“Okay, okay.” Devon said with a resigned sigh. “I’ll send that invoice.” His eyes flashed as he looked at Cassidy, “for two thousand pounds.”
“He told me everything, and I promise I will tell the police if you blackmail us.”
“Blackmail? Me, no, no just getting what is mine, after his fuckboy destroyed my suit.”
“It was a tacky suit anyway.” Cassidy snarked, Devon’s smile was razor sharp, full of teeth.
“Cassidy sweetheart, you should keep your thoughts to yourself. Wouldn’t want to look stupid.”
“Devon, doll, you should keep your mouth closed, wouldn’t want your nose to be broken.”
They stared at each other, until Devon smirked, Cassidy barely got his question in before Devon took my chin in his hand. He laughed as if I’d just told a joke, and then he kissed me. I pushed him back pretty much the moment it started,
“What?” I hissed at him, he smirked.
“Gotcha.” He whispered, then winked over my shoulder so I turned, then felt as I deflated as I saw Stephen stood beside Danny in perfect view of us. Danny was stood his mouth gaped as Stephen met my eyes. I saw the tears in his eyes, none of them falling and it broke my heart.
“No.” I said, “no.” I repeated and he ran, leaving Danny’s side and running away down the hallway. I turned back to Devon.
“Whoops.” He said covering his mouth so I pushed him. The lockers he crashed into creating a noise that vibrated all over the hallway. He looked affronted, shocked even that I’d pushed him.
“Fuck you.” I hissed then started off down the hallway, running past Danny and searching down the hallway until I found Stephen. He looked up at me, wiping his cheeks violently then continued down the hallway.
“Stephen.” I shouted, he got quicker, so I went after him. He slipped into the boarding house, letting the door shut behind him. I stopped at the door, searching through my pockets until I found my pass. It beeped me into the boarding house, and I began to run again, I rounded the corner as his bedroom door slammed shut.
I ran to it. Knocking on his door over and over.
“Stephen, Stephen.” I said then leant my head on the door. “Stephen it wasn’t me. Shit, that sounds like a cop out but it wasn’t. He’s threatening me Stephen, or at least he was, he’s pissed off and vindictive. I didn’t know he was going to kiss me, and I’m so angry that he did, but he only did because he saw you there, and he knows all about you.
Stephen, please. Listen to me. Please. It’s nothing. Nothing,” I hit my head against his door. “It’s nothing Stephen and I’m sorry.” I said, “I’m sorry.” I whispered, then turned, leaning against the door before sliding down sitting against his door.
Danny appeared with Cassidy, however long later. It took me a minute to adjust to the sight of Danny and Cassidy and they both saw it. Cassidy sighed.
“How else was I supposed to know where you were?” he asked, I shook my head.
“He won’t come out.” I muttered.
“Of course he won’t.” Danny said, as he got his keys out of his pocket. “He doesn’t like people to see him cry.” He added, I whimpered, I figured it came out sounding like a wounded animal.
“Oh baby.” Cassidy said softly, then crouched to me. “It’ll be okay.” He said nodding, I shook my head at him. “It will, I promise. He’s upset. He’s allowed to be upset, but when he isn’t, you can explain it all too him, and it’ll be fine.” He said then he took my hands. I let him help me stand. “It’ll be okay.” He said, Danny seemed to agree but I also figured Danny would agree with anything that came out of Cassidy’s mouth.
He looked between us as if making sure Cassidy had a firm hold on me, then he opened the door. He probably feared I’d knock him down by pushing past him to get into the room. I didn’t, I held Cassidy’s hands as he rested them around my stomach. A firm hold that sadly I probably couldn’t fight my way out of.
“Hey.” Danny said softly, he sighed, leaning his head on the door before looking back at us. He shook his head.
“Let’s get something to eat.” Cassidy said, “okay? Give him some space.”
I nodded although I really didn’t want to. Danny smiled sympathetically at us before going further into his room.
