People You Know Become People You Knew.

Free poll gold.

Enjoy it. ;D	100.0%	[ 26 ]
Total Votes:			[ 26 ]

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

Cameron nodded his head, watching Darryl as he created the title page which brought them to the end of the project – or at least both of the males believed it did. As far as Cameron was aware they hadn’t missed out anything. Of course, their teacher would find something to complain about – she always did, especially when it came to Cameron. Nevertheless, they had managed to complete the project without either of them ending up dead through the butting of heads. Such a thing alone deserved a great grade. Alas, whether or not their teacher decided to give them a great grade or not, Cameron felt as though such a thing was the least of their troubles. Even now he was looking at Darryl with a cynical eye due to the light being shone upon Darryl’s situation. Not to mention he was still having an internal debate with himself, criticising all of his actions over his lifetime. It now made sense why so many people had called him a d**k throughout his life.

When a weak smile came his way from Darryl, Cameron returned it as best he could. Even without having a reflective surface to view his expression, Cameron could feel how forced it was, aware that Darryl would see right through it. “I’m not being that weird,” Cameron muttered, fully aware that his words were empty. In trying to proclaim he was acting normally he was continuing on with his careful behaviour using a soft tone that was reserved… well, for cases such as this whereby people didn’t need to view the Cameron which was always on show around the school. “And I know you’re still the same person… it’s just that…” Cameron held out his arms, palms up, as if you say ‘you know what I’m speaking about, the fact I now know more about you and it sort of changes things’.

Letting out a small sigh, Cameron shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry, alright? For everything: I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I know it’s not excuse but had I known… I didn’t mean to make matters worse. The idea that such a thing… and then me… I’m not even sure how to apologise for such a thing. I’m trying though, I really am being sincere. I cannot change what I did but if it is a small consolation I do feel like s**t. I’m sorry.”

So much for not acting weird: prior to the revelation Cameron was unlikely to have ever apologised to Darryl for anything, least of all his behaviour and attitude.

[Shake Tramp-x]

Darryl Thomas Paxton
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║

❝
❞

M R O U T C A S T
♡♡♡
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║║

Darryl let out a small sigh though he was unsure of whether it was a sigh of relief or something else. He appreciated what Cameron was saying, he really did. And maybe treating him better would be a good thing, well it isn't like it could be worse. Sure it would be weird if Cameron was suddenly nice to him and it was sure to raise questions with the males group of friends. Something he didn't want. But the constant torture and petty bullying was something he could definitely live without.

When Cameron finished his small speech Darryl nodded. "Thank you Cameron. Really, I mean it too." He offered a smile, it was genuine. "That explains all the therapy sessions." Darryl said though he supposed it was pretty obvious. "He's not supposed to be back here." He wasn't planning on bringing up anything else. On the contrary he was going to drop it. He couldn't. He needed to let it out to someone and somehow Cameron had become that person.

"He said he would leave with my dad and never come back." He continued, eyes darkening as he averted them again.

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

Cameron caught the sight that came from Darryl, although he wasn’t quite sure what it was for. Was Cameron taking it too far by letting out an apology after Darryl asked him not to treat him differently? It was a bit too late to take back that apology, although, upon speaking, Darryl didn’t seem to be at all bothered by it – on the contrary even, he seemed glad that Cameron had spoken such words. Whatever the reasoning for the sigh was, Cameron was willing to leave it be. It was one small expulsion of air, nothing more, nothing less: he did not need to read too far into absolutely everything that Darryl did.

Despite everything, Cameron returned the smile which Darryl offered. Just as Darryl’s was genuine so too was his, although Cameron’s cared an air of unease to it: should they have been smiling considering what the line of conversation was? It seemed so surreal to be smiling at such a moment – but, then again, life was full of such moments. Quite often the least expected would end up being the way of life: such as Cameron and Darryl actually getting along instead of pulling each other’s hair out in the process of completing an essay. Hell, they’d once been friends – something Cameron had been avoiding thinking about up until this point – and if the circle of life could turn out in such a way then there was no telling what else could be thrown towards people.

