pBoth Daryl and Jesus prepared for the school day in the same daze, unaware of the other's turmoil and rough night. They arrived at school within moments of each other just narrowly missing an encounter that neither one knew the other /
Jesus was corralled by Glenn and Maggie to his locker doing his best to put on his happy face and ignore the itching of his arm and his veins screaming out for more heroin just to keep himself steady. He could barely concentrate on the optimistic chatter of the couple in front of him and was very much walking around with his head in the clouds, these clouds weren't the fluffy marshmallowy kind either, more like plumes of noxious gas left in a nuclear fallout. He just wanted to see Daryl. Just needed that one thing to keep him breathing and make him feel like he was actually present. He bid his goodbyes to Maggie Glenn promising to see them at lunch and made his way to his locker to collect his books for the first lessons of the day. His day always started with Dickbag Walsh and today was one of those days where he just knew that arsehole's sunny personality was going to be like a kick in the teeth, but at least he would get to his knight in hand-me-down clothes./p
pDaryl made his way through the hallways of hell trying to draw as little attention as possible, he mused to himself about making clothes that matched the exact fetid puss yellow of the decor so no one would even know he was there. The night before kept flashing in still frame images behind his eyelids every time he blinked, he could taste his father's rancid seed in every swallow and smell the stale alcohol breath every time he inhaled. He was far too used to this he thought, he knew from the babble of other students that his home life was far from what was considered the norm and he grew weary of hearing the petty complaints of how parents wouldn't purchase the newest cell phone or laptop at the drop of hat. These ignorant children didn't know how lucky they were and it made Daryl's blood boil. However, no matter how much he envied his peers he would never wish his torment on someone else, not even King Dick of the Moron Brigade Mr Walsh, or the Queen of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee Lori Grimes. His mind then chimed in telling him he deserved it and no one would give a shit if he wasn't even here. He proceeded from his locker to homeroom, making sure to be early today just to avoid another reason to be made a spectacle of./p
pPaul took his seat and waited anxiously for that beautiful blue eyed mystery to coalesce in the room, just as he was about to give up hope Daryl limped into the room slightly, hands shoved deep into pockets, head down, hood up. Looking every bit as vulnerable and defensive as was possible. As Jesus was staring unabashedly Daryl looked up and scanned the room to see who was already present. He locked eyes with Paul and was taken aback by the warmth he saw there, he felt his cheeks heat and cast his eyes back down remembering his father's taint and felt his skin crawl, feeling dirty and used. /p
pJesus' mouth opened slightly when he caught sight of the bruise on Daryl's jaw and the haunted look in those eyes. While Paul was going over every way to bring up Daryl's bruises without making him feel uncomfortable and run away Daryl took his seat next to Paul and began rooting through his backpack. A crumpled pack of cigarettes fell out with his books and Jesus bent down to pick them up much to Daryl's horror. He knew he was done for, the new kid would surely tell on him for it. Much to his surprise Jesus produce his own packet cigarettes and whispered, "Snap," and passed Daryl the almost full packet of the same brand of cigarettes he had produced from inside his trench coat as well as a Zippo lighter engraved with his family insignia, keeping Daryl's almost empty carton and crappy lighter. Daryl looked up at Paul with a puzzled expression asking are you sure without uttering a word. Jesus just nodded and said, "Meet me by the old oak tree at lunch, I'm gonna need something to spark up with." He finished his sentence with a wink. Just as Daryl was trying to think of some sort of witty response Dickbag walked into the room and crashed through the whole moment like a wrecking ball reminding Daryl where he was what his life was. He had to be wary around this kindly stranger and he figured meeting him at lunch could lead to finding out this guys ulterior motives. That was the only reason he was meeting him Daryl tried to convince himself through the rest of his lessons. All of which passed in a blur as every possible scenario played through Daryl's brain like a movie. Hopefully he could get through this without another incident like last time he thought as ran a finger over his knuckles remembering the feel of his fist connecting with Jesus' face./p