Fanboy stumbled out of his classroom; hot, salty tears brimming his eyes as he took each of his steps carefully and gingerly. As he shut the door behind him, he felt his body physically twitch from both pain and apprehension. Within terror, he could still mentally feel every cut, every slice, and every note that both physically and psychologically scarred him. One tear escaped and slid from his eye, which stung the tiny, accidental exposed cut on his reddened cheek. He quickly wiped it away with his violet-gloved hand, lest someone saw it.
Was this a dream? Everything that had transpired appeared too unreal to be in concert with reality. This had to be some sort of nightmare! He had heard of teachers abusing their students, or just children in general on the news, but by no means had he thought that that would to him! That was the reason why it all seemed so erroneous.
His bottom lip trembled as he trudged through the deserted halls, and he bit it, desperately trying to contain his sobs which crept up his throat. His fragile arms wrapped around his torso, clutching the thin fabric that was spotted with nearly invisible droplets of scarlet.
Those teachers were sent to jail, right? And then they would never hurt their children again, correct?
"But this is different," Fanboy whispered to himself, "Because I'm protecting my best friend, and Mr. Mufflin promised he wouldn't hurt us if I don't tell anyone. So I won't!" He lifted his head, suddenly confident. "Yeah! If I don't tell anyone and just behave in class, then nothing bad will happen!" He nodded his head rather shakily, twiddling his fingers in haste. The tears were filling his eyes again, and he looked over his shoulder and stared down the dark hallway with his blurred vision. Would his teacher follow him? Probably not, but Fanboy ran towards the exit anyway, even if the cuts from the glass on his feet was agonizing.
He slammed the wooden double-doors open and stepped outside in the bright sunlight which caused him to squint. He gingerly stepped down the school steps to Chum Chum, who was waiting expectantly.
"There you are Fanboy," Chum Chum laughed excitedly. He jumped up and took the older one's hand in his own, unknowingly causing the boy to wince at the contact. "Where were you? You were gone for quite a while!" He did notice Fanboy's grim expression and immediately confronted it before the older boy had a chance to speak. "Hey, are you okay? What did Mr. Mufflin say?"
A flicker of anxiety shot through Fanboy's mind, and he tensed at the recollection of his teacher's words. If you tell anybody about this, I will drag you back to the Shunning Cave, and I will exterminate you in the slowest doable method, along with the Talking Raccoon."
I can't tell him," Fanboy thought to himself, tensing up in extreme fear and determination. "I have to protect him. I have to protect my buddy. Think of an excuse! Excuses! EXCUSES!"
"Fanboy? Oh, Fanboy? What did Mr. Mufflin say?" the little boy asked worryingly, gently tugging on his older friend's lanky arm, causing him to wince in pain once again. The other child noticed, and he squinted. "Huh. Is your arm okay?
"O-Oh! It's okay! U-Um, he made me write a hundred sentences on the board, and I suppose my arm is a little sore from the perpendicular angle it had to be in!" Fanboy explained, laughing nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free arm.
"Oh, okay! Come on, let's go home! Maybe we can play some videogames once we get there!" Chum Chum said eagerly, skipping ahead while his best friend limped behind, unnoticed. As they walked—and limped—home, Fanboy pondered long and hard regarding what had happened, and what his teacher said specifically.
"All you need to do is listen, keep quiet, and follow my rules, and no harm will come to you or your friend. Understand?"
So not only did Fanboy have to keep quiet but he also had to follow the class rules, ALL of the class rules. He had too. His, and most important, Chum Chum's life was on the line. "Chum Chum?" He asked faintly, tentatively taking his steps.
"Yeah?" the other boy replied cheerfully, oblivious to the mess behind him as he skipped on.
"What do we have for homework?" Fanboy asked, readjusting his violet cowl in the process, but then discovering something dreadful. Oh Heavens! He could feel the crimson start leaking out from under the fabric! He was grateful that it was water-proof, therefore blood-proof, but instead of containing the blood on the inside, it simply slid out. He slightly whimpered and he began to sweat in nervousness. He couldn't let anyone find out.