A small nod was given as Darryl mentioned the therapy sessions: Cameron had already guessed as much. What caught Cameron even more off guard were the words which followed the mention of the therapy sessions. Was Darryl opening up to him? Cameron wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do or say in response – but staying silent as Darryl disappeared off into some dark place didn’t really seem like an option. “Isn’t there… some kind of ruling against him being here?” Cameron asked, unsure of whether his words would be useful or not. “A restraining order or something that your mother can enforce to ensure he stays away?”

[Shake Tramp-x]

Darryl Thomas Paxton
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║

❝
❞

M R O U T C A S T
♡♡♡
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║║

The two were getting along to say the least. Despite the reasoning behind it, maybe it was for the best. He knew Cameron would have questions, anyone would. It was just a matter of would he ask them or not? And would he answer them? He had kept things bottled up for years and things had been fine, well decent. Things were changing now though and there was no getting around that.

A restraining order? Well there would probably be that and much more if he had done something about it when this all happened. "No, there's not." Darryl started leaning back. "She doesn't exactly know. Not everything." She knew small details, figured she suspected more but nothing was further discussed between them. Things were just better that way, or so he assumed.

"I didn't want to pull her into this. It was my problem." He was aware of how stupid he sounded but in his head it made sense. Why turn it into a bigger problem? "I thought it would all just go away. He said it would." Darryl was more talking to himself though his thoughts were voiced. The struggles had resurfaced and once again he needed to work his way through them.

ooc- i am sorry this took so ridiculously long!

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

Cameron felt a frown tugging at his features as Darryl spoke of the lack of restraining order in place. Whilst Cameron wasn’t well versed in law he was pretty sure such a thing would have been fought for. Hell, Cameron expected a restraining order to be the least. Such a person needed to be locked away behind bars – and if the rumours were to be believed, they should then be left alone to suffer the hell which would be forced upon them by others. Nevertheless, aware that his words would probably sound rude, Cameron simply kept his thoughts to himself as he continued to listen to Darryl. Whilst it wasn’t the happiest thought in the world, Cameron could understand the fact that his mother didn’t really know much. Those who were abused very rarely liked to speak about it: it was Psychology 101, the premise behind countless crime based dramas, and many other things in the world. It wasn’t nice to suffer it alone yet Cameron understood why Darryl felt as though he had to. Even without experience of such a thing, Cameron was aware of what to expect due to the way in which the modern world made very private matters public knowledge.

Despite such a thing, Cameron had to shake his head at the next words that Darryl spoke. It was ridiculous logic, by any standard. Even the movies taught that these things do not go away even when people promise they will. If Darryl had believed such words he was more of an optimist than Cameron had ever deemed him to be. Of course, Cameron did not believe that such was the case. It was some kind of hope kicking in, a flimsy excuse for Darryl to kept things buried away. Cameron was the king of all excuses himself, of coming up with the flimsiest of notions upon call, yet even Cameron could see through why Darryl was speaking such words. Sadly, it also had to be obvious to Darryl how delusional he was being. These things do not simply walk off into the sunset and never look back: especially not now that his uncle was back in town.

“What do you plan to do now?” Cameron finally spoke up, a frog in his throat making his words hoarse. They both knew that Darryl could not avoid the problem and yet he seemed unwilling to tell his mother – someone who would be more than happy to make the problem go away. It was a maternal instinct for a woman to protect her child no matter what it took. And if Darryl refused to tell his mother and go at it alone… well, Cameron couldn’t really turn his back on the male. After all, Cameron seemed to be the only individual in the world who seemed to know just how deep Darryl had been dropped in it.

The irony, however, was not lost upon Cameron. Here he was, asking Darryl what he planned to do about a very personal matter, thinking about how he couldn’t leave the male to face the issue alone, when prior to this project they’d been forced to work on together the two of them could not stand each other. Oh how the tides had changed, the two of them acting as though they were the best of friends sharing their darkest secrets.

[Shake Tramp-x]

Darryl Thomas Paxton
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║

❝
❞

M R O U T C A S T
♡♡♡
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║║

The fact that Cameron had stuck along this long was surprise enough. But now he was questioning him, actually sounding concerned. He didn't know how to take it. He knew Cameron, knew how their relationship worked, they didn't get along. But Cameron sounded sincere. Whatever this was went beyond a stupid feud, it was almost like he had his childhood friend back. And until this moment, he didn't know how much he had missed it.

What would he do? That was the very question swimming around his own head. He didn't have a clue. It would be a lie to say that this possibility hadn't crossed his mind before but when those kinds of thoughts crept their way in he had a tendency of forcing them back out.

