FicWad

It felt as if I was dreaming, some horrible, painful nightmare. I stepped forward, my legs like cinder-blocks. I fell to my knees beside the tiny ball which was Gerard. My mouth went dry, I was unabled to say anything. I reached out and gently touched his arm. He shrank away, forcing himself into an even smaller ball, as if he were trying to make himself disappear. What had happened?
I finally found the power to speak. "Gerard? Gerard are you alright?" Stupid question Tasha. " Gerard talk to me. What's happened?"
He slowly lifted his head. It was all I could do to not burst into tears. His eyes were red and bloodshot. His long, unkempt hair was matted, as if he'd been running his hands through it. Blood trickled from his nose, and his hands, which he was using to try and hide his face, were grazed and bleeding. He let out a whimper, and curled up again. " They got me....they grabbed me as I was leaving the locker room. One of the boys grabbed my bag off my shoulder and when I went to pick it up, another one kicked me. I...I fell on the floor and they all started kicking me, over and over again..." He sniffed, " and then I managed to get up and tried to leave. I came out here and...they came after me. Alex, that guy in our class pushed me over, and spat at me. He called me a disgusting emo freak and said I shouldn't bother coming back tomorrow, that I should go home and slit my wrists and do everyone a favour." He was sobbing now, softly. His thin frame curled up like that made him look so frail.
I wanted to kill them. How could they be so heartless? I reached out once again, and this time I summoned up the courage to rest my hand on his arm, gently pulling it away from his face. His beautiful eyes looked sadly into my own. For the first time, I didn't blush. I didn't look away. I looked straight into those eyes. He stared straight back at me, his hands still shaking badly. I leant forward, and lightly kissed his lips. The brief contact made me buzz, all the blood in me boil, my heart implode and all my skin tingle. When I broke away, my body glowed warm inside despite the cold rain that had begun to fall. Gerard's face was still streaked with blood and tear stains, but he seemed to light up somewhere inside, the same way I'd see him do everytime he'd entered the art room. The tiniest inkling of a smile crept across his lips, and he slowly stood up, wincing at the pain. I also got to my feet. Gerard pushed a stray strand of hair away from his face and dabbed at the blood smears under his nose. I turned, ready to leave. Suddenly he caught my wrist, exactly the same place he'd held it last time, and pulled me back, enveloping me in a huge hug, his chin resting on the top or my head. I felt safe. I felt like I belonged there, held in his embrace. I looked up at him, needing to prove to myself that this was real. He leant down and kissed me again, soft, tender. We were both soaked through by this time, my plait going straggly, his black hair flat against his face and dripping. The water droplets landed on my face, mingling with the raindrops. He held me close to his chest again, speaking softly into my wet hair, "You're the only one who understands me Tasha. You're the reason I can manage to stay in this shit hole of a school."
The rain was pouring down now, but I never wanted to move from this spot. I never wanted him to stop holding me tightly in his arms. For the first time in a long time, I felt completely happy.