Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel) - Chapter 34
Title: Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel)
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Thirty Four
Rating: R
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 4097
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
The last week of school finally arrived and with it Hunter returned. He didn’t approach the group again and didn’t walk by them at lunch, but David could feel his eyes on him and knew he was being watched. He refused to let Hunter’s angry gaze stop him from doing what he wanted and continued to sit next to Ezra, also ignoring the stares they were getting from their classmates. As the week neared its end, it seemed David was going to get through his very last week of high school without Hunter bothering him again and he was grateful for it, choosing to spend the time enjoying the last time he had with his friends and knowing he wouldn’t be seeing them again when the school year ended.
Pierre had continued to drop David off and pick him up from school each day, getting more nervous as each day passed that something more was going to happen. David asked him to park in the very back of the school parking lot to wait for him each afternoon, not wanting to risk him and Hunter having a run in that could lead to a fight. Pierre couldn’t help the way he looked around for him though, wanting to get a glimpse of him, wanting to intimidate him a little, but for better or worse the week went on and he didn’t see a single sighting of Hunter, and David made it to his car without having run into him, either. He supposed it was better that way, no matter how much he wanted to have an excuse to stare Hunter down and scare him.
On the second to last day of school, David stood at his locker after all classes had ended with Ezra, talking with him about nothing particularly important and laughing at his silly banter. After a couple of minutes, Ezra was giving him a wave and heading away down the hall and David was turning back to his locker, beginning to empty out its contents into his bag, knowing he wouldn’t need much of anything for the following day. When his bag was stuffed too full to zip closed, he flipped the cover over the top and closed his locker door, knowing he would have to get the last of it the next day. He hitched his too heavy bag up on his shoulder and began to walk down the hall, headed for the parking lot where he knew Pierre was waiting for him.
He glanced over his shoulder out of habit and with a horrible sinking feeling he saw that Hunter was behind him, walking quickly to try to catch up with him though he was quite the distance behind him. David jumped a little and turned forward again, increasing his speed and walking as quickly as he could down the hall, determined to get to Pierre before Hunter could catch up with him. He made it out the front doors and down the sidewalk before he felt his wrist grabbed and David tried to yank it away, not looking back as fear gripped him.
“David, wait!” Hunter tried, holding tight to David’s wrist and trying to pull him back. “I’m sorry!”
David tried to dig in his bag for his taser or his pepper spray but he had piled so much stuff in his bag that he couldn’t find them and he began to panic. “Leave me alone!” he replied quickly, his voice revealing too easily how terrified he was.
“Come on, just talk to me!” Hunter begged, pulling back hard enough on David’s wrist that he was forced backwards.
When he felt his body begin to move back, David’s body reacted out of instinct and he spun and swung his balled fist, making contact with Hunter’s jaw that immediately sent pain jabbing through his knuckles. Hunter stumbled back and released his hold on David and without waiting David took off running, thinking of nothing but getting to Pierre where he would be safe.
Too quickly Hunter caught him again, this time his arms wrapping around his middle from behind and pulling him to a stop as he said, “Look, I’m sorry, okay?”
“Let GO of me!” David yelled, struggling against him urgently.
“This is the last we’re gonna ever see of each other, can you just give me a chance to talk?” Hunter continued to push, taking steps backward and pulling David’s body back with him.
“That’s what you said before you tried to RAPE me!” David threw back at him. He felt as Hunter’s arms tightened around him, pulling him tight against his body and immobilizing his arms. David began to breathe raggedly as he flashed back to the last time Hunter had held him against his will and in one quick movement he leaned his head forward and then swung it back into Hunter’s chin with a jolt of pain.
“Ah! Fuck!” Hunter grunted, and he lost his grip on David’s body.
David scrambled forward and ran again, crying without realizing it as he desperately tried to get to the back of the parking lot where he knew Pierre was parked somewhere. He was breathing hard and his cheeks were streaked with tears as he ran, panic telling him not to look back and to keep taking steps forward, to not stop until he saw Pierre’s car.
Pierre sat in his car looking around, continuously checking his rear view and side mirrors for when David would be walking up to him. His eyes had started to flick down but the sight of David running from behind the truck he was parked next to with a look of horror on his face drew his attention back immediately. He saw in that same second as Hunter ran up behind David and wrapped his arms around him, grabbing him and lifting him off the ground. Without conscious thought Pierre had flung open the door and was out of the car, running several steps until he was within a few feet of Hunter and David.