♕
Chapter Nineteen
Otis watched me closely during our rehearsal. We were finalizing our set to take down Goldstein and we had been for the last fortnight. We were pretty much perfect now, and Otis knew it but he liked to make us rehearse our set for the last ten minutes regardless. His eyes never left me, and I tried to avoid his at all cost.
He smiled when he dismissed us, then he stopped me.
“Are you okay boy?” he asked, I laughed, it sounded flat.
“Do I really wear my heart that clearly?” I asked, he nodded.
“You do.” He said without any qualms about him. I looked down. “You said, a few weeks back that you wanted to go for a coffee and talk about my reign.” He said, I looked up at him. “The offers there.”
“Thank you.” I said nodding to him as I picked up my case. I followed him out of the school, to the off-campus coffee shop that Cassidy and I frequented at. We both got a Christmas flavoured coffee then sat quietly either side of a table.
“I was one of the first.” He said as he wiped where his coffee had been with a napkin. “When the hierarchy came into play, after Preston. I was in the orchestra when we were flooded with funding, and it was unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.” He smiled,
He played the oboe and was undeniably the best in the orchestra. He rose to King-dom quite quickly. He was in fifth year, sixteen and everyone began coming to him for advice. He didn’t think much of it, not really, he was just Otis, the oboe player who got high on weekends and had a decent B-average.
Then, boys started asking him out, and sure he went out with a few. He slept with a few, had fun with others. It was when people began talking, whispering about who he’d slept with and who he hadn’t that he knew something was up. He asked his friends and they simply told him he was the new King.
He thought they were talking bullshit. He was confused definitely, but fell into the role quite easily. A lot of people liked him – which, I guess was what made him King.
He practically got high with a different group of people every weekend. He made connectios with everyone Orchestra or Football team, and he ran regular parties and sit ins that all were invited to.
His parents died when he was seventeen. They were on holiday somewhere exotic and had been involved in an accident. Otis was destroyed. He moved into the school full time but his loyal subjects never left him alone. The orchestra rallied together and rose money for him, they invited him over to their houses for Sunday lunch with their families.
He repaid their kindness through his popularity; he got the boys who asked what they wanted. Whether that was the rights to perform Dear Evan Hansen in the theatre that year, or new kits for the football team. He was a giver and whenever anyone recounted the time of King Otis, it was always remembered as the most peaceful time between all the cliques.
His heir was the flute player, a beautiful boy who Otis knew well, but it turned out didn’t really like sports, or feel like they deserved the time of day. Otis didn’t know that at the time, only really finding out when he came back to teach.
“But that’s not important.” He said, I nodded.
“It sounds, nice.” I said softly, he agreed.
“It was, being there was the best time even though all the shit.”
“I’m sorry about your parents.” I said, he smiled.
“So am I.” he sighed. “It was unfair, and untimely.” He nodded slowly as he finished his coffee.
“You said…” I said quietly, “you said you did something stupid for a boy.”
“I did.” He said amused, “the peak of my hormonal stupidity.” He sighed. “He was gorgeous. My god, he was a beautiful, beautiful boy and god did he know it. He wasn’t
in the orchestra, or choir, or even the theatre. He was part of our Science team.” He sighed,
“What did you do?”
“I joined the science club.”
“What?” I squawked, he laughed.
“Yeah. It was poor but I was the King so the teacher let me, he shouldn’t have my God. I was a sub. I wasn’t on the main team thank God. One night, we were doing proper experiments in beakers, with the masks and everything.”
He did the experiment okay, no issues there, nothing exploded, it was after, when Otis offered to clean up the station for this beautiful, beautiful boy.
They’d been using Bunsen burners, and he didn’t realise quite how hot the tripod had been. He wrapped his hand around it to pick it up, and he burnt his entire palm and fingers.
He couldn’t play his oboe for two weeks.
The boy, had panicked and dunked Otis’ hand into the sink drowning it with water, and then stayed with him whilst he went to the nurse.
“You got the guy.”
“I did.” Otis said, then he smiled at me. “I’ve been living with him for seven years.” he added softly.
