Tough Vs Shy

The following days were some of the hardest for Brian, at least emotionally.

Sunday saw him hiding away in his room, refusing to talk to his father at all. Jimmy, Johnny and Zacky had been to visit, asking what happened. Brian assumed they were mad at him for getting their friend arrested, so he stayed silent and said that Matt got caught. He mentioned nothing of the tip off. They apologised to him and offered to stay with him to help him get through the day, but he politely declined. They said they understood, and that they'd go see about visiting times for Matt.

Monday wasn't bad, but it was incredibly strange. As Brian slipped into school that morning, his head hung lower than ever, he noticed something odd. He glanced up a few times and saw that the tough guys were just standing around, like deactivated robots. They'd kick a few rocks occasionally and check their phones. That was it. They hardly spoke.

Brian decided to test his luck and walked over to Tommy. The man looked down at him and remained silent. He tilted his head to the side in a confused manner and looked up.

"Tommy?"

"Get lost, Haner" Tommy grumbled.

"Wait, just tell me something... What's going on?" Brian asked nervously.

You don't get it, do you?" The taller man scoffed, running his hand through his long dark hair, "Matt's been arrested and he's being tried today. He's expected to be locked away for 5 and a half years because someone died because of his reckless driving and YOU were with him!"

Tommy breathed a deep sigh and leaned against the brick building behind him, "Without him, all us tough guys are powerless... He defends us from getting in trouble, so if he's not here, we get in trouble should we do anything. That's why everyone's just standing around why the nerds and the weaklings celebrate. Why don't you go join them? You've taken quite a beating from us..."

Brian paused to consider his words, then looked Tommy in the eyes.

"Because I love Matt. He loves me. We're... we're together." He admitted quietly. Tommy couldn't believe his ears.

"You- What..?"

"It's true... He said he's always been into me and he was getting sick of watching everyone beat me up. He took me to his house on Friday and we had sex and then on Saturday we went out on his bike and then my dad got him arrested and now..." Brian sighed sadly, his gaze falling to the floor, "Now I'm helpless.."

"Oh..." Tommy murmured. He lightly placed his hand on the smaller man's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. The two looked each other in the eyes again, "I'm sorry to hear that Brian... When do you get a chance to see him..?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'm waiting on Jimmy, Johnny and Zacky to tell me." Brian replied.

"I'll keep my eye out. You better get to class." Tommy nodded, before lightly patting his shoulder, "I'll let you know if I find anything out."

"Thanks Tommy. I'll see you in Maths." Brian said. With that, he headed off to his first lesson of the day, Art. He slipped into the art room and sat down in his seat at the back of the room, near the paints, brushes, drying rack, water pots and taps. His sketchbook was already waiting on his desk, so once he was seated and unpacked, he opened it up.

"Alright class, today we're going to be doing portraits." The teacher announced, "Now, remember what I taught you on Friday about how to draw faces. Was anyone not here on Friday?"

Brian reluctantly raised his hand. The teacher quickly noted his name down on a scrap of paper before nodding and he lowered his hand. No one else raised their hands.

"Alright Brian, I'll come help you in a moment. I'm just going to check attendance and then we'll get stared. Everyone else, I want you to find an image of someone you'd like to draw, whether it's a friend, celebrity or family member. Just make sure to answer when I call your name."

The class got on with their work whilst answering to their names. Brian answered once he was called, then proceeded to look through his phone to find a decent picture. He stumbled across a picture of Matt that Johnny had sent him on Friday. He sat there, gazing at the picture with hurt and sadness in his eyes. He'd possibly never see those dimples, bright smile and golden hazel eyes again. He felt his eyes well up slightly, tears building up with gaining speed. All he could do was sit there and look at the photo, wishing he was there beside him.

"Matt? Matthew??" The teacher called, glancing up from his laptop and looking around the room, "Sanders, you in here?"

There was no reply. The teacher frowned, "Hmm... He's usually here on a Monday morning... Anyone know where he might be?"

Brian once again raised his hand, except for this time, his gaze was locked onto the image on his phone.

"Yes Brian?"

"He's..." Brian began, desperately fighting back sobs and tears, "He's in prison..."

The class gasped. The teacher stared at him in shock, "He's what..?"

"He's in prison, sir... All thanks to my dad..." Brian sniffled, burying his face in his jacket sleeves. The teacher got up and walked over to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder as he crouched down to his level.

"Brian... Let's talk about this outside, okay? Is that okay with you?"

The student nodded and got up from his seat with his head low, heading outside of the room with the teacher following. Once the door closed behind the pair, Brian turned to face his teacher.

"What happened Brian?" The teacher asked softly, looking into the 18 year old's eyes.

"Matt and I are meant to be dating... On Saturday we went out on his Harley but he was being reckless and when we got back to mine, my dad found out and gave him in when the police called..." Brian explained, tears filling his eyes.