The surprise of seeing Pierre approaching, hulking and angry, caused Hunter to drop David and David scrambled away from him again. David turned quickly to see Pierre grabbing Hunter by the shirt and lifting him off the ground, slamming him down into the pavement and climbing on top of him. Hunter couldn’t fight Pierre the same way he had fought Ezra, Pierre being significantly bigger than Ezra was despite being two inches shorter, and he was overwhelmed immediately. Pierre registered nothing but hot rage as he aimed punch after punch at Hunter’s face, bloodying and bruising him with just a few hits. The edges of Pierre’s vision was blurry and black as he continued to hit Hunter, hardly recognizing the feel of his fist making contact with the other boy’s face or his strangled grunts and yells of pain.
David ran forward and wrapped his arms around Pierre’s chest from behind, trying to pull him back before he went too far or their fight drew the attention of teachers, though there were already several students standing by watching. “Pierre stop!” he yelled, yanking back on Pierre’s chest. Pierre heard David’s voice as if he was underwater and David stood above the surface, like he was two rooms over and the doors were closed. Fury tore through him, nine months of restless frustration and rage and hatred drowned everything else out, and all he could see was the boy underneath him who was weakly trying to push him away but was unable to stop his superior attack.
David knew he had to stop Pierre and that it would only take minutes for the commotion to draw out teachers. He did the only thing he could think of and he wrapped his arms around Pierre’s head, pulling him against his chest and curling around him, crying and begging him to stop. Pierre blinked rapidly and his hands stopped moving and for a second he just sat there, breathing heavily. Then he vaguely registered the way David renewed his tugging on him and he allowed himself to be pulled to standing, stumbling backward, his ears ringing and his vision out of focus. His eyes flashed down to Hunter on the ground, who was using his hands behind him to drag himself backward out of the way, his face covered in blood and already bruising.
“Get in the car,” David demanded frantically, pushing Pierre to the passenger side. Pierre got in the car, still in a daze and breathing hard, hardly registering when David got in the driver's side and pulled out of the spot and took off much faster than he would usually drive. Pierre looked over at David, seeing the fear in his eyes and the way he kept glancing in his mirrors as if he was paranoid they were going to be followed.
By the time they were back at David’s house he had started to feel like he was inside his body again and the heat that had torn through him was gone. He watched David walk around the front of the car and open the door, grabbing his arm and pulling him out and into the house. David led him to the sink and turned on the faucet, putting his right hand under the running water and beginning to wash away the blood on his knuckles. As the water ran red and then turned back to clear, Pierre realized that not all of the blood was Hunter’s and that his knuckles were red and torn.
“Fuck,” he muttered, this being the first he had spoken at all.
David looked over at him, his eyes wide and scared but filled with sadness. He put a hand on Pierre’s cheek and forced him to look at him, searching his eyes. With relief he saw that Pierre had returned to himself and he leaned into his chest without hesitating, hugging him hard. Pierre leaned his head down, hunching over to put his face in David’s neck as he hugged him back with the arm that wasn’t under the water. “I’m sorry,” Pierre said, his voice shaking. “He grabbed you and I just…”
David shook his head, holding tight to Pierre. “I’m glad you were there,” he breathed back, his fingers digging into the back of the taller boy’s shirt. “I don’t know what he would have done.”
That night both Pierre and David were anxious, wondering if the cops were going to show up at David’s door at any point. Would anyone have called the cops? Would Hunter have called the cops? They tried to comfort themselves with the idea that Hunter wouldn’t possibly call the police after his sexual assault on David those many months ago, but the uncertainty of it made it difficult for them to think of anything else that night. Despite their fears, nothing ever happened and they went to sleep late that night, wondering if nothing was going to come from Pierre’s attack on Hunter.
The following morning David insisted on driving himself to school, no matter how much Pierre protested. “What if someone sees you and you get in trouble?” David asked him nervously. “The best thing you can do now is just stay away and hopefully nothing ever ends up happening.” Pierre continued to argue but David put his foot down, refusing to budge. “After everything we just went through, I’m not losing you now. I’ll have Ezra walk me to my car. If I ask him, he’ll do it.” No matter how much he tried to convince him otherwise, David ended up leaving the house in his own car alone that morning, leaving Pierre at home feeling completely useless and trapped.
All morning David was looking over his shoulder, glancing nervously every time a classroom door opened, terrified that at any moment a teacher was going to call him to the Principal’s office. Though there were people looking at him and whispering with expressions more serious than usual, he made it to lunch without anything happening and he started to realize that nothing was going to happen. David was nervous as he sat down next to Ezra, not smiling despite the fact that it was the last day of school for the seniors and he should have been relaxed and happy.
