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Matt laughs loudly, a warm and increasingly familiar feeling bubbling up inside him as their new friend group laughs alongside him. He shifts a little, stretching one his legs to rest out in front of him on the pool deck whilst he keeps the other pulled up close to his chest as he soaks in the rays of the west coast sun, letting it wash over and warm his exposed skin.
With the residual smile still playing on his lips, Matt looks out across their group as they continue to laugh and poke jokes at each other, looking just as happy as he feels as something sweet settles in his chest knowing they’d finally found a group of people to hangout with in LA. He lets a smile burst from his lips as he listens to Chris animatedly tell their friends about the last time they were at the airport, his eyes light up as tells them a particularly embarrassing moment and the group's laughter gets louder and louder.
Matt lets his mind drift for a moment, having heard this story three separate times already despite also being there to experience it himself with Chris, but he doesn’t mind, his heart settling in his chest as he hears the way Chris giggles between his words. Instead he just closes his eyes and relaxes back on his hands as the conversation floats easily around him.
“Holy shit dude, what the fuck happened to you?!”
A voice bursts through the laughter, silencing it and breaking the easy atmosphere between them as Matt blinks his eyes open, squinting against the bright sunlight to see what could have caused their friend to shout like that, his voice shocked combined with what Matt recognises as disgust.
He looks around their friend group, trying to catch on to the reason their eyes are suddenly so wide and disturbed. Then realisation dawns on him, and his heart drops straight into his stomach.
They were all staring at him.
His chest clamps painfully around his lungs as he dares to follow their horrified stares down towards his legs, his breath hitching in a barely concealed gasp as he sees the way his shorts have ridden up, exposing the thick white lines stacked there out in the open for them all to see.
He sucks in a sharp breath, slapping a hand over the scars on his thigh, trying his best to hide them from his friend’s judgemental stares as he scrambles for anything to say. He wants so badly to explain himself as he looks over to Chris, desperately begging him for help, for him to step in and take over.
“I-uh, um…” he tries but all of his words along with his breaths are stuck in his chest, making his head spin as that familiar sense of panic begins to descend upon him.
A nauseating heat floods down his cheeks, spreading onto his neck and across his chest as it burns him from the inside, charring his lungs and making it harder for him to catch his breath. The humiliation is all encompassing, made only worse by his friends' shocked faces, and the questions, comments and speculations being thrown at him one after another.
“You think he got mauled by a bear or something?”
“Ew dude, they’re so gnarly looking,”
“You didn’t do that to yourself, did you?”
“Dude’s a fucking psycho!”
Their taunting words blur into meaningless noise that doesn’t quite reach him as Matt can’t focus on anything besides the frantic buzz of panic in his head as his worst nightmare plays on repeat, over and over inside his head.
They saw. They saw. They saw.
He hadn’t prepared for this. He didn’t think they’d ever find out, he had always been so careful to make sure of the fact the entire time he’d known them. No one else knew besides Nick and Chris, and he sure as hell never wanted anyone beyond his brothers to ever find out.
That familiar and sickening feeling of shame twists nastily in his stomach as he curls into himself, desperate to try and shield himself away their attention as tears begin to burn at his eyes in a way he knows he won’t be able to push down for long, not with the way he’s struggling to breathe. He feels so exposed, his biggest secret so carelessly pointed out in front of those who were never supposed to know. They point and lean in closer, trying to see around his hand to get a better view, their eyes burning into his skin, leaving insecurity searing in his chest.
“Dude, can you fucking stop?” Chris cuts in sharply, his voice cold as anger flares in his chest.
He forces himself to remain still, not trusting his own movements, as the cruel remarks, jokes and taunts are still being hurled towards his brother, watching as Matt’s breathing begins to shallow and his hands start to shake even with the way they’re pressed against his leg.