“He’s your boyfriend?” I asked, he nodded.
“Tim and I are very happy.” He smiled, I laughed then rubbed my forehead. “I heard… well, I heard the rumour, then I heard what I presume is a second rumour.”
I frowned at him, he smiled.
“The first that you’d forgiven Devon and you were back together. I want to let you know I didn’t believe that for a second. That was just, no, too farfetched and I’ve heard some rumours in this school.”
“What was the second?” I asked curiously. He smiled.
“That you beat him to a pulp, then stood over him and dramatically said, you break my heart, I’ll break your arm.” He said, deepening his voice and adding a dramatic flair. I replied with a wet laugh.
“I pushed him into the lockers. I didn’t do anything else.”
“Somehow, I knew that one wasn’t true either.” He said nodding, I smiled as I stroked my mug. “I mean, I had a moment of believing Cassidy could’ve, but even then…” he shook his head. I laughed again then wiped my eyes as a tear ran down my cheek.
“Everything just went wrong.”
“Oh, my boy, everything is fixable.”
“No, it isn’t.” I muttered,
“I know it feels that way, especially at eighteen. Everything feels like the end of the world at eighteen, but next year you won’t be the King. You’ll leave Ravenwood, in fact in seven months you’ll have left and you won’t have the crown. No one in the world of work will care that you were the most popular kid in the entire school.
They’ll care about your references and your extracurriculars, yes, but not your popularity. Next year no one will give a fuck whether you’re sleeping with a boy who plays football, or a boy who likes maths. No one will care because it is no-one’s business but your own.
Right now, I know, I know its tough. I know how your peers see you affects you. Affects anyone. Anyone that says they don’t care, well, they do but they’ve got a strong skin but besides well your brother, probably Cody you won’t see any of them ever again – and especially not the Princess Devon.
You, you just need to do what’s going to make you happy. News becomes old pretty quickly in school, and that goes for every school, something that’s hot gossip on Monday will be forgotten about on Friday. No one will care, there’ll always be another scandal. We talk about it in the staff room, Finn and I, we sit there and we keep ourselves up to date.” He smiled at me as I shook my head.
“I’m not…” I hesitated because fuck I was scared. I was so scared of essentially outing myself to the entire school that Stephen and I were together.
“What do you think they’re going to do Kennedy?” Otis asked, I looked at him.
“I don’t know. That’s the problem.” I swallowed, “and what if they go after him? I couldn’t deal with that.”
“You’re the King.” He said, I bit my lip. “You’re pretty much untouchable Kennedy.” He said, I shook my head because I didn’t believe him for a damn second.
“He’s on the football team.” I said quietly, Otis nodded.
“I know.” He said, I narrowed my eyes at him. “The Bike Ride Kennedy, was organised by the footballers, amazingly I made that connection.”
“Oh.” I said, he smiled.
“You’re still together?”
“Maybe.” I said then shook my head, “I don’t know. Devon screwed me over. I’m officially counting this as the third time he’s done that.” I said, Otis frowned. “This, breaking up with me and having sex with me.”
“Oh.” He nodded, “that, well that makes sense. How did Devon screw you over?”
“He kissed me. Stephen saw.” I said, then I looked up my eyes widening, Otis didn’t react.
“And?”
“Stephen won’t talk to me.” I moped, Otis reached for my hand, he stroked his thumb over the back of my hand.
“He’s understandably upset.” He said, I winced. “Yeah, maybe at you, but he’s only eighteen himself. I presume.”
“Seventeen.” I said quietly, he squeezed his hand in mine.
“He’s young. Just like you are. Relationships…” he sighed. “Being in a relationship is hard, yeah, even for adults it’s hard. There’s a lot of big emotions that trying to nail down and put a name too can be difficult. He must like you, he really must and seeing you with someone else will have hurt him.
