im here // phan

twenty two

trigger warning; word usage.

Once I was able to walk again, Chris and I began to head home. We lived in the same apartment building, which was pretty convenient. He raided my fridge a lot though, and he promised me he would pay me back for everything he ate, but he never did. I didn't mind though, because if he was hungry, he was. No stopping him then.

Our building was relatively close to the school, so sometimes we walked home. Today, of course, had to be one of the walking days. The day when the bullying is the worst. I've never been knock unconscious, I swear! The staff normally finds them and stops them, but not today. Stupid staff. Stupid school. I hate it.

"Wanna stop for food?" Chris asked, looking over at the McDonald's across the street.

"Sure. I'm always hungry." I answered, and we jogged across the street when there were no cars coming. These little streets were never busy, so it was very easy to get across. We walked through the doors, greeted by the smell of grease and ketchup. Pleasantly unpleasant, if you know what I mean. There was no one in line, and only one family sitting at a large table. It was two boys that seemed to be my age, and most likely their parents.

Chris and I stepped up to the lady at the register, and ordered the normal. No, not like we come here every day. Every other week. It's our thing! She came back a little later with our food set up on a tray, and pushed it towards us.

"Thanks." I mumbled, taking the tray and leading Chris to a table. I set the tray down, and sat down. Chris sat opposite from me.

"What are you going to do about that goth gang?" Chris inquired, giggling afterwards. Goth gang did sound kind of stupid, frankly.

"The stupid teachers won't do anything, and Ms. White says she'll do something and never does! I guess I should just go talk to the fucking principal straight away now." I went all out, shouting and banging my fists on the table. Nobody seemed to bat an eye.

"That's true, and I've tried talking to the chem teacher, because its happening right outside his damn door. He just nods and says he'll be fine. No, he won't! They knocked him unconscious today, bitch!" Chris chimed in, and I nodded my head.

"They really need to re-evaluate their staff. Seriously, come on." I sighed, finally unwrapping my burger. We sat in silence for a bit, eating our burgers and fries. I started to hear yelling coming from the other table.

"We just don't want you to end up in hell!" The maybe-dad yelled. The boys looked infuriated. The one had curly, brown hair, and the other had deep black, straight hair.

"WE WON'T!" The brown-haired boy screamed back, slamming his hands on the table. His wrists were wrapped over with plaster, and I put a quizzical look on my face. I looked back at Chris.

"What do you think that's about?" I whispered, leaning over the table.

"Haven't a clue, bud." He mumbled, finishing off his burger. I looked back at their table, and the brown-haired boy looked like death, really. They both did.

"Mum, dad, seriously! I don't understand what's wrong with me liking a boy!" The black-haired boy spoke up finally.

"Oh, Chris, they're gay for each other, and that's the black-haired ones parents." I explained, still looking at the boys.

"Oh, gee. Harsh parents." Chris sighed. He sneaked a look over at the family, but I continued to stare and pay attention intently.

"I wanna go over and help." I proposed.

"It's none of your business, though, PJ." Chris pleaded. I turned and looked back at him, and sighed. I gave him a look that said it all for me, and stood up from my seat. I stretched out a little, then approached their table. They all looked kind of shocked, well, a lot shocked.

"Hey, I know that none of you even know who I am, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I just had to chime in." I cheered, and they all kind of sat silent, so I kept going. "If these two lads want to be together, why stop them? Love is love, and you have got to learn to accept that. It's not a sin and they won't go to hell."

"Who are you to say anything?" The mom scoffed, and I sneered back at her.

"I am another human who just felt like sharing his opinion, and I am entitled to it. I'm just trying to support love here. Aren't you two in love? You know the magical feeling, right? Why should they be deprived of that just because they are two men?" I tried to place them into reality here.

"See? Thank you." The brown-haired boy said, then looked deep into the black-haired boy's eyes.

"Two men are not meant to fall in love!" The father yelled, and now lots of employees were looking ad pointing over here.

"You are drawing a bit of attention yelling, dad." The black-haired boy whispered. The father rolled his eyes, standing up.

"I'm getting out of here. Follow me if you want to, but I can't be bothered by the fags any more." He scoffed, and stomped out the door. He drew the attention from everyone in the store; the workers, his family, and even Chris.

"He's right, I'm out of here. If you're together, don't expect to ever see us again, Philip. You have lost all the respect I ever had for you. Stay out of my Christian household!" She yelled, following her husband out of the store. I watched them get in the car, and drive out of the parking lot.

"I have my car, Dan. Don't worry." The boy -who's name I now knew was Phil - assured. Dan nodded, then leaned into Phil.

"I'm sorry if I made things escalate. I have a tendency to make bad situations arise." I apologized, and the two looked flabbergasted.

"Don't be sorry at all. They were being assholes before you came into the picture." Dan mumbled, running a hand through his curls.

"I didn't even know they were homophobic." Phil added, shaking his head back and forth.

"Again, I'm very sorry that happened. Anyone in love doesn't deserve that kind of disrespect." I reassured. I was worried I was just repeating things I already said, but they didn't seem to notice.

"It's fine. So, what's your name?" Dan asked.

"My name's PJ. Wait..." I realized exactly who they were! These were the two guys I was going to be showing around - Dan and Phil!

"What?" Phil inquired.

"I'm going to be showing you around Northview Secondary School! Ms. White put you guys in all my classes." I explained. They looked at each other for a moment, and I saw the lightbulbs go off in their heads.

"Ahhh, nice to meet you. We'll be in school tomorrow. Phil almost died and my dad died from his cancer. But we promise to be in our best moods." Dan answered.

"Woah, well...I'll see you guys tomorrow. I should get back over to my friends..." I gestured at Chris, and then left their table. I sat back across from Chris.

"Make some new friends?" Chris asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Those are the two guys I'm showing around Northview." I explained.

"Good, they like you."

"Yeah, phew."