"I don't know." He admitted slumping forward resting his head in his hands. Darry roughly shoved a hand through his dark hair. Deep down he knew he should tell someone, his mom at least but that would just make everything come back and he just didn't want to accept that. He had worked for years to hide this from her, he could keep doing it. Besides maybe his dad wasn't here, just his uncle passing through or something.

"It will be fine." His words came out slow, more like he was trying to convince himself of them rather than Cameron. "It's all fine." He spoke just a little more confident this time.

"Anyways, the essays done, we can hand it in tomorrow and be out of each others hair, right?" This was more than typical for Darryl. When things started getting uncomfortable he would push people away. The same thing happened to his mother when she had questions arise. He would blow them off and lock himself in his room for days at a time claiming to be studying or some other excuse. It was something had had gotten pretty good at.

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

“I don’t know.”

Darryl’s words seem to echo around the room. Cameron had expected as much and yet it still took him a moment to process that Darryl was saying. All these things were happening – things to which Cameron was lacking the specifics of and yet still knew enough to know it was really bad news – and yet Darryl had absolutely no idea what he planned to do. Cameron had many ideas – least of all contacting the police – and he was certain that Darryl had thought of these things to. However, contemplating the idea when you are not in such a dire situation and going through with them when you are happen to be two completely different things. Thus, all Cameron was really capable of doing, to prevent himself from sounding condescending with his notion of ‘contact the police and get them to sort it out’, was sit in slide as he watched Darryl stress about the ordeal.

“It will be fine.”

That was even worse. That was enough to leave Cameron’s teeth grating. Sure enough he would need to visit the dentist due to a lack of enamel following the grinding of his teeth. He understood how Darryl felt. Well, okay, he didn’t understand but he could imagine. Cameron could see how hard it was and yet he could also hear how Darryl truly felt. Sadly, Darryl wasn’t the best actor in the world and anyone could see straight through his lie. If you’re trying to convince someone that everything is okay then you at least need to believe the words yourself – if only to a degree. Darryl, however, was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Cameron.

Darryl’s next words, however, shocked Cameron the most. In any other situation the words would have made perfect sense and yet this go around Cameron let out a rather loud sigh. “You may think I’m a totally shitty person – and I’m not denying the fact that I have been a total d**k to you for far too long – but I am not that bad. You cannot expect me to just turn around and act like I don’t know what is going on here,” Cameron told the male. Oddly enough, it was the most like his usual self that he had sounded since he’d caught a glimpse of the truth surrounding Darryl. It was probably somewhat insensitive to talk to someone in Darryl’s position the way Cameron was speaking to him, but Cameron really wasn’t thinking about that. All Cameron could think about was how he wanted to shake some sense into Darryl, to force his eyes open so that he was looking the truth in the face.

“You cannot go ‘hey we used to be friends, I got abused, you turned into a d**k, and now I want you out of my life for good whilst I try to avoid this reappearing s**t’ and expect me to go ‘alright loser good luck with your ******** up life’. I’m sorry, but it really doesn’t work like that. You cannot expect me to pretend I don’t know what is going on. Sooner or later – even if I act like things are back to normal – someone is going to pick up on things being different.” Cameron threw up his hands and shrugged his shoulders in a ‘what can you do about that’ gesture’.

“So,” Cameron went on, the annoyance having left his voice, “I’m going to ask you again – and this time I want you to think long and hard about your answer – what are we going to do about this?”

Yes, ‘I’ had somehow transformed into ‘we’.

[Shake Tramp-x]

Darryl Thomas Paxton
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║

❝
❞

M R O U T C A S T
♡♡♡
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║║

Darryl could hear Camerons teeth grinding all the way from the other side of the couch. Obviously he didn't agree with something he said. And it was understandable. As an outsider it was pretty clear what needed to be done and Darryl probably looked so stupid for not doing so earlier.

The dark haired male flinched slightly. He really was not expecting Cameron to lay into him. He was almost certain he would take the easy way out. Shrug it off and leave knowing the assignment was done and could go back to ignoring him. But it was the opposite that was happening. He was sticking around. But why? Sure the two were friends before but a lot had changed over the years.