“You good?” Ezra asked, and David wished that just once the other boy would stop noticing his emotional state. David looked over at him and nodded before taking a bite of his food.
“Holy fuck, look at Hunter,” Ben said suddenly as he leaned across the table with wide eyes and pointed his thumb behind him.
Noah, Ezra, and David all looked up quickly, their heads turning to where Ben had pointed. David’s eyes widened as he stared at him from across the cafeteria, sitting at a table by himself and leaned back in his seat with his hood over his head. It didn’t hide his face which was bruised and swollen, his left eye barely open and his lip fat and bloody. David had been so focused on trying to pull Pierre off of Hunter the day before that he hadn’t had the time to look at what Pierre had done to him. The way Pierre had completely lost himself and been out of his mind had proved to David once and for all that Pierre would have killed Hunter if he had confronted him after his assault on David.
Noah and Ezra both exclaimed at the same time, David unsure who had said what but both clearly shocked by the look of him. David just stared, unable to take his eyes off of him, his breathing shallow and fast.
“What the fuck happened to him?” Noah asked, turning back to look at his friends again.
“I wanna shake the hand of whoever did that,” Ezra muttered bitterly.
As one everyone looked at David, seemingly realizing he hadn’t spoken and hadn’t taken his eyes off of Hunter. “You okay?” Ezra asked him, the bitterness dropping from his voice and being replaced with concern.
David just nodded, saying in a shaking, hushed voice, “Pierre did that to him.”
He heard exclamations from the three of them and David forced himself to tear his eyes away from Hunter, afraid that Hunter was going to look over at him and see him staring. He heard them asking him what had happened and David shook his head quickly at the memory, his eyes far away as he explained, “He chased me out to the parking lot yesterday and grabbed me from behind… but he did it right behind Pierre’s car and… Pierre made him let go.”
“Jesus Christ!” Noah exclaimed, turning around to glance back at Hunter and process his injuries again.
“Your boyfriend’s my hero,” Ezra joked, smiling a little darkly and glancing with satisfaction at Hunter’s bruised and swollen face.
“I was really scared he was gonna get in trouble but… so far nothing’s happened,” David admitted, keeping his eyes down. “I didn’t let him take me to school today. I was worried about him coming back so… if someone could walk me to my car after school…” he trailed off, picking at the food on his plate absentmindedly.
He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders squeezing him reassuringly and he looked over at Ezra, looking into his eyes, unable to hide how deeply anxious he was feeling over what had happened. “We can definitely walk you to your car, though somehow I don’t think he’s gonna bother you again. Look at him. If he doesn’t learn his lesson after that, he’s hopeless.”
David glanced back over at Hunter, seeing the way he looked completely dejected and nodded slowly.
“Did he even get a hit back on your boyfriend?” Noah asked, pulling David’s eyes back to him. David shook his head slowly, and he couldn’t help but smile a little at the way the three boys got all worked up again, fawning over Pierre and how cool he was.
“What a damn MAN,” Ezra said, giving David’s shoulders another squeeze before dropping his arm.
“You’re in love with David’s boyfriend now?” Noah jabbed at him teasingly.
“Oh shut the fuck up,” Ezra growled back, pointing at him across the table. “I still don’t forgive you guys. You really thought I went gay. You REALLY thought that.”
“If the eyeliner fits,” Ben taunted him.
Without warning Ezra picked up a few grapes from his homemade lunch and threw them across the table at Ben, yelling, “I don’t wear eyeliner! I just have dark eyelashes!” Ben smacked the grapes away and everyone laughed except for Ezra who was still glaring and shaking his head. “You guys are such fucks.”
“I’m starting to feel offended,” David said, turning to look at Ezra with a look of mock offense. “You’d be LUCKY to get me.”
“Don’t you start too, I’m never gonna hear the end of it,” Ezra responded, his eyes going dark and his face blank.
“I’m just saying, I like being topped and you don’t know what I can do with my mouth,” David continued nonchalantly and he shrugged as he looked back at his food.
He heard Ben and Noah both explode in laughter and Ezra sputter in shock next to him and David blushed and smiled at his own joke, a quick burst of a laugh escaping him before he contained it again.
“Wait… do you guys actually do that?” Ezra asked in a hushed voice. When David looked back over at him, he saw that Ezra was blushing and his eyebrows were pulled together.
