Seth immediately saw the guilt and regret written all over Gil’s face the moment their eyes met. Although, he didn’t know exactly what was going on inside Gil’s head, Seth knew that his friend misunderstood something.
Before Seth could even say anything, Gil stormed out of the classroom. Their classmates witnessed everything, but Seth didn’t care about that at all. He immediately ran off and chased Gil.
Because Gil had the built and strength of an athlete, it was no surprise that he could also run fast. Seth had a hard time chasing Gil. But Seth was determined to catch up to him. So, he gritted his teeth and pushed himself to run faster.
Luckily for Seth, Gil thought he had already escaped, so, he stopped running. Seth also stopped on his tracks, and then, he approached Gil slowly. He knew Gil heard his footsteps. The latter turned around and met Seth’s gaze.
“Why did you run away?” Seth asked Gil. “Is there anything you want to say to me?”
Gil just looked at him and didn’t say anything.
“Tell me, Gil. Are the rumors true? I want to hear the truth straight from you. Please, tell me everything.”
Gil looked dejected. “Seth, are you disappointed in me?”
Seth opened his mouth to talk, but before he could say a thing or two, Gil interrupted him.
“Of course, you’re disappointed!” Gil looked away. “The rumors are true, Seth. I beat those guys and I got away with it. I don’t have any excuse to say to you. It’s all me. It’s my fault. I acted violently. This is me. The real me. I won’t take it against you if you start avoiding me right this moment. I deserve it.”
Seth heaved a deep sigh. “Look at me, Gil.” But, his friend didn’t even budge.” Hey, Gil, look at me!” Again, to no avail. Seth reached out both of his hands and cupped Gil’s face. “I said, look at me!”
“Seth…”
“If I am really disappointed in you, do you think I’d chase you when you ran away? I am not strong and I don’t run fast, but just to catch up with you, I used all the saved up energy that would last me a lifetime. God, you run like a horse, goddammit! My knees still feel weak. You should think of carrying me back to the classroom instead of spouting nonsense like I should avoid you because of the rumors. You don’t have the power to decide for me like that. I will do what I want. And as of the moment, I want you to listen to me. You have to listen well—”
The bell rang. First period had started, so Seth and Gil should come back to the classroom.
“We will continue this talk during lunch.” Seth said to Gil. “Don’t ever think of running away from me ever again.”
“Should I carry you to the classroom?” Gil said in a serious tone.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Q-k-k-ktja jgf sbe ajixlcu jybea?”
“Tbe rjlv sbeg xcffr offi kfjx. P klii mjggs sbe—”
Vfat ojmf gfvvfcfv lc fwyjggjrrwfca. “V-rtea eq!” Ktfc, tf rajgafv ab kjix jkjs.
Dea yfobgf Vfat mbeiv ajxf j ofk wbgf rafqr, tf ofia j kjgw offilcu ugjrq tlr gluta tjcv. Lf lwwfvljafis rabqqfv bc tlr agjmxr jcv ibbxfv ja tlr tjcv. Vfat’r fsfr ugfk ylu lc regqglrf ktfc tf rjk Xli kjr tbivlcu tlr gluta tjcv.
“You don’t want me to carry you. You said your knees are weak and I am afraid you’d fall. Let me hold your hand until we reach the classroom. That’s the only thing I could think of to protect you from falling.”
“I…I…O-okay…” Seth didn’t really want to say.
While everyone was busy with classes, Seth and Gil—a couple of teenagers who just had an unfinished talk between them—walked hand in hand on the hallway of their school. For Seth, those mere seconds they took for them to reach the classroom felt like an eternity. Everything went slow motion into Seth’s world. The only thing that was making a fuss was his heartbeat. His heart was beating crazily.
Gil gave Seth’s hand a squeeze before he let go. Seth didn’t even notice that they were already in front of the classroom. He wanted for the ground to eat him alive out of embarrassment.
“W-we will talk later…” Seth told Gil before entering the classroom. He didn’t wait for Gil’s reply. He immediately said sorry to the teacher for being late and went to his desk in lightning speed.
Seth couldn’t concentrate on the lessons. He didn’t throw even a single glance toward Gil’s direction, but all he could ever think about at that moment was the warmth of Gil’s hand into his. Fuck, what was he thinking? He should focus on the lessons!
After hours of endurance, the bell that signaled the start of lunch break rang. Before looking at Gil’s direction, Seth took a deep breath first and made his beating heart calm down. However, when he turned his gaze into Gil’s, Seth saw his classmate was on his way to the door. So, Gil was running away again, huh?
Before Seth could think of anything, he found himself shouting to the whole class: “Gil, don’t you ever fucking run away from me again!”
His classmates turned to Seth with look of confusion on their faces. Did he, Seth the timid, cuss the ultimate bad guy in the entire school? And did he also demand for Gilbert Hugo not to run away? What a scene!
“I am not running away.” Gil said. “I thought I just wait for you outside.”
The whole class was silent. They were anticipating the next exchange between Seth and Gil.
“Okay. Just wait for me outside. I’ll just get my lunch bag.”
