The Quiet Boy

Chapter 28

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Taehyung sat in the almost empty class staring down at his desk.

There was a small group of kids sitting on the other side of the class. Maybe 4 or 5 of them but Taehyung couldn't really tell. He was trying his best to not pay attention to them but he could see from the corner of his eyes that they were looking at him.

Relax. He said to himself. Just relax. It's okay. I'm okay. He closed his eyes and took small deep breaths.

"Hey, you." one of them called.

He jumped and quickly looked up. They had begun to walk towards him and all stood around him.

"You look familiar." a girl said as she squinted her eyes. "Have I met you before?"

"Now that you mention it." spoke one of the males. "He does look quite familiar."

"Where you from?" another asked.

"You been here before?" someone else questioned.

"What's your name?"

His eyes rapidly moved from person to person. He wasn't sure who he should reply to or if he should even answer. He began to feel overwhelmed. They were to close to his liking or even his comfort zone and to many questions were being asked to quickly.

Soon enough he couldn't handle it.

He stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry. Excuse me." and with that, he left the class as quickly as possible.

Rushing down the hallway to the restrooms he could see the students looking at him.

Please stop looking at me. He quickly said to himself as he directed his eyes to the floor. He hurriedly made it into the bathroom and into a stall.

Leaning against the stall door he began to catch his breath and relax. He then sighed in frustration as he crushed down, his elbows on his knees and hands on his head.

"I just want it to go away," he whispered to himself. "Why won't it go away?"

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Taehyung had stayed in the restroom until the minute bell had rung forcing him out of the restroom and to his class.

He stared down at the ground as he entered the class and made his way towards his empty seat. Just then the bell rang signaling that class has started.

"Good morning, everyone." The teacher spoke as he stood up from his desk and moved in front of the class. "As some of you probably notice or maybe none of you paid attention and if so I'd like to inform you that your fellow classmate has returned," he spoke. "It's great to have you back, Taehyung. Now, all of you please welcome him back nicely."

Staring down at his lap Taehyung knew that the students were glancing and looking at him. Their whispers didn't help hide it either.

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Finally, the class ended. It seemed way longer than he remembered but maybe it was because he was waiting for it to end.

He had rushed out of the class and to his next. Before he would take his time to get to his classes for he didn't want to be in there with the other students but now he wanted to rush there. He just didn't want the students looking at him for that long.

Eventually, lunch rolled around and he didn't want to be in the school building at all during this time. So he made his way out and to his usual empty spot.

He missed this small area. It was always so calm and peaceful and for some odd reason, the benches were very comfortable.

Setting his backpack down he sat on the bench and sighed. He brought his legs up to his chest and crossed his arms as he set them on his knees.

-

"Hey, Gguk." One of the others called. "Where's Taehyung? You said he was coming today right?"

"Yeah. He should be here." he looked around the cafeteria and then towards the door. "I'm gonna go look for him," he said as he stood up and made his way out of the cafeteria and into the almost empty halls.

Having a specific spot in mind he decides to exit the building and head towards the back of the school. As he got closer he could see a person sitting on the bench.

"Thought I'd find you here," he spoke once he had reached the bench.

"You scared me." The other lifted his head to look at Jeongguk.

A small chuckle resonated from the male as he sat next to Taehyung. "Sorry. Didn't mean to," he told him. "So, why are you out here?"

"I don't want to be in there. Everyone is just staring and looking at me. It's uncomfortable." Taehyung spoke honestly. "Why can't they treat me like they did before? Why can't they just ignore me and act like I don't exist?"

"It's cause you were gone for so long and now that you're back you look different than before but don't worry. It's not going to be like this forever," he told. "They'll stop in a few days or a week. Something else will interest them. Just give it some time." he patted Taehyung's back.

"Now come on the others are waiting." grabbing Taehyung's backpack he stood up.

Taehyung sighed and got off the bench as well. "Okay, then."

-

School soon came to an end and the students began to rush out of the building.

The day could've gone better in Taehyung's opinion. Instead of being upset about it he decided to look at the brighter side of it. No one did anything to him. They didn't push him, laugh at him, or talk harshly to him and no mean things were said to him.

Actually, this had to have been the smoothest school day he's ever had. So his day did go better than he thought. He was happy about that.

-

"So, are you gonna tell him?" Hoseok asked as him and Jeongguk left their class.

"Tell who what?" He furrowed his brows.

"Taehyung. You idiot."

"Tell him what?"

"How you feel about him," Hoseok stated simply.

With a shake of his head, he replied. "No, I'm not going to."

"What?" The other asked in surprise. "Why?"

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