"Homework? We have Math on page 207, all numbers. Why? You haven't bothered with homework before!" Chum Chum slowed a bit so Fanboy could catch up to him and he looked up at his hero with wide, curious eyes.
"I-I just think it'll do me good, all right?" He answered, his eyes gazing off in a different direction. "J-just because!"
That was NOT a clear answer! Chum Chum frowned with puzzlement, but let it go, "All right." Fanboy grimaced when Chum Chum looked away. Ugh. Homework! To him, it was such a waste of time. However, it was worth it to protect his best friend!
A few hours later…
Fanboy hastily scanned his homework for the fifth time, making sure that all the answers were correct. He couldn't risk getting one wrong. What if Mr. Mufflin's expectations were higher than high? Perfect, for all he knew. He was filled to the brim with anxiety now, mind filled with horrifying images of what Mr. Mufflin could do, his heart always beating faster than normal, his breathing raspy and quick. Chum Chum noticed easily, looking up from his own math paper.
"Are you sure your okay?" he asked, concerned, placing a hand on Fanboy's shoulder. His best friend was so deep in concentration that he jumped and let out a slight squeak at the contact. Chum Chum quickly withdrew his hand and stared at the older male in concern. "Fanboy… You've been awfully jumpy today! I'm worried about you!"
There were a few moments of silence. "Is there something you're not telling me?" When Fanboy refrained answering, Chum Chum said, "You can tell me what's going on. I'm your best friend! I promise I won't laugh! Please? I just wanna help!" he pleaded as the other boy shook slightly.
The only response he received was, "I-I'm taking a shower, and then maybe I can play videogames with you," Fanboy mumbled, carefully hopping down from the wooden chair and began hobbling up the stairs that led to the bathroom. Chum Chum observed him carefully. What was up with him? He was acting so strange, but why? He was acting all right until… Chum Chum's eyes widened. …Until Mr. Mufflin forced him to stay after class. Fanboy obviously wasn't telling the truth. Writing sentences would cause a person to completely lose his personality!
With this mind, Chum Chum sprinted after his best friend. When he at last arrived at the top of the stairs, he heard the shower water running, and quietly crept near the bathroom door. It was slightly ajar, so that made it easy for the sidekick to see and hear what was going on.
He heard Fanboy undressing and saw him toss his costume aside on the wooden floor. He covered his eyes however, when Fanboy limped past the door to enter his shower. Then out of nowhere, Chum Chum heard Fanboy shriek in pain. He burst in and scrambled over to his friend's shower, the shower curtain blocking his view. "Fanboy? Fanboy! Are you okay?" He cried out.
In the meantime, Fanboy was literally biting his fist to keep his strangled cries in, collapsed on the floor of the half-filled tub. His eyes were squeezed shut, tears sliding down his temporarily unmasked face. The warm water came into contact with his multiple wounds, which was the most agonizing thing he had felt.
"I-I'm okay!" he gasped out. "I-I just hit my head!" He couldn't believe the horrible position he was in. He and his friend's lives were on the line, and the only thing that kept his secret from being exposed was a flimsy shower curtain. His bruised knees knocked together from nervousness and he impatiently waited for his friend's reply. Don't move the shower curtain… Don't move the shower curtain… Don't move the shower curtain…!
"No you didn't."
"W-What?" He squeaked. "What do you mean I didn't? Don't presume telling me what happened and what didn't, when you didn't even see it happen!"
"I didn't hear a thud," Chum Chum stated, raising his eyebrow in deep suspicion. "Don't lie to me, Fanboy."
Water trickled down Fanboy's abused face and body, and he watched the shower curtain carefully with paranoia. "Look, I need my privacy, so can you please just—!"
Whoosh!
The abrupt movement almost caused Fanboy to fall backwards from surprise, but instead he gasped and attempted to cover himself with his hands. There stood Chum Chum, the shower curtain in his gloved hand, yanked aside, a profound blush on his face that soon paled to a ghost white. "F-Fanboy!" Chum Chum whispered, clearly in shock as he inspected and took in all of Fanboy's injuries. All the deep, angry red slashes covered his best friend's naked body from head to toe, the deep black and blue bruises that claimed his arm, lower legs, and parts of his face that was hidden by his violet mask. "W-What happened?" He reached out a hand to touch gently Fanboy's terrified and bruised-from-multiple-beatings face.