He probably knows, in his head that there’s a logical explanation for it, but your head doesn’t get much say in a relationship.” He said, I frowned as I let the tears roll down my cheeks. He smiled at me. “Your heart does a lot of the talking.” He said softly, “and your dick.” He added, I laughed then sniffed hard. “Right now his heart is hurting, so he’s not listening to his head, and your heart is hurting so you’re not using your head.”
“I, I don’t know how.” I blubbered; the briefest look of sympathy passed over Otis’ face but it didn’t stick. “I’ve never done this before. Cassidy, Cassidy has, Cassidy has always been better at all this than me. I keep myself, to myself and I like it that way.
When I let people in it always goes wrong, like Devon. I can’t believe I let that happen, and I felt like shit for so long after that, he hurt me, but, then I met Stephen and, he was different.
He didn’t fawn over me like everyone else does. In fact, he didn’t care about me, he was there for Kennedy, not the King. He made me work, he really made me work to gain his trust, to make him believe that what I felt for him was real.
I practically jumped through hoops for him. For fucks sake, I rode a bike for him, I broke my elbow for him, and I finally gained his trust and I was happy, so, happy. I told Cassidy and he was happy for me, Cody too.” I paused to swallow through the tears that fell from my eyes. “What do I do?” I asked, “what do I do to make this better? Please?”
“You need to show him you’re serious about him.” he said, I shook my head.
“How? I’ve invited him to my families Christmas Eve lunch but he’s not going to come, not like this.”
“No, no I mean, you need to show him. Yes, meeting your parents is a big step and it shows your relationship is serious, but you need to show him you care, you listen, you want to make things work, and you, you Kennedy you’re in quite a position to do that.”
“What do you mean?” I almost hiccupped, so I took a deep breath. Wiping my cheeks and breathing deeply.
“You can make the student body do anything, if you need them too.”
“I don’t… get it.” I said, his smile was humoured but not harsh.
“I left the science club, after I burnt my hand. Well, actually, Tim practically begged me to leave the club because he worried for my other body parts, but I made sure I went to every fair they put on, or competition they took part in. I made sure Science got a share of the funding, I made sure Tim knew that I appreciated that sc
ience was important to him, that even though it wasn’t my thing that I’d be there to support him.” he said, I nodded slowly. “Equally, he came to every concert, he travelled to all of our competitions. He was our stan.” He said amused, I smiled as I looked into my now cold coffee.
“I don’t…”
“Use that head of yours Kennedy. You’re clever, I know you are.” He said, I looked back at him as he checked his watch. “I’m going to need to get going but, think Kennedy.” He said, I frowned at him as he stood from the table. “and give me a hug, you look like you need one.” He said, so I stood with him, accepting the hug. Him squeezing me tight, but not saying anything to me and I appreciated that, as I sighed into his hug. He held my shoulders before fully pulling away from me, nodding to me running his hands down my blazer sleeves, then tapping my pockets.
“I’ll see you tomorrow for rehearsal, if you’re up for it. If you need to take a mental health day take it, I won’t be mad at you.”
“Thank you Otis.” I said, even though I still didn’t understand. He nodded as he picked up his bag, he threw it over his shoulder then smiled as he left the coffee shop. I sighed as I took the two mugs to the serving counter.
I picked up my backpack, leaving the coffee shop. Putting my hands in my pockets to keep them warm in the biting December wind. I stopped when I felt something in my pocket. I pulled it out, a piece of paper, so I unfolded it. Reading over it, then I gasped, folding it back into my pocket before running towards the school.
♕
Chapter Twenty
Goldstein was the entire school’s mortal enemy, and when I say that, I am not exaggerating. They were a prestige boarding school for boys who wanted to study Musical Theatre or Music.
Admittedly, shamefully it had been Cassidy and my second choice school, because an entire seven years dedicated to playing my saxophone would’ve just been incredible but, our Father pays into Ravenwood and with Harrison attending there was no doubt we were going here, so, we hate Goldstein.
Their orchestra was well polished, having studied the art of their instruments for seven years. We were up against their Seventh Year orchestra, as always, allegedly their best, but we had beat them the last three years, and we were pretty confident we were going to make it a fourth.
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