David just smiled a little and put a hand on the other boy’s shoulder, leaning close as he responded quietly, “Ezra, don't ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.” Ezra’s face flushed even brighter red and he stared at David with wide eyes, causing more poorly contained laughter to escape David’s chest, his own blush deepening at the joke he’d made. As he dropped his hand from Ezra’s shoulder and moved back to his own food, he couldn’t help it as his eyes flicked back to Hunter and he saw that he was watching them from across the cafeteria. He dropped his eyes back to his food and turned a little further away from Ezra, moving his chair discreetly away and continuing to eat.
David was worried the rest of the day that his casual behavior with Ezra was going to cause Hunter to lash out again but David didn’t see him again and didn’t feel his presence in between classes. It was with a feeling of nervous tension that he stood at his locker at the end of the day and emptied out the very last of its contents. There was part of him that felt relieved when Ezra appeared next to him, though there was another part that worried what Hunter would do if he did approach him and saw Ezra standing there, especially after the way they had been laughing and had even touched during lunch, no matter how innocent it had been. Would he take the threat of Pierre seriously and leave him alone for good? David could only hope.
Ezra seemed to notice the way David kept glancing over his shoulder, his eyes darting around nervously, because he poked David on the tip of his nose and stunned him out of his anxious behavior for a moment. David just blinked up at him, looking completely thrown off guard by what he had just done. “He’s not coming. He’s gotta know he can’t touch you again,” Ezra told him simply. David just nodded and closed his locker door before the two began down the hall. He hated all that Hunter had taken away from him. He should have been overwhelmed with excitement at the fact that he had just completely emptied his locker. He should have been celebrating that he had just finished his last day of high school. Instead, he was terrified and jumpy, no matter what Ezra said.
Even as they stood at his driver’s side door in the parking lot, David couldn’t help the way he looked around, his eyes searching for Hunter. “So… I guess this is kinda it, huh?” Ezra said, and for the moment David forgot about Hunter and looked up at the boy in front of him, surprised by the serious tone of his voice and the way he looked sad.
“Yeah… I guess it is,” David responded quietly, returning his sad gaze.
They stood quietly for a moment and just looked at each other. David wanted to say something but he didn’t know what. How could he possibly express how much Ezra’s friendship had saved him the last months of the school year and how much it had come to mean to him? How could he acknowledge that after the graduation ceremony on Sunday, they were unlikely to ever see each other or talk again? He could see thoughts behind Ezra’s golden brown eyes and he wondered if he was thinking and feeling the same things, if he too was wanting to speak but unsure of what to say.
In the absence of words, David took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Ezra’s middle, letting his eyes fall closed as he leaned his head to rest the side of his face against Ezra’s shoulder, the top of his head cradling in the crook of the other boy’s neck. He felt Ezra’s cheek come to rest against the top of his head and his arms wrap around his and behind his back, returning his hug in a way that felt more significant than any hug he’d ever gotten from him before, a hug that was soaked with pain and mutual understanding. “Thanks for everything,” David said gently. At his words, Ezra’s grip on him became stronger and his own grip strengthened in response.
“I really hope you’re happy in New York,” Ezra told him, his voice so soft and sad that it almost didn’t sound like him.
Something about his words and the tone of his voice brought tears to David’s eyes and no matter how he fought them they spilled down his cheeks and he hugged Ezra even tighter. Then, he pulled back and dropped his arms, taking a step back and looking down to try to hide his emotion. Ezra pulled the sleeve of his hoodie down over his hand and reached up, dabbing at David’s tears lightly and giving him a crooked smile. “You cry too much,” he told him, his eyebrows pulled together sadly despite his smile.
David nodded and reached up to wipe his eyes himself, saying, “I know. It’s really annoying.”
Still holding that crooked smile and staring into his eyes, Ezra took a step back and said, “Go fly, baby bird.”
David’s tears only fell harder at those words but he nodded again and after another second he made himself look away and get in his car. He watched in the rear view mirror as Ezra walked away and without being able to control it a few sobs broke free from his chest. He took a deep, shaky breath and wiped at his tears roughly, shaking his head at himself. Why did saying goodbye to Ezra feel so much harder, even more so than Jenny who he had known and who had been his best friend for so many years? He thought that somehow, even though it didn’t make sense and their easy friendship confused him, Ezra had come to mean more to him than Jenny ever had despite the fact that they had only been close for the last four months.
With a deep breath he started his car and pulled out of his parking spot, driving himself home for what would be the last time. It felt surreal that it was all over, and that he had survived everything that had happened to him. He didn’t remember how he had done it and had thought at various points that it was going to kill him, but he had made it to the end and hoped that he was stronger because of all of it. And like the closing of one book and the opening of another, he drove back home to Pierre and allowed his emotions to escape him once he was safely in his arms, sobbing as his mind continued to tell him, It’s over… It’s finally over.