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that..." He frowned, rubbing Brian's back, "Do you think you can continue the lesson or do I need to call your parents to collect you and take you home? You're in a bit of a state, huh..?"

"You mean mentally or literally? I mean, we are in the state of Cali..." The younger man chuckled lightly, trying to cheer himself up.

"Mentally, although I will admit that's a good one." The teacher smiled slightly, "Come on, let's get you to the front office."

The pair headed to the office, where the teacher informed the staff of the situation. The office lady then rang Brian's mother and informed her of what she'd just been told and she needed to come and collect her son. Then, she offered Brian the chance to speak. She passed him the phone and he placed it to his ear.

"Mom?"

"Hi sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked him, "Is this about your father and Matt?"

"Mom, I miss him so much and I can't handle the mental pain..." He sniffled, rubbing his eyes.

"I know Brian, but what can I do? I can't afford to bail him out and you know it."

"C-Can you take me to see him please...?"

"Oh, I don't know..." She mumbled. She didn't really want to take her son to a prison, but as it was just to visit his boyfriend, she decided that maybe it would be okay. Well, as long as Brian's father didn't find out.

"Please mom... I'm desperate..." Brian pleaded.

"Oh, I suppose we can make a trip there. Besides, I still need to go shopping. Just don't tell your dad, okay?"

"I promise I won't!" He yelped.

"Alright, I'll be there to pick you up in a few minutes. See you soon honey"

"Bye mom, love you!"

The office lady took the phone from Brian and his teacher said goodbye before heading back to his class. The lady then escorted Brian out of the office and outside, ready for his mom to collect him. She arrived moments later and her son quickly got into her car, ready to be driven to the station to see his love.



Once they arrived, Brian's mom practically had to hold onto his arm to keep him from running off. They walked inside the building and over to the reception. The lady at the desk looked up from her computer and smiled slightly. It didn't look like a fun place to work, Brian thought to himself.

"How can I help you?" The lady asked politely.

"My son wishes to see somebody here." The man's mother replied. Brian was finding it hard to contain himself and he was bouncing up and down in anticipation.

"Okay, and who would that be?" She asked, typing something into the computer.

"Oh sweetie, what's his name again?" Brian's mom asked him.

"Matthew C. Sanders!" Brian beamed excitedly. For an 18 year old, he acted more like a small child. A small child in a toy store, buying the latest action figures off some new crappy show that'd last about two weeks and then be forgotten about completely.

His mother gave him a horrified look. Clearly, she'd been expecting it to be a different Matthew Sanders, but now she knew all to well the man responsible for trashing her husband's car, causing chaos in the streets and terrified the locals was the same man Brian had fallen madly in love with.

"Uhm.. Brian..." She began. Her son's smile faded.

"What?" He asked, looking at her with big, brown eyes

"You do realise who Matt is, right?"

"Of course I do! He's in my school!"

The pair's attention was turned to the lady, who had found Matt's records on the system.

"Right, we've got it down as Matthew Charles Sanders? Is that correct?" She asked, polite as always.

"That's the one! Can I see him??" Brian excitedly asked.

"Hmm... From what it says here, he was moved to the first aid room last night following a knife attack. I need to check his status. Depending on his condition, I may be able to send you straight to his bedside. It won't be for long though and we rarely let anyone near those areas buuut your son's clearly got a reason to see him, so I'll try make an exception. That okay with you?" She helpfully informed. Brian couldn't believe his ears. His mom wasn't too keen. In fact, the only reason she was allowing her son to see his maniac boyfriend was because he needed him. She also took into account the fact that Matt was protecting Brian from the tough guys at school. It was the only thing she could do to help. Therefore, she agreed, much to Brian's relief

Brian then glanced around the room. On the other side, there were people talking to inmates on orange uniforms. Mothers and fathers talking to their partners with their babies reaching towards the glass. Lovers desperate to know if things are okay and when they'll be free. Parents talking to their criminal sons and daughters. It was a horrible place to be. Brian just wanted to see Matt now, but take him home when they leave. It won't happen though, he told himself. He won't be leaving for a long time, he thought.

"Right, may I ask the name of who's visiting Matthew?" The lady then asked, snapping Brian out of his thoughts.

"Brian Haner Jr." His mother informed. The lady noted it down and started typing again. Moments passed that felt like an eternity. Brian was growing desperate.

"Alright, I've got some good news." She announced to the pair, "You will be able to see Matt by his bedside. You'll have to be very careful around his legs though, the knife fight he was involved in has left him with some nasty injuries. A guard will be around shortly to take you there."

"Alright, thank you." Brian's mother smiled.


Now they just had to wait.

Notes

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay for this chapter, I was struggling to write this out.
Hopefully you enjoyed it!
Feedback is always appreciated!