Chapter Nine (Blake's POV)

The next day was probably the second worst day of my entire life on this planet. Upon waking up, the house was eeriely silent, even though everyone was awake. Danny didn't say anything to me, but he didn't need to. I could feel it.

He was upset.

He also looked extremely exhausted, like he hadn't slept a wink last night. His eyelids drooped, dark circles under them and he yawned at least every ten seconds, which in turn made everyone else yawn. Hell, I yawned just thinking about how many times he did!

The car ride was no better. He didn't say anything to me as we got in and headed down the street. He kept his sleepy eyes out the window and I felt my heart squelch. I shouldn't have jumped him last night. It made things even worse. As if everyone taunting him at school wasn't going to be enough, so he was gonna try to avoid me. I knew it. And I wasn't going to stop him. A few days away from each other would be better. We'd have time to straighten things out and forget.

And hopefully forgive.

After we pulled up and got out, I started to say something, but Danny turned his back on me and I felt a fissure of irritation shoot up my back as I glared after him before I easily caught up and caught his arm to tug him to a stop.

"What?!" Danny cried in obvious exasperation, ripping his arm out of my grip and taking a long step back away from me. I didn't hide the cringe I felt.

"Danny, look. I'm sorry for what I did last night. I shouldn't have done it. I jumped you out of nowhere and-"

"Stop," Danny interrupted, holding his hand up and sighing, "It's... I don't want to think about that right at this second, ya know?" He glanced around at the students that were filing into the school and I fell silent, frowning as I watched Danny fidget. He was making that face again.

Scrunching his cute nose up and looking down at his feet while he fiddling with his fingers.

"Can we just take a break? Like, not talk for a couple days? I seriously need to get my head on straight because you're..." His voice trailed. I stared at him, then nodded slowly. I didn't know what to say. I wanted him to finish. I'm what? A jerk? A pervert? A  creep?

He didn't finish and just nodded in return, then pulled the hood of his dark gray sweatshirt over his head before he turned and left. I didn't follow him. I wanted to get back in my car and drive home. What's the point of going to school if I can't see Danny? That was the only reason why I wanted to come.

I know it was stupid. But I was a stupid person. What intelligent person blackmails someone they like? What kind of person jumped the person they liked? And who in their right mind would ever like a self-centered, ditzy, jocky brat like Danny Carter?

Oh. Right. That'd be me.

I sighed wearily and finally dragged myself into the building. Music pounded through the speakers overhead as people laughed and chattered noisily. Ahh, the sounds of Homecoming week.

It's like a headache handed out on a platter for free.

What pleased me personally, though, was that today everyone seemed to avoid me even more than usual. It was like I had the plague or something. If I walked by, they turned away and fell silent until I passed as if anything that spoke about mattered to me.

At one time, it did. Now it didn't. Because the only thing on my mind was Danny. Were they treating him like this too? Or were they mocking him? I don't quite know how I'd handle that. Probably with a chair over their heads and their tongues around their throats.

Damn. I had such an obnoxious possessive streak. The thought made me grimace as I sat down in my first hour class. I was starting to show signs of being like Rick. Ugh, that was the last thing I needed right now, of all times.

Basically, that's how the rest of my day went. Moving like a zombie, not really paying attention to anything, and thinking about Danny. I was beginning to hate how much I loved him. More or so than usual. Why couldn't I get that brat out of my head?

It didn't help when I walked into fourth period and Danny was sitting in the far back corner. Alone. With his hood pulled up and his face hidden as he scribbled random nothings into his notebook with a black pen. No one went near him and in fact, a couple of his so-called friends walked into class and veered to the left to find a seat that wasn't remotely close to him.

I felt my chest tighten. Shit. I wanted to go over there and punch his friends, then sit by him, but that was juvenile. I wasn't in middle school. This was high school. One step closer to the big leagues. Not to mention, knowing him, he'd be peeved if I got involved.

Going against everything that screamed at me to go sit with him, I sat in the back in the opposite corner, closer to his friends, who were too busy gossiping and giggling together. It was sick, really.

"Haha, I know, right," Katie snickered as she leaned back on Stone's lap as he sat on the desk, "It's so sick, right? Like, seriously? It's unbelievably wrong. I always knew there was something wrong with him." Stone, Terry, and Joss laughed in unison while Emily flipped her hair over her shoulder, patting blush on her cheek as a wicked smirk curled the corner of her pretty pink lips. Her boyfriend, Mike, was just leaning against her desk, watching her as if he was wondering how she kept herself so prim.

"You know what I heard? I heard that's not the only guy he's into. I heard Carter's had other boyfriends before too! And the best part?" She paused, watching as everyone oogled at her, waiting for her to continue. It reminded me of a bunch of kindergarteners waiting for their teacher to finish the story. It was pathetic.

"He's always the bottom!" Everyone laughed, although, I noticed Joss cringing a little. The thought probably disgusted him. It just peeved me off even more. I leaned back in my desk and propped my feet up on my desk rather loudly to let them know I was there. Emily jumped at the racket and whirled to glare before she caught my piercing gaze and her face paled, even beneath the thick layer of blush.

