"So who was that guy walking you home last week?" Damien asked Pip a few days later at school. He grinned and added;"Your boyfriend?" Pip blushed at Damien's comment, refusing to look up at the other boy and kept his eyes locked on the book in front of him. Pip tried his best not to respond, not wanting to humor Damien's rude antics with a reply.
Pip was able to avoid Damien all day. thankfully, they only had a few classes together. But Pip was forced to sit with him at lunch since he was to afraid of getting in trouble for skipping. The rule about not being able to leave campus during lunch never affected him until now. Pip silently cursed under his breath while he tried to ignore the other teen. Damien didn't like this.
Angrily, he banged his hands down on the table and glared at Pip. "Hey! I asked you a question! When I came to look for you I saw you walking with that guy, who was he?" Pip's eyes shot up to look at Damien with disbelief. 'He came to look for me?' Pip thought, shocked. Damien has never cared much for Pip before, so why the sudden empathy?
Damien has never been a kind, understanding person. That's what made him such a good Antichrist. And that's why it was hard for Pip to believe that Damien came to look for him after he ran away. Quickly though, before his surprisment was noticed, Pip shook his head and answered. "...He's a friend." He said blandly, looking back down at his book. He tried to ignore the feel of the other boys eyes watching him and the odd fluttering feeling in his stomach.
Damien stared at him. "Friend?" He asked skeptically, snorting at the blond. Pip nodded, not looking up at the other boy. Damien just laughed at him."Who would want to hang out with you? I'm your only friend!"
A sharp pain shot through Pip's chest at Damien's comment. He felt hot tears sting at his eyes. Not wanting Damien to see him cry again, Pip willed his tears away with happy thoughts and deep breaths. The whole time he didn't dare to look up at the dark boy sitting across from him. He felt foolish for thinking that Damien might have held some compassion for him. As he fought back his tears, Pip wished Christophe were here to save him.
Ever since they met a few days ago, Pip had fantasies about Christophe saving him from his reluctant friendship with Damien. The thought made Pip smile. He could picture Damien on the floor, vanquished and Christophe would be standing over him like some brave hero. Imagining this all in his head, Pip couldn't help but giggle. This made Damien glare at him again.
"Whats so funny?" He demanded. Pip flinched. He was so caught up by his own imagination that he almost forgot Damien was watching him. Blushing, Pip shook his head frantically. "No, no it's nothing!" He assured. He put on a fake smile for his not so friendly friend. The dark boy just eyed him. Then finally, to Pip's relief, Damien gave in with a sigh. "Your an idiot!" He stated, turning away from Pip.
The blond smiled earnestly to himself, hiding his smile behind his book so Damien wouldn't question him. He was glad that he managed to avoid telling Damien about Christophe. He would hate it if Damien decided to pick a fight with his new friend. Not because he was scared for Christophe's sake, but because he was afraid that would affect their new friendship. He didn't want this new relationship to be broken up just because Damien wanted to fuck around with him.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Soon enough, Pip found himself reluctantly walking home with a pissed off Antichrist. He was going on and on about how much school angered him and how much he wanted to just blow it up. Pip ignored him for most of the walk, allowing his mind to wander. Damien reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. That's when Pip noticed he was walking a few feet in front of the other boy.
He also noticed the quick and eagerness in his step. And judging by that angry look on Damien's face, he noticed as well.
"Why are you avoiding me?" He demanded, his face red with rage. His harsh tone made Pip shrink back in fear. A beat of cold sweat dripped down his face.
It was very hard to deal with Damien when he's this angry, there's no telling what he will do. When he loses his temper he loses all control. Pip wanted to be as far away from Damien as possible when he's like this. But as much as he wanted to, Pip knew he couldn't just run away from Damien when he's like this. He would certainly chase after him, and this time it wouldn't be to comfort him...
Taking a deep breath, Pip closed his eyes before he responded. "I'm sorry Damien," He said, trying to sound as calm and stoic as his frightened little voice would let him. "M-My mind has b-been else where the past few days a-and I haven't been able to pay attention...as much." Knowing how stupid he sounded with this pathetic lie and quivering voice, Pip excepted his defeat.
