Red Hoodie //BoyFriends

Chapter 2

Michaels POV:

I fucking hate anxiety. I've had it for years.
I can usually disguise it, I mean it's not the best thing to do but Jeremy never notices so I must be doing something right. Right?
After it completely wiped all my remaining energy out of me and leaves me shaking and worthless in the cubicle, I pull myself together, splash some water on my face and go and face the corridors. Not realising i've spent so long in my panicked state that i've missed the first 20 minutes of class. Great. Now I have to walk into class late, with a forming black eye, and face all those stares. Just perfect.
Thankfully when I build up enough courage to stop lingering outside the door and to go in, the class is distracted by Chloe probably telling a story about the most recent person she's made out with. I sit down next to Jeremy feeling a sudden sense of protection.
He turns to me

"Hey you okay now?"

Will I ever be okay? Have I ever been okay?

"Yup i'm okay"

I move away from the conversation

"You still on for AOTD tonight?"
"You know it"

The class seems to take hours to finish. Why does the day go so fast when i'm not in class but take an age when i'm sitting here losing my god dam mind.
Lunch rolls around and is the one thing I was dreading today. Jeremy usually buys lunch from the cafeteria and I wait for him because I've bought mine already. But this time he is insistent to stay with me. I'm in no mood to eat anything so he ends up eating most of my lunch.

"You never leave any lunch michael. What's going on with you today?"

He's onto me. He knows something is wrong.
I sigh

"Not now. Not here"
"Tonight michael. I need to know what's going on with you"

The look on his face makes me give in. I shouldn't and I know I shouldn't but I'm sick of fighting. So I do what I do best. Nod.
Before he can say anything else, the bell goes. Signalling the end of lunch. Thank god. I grab my bag and stand up before Jeremy can say anything.
The day ends before I can figure out how I'm going to tell Jeremy everything that's been going on with me and as we split off to go to our lockers, Rich finds me for the second time.

"Oh look who it is. Thought I warned you to not run into me again?"

I'm sick of staying quiet.

"I didn't run into you. I'm at my locker Rich. You make it your mission to find me"

I regret it the second I say it. Rich stares at me with hatred in his eyes and I know what's coming. He slams me against the locker and holds me by the collar of my hoodie. I feel the stabbing pain in my side increase as he punches me for what feels like the hundredth time. I cry out in pain as he drops me to the ground and finishes it all off with a kick that narrowly misses my head. He crouches next to me and whispers.

"I'll make it worse for you Michael"

He almost seems to wait for a reply but knowing I won't give him one I just wait for him to go so I can let the tears out. He leaves after what feels like forever and I quickly wipe my eyes and stand up as steadily as I can. I feel myself shaking and try to pull myself together before Jeremy gets back but it's too late. I feel him pull my arm and I get no time to protest before I'm outside and on the route home. My mind doesn't seem to be functioning properly and I'm on autopilot as I take my walk home with Jeremy.
But my autopilot abandons me as me and Jeremy sit in my basement and he asks the question I hate to hear from anyone.

"What's going on Michael"
"I uh-"

I take a deep breath knowing he's about to learn everything about me.
And it all comes spilling out.
My building anxiety and depression, the pain from Rich, my scars, (that one hurt most to admit) and everything else left swirling around in my brain.
Jeremy doesn't seem to know how to react. I don't blame him. It's a lot to take it. The guilt I feel is overwhelming and is threatening to take over