"What the hell are you doing here, reject?" She hissed. Katie seemed to sneer as well, her lips curling in repugnance. Stone held onto Katie as if to keep her at bay, but the look on his face was disgust as well. It all too well matched that of Joss, Terry, and Mike. I cocked a brow as I folded my hands behind my head.

I hated brats like them. A bunch of pitiful socialites who thought they were tough shit, until high school dumped them into the streets of reality and they were knocked down a good several pegs.

"Sitting. Or is that too big a word for you?" I asked. Emily's cheeks mottled red with irritation as she narrowed her eyes, teeth so obviously gritted. Mike was on his feet to come to her defense. Although, he wasn't that scary. Sure, he was a big tough football player, but Mike was one of those leaner ones who wore terribly ugly plaid flannel shirts to match ripped hillbilly jeans, muddy boots, and he liked wearing his letter jacket just on his shoulders.

"Shove off, Blake the Snake." He mocked. Katie giggled and chirped like a bird.

"Blake the Snake! Blake the Snake!" She chanted. I rolled my eyes and glanced up at Mike out the corner of my eye.

"Seriously? That's the best you got? Please, my Catholic grandmother could come up with a better insult than that. Toss me another one." I urged him, watching as their mockery turned course and hit me, instead of Danny.

"Oh, quit the tough act," Emily chided, shaking her head at me so her blonde hair swished over her shoulders, "You're seriously the worst person ever. How old are you anyway? Shouldn't you be graduated by now?"

"Or ten years ago?" Terry added, making the other laugh.

"Doesn't that make you a pedophile?" Katie put her two cents worth in. And the bombing continued, but I ignored them. I was just glad they weren't pissing Danny off. And hopefully the kid didn't even know that I had done something. I dared to take a quick glance out the corner of my eye, pretending to look at Mike when I was really looking past him at Danny.

He'd sunk low in his seat still, but he was tensed. I could tell by his posture and the way he gripped his pen, scribbling harshly into the pages. I looked back at his flock of idiots. I didn't have to sit through anymore of their childish mockery because the teacher came in and started class, ignoring the taunting and just hushing everyone.

I had to force myself not to keep looking at Danny throughout class. I really wanted to see his face, but he was hiding it from me. Was he hiding it from me on purpose or was he hiding from everyone else? Or maybe all of us? I felt my gut knot.

Great. I couldn't stop thinking about him when I first saw him, so I stupidly made up a dumbass excuse to trick him into hanging out with me, thinking that if I got a taste of who he really was, I'd hate him.

Glad that worked out swell.... And now that we weren't talking, it just hurt worse than before we hung out.

And it didn't help that I couldn't stop thinking about last night. As much as I hated myself for it, I was also happy that I got so close to him. I could still smell him when I had pulled him against me. His body fit perfectly against mine, his hands grabbing me tightly. His tongue didn't seem to know where to go and just followed whatever I did to him. His soft caramel hair slid easily between my fingers and I could still feel my hand sliding down his back, moving closer and closer-

The bell rang, interrupting my fantasy. And thank god it did too because I was going to end up with a tent in my pants that I couldn't contain very long. I mumbled a curse to myself and got up, hanging back as I waited for Danny to depart from the room first. I started to go after him, but the teacher called me back.

"Blake, we need to talk about your grades," She sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose as I glanced quickly at the door to see Danny vanish in the crowd in the hallway, "You're losing focus and you're falling behind. You're a smart boy, I know you are, but-"

"Look, can we do this later? I have something important to do."

"No, we can't. Blake, this is your future we're talking about."

"No, my future just walked out the door and I'm going after him. See ya." I gave her a quick salute, ignoring the pink tint on her cheeks and the look of disbelief before I swept for the door, rushing out into the hallway that was packed with people more than usual.

Then I saw why. The band was coming down one of the hallways, blaring with trumpets and drums to our school song. Everyone cheered and whooped, but I swiftly ignored them and squeezed through the crowd to try and find where Danny had gone. I searched over heads and walked down a couple hallways more than once, but I couldn't find him.

I was about to give up and just duck into the gym for lunch to avoid the cafeteria's crowds, but then I caught sight of Danny moving down one of the less crowded hallways. I started to bolt, but a surge of people shoved in front of me and I gritted my teeth in annoyance before pushing past them and stumbling into the hallway. Danny vanished around the furthest corner and I hurried down the hallway to catch up, but stopped at the corner when I heard voices.

"Fuck off." Danny's voice snapped and there was the sound of shoes shifting on the tiles.

"Not so fast, faggot." It was Stone's voice. Just hearing it sent aggravation flowing through my blood, warming it up quickly as I ground my teeth together to keep from rushing to Danny's defense. As much as I wanted to do it, I knew Danny would throw a fit and spew some garbage about me ruining his honor or some shit like that. So against my will, I stood there and listened.

"Shove off, Stone." Danny's voice snapped.