What he expected to manifest as heartache, turns into seething anger as he’s forced to watch his sweet and kind brother shrink further into himself as tears gather along his lash line whilst the people who are supposed to be their friends so cruelly make jokes at his expense. Laughing at Matt’s humiliation as his worst nightmare comes true in front of him, as they point and laugh at the lowest and most painful moments of Matt’s life.
It’s not funny, it’s devastating.
Chris knows, he lived through it too. He was there to bandage him up and change his brothers stained sheets, taking the time to dry the sticky tears against his cheeks and promise that things would get better, that he wouldn’t feel that way forever, murmuring them into the quiet of their bedroom like it was a lifeline they both could cling to as they fell asleep curled around each other, trying their best to keep themselves afloat.
“I’m so serious, shut the fuck up. Right now,”
It’s too late, the damage is done. Chris can only watch as Matt pushes himself up, finally able to move now that the attention’s away from him, standing on shaky legs as he retreats back into the house with a quiet stuttering, “I’ll uh-be right back..”
Chris feels his heart break as he watches Matt disappear inside, leaving a tense silence in his wake as their heads snap back over towards Chris, their eyes searching for an explanation that he wasn't about to give them, one he knows they don’t deserve, still reeling from what had just happened.
It’s jarring, the sudden and immediate alienation he feels between himself and the group around him. Just seconds before it had all been so warm and comfortable between them as they’d laughed and joked around, but now he feels as if cold water’s been poured all over it. He feels the mental step back he takes as he looks between them and doesn’t see an ounce of guilt, shame or embarrassment; instead their lips curl in vague amusement.
“Bro, what was that all about?”
“So he's always been dramatic, huh?”
And just like that, it was over, ruined.
He wasn't about to stick around with people who made fun of anyone like that, let alone his brother.
Something fiercely protective rises inside his chest, squeezing painfully at his ribcage as his own guilt follows close behind. He can’t believe he brought Matt here, let him trust these people, letting them get close enough for him to finally let his guard down in a way he usually never did. He couldn’t believe he thought that they were safe for him to be around, for all three of them to be around.
How could he have got it so wrong?
Chris ignores the way their eyes follow him with morbid interest as he moves to stand up, shoulders squaring and eyes glowering as he chases after Matt, following where he’d disappeared into the house, away from their prying eyes. He bristles, anger rising hot in his chest as they call after him, insisting that it was “not that serious," and it was “just a joke,” only makes his determination to get to Matt stronger, quickening his pace as he storms away from them. The only thing on his mind right now is getting to Matt, needs to get to him and fast so that they can leave and never come back here.
A searing mix of guilt and anger swirls violently inside him as he silently promises to himself and his brothers that this will be the last time they ever see any of them. He feels so betrayed by their words that weren’t even directed at him, he can’t even imagine how heartbroken Matt’s feeling right now.
He passes by Nick, who’s chilling in the living room with a couple more of their friends. The sounds of his bright laughter, soothing the ire burning within him as he quickly makes a detour, coming up behind him and pressing his hands down onto his brothers shoulders. Chris is pleased when Nick doesn’t startle against him, instead relaxing into his touch, easily drawing his attention away from the conversation he was having, as a soft, “hey you,” leaves his lips as his head comes to rest back against his chest.
Chris feels guilty, knowing he’s about to ruin his brother’s fun as he leans in close to his ear and grits, “grab your stuff, we’re outta here,”
Nick turns around to look at him, his eyebrows high and eyes wide in surprise at his harsh tone. The question on his lips dies the moment Nick sees the look on his brother's face, those usually warm blue eyes of his are stone cold and serious in a way they never are.
Something happened.
He’s pissed…
Chris doesn’t give him a chance to answer as he squeezes Nick's shoulder once more before moving away as he stalks out of the room, continuing his search for Matt. He feels Nick's worried gaze following him, the same feeling beginning to creep into his own chest as he quickens his pace.
The moment the bathroom door is closed and locked behind him, a broken sob escapes Matt’s lips before he can stop it, the sound weak and pathetic, like him, he thinks miserably as he hangs his head in shame, bringing one hand to cover his mouth as if it could stop the heartbroken sounds from leaving.
