The chubby man in the front of the room asked, looking amongst the students in front of him. The school had hired him to boost student moral. Needless to say, it wasn't working.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the day.
All of the students ran out, not giving the man a chance to say anything else, running to their buses, friends' lockers, or to their cars. Not even five minutes after the bell rang, the halls were cleared, with the exception of a few kids that were held behind after class.
A certain auburn-haired boy was among them, wandering along the halls to his locker. He stayed behind, trying to avoid all of the needless beating that comes nearly everyday. He was walking along slowly, confident that no one would bother him this afternoon. He was smiling to himself, proud to be able to show himself to everyone without any new bruises or scars, when he was slammed against the wall.
He was faced with a monster of a man, nearly six inches taller than him and nearly triple the body weight. The person beat him for a few minutes, even after Mikey was veering in and out of conscientiousness. Soon they stopped, which was strange, for they never stopped before he was bleeding from his mouth and nose, and he was passed out in the hallway. He strained to open his eyes, seeing the Nike's from before being replaced with a pair of hi-top converse. He tried to move his head up to see his savior's face, but he couldn't hold his head up.
He laid on the floor, awaiting whatever was to come next. He was surprised when the person reached down to help him up. He accepted the aid, stumbling over his own feet. Had the person not been there, he would have fallen onto his face. Luckily, he was holding him up. Mikey realized that he didn't even know this person, and yet he was helping him.
"W-who a-are you?"
"Bob, otherwise known as the person that just saved your life. He looked like he was out to kill. Who are you?"
"Oh... And Mikey."
They stood in silence for a few more moments before Bob spoke again.
"Hey, do you need a ride home?"
"No, I'm fine. Y-you've already do-one enough f-for me, an-anyway."
"Are you sure? I'm not doing anything, so you wouldn't be imposing. Truly."
"Really. I don't l-live that far. I-I can get th-there in five mi-minutes."
"Okay... But, if you ever need me for anything. You can call me."
He scrawled his number onto Mikey's arm, being sure to avoid the bruises.
"You can truly call me for anything. If you need help or if you just want to talk. I don't do anything, so I should always be free. You can even call me at three in the morning if you want to. But now, I am going to walk you to your locker to make sure you can walk, okay?"
"Okay."
They walked slowly to Mikey's locker, gathering his bag and a journal. Instead of putting the journal in his bag, he held it to his chest, seeming as if the journal was the most important thing to him.
"You can go now, if you'd like. I-I've calmed down and I can walk. Go ahead and live your life, and thank you."
"No problem. Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home?"
"No, it's fine."
He gave a small smile, trying to convince Bob that he would be alright.
"Okay then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye, Mikey."
"Bye."
Bob then walked off, leaving Mikey to walk through the front doors of the school to head home. He began his walk when he realized that it hurt to walk. It hurt so much, but he needed to make it home. His entire right leg was bruised and had a few cuts on it, but he had to get home. He continued on, wishing that he had told Bob the truth. It took nearly thirty minutes to get to his house by driving, meaning it took even longer to walk there. He was limping along when it started to rain.
'Just perfect,' he thought to himself.
Cars rushed past him, but he ignored them all. A car coming from the direction of the school drove a bit slower than he walked, which was amazingly slow. It sped up a bit, stopping right by him when it started raining. The window rolled down and Mikey looked to his side, surprised to see who it was.
"Get in the car."
Mikey did without hesitation, wanting to get warm and get the pressure off of his leg. He remained silent, figuring Bob would be angry with him. He stared at his hands that rested in his lap, hoping that Bob would stop being angry at him.
Bob drove forward into a coffee shop's parking lot in order to get out of the road. He looked over to Mikey, seeing that he looked heavily troubled. He reached over, grabbing his forearm. He yanked it away at the same time Mikey jerked his head up, frightened. Mikey was freezing. He wasn't in the rain that long, yet it felt as if he had been out there all night. Bob turned the heat on high and directed all of the air towards Mikey.
When the air hit Mikey, he realized just how cold he was. He shivered, rubbing his arms with his hands. Bob placed a blanket over him, hoping that would help with the cold.
