The hallway was mostly empty when he arrived, leaving him to the echoing halls that did little to comfort the uneasy pattering of his heart in his chest.
Moving his book-bag from his back, he rummaged through it to find his schedule, noting that it was nearly fifteen minutes into their fourth, and final period.
Ms. Redsnow.
History class.
His least favorite period.
It was odd that knowing that Kwan, Star, and Paulina, all shared different classes at the end of the day, and his was here, amongst a student body he didn't know, and many eyes that stared...at him.
Only him.
Thank God Dale was there, nudging his arm as he turned his attention toward him.
"Dude, where did you go when we left the cafeteria? You were with us one second, and the next," Dale made a whoosh sound with his mouth, as if the wind had blown and and gesture with his hand to manage the same thing",...you were gone. The auditorium was a total wreck!" Dale inquired with a loud whisper, waiting for Dash to answer.
He almost let it slip that he'd gone into the West Wing in the first place, or what had happened there, eying Danny from the corner of his eye though he didn't dare turn to him to make him staring at the dark-haired youth known.
He only had to be pushed against the wall once to know what he shouldn't do, but he'd be sure to have a nice "talk" with him later, for good measure.
Couldn't have him thinking that he had the upper hand, that he was...was afraid of him.
No.
No he couldn't.
'What? Afraid he'll make you his little bitch, huh? Just like Mommy and Daddy, right?'
'No, that's not it! I'm just,-'
'Yes it is. I bet you want that, don't you? You want him to bend you over and fuck you until your brain falls out, you slimy little whore.'
'What?! No! That isn't it at all,-'
'You're scared of him, right?'
'You practically peed your self back there, didn't you? You did a little, right?'
'That's why your underwear are wet. God, you're such a bitch.'
Grasping his head, he couldn't stop it, the fuzziness that began to set in.
He wasn't scared.
Nothing scared him.
Nothing.
Nothing.
NOTHING-
"Hey, Earth to Dash? Are you listenin' to me?" Snapping his head back up, he looked to his right where Dale's annoyed voice beckoned him, grinning crookedly as he scanned the room, but let loose a sigh as no one had noticed anything.
At least, as far as he could tell.
"Oh, uh, y-yeah. Yeah, I was listening, I was just...just thinking about...stuff." Laying his head on the desk, he didn't miss the other's grin, slapping a hand on Dash's back that made him flinch, but he managed to stop himself from yelping out with surprise from the action, and just narrowly so, his heart beating wildly in his chest as the tension within him grew.
"Woah, dude. That's dangerous, isn't it? Can't have you thinking too hard or you'll kill yourself or somethin'." Dale started jokingly, turning around as another student called to him, never noticing how Dash's shoulders fell at the mention of it.
If only.
It was a few minutes later that the former turned back around, voice still low but set with a tone that Dash had known too well.
Dale wanted to know something.
"So you really didn't do the assignment, huh? Me and everyone else was totally talking about, dude. Shit, even Cut-class Conner did it, and he isn't even here most days." Dash listened on, nodding every so often as his eyes were set to the front of the class were a lesson discussing the syllabus droned on.
It wasn't that interesting, but who was surprised?
Dale continued on even as Dash didn't respond.
"Like, seriously, you somehow manage to fuck up even when you've only been here for what? A day? You've gotta do better, man. It's always the same thing with you." Dale picked through his teeth, smirking at Dash's scoff, though he didn't notice the irritable furrow of the former's brow.
They never noticed.
"Yeah. I thought we supposed to do that over the summer? That was too easy, and I don't even like math." Again, Dash nodded, scratching at the arm of his sleeve as his frown deepened, growing across his face.
'Yeah, it was too easy. Too bad you're too dumb to do something like that. You would have failed on the spot.'
'You could have tried harder.'
'God, do you even try?'
'Do better.'
'Why are you so worthless.'
'Stupid.'
'Idiot.'
Dale was still speaking.
Laughing...at him.
Dash cuts in, his voice shaking just a bit more than he would have liked for it to.
"It was...it was dumb, so I didn't do it. Like hell I was gonna waste my time doing something like finding a shell or somethin' to do for the stupid project." He never stopped scratching at his arm, even when he could his skin become irritated beneath the fabric of his sleeve, grinning indignantly.
"Yeah, it's not like I care, anyway."
'Yes, you do'
"I don't care at all."
'Liar.'
Dale chuckled, shaking his head as a mother would when their child did something silly, something foolish, a low, sad smile on his face that made Dash want to scratch harder, that expression all too familiar.
Pity.
Always that fucking pity that made his stomach hurt and his head ache.
He didn't need it.
He didn't want it.
What made him think that he did? That he liked for people to look at him like a sick puppy?
If he wanted to do the work, he could.
No, I can't.
He just didn't do it because he couldn't be bothered.
I want to, but I'm not smart enough.
"You know, you're gonna have to start trying a little harder, dude. It's not cool that you don't care. Tryouts for sports are supposed to be starting soon, you know. How can you expect to get in if you're grades are shit, dude?" If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought that he was imagining things and that Dale wasn't saying that just a hair's breadth away. He couldn't fathom that the other would say that, so his mind, his spirit, denied it. He had to deny it to stop the itch.
The endless itchingggggggg-
"Well, maybe we can hang out sometime this week?" The boy started, trying to change the topic, trying to distract himself, but Dale didn't say anything; his fingers fiddling with the strap of his perfect bag with his perfect books with his perfect everything.
Everything was perfect with him.
Dale was perfect.
Kwan was perfect.
Star was perfect.
Paulina was perfect.
How could he stand to be around them?
How could they stand to have him around.
"Dale?-," The former cut him off, shrugging as he turned back to the other student.
"I, uh...I guess so, ." Dash felt his stomach churn at the response, feeling the familiar fear that gathered in his gut.
He didn't like asking them for things.
It made them...angry.
He didn't like when they were angry.
Was Dale angry with him?
He didn't want him to angry with him.
"Cool." Dash almost seemed to whisper, the school bell screaming through the halls, reverberating throughout the room and sending the student body to their feet in a collective motion, made habitual through time. Picking up his bag, just as the others had, they all headed towards the doors, though Dash lagged behind, not that they had noticed. Azure blue eyes sifted through the sea of bodies until he fell upon them, those bright, baby blues.
They burned into him for a split second and disappeared just as quickly.
At the meeting, Danny's eyes averted to Sam as he grasped her hand (he could see it, despite the density of students about them), laughing with Tucker as they, too, found their way back to the hallway, filtering through the crowd until they flitted from view.
