I groaned and rolled over as some guy flicked peanuts and bread crumbs at my face. I was awoken by the obnoxious laughter by him and my roommates, one of them loudly calling"Hey faggot! It's time for school! Get your lazy ass out of bed!" I opened my eyes to see a growing collection of food on either side of me."Aren't there more productive things to do with what I'm sure is your lunch for the day?" I asked the boy flicking them at me. I didn't even recognize him, and I assumed he was from another room, just dropping by, as some students usually did before class name is Ciel Phantomhive. I'm fourteen years old, and I go to Hallava Lake Academy. I have black hair, blue eyes, and blind in one eye, so the eye patch I wear over it isn't just some kind of fashion statement, though I'm told it looks good one me, so that's a bonus, I suppose. I'm also…well…gay. It's not something I talk about much, but everyone else sure as hell does. If there are any others like me in this school, after seeing how I was treated for it, they damn well kept their mouths shut about it, smart people. I didn't mean for it to get out, but I made the mistake of telling Elizabeth, one of my friends, last year. I guess she wasn't the one I should have told, for the news spread like a wildfire after that.
I gathered the foodstuff on my bed, dusting off the sheets, and tossing the food, before getting changed. The other boys left the room, already prepared for the day. I knew I was going to be late. They always woke me up late. I threw on my clothes quickly, used the restroom, the whole morning routine, before heading outside towards the school. It was way too bright out, in my opinion, especially since it was raining quite often. Speaking of rain, I glanced up at the school balcony to see a pair of kids with a bucket of water in their hand. They flung the water at me after they realized they were caught. Unfazed, I walked through the water and headed into class. I heard them laughing as I absently ran my hands through my hair to get some of the water out. I suppose I could have just backed off, but then again, I couldn't bring myself to really care. I headed to my homeroom and took a seat.
My homeroom class was a multi-grade class, which is what it sounds like: boys and girls of all grades were in this classroom. I was actually one of the few freshman, along with Elizabeth and Alois. Everyone else was in 12th, 11th or 10th grade, and tended to look down on us somewhat, or just ignore us, which I preferred. I took a seat alone in the back of the around that time, however, an unfamiliar face entered the room. He was tall, most likely a senior, with black hair and green eyes. He wore all black, as there was no mandatory uniforms in our school, and I must say, he was damn good looking, but I shoved that thought out of my head as quickly as it came. He walked over to the teacher, and the two had a conversation until the bell rang.
"Class, this is Sebastian Michaelis," the teacher introduced the boy. Sebastian gave a slight bow to the entire class before going to take a seat. Instead of sitting with one of the pretty Senior girls, as I would have expected, he took a seat beside me. I blinked and looked up at him. Some of the boys snickered, others just looked pitying at Sebastian. Some just ignored it all together. Not everyone is an ass, I guess. I noticed one of the girls looked intrigued.
Sebastian looked over at me and lifted a hand. I stared at it for a moment before I realized I was supposed to be polite and shook his hand. "Ciel Phantomhive," I introduced myself. "Sebastian," he responded.
"You might want to move seats, though, sitting next to me is kind of like committing social suicide," I admitted. I wouldn't mind the company, provided he wasn't like my roommates, but I didn't want him to get any crap for it. He merely smiled."I never cared much for social standings anyway," he told me. Well, it didn't seem like he was going to move until the bell rang, so I didn't prompt him further. Besides, he didn't seem like a bad guy.
Classes came and went, and we were released for the day. Sebastian had been practically dragged off at the end of homeroom, and though he was in one of my classes as a teacher's assistant, I didn't talk to him for the rest of the day.
As we headed in from gym, the last period of the day, the teacher stopped me and pulled me aside. "We're starting a swimming unit soon," he informed me. I swallowed stiffly. I couldn't swim, something that was kept secret from the other students. "What of it?" I responded."I was wondering if you wanted lessons on how to swim after school instead of participating with the rest of the class," he asked. "We could get that arranged, if that's what you'd like." I thought about that for a moment, then sighed. It'd be best if I learned eventually. I nodded then headed back to the locker rooms, though I noticed Sebastian had been glancing at the teacher and I from where he stood by the water fountain. It didn't really matter if he heard, however. I took a seat and began to get changed. Sebastian came in a few moments later, and for some reason, I simply couldn't look at him. I felt my face growing red when he looked at me. I heard him chuckle softly as he went to his locker. I threw on my clothes, locked up my PE clothing in the locker and ran from the locker rooms as quickly as I possibly could, feeling like my face might melt off. I knew when I had a crush on someone, but I could never accept the fact. Why the hell did I have a crush on the new kid, anyway? I hardly knew him!Damn it, why me?
I couldn't help but feel relief that classes were over for the time being. I headed back to the dorm. Alois was there, on the computer. Just something I should tell you about Alois: I dated him in middle school, eighth grade. It hadn't gone so well, as he'd turned out to be borderline abusive. Actually, just flat out abusive. Insults, threats and physical abuse abound. He actually was responsible for rendering me blind in one eye, and the scarring left behind by this act was what I covered when I wore an eye patch. Those were two things I kept secret. I never told anyone about my relationship with that jerk and I never mentioned what happened to my eye, and by extension, why I wore an eye patch was a secret too.