All of that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that Cameron was willing to help, more than that, he was insisting to help and clearly would not take no for an answer. Darryl ran both hands through his hair tugging roughly at it as he groaned. He really did appreciate what Cameron was doing for him but accepting his help meant accepting everything that happened. He had just never planned on doing that. He was perfectly fine pushing everything and every thought to the back of his mind.

He knew that would not be acceptable, not anymore. Not with Cameron here.

We?

When had that happened? Forest coloured eyes rose to meet Camerons for the first time since they started this assignment. Cameron was clearly all in, there was no way Darryl could turn back now. He let his hands drop to his lap as his eyes slip closed for a few seconds. "I have to tell my mom." He finally spoke. Now the question was how much to tell her. Even Cameron didn't know the whole story. He wanted to tell him, wanted to be open but he just wasn't sure if Cameron could handle it. Physical abuse was one thing, sexual abuse was a whole other story. "Can you stay with me?" He questioned eyes dropping once more. "I don't want to tell her alone." What happened to the confident, outspoken, stubborn Darryl that existed just weeks ago? Obviously his father and uncle had taken a bigger toll on him than he had originally thought.

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

Despite how small the flinch was, Cameron noticed Darryl's response to his sudden outburst. Admittedly it wasn't the best course of action however it seemed to be the only way to get Darryl to actually listen to him: a necessary evil, if you will. Whilst Cameron may not be fully aware of everything he believed he knew enough to acknowledge that Darryl's choice of action was not in his best interests. Darryl was doing himself more harm than good. You couldn’t just ignore these things. Moreover, you couldn’t expect other people to ignore these things as well. Cameron was more than happy to turn his back on certain things but this… this was something else completely. There was a fine line between acting as though you do not care about the world and actually being a complete and utter idiot. Nevertheless, Cameron didn’t say anything else on the matter as he watched Darryl run his hands roughly through his hair. Already Cameron had said enough. He’d made his point: there was no point in forcing the issue. If Darryl wished to be an idiot then that was his choice. Cameron had tried; you could not blame him if he couldn’t get through.

Luckily, something seemed to click within Darryl.

Changing ‘you’ into ‘we’ was enough to pull Darryl’s eyes towards Cameron’s face. There was something there, some kind of recognition – possible acceptance of Cameron’s presence – which left the blonde hopeful of Darryl making the right choice this go around. Still, Cameron kept his thoughts to himself, aware that Darryl needed to make this move alone. The silence that lingered on seemed to last a lifetime before Darryl finally spoke up. When he did speak it wasn’t much but it was enough. Telling his mother would be the first step: Cameron nodded his head at that, accepting it as the first step forward. What he did not expect, however, was for Darryl to want him around – to be the figurative hand to hold onto whilst the truth came out.

For a brief moment, Cameron was too stupefied to say anything in response. Yes, he’d said ‘we’ but he hadn’t really expected Darryl to want to keep him around. It was a massive move forward for them both – whether it was a step forward in their unusual pairing or a step back to their old friendship Cameron really couldn’t say. Nevertheless, Cameron cleared this throat whilst nodding his head. “Yeah, sure,” Cameron told him, his voice weaker than he’d expected. Did Darryl truly understand what he was asking? Did he realise that Cameron would become privy to the entire truth? “I’ll stay if you want. I cannot imagine it is something you want to bring up alone.”

Whoever would have thought that Cameron would be Darryl’s moral support in such a situation – in any situation?

[Shake Tramp-x]

Darryl Thomas Paxton
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║

❝
❞

M R O U T C A S T
♡♡♡
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║║

Darryl nodded. Cameron had agreed to stay with him to tell his mom. It was a huge step for the both of them, especially considering neither of them really knew where they stood with each other. Now it was just the waiting game for his mom.

An hour or so passed in nearly complete silence when the front door finally opened and in walked his mother. Darryl tensed up and wiped his now sweaty palms on his jeans. "Hey Darryl." She greeted dropping her bag off on the table and entering the room. "Cameron. it's nice to see you again." She called smiling down at the male.

"Mom, I need to talk to you." Darryl said, eyes nearly creating a hole in the carpet. Her eyes darted between the two boys. "What's going on?" Concern lined her voice. Darryl gestured for his mother to sit down and that just made her even more anxious. Obediently she took a seat on the chair across from the boys on the couch. She didn't know what to expect at all.

