𝕋𝕠𝕠 𝕄𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕂𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕐𝕠𝕦 ~ 𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕝𝕠𝕣

BRIANS POV

I sit down at the back of the class with my books. People are staring at me. Probably because i got to class late. I take my notes, study them a bit, then roger walks in at the end of class. I notice the huge oversized bandage on the side of his face. The bell rings and he shrugs and walks over to gather his books. I walk over to him, and put my hand over his huge bandaid. "R-roger! Thats a r-really big bandage." he puts his hand on mine. I only realize that we look pretty gay when this kid yells out at us "HA! GAAAYYYY!!!!!!" roger grabs my hand and throws it back at me. "You can c-copy my notes if- if you ne-need them." i say to him. I really need to stop stuttering. We head outside and start walking around. (apparently we're allowed to do that) We are'nt saying anything... just walking beside each other. I feel roger's hand brush on mine, and every time it does, it makes me smile. We finally decide to crouch down against one of the walls towards the back of the school where nobody seems to be hanging out. "So brian... whats your place like?" he asks. I was zoned out before he said this. "What? Oh... just me and my g- grandma... a- and my cat..." i say. Roger looks a little confused for some reason. "Well... what about your parents?" he looks at me, still confused. "well... uhh..." i take a deep breath. "my mo-mother... was... she- she was sh-shot..." rogers mood instantly changes from confused to completely shocked. "and my father... w-was arrested... and s-s-sen- sentenced fif- fifteen years... and i n- never knew wh-why." roger looks at me, totally shocked. "th- that's a lie right?" he asks. I turn to him and shake my head. "I imagined your family much much nicer than mine... my family hates me... im really really sorry brian..." I turn my head to face him. my mind is re-living the day my mother died again. BRIAN STOP!! YOURE GONNA CRY!! that voice inside my head tells me. but I can't help it. my face is already red and puffy. I shouldn't be this sensitive. QUIT IT BRIAN!! I can't stop. roger notices me crying and wraps his arms around me. I felt some kind of reassurance I haven't felt in a long time. I didn't know how to react to this, so I hugged him back. "im sorry brian... I really am... must be hard for you" roger softly says. I don't say anything... I just hugged him tighter. I don't know why, but roger hugging me gives me almost the same kind of reassurance I got from my parents when they were around. "s- ss- so... r- roger... wh-what about yo-your family?" I ask him quietly, as we let go of each other. roger tilts his head back on the wall. "my family... my home... is a fucking hellhole... my dad is abusive, my brother is abusive, my sister never sleeps at home, and my mother... she's he's... just not completely there... shes... I don't know what word to use." i think for a bit. "b- blank? lifeless... brainwashed?" I suggest some words for roger to use. "i guess blank... yeah... blank..." I don't know why... but my head suddenly decided to rest itself on roger's shoulder. I start panicking internally because i don't know why i just put myself in this situation... I like roger... but i don't know if he likes me back! I don't know what to do so I just play along. i look for rogers hand with mine, and to my surprise, he plays along too! I didn't think he would, but he is! that's strange... our hands touch, and roger shudders a bit, but then holds it. our fingers intertwine. i could feel blood rushing to my face, as i start blushing really hard. my smile is pretty big too. "hey rog... wh- what if instead of m- me... meeting you here a-at the school tomorrow... y- you just come over a-after school t-to hang out." I say to roger, still smiling. "sure! yeah that works... if it gets me away from my hellhole of a home." he says, smiling at me. "yeah... my parents never acknowledge my existence anyway so they won't even know im gone..." roger says as I wrap my arms around his torso. we look pretty gay right now and im confused as to why none of the homophobes have said anything yet. roger puts his arm around my shoulder and puts his hand in my hair and starts playing with it. twirling it, squishing it... im loving every second of this. I hate to admit it... but i am. I have the urge to kiss him right now too. I dont even know if i want this urge to go away or not. i open my eyes and see that same kid again. the one who threw the peas and put the note on my back. "FUKKEN GAAAYYYYY!!!!!!! AAHHHAAA!!!!!" i roll my eyes in disgust. "FUKKING HOMOPHOBIC ASSHOLE!!!" roger yells back at him as he gives him the middle finger. "AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK WE'RE GAY ANYWAY IDIOT??" roger yells at him as he walks up to us. roger stands up, probably protecting me. i feel so loved by him i cant even explain it with words. "well... you're cuddling." he says to roger. "well, we're not gay. and even if we were why would that be a problem?" roger says, trying to stand him up, but failing because of the 7 inches of height he doesn't have. (As the words "We're not gay" hurt to hear coming from Roger) "because thats sick-" before the kid can finish, i see roger swing his fist at him, rippling into the kid's skin, just like he did to roger. only this kid is a lot tougher. he stands up and takes another swing at roger, and hits him square in the head. he knocked roger out. I stand up and stare at them both in shock. blood is starting to drip from the other kid's face. the kid then approaches me. im frozen in fear of what this kid could do to me. he tries to make himself look more intimidating by making himself taller, but its not working. I would say hes maybe 5'11". I would say roger is about 5'7"... and i know im 6'4". he gets up in my face, and spits in it. "dont be a fukkin faggot." he says as he struts off. i wait until hes far enough and immediately get down to help roger. i give him a little nudge. "roger!! wake up!" i say as i nudge him more. he opens his eyes and smiles at me. "relax bri. I faked it so he wouldn't come at me again. he didn't actually hit me hard enough. i knew he wouldn't dare touch you. you're a fukken giant compared to him... and me" i smile in relief because i actually thought roger was seriously injured. "I knew he wouldn't do anything to you. you're too tall. i smile and put my hand up in my hair, pulling it back from my face. "did some damage to him too!" he says to me. "rog d-dont fake that please! you scuh- you scared me!" i say. "aww im sorry... roger gives me a hug. its quite reassuring and comforting.

