Chapter Text
Scott was fidgeting in the counsellor’s room; Scott was looking around nervously before muttering a small “Hi” to Joe. Joe looked at Scott and just said out of the blue “You have a crush don’t you Scott?”
“I uh, Yeah, Yeah I do have a crush Joe,”
Joe had this certain look on her face and then smiled. Scott started to think, llama really did love those two dumbasses didn’t fluff? Scott then looked at Joe. “They’re my best friends though… what if they find it weird and don’t want to be my friend anymore?”
Joe had a soft smile on their face, “Scott if you love them, and you’ve been friends for god who knows how long, they probably like you too.” Joe was a counsellor; He knew what he was talking about when it came to love.
“But you know that's not why I called you here Scott.” Joe straightened his posture.
Scott fidgeted more, they got more nervous. “W-What do you mean Joe?” Scott tried to pull it off. Joe just gave Scott a look, but it wasn’t a look of pity. Scott knew what pity was, his teachers pitied him so badly. He was fine though! He didn’t need the pity though!
“Scott, are you alright? Seriously, the people who reported this to me were concerned.” Joe spoke with a tone that was slightly unidentifiable but had a hint of sternness to their voice. Causing Scott to shuffle again in his seat.
“I’m fine Joe.” Scott sort of hissed out, fluff couldn’t hear the pity in Joe’s voice but knew it would happen sooner or later. He curled up in the chair and muttered a “sorry” realising how harsh that sounded.
“Scott I can’t help if I don’t know what's wrong,” Joe had handled situations like this before, being a secret immortal allowed him to keep his job well... Forever, It was okay, He liked working in this school. What she didn’t like was seeing cases like these. Watching kids curl up in the chair they were supposed to be safe in. Joe remembers a lot about the kids he sees.
Scott was one of the ones that stood out to him.
Scott reminds them of a kid he saw back in the day, Xisuma as he recalls. They remember one moment from their session where Xisuma just curled in the chair and muttered “Don’t hit me please.”
Scott blinks back tears, they do their best to just focus on the texture of the chair. Looking at Joe as she looks at the floor for a moment. Scott could run out right now, But he knew the door was most likely locked.
Scott looked around the room, plotting ways to escape, there was the window to his right, the door behind him, and the vent large enough to fit him through it. Scott thought about it for a good while staring at the floor holding back tears. “I… I don’t want to go home…” Scott painfully cried out.
Joe looked at Scott, Joe finally realised that Scott wasn’t healthy, llama was awfully pale, and looked malnourished. “Are you safe at home?” she asked, she needed to know to make sure that the kid he was currently taking care of was okay. “Kid I’m a mandated reporter you know? If you aren’t safe, I can help you get away,”
“They’ll make it seem like everything is okay and f-fine though!” Scott knew what was going to happen, CPS had been called on his family more than once and he was always too afraid to speak up. Plus, his family was really good at hiding their harmful ways.
“Do you have anyone you can stay with...” Joe gestured to the bruise “..Before things like this happen? Who knows?” Joe didn’t move, Not wanting to scare Scott, this was the farthest they had gotten in their previous sessions.
“No, the rest of my so-called family hates me” Scott murmured out, he knew his family hated them because they were gay. “Can you tell someone else about this? Those two classmates you hang out with seem to care about you a lot,”
Scott knew who Joe was talking about, it was Tango and Jimmy, their best friends since childhood. “I could… but they can’t do anything about it, one of them has homophobic parents, and the other only lives with his sister.” Scott looked out the window, trying to avoid eye contact “You do have an ID, you could try and get a room in a motel for a couple of nights, although that wouldn’t be a permanent solution.”
Scott let out a dry laugh and looked at Joe. “With what money? I’m poor, my parents won’t allow me to get a job.” he just sat there and played with some of the fidgets Joe had in his office.
“I wish I could let you stay in my place, Unfortunately, there are county regulations and all that,” Joe chuckled at the end of his sentence, but still looked sympathetically. “I mean, I’m not supposed to do this but, I can give you my phone number, just so I can check on you?” Joe starts to scribble on a piece of paper.
Scott nodded and added the number into their phone. “Thanks Joe, I should get going to class though.” Scott looked up at the time. “Alright, you're allowed in my office any time Son, Try telling Tango... And what was his name... Jimmy about this okay?” Scott nodded, “I’ll try, thanks” he then got up and left the room going back to class.