Storms - 21. Michael

I arrived at school Monday morning perfectly prepared to track down both Patrick and Loz and give them a thrashing, verbal or otherwise, I hadn’t quite made up my mind. As it turned out, though, I didn’t have to. On entering the building, I found Loz on the floor punching Patrick repeatedly in the face while Patrick’s friends tried to get him off. When at last they managed I saw that Patrick was bleeding rather profusely.

I thought, Good. He deserves it. Though I didn’t understand what had prompted the fight until I heard Loz mention Daniel’s name.

Mr. Griffiths showed up, and Loz stopped struggling. As Mr. Hassan kneeled next to Patrick, Loz said, ‘Show them that fucking snap, Patrick. I dare you. Show them what you fucking did!’

When Patrick was led to the infirmary by Mr. Hassan, along with Neal, Dinesh, and Ethan, I followed and grabbed hold of Dinesh, who was bringing up the rear. ‘What was Loz talking about?’ I said pleasantly. ‘What fucking snap?’

With my gaze I dared him to defy me, and he blanched. I knew what they’d done. I could tell anyone who’d listen. Dinesh cast a glance after his friends and licked his lips nervously. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a photo, showing it to me.

It took all the self-control I had not to kick Dinesh in the fucking nuts when I saw it. I stepped back, gave him the glare of a lifetime, and hissed, ‘You are so fucking lucky that I really don’t want to risk expulsion, Dinesh. All four of you.’ I snatched the phone from his hand, texted myself the photo, and gave it back to him. Then I left.

Halfway down the corridor, I ran into Amy. ‘Did you hear?’ she asked. ‘About the fight? Do you know what happened?’

‘I was there, and I know exactly what happened,’ I said darkly. I didn’t show her the picture. The fewer people who saw it, the better. But when I said goodbye to them at my birthday party I had told Amy and the others, in simple terms, what had happened in the bathroom. ‘There’s a photo, of what happened to Daniel on Saturday. Loz saw it, went mental.’

Amy raised both her eyebrows. ‘Wow, respect to Loz!’

I scoffed. ‘Loz is as much of a bully as Patrick is. Worse, actually.’

‘Really? I thought he was just kind of quiet and sullen, most of the time. That’s what Julie told me, anyways.’

‘Just . . . trust me on this. I have my sources. But at least Patrick got what he deserved.’ I sighed.

We headed for the science lab, where Miss Chung had just sat down at her desk. I approached her.

‘Miss, I’ve got some information, about what just happened with Patrick and Loz.’

She looked up. ‘What is it? What have you got?’

I knew that if I showed her this picture, they’d want to talk to Daniel, and I doubted he’d thank me for that. But if I didn’t, and no one else did either, Patrick would get off scot-free as just a victim of random violence. And after what Loz had said, they’d probably want to speak to Daniel, anyway.

‘A photo was sent via Snapchat to a bunch of people last Saturday,’ I told her, and, hands shaking, I brought it up on my phone and showed it to her. ‘It’s a screenshot, I got it from someone else. I don’t even have Snapchat, but . . . Apparently, Patrick sent it.’

She looked utterly stricken. She cleared her throat. ‘May I have your mobile, please?’ I gave her my phone and told her the passcode, and she pocketed it, angrily. ‘I’ll have this returned to you soon,’ she promised. Then she stood and turned to the rest of the class. ‘Right, you lot! Self study until I get back!’ She walked off.

‘They’ll want to talk to Daniel,’ said Amy, and I nodded. ‘Think he’ll be okay with that?’

I sighed. ‘I don’t know. But we can’t let Patrick get away with just a few scrapes, can we?’

‘I suppose not. How is Daniel, by the way?’

I shrugged. ‘He was okay last night.’

Amy quirked her eyebrow. ‘Last night, hm?’

‘We talked on the phone, you perv,’ I said, rolling my eyes. I had invited Daniel to stay, but he had elected to go home.

‘And, how are things between the two of you?’

I ignored her question, and we found our seats. ‘Anyway, I think he’ll be okay. He’s . . . pretty strong. I mean, the bullying? That’s the tip of the iceberg.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Just, he hasn’t had an easy life, that’s all. Now, stop being nosy!’

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Jasper standing behind my chair. ‘Hey, mate. Listen, I just wanted to . . .’ He paused, frowning. ‘Is he all right? That kid, Daniel? I saw the . . . I mean, I haven’t got Patrick on Snapchat, but someone showed me. Like the posters weren’t enough . . .’ He ran his fingers through his short black hair. ‘That was fucked up!’ There was anger in his voice.

‘Yeah.’ I nodded. ‘He . . . he was okay. Stayed over at mine. He was doing all right yesterday. But yeah. It was fucked up.’

‘I don’t know exactly what they did,’ Jasper continued. ‘I mean, I just saw them get escorted out of your house by that Jamal guy, but I put two and two together when Daniel just vanished. I mean, Patrick’s a bully, everyone knows that.’

‘Wish I hadn’t invited him . . . I just, I sent out the invites before I even knew Daniel properly. Couldn’t just disinvite him. Could I? I don’t know.’ I dug the heels of my hands into my eye sockets. ‘Ugh, this is all my fault! Fuck . . .’

