and mouse, and unfortunately, I was the mouse and Daniel would be collateral damage to the cat that was Nate. I didn't look back the entire run because of my vast knowledge and tips from horror movies is to never look back. Daniel, however, didn't get the memo and glanced back, causing him to stumble in step and almost fall face first towards the ground if I didn't grab the back of his jacket.

"Isn't there some place we can hide in?" I asked, trying to keep my breathing balanced as we still ran through the school. I'm surprised there hasn't been a teacher to stop us or at least see what was happening.

"Yeah, there's—" he quickly grabbed my arm, tugging me to the side and making sure that Nate was far enough to not be able to catch up, before he shoved me into a closet, closing the door behind him as we regained our breath. We heard the footsteps in the distance, and the small window in the door didn't give us much to see out there.

"Hold your breath," Daniel whispered, and I did as he said, noticing Nate's figure appearing around the corner and walking towards the closet. I glanced at Daniel to see that he had his eyes closed, possibly muttering a prayer or something, but I kept my eyes on the boy as he came closer and closer.

I could see the sinister smirk appear on his face as he reached for the handle, and I found myself closing my eyes as well, hoping for a miracle.

"Young man!" All three of us jumped at the booming voice, Nate paled and faced whoever was out there. "I am very sure that you are not a student here, therefore you are trespassing." Daniel and I immediately let out a breath of relief when Nate was escorted out of the school premises. We waited a few minutes until we knew the coast was clear, then exited the closet.

"That was a serious save," Daniel breathed out, placing his hand over his heart. I could only nod; my words caught in my throat as I tried processing what had just happened. "I can't believe you actually did that."

"Me neither," I mumbled.

"But he deserved it," he assured me, "but Logan—" he gripped my shoulders, earning my attention completely "—why didn't you tell me about your wrist?"

"It's nothing bad—" he only stared at me before reaching for my hand; I didn't retract when he held onto it, giving me a quick glance and pushing the sleeve up, revealing the bruise. "It doesn't hurt though."

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that he had the audacity to do this, Logan!" Daniel snapped, anger burning in his blue eyes. "You should've told me... when did it happen?"

"When he came here the first time," I told him. He took a deep breath, turning his back to me and I could sense how frustrated he was, even though he didn't need to. I got myself into this, and he's only putting himself in between an issue that he has nothing to do with. I understand that Daniel refers himself as my friend, but I deal with my own issues and he doesn't need to involved in this one.