FicWad

I scoff and roll my eyes at him, not entertained or even intrigued by his sophomoric response. Moron. I put the car near the back of the lot, where visitors are supposed to park but I do it as a safety measure against the possible vendettas my co-workers could be planning. Geoff swallows the last mouthful of his beer, before crushing the thin metal between his palms and throwing it into the backseat, “Why are you so quiet?”

I look over at him, “Honestly? Because I hate having this job.”

Geoff shrugs, “They hired you. It’s technically their problem that no one likes you. You could actually build a lawsuit out of this. Unfair working conditions or something.”

I sigh, leaning my chest onto the steering wheel, “Maybe. But it seems far fetched. I didn’t take the time to get practice hours.”

He unfastens his seat belt, tossing it carelessly into the window; the loud, metallic bang jolting me from my stupor. He simply smirks and walks outside, stretching his thin body towards the swollen sky. Thunder rings out again, almost deafening the heavy sounds of traffic. Thick, cold blobs of rain start to pelt our bodies, soaking the front of my scrub shirt. Great, now I’m miserable and hypothermic. We rush inside, Geoff shielding his head with his arms as he runs screaming into the lobby. The rubber soles of my shoes squeak and squelch as I pad across the clean linoleum, heading towards the locker rooms. The hallways are virtually empty, except a girl no older than 15 staring out one of the large windows, her fingers tracing the droplets of rain as they clicked against the glass. I smiled at her, "Haven't seen you before. What's your name?"

She turned, her large eyes reflecting the steel blue sky outside, "Who are you seems like a more appropriate question."

Her sharp tongue practically shatters the tense silence around us, and I smirk, "Bert, I work here."

Her eyes narrow and she looks me up and down, "You're either gay or perverted, and either way, it's pretty fucked up that you work here."

I shrug, pulling my wet hair from my face. "It's a job isn't it... You still haven't told me your name."

Her neon pink lips scrunch together in a tiny grin, "It's Emi."

I put a hand on my hip, god I feel gay, "See, that wasn't so hard."

Her gaze falls back to the window, "I saw your friend, whats-his-name. He looked kinda upset."

I shift, "What? He's not my friend, he's my patient."

Her perfect pout dissolves off her face, her cheeks flushing red, "He stays here? Guys can stay here?"

I nod sharply, exhaling loudly through my nose, "Yeah. It's called 'sodomy'. It's illegal in about, oh, 50 states."

She quivers slightly, recoiling into the corner, great I've scared her. I huff loudly, and storm away, stumbling into the locker room and pulling off my soaked top in the process. I toss it into an idle laundry cart and pull a fresh shirt from a closet. As I'm changing, the distinct sound of the door being open breaks the comfortable stillness of the empty room.

"Bert! It's about time you showed up! Where have you been?"

It's Anna, the head nurse. I turn and cringe as her wrinkled face fills my vision. She glares at me with cold, gray eyes, "Why haven't you clocked in yet?"

I sigh deeply, "I was talking to a patient, and I had to change because of the rain."

She grunts softly, "Don't be late again, or you're fired."

I bite my tongue, and nod dutifully, "Yes ma'am."

She snorts softly and leaves, slamming the door behind her. I walk over to the large, gray machine, pulling out my card and pushing it blandly into the slot. I hate feeling so used, so degraded. Thank god I work in a rape clinic. I pull my scrubs over my stomach, and can hear Geoff talking to someone just outside the door, his voice reserved and quiet. I poke my head out and see none other than him. He's arms are folded across his chest, his head down and face covered by choppy, greasy black hair. I step out fully, "Geoff... leave the patients alone."

The man looks up at me, his pallid features even paler than normal. I blink softly, "Are you okay, kid?"

He nods, "Umm... Amy said I was gonna be with you from now on."

I silently curse, I knew this was gonna happen. He shifts nervously, wringing his soft hands together. I look at him, "You never told me your name."

He tenses up, "Gee... just call me Gee."

Reaching out gingerly, I put a hand on his shoulder, "Gee. I'm Bert, I'm your nurse."

He titters softly, his delicate teeth showing from behind his lips, "Never heard of a male nurse. Let alone one in this setting."

I simply smile, "I'm a revolutionary. We're doing social therapy today."

Gee blinks, "What's that?"

I start down the hallway, motioning for him to follow me, "Basically, I take a couple people to the mall so they can get used to functioning in the real world."

He bites his lip, "My ex works at the mall... the one who, you know..."

I turn, watching as a deep scarlet envelopes his face. I go to him, "It's okay. You have no reason to be embarrassed."

He glares up at me, sneering, "Oh? You think that? You think it was fun to get drugged up and FUCKED by your boyfriend?"

My mouth falls open as I try to form word, the logic lobe of my brain misfiring as he starts to break down into sobbing. I wrap arms around him, pulling his chubby frame into my chest, "Hey... calm down, it's gonna be okay..."

I've had plenty of patients lose their cool in front of me before, and I'm used to handling almost any emotional situation. I've even had a couple girls try to get my clothes off. Gee cries into my shoulder, his hands wrapping around my hair and back. I sigh deeply, and gently pry him off. He brings his fist to his eyes, rubbing out his tears, "I'm fine..."

I can't help but to grin at his dedication to uphold his impenetrable facade. I reach out to his face, brushing away a tear, "You should wash your face. We're leaving in 30 minutes."

A broken laugh escapes his throat, and he blinks heavily. I help him stand and he staggers off towards his room, his arms wrapping around himself. I hear someone snicker and turn to see Geoff leaning against a doorway, "Berty's got a crushy!"

I growl and wipe the tears from his shirt, "Hardly. It's called being nice, try it." I retort, my words biting with sarcasm.

Geoff sticks out his tongue, sashaying towards me, "You want him, don't you?"

I shake my head vigoriously, "Not in a million years. First off, he's a guy!"

He throws his head back in laughter, "Bert, you're about 3 steps from being mega-queer and you're worried about the fact he's a he?"

I throw my hands up in the air, "Fuck you Geoff!"

He just smirks, "You mean Gee, right?"

I lunge for him, yelling in a primoridal rage, "I don not want Gee, okay! So shut up about it!"

He stares up at me, his eyes wide and glistening, "Okay... man, okay. Chill out."

I huff and turn, pressing my face into my hands, "I have to go work. Go make yourself useful."

I storm away, kicking myself for ever saying anything. Not only is my life falling apart before my eyes, but I think I might be in love.