*TIME JUMP*

i hear the bell ring again and immediately run to the front of the school again to find (or wait for) roger. just the thought of roger kind of makes me smile. whenever im around him or I think of him, I get a sense of comfort and safety. I look around and I spot roger under the same tree waiting for me. i run over to meet him again. "hey rog!" i yell to him. he gives a little wave. "so... yuh- you gonna ride ho- home with me?" i ask him. i reach my hand out to help
him up. when he takes it, my heart skips a beat and i blush again. i want to hide it but i cant. i pull him up and we stare at each other for a second. God is he ever hot... STOP THINKING THAT BRIAN!!! I smile at him. "so... where's your bicycle?" he asks me, looking around for it. "oh. I- I'll show you. it's got ruh- room for two puh- people." I take his hand and lead him over to my bike. I like having his hand in mine. i show him my bike. its one of those vintage style bikes from the 80s... the ones with a seat big enough for 2 people. I unlock it, and get on. I patted the spot behind me on the bicycle seat, showing roger where to sit. he gets on behind me, and wraps his arms around me. I feel my heart start racing. I almost want to scream. I start pedaling my bike down the street. im not used to having this much weight on my bike so I almost lose my balance. we tilted left to right, until I finally gained enough momentum. we pull up to my apartment and I lock my bike back up. "c'mon rog" I say as I walk over to the doors to the building, roger closely following behind me. we get into the elevator and today, the smoke smell is stronger than ever. the elevator doors open and right away im coughing from the smell. I double over as I step away from the elevator to use my inhaler again. im struggling to breathe as I search my bag for my inhaler. roger starts panicking. im gasping for air at this point. my hands are shaking. im on my knees, a few steps away from the elevator. when i finally get my inhaler, i puff it twice and take deep breaths. roger looks really panicked now. hes on his knees beside me. "bri! bri oh my gosh are you alright?" i put my inhaler back in my bag and nod. "asthma..." I say back to him. "my god bri i thought you were gonna die." he says. "oh... rog i'm not guh- im not gonna d-die" I say as I stand up and stretch my shirt up over my face to make sure i dont breathe in any more of that smoke. we stepped into the elevator as i hold my breath. "you know you really should have masks in there or something... just so that doesn't happen." roger suggests. I nod since i can't talk right now. the elevator gets to my floor and we both step out. I feel the little piece of gum stick to the bottom of my shoe again. I put my arm across my face to help with the air a bit better. as we near my apartment, the smoke smell grows stronger again. i try to hold my breath again, but filling my lungs with the smoky air did not help with anything. it just broke out into another coughing fit, and me going back to get my inhaler. I get up to my apartment, roger following close behind, and go inside. roger stands there for a second. "wow..." he says quietly.

**A/N this one... i'm sorry i accidentally published it 3 times... this one is done i promise you. no more copies of this chapter. i didn't realize it lmao i published it the second time at 2 am. i i deleted the other 2 already. anyway this one is pretty long and now we can start to make it kinda depressing... imma gradually make it more and more depressing as we go :)