"I saw Uncle Gregg. He's back. I think dad might be too." His voice was unsteady. Clare looked at his son. She was piecing things together, though Darryl never told her what was happening she could put at least part of it together.

"Cameron, maybe you should leave for the night." Clare spoke glancing to the other male. She knew he must have had something to do with the truth coming out since this seemed to be buried away within her son for years and for that she was grateful. Darryl shook his head and clutched onto Camerons wrist like his mom might actually try to physically remove him. He let go almost instantly, he was sure he got his point across to his mother anyway. Clare only gave a slight nod before returning her attention to his son. "Did he say anything? Did something happen?" She had thousands of questions ready to ask but she knew she would have to take it slow.

"Not really. I didn't exactly stay and talk." At that moment Clare knew her son wasn't going to open up. Sure maybe he intended too at the beginning but he had pushed all of this away for too long. She knew what she had to do.

"Then I'm sure it's nothing, probably just passing through. And your dad probably isn't here either. You're just worrying too much." Darryl eyed his mom. She was just brushing it off? He hadn't told her the truth but he really thought she had some sort of idea. "Besides, it's been years, people can change right?" Clare finished.

That was all Darryl needed. "He will never change mom, the man raped me. People like that don't change. Not ever." There it was, it was all out, finally. Clare flinched. Yes she wanted the truth out but she never believed it was that bad, if she did she definitely would have done something about it much sooner. Tear filled eyes met her sons matching ones. She hadn't seen her son cry since he was a kid. Once again she glanced at Cameron. "Maybe it's time for you to go now." Darryl couldn't bring himself to look at the male. Sure he wanted the truth out but he didn't expect to tell him, not this way. He just nodded.

It had been about a week since Darryl had told his mother. After Cameron left that day Clare and Darryl had talked in a crying mess for hours. He had to admit he was glad to get it all out. Cameron was right, he should have told her much earlier. The week was filled with interviews and meetings. He had filed a restraining order against his uncle and father. Lawyers were involved now and a court date was set up for the end of the month, only two weeks away. Clare had called the school to inform them he would be away for a while but he needed to back. Sitting at home awaiting the trial just got him thinking and his mind running wasn't the best thing for him right now. He needed a distraction.

Monday, a week or so after the truth came out he sat through his morning classes in silence. He didn't know what to expect out of his first day back, if people knew. He didn't know what was happening with the interviews he had to take part in, if they were ran in a magazine or something though he was sure they weren't televised. One kid asked if he was at rehab. Like always he ignored them. He looked more like he would need to go to rehab. He hadn't been eating much and barely been sleeping. His mom was right, he should have just stayed home.

At lunch he opted to not hang around the cafeteria where there was no doubt he would be bombarded with insults and stupid comments. Instead he headed outside, somewhere h had barely been in a week, his pale skin was proof enough of that. Sitting under the tree behind the school he pulled out his phone, responding to the many texts his mom had sent him throughout the morning.

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

Cameron honestly wasn’t sure why he agreed to stay whilst Darryl spoke to his mother about his unfortunate past. There was logic behind the notion that Darryl shouldn’t have done such a thing alone, that he was in need of some moral support, but for that individual to be Cameron was simply ludicrous. Yes, he was the only person around at the moment – worse, he was the only one to have been informed about what had been causing such behaviour from Darryl as of late – yet that did not remove the fact that he was the worst possible person for this kind of thing. It wasn’t as though Cameron was a naturally caring person. He was more self-centred than most. Moreover, he was more than aware of such a fact and it failed to bother him much. Nevertheless, there was the nagging feeling that he needed to stay around as Darryl spoke to his mother – if only as a small way to make up for the fact that he had made matters worse for Darryl whilst he had been dealing with issues much worse than the usual teenage drama that surrounded their lives.

Cameron’s thoughts were awash with countless topics, his mind jumping around and never really focusing upon one issue for too long. Making sense of the situation was much more difficult than one would have imagined and for that he was grateful for the silence. Part of him thought that he should have spoken up yet a larger part spoke up against that. If Darryl wished for a conversation to take place he would have asked for it. Thus, Cameron allowed the silence to consume them. It wasn’t an awkward silence per se but at the same time it wasn’t one of those easy silences whereby everyone was content. It simply surrounded them, allowing both of the males to be alone with their thoughts about the situation at hand. In fact, Cameron had been so lost in thought that he failed to notice the sound of the door opening. It wasn’t until he heard his name being spoken that he looked up to see Darryl’s mother in the room. “It’s nice to see you too,” Cameron said, offering the female the closest thing to a smile that he could.

