~Chapter 7~
~Betrayal~
Tino looked up at the clock anxiously, the rubber on his pencil tapping his temple rhythmically; he wanted out and he wanted it now. He'd only been at this school for two weeks, now, and still wasn't settled.
As the seconds ticked by, the Finn examined the people in his class. There was one boy sitting and doing his work. Well, there is always one! And… was that boy smoking pot? The Finn shook his head incredulously, training his eyes on his daunting 16 mark question. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the male sat next to him.
Needless to say, said male stared straight back at him.
Tino gulped inwardly and quickly averted his eyes, feeling an ominous wave wash over him. He shivered slightly, swallowing. Why did he have to show up everywhere? He'd managed to avoid him perfectly fine so far! Cursed seating plans!
"D' ya ne'd h'lp?" The boy mumbled, his piercing jade eyes trained on the Finn's averted ones. Well. This was indeed a first.
"N-No! I-I'm fine!" Tino stuttered, his breath catching in his throat. The boy, Berwald, sighed. As Tino glanced over, his features seemed to relax slightly. Berwald's brow creased slightly as he slid his bespectacled gaze to his own (finished?!) paper, his eyes full of worry.
Wait… worry? Tino took a few moments to process this, his eyes widening slightly. How can he feel worry? He's so scary!
"'Re ya…" Berwald cleared his throat, trying his best to be more articulate. "Are ya feelin' 'lri'ght n'w?"
"…Joo. Kiitos." Tino smiled broadly at the boy sat next to him, relaxing slightly in his presence. At this moment, nothing seemed to matter to the young Finn. This boy, Berwald… he had the ability to feel compassion, it seems. So… why was he so hesitant?
Why am I so scared of someone so gentle? Am I acting like a little kid again? Because he can't help the way he looks and sounds! Maybe I should give him a chance… he is quite handsome. Not that I'm interested! I'm not gay! Hahaha! I'm only in support of them, joo! Should I ask him to dinner? No, because that sounds like a date…
"Do you want to eat with me a dinner? I'll wait by the pole!" Tino blurted out, against his better judgement. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his cheeks flushed out of chagrin.
Don't say that, stupid! Perkele, he's going to hate you now! Any chance you had with him is gone!
The giant Swede gave the Finn a barely imperceptible smile, rendering the latter speechless. Tino no longer had the heart nor the will to rescind his offer, upon this small facial expression. As Berwald stood up, rising to his full height, the bell rang its shrill toll.
Over the sounds of the chiming, the Finn heard one word, strong and clear.
"Ja."
Tino shook his head a few times and stared at his blank sheet of paper. He was still sat in his chair, which received many a queer look, but this wasn't important to him right now. So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he didn't hear the infuriated steps of a certain someone.
"Tino! What the fuck are you doing?" An overly loud voice demanded, dragging the Finn from his seat. Tino made a startled choking sound, his calm amethyst eyes widening with fright. A nervous chuckle slipped from his lips as he look into the other.
"A-Ah, Eduard! Hello!" He exclaimed cheerfully, a placated smile drifting upon his face. The youth stared into the red, angered face of his Estonian friend.
"You. Hurry up." His words were bitter and twisted, akin to his mouth; it was as if he'd eaten a hundred lemons. Tino gulped audibly and hurriedly collected his belongings. Eduard offered no help, yet continued to glare at him with a deep, intense hatred. For the Finn, this was incredibly worrying and panicking. He couldn't understand what he'd done!
What did I do? I didn't… I didn't do anything!
Tino gazed up into his friends steely eyes frightfully, his body quaking. Eduard grimaced at him and grabbed his wrist roughly, hard enough to bruise. Tino would feel that in the morning. A wince, angry footsteps and bated breath later and he found himself in the dining hall. Why the cafeteria?
Why? What did I do? Tell me!
Internally, the Finn was defiant; externally, he was distraught. The whole cafeteria paused and gazed at the duo as Eduard struck the Finn's cheek. The skin to skin contact rang throughout the place, echoing in the most bittersweet way. A tear slipped past the Finn's widened eyes as he brought a hand up, feeling the bruised skin.
Anyone in that place would swear they could hear the tear fall upon the ground.
The silence was deafening, the tension suffocating. No one dared move; no one dared jeer. Eduard broke the silence with his monotonous, ireful words.
"You're not allowed to hang around with them! They're filthy and disgusting! Do you want to turn into one of them?" Eduard stepped forward, causing the Finn to step back. "Those Nordics… They're nothing but-"
"You don't know anything about them!" Tino screamed, his face taking on a red hue.
Anyone in that place would swear they could feel Tino's anger erupt in heat waves, also.
"I don't even know what you mean by 'them'! What is your problem, Eduard? You're so prejudiced all the time!" Tino shrieked, his eyes narrowing.
"My problem is that you want to play house with fucking homosexuals, Tino! They're unnatural and wrong! There's nothing they do that's fucking right!" Eduard's own eyes narrowed, his aura becoming more dangerous by the second.
"What are you trying to say? Can you even hear yourself right now? What did they ever do to you?" Tino shrunk back from the Estonian, his resolve cracking ever so slightly.
"You made friends with those stupid Nordics. Don't lie to me! I watched you talk to that Swedish bastard like he was actually something!" Eduard had lost his temper by this point, his hands clenching into fists. His eyes were narrowed and his nostrils flared, like an enraged bull. The Finn cowered back internally, beginning to feel his breath catch in his throat.
"He's a nice person! How do you even know they're gay?" Tino questioned incredulously, his thoughts whirling a mile a minute."