"NOTHING!" Fanboy shouted, his face reddening intensely as he scooted as far away as he could from the sidekick, causing the water to slosh around edges of the tub. When he managed to scoot to a corner of the tub, he covered his face with his ungloved hands as the tears finally fell. "N-Nothing happened!" He sobbed with anxiety and fear shooting though him, clouding his mind. It was over. His secret was revealed! As a result, they were dead. They were so dead. Mr. Mufflin was going to kill them!
Wait, no. Chum Chum didn't know who did it! As long as he didn't know, the both of them were safe.
What made Fanboy feel so helpless was that if they DID fall into Mr. Mufflin's wrath, he couldn't do anything about it! Being tied up until his legs and arms went numb, and then beaten senseless were things he could not protect Chum Chum from if Mr. Mufflin found out.
The boy heard a splash and felt arms wrap around his bare torso, and a face nuzzle his chest that first stung but then soothed his wounds. Gripping the edges of the bathtub to keep from slipping; his inhales and exhales became far too short and quick, emerald eyes rolling to the back of his head. He was going to faint… Everything was dimming, and he could feel his body sinking. "Just let me die now…" he thought.
"Fanboy… It's okay… It's okay… Who did this to you?" Chum Chum asked, staring up at his best friend's face, not caring if he was sopping wet. That did it. A bell of panic rang in Fanboy's mind. OH NO! He was onto him!
The super-fan burst out sobbing, covering his face with his hands. "No!" he cried. "N-Nothing happened! Please, let it go!"
The sidekick looked up at his hero in surprise. He had never sounded so desperate and so scared in his life. There was a long silence; the only audible noises were Fanboy's whimpering, and the water falling onto the children like a waterfall. For Chum Chum, this was a first. Not just the injuries, but the fact that Fanboy looked petrified. He looked at his best friend's wounds and slowly traced a finger over one of the cuts on the male's arm.
"Don't touch it!" Fanboy shrieked, yanking his forearm away and cradling it with his other just-as-damaged arm. "It hurts!"
Chum Chum withdrew his hand and glared at the older boy. "Why won't you tell me what happened? Those don't look accidental! Not to mention that those also look fresh…" He pointed out, and then in a much softer tone continued with, "Why don't you want to tell me?"
Fanboy slowly shook his head from side to side. "I-I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?" Chum Chum placed his hand on the one place where Fanboy wasn't abused: his cheek—the only place not hidden by the cowl. "I'm your best friend, so you can trust me Fanboy! Don't be scared…"
"I-I-I'm not scared! I-I…" Fanboy's mind went cloudy and Chum Chum's chocolate eyes practically bore into his emerald ones. He gently removed his sidekick's hand. "I… I can't tell you…" he whispered, wrapping his shaky arms around his best friend, pulling him close. "It's t-to protect you." He pulled back and said, "O-Okay?"
"No!" Chum Chum removed himself from Fanboy's arms and stared at him dead in the eye once more. "It isn't okay! Wait… What do you mean it's to protect me?" Fanboy began to sputter, and he covered his face with his hands again. He blew it again. This time, his finger nails dug into some of the cuts on his temples, which caused them to reopen, and soon, blood was again trickling down his face. Before long, the water around him turned a rusty red color.
Studying him carefully, Chum Chum finally sighed and said, "Alright, why don't we talk about it after you wash?" Fanboy didn't answer, and Chum Chum exited the bathroom.
A Little Later…
They never had that talk. Fanboy scrambled into bed as soon as he finished his shower, refusing to talking to his best friend unless it was about something unrelated to his scars. When Chum Chum entered the atmosphere, Fanboy covered his face with a pillow, hardly moving.
The younger boy looked at him. "Fanboy?" Being so young, Chum Chum didn't understand the gravity of the situation at hand. The thought that Mr. Mufflin inflicted the injuries on his best friend had never crossed his mind. Why would it? Their teacher seemed so lifeless and boring! Yuck! So to sum it up, Mr. Mufflin hurting Fanboy didn't seem like a palpable option. "Did you get into a fight?" He asked curiously. But that did not seem likely either.