He braces himself against the sink as he tries to keep control of his breathing, taking slow and deliberate breaths in, before exhaling them through his nose in a way he wishes he wasn’t so familiar with as he counts the seconds in his head. Tears begin to drip down his nose, splashing down onto the counter beneath him. Insecurity itches at his skin, making him want to rip it off and tear himself to shreds.
The urge comes back as sickeningly easy as it always does. He suppresses the desperate need to smash his head down onto the marble counter, one, two, three times, letting his blood mix with the ever growing puddle of tears, willing to do anything to offset the horrible feelings of shame and embarrassment twisting inside him right now, suffocating him. He doesn't know what else to do with such heavy feelings, he never really learned.
A heavy breath catches in his throat as the weight of realisation washes over him.
This was all his fault.
He should have been better at hiding, he shouldn't have let himself get so comfortable.
All summer, and pretty much every summer since he’d started tearing at the skin on his thighs, he’d made sure to wear longer shorts, the kind that sit just below his knees, easily covering what he’s so ashamed of, the things he wants no one else to see, already knowing that they’d think of him if anyone saw. It left him desperate to hide away the nasty reminders of his worst moments, the nights he’d etched lines into his skin, doing anything to keep himself from drowning through most of his teenage years, not knowing at the time that the “temporary” habit would follow him into his adulthood too.
It's not even that he hated his scars, to him, and his brothers, they were just sort of there, a part of him. He’d learned to accept them, with the soft encouraging words from his brothers assuring him he was okay and this didn't change anything about the way they saw him, knew him and loved him. He was fine with the scars being there, sometimes even liked them, a show of his own strength against the way his mind raged wars inside his head. But, still, he never wanted anyone else to see, knowing that his own tentative acceptance could so easily be swayed by the disgust held deep in their eyes as they looked at him like some kind of monster.
Which is exactly what had just happened.
He’d been so stupid to think that his friends wouldn't find out eventually, but he’d been even more foolish to think they wouldn't ask, point and laugh...
Another sob pulls painfully from his chest as he curls further into himself, his knees weak and about to give out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor with the force of his barely controlled sobs. But before they give way entirely, a soft knock on the bathroom door catches his attention, pulling him out of his panic for a moment as a soft voice calls out for him.
“Matty, you in there?”
It's Chris. His heart aches painfully at the sound of his voice, desperately calling out for him, wanting him here in the bathroom with him. Chris always knew how to make things feel less terrifying, how to shield him away from the world when it all became too much. And right now, with him hiding in the bathroom with nowhere else to go, he’s never felt so unsafe.
The relief that washes through him at hearing his brother’s voice just outside the door, the realisation that he’d followed after him, is enough to make his knees give way. He sinks down against the floor as a heavy breath leaves his chest, managing only a quiet hum of affirmation in response.
“The doors locked, babe, can you let me in?” he calls out for him again.
He immediately reaches up to untwist the lock on the door, his shaking hands struggling for a moment before he manages to get it off the latch.The second it clicks, Matt retreats backwards, pressing his back against the cabinets in the far side of the room, bringing his knees up to tide his tearful face when he hears Chris push open the door, stepping further inside.
“Oh Matt…” he sighs softly, the barely suppressed rage swirling around inside him vanishing the moment he lays his eyes on his brother, curled up on the bathroom floor, making himself impossibly small as he hides away in shame. He doesn't hesitate to join him on the floor as he wraps his arms around his shaking shoulders, pulling him close to his chest. Soft whispers of, “hey, it's okay, I got you,” as his hold tightens, strong and supportive as Matt all but crumbles against him.
Chris can't help but be a little surprised when the heaving sobs he’d been expecting never arrive, instead quiet whines leave his brother's throat, high pitched and heart wrenching as his tears flow silently down his flushed cheeks.