Pip knew that his attempt to lie to Damien only made things worse, so he excepted his punishment. Lowering his head and hunching his shoulders, he readied himself for Damien's blows. Pip bit his lip when he heard a growl push passed Damien's lips and a shuffle of the other boy's position. Hitting position, as Pip liked to call it. The blond dared to glance up at the dark boy, expecting to see his clawed hand raised up over his head, ready to strike him.
What he didn't expect to see was Damien's calm, stoic face. His dark eyes were staring blankly at him. A rush of relief overcame Pip. He thought for sure Damien was about to lose it. But Pip's fear returned when he saw Damien's lips tremble and open, as if he were about to say something. He expected a harsh comment to be spat at him, or maybe even to be spat on.
"Oh." Damien mumbled, glancing down. Pip's jaw fell and his misty blue eyes opened wide. He thought for sure that Damien would spit out something fowl at him. In his chest, Pip felt his heart trying to beat it's way out of his rib cage. All the emotions swirling in his head confused him and made him dizzy. He didn't know if he should be happy or scared for his life. He didn't know what was worse, a totally pissed Damien or a calm one. Though both of them scared the hell out of the Brit.
'Why is he acting so strange?' Pip wondered, glancing all around him for some sort of answer. Confused and scared, he began to panic. A million thoughts rushed into his head at once. Pip's scrambled thoughts were interrupted by a firm hand gripping his wrist, tugging him along. Pip looked up to see Damien smirking face as he pulled them towards Pip's house."Come on, I wanna hang out at your place."
This was all to weird. First Damien is ready to explode, then he's totally calm. And now he just wants to hang out as if nothing happened? What's even more strange is that he wants to go to his house. He always complains about how shabby and poor Pip's house was compared to his and that his parents hated him. Pip brushed that thought away once he remembered that his house was closest.
They walked into the small, two story house. The inside of the humble home was just as simple as the outside. The living room had one large, tan couch placed in front of a medium sized TV. The hard wood floor was covered by a cream colored rug and the walls were painted beige.
Carol, Pip's foster mother, poked her head through the kitchen door way and smiled sheepishly at Pip. She was shy even with her own step son. Her shyness didn't stop her though from frowning at Damien. She never did like him, mostly because of his gothic apparel and she thought he was a bad influence."Hello Philip," She turned back to her step son and smiled, then Carol again frowned at the dark boy. "...Hello Damien." She greeted him coldly.
Damien glared back at her. "Afternoon, Carol." He addressed her by her first name in a dark tone. One could actually feel the tension between those two. It was obvious the woman hated Damien and that she didn't want Pip near him, but since he was Pip's only friend she allowed it.
A muffled voice could be heard whispering from the kitchen. The redheaded woman's frown vanished when she heard the voice, looking over her shoulder at the person standing behind her. Pip guessed that it was Uncle Pumblechook standing behind her. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw Christophe walk passed Carol and step in front of him.
A smile graced the handsome boy's face as he looked down at Pip. The blond felt a blush light up his cheeks when he met those deep brown eyes with his blue ones. " 'Ello, Philip." The french boy said. His smile grew when he saw Pip's eyes widen at the use of his full name. Before he could ask, Christophe answered his unasked question. With a shrug of his wide shoulders, he said "Well, I didn't want to call you 'Pip' if people call you that to spite you. And besides, Philip is such a nice name so why not use it?"
Pip was left in awe. Nobody his age has ever been this nice to him before. Even Damien, Pip's best friend, called him by that silly nickname. It was true that he didn't mind the name anymore but it was still a nice gesture. Pip grinned up at the boy. He was so happy he couldn't register the right words to thank him.
Watching the two stare at each other, Damien sneered. He was sickened by this display. He couldn't believe that Pip was falling for this guy's charm. Damien knew his kind. He knew that Christophe was just a smooth talker. He's using his charms and good looks to woo Pip, then he was going to use him up for everything that he's got, not that he has much. But still, Damien couldn't allow this. He couldn't let this guy get his dirty hands on his friend.
