Work Text:
Alex enters the lunch room after cleaning himself off in the bathroom. Having shit thrown at him all class was not fun.
He looks through the lunch options very carefully before deciding on not taking anything. Instead, he takes out his notebook and walks away. He starts to draw and write in it, preparing for his plan.
The girl next to him looks over and asks, "What are you writing?"
"Oh, this?"
"Yeah."
"It's my plan."
"For what?"
"Oh, you'll see."
She takes it as her cue to leave and walks away with her tray.
Alex continues walking, and at one point someone bumps into him. They don't say anything but the other guy makes an annoyed face and lifts his arms up from his sides. Alex turns away and shakes his head, going back to drawing in his notebook.
The closer he gets to the tables, he realizes how loud it gets. He looks up, looking around at everyone. He ignores it and writes a couple more things before stopping. It was even louder than before, so he puts the notebook and pen away. The cafeteria is even louder, and he looks around helplessly. Their voices start to echo and he looks down, squeezing his eyes shut. He puts his hands in his hair and presses the heel of his hands against his temples, hoping it's just a headache and it'll go away.
It doesn't.
Suddenly, someone is touching his shoulders and gently pushing him forward. They're saying something in his ear but the words don't make any sense. The person leads him around and Alex trusts him, walking through the halls blindly.
Eventually they stop, and they're gently pulling Alex's hands out of his hair and rubbing his cheek until his eyes just barely open. The words still don't make any sense and it's so, so bright. Alex closes his eyes again, rubbing at them. The words turn from mushy nonsense to actual sentences.
Despite sounding so distant, he can make out, "Alex? Are you okay? What did they do this time?"
Alex opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out. He shuts his mouth and though he doesn't realize, he starts to sway. The person holds Alex up and they start to walk again until his legs hit something and he's lightly pushed down until he gets the message to sit down. It turns out he's sitting in a plastic chair, which probably means he's in a classroom.
"Alex? Can you hear me?"
Alex nods, but doesn't speak or even dare to open his eyes. The person rubs his shoulders from behind, "You're okay, you can open your eyes." Alex cracks his eyes open. He covers his eyes when all he sees is white, hoping whoever the person was that they'd realize they need to turn the lights off.
"Shit! Sorry, Alex." Alex listens to them run across the room and his eyelids go from bright red to pitch black. Alex squints, and his eyes open slowly when he realizes the only light is coming from the windows. The person's hands are back to his shoulders. Alex tilts his head back to look up at them. Eric grins back at him, "Hi, Alex."
"Hi, Eric."
"You alright?"
Alex nods, "Definitely."
Eric moves from his shoulders to his cheeks, "I'm glad."
Alex lets a small smile form on his face as Eric's thumb rubs his cheeks, draining all the unnecessary anxiety from him.
"Wanna skip and go home?" Eric asks, and Alex nods. He's not in the mood to have shit thrown at him all class again. Eric grins and presses his lips to Alex's forehead. Suddenly, Eric's hands are grabbing his forearms, trying to tug him up, "Come on! Up! Up!"
Alex laughs as Eric struggles to pull him up. He stands up and looks back at Eric. Eric grabs his waist, spinning him around and against his chest.
Eric sniles, "Short ass."
"You're barely an inch taller."
Eric gives him a toothy smile. Alex raises his eyebrows.
"What?"
Alex rolls his eyes and kisses Eric. Eric makes a surprised noise before kissing him back, moving his hands to Alex's hips.
When Alex pulls away, Eric stares at him. "What was that for?"
Alex shrugs. "Felt like it."
Eric grins wide. He grabs Alex's hand, interlocking their fingers, leading him out the door and through the hallway to the main entrance, blatantly ignoring the staff in the office yelling at them to sign out before they leave.