He takes a moment to adjust Matt in his arms, making sure they’re both comfortable against the hard flooring. When he glances down at him, he finds Matt’s eyes distant and unfocused, fixed on a spot somewhere across the tiled floor. Lost deep inside his own head, his eyes distant and unreachable. Still, Chris keeps talking softly, doing his best to get through to him.
“Matty, hey, listen to me,” he starts, bringing his hand up to thread through his tangled hair, his nails scratching at his scalp gently as he presses small kisses to the crown of his head. He leaves his lips pressed against him as he speaks, his voice rumbling through him as if it could help reach him where he’s buried in the depths of his mind, “I know you want to hide away right now, and you feel like this is all your fault, but it's not. Everything’s okay,”
“I-it’s not…”
“It is, Matt,” he tells him earnestly, a fond chuckle leaving his lips as he pulls him impossibly closer, “This isn't on you, okay? They all fucked up here, not you,”
He watches as Matt tries to shake his head against him, his breathing coming out short and desperate.
“I-I’m so embarrassed,” he whispers.
“I know you are, babe, but you don't need to be. If anyone should be embarrassed here, it's them, Matt,”
It takes a moment for his words to sink in fully. He knows Chris is right, that he didn't do anything wrong, not really, even if he feels like he did. Still, guilt washes over him, clawing painfully at his chest as he thinks about how Chris was about to lose his entire friendship group over this, all because of him and his own carelessness. Shame sears sharply in his chest as he thinks about all the wasted time and effort Chris had put into making this friendship work, wanting so desperately for his friends to get to know his brothers, for this to work out. And here Matt was, ruining all of his hard work and destroying the bridge he’d so painstakingly built between them.
The guilt almost consumes him and he can't help the tears that flow down his cheeks, his sobs punching out of him a little harder as he asks, “Do you think maybe, if I hadn't, if I didn't- if I didn't hurt myself, they'd maybe still want to be friends with us?”
Chris feels his heart break inside his chest as he listens to Matt’s question, spoken between painful gasps. He tilts his head back, as if it could push down the tears gathering in his own eyes as he tries to think of what he could possibly begin to say to him, knowing Matt genuinely believes this was all his fault as he cries desperately against him.
He doesn't get a chance to answer, as Matt speaks again as the familiar feeling of panic washes over him, desperate for Chris to understand how sorry he was, how this was never meant to happen. How he hadn't meant to ruin everything.
“T-they were never supposed to find out! I-I never wanted t-them to know..!”
“I know, Matt and I’m so sorry that choice was taken from you,” he tells him, feeling himself getting choked up as a heavy silence falls between them, broken only by Matt’s quiet cries as he rocks them both gently.
They stay quiet, cuddled against each other for a while, Matt breathing heavily against him, his head tucked into his neck and sighing sadly when he feels Chris move his hand down and away from where he was stroking at his hair to rest it against his sunburned thigh instead, his fingers poking just underneath the hem of his shorts, so that they brush against the scars hidden there.
“I love you, Matt,” he can't stop himself from whispering between them as the heartache crushes his chest, making it feel as if it would explode if he didn't get those three words out and into the open.
Matt sniffles for a moment, hands reaching up to cling at his tank top as the words are mumbled back sadly, “I love you too, and I’m so sorry…”
Chris sits up then, peering over to meet his brother's tearful gaze, a sad sort of smile wobbling at his own lips because of course Matt has managed to find something to feel sorry about, even though he’s clearly devastated and deserves an apology more than anyone else right now, “What do you have to be sorry about, hm?”
Matt shrugs reluctantly, unable to say anything now that he’s drawn attention to himself.
“Y-your friends,” He sighs after a while, his voice small as he finally tears his gaze away from Chris’s unwavering gaze., “I ruined everything…”
“No you didn't, Matt. They did,” Chris tells him, the protective ire rising up in him again, “Fuck ‘em, I dont care about them baby, you’re so much more important than they are,”
“I still feel so guilty..” he whispers, shrinking back into himself, hiding himself away from Chris’ forgiving eyes, feeling so undeserving of all of the love and patience his brother has for him, right now, especially after he’d ruined it all.