Luckily, Cameron did not need to feign formalities and normality for long as Darryl was quickly jumping into the fact that a dire conversation to be had. Just like Darryl, Cameron dropped his gaze away from the female as she started to search them for some kind of answer. This was to happen between the two of them: in fact, it was more obvious than ever that Cameron should not have been there. He understood the fact that Darryl wanted someone to be there yet it shouldn’t have been him. His therapist was much better suited to the job. Cameron was just made to feel extremely awkward and out of place as the panic started to rise in the female. As with any mother she instantly assumed the worst. Sadly, her worst probably wasn’t anywhere near the truth. Chances were her thoughts were like a trip through Candyland compared to what Darryl was about to tell her.

When Darryl’s mother spoke up, her words directed towards Cameron, the male gave an obedient nod of his head. He couldn’t stay if he was not invited. He was about to get to his feet when he felt Darryl’s clammy hands upon his wrist. Cameron’s eyes drifted down to Darryl, although his hand had already been removed, his eyes elsewhere. Slowly, his eyes returned to the female across the room, his eyes asking the question of what he should do. The nod was enough for him to know that he was to stay around. Evidently his chance at escaping the awkward situation was over with him having failed to act quickly enough. Thus he was left listening to the female as she started to fire questions towards her son.

Except another chance arrive.

Cameron’s eyes darted towards Darryl at the word ‘rape’, disbelief plastering his features. At first he thought perhaps Darryl was simply trying to shock his mother but one glance at the male was enough to tell Cameron that he was being deadly serious. A frown etched at his features, his throat suddenly dry. If he’d questioned his being there before there was no doubt about it now: Cameron did not need to be in the room as this conversation was being held. He was on his feet before Darryl’s mother had even started her sentence, the female seemingly oblivious to the fact that Cameron was already planning to leave regardless of what they asked of him. With just a simple nod of his head – who it was aimed at he couldn’t say, and whether either of them noticed he doubted it – Cameron left the house and emerged into the cool air. He hadn’t realised quite how stuffy the house had been, just how deafening the silence actually was.

Yet he still felt the ill ease washing over him despite the outside air trying to blow the feeling away.

Alas, there were just some things that you could not forget no matter what aid you used. Even time wasn’t a cure for such things. The next day Cameron wasn’t expecting to find Darryl at school and still his thoughts were focused upon the male. If anything, Cameron spent more of his day thinking about Darryl than he did anything else. It wasn’t unusual for his mind to be focused upon matters other than school work yet for Darryl to be the focal point of his concerns was odd. The same could be said the day after, as well, especially in English. After the class he was kept behind by Barwick, her eyes boring into him. Before she could get any words out Cameron was speaking up on behalf of Darryl. “Before you start complaining about the lack of Darryl you should know that some of us have bigger concerns than your stupid assignment. We’re done, okay: we’re finished. We played fair, we worked together. We did everything you asked for. Should you wish to complain go ahead and fail me but give Darryl a passing grade – honestly, he doesn’t need your bullshit upon everything else he has to deal with.” Having thrown the completed assignment onto her desk Cameron left the room, the female too stunned to speak up.

It was just over a week later when Cameron finally noticed Darryl was back at school. He caught sight of the male in his peripheral vision as he was heading for lunch, a flimsy excuse rambling from his lips as he left his friends and headed over to Darryl who had disappeared outside. Even from afar Cameron could see how bad the male looked. Evidently he hadn’t been getting much sleep, had been stressing too much, and generally having a bad time of it. For a brief moment Cameron lost sight of Darryl before noticing him hiding out by a tree as far away from society as he could possibly get. Despite better judgement, Cameron dropped down in the grass next to the male. Cameron didn’t need to ask who the text messages were from, leaving him to do the only other thing he could think of. Pulling two cigarettes out of his pocket, he shoved one into his mouth and held the other one out to Darryl. “Care for a cancer stick?” Cameron asked, offering Darryl a weak smile, the conversation they’d once had about smoking being a bad idea floating through Cameron’s thoughts.

