Chapter 3
Getting up everyday was one of the hardest things Mordred had to do. All he wanted was to lay in bed and never leave. Maybe he could become a hermit. Never talking to people or having to deal with douchebags. Alas, the world would not allow that.
Having laid in bed for ten minutes, he finally threw off the blankets and headed towards the shower. This was the only good part of the morning. Surrounded by warmth. No one could bother him. It was his little haven. Too bad it had to be interrupted by school. He washed his hair and stood underneath the spray of water for a few minutes before slowly soaping himself, wanting this to last as long as possible without be late. He then washed off the soap and got out, proceeding to dry himself.
Food drifted to his nostrils as he headed down the stars. It smelled like pancakes and bacon! He rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a plate full of food then sat next to Morgana. He was running a little bit behind, so he didn't get to savor the food as he normally would. It was still delicious though. The pancakes were fluffy and the bacon crispy.
Once he was finished, he put his plate up, kissed Morgana goodbye on the cheek, grabbed his backpack, and headed out to his car. It was a blue '98 Toyota. The car used to be his mom's.
Mordred pulled into Cora's drive way two minutes later. This was one of those moments he was glad she lived so close.
When he was running late, he could still pick her up. She came running out and quickly hopped into the car.
"Ready for school?", she asked, her voice hoarse from sleep. Her brown hair was pulled up into a bun and her clothes were wrinkly as if she had slept in them.
"No, but you don't look like you are either. Did you just wake up?", he replied.
"Yeah, like five minutes before you pulled up. I keep telling myself I'm going to go to bed at ten but then it's three in the morning." Mordred backed out and started heading for school as she talked.
Soon, they pulled into the school parking lot and parked. Hopefully when they came back to leave he won't find a new dent on his car.
The first class of the day was Pre-Calc, something they both shared. They also shared AP English IV and AP Latin IV. The bell rang as soon as their feet hit the inside of the building and they got to the class with only seconds to spar. This was probably the worst class to have for the first of that day. Mordred was pretty good at math, just not when he was still half asleep. It also didn't help that Pre-Calc was horrendously difficult and made him want to poke his eyeballs out. The only reason he was just barely passing was because him and Cara split the problems and helped each other on hard questions with their basic understanding.
The class moved slowly, the teacher explaining how to do some problem while everyone was barely understanding. Eventually, he stopped and gave out homework. With ten minutes left of the class, the two friends got through two problems.
When the bell rang, they got up and left. Once in the hallway, they hugged before going separate ways. Cara had orchestra while Mordred had Financial Literacy. He walked quickly to class with his head down, trying not to draw attention to himself. The other students normally left him alone in the morning but every once and awhile one hopped up on too much caffeine decides it's a great time to mess with him. Luckily, today is not that day and he gets to his destination safely.
This is his least favorite class. Honestly, it's a blow off class. No one pays attention and the teacher doesn't try that hard to get it. Most of them are AP students that use this time to do last minute homework, himself included. He had to finish writing the rough draft of his essay for AP English IV. All he had left was the conclusion but those always were difficult to write. He was glad he had perfected bullshit writing sophomore year.
Once that class was over, he was on his way to AP Government. He's always loved history classes. Learning about how society has evolved is just so interesting. His favorite history class was AP Euro. European history was fascinating and the teacher was spectacular as well. Halfway there, a student bumped hard into him and muttered faggot. The few students around him that heard laughed. He felt his face heat up and walked quicker to class.
Once in there, he sat down in the back and pulled out his work. One day he will stand up for himself, but today is not that day. That day will most likely be the last day of school.
After that class came lunch, something he and Cara loved. Seniors got off-campus. They met at his car without too many injuries and insults. The majority of the population's favorite insults for the two were about Mordred's being gay and Cara's mother being a meth addict and going to jail.
The meal today would be Taco Bell. Extremely cheap and good. They grabbed a table and dug in.
"Everything good so far? Any incidents yet?", Cara asked. He shrugged.
"Just the usual name calling. No bruises. Maybe today will be a good day?", was his reply.
"Hopefully. Knock on wood. I don't want you to jinx it. You don't need to explain away another black eye." He nodded and did as she said. Morgana isn't going to keep believing his lies.
They finished and drove back to school, chatting about random things. Fortunately, Mordred didn't jinx anything and got out with only minor bruises from being slammed into lockers. Those he won't have to worry about hiding.
Getting out of the school parking lot is an event where someone has their life flashing before their eyes. No one hit his car and he was able to get out and be on his way home. As he was approaching his house, he saw a figure there. The closer he got, the more defined the person became and he realized it was Merlin. What was Merlin doing here? Surely he knew Morgana was at work? He parked in the driveway and got out, waving at him. Merlin bounded up to him, smiling widely.