Jasper’s hand returned to my shoulder and squeezed. ‘It’s not. It’s their fault, all the bastards who hurt him like this. All you’ve done is try to help.’

‘Yeah,’ Amy chimed in. ‘Don’t blame yourself, for any of this, Michael. You’re a good person.’

I looked at them both. ‘Thanks, you guys. Thanks, Jasper. You’re a decent guy, you know that?’

‘Eh.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m okay, I guess. He’s a sweet kid, your Daniel. Take care of him.’ He sauntered off.

Amy sighed and leaned back in her chair. ‘That guy is so hot.’ She gave me a sidelong glance. ‘So, what did happen in Trev’s hall closet? You never told me.’

I just smiled, looking down at the desk.

‘I fucking knew it!’ There was triumph in her voice.

‘I didn’t say anything.’

‘No, but I know that smile.’

‘A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.’

‘See? So there was kissing! Aww, I would give anything to have seen that.’

I gave her a look, eyebrow raised in question. ‘Why?’

‘Are you kidding? The two hottest guys in school snogging? Double the hotness? Sexy as fuck!’

I shook my head. ‘You’re weird.’

‘You’re weirder.’

I reached over and took her hand. ‘Thanks, Amy.’

‘What the hell for?’

I smiled at her. ‘For being my friend. For being Daniel’s friend. For, you know, your support and stuff, I guess.’

She shrugged. ‘Long as you promise not to tell anyone. I have an ice bitch image to uphold, you know.’

* * *

Miss Chung returned with my phone twenty minutes later, with instructions that I go see Mr. Hugh before the next lesson. The photo had been deleted. It was a short interview, during which I reiterated that I hadn’t personally received the snap, and told them I had gotten the screenshot off Dinesh. After that, I was permitted to head to Miss Tovey’s English literature class.

At dinner, Julie informed us that Daniel had been called in to speak with Hugh, and then gone home. ‘Also,’ she said, ‘both Loz and Patrick have been suspended from school. Heard it from Sophia. She’s about to go on some kind of pacifist anti-bullying crusade. Which, I totally appreciate the sentiment, but does she have to be so stuck up about it?’

‘I dunno,’ said Amy, sipping her juice. ‘Sophia’s kind of grown on me. I’ve been reading her Tumblr. Like, she has some good points, you know?’

I pulled my phone out of my pocket while they talked, and wrote Daniel a text. Are you okay?

Siobhan reached over and squeezed my arm. ‘You look distracted. Are you all right?’

‘Yeah,’ I said, returning my phone to my pocket. ‘I’m fine. Just . . . worried about Daniel.’

‘When are you not worried about Daniel?’ said Deacon. ‘I swear, it’s all Daniel with you lately, isn’t it?’

I licked my lips. Daniel had agreed that I could tell the gang if I wanted to. I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but . . . fuck it. Time to be ready.

‘I’m gay,’ I blurted, and immediately blushed bright red because that was the least elegant coming out anyone has ever had in the history of this planet. I stared down at my hands in my lap, but when no one said anything, I looked up again, glancing from one bemused face to the next.

‘Yeah, we know,’ said Deacon at last, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I looked at Amy, who shrugged. ‘I didn’t say anything.’

‘We guessed,’ said Siobhan. ‘Like, a year ago, at least.’

My eyes met Julie’s, and she smiled. ‘Didn’t know, but not surprised.’

I sat back in my chair and stared at my food tray. ‘So, while I was wondering and agonising, and not sure how to tell anyone, you, all of you except Julie, already knew. That’s what you’re saying.’

Deacon shrugged. ‘Pretty much. I mean, come on. You’ve never had a girlfriend. Never even liked a girl, even though they literally throw themselves at your feet. In fucking droves, mate. The way you started obsessing over Dan really sealed the deal for me, though.’

‘Yup, me too,’ Amy agreed.

I leaned my elbows on the table and buried my face in my hands. I felt so embarrassed. How was it that my friends knew me better than I knew myself? And then I did the only thing I could think to do and laughed. ‘You could have at least pretended to be surprised.’

‘You’re gay? No way! We never would have guessed!’ said Siobhan, and they all laughed too. Her words would have been positively Amy-esque, had they not been followed by Siobhan’s trademark earnest smile.

Once the laughter had died down, Deacon said, ‘So? What about Daniel? Cause you are in love with him, right?’

I sighed. It was a weight off my shoulders, really, that they knew. ‘Yeah,’ I said at last. ‘I am.’

‘And?’ Amy quirked her eyebrow at me.

‘And . . . we’re kind of maybe together now?’ I licked my lips. ‘I mean, we are. I think. I mean—’

‘So, Dan’s your boyfriend. Cool.’ Deacon grinned at me. ‘That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?’

I shook my head. ‘You guys are, like, the best and the worst at the same time. You know that?’

‘Well, I for one live for being a walking contradiction,’ said Amy.

While the others bantered back and forth I leaned back in my seat again. I had the weirdest and most wonderful bunch of friends in the world.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I checked it under the table. It was from Daniel. I’m okay. I’m at home. It’s been a weird day. Before I had time to respond, another text arrived. Loz was suspended. I’m glad I won’t have to see him for a while.

I know. Me too, I wrote. Glad you’re okay. Can I come over later?

It only took a few seconds before the reply arrived. Yes.