It would appear they were coming full circle.

[Shake Tramp-x]

Darryl Thomas Paxton
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║

❝
❞

M R O U T C A S T
♡♡♡
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║║

Darryl had finished replying to his mom letting her know that he was okay, not that it would reassure her any. They both knew he was lying. He continued to busy himself with his phone as Cameron approached him. Eyes flashed up to the male as he spoke nodding and taking the cancer stick Cameron was offering. He needed a lot more than this but for right now a cigarette would help. Pulling out his own lighter he lit both his and Cameron's stick before pocketing it and leaning back against the tree.

He had ended up emailing the assignment to Barwick a few days ago. He hadn't heard back from her so he didn't know what was going on with the assignment but he didn't really care in all honesty. Still it wouldn't be fair if Cameron failed it. "Did Barwick get the assignment?" He questioned exhaling a small cloud of smoke. They had English next so he would find out soon enough anyways.

"So, what's the gossip around the school?" As unimportant as he may be around the school it was still high school and people still talked. Rumours were spread and lies were told. Right now he was willing to talk about anything. He knew what was looming in the back of both of their minds and it was almost like both of them were just waiting to see if the other would mention anything.

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

Cameron had been unsure whether or not Darryl would accept his offer of a cigarette, leaving him somewhat surprised when the male accepted the proffered cancer stick. He was equally as surprised by the fact that Darryl lit his cigarette for him, but Cameron kept his lips sealed. Instead of saying something that would force them back to the aggravated state they had once been in, Cameron merely smiled his thanks. They were clearly both trying exceptionally hard and Cameron had no wish to be the one who destroyed the little bond that they had created. That was, of course, if bond was the right word. If anything it was a mutual state of understanding and awkwardness. It was a whole new kind of relationship for Cameron (to put it lightly) and he very much doubted Darryl had found himself in this kind of position before.

Upon hearing Darryl speak up, Cameron turned his head towards the male and let out a laugh mixed with cigarette smoke. “Oh, I can assure you she got the assignment. In fact, she got rather uptight about it,” Cameron informed his partner. “She did the usual ‘is this an actual team work assignment or is it all one sided speech’. But I wouldn’t worry about that, I got my point across in the end. In fact, I wish you’d been there to see her face. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy with me. I’m sure she’ll have a glorious time ranting and raving at us now that we’re both present.” Cameron gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders at that point, taking another drag of his cigarette. It was hardly something Darryl wanted to come back to but it was unavoidable. Barwick lived in a perpetual state of having a stick shoved up her a** when it came to Cameron and his work ethic.

Darryl’s next question, however, did catch Cameron off guard. It was to be expected – of course Darryl would care – yet he had hoped they could avoid the topic for a while. “Hhhm… let me see. Jasmine is supposedly pregnant with Luke’s child, despite the fact that she is supposed to be seeing Mark. If the truth is to be known I’m unsure as to whether either of them really are to blame for the pregnancy as it could be any number of people. Oliver has come out of the closet and nobody trusts him when they’re getting changed for football. You know the biology teacher Ms Wong – well rumour has it that she had a serious thing for the physics teacher Doctor Casey. If certain rumours are to be believed the chemistry between them has left one of the storerooms a place to practice her scientific subject.”

Cameron gave a small sigh, aware that he was simply prolonging the inevitable. He couldn’t keep it at bay for too long otherwise Darryl would demand answers. “Then comes rumour mill surrounding Darryl. If it helps any, you’re not the hottest topic of debate. At first it was you’d finally gone ahead and kicked in the can. Some were waiting for the funeral announcement. Some believed you’d decided to run away. There were many theories. It wasn’t until you returned that things really got heated. Some think rehab hence your crazed look whereas others believe it is due to a suicide attempt. If it helps I didn’t say a word about what I knew.” As he spoke, Cameron found himself unable to look Darryl in the eyes. If there was ever a time for him to feel nervous now was not the right moment.

[Shake Tramp-x]

Darryl Thomas Paxton
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║

❝
❞

M R O U T C A S T
♡♡♡
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│║║█║█║▌ █║▌│║║

Darryl nodded. The assignment was late, which sucked because it was in fact completed on time. English class this afternoon would definitely be interesting. It wouldn't be too bad. Their assignment was good and they all knew it, she can't say anything about it.

