Heartbreak Story - Byler

X - Just Say You'll Let Me in Your Heart

Note: This one is for @Gracie_slay03 for her kind comments on the book and she asked for an update so here it is! I wasn't planning to update today but surprise, it's here and I hope you enjoy.
Trigger warning: Mentions of self-harm included within this chapter and homophobic slurs.

Will's first week back achingly stretched on and on. Silence followed him wherever he wandered and entire rooms full of people would freeze when he entered, everyone craning their necks to get a glimpse of him as the hushed whispering hissed around. The occasional shout of a homophobic slur would sound through the halls but became less frequent as news of my outburst wound its sure way through the school. People had begun to question whether or not I was unhinged but it didn't matter to me, I remained by Will's side like a sturdy, unyielding pillar completely unfazed by their mindless gossip about me. My priority was always Will.

By Wednesday, Will's vow to keep his head high had faltered and he walked without purpose around the grounds with his eyes glued to the floor. He was joyless and somber but he was getting by and the party and I had been as solid a support system as we could be.

In the weeks prior to Will's return, I'd seen Alex a couple of times but always gritted my teeth and stormed passed him whilst he smirked at me. Had it not been for the promise I'd made to Will, Alex would no longer have been walking the corridors.

In the days since Will had come back to school, Alex had been nowhere to be seen and I thanked god everyday when school ended without Will having to have faced him again but miracles don't last forever. On Thursday, that little reprieve Will had been granted crashed and burned at the end of lunch.

I was leaning on my side against the lockers as Will fumbled with his combination to reach his books for his final lessons. I'd strategically positioned myself so my long body would be shielding his small one from onlookers thus granting a few minutes of peace away from prying eyes.

"You haven't eaten today." I stated. I'd been quietly observing this boy whom I cared so much for all week and his lack of appetite had been worrying me.

"Neither have you." Will hit right back, looking up at me with a raised eyebrow. I wracked my brains trying to think what I'd eaten to prove him wrong but for the life of me, I couldn't remember if I'd even eaten at all for the past few days. I'd been so consumed with Will's well-being that my own had taken a back-seat.

Warmth blazed in my heart as I gazed into his eyes, wondering if they'd been watching me the way I'd been watching him, and he stared right back into my own. We didn't speak for a few seconds but held our positions as my mind questioned the extent to which Will cared about me - if it could possibly be the way I cared for him, the way I loved him - and then I felt strong fingers weave their way into the collar of my shirt from behind and throw me out of the way.

Colliding with the floor, a sharp pain jolted up my knee as I looked up in shock to see what had happened. My eyes widened in alarm as I realised Alex had been the one to throw me to the ground purely because I was a barrier between him and Will.

The famous Alex smirk I had become all too familiar with seemed to have tripled in intensity as his grey, soulless eyes found Will's which automatically began to glisten with tears. "Queer, Fairy, Zombie Boy, Whore, whatever it is you're called now. I thought you would have had the decency to never return to this place now I've helped everyone see how truly vile you really are. Every single second I spent with you was torture, did you know that? When you laid your hands on me, I honestly considered telling you the truth just so I could have got out of there and washed your filth off. I thought I should clear the air so there was no confusion, you disgust me and not once did I ever actually want you, no one could ever want you. No one will ever love you because you're a disgrace."