A Failed Escape

[Hunter Lodge III]

Hunter strode down the hallway, prepared to spend another horribly long day wishing he were anywhere but this construct of brick and social exclusion. Most of the other students knew to move around him, as no one wanted to draw the weird dog boy's ire. For his part, Hunter also didn't want to be bothered by anyone. If it were up to him, none of the trouble that seemed to follow him would ever happen. Sadly, there are just some people who can't help but look for trouble, and it was at these times that they usually found Hunter.

This morning alone he had already been forced to give a pair of freshman lovers a nasty growl to remove their groping forms from in front of his locker. Why they had chosen that particular spot was unknown to the unfortunate junior, which only served to make their presence even more irritating. At least the pair had enough sense to flee. Hunter was always ready for a scrap, but that didn't mean he looked forward to it.

This particular morning was different, in a sense. He had been stalking a fellow student, one Philip Lim, to make sure the boy did not dare to bother the very nice and kind Annie Holmes. So far, true to his word, Phil had made significant effort to avoid the girl. Whether he knew Hunter was near was unknown to the stalker, but he still had to commend Phil on being an honest guy. As the hallways become more and more crowded, Hunter decided to trust Phil for a while and get out of the madness of the narrow passageways. He saw the door to a darkened classroom cracked open and slipped in.

The moment he flipped on the lights, Hunter knew he was not alone. In his haste to flee the crowded confines of the hallway, he had failed to pay attention to where he was heading. What a fool! Soft noises were coming from a corner of the room. Hunter hoped in vain that whomever was occupying the space had not noticed his arrival, but the flicker of the light was much too obvious. His eyes met the reddened orbs of Anemonie Holmes. His first instinct was panic, and without thinking his body turned to escape. His mind managed to catch him in time, however, and he spun back around. Though he was worried how awkward leaving might look, he now realized the odd double turn might seem even weirder. Fear gripped his heart for some unknown reason, and with his logical mind holding sway over his fight or flight response, Hunter had no choice but to remain just inside the door, frozen to the spot. His eyes did not return to hers, but instead scoured the floor as if searching for an answer to this awkward puzzle he was now in. He did manage a small wave, but that was it. A part of him hoped for a dismissal so that he may continue on his way, but a bigger part of him wanted to comfort the girl. He just wasn't sure how.

[Annie Holmes]

Even after the weekend, after several days had passed, nothing had changed. Phil and Mew were still avoiding her. Rather than cling to someone she didn't actually know and cry making a scene, Annie had hidden in a classroom that wouldn't be used for a bit. With throat tight and eyes burning, the tiny cupcake queen hid, arms wrapped around knees that were drawn to her chest. The whole of her body shook as tears left wet trails down her cheeks to collect on her chin and fall to a salty damp spot on her skirt.

She had only wanted to apologize for being so persistent. Why she had dug in when clearly Phil wasn't ready to come out yet was beyond the scope of thought. Yet, at the same time he had said some truly hurtful things about her fathers going to hell and the fate of all those who were gay. Including himself. While she'd known that Phil had some issues about his sexuality never, never had Annie anticipated just how deep or what those issues actually were.

Now she knew.

Perhaps she should just let things go. Cut her losses with those two and move on. The idea of that hurt, though. Burned in the pit of her stomach. Not having much experience losing friends it was a whole new experience and one the teenager didn't like at all.

Light from the hallway spilled into the room as the door was opened wider to allow the entry of another. The strange boy who'd scared her last week in the library. But then h too turned away to leave and Annie's heart dropped again. She had only just really met him and he'd seemed strange to her then, but no stranger, she supposed, than she herself was. His timing was horrible. Not that he would know his abrupt departure would cause her more angst.

But he didn't leave. As though her dejection had somehow manifested itself into his actions, he turned back. And waved.

Of all the strange reactions to a wave, Annie began to cry harder. A kindness! It wasn't as though other people weren't showing her kindnesses, they were, but it was double sided. They would be kind to her, but downright hateful towards Phil. She had never wanted that. Never had the girl anticipated people taking sides like they did, but never had she anticipated the turn of events either.

Please she signed, Please sit with me. I am sorry I am in such a state. I just hurt. Though her experience with Hunter before had indicated that he didn't know sign language, Annie had to try. She didn't want to be alone, and yet had put herself in that exact position.