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Thirty Four
Rating: R
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 4097
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
The last week of school finally arrived and with it Hunter returned. He didn’t approach the group again and didn’t walk by them at lunch, but David could feel his eyes on him and knew he was being watched. He refused to let Hunter’s angry gaze stop him from doing what he wanted and continued to sit next to Ezra, also ignoring the stares they were getting from their classmates. As the week neared its end, it seemed David was going to get through his very last week of high school without Hunter bothering him again and he was grateful for it, choosing to spend the time enjoying the last time he had with his friends and knowing he wouldn’t be seeing them again when the school year ended.
Pierre had continued to drop David off and pick him up from school each day, getting more nervous as each day passed that something more was going to happen. David asked him to park in the very back of the school parking lot to wait for him each afternoon, not wanting to risk him and Hunter having a run in that could lead to a fight. Pierre couldn’t help the way he looked around for him though, wanting to get a glimpse of him, wanting to intimidate him a little, but for better or worse the week went on and he didn’t see a single sighting of Hunter, and David made it to his car without having run into him, either. He supposed it was better that way, no matter how much he wanted to have an excuse to stare Hunter down and scare him.
On the second to last day of school, David stood at his locker after all classes had ended with Ezra, talking with him about nothing particularly important and laughing at his silly banter. After a couple of minutes, Ezra was giving him a wave and heading away down the hall and David was turning back to his locker, beginning to empty out its contents into his bag, knowing he wouldn’t need much of anything for the following day. When his bag was stuffed too full to zip closed, he flipped the cover over the top and closed his locker door, knowing he would have to get the last of it the next day. He hitched his too heavy bag up on his shoulder and began to walk down the hall, headed for the parking lot where he knew Pierre was waiting for him.
He glanced over his shoulder out of habit and with a horrible sinking feeling he saw that Hunter was behind him, walking quickly to try to catch up with him though he was quite the distance behind him. David jumped a little and turned forward again, increasing his speed and walking as quickly as he could down the hall, determined to get to Pierre before Hunter could catch up with him. He made it out the front doors and down the sidewalk before he felt his wrist grabbed and David tried to yank it away, not looking back as fear gripped him.
“David, wait!” Hunter tried, holding tight to David’s wrist and trying to pull him back. “I’m sorry!”
David tried to dig in his bag for his taser or his pepper spray but he had piled so much stuff in his bag that he couldn’t find them and he began to panic. “Leave me alone!” he replied quickly, his voice revealing too easily how terrified he was.
“Come on, just talk to me!” Hunter begged, pulling back hard enough on David’s wrist that he was forced backwards.
When he felt his body begin to move back, David’s body reacted out of instinct and he spun and swung his balled fist, making contact with Hunter’s jaw that immediately sent pain jabbing through his knuckles. Hunter stumbled back and released his hold on David and without waiting David took off running, thinking of nothing but getting to Pierre where he would be safe.
Too quickly Hunter caught him again, this time his arms wrapping around his middle from behind and pulling him to a stop as he said, “Look, I’m sorry, okay?”
“Let GO of me!” David yelled, struggling against him urgently.
“This is the last we’re gonna ever see of each other, can you just give me a chance to talk?” Hunter continued to push, taking steps backward and pulling David’s body back with him.
“That’s what you said before you tried to RAPE me!” David threw back at him. He felt as Hunter’s arms tightened around him, pulling him tight against his body and immobilizing his arms. David began to breathe raggedly as he flashed back to the last time Hunter had held him against his will and in one quick movement he leaned his head forward and then swung it back into Hunter’s chin with a jolt of pain.
“Ah! Fuck!” Hunter grunted, and he lost his grip on David’s body.
David scrambled forward and ran again, crying without realizing it as he desperately tried to get to the back of the parking lot where he knew Pierre was parked somewhere. He was breathing hard and his cheeks were streaked with tears as he ran, panic telling him not to look back and to keep taking steps forward, to not stop until he saw Pierre’s car.
Pierre sat in his car looking around, continuously checking his rear view and side mirrors for when David would be walking up to him. His eyes had started to flick down but the sight of David running from behind the truck he was parked next to with a look of horror on his face drew his attention back immediately. He saw in that same second as Hunter ran up behind David and wrapped his arms around him, grabbing him and lifting him off the ground. Without conscious thought Pierre had flung open the door and was out of the car, running several steps until he was within a few feet of Hunter and David.
