Behind My Eyes part 2

  Danny, age 13

“When are they getting here again?” asked Danny impatiently.
  “They should be here in an hour or so,” his Aunty May assured him.

Danny sighed and sat back down on the couch. There was virtually nothing to do in Aunty May’s house, she was single and had no kids, and she didn’t even have austar!

As if in answer to his boredom, his mobile beeped, signaling that he’d relieved yet another text message. “Is that another one?” Aunty May smiled. You must be one of the most popular boys in your school.”

She wasn’t far wrong. Danny was talented, and extremely good looking, and though he was quiet by nature, it seemed that everyone in the school prized his friendship. He began to reply to his friends’ text message, happy for some distraction.

He’d received at least thirty messages from different people wishing him a happy birthday. It was, in his opinion, about time he turned thirteen! The only people who weren’t around to wish him a happy birthday, in fact, was his parents, who were due to arrive back from their holiday in Europe in less than an hour.

The phone began to ring, and Aunty May hurried to answer it. Danny sighed even louder; he had always hated the noise of a phone ringing, though he wasn’t sure why. He tuned out the sound of his Aunt talking, and turned back to his text message.

Olivia

Olivia lay in her bed. The lights were long out, and the soft snoring of Emma, one of the two girls she shared a room with, was the only thing she could hear, as the rain storm had finally died down.

She was, of course, thinking about Danny. She had had no idea how much this was affecting him. She was mad at herself for not having realized of her own accord how awful it must be to be him, but at least she knew now. She felt so cold towards those who had tormented him that past year, especially Bill Oldson and his crew.

The worst of the lot were Bill, Robert, Jeff, Peter, Patrick, Aiden, Frank, Kale, Matt and, she was ashamed to say, Adam. She would have to talk to him about that. She was sure he would understand.

Mark

“Hey, Mark, wait a second,” Olivia called to me. I turned around to see her run towards me.
  “What’s up?” I greeted her happily. It was almost time for the first lesson to begin.

“Did Danny seem a little… off, to you last night?” she questioned.
  “No more than usual,” I replied, honestly. I didn’t ever take much notice of Danny. He didn’t mean a thing to me. “Why do you ask?”

Olivia looked as if she were fighting something inside of her, before she burst out with, “Did you know Danny cuts his wrists?”

“Yeah, of course,” I replied casually. How could I not know? I lived with him for God’s sake!
  “You know?” Olivia asked, sounding surprised. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”  “Well, why should I have?” I shot back. “It’s not my business if he wants to do that.”

Olivia looked shocked. “But he could kill himself,” she argued.
  “Livvie, he’s not the first person to do something like this, he’s hardly suicidal!” I scoffed. “All he does is make a bunch of little cuts on his wrists, either for attention, or to make himself feel more important. It’s nothing more.”

When I spoke, I truly believed those words, but Olivia looked furious. Before she could argue back, though, the bell rang and I dashed into class. I knew that girl had a bad temper at times.

{Danny

Danny watched the clock intensely. He registered every tic, as the minute hand grew closer to the twelve. This was the worst part of the day for him, though the best for everyone else in the school. It was the count down to the end of the last lesson.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as the time got down to ten seconds. He nervously drummed his fingers on the desk. …3... 2...1. the bell rang, and Danny took a deep breath and gathered his books. He moved out into the sea of students, trying to keep his head down.

Maybe if I do, he thought, they won’t notice me this time. “Colt!” Danny froze at the use of his last name. Ooooorrrrr, maybe they will.

He turned around slowly, like a trapped cat would, and came face to face with Bill and his gang. “You weren’t trying to ditch us now, were you Colt?” Bill asked in a hurt voice. Danny didn’t reply. He knew from experience that would only make them more violent.

“Well, how do you think that makes us feel?” Robert, who was standing next to Bill, asked. Jeff, one of the older ones of the guys that hung out with Bill, kicked Danny hard in the shin. Danny bent over automatically in pain, and Bill seized his chance to kick him in the gut.

Danny gasped and slumped to the ground, winded and clutching his stomach. Aiden grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up. By now, a large crowd of students had formed around him, cheering the boys on. Bill punched him hard in the face, and Danny staggered back and smacked into the wall.

Danny was still careful not to make a sound; they usually got bored quicker if he didn’t react. He’d had to learn that the hard way...

Bill stepped forward and grabbed a handful of Danny’s hair and pulled his head back, harder than he meant to. Danny unwillingly let out a cry of pain; his head felt like it was on fire!

He wildly tried to get a hold of Bill’s hand, but a boy he couldn’t see held his own arms behind his back so tightly his blood circulation was cut off. Danny found himself praying that his left jumper sleeve wouldn’t lift too high. “Repeat after me, Colt,” Bill hissed. “I am a piece of shit.”

You are a piece of shit, Danny thought angrily, but he did what he was told. “That didn’t sound like you meant it, faggot,” Robert growled.
  “One more chance,” Adam warned from behind Bill, clearly enjoying himself.
  “I. Am. A. Piece. Of. Shit.” Danny said through gritted teeth, this time believing what he was saying.

“Good, now you can go,” Bill allowed, releasing Danny’s hair. The students continued on their way as if nothing had happened. Danny was bright red from anger and humiliation, and he began to pick up his books from the ground. Someone else knelt down beside him and handed him two books. Danny looked up in surprise to see Olivia.

“Thanks,” he said shortly, standing up.
  “Why do you let them treat you that way?” Olivia asked, gently.
  “You say it like I have a choice,” Danny replied, dully.
  “You could tell a teacher,” she suggested, following him as he headed to his dormitory.

“You really think the teachers give a damn about me?” Danny asked, smiling bitterly.
  “What about your par-” Olivia started to say, but she caught herself. “Oh my God, I’m sorry, I-”
  “You forgot, it’s alright,” Danny said sadly.

He opened the door and went inside his room, but Olivia stood outside, uncomfortably. “You can come in if you want,” he said, once he noticed she hadn’t followed.

“It happened on my thirteenth birthday,” Danny told her, and it took a moment for Olivia to realize what he was talking about.
  “That’s horrible,” she whispered.
  “That’s life,” Danny shrugged.

“Look, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here,” Olivia said generously. Danny smiled, and Olivia was surprised to see the way his face lit up when he did. She realized it was the first time in over a year she’d ever seen him properly smile.
  “You look really nice when you smile, you should do it more often,” Olivia said suddenly.

Danny didn’t know what to say to this, so he looked down at his hands, still smiling. “Look, I’ve gotta go, it was, um, nice talking to you,” Olivia said, rising out of her seat.
  “Okay, seeya,” Danny said, slightly disappointed. Just before Olivia walked out the door, Danny called out to her. She turned around to look at him.
  “Thanks,” he said. She smiled, hesitated, and then kept walking.

Danny smiled yet again, a record for him. Maybe that day hadn’t been so bad after all.