Fanboy refused to answer. "It's to protect Chum Chum," he thought. "Nothing bad will happen as long as I don't say anything." He turned on his side, away from the opposite bed and thought some more. "Besides, I did my homework, and Mr. Mufflin said I had to follow… Yeah, that's following the rules. Yeah… I can't talk in class… And…" Was there one last rule? What was it again? "Heh," Fanboy chuckled weakly. "He was right. He didn't completely hammer the rules into me. Well, being good shouldn't be too hard anyway. I AM a superhero, so being good should be a walk in the park! ... Right?" He shivered, and clutched the blankets tighter, silently letting the tears he had struggled to contain, fall free.
Walking to school had never been so…suspenseful for Fanboy. He clenched his homework paper tightly in one hand, determined not to lose it. Chum Chum strolled beside him, still pondering over the source of the terrible, abundant wounds. Who had done it? He noticed Fanboy's willpower to shut it out, never mentioning it, never addressing it. If moving in a certain way hurt him, he would clench his teeth and hold in his cries. His limp had lessened. Because of that, Chum Chum nearly overlooked the state of affairs.
"Fanboy," Chum Chum muttered as they entered their classroom, "Are you feeling better this morning?" The boy in question smiled and nodded, but for some reason seemed very rigid as they passed by the teacher's desk.
"Keep walking and don't look!" Fanboy ordered himself as he stiffly approached, but his emerald flickered upward to meet Mr. Mufflin's nonetheless. It was like a flash of terror spreading throughout Fanboy's mind as the knowledge of secrets exchanged between the two. Mr. Mufflin's eyes clearly asked him, "Did you follow my instructions? Will you be good?" The masked child gave a tiny nod in response. It only lasted for a moment, and then Fanboy swiftly walked over to his desk in the back corner of the classroom, Chum Chum following him, confused more than ever.
The rest of the day was quite different. Not for just for Fanboy and Chum Chum in general, but for the entire class, including Mr. Mufflin. It was, of course, much quieter, and there was a decrease of giggling and passing notes in the rear. Kyle noticed the alteration instantaneously. Being the student whom was affected by the other's misbehavior, any upgrade was become aware of right away.
He was curious to how this was so. The Brit turned around in his seat to face the super-fan and whispered, "Well, it is about time you modified your behavior! I say, you haven't talked one bit, have you? Have you not?" He was extremely flabbergasted when he received no response. Fanboy merely looked away, his hands folded in his lap.
He needed to be good, a good student. And that meant he had to listen to his teacher and ignore his classmates if they addressed him. He needed to.
"Huh…" Kyle squinted at his classmate. "Continue to do that, and Mr. Mufflin may essentially begin to admire you!" For a second time, the wizard obtained no reply, so he shrugged and twisted around to face forward. Something was off, and while he was enjoying the silence, there was a whisper of dread in the air. "But that cannot be… The only thing Fanboy is doing is…nothing! So why am I puzzled? Perhaps it is because of his exceptional work of a student!" He chuckled quietly.
Chum Chum was more confused than ever. Whenever he attempted to speak to his best friend, he wouldn't receive so much as a glance, much less a spoken reply. Fanboy was deliberately ignoring him…o-on purpose. But why? Was he mad at him? Was that why he was ignoring him?
"Fanboy?" he whispered, his hand covering his mouth from Mr. Mufflin's sight as he turned to face the other male he was addressing. "You need to tell me what's going on. I can't just sit here and let—"
"HEY! STOP TALKING!" The angry shout erupted from the teacher's mouth as a warning. Chum Chum froze and eyed Fanboy, who seemed to be more tense than usual, but not only that; he seemed almost…scared? What on Earth was going on? Usually, Fanboy would just giggle under his breath or something, but now… What was up with his buddy? Well, he didn't know that, but he did know one thing for sure: he was going to get to the bottom of it.
….
Ugh. So sorry about the sluggishly slow update. I've just been so busy, and I'm typing this story on a spare computer that has no Internet source at my house! It can only connect to Wi-Fi at my school, so technically, I'm outside la clase de Espanol… for the duration of the summer. LOL. No, I didn't fail; this is just the only place I have connection.