The windows soon got fogged up, but it didn't bother either of the people in the car.
After a few more moments, Mikey stopped shaking. Bob let out a sigh of relief, but Mikey mistook it for a sigh of irritation. He got all tense again, and returned to looking at his lap. Bob noticed this and finally asked Mikey about it.
"Hey, what's up with you? Is something bothering you? Are you still cold or something?"
"N-nothing. Don't worry a-about me."
"I deserve to worry about you if you're in my car, now tell me what's upsetting you."
"It'll make you more upset at me..."
"More upset? You think I'm upset at you?"
"You are, aren't you?"
"No, of course not. If I was upset with you, I would have left you to walk to your house."
"Oh.."
"Now tell me what's bothering you. I promise I won't be angry."
"Okay, well, you offered to drive me home, but I live half an hour away, and you won't want to drive me, so I'll have to walk the rest of the way, and my leg hurts beyond belief."
"I wouldn't just kick you out of my car. That would be unbelievably rude. It doesn't matter where you live. I'll drive you home. I just need directions. Oh, are you warm yet?"
"Oh, and yeah. Thanks."
"Mmkay. Are you hungry or anything?"
"A bit, but you don't need to get me anything. I'll just eat when I get home."
"Well, I'm going to get food, so if you want something, just tell me. I'm actually going to this new coffee place to get a muffin. Do you want to come with me? You can decide if you want anything when we get in there."
"Okay, but I don't want to waste your money.."
"It's my money, and I can waste it anyway I want."
"Okay, then let's go, I guess."
Bob smiled to himself, getting out of the car and running to the passenger side door to pull it open before Mikey had the chance to unbuckle. He blushed, getting out of the car, stumbling a bit when he had to stand on his leg. Bob reached out to steady him, grabbing onto his hips. Mikey blushed a bit more, realizing he still had the blanket around his shoulders. He dropped in into the seat, immediately regretting it for a gust of cold wind blew threw causing him to shudder.
Bob didn't notice it, closing the door and gesturing towards the coffee shop. They began walking that way when Mikey shivered again. Bob lead him to the sidewalk, telling him to wait there. He sprinted back to his car, grabbing the blanket and ran back again. He faced Mikey and placed the blanket back around his shoulders, focusing solely on it, and not the raging blush that invaded Mikey's face.
He made sure the blanket was snug before smiling at him and opening the door. He gestured Mikey go first and followed him in.
They stood at the counter looking at the menu above them. As they decided what they wanted, a tall man came in and stood oddly close to Mikey. Mikey, without really realizing it, backed into Bob, surely for a sense of security. Bob smiled to himself, wrapping his arm around him. He pulled Mikey close, rubbing his side up and down, trying to make him feel safer. Mikey let out a sigh of content, scooting a bit closer to Bob's side. Their sides were touching now, making it appear they were dating. This made Bob smile, but Mikey blush.
A petite young woman with flaming red hair stood in front of them behind the counter, and asked them what they would like. Mikey mumbled out his order, still blushing, but the woman still caught all of it. Bob ordered his muffin, handing her the money that was needed. Bob could see that the lady continuously glanced at them from the corner of her eye, and it made him feel a bit uneasy.
He pulled Mikey closer to him, for a bit of reassurance, and tried to avoid her eyes. When she came back, she was waiting for their order, but she continued to stare at them. Bob finally met her eyes, not meaning to, and she smiled as if caught off guard.
"I'm sorry for staring. It's just that, if you don't mind me saying, you guys are an adorable couple."
At this, Mikey finally looked up, obviously surprised. He caught the woman's eyes and immediately looked back down. Bob laughed, squeezing Mikey's side.
"Thank you, but we're not actually dating. We only met today, surprisingly."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I-"
"No need to apologize. We're not offended or anything, right Mikey?"
Mikey didn't respond. He kept looking at the floor, scuffing his feet back and forth. Bob lowered his head, meeting Mikey's eyes, only to see them closed. He reached his hand up to Mikey's neck, holding it so he would at least look up. He moved his thumb over his cheek, back and forth, trying to make him open his eyes.