Darryl listened as Cameron listed off the recent gossip circling the school. Is this how it always was? He felt like he was on a different planet. He very rarely heard the rumours around the school unless he observed it first handed. Hearing it now did make him relax a little. If things like this happened all the time and they seemed to get on with their lives perfectly fine then so would he. Although Cameron had not quite gotten to the part about him yet. Now that he was getting there he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear it. Normally he didn't care. People could say what they wanted about him, and he was sure they did. But this was different, real.

The raven haired male nodded. He expected that, of course that was what people would think he did. Why wouldn't they? It wasn't until the male got the part about him returning that struck him a little. He had only been back for a couple hours and rumours were already circling the school. Word really did travel fast. At least people didn't know the truth.

Maybe he should have waited a little longer to come back. He wouldn't admit that though, it would mean admitting that his mom was right. He was a mess, he looked it and he felt it. Honestly though, staying home another week wouldn't help anything. It would just make people believe the rumours even more. "Thanks." Darryl stated. "I mean it." He really did. He knows this is a tough position for Cameron. Just weeks ago the two males couldn't stand each other and now here they are. Sharing this secret that all Darryl could do was hope that Cameron would keep his word and hope he doesn't tell anyone. And he did.

"I go to court in a couple weeks. My dad and uncle will be there." He stated. For now he had a restraining order in place against them and he hoped that was enough for now. "I don't know what's going to happen though. I have no evidence against them." It was his word against theirs. In all honesty, it didn't look too good for him.

[HIGH on cough sweets]

█████ anything you say can and will be held against you
━━━ so only say my name━━━
xxxx( it will be held against you )
xxxxxxxxxxx ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE HELD AGAINST YOU
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx SO ONLY SAY MY NAME ⤵
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCameron Reynolds

Cameron gave a slight nod in response to Darryl’s thanks, feeling extremely awkward about the whole situation. Despite everything Cameron wouldn’t go spreading the truth through the grapevine. There was a line, and whilst he was known to totter on the edge of the line, Cameron was not going to pass it on this occasion. There was a difference between some small gossip floating around high school and actually doing someone serious damage. In Darryl’s case the latter would be what Cameron would do. Yes, he’d said things about Darryl in this past but this was different. It shouldn’t have been different – Cameron should never have been an a*****e to begin with – but such was life.

At least Cameron knew well enough to know that.

Thus Darryl’s secret would remain just that: a secret. Cameron had no plan to tell anyone and he didn’t really have much of a desire for Darryl to sit around thanking him as though he’d done something which would actually help the situation. Not making matters worse wasn’t the same as making them better. There was a massive difference between the two. Hence why Cameron kept his thoughts to himself and simply took a long drag on the cigarette. Holding the toxins in his lungs for a few moments, Cameron shut his eyes to the world around him. It wasn’t until Darryl spoke up again that Cameron opened his eyes and let out the smoke.

Cameron’s eyes drifted towards Darryl as he started to speak, but soon drifted off into a point in the distance. For some reason – and Cameron was unable to articulate why – it felt wrong to look at Darryl as he confessed these things; after all, the fact that Cameron knew about the situation at all was all due to an accident. Cameron should never have been there to begin with – not for such a heart-to-heart between mother and son. Hell, if they wanted to they could throw the blame all the way back to Barwick and the fact that she had forced the duo to work together. But honestly, what good would that do? It wasn’t as though everything that came out of this was all bad.

Yes, it was predominantly bad on Darryl’s end, but there were some silver linings to be found if one was to look hard enough.

Giving another nod of his head, Cameron tried to think of the right words to say to Darryl. Were there any right words? It was unlikely. It wasn’t as though you were handed a guidebook to these things when you were young, just in case you ever needed to pull upon some kind of manual when older. “The most you can do is hope that people see the truth,” Cameron finally managed to say, regretting the spoken words instantly. What kind of a response was that? If Darryl was looking for useless clichés he could look them up on the internet – there were plenty to be found and most would be much better than what Cameron could offer.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it but I am sorry,” Cameron told the male, still avoiding eye-contact as he stared into the far away. “I know the words don’t help much but I do want the best to come from this. Everyone has s**t in their lives but sometimes people reach the point whereby… I’m not sure how to explain it, some people just don’t deserve the hand which they are given.”