Things Will Get Better

Prompt: a chapter that takes place only a day or a few days after this one (Safe Here) and it's Jeff and he's still kind of afraid that something bad will happen again but he finally opens up and tells the Warblers what happened at his old school and after that they (again) tell him that he's safe at Dalton and maybe even share their own stories and after that Jeff finally is a lot more happy and not as scared (even though obviously he still is scared because this kind of stuff doesn't suddenly disappear) Like they just sit together and talk and maybe joke around a little and Jeff starts to warm up with them. - Anna Duval-Sterling

Note: I was originally going to write a different prompt as I try to write the older ones first, but as this chapter takes place just a couple days after the last one I decided to do this one first. Thanks Anna Duval-Sterling for the prompt!

The Warblers were sitting in the practice room chatting and laughing. They had just finished practice and most of the boys had left, but for the few who remained they were perfectly happy. All except one.

Jeff sat quietly at the end of the couch next to Nick. While he wasn't technically in the Warblers, they still allowed him to their meetings. They had invited him to join officially, but he had turned them down every time, stating he wasn't interested. They all knew that was a lie though, but none of them pushed him, they just said he was welcome to anyway. That is how Jeff found himself in the practice room that day, surrounded by the very loud Warblers.

"What did you think Jeff?" one of the boys called.

"What?" Jeff asked, looking up. He had been off in his own world and hadn't heard what he'd been asked.

"What did you think?" David repeated, "About the song?"

"Oh, yeah, it was great," Jeff replied, "Sorry."

"I'm fine," Jeff said quickly.

"You sure?" Trent asked and Jeff nodded quickly. The boys stared at him for a moment before accepting his answer and going back to their conversation.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Nick whispered to his roommate.

"It's just really loud," Jeff whispered back and Nick nodded in understanding. That was one of the main reasons Jeff didn't want to join the Warblers, whenever it got too loud it overwhelmed him and he would panic.

"Maybe I should go..." Jeff made to stand up, but was stopped when Trent spoke.

"I came out," he said and Jeff looked at him in confusion.

"What?" he asked.

"At my old school," Trent explained, "I came out. That's when the bullying started." By now, the other bys in the room had fallen silent and were watching the exchange.

"It was awful," Trent went on, "I lost the friends I had and my teachers wouldn't do anything. My parents even went to the school board, but when they talked to my principal he said nothing was wrong. So my parents pulled me out of school, found Dalton, and sent me here."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jeff asked.

"Because I can see you're still terrified," Trent said.

"I-I'm not-" Jeff stammered.

"Jeff, it's fine," Trent said gently, "These things don't vanish over night. But I told you so you'd know you weren't alone here."

"He's right," Thad put in, "I was bullied at my old school. That's why I came here."

"Me too," Nick said quietly, "For much the same reason as Trent." Jeff stared at him in surprise. He'd had no idea that Nick had been bullied too; or any of these guys for that matter. He'd known he couldn't be the only one who came to Dalton for that reason, but all these guys seemed so happy...

"It's okay to still be scared Jeff," Wes said, "But like we told you a couple days ago, nothing is going to happen to you here." Jeff nodded and looked down at his lap.

"They beat me up," he mumbled, "Every day it was just... I never had a lot of friends, but when I went into high school I had none. The kids were horrible; they made of me for everything: my hair, the way I dressed, the way I spoke... Then one kid outted me. I still don't know how he found out, but he did and he told everyone. They would follow me home after school, they threw stuff at me in class, they beat me up under the bleachers... It just wouldn't stop. The teachers and principal wouldn't do anything. They said it was just 'kids being kids'. My parents tried to understand, but when they found out why I was being bullied even they weren't that interested. It was my aunt who found out about Dalton and suggested my parents send me here. I think it was probably great for them because not only did the bullying stop, but it got me out of the house for most of the year." The boys stared at him sadly, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, Nick took a chance and reached over to grab Jeff's hand. The blonde boy jumped, but didn't pull away.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Nick said, "And I promise I'll make sure that never happens to you again."

"Why?" Jeff asked, looking at Nick through teary eyes, "Why would you do that for me?"

"Why not?" Nick said and Jeff smiled at him slightly through his tears.

"It's all gonna be okay now Jeff," Nick said, "Things will get better."

Alright, so there were parts of this one I really liked and parts I didn't. However, I hope all of you liked and a big thank you to Anna Duval-Sterling for the prompt, I hope it was what you were looking for. Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think! As always, prompts are welcome!