"Hey, I was hoping we could talk?", Merlin squeezed his arm. Mordred nodded dumbly and went to unlock the house, Merlin following him. What did he want to talk about? Nerves filled his stomach and he began shaking a little. He closed the door once they were both inside and they sat at the island in the kitchen.
"That bruise you have around your eye, how did you get it? And no 'I walked into something' bullshit. The truth." Merlin looked his straight in the eyes.
Mordred gulped and replied, his voice shaking, "Just some dumb jocks at school. No big deal."
Merlin arched his brow and said disbelievingly, "No big deal? Then why does Morgana not know?"
"I just don't want to worry her. She already has enough to deal with, taking care of her depressed nephew who deals with anxiety." The teenager played with a string on his shirt.
"And seeing you covered in bruises doesn't? This is a big deal. You are getting beat up. Who's to say how much worse it will get? What if they break something?" Merlin's voice stayed calm, but Mordred could tell he was getting worked up. He sighed.
"She just thinks I'm clumsy. I'll deal with broken bones if it comes to that. I only have this year left. And then I can leave and never worry about this again." Merlin grabbed his hand.
"You need to tell Morgana. She's not dumb, she knows something is going on."
"What if she tries to get me to leave? I can't. I have someone who needs me. I can't leave her."
"We'll figure something out. Just talk to her, okay? She loves you." Merlin let go of his hand and grabbed a piece of paper in pen. He wrote something on it then handed it to Mordred.
"This is my number. Call or text me if you need anything or just want to talk. Also, tell me how everything goes with Morgana." Mordred blushed and nodded. He has Merlin's number now? Is this the real life? He can't believe it! This might not be the way he wanted it to happen, but this means Merlin wants to talk about him. And he likes him enough to be worried. Today is turning out to be wonderful.
"Walk me to the door?", Merlin asks, a little shy. Mordred nods, confused. Why would Merlin be nervous?
He followed Merlin to the door and they stood there for a second. Merlin had a look on his face as if he was deciding to say or do something. Making up his mind, he hugged Mordred tightly. Mordred tenses up but then slowly relaxed, wrapping his arms around Merlin. They stood there for a few seconds and Mordred inhaled. The older man smelled amazing. It was earthy and musky with something that had to just be Merlin. Mordred wished he could smell the scent forever. They let go and Merlin smiled softly at him before leaving. The door closed and Mordred leaned against it, filled with joy and grinning. Yes, today was definitely the best day of his life.
Having laid in bed for ten minutes, he finally threw off the blankets and headed towards the shower. This was the only good part of the morning. Surrounded by warmth. No one could bother him. It was his little haven. Too bad it had to be interrupted by school. He washed his hair and stood underneath the spray of water for a few minutes before slowly soaping himself, wanting this to last as long as possible without be late. He then washed off the soap and got out, proceeding to dry himself.
Food drifted to his nostrils as he headed down the stars. It smelled like pancakes and bacon! He rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a plate full of food then sat next to Morgana. He was running a little bit behind, so he didn't get to savor the food as he normally would. It was still delicious though. The pancakes were fluffy and the bacon crispy.
Once he was finished, he put his plate up, kissed Morgana goodbye on the cheek, grabbed his backpack, and headed out to his car. It was a blue '98 Toyota. The car used to be his mom's.
Mordred pulled into Cora's drive way two minutes later. This was one of those moments he was glad she lived so close.
When he was running late, he could still pick her up. She came running out and quickly hopped into the car.
"Ready for school?", she asked, her voice hoarse from sleep. Her brown hair was pulled up into a bun and her clothes were wrinkly as if she had slept in them.
"No, but you don't look like you are either. Did you just wake up?", he replied.
"Yeah, like five minutes before you pulled up. I keep telling myself I'm going to go to bed at ten but then it's three in the morning." Mordred backed out and started heading for school as she talked.
Soon, they pulled into the school parking lot and parked. Hopefully when they came back to leave he won't find a new dent on his car.
The first class of the day was Pre-Calc, something they both shared. They also shared AP English IV and AP Latin IV. The bell rang as soon as their feet hit the inside of the building and they got to the class with only seconds to spar. This was probably the worst class to have for the first of that day. Mordred was pretty good at math, just not when he was still half asleep. It also didn't help that Pre-Calc was horrendously difficult and made him want to poke his eyeballs out. The only reason he was just barely passing was because him and Cara split the problems and helped each other on hard questions with their basic understanding.
The class moved slowly, the teacher explaining how to do some problem while everyone was barely understanding. Eventually, he stopped and gave out homework. With ten minutes left of the class, the two friends got through two problems.
