Work Text:
Abed should have known this would happen. As he lies alone, curled up in the corner of the pitch-black janitor’s closet, he has to press his mouth to his knees so his crying is hushed. The feeling of itchy trouser fabric against his lips sends a shiver down his spine. He wants to flap and wiggle until the feeling is all gone.
It doesn’t matter. He can’t let them hear him.
“Hey, Abed!”
Abed recoils into himself as he hears the boys banging on the door outside, laughing like jackals.
Just stay quiet, they can’t hurt you if they think you’re not here.
“C’mon you little wuss, we just wanna talk to you!” one of the boys yaps out, followed by him and the others giggling with vicious glee.
Abed brings his hands to his ears, trying to resist the urge to squirm or do anything else that could tip over a broom or bucket.
Don’t make a sound. Remember, if they come in, you’re dead.
The boys continue to holler out taunts and expletives, every slap on the door like a strike of thunder. They’re drunk, Abed can tell. He’d seen them sneaking in a couple of beers into the gymnasium. They were probably getting ready to spike the punch bowl before all this.
Even if they were sober, they’d still have done this. Silly you, thinking you could handle it. Going to prom like any other teen. You’d promised dad that nothing would go wrong, that you’d keep your cool. He let you pick out a button-up shirt and pair of trousers, let you wear his old tie. He looked proud of you.
“We know you’re in there! C’mon, we saved some extra booze for you!” the same boy hollers out, before adding in “probably wouldn’t be able to walk after one sip” to his buddies with a sharp snicker.
You should have turned back the second you saw those strobe lights. You should have called Bapa once that loud pop music started playing. But no. You tried to wait it out, and for what? So you could have a chance at a Hollywood movie prom night? Oh, silly Abed…
“Oh, you don’t want any drinks, huh? That’s okay, we’ve got some girls waiting for you back in the gym!” another boy says between laughs.
You’d started to cry when everything got too noisy, and then they saw you. Everyone saw you, but they were the ones who decided to start pushing you around and chase you into the halls when you ran away. The chaperone was in the restroom, you didn’t stand that much chance of being protected.
Suddenly, the boys go quiet.
“Dude, is he even in there?”
There’s a short silence before Abed hears a series of blows on the door, each sounding like something out of a horror soundtrack.
“Hey, Abed! If you’re messing with us, the teachers won’t recognize your goddamn face on Monday.” One of the boys says, some uncertainty bleeding through his threat.
More silence, save for the beating of Abed’s about-to-burst heart.
“Jesus, just open the door and see for yourself.”
God, this is it. They’re gonna beat you till you can’t see, and you’ll be sent to the hospital. You’ll be surrounded by doctors, and your dad will know what happened, and you won’t be able to do anything about it.
The door opens.
Abed hears footsteps.
He braces for impact.
Nothing.
“Man…he’s not worth it. Little short bus doesn’t even wanna fight back.”
Some more snickering. Abed’s never felt more worthless.
The door closes. The sound of footsteps gets farther and farther away as the bullies run back to the gym room.
Abed shudders as he unfolds from his coiled position, doing a breathing exercise that he soon finds isn’t working.
His shaking hands take his small phone out of his pocket, wondering if he’ll even have the strength to talk.
He dials his father’s phone number, and waits for him to pick up.
“Son? What’s wrong?”
Abed wipes his eyes.
“Bapa? I, um…”
He starts coughing.
“Um, well, I arrived at the dance, and the music was so loud Bapa, and the lights were so bright and fast, and I started crying.”
He takes some more deep breaths.
“And then some of those boys I told you about saw me, and started pushing me around, and I ran away, but they found me hiding in the janitor's closet, and they only left me alone because they thought I wasn’t even worth it.”
Over the phone, Abed can hear his father take a deep breath much like his.
“Abed…” he says, all the usual strength taken out of his voice.
Abed wipes his cheek with his tie.
“Abed, I’ll come pick you up, okay?” he says, clearly trying to regain some composure.
“Are you safe now? Can you come to the parking lot, or do I need to come find you-”
“No, it’s fine, I can exit out the back and wait for you to drive up. Those guys are back in the gym, they won’t find me.” Abed quickly interjects through his sniffles.
He doesn’t want his father to see him like this.
“Alright, just wait for me, okay? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay.”
A few seconds pass before Abed decides to hang up.
He shakily gets back on his feet, opens the door, and makes his way to the parking lot, rubbing his arms as he slowly walks through the halls.
Once he’s greeted by the cold night breeze outside, he sits himself down on the sidewalk and waits.
In about ten lonely minutes, he sees that familiar old Sedan pulling up into the parking lot, and he makes a run to the door.
He sees his dad’s face. He’s been crying.
Abed quickly shifts his gaze and gets in the seat next to his father.
“Bapa, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to make everything so bad, I just…”
Abed’s dad says nothing. He’s surprised. He’d expected a scolding. It must be on the way through, so he should keep on apologizing.
“Bapa, I promise I won’t ever cry like that again, I’ll be quiet from now on-”
Before he can finish his train of thought, Abed’s dad tightly wraps his arms around his son, the hug feeling like a warm blanket.
“Are you really okay?”
Abed nods, slowly. He’s not used to his dad being this soft with him.
“Yes…are you sure you’re not mad at me?” Abed asks, still genuinely surprised.
“No…” his father responds, and he doesn’t say anything more than that, but Abed knows he doesn’t need to.
He just wants to feel safe. He just wants to know his Bapa will protect him.
He just needs to know that someone still cares about him. And right now, he has that.
Even as he begins to cry again and again and again, he still has it.