The surprise of seeing Pierre approaching, hulking and angry, caused Hunter to drop David and David scrambled away from him again. David turned quickly to see Pierre grabbing Hunter by the shirt and lifting him off the ground, slamming him down into the pavement and climbing on top of him. Hunter couldn’t fight Pierre the same way he had fought Ezra, Pierre being significantly bigger than Ezra was despite being two inches shorter, and he was overwhelmed immediately. Pierre registered nothing but hot rage as he aimed punch after punch at Hunter’s face, bloodying and bruising him with just a few hits. The edges of Pierre’s vision was blurry and black as he continued to hit Hunter, hardly recognizing the feel of his fist making contact with the other boy’s face or his strangled grunts and yells of pain.
David ran forward and wrapped his arms around Pierre’s chest from behind, trying to pull him back before he went too far or their fight drew the attention of teachers, though there were already several students standing by watching. “Pierre stop!” he yelled, yanking back on Pierre’s chest. Pierre heard David’s voice as if he was underwater and David stood above the surface, like he was two rooms over and the doors were closed. Fury tore through him, nine months of restless frustration and rage and hatred drowned everything else out, and all he could see was the boy underneath him who was weakly trying to push him away but was unable to stop his superior attack.
David knew he had to stop Pierre and that it would only take minutes for the commotion to draw out teachers. He did the only thing he could think of and he wrapped his arms around Pierre’s head, pulling him against his chest and curling around him, crying and begging him to stop. Pierre blinked rapidly and his hands stopped moving and for a second he just sat there, breathing heavily. Then he vaguely registered the way David renewed his tugging on him and he allowed himself to be pulled to standing, stumbling backward, his ears ringing and his vision out of focus. His eyes flashed down to Hunter on the ground, who was using his hands behind him to drag himself backward out of the way, his face covered in blood and already bruising.
“Get in the car,” David demanded frantically, pushing Pierre to the passenger side. Pierre got in the car, still in a daze and breathing hard, hardly registering when David got in the driver's side and pulled out of the spot and took off much faster than he would usually drive. Pierre looked over at David, seeing the fear in his eyes and the way he kept glancing in his mirrors as if he was paranoid they were going to be followed.
By the time they were back at David’s house he had started to feel like he was inside his body again and the heat that had torn through him was gone. He watched David walk around the front of the car and open the door, grabbing his arm and pulling him out and into the house. David led him to the sink and turned on the faucet, putting his right hand under the running water and beginning to wash away the blood on his knuckles. As the water ran red and then turned back to clear, Pierre realized that not all of the blood was Hunter’s and that his knuckles were red and torn.
“Fuck,” he muttered, this being the first he had spoken at all.
David looked over at him, his eyes wide and scared but filled with sadness. He put a hand on Pierre’s cheek and forced him to look at him, searching his eyes. With relief he saw that Pierre had returned to himself and he leaned into his chest without hesitating, hugging him hard. Pierre leaned his head down, hunching over to put his face in David’s neck as he hugged him back with the arm that wasn’t under the water. “I’m sorry,” Pierre said, his voice shaking. “He grabbed you and I just…”
David shook his head, holding tight to Pierre. “I’m glad you were there,” he breathed back, his fingers digging into the back of the taller boy’s shirt. “I don’t know what he would have done.”
That night both Pierre and David were anxious, wondering if the cops were going to show up at David’s door at any point. Would anyone have called the cops? Would Hunter have called the cops? They tried to comfort themselves with the idea that Hunter wouldn’t possibly call the police after his sexual assault on David those many months ago, but the uncertainty of it made it difficult for them to think of anything else that night. Despite their fears, nothing ever happened and they went to sleep late that night, wondering if nothing was going to come from Pierre’s attack on Hunter.
The following morning David insisted on driving himself to school, no matter how much Pierre protested. “What if someone sees you and you get in trouble?” David asked him nervously. “The best thing you can do now is just stay away and hopefully nothing ever ends up happening.” Pierre continued to argue but David put his foot down, refusing to budge. “After everything we just went through, I’m not losing you now. I’ll have Ezra walk me to my car. If I ask him, he’ll do it.” No matter how much he tried to convince him otherwise, David ended up leaving the house in his own car alone that morning, leaving Pierre at home feeling completely useless and trapped.
All morning David was looking over his shoulder, glancing nervously every time a classroom door opened, terrified that at any moment a teacher was going to call him to the Principal’s office. Though there were people looking at him and whispering with expressions more serious than usual, he made it to lunch without anything happening and he started to realize that nothing was going to happen. David was nervous as he sat down next to Ezra, not smiling despite the fact that it was the last day of school for the seniors and he should have been relaxed and happy.
