Cover by: janawael678 - thank you so much!

I can barely breathe. The world around us is moving but we both stay sitting, gazes locked on each other.

He knows.

This isn't how this is meant to go. I'm meant to come out gradually and how I want to, with Jake by my side. Not like this. Not from him.

The warning bell blares overhead but neither of us move. I can see the wheels turning inside his mind, trying to figure it all out. I feel trapped inside my own, paralysed body. The drumming of my heart beat has drowned out all other sounds.

Guy slowly stands, running his tongue across his teeth, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Thomas begins to talk to me but his words don't sink in. I pull away from the group. I'm walking inside but it feels like I'm watching myself do it. People brush by me, talking, laughing, acting as if the entire world hasn't just erupted around them.

My breathing is getting shorter and shorter. Black dots are swimming across my vision. I feel my shoulder hit one, maybe two people. I push through the door and stagger into the bathroom stall, my bag slipping from my shoulder. Sweat is dripping down my forehead. My knees knock together.

Placing my hands firmly against the cubicle wall, I force myself to stay upright.

I can't breathe.

I'm yanking my jacket off. I tug at my collar. I reef off my shirt. Nothing is working. I can't see. I can't think. I fall to my knees, before I hurl my lunch into the toilet bowl.

This is my far the worst panic attack I've ever experienced.

"It's okay, I'll be okay, it's okay," I whisper over and over, my eyes screwed shut. I cradle my head in my hands, begging myself to calm down.

I say those words on repeat, trying to convince myself that this isn't the end of the world.

My heart rate is jumping. I'm going to be sick again.

With trembling fingers, I ring Jake.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be in sport?" Jake answers.

"J," I croak out.

"What's going on?" he replies immediately.

"Guy saw my phone when you rang," I gasp, my throat feeling like it's tightening. "I changed your contact name and photo... this is all my fault. I'm so sorry."

"What are you talking about?" he asks in panic.

"Guy knows!" I cry, hot tears spilling down my cheeks. "I'm having a panic attack. I can't breathe."

I can hear Jake's laboured breathing on the other end.

"Where are you?" he demands.

"Bathroom near H Block," I gasp out. "J, I need you."

"I'm already on my way."

Having spoken to him has eased some of the constriction in my chest. I shakily get to my feet. I manage to get my shirt over my head, before sitting down, holding my head up. I feel like I might pass out any second.

Worst case scenarios bombard my mind. Guy spreading rumours, somehow showing them the photos. It can't happen like this.

I have no idea how much time has passed but I hear the door open.

"Thank God," I mutter, undoing the latch.

I don't even have time to register his face before his fist is connecting with mine. A cry leaves me my lips and I stumble back, hitting the edge of the toilet harshly.

"Someone's got a secret," Guy taunts with a smirk on his face.

Jack and Harry, my supposed 'group project partners', flank his side.

I blink away the throbbing pain and wipe at my face, blood smearing across my fingers.

"Should have guessed it, really," he sneers, leaning down and bunching my shirt into his fist. "That you're a queer."

"Because it takes one to know one?" I spit at him.

Anger flashes in his eyes and he yanks me out of the cubicle and sends me clattering across the floor. I roll away from him and spit out the blood in my mouth. I get to my knees but can't make it further as his foot boots into my side. I let out a howl of pain.

"Not so tough without your guard dog here," he leers at me. He squats down beside me so that we're eye level. His lips stretch into an unpleasant looking smirk.

"And you're not so tough having to fight me three-to-one, because you know you wouldn't stand a chance."

Guy lets out a growl of anger, sending his foot into my side once more.

The next few minutes are a blur. The door is kicked open. Jake's movements are precise and swift. He first takes out Jack with a horrible-sounding kick to the knee. He knocks Harry to the floor in one punch.

Guy scrambles to his feet, his eyes widening.

"Jake," he says slowly, raising his hands.

Even I hunker at Jake's stare. It's cold, hard and filled with pure fury. His hands are fisted at his sides, his body vibrating with anger. Guy stumbles back, trying to increase the distance between them.

"Cal, get up," Jake says sternly, not even looking at me.

Hastily, I get to my feet and dart behind him, away from Guy. The other two are moaning on the floor but are smart enough to keep their distance.

"We've had this conversation before, Guy. What did I say?" he asks him calmly.

"Don't touch Callum," he squeaks.

"And what did you just do?" he asks, tilting his head to the side.

Guy's face pales and he walks so far back that he hits the wall. His hands are still out in front of him, trying to create some sort of barrier between them.

"I was just messing around. I didn't mean any harm by it," he quickly rambles, visibly sweating.

I glance to Jake's face. He's smiling.

"Yeah?" he says almost charmingly. "Just messing around?"

He nods fast. "Yeah man."

Jake turns to me with a grin. "Hear that, babe? He was just messing around."

I'm confused as to what is happening right now. I can't even stand upright. I'm heavily leaning on the sink for support, my hand to my aching ribs. I still haven't caught my breath.

Jake's smile broadens. He walks slowly towards Guy. He pats him, almost gently, on the shoulder.

"Just messing around," he repeats and steps back, nodding, his smile still on his face.

Guy sends me a panicked look and I give him a frosty one back. No way in hell can he turn to me for help.

Jake places his hand on the side of Guy's head. My eyes are switching between them both, waiting to see what is going to happen.

Jake's hand slams into Guy's stomach. The sound of the hit and the roar that leaves Guy's throat is a sound I never want to hear again. With his other hand, he forces Guy to stand upright, his fingers tightening around his throat.

"If you ever so much as look at my boyfriend again, I'm going to rip your throat out," Jake says calmly, his eyes inches from his, his glare so intense I'm not sure Guy could stand it if he wasn't being forced to.

"Yes Jake," he splutters.

"Babe, come over here."

I hobble over to them. Jake yanks Guy off the wall and goes behind him, locking his arms.

"Hit him."

"What?" I ask through clenched teeth.

"Hit him," he repeats.

Slowly, I straighten, my body screaming at me in protest.

I want to say some big threat, but I feel Jake has already covered that.

I throw my fist out. The crack of his nose echoes in the room. Guy drops to his knees, his head hanging.

"Good hit," Jake compliments me. He walks to me, touching my face gingerly, before lifting my shirt. Welts litter my side, from where he kicked me. His thoughtful expression twists into a hard stare. "Did he kick you?" he asks in a low voice.

I glance to Guy. "Yeah. He did."

Jake nods slowly, rolling up his sleeves. Guy is shaking as Jake raises his leg and boots him in the chest and then one big one up the side. Guy is heaving on the ground, wrapping his arm around his head to protect himself. I reach out and touch Jake on the shoulder. His leg is hovering in mid-air. I can feel him shaking. I give him a gentle squeeze. He lets out a deep exhale, before taking a few steps back. That was hard for him to step away just then. I could feel his struggle.

"Have we made ourselves clear?"

Guy nods weakly. "Yes."

"Good." He swivels his eyes to the other... oh shit. There's only one there now. Harry lays there, gazing up at us with wide, fearful eyes. Jake sighs in annoyance. "Where's the other one?"

"Come on," I say to Jake, trying to squash down the panic, my body aching. "Let's go."

Jake wraps an arm around me, before sending one last withering stare down at Guy.

We push the door open. Jake is holding me up and I'm leaning into him. Blood covers my face and my body feels bruised. We freeze when the Principal stands there, a smirking Jack beside him.

"Boys?" he asks sternly, flicking his eyes between us. "You've got some explaining to do."

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Thoughts?

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