"They all go to that stupid LGBT club!" The Estonian hissed through his teeth, one hand resting threateningly on Tino's shoulder. "You're not one of them, are you?"
Tino instantly recoiled, his violet eyes widening in horror.
It's happening again! No, no! Not again! They always used to say that to me, stop… please! It can't be true… Can it? Am I really gay? I act effeminate and I only said I liked that one boy at nursery! I don't want a girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I'm gay! I was only being kind earlier, there's nothing to it!
HELP ME!
His mind shrieked at him to deny the claim, even as translucent tears dropped out of his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to deny it, yet he also couldn't bring himself to accept it.
The Estonian shook his head a few times and swallowed thickly, as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.
"I think you need to be cured." He stated simply, his voice ringing out in the silence. Eduard brought his hands up to Tino's neck, carefully applying pressure. As Tino began to choke, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Deny it!" He screamed, his hands sure to leave purplish bruises all over his neck. "I knew it! You didn't even deny Francis earlier! I can't believe I had to test you that way!"
Tino couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Couldn't accept, couldn't deny. No one could help him now, or would… would they? I just…
"Berwald…" He choked out. The boy had saved him once before, hadn't he? Couldn't he… couldn't he save him now?
As his vision swam and his heart began to pound faster, he felt a rather gentle embrace from behind. His attacker had been pried off him, his whereabouts unknown. Sweet, cold air rushed into his gasping lungs, his eyes fluttering needlessly. Did he…?
"T'no." Stated a slurred voice full of worry and concern. Tino could only imagine the strained face of the one who held him in careful arms. He felt like a broken doll; he felt worthless.
"S'y s'meth'n, ple'se." The voice was guttural, deep and insistent. They really wanted… oh.
"B-Berwald…" Tino choked out once again, this sound high, hysterical and unnatural. A deep sigh of relief was released from the chest of his holder. He felt the arms hold him a little tighter, yet not enough to cause any breathing complications.
"W's w'rri'd." Berwald spoke softly, his aquamarine eyes squeezed tightly shut. Tino squeaked in alarm as he felt himself be lifted up in the air. After another desperate breaths, he opened his tear filled eyes.
Tino found himself greeted with the most amazing sight ever. He was being saved, by Berwald nonetheless! He'd heard him, he had! He cared! Someone cared!
Tino grinned at him, the act weak and strained; the sentiment was far stronger and purer. Berwald managed a tight lipped smile in return, and looked up at the cafeteria. Tino gazed around frightfully, worried that he'd see Eduard. What he saw, in actuality, was the very boy restrained by an enormously tall Russian.
Ivan had him, now.
Tino shivered and clutched onto Berwald even tighter, his fearful eyes closing again. He began to breathe normally, now. What a miracle that was!
"L't m' t'ke yu t'FT", He stuttered lightly, "A m'de s'meth'n wh'n 'very'ne els' w's w'tch'ng."
Tino nodded once and allowed himself to be carried through the silent halls, his fearful heartbeats calming down as his mind came down from its panicked state. As his gaze swept about silently, he became very aware of the heartbeat of his Swedish saviour. The Swede's heart was hammering a mile a minute. Alas, the Finn could tell this racing of the heart wasn't just due to physical exertion. Could it be he was worried about him?
Berwald walked into the Food Technology classroom quietly, hesitantly placing the spooked Finn on his feet. Berwald leant down to his level, the act clearly causing him pain. A hand was placed on Tino's chin as he tilted his head up.
Unfortunately, this merely caused Tino's heart to beat quicker than ever.
"Yu 'kay?" He asked quietly, his previously piercing eyes darting all over the other youth's face, looking for injuries.
"J-joo… I-Is there any way I can make it up to you?" Tino asked timidly, a light pink flush decorating his ghostly pale cheeks. He swallowed nervously, finding the courage to look deep into the eyes of his Swedish saviour. The boy nodded once, albeit uncertainly.
"What is it? I'll do anything!" Tino insisted, a small smile stretching his numb cheeks, lifting his slightly parted lips upwards.
"K… K'ss m'." Berwald began to blush lightly, before looking aware demurely. Tino's eyes widened slightly as he looked up at Berwald.
"W-What?" Tino asked quietly, biting his lower lip shyly. Was he prepared to give his first kiss to a man who, not an hour before, he had been incredibly scared of? Sure, the bumbling Swede had helped him out a lot. Whenever he had hung around Lukas, he'd be there- with the rest of the group.
His stomach began to flutter with butterflies as his stare turned to one of determination. Berwald blinked twice and made movements to stand up straight, surely to deny his fondest wish. Yet Tino wasn't about to allow that to happen.
With one swift movement, the young Finn placed his lips upon the bearish Swede's.
Hello dear readers!~ I bring you the next instalment of 'Don't be afraid'!~
So I'd like to clear up something; I used France as a 'rapist' type character. I'm very sorry! I'm aware that everyone uses France nowadays~~ Although, France is one of my favourite characters and I did use him as a scapegoat~ I hope this chapter cleared up my motives a little bit~ If not, perhaps the next chapter will?
Also, it seems like we're close to the end already! I'm hoping I can make it to 10 chapters, though!
In addition, I have to complain about my GCSE's, because us british people do love to complain! I have 8 mock exams in one week, followed by 3 mock exams the next week~ I promise to try and update, but realistically it may be impossible. If anyone's wondering, maths is what we say in England~ I'm aware that in sixth form you only really take 4 subjects, so i'm keeping an eye on what subjects I mention!
Thanks to the reviewers: The Little Chibi and Tina Vainamoinen!~