“You good?” Ezra asked, and David wished that just once the other boy would stop noticing his emotional state. David looked over at him and nodded before taking a bite of his food.
“Holy fuck, look at Hunter,” Ben said suddenly as he leaned across the table with wide eyes and pointed his thumb behind him.
Noah, Ezra, and David all looked up quickly, their heads turning to where Ben had pointed. David’s eyes widened as he stared at him from across the cafeteria, sitting at a table by himself and leaned back in his seat with his hood over his head. It didn’t hide his face which was bruised and swollen, his left eye barely open and his lip fat and bloody. David had been so focused on trying to pull Pierre off of Hunter the day before that he hadn’t had the time to look at what Pierre had done to him. The way Pierre had completely lost himself and been out of his mind had proved to David once and for all that Pierre would have killed Hunter if he had confronted him after his assault on David.
Noah and Ezra both exclaimed at the same time, David unsure who had said what but both clearly shocked by the look of him. David just stared, unable to take his eyes off of him, his breathing shallow and fast.
“What the fuck happened to him?” Noah asked, turning back to look at his friends again.
“I wanna shake the hand of whoever did that,” Ezra muttered bitterly.
As one everyone looked at David, seemingly realizing he hadn’t spoken and hadn’t taken his eyes off of Hunter. “You okay?” Ezra asked him, the bitterness dropping from his voice and being replaced with concern.
David just nodded, saying in a shaking, hushed voice, “Pierre did that to him.”
He heard exclamations from the three of them and David forced himself to tear his eyes away from Hunter, afraid that Hunter was going to look over at him and see him staring. He heard them asking him what had happened and David shook his head quickly at the memory, his eyes far away as he explained, “He chased me out to the parking lot yesterday and grabbed me from behind… but he did it right behind Pierre’s car and… Pierre made him let go.”
“Jesus Christ!” Noah exclaimed, turning around to glance back at Hunter and process his injuries again.
“Your boyfriend’s my hero,” Ezra joked, smiling a little darkly and glancing with satisfaction at Hunter’s bruised and swollen face.
“I was really scared he was gonna get in trouble but… so far nothing’s happened,” David admitted, keeping his eyes down. “I didn’t let him take me to school today. I was worried about him coming back so… if someone could walk me to my car after school…” he trailed off, picking at the food on his plate absentmindedly.
He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders squeezing him reassuringly and he looked over at Ezra, looking into his eyes, unable to hide how deeply anxious he was feeling over what had happened. “We can definitely walk you to your car, though somehow I don’t think he’s gonna bother you again. Look at him. If he doesn’t learn his lesson after that, he’s hopeless.”
David glanced back over at Hunter, seeing the way he looked completely dejected and nodded slowly.
“Did he even get a hit back on your boyfriend?” Noah asked, pulling David’s eyes back to him. David shook his head slowly, and he couldn’t help but smile a little at the way the three boys got all worked up again, fawning over Pierre and how cool he was.
“What a damn MAN,” Ezra said, giving David’s shoulders another squeeze before dropping his arm.
“You’re in love with David’s boyfriend now?” Noah jabbed at him teasingly.
“Oh shut the fuck up,” Ezra growled back, pointing at him across the table. “I still don’t forgive you guys. You really thought I went gay. You REALLY thought that.”
“If the eyeliner fits,” Ben taunted him.
Without warning Ezra picked up a few grapes from his homemade lunch and threw them across the table at Ben, yelling, “I don’t wear eyeliner! I just have dark eyelashes!” Ben smacked the grapes away and everyone laughed except for Ezra who was still glaring and shaking his head. “You guys are such fucks.”
“I’m starting to feel offended,” David said, turning to look at Ezra with a look of mock offense. “You’d be LUCKY to get me.”
“Don’t you start too, I’m never gonna hear the end of it,” Ezra responded, his eyes going dark and his face blank.
“I’m just saying, I like being topped and you don’t know what I can do with my mouth,” David continued nonchalantly and he shrugged as he looked back at his food.
He heard Ben and Noah both explode in laughter and Ezra sputter in shock next to him and David blushed and smiled at his own joke, a quick burst of a laugh escaping him before he contained it again.
“Wait… do you guys actually do that?” Ezra asked in a hushed voice. When David looked back over at him, he saw that Ezra was blushing and his eyebrows were pulled together.
David just smiled a little and put a hand on the other boy’s shoulder, leaning close as he responded quietly, “Ezra, don't ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.” Ezra’s face flushed even brighter red and he stared at David with wide eyes, causing more poorly contained laughter to escape David’s chest, his own blush deepening at the joke he’d made. As he dropped his hand from Ezra’s shoulder and moved back to his own food, he couldn’t help it as his eyes flicked back to Hunter and he saw that he was watching them from across the cafeteria. He dropped his eyes back to his food and turned a little further away from Ezra, moving his chair discreetly away and continuing to eat.