Chris sighs and lets Matt pull away from him, watching sadly as he curls back around himself, burying his head back into his knees and his hands in his hair as he tries so hard to control his breathing. The sight is completely devastating as Chris reaches over and rests his hand over his knee, his thumb rubbing softly against him, hoping the warmth from his palm keeps him grounded as he retreats back into the safety of his own head again.
Sometime later, Nick lets himself into the bathroom after receiving the quiet call for him to come in, closing the door quietly behind himself as he steps further into the room, eyes taking in the sad scene before him.
His eyes soften as they fall onto Matt, who’s still hiding from them as he’s curled into a tight ball on the floor as he rocks himself back and forth in soothing motions as he tries to keep himself calm against the spiral he's rapidly descending into.
“Hey Matt,” Nick greets him softly, reaching his hand down to stroke through his brother’s hair, listening to the way his breath hitches in a way of acknowledgement, not wanting to speak right now, “you okay, sweetheart?”
Matt shakes his head against the hand still stroking through his hair, earning a sad hum from both of his brothers.
“Sammi told me what happened,” Nick tells Chris, answering his silent question of how he knew to come and find them, startling a little as he sees the fire from earlier reignite in his youngest brother's eyes, angry and defensive.
A wretched sob breaks through Matt’s chest at his brother's words, “great! so everyone knows!”
“I’m so sorry, baby,” Nick tells him, feeling like his own heart was being ripped to shreds as he kneels down to Matt’s level, his hands still threading through his hair as he tries to soothe those spiraling thoughts of his, “it’s so unfair, I know it is,”
Nick almost couldn't believe what he was hearing when their friend Sammi had come over to him, a drink balanced in her hand, having just come from the kitchen, a couple of their other friends in tow, all looking confused, questions hanging off their lips as she had asked, “hey so what’s up with the scars all over your brother’s legs?”
He couldn't help the way his eyes widened and body lurched in surprise. He was immediately up and off of the couch as if it had burned him, the fierce look on Chris’ face and the tense grip against his shoulders suddenly all made sense.
They knew. They all knew.
Matt would be devastated.
“Why the fuck would you ask me something like that?” he’d shot back, eyes cold and jaw clenching, not caring for the way the group backed up a little as he took another step forward, “do you guys really not think at all? What the hell is wrong with you, did it never occur to you that maybe there’s a reason he doesn’t talk about it? That maybe it’s none of your fucking business!”
A grim sense of satisfaction curled lowly in his gut as he finally saw guilt flicker across their faces, but he didn't stick around long enough to hear whatever excuses they might come up with. He’s already moving, striding in the direction he’d last seen Chris, over towards the bathroom he remembers passing earlier.
He needed to find his brothers, knowing he’d already left it too long if Matt was going to spiral over this.
He knew he’d need to get the three of them out of here, away from all of the unforgiving, intrusive eyes that seem so determined to pry into every part of his brother. Seemingly desperate to tear him apart, just to get another glimpse of him, dissecting him until there's nothing left untouched.
“I just want to go home, please, I don't want to be here any more”, Matt begs them, his voice caught between sobs that make his brother's hearts ache, as they try their best to comfort him, their hands reaching out for him anywhere they could reach.
They can tell that it's all beginning to get too much for Matt, the unsafety, and insecurity mixing with the guilt and self-hatred swirling inside him as he grips tightly at his hair as he chokes on the sobs leaving his lips. The four walls of the bathroom start to close in around them, trapping them there as the vultures circle them from outside the door, watching, waiting.
“We’re leaving, let's go,” Chris decides as he moves to stand up, Nick following his movements as they start to curl their hands around Matt’s arms, ready to help pull him up from where he’s curled up tightly on the floor.
“Wait! I-I can’t!” he suddenly panics, eyes wild as they look between them, begging for them to understand as he refuses to rise from his place on the tiled floor, head shaking desperately.