Their classmates started to whisper to one another. It was funny how Seth didn’t feel repulse toward his classmates reactions. As a matter of fact, he didn’t mind for his classmates to know his friendship with Gil. It was time for them to realize that Gil was not some guy who did evil things on a daily. It was also one way to minimize the rumors that were circulating around school. Now, everyone’s attention would shift to the truth behind his relationship with Gil. Maybe the students would get curious as to why the most timid guy in school was hanging out with the menace. Maybe they would think that there was something wrong about their judgment toward Gil. People were so quick to judge by just knowing a small fragment of the truth. Seth had been a victim of prejudice his whole life. He believed that there was a reason why Gil was acting like some brute.
“Let’s go?” Seth told Gil when he met him outside the classroom.
“Yeah.” Gil answered.
So, the two of them walked beside each other on the hallway full of curious students. Seth was aware that almost everyone’s eyes were on Gil and him. They could not talk freely if there were a lot of students watching their every move.
“Let’s talk while I walk you to the bus stop.” Gil said to him. “Only if it’s okay with you.”
Seth smiled. “Sure.”
The two exited the school building and walked toward the gate. Students were still looking at them, but at that point, both Gil and Seth didn’t care at all.
“I was not always this violent.” Gil opened up first. “The first time I punched a man in the face was a year ago. I could say that he provoked me so I gave him what I thought he deserved. But, I punched him anyway. I have no excuse for that. And to tell you honestly, I liked the feeling when my fist landed on that guy’s face. It felt like everything that had been suppressed inside me exploded in one go. I realized I was good in fighting. When those guys annoy me, I can just hit them and they would shut up. I know there’s no way I can justify my violent tendencies. But I can’t help when people are assholes.”
Seth took a deep breath. “I know violence is not always the answer. But sometimes, it is the only remedy in certain situations. Those guys you beat up, I understand that you did it because you want to avenge me. Those guys can’t be convinced to stop what they are doing by talking alone. They need to have a taste of their own medicine to stop. To tell you the truth, you are my very first friend, Gil. Just knowing that you’re there to help and protect me warms my heart. As I’ve said earlier, I am not disappointed in you. But, I cannot say that I am happy with what happened. Yes, those guys deserved the beatings. But society does not see it that way. They will judge you not because of your intentions but your actions. I don’t want them to look at you like you’re some kind of evil. You are not evil, Gil. You’re a lost soul just like me. We’re both lost souls. Now that we’ve found each other, can we just stick together? Gil, you’re more than just a violent school thug. You are capable of greatness. Don’t let those irrelevant people bring the worst in you. I am here. Talk to me whenever you feel like you want to hit someone. When you’re angry, tell them all to me. When you’re confused, let’s look for some things that make sense together. We’re both not alone anymore. Now, we have each other.”
Gil was silent. They both continued to walk. Maybe it was too early for Seth to say those things to Gil. Maybe their friendship was not there yet.
However, just as when they could see where the bus stop was, Gil finally spoke. “Yes, let’s stick together, Seth.”
Seth felt relieved. “Yeah, let’s do that. Do you want to go to my house tomorrow after school? Let’s study together.”
Gil let out a groan. Seth thought he would decline. But then Gil answered: “Sure. At least, I can hang out with you although I hate studying.”
Seth laughed. “I don’t know why you hate studying so much, but you have so much potential in you. If only you get serious, you would surpass Chuck without sweat—”
“I’ll tell you why some other time.” Gil said in a serious tone.
Seth just nodded. “So, we’re here at the bus stop. Let’s see each other tomorrow—”
“Let’s wait for the bus together.” Gil sat on an empty bench. Seth did the same.
While waiting for the bus, Seth and Gil continued their talk. Though, unlike earlier, they were talking about mundane things and the like. Seth couldn’t help but notice that Gil was a funny guy. He would crack jokes that made Seth laugh.
When Seth happened to glance on the road, he saw a black car parked on the other side. The window in the backseat was rolled down. Seth could see clearly the passenger staring at him and Gil with a dark expression on his face. It was Simon Walsh.
Seth remembered how Simon threatened him the other day. The fact that Simon wanted Seth to stay away from Gil was still fresh in Seth’s mind. He didn’t know what came over him, but Seth casually leaned his head on Gil’s shoulder as if it was the natural thing to do. Gil stopped talking. But Seth was too focused on Simon Walsh and the expression of rage on his face. Seth gave Simon a smirk. Not a moment later, the car drove off.
“What are you doing? Do you feel tired?” Gil asked him.
Seth felt like he woke up from a dream. He immediately sat right up. He couldn’t look at Gil because Seth knew his face was redder than red.
“If you’re tired, just say it.”
Without any warning, Gil touched his head and placed it back on his shoulder.
Seth’s heart was beating rapidly. Shit. Shit. Shit. What was happening?
Two guys. Seating closer with each other. One of the guy’s head was leaning on the other’s shoulder. What a marvelous sight.
Seth should be embarrassed by the situation, however when the bus finally arrived he felt like he didn’t want to go home. He wanted to stay with Gil.
Though, Seth’s rational side won. He immediately stood up and without looking back he said to Gil. “See you tomorrow.” Then, he get on the bus.
Seth buried his face on his palms the moment he was seated inside the bus. His face was warm and very red.
Fuck.
*****
That was great.
So sweet 💕
cute!
thanks for the chapter <3
Aww Seth got shy~ Soo cuuteee
Thank you so much for the chapter
Hand holding!!!!!!!
Well well! Nice. Thanks for the chapter.