When the bell rang, they got up and left. Once in the hallway, they hugged before going separate ways. Cara had orchestra while Mordred had Financial Literacy. He walked quickly to class with his head down, trying not to draw attention to himself. The other students normally left him alone in the morning but every once and awhile one hopped up on too much caffeine decides it's a great time to mess with him. Luckily, today is not that day and he gets to his destination safely.
This is his least favorite class. Honestly, it's a blow off class. No one pays attention and the teacher doesn't try that hard to get it. Most of them are AP students that use this time to do last minute homework, himself included. He had to finish writing the rough draft of his essay for AP English IV. All he had left was the conclusion but those always were difficult to write. He was glad he had perfected bullshit writing sophomore year.
Once that class was over, he was on his way to AP Government. He's always loved history classes. Learning about how society has evolved is just so interesting. His favorite history class was AP Euro. European history was fascinating and the teacher was spectacular as well. Halfway there, a student bumped hard into him and muttered faggot. The few students around him that heard laughed. He felt his face heat up and walked quicker to class.
Once in there, he sat down in the back and pulled out his work. One day he will stand up for himself, but today is not that day. That day will most likely be the last day of school.
After that class came lunch, something he and Cara loved. Seniors got off-campus. They met at his car without too many injuries and insults. The majority of the population's favorite insults for the two were about Mordred's being gay and Cara's mother being a meth addict and going to jail.
The meal today would be Taco Bell. Extremely cheap and good. They grabbed a table and dug in.
"Everything good so far? Any incidents yet?", Cara asked. He shrugged.
"Just the usual name calling. No bruises. Maybe today will be a good day?", was his reply.
"Hopefully. Knock on wood. I don't want you to jinx it. You don't need to explain away another black eye." He nodded and did as she said. Morgana isn't going to keep believing his lies.
They finished and drove back to school, chatting about random things. Fortunately, Mordred didn't jinx anything and got out with only minor bruises from being slammed into lockers. Those he won't have to worry about hiding.
Getting out of the school parking lot is an event where someone has their life flashing before their eyes. No one hit his car and he was able to get out and be on his way home. As he was approaching his house, he saw a figure there. The closer he got, the more defined the person became and he realized it was Merlin. What was Merlin doing here? Surely he knew Morgana was at work? He parked in the driveway and got out, waving at him. Merlin bounded up to him, smiling widely.
"Hey, I was hoping we could talk?", Merlin squeezed his arm. Mordred nodded dumbly and went to unlock the house, Merlin following him. What did he want to talk about? Nerves filled his stomach and he began shaking a little. He closed the door once they were both inside and they sat at the island in the kitchen.
"That bruise you have around your eye, how did you get it? And no 'I walked into something' bullshit. The truth." Merlin looked his straight in the eyes.
Mordred gulped and replied, his voice shaking, "Just some dumb jocks at school. No big deal."
Merlin arched his brow and said disbelievingly, "No big deal? Then why does Morgana not know?"
"I just don't want to worry her. She already has enough to deal with, taking care of her depressed nephew who deals with anxiety." The teenager played with a string on his shirt.
"And seeing you covered in bruises doesn't? This is a big deal. You are getting beat up. Who's to say how much worse it will get? What if they break something?" Merlin's voice stayed calm, but Mordred could tell he was getting worked up. He sighed.
"She just thinks I'm clumsy. I'll deal with broken bones if it comes to that. I only have this year left. And then I can leave and never worry about this again." Merlin grabbed his hand.
"You need to tell Morgana. She's not dumb, she knows something is going on."
"What if she tries to get me to leave? I can't. I have someone who needs me. I can't leave her."
"We'll figure something out. Just talk to her, okay? She loves you." Merlin let go of his hand and grabbed a piece of paper in pen. He wrote something on it then handed it to Mordred.
"This is my number. Call or text me if you need anything or just want to talk. Also, tell me how everything goes with Morgana." Mordred blushed and nodded. He has Merlin's number now? Is this the real life? He can't believe it! This might not be the way he wanted it to happen, but this means Merlin wants to talk about him. And he likes him enough to be worried. Today is turning out to be wonderful.
"Walk me to the door?", Merlin asks, a little shy. Mordred nods, confused. Why would Merlin be nervous?
He followed Merlin to the door and they stood there for a second. Merlin had a look on his face as if he was deciding to say or do something. Making up his mind, he hugged Mordred tightly. Mordred tenses up but then slowly relaxed, wrapping his arms around Merlin. They stood there for a few seconds and Mordred inhaled. The older man smelled amazing. It was earthy and musky with something that had to just be Merlin. Mordred wished he could smell the scent forever. They let go and Merlin smiled softly at him before leaving. The door closed and Mordred leaned against it, filled with joy and grinning. Yes, today was definitely the best day of his life.