"Now why don't you shut the hell up, eh? What're you gonna do anyway? Hit me with your purse?"

"I said shove off!"

"Where'd you think you're going?"

"None of your business."

"Why don't you eat lunch with the big boys? Oh, that's right. You probably get all hot and sweaty sitting around us. No wonder why you weren't as chatty. You were trying to control the thing in your pants!"

"Shut the hell up, you freaking fugly jerk!" I heard a couple of thuds, a smash, and grunting before the sound of someone getting slammed against the wall had me on my toes, itching to rush in there and see what happened.

"Get off me!" Danny's voice snarled.

"Oh please, don't act like you don't like it, gaywad. I bet you like it, don't you, you sick freak?"

"No! Why don't you stop molesting me and go fuck your buddies?! You're the one running around in tights and chasing after balls, asshole!" Danny barked. Oh, Danny, I love you, but please! Shut the hell up for once in your damn life!

It was too late. He'd already pissed Stone off and I could practically hear the nasty guy growl like an angry bear before I heard Danny gasp and there was more scuffling. I couldn't take it anymore and started to lunge out there, but I heard a door open. I stepped out and saw a door slowly shutting and the sound of Stone and Danny arguing from inside.

The locker guys' locker room.

I glanced up and down the hallways quickly before darting inside and closing the door as silently as I could behind me when I heard something that sent chills up my spine.

Danny screamed.

It was short lived because there was a crash and the sound of the showers turning on from around the corner. I felt my blood run cold. Part of me was terrified of what I'd see on the other side. I'd heard of all kinds of sick things that people did to anyone who was different.

Beating them to within an inch of their life, violating them in ways that'd make Jefferey Dahmer proud, spitting on them and hurting them so harshly.

Stop it, Blake! I shook my head vigorously to shake those thoughts away. I had to quick fucking around and just get in there to help him. I held my breath and walked around the corner just in time to see Stone stepping away from the showers.

Danny was slammed against the corner of the showers, his teeth chattering at the icy cold water that rained down on him and soaking him like a kitten in a gutter. A dark bruise was forming on his cheek and blood oozed from his busted lip. His hair was plastered to his face and his hood prevented him from looking up any higher. His wrist was bent at an angle that said it was broken. I noticed that Stone had a pretty gruesome looking bruise growing around his left eye, so I was thankful that Danny got at least one hit in.

But the sight of Danny hurt sent my blood boiling. I felt a growl low in my throat and I dropped my bag to the ground. Stone jumped and whipped around. Danny managed to look up a little from under his hood and his blue eyes widened in surprise at the sight of me.

"You sorry son of a bitch." I seethed and lunged forward, grabbing Stone and slamming him harshly into the wall so I could hear his head smash against it. I watched his eyes roll around in his head for a moment before he grimaced and spat in my face. I slammed him into the wall again, harder this time so he let out a strangled whimper when his head hit the tiled wall again.

"Don't you ever, ever fucking lay a finger on him again or I swear to God, I'll rip your head off and shove it up your ass, you hear me, boy?" I sneered, gripping the front of his letter jacket so tightly in my fists that my knuckles turned white. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to break every bone in his body.

I swear, I hadn't felt this angry in a long time. Despite the icy water that splashed up at me and struck against the side of my face, I felt like I was on fire with hate. It was making me tremble.

"F-Fuck you," Stone managed stupidly, his eyes wide in shock now, "I f-freaking knew he was a f-faggot! H-He has to have you protect h-him?"

"Says the one with a black eye, you sack of shit. Now, quit your tough act," I mocked Emily's earlier comment, making Stone wince, "If you don't leave him alone, you can bet your ass that you won't be in this year's Homecoming game. In fact, you won't be in anymore games because both your legs will be smashed under the biggest hammer I can find, you hear me?"

He said nothing.

I slammed him into the wall again.

"Yes! Fine! I hear you, man! Just get off!" Stone cried. I gripped his jacket tighter and wanted so badly to beat the shit out of him, but there was an ounce of me left that knew better. I finally swung him around and shoved him toward the exit, watching him slip and fall, then stumble for the door.

I glared after him, then suddenly remembered the reason why I attacked him in the first place. I winced and whipped around to see Danny staring up at me. I stepped over carefully, reaching out and shutting off the water before I knelt down. I reached out and took his wrist. He squeaked before gritted his teeth and groaning.

"Shit," I muttered, studying the bruising around the busted bone, "That asshole... I swear to god, I'm going to crush his windpipe under my tires... Come on, I'll tell the office I'm taking you to the-"

"God, I hate you." Danny managed. I winced.

"Look, Danny, I know. I just-"

"No, you don't know," Danny managed, his voice shaking from the cold and pain of his wrist, making me look up at him, "I hate you because you're so nice. I was one of those guys before. I deserve this shit, don't I? Now I know what you feel like. You should be laughing at me. Why aren't you laughing?" I sighed and cocked my head, reaching up to brush the wet hair out of Danny's eyes, pushing his hood up so I could see his face better.

"Because I love you, you stupid idiot."