He was about to speak up when Carol interrupted him. "Isn't he nice?" She gushed, placing a hand on Chris's shoulder. "He stopped by here just to see you, Philip. He must be a good friend." That last comment was aimed at Damien, implying that he was not a good friend. In response, Damien just glared at her. He mentally flipped her off, fighting the urge to kill her.
Carol let go of Christophe's shoulder and walked to the door. She turned to look at the boys. "I'll be back in a little bit, boys." She told them while she opened the door."Play nice!" The door slammed behind her as she walked out. The three boys were left alone in the house. Pip's uncle worked late on the week days so they will be alone until Carol came back.
Awkwardly, Pip sat between the two boys on the couch. It was cramped but the tiny couch was able to fit all three of them comfortably, well as comfortable as you can get sitting on a couch cramped up against a pissed off antichrist and a muscular Frenchmen. Tension was thick in the air. Pip found it hard to focus on the TV. He kept glancing up at either Chris or Damien, making sure they weren't glaring at each other.
The blond knew Christophe didn't like Damien since he made Pip cry, and he could tell that Damien didn't like Chris from they way he sneers at him. He felt incredibly uncomfortable sitting between them, scared that they might start fighting at any moment. Just one word could set them off on each other. The question was; Who's gonna have the first word?
That question was answered when Damien opened his mouth to speak. "So Pip, when did you get over your hate for frenchies?" Pip gasped, shrinking back in his seat. Here it comes. Christophe first instinct was to turn to Damien, then to Pip. He had a hurt look on his face. He waited for Pip to assure him that Damien is lying, that he really doesn't hate the french.
Pip swallowed the lump in his throat. His heart was beating so hard in his chest that he could feel it in his ears. Glancing up at Damien, Pip saw him smirking triumphantly, as if he had won something. Pip has never been so angry with Damien before in all there years of friendship. How could he do this? Why would he do this? Pip was finally making a new friend and he had to go and ruin it!
Pip pland to never tell Christophe about his former hatred for his kind. He thought it would be best for their growing relationship if he didn't know. Pip never wanted to hurt his feelings like that. He knew it would hurt him to know that he had prejudice thoughts about his people. He feared he wouldn't understand that he changed since they met.
He tried to explain. "I-I used to hate the french!" He blurted out. Christophe let out an angry scoff, still shocked as he sat there and listened to all Pip had to say. Damien just laughed softly. Hearing the drama coming from those two was like music to his ears. He loved to watch people suffer, especially if he was the one to cause their suffering.
Taking a deep breath, the blond continued. "B-but ever since you helped me the other day," He paused to find the right words."I feel r-really stupid for judging you just for being french. At first, I-I hated you," He told him truthfully. Pip almost smiled when he saw the hopeful look Chris was giving him. He was glad he was hearing him out before he walked away from him forever."But then I got to know you... and my hate for the french vanished!"
Christophe seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then he stood. His face was stoic as he walked towards the door. The two still on the couch watched as he opened the door. Damien watched with a wide smile while Pip's eyes threatened him with tears. He stood there, holding the door open and looking back at them. He faced them as he coldly said; "You need to leave."
Damien's smile dropped. His mouth was agap and his eyes widened. How dare this mortal tell him to leave. He stood up from his seat. His hands were balled into fist at his sides as he glared at the Frenchmen. "What do you mean I have to leave?" He snapped, glaring daggers. Christophe returned the look.
"Pip tells me that you are nothing but mean to him. And what kind of friend tells other people that their friend hates them?" He said and pointed out the door."It is obvious you don't care that deeply for him and that Philip is just a joke to you. You don't deserve his friendship. Get out." His command was stern and his glare was cold.
Pip just sat there, stunned. Christophe was doing the one thing Pip wanted to do for years but was to afraid to; Standing up to Damien.
Shocked by Chris's comments, Damien turned to Pip. He flashed him a snarling face before he asked him if he really thought that. Pip didn't know what to do. He was to afraid to answer. Everything Chris just said was true but he didn't want Damien to lose it on him. His fear kept him from answering. But his silence said it all. Damien was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe his eyes.
Then, without a word, Damien walked out the door and Christophe slammed it behind him. Pip watched from the window as Damien stormed down the street. He didn't know why, but a sharp pain shot through his chest as he watched Damien walk away.