“We can't hide in here forever, baby,” Nick reasons, eyes searching his own, trying to understand his sudden reluctance, “we gotta get you home safe, honey,”
“The quicker we leave, the better, actually,” Chris can't help but comment dryly, making it very clear that he doesn't want them to be here a second longer than they have to be. Wanting to get them all as far away from them as possible, so they can keep Matt safe somewhere where prying eyes can't reach them.
They both peer down to examine where Matt’s curled in on himself, body tense and unmoving, even as their arms try to coax him into standing up. His head bowed, refusing to meet their own as tears continue to drip down his bright red cheeks, his breathing rapidly descending dangerously into hysteria as panic overtakes him, “But they’ll stare!”
“No babe, they won’t,” Chris tells him simply, as the seething anger creeps back into his voice, furious at how these people have completely destroyed his brother’s sense of safety so completely. They had no idea how much work it had taken to build that trust in the first place, and they’d torn it apart in a matter of minutes as one thoughtless question had become ten, leaving him feeling exposed and cornered in a place he’d only just begun to feel comfortable in, “we won't let them,”
“We’ll protect you, baby. If that's what you're worried about, we’ve got you,” Nick tells him, as he crouches back down, moving to pull Matt into his lap, rubbing at his frozen chest with his warm hands, soothing his rapid breathing as the rocks them gently, cheek resting against the younger’s shaking shoulders, “we just want to get you out of here, that's all,”
Matt nods between his sobs, “home,” he cries, feeling more insecure and unsafe than he has in such a long time, “I want to go home, please Nick…”
The sound of Matt’s anxious and pleading cries fill the heartwrenching silence between them, as Nick catches Chris’ gaze, his blue eyes mirroring the anger he feels rising in his chest at how anyone could make Matt feel like this, so desperately exposed and unhappy as they so heartlessly ripped away his smile and put his biggest insecurity on show for everyone to see.
Nick can sense the suppressed anger that's pushing against Chris’ chest, threatening to burst through the dam he’d carefully built there as fury bleeds onto his features, his eyebrows pulling together and his eyes water with barely held back tears, making Nick smile despite himself. Their youngest, always resorting to tears when he has nowhere else to put such big feelings. He knows it's taking everything inside Chris right now to hold himself back, to not storm out there and cause a scene, throwing his fists against anyone who had even dared to crack a smile at his brother's complete and needless humiliation.
And so, with Matt still curled up against his lap, Nick reaches his free hand out and curls it around Chris fist, letting his fingers stroke soothing circles against his clenched knuckles, eyes meeting his own as he begs for him not to, even though he understands the white hot wrath simmering in his chest, leaving him breathless because he feels it too.
Chris’ eyes linger on him for a while, considering him before they drift back down to Matt, who’s finally beginning to settle. Residual sobs still break from his chest every now and then, but his breathing is more even than it was before. A reluctant sigh leaves Chris’ chest as he gives Nick a single nod, a silent promise that he won’t do anything and Nick sends him a small and thankful smile in return despite knowing that he won't be able to keep his cool for much longer if they don't hurry up and get the hell out of here.
He idly plays with Chris’s hand, their fingers still entwined as he quietly plans their escape, trying to figure out how to get them out of here without upsetting Matt any further or sending Chris over the edge again. He bites his lip, anxiously as he considers their options and quickly realises that getting Matt through the house and to their car without anyone seeing him was going to be way harder than he’d first thought, especially given how anxious the boy in his arms became every time he heard people’s voices echoing down the hall, his body tensing up as he curls further into Nick for protection, burying himself against him.
An idea crosses his mind then and while it's not the perfect solution, Nick thinks it might work well enough for them to coax Matt out of the bathroom and into their car without him breaking down completely for everyone to see. He pulls Matt away from where he’s resting against his chest for a moment, craning his neck down to peer into those red and wet eyes that glance up shyly to meet his own as the younger takes a shaky inhale, preparing himself for whatever Nick was about to say.