"Hey, look at me."
It took a bit more prodding, but finally Mikey's eyes cracked open.
"What's wrong? You can tell me. I won't be angry or anything."
Mikey didn't say anything, just shook his head. His eyes began to water, and as he was shaking his head, he let a few tears roll down his cheeks. Bob was surprised, but lifted his thumb to wipe the tears away. He grabbed Mikey by the back of his head and crashed him against his chest, rubbing his back all while whispering soothing things into his hair. He held him tight, rocking them back and forth. Mikey held him back just as tight.
"Do you want to go to the restroom so we can talk without people around?"
Mikey nodded his head, trying not to cry anymore. Bob lifted his head from Mikey's hair for a few moments to whisper to the woman.
"We'll be right back. We have to go talk about this."
She nodded understandingly, showing them where the restroom was. They walked there side by side, Bob still holding Mikey by his side, squeezing every few seconds. They reached the bathroom, but Bob wanted even more privacy, so they walked to the handicap stall, locking the door behind them. They spoke in whispers, not wanting anyone to hear their private moment.
"Now, what's wrong."
"I-I don't want to tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because you'll be angry, and I can't bear losing another person, especially right after I met you."
"I promise I won't be angry. I couldn't be angry at you."
Bob took a few steps to stand in front of Mikey, holding him by his waist once again. He began to rock them back and forth, trying to dissolve the tension that had developed. Mikey finally opened his mouth to speak, but only mumbles escaped.
"Would you repeat?"
"I said I..."
"One more time..."
"I said I wish we were dating!"
He all but yelled it, and, realizing what he had said, looked down and tried to get Bob to let go of him. He wouldn't let go of him, though. Especially not after that. Instead he held him close, still rocking them. Mikey was really tense, but he just kept on rocking, and eventually, he loosened up and wrapped his arms around Bob and hid his face in his chest. Bob whispered back exactly what Mikey wanted to hear, making his heart flutter.
"I want to go out with you, too."
Mikey looked up and into Bob's eyes, seeing only sincerity in them. He smiled and mumbled something.
"What was that?"
"I said I really want to kiss you..."
Bob, without any other words spoken, closed the distance between them, catching Mikey's bottom lip in between his own. They didn't move. They simply stood there, lips not moving, savoring the feel of the other's lips. They pulled away softly, both of them smiling.
"Do you want to go get our food now?"
"Yeah..."
"Will you stop being so sad? It makes me miserable knowing that you're not happy."
"Yeah, sorry."
"It's okay, let's just go, yeah?"
They opened the stall door, happy that no one else was in there with them. They stood at the mirror, trying to make it seem as if Mikey hadn't been crying. When they were satisfied, they went back out, hand in hand, side by side.
The woman was sitting on one of the barstools in front of the counter without her apron or name tag. Her previously pulled up hair let down, falling just below her shoulders. She smiled at them, standing up to go behind the counter to give them their food and drinks.
"Would it be beyond the boundary for me to ask what happened in the restroom?"
Bob answered with a wide smile on his face.
"Well, some stuff happened, but now, it makes me very happy to tell you that we are dating."
"Oh, that's great! Now I don't have to feel weird about thinking you two look adorable together."
"May I ask what your name is?"
"Hayley Williams. You?"
"I'm Bob Bryar, and this is Mikey Way."
Hayley smiled, leaning over to get the plate that previously had a muffin on it, laying it in the sink to rinse it off. When she looked back up, Mikey was sitting on Bob's lap. She smiled to herself, letting them have their moment.
After a few minutes, Hayley glanced at the clock, seeing that it was nearly half an hour past closing time. She hated having to do it, but she cleared her throat, disrupting the two in front of her. They looked up simultaneously, startled by the interruption.
"I'm sorry, but it's half an hour past closing time, and-"
"No need to apologize. We should have paid attention to the time. We'll be going now so you can go on with your life."
Bob smiled while lifting Mikey off his lap so he could get up. They grabbed each other's hands, waving to Hayley as they walked out of the shop.