Alois looked up and smirked at me. I tried to remember what I ever saw in the guy as I glared back. His face fell as he glanced around the room to make sure no one else was around."Don't glare at me like that or I'll take out your other eye," he commented. I snorted and looked away, taking a seat on the edge of the bed."You wouldn't. Not on school campus. You'd be expelled." Well, that was a bit of a pitiful response. Lets face it, he'd probably be more then just expelled, but I digress. He snickered, not glancing in my direction again. I sighed, grabbing a towel from the room. This was when Alois chose to look up from the screen, as I headed out the door. He paused for a moment, giving me a strange look before he spoke."Aren't the baths off limits at this hour?""Mmhmm," I responded. He could tattle all he want. I always bathed alone, when I technically wasn't supposed to. I headed out into the hallway, lock picked the door and entered the room. I had to watch the time, however. It was around four. If I stayed in for two hours, until six, I'd get caught. By the girls who were supposed to bathe at that time. 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM were the girl's bathing times and 7:00 AM/7:00 PM for the boys, then they were locked up for the day. Don't ask me why it works that way, It just does.
What I wasn't expecting to find was a group of three girls already in the bath, which was basically just a large pool of water, warmed up by some type of heating system. They obviously heard the door open, and looked my way."Danglies!" one of the girls squealed, and two of them swam as quickly as they could behind cover. The other just stayed where she was. She had a towel around her, as did all three of them. "Hi there," she greeted. I stared dumbly, unsure of how to react. This hadn't happened to me before. I swallowed and managed a pathetic"Erm…""Come join us! The water's nice!" she laughed. "Eh!" "Emma!" protested one of the girls taking cover. I sighed and took off my shirt, causing Emma to clap her hands together."Great! Come on, you two, stop hiding! If he tries anything, we just kick him in the balls!" "Is it really safe for me to take a bath right now?" I asked dully. The two girls laughed awkwardly, while Emma just gave a thumbs up. Awkward silence ensued as soon as I stepped into the water, the towel wrapped around my waist. I ignored it, resting my back and head against the back wall. When I noticed the short brown haired girl staring at me uneasily, I sighed."I'm not into girls. Stop giving me that look."
"Oh! You're Ciel!" the girl said, seeming to understand now. Something about that response made me feel ashamed of myself, but kudos to the one who can tell me why."My name is Tami. The one who is still hiding from you is Laurel." Emma swam over to me and held out her hand."And I'm Emma. Nice to meet you, Ciel. We've heard a lot about you." I heard a snicker from Laurel and Tami. I didn't take her hand, glaring at her coldly."I'm sure you have," I responded. She looked almost hurt, but brightened up a moment later. "You seem like a nice guy. It's just too bad for us that you are gay. I mean, you're hot, and a freshman to boot!" I felt my face going red again."Mm…" "Well, we were just stepping out now. We were just finishing up." She and her friends stepped out of the water."Hey, Ciel…" Emma called. I didn't spare her a glance, not right away."What?" I asked. She paused before continuing.
"Well…I…I just wanted to say, if you ever need someone to talk to, come to dorm 69. I'm always willing to listen, okay?" I blinked, glancing at her. She offered a smile, but it seemed almost sad. I gave a slight nod."Perhaps I'll take you up on that," I murmured. With a brisk nod, she threw on a shirt. Tami and Laurel glanced at each other and shrugged before heading out. Emma stared at me for a moment longer before following them. I remained in the springs, alone, until 5:30 pm, before leaving as well.
The next morning, I woke up early enough so I didn't get pelted with food. I got ready for school and headed out the door. No one pulled any pointless pranks this morning, which made me feel rather wary. At homeroom, Sebastian was talking to a few senior students. He glanced at me and raised a hand in greeting when the other seniors weren't looking, and I nodded to him. I expected him to sit down with his new friends, but instead, he promptly excused himself and took a seat beside me. He laughed at my surprise. "Why don't you sit with your new friends?" I asked, ignoring how bitter I sounded. He rolled his eyes."Them? I don't know them," he muttered. I gave a slight nod, understanding what he was getting at. The senior students looked a bit put off, but two of them sat at the desk next to him and continued trying to strike up a conversation. He humored them, but he didn't really seem too into the conversation. Given that the conversation was about clothes, I didn't blame him for being bored. The clothing he wore yesterday was pretty fancy though, dress pants and a suit. Perhaps it had something to do with the family he came from?
The teacher suddenly speaking up startled me out of my thoughts. We all skittered off to first period. Nothing really interesting happened until PE, however. I didn't get changed out for PE because of the unit. I sat off in the corner while the other students, males and females alike, got into the water and predictably began to splash each other in the face, giggling and squealing like children. "This kind of activity not fun to you, Phantomhive?" Sebastian asked. I looked up at him. He was wearing swimming trunks. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I was in ninth grade PE, but all of the PE students were taking this unit at the same time. How good an idea this was? Who knows. Alois glared daggers at Sebastian, even as he walked into the pool."Aren't you going to join us? Afraid of getting wet?" jeered one of the boys at me. I ignored him, but he opted to exit the pool and grab my arm."Come on, you pussy, get into the damn water!" Some of his friends laughed at that, but other students looked a little uneasy. He gave me a sharp push and I fell forward, my head hitting the side of the pool as I fell into the water at the deep end. I couldn't move right away, and didn't think to do so, stunned by the impact of my head against the bricks that lined the pool. I didn't hear anything for a moment, not even after I was able to move again. I was dizzy. I made the mistake of attempting to breathe in, causing water to fill my lungs.
What happened after that was a little choppy. There was some yelling, a siren, the feeling of being lifted off the ground. A voice calling my name, some silence. Then the steady blip of a heart monitor.