“Hey, you wanna swap pants, would that make this earlier for you?” he asks, “getting you outta these shorts might make you feel more comfortable, huh babe?”
Matt takes a moment, his eyes flickering down to Nick’s lap, realising he’s wearing his new favourite pants, long and oversized, perfect for hiding his legs out of sight right now as he feels his chest fill with a little hope. He realises then that he never wants to see his own shorts ever again, let alone wear them, feeling so deeply betrayed by the clothes he chose to put on this morning, blissfully unaware of the utter heartbreak they would cause.
He nods once as a tiny, “yes, please,” leaves his lips, earning a relieved smile from both of his brothers.
Chris is the first to move, taking Matt’s agreement as a sign to grab his hands and help to ease him up from the floor, keeping his brother balanced as he slowly tries to unbutton his shorts with his shaky and uncoordinated hands, smiling encouragingly when Matt sighs a little in frustration, but doesn't dare to help him, not until he asks for it. Eventually, he gets it, and shifts to pull his shorts down his hips and towards the floor, stepping out of them tentatively, though he pretends not to see the knowing glances his brothers exchange between them, now that his scars are completely out in the open, skin red hot from the sun coating the mix of tan skin and thick white lines resting upon his legs.
He knows there's more scars there than they remember, that they’re probably worse too.
As soon as he hears that familiar low hum from Nick, he knows they’ll be having a conversation about it later but for now, he tries to listen to Chris’ soft encouragements keeping him present and away from focusing on the way insecurity still crawls under his skin as he tries not to curl into himself, hiding away from them.
“I look so fucking stupid,” he can’t help but laugh when he catches a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror, now fully dressed in his older brothers pastel pink checkered pants, the cotton fabric cool and soft against him as he finally feels himself begin to breathe a little easier, now his legs are hidden behind the fabric.
“You look like me!” Nick grins, smiling brightly as he grabs Matt’s hand and gets him to spin around, carefully avoiding the hand that reaches out to slap him away playfully.
“Exactly,” Matt rolls his eyes fondly, warmth and relief spreading through his chest as the atmosphere between them finally softens. The tension that had gripped the room tightly in its fist, finally loosening now that he’s safely covered up, the suffocating insecurity that had settled over him begins to ease.
Chris returns a few minutes later from where he’d disappeared to secure them a clear and safe route out of the house, one they they could be sure would let Matt leave without having to face their friends again, if they even deserved that title anymore, avoiding their cruel and mocking gazes. The hard set of his jaw and the fury still simmering in his eyes tell Nick he’d had plenty of choice words prepared if anyone got in his way as he sends him a subtle thumbs up as their eyes meet in the mirror, a silent ‘coasts clear’ followed by a wink, reassuring them that nothing would happen as they tried to get Matt out of the house and into their car.
Thankfully, Chris is more than certain that no one would dare to cross them. Their so-called friends had practically fled the moment Chris appeared in the hallway, all avoiding his gaze and making themselves scarce outside as if they finally understood just how badly they’d screwed up.
“You look fucking ridiculous, Matt,” he can’t help but snort as he catches sight of his brother in the corner of the bathroom.
“Tell me about it,” Matt groans, as a small laugh still falls from his lips, finally extinguishing the residual fire burning inside Chris' chest.
“Should I be offended?” Nick scowls, eyes narrowing as he looks between them unable to stop the smile from stretching across his lips.
Neither Chris nor Matt answer, instead simply exchanging an amused glance as Chris moves to swing his backpack over his shoulder as he holds out a hand for Matt to take, “ready to go?”
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Matt agrees as he takes his brothers hand in his, letting Chris lead them out of the bathroom and down the empty hallway, only pausing momentarily when Matt leans back, capturing Nicks hand in his own, pulling him along, making sure he’s safely tucked between them, like they’re his own personal bodyguards.
In a way, he supposes they were each other's bodyguards.