David was worried the rest of the day that his casual behavior with Ezra was going to cause Hunter to lash out again but David didn’t see him again and didn’t feel his presence in between classes. It was with a feeling of nervous tension that he stood at his locker at the end of the day and emptied out the very last of its contents. There was part of him that felt relieved when Ezra appeared next to him, though there was another part that worried what Hunter would do if he did approach him and saw Ezra standing there, especially after the way they had been laughing and had even touched during lunch, no matter how innocent it had been. Would he take the threat of Pierre seriously and leave him alone for good? David could only hope.
Ezra seemed to notice the way David kept glancing over his shoulder, his eyes darting around nervously, because he poked David on the tip of his nose and stunned him out of his anxious behavior for a moment. David just blinked up at him, looking completely thrown off guard by what he had just done. “He’s not coming. He’s gotta know he can’t touch you again,” Ezra told him simply. David just nodded and closed his locker door before the two began down the hall. He hated all that Hunter had taken away from him. He should have been overwhelmed with excitement at the fact that he had just completely emptied his locker. He should have been celebrating that he had just finished his last day of high school. Instead, he was terrified and jumpy, no matter what Ezra said.
Even as they stood at his driver’s side door in the parking lot, David couldn’t help the way he looked around, his eyes searching for Hunter. “So… I guess this is kinda it, huh?” Ezra said, and for the moment David forgot about Hunter and looked up at the boy in front of him, surprised by the serious tone of his voice and the way he looked sad.
“Yeah… I guess it is,” David responded quietly, returning his sad gaze.
They stood quietly for a moment and just looked at each other. David wanted to say something but he didn’t know what. How could he possibly express how much Ezra’s friendship had saved him the last months of the school year and how much it had come to mean to him? How could he acknowledge that after the graduation ceremony on Sunday, they were unlikely to ever see each other or talk again? He could see thoughts behind Ezra’s golden brown eyes and he wondered if he was thinking and feeling the same things, if he too was wanting to speak but unsure of what to say.
In the absence of words, David took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Ezra’s middle, letting his eyes fall closed as he leaned his head to rest the side of his face against Ezra’s shoulder, the top of his head cradling in the crook of the other boy’s neck. He felt Ezra’s cheek come to rest against the top of his head and his arms wrap around his and behind his back, returning his hug in a way that felt more significant than any hug he’d ever gotten from him before, a hug that was soaked with pain and mutual understanding. “Thanks for everything,” David said gently. At his words, Ezra’s grip on him became stronger and his own grip strengthened in response.
“I really hope you’re happy in New York,” Ezra told him, his voice so soft and sad that it almost didn’t sound like him.
Something about his words and the tone of his voice brought tears to David’s eyes and no matter how he fought them they spilled down his cheeks and he hugged Ezra even tighter. Then, he pulled back and dropped his arms, taking a step back and looking down to try to hide his emotion. Ezra pulled the sleeve of his hoodie down over his hand and reached up, dabbing at David’s tears lightly and giving him a crooked smile. “You cry too much,” he told him, his eyebrows pulled together sadly despite his smile.
David nodded and reached up to wipe his eyes himself, saying, “I know. It’s really annoying.”
Still holding that crooked smile and staring into his eyes, Ezra took a step back and said, “Go fly, baby bird.”
David’s tears only fell harder at those words but he nodded again and after another second he made himself look away and get in his car. He watched in the rear view mirror as Ezra walked away and without being able to control it a few sobs broke free from his chest. He took a deep, shaky breath and wiped at his tears roughly, shaking his head at himself. Why did saying goodbye to Ezra feel so much harder, even more so than Jenny who he had known and who had been his best friend for so many years? He thought that somehow, even though it didn’t make sense and their easy friendship confused him, Ezra had come to mean more to him than Jenny ever had despite the fact that they had only been close for the last four months.
With a deep breath he started his car and pulled out of his parking spot, driving himself home for what would be the last time. It felt surreal that it was all over, and that he had survived everything that had happened to him. He didn’t remember how he had done it and had thought at various points that it was going to kill him, but he had made it to the end and hoped that he was stronger because of all of it. And like the closing of one book and the opening of another, he drove back home to Pierre and allowed his emotions to escape him once he was safely in his arms, sobbing as his mind continued to tell him, It’s over… It’s finally over.