1Greetings to all of my lovely readers! I have returned with a new short fic that is quite close to my heart this time around.
To those who don't know, I, RBDECEPTICON17, am on the autistic spectrum. Specifically, aspergers syndrome, and so it was inevitable that I would eventually write a fic about it.
Disclaimer: The way autism is shown in this fic might not be accurate to others on the spectrum, but hopefully the fic will still be enjoyable. And on top of this, the characters are owned by Sabrina Cotugno and not myself. Anyway...
ENJOY!
Henry kicked himself for not noticing the signs when he had the chance. The gritting of teeth, muttered curses, a gloved hand clenched around a pen until its knuckles turned white and frustrated glares which were thrown at the more rowdy students in the class. For God's sake, he had been sitting right next to Edward the whole damn time!
Alas, it seemed that the few years in which they had known one another hadn't made him completely wise to how Edward behaved, and though it had been awhile since Edward had, as he himself called it, a meltdown, today...
"SHUT UP! FOR FUCK'S SAKE CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT UP AND DO THE FUCKING WORK!"
...had sadly changed that. And all Henry had done was sit and stare up at Edward in shock.
The english teacher stared at him, a warning in her eyes as the other students snapped and laughed. Instead, Edward shook his head and shouted some more, barely able to contain his frustration. He then shoved his notebook and pencil case back into his school bag and ran out of the room; face red and teeth bared.
"Wait! Edward come back!" Henry finally called as he hastily stood up and out of his seat, the shock finally fading from his system as he watched him run.
Meanwhile the other students, the ones who had set Edward off, snickered and laughed, some of them even mocking his outburst through stupid imitations. The teacher gave them a harsh and unimpressed glare, while Henry's hands tightened into trembling fists at his sides, his face quickly reddening with anger.
'Why did any of them find this funny?!'
"That's enough. Get on with your work or it will cut into your lunch time." The teacher demanded, walking over to her desk as long groans and loud curses filled the classroom.
Henry's eyes instantly widened as he saw her hand reaching for the classroom phone. It was how the teachers communicated with the front desk of the school but...it was only to get security.
'Oh no, not again!'
As quickly as he could, Henry walked over to the teacher, panic in his eyes.
"It's okay, Mrs Smith, i'll go find him, there's no need to get security involved." He hastily offered, while the whispers of the other students were quick to reach his ears.
Mrs Smith turned around and stared down at him. She silently thought over his words, while Henry stared up at her; heart racing and hands still clenched. Anyone else, especially security, would only make Edward feel even worse than he already did. And eventually, Mrs Smith nodded and told him to bring the other boy back once he was sorted, which Henry hastily agreed to before running out of the classroom with his school bag swung over his shoulder.
The other students continued to mock his friend, but Henry refused to give them the satisfaction of a reaction.
'There's no bathroom nearby.' Henry thought, panicking, while he ran down the stairs; one hand holding the wooden bannister and the other stopping the strap of his school bag from sliding off his shoulder.
He thought and thought, conjuring up places where someone of Edward's stature could hide, places where he could vent out his frustrations without being so easily spotted. However, the more that Henry thought, the more he remembered a time in which Edward was bullied so incessantly, so harshly and so cruelly, that he felt his only option had been to run away from the school like a frightened animal.
If not for the security stopping him...Edward's life might have been cut short by an oncoming car.
But the worst part was when the security finally got a hold of him.
A loud thud, concerned voices shouting.
An inaffectual struggle ensueing.
Cries and screams, followed by uncontrollable sobbing and pleas for help.
Henry had always admired Edward's honesty and his strange creativity, still did in the present. He had even thought that he looked really cool with his messy blonde hair and emerald eyes that shone with excited. But watching his dear friend struggle between the security's bodies and the hot concrete; crying, writhing and panicking...the melancholic memory tugged painfully at his heart, making Henry visibly wince.
'I promise I won't let that happen again, Edward. We're friends and i'll keep my promise.' He thought to himself as he finally reached the bottom of the five floors worth of stairs.
He quickly looked to his left, but only found a set of double doors that lead to the front of the school. He then quickly looked to his right, but again, Henry only found another set of double doors, which lead to a small corridor with a couple classrooms, and then a single door which lead to an outdoor shortcut between other sections of the school.
Alas, there was no sign of Edward. Had he tried to leave the school again?
"Edward. Edward where are you?" Henry called in a soft and hushed voice, only for a voice to quickly call back to him; small, cautious and familiar...from underneath the previously mentioned stairs.
Without another word, he turned around and quietly approached the small triangular space beneath the wooden structure, a small frown coming to his lips as he finally found Edward. He was cooped up in the farthest corner; arms wrapped tightly around his short form and eyes visibly glistening with tears. His black school jacket and the irritating clip on tie had been thrown aside, crumpled up upon the not so clean floor.
Henry's heart broke as if a large sledge hammer had suddenly collided with it.
"Edward..." He softly whispered, staring at him for a little longer.
But eventually, he knelt down and quietly crawled underneath the stairs and over to Edward, the frown never leaving Henry's lips. Edward silently watched him; heat reddening his face and breathes coming through his nose. The desire to hug and hold Edward had been strong a moment ago, yet once he saw that ticked off expression upon his face, he knew that contact wouldn't be the best option. At least, not until he had calmed down.
And so instead of embracing him, Henry sat in front of Edward, blocking out the rest of the world.
He then slowly nodded.
'You can vent to me, Edward. I don't mind.'
That was what that simple nod meant between the two of them.
Edward quietly pressed his woolen covered palms into his eyes, wiping away the build up of tears as he sniffed and the tips of his fingers poked through his overly used gloves. He then gripped his legs tightly, staring up at the stairs.
"It's so fucking frustrating, the way they ignore what she tells them to do. Like, she tries so fucking hard to help us, yet what do they do? They throw it back at her and laugh at anyone who dares to think that they're acting stupid."
Henry silently listened, for he felt the same. But he never said anything.
"But no, it's me who's the stupid one, the autistic kid who tries so fucking hard to get all the work done and tries so fucking hard to not cause any trouble is the idiot!"
He growled through gritted teeth, burying his fingers deep within his tied back hair as he shut his eyes. But five more minutes of venting later and the anger upon his face finally melted away. And the only place to go was down. Warm tears spilled forth from his eyes, his lower lip visibly quivered and his throat filled up with sobs. More often than not, Edward regretted the way he had acted, though he still stood by his words.
His anger had always put him in such a regretful and messy state when all was said and done.
'But he's a person and people always make mistakes...I just wish that he could understand that.' Henry thought to himself, mentally sighing. He then took off his bag and placed it aside.
"Can I take your bag off, Edward?" He softly asked.
Edward nodded behind his hands, his sobs ceasing for a moment as Henry slowly and carefully pulled off his school bag. Once he had opened it up, Henry gently plucked out a stuffed kitten. Edward's mother had made it for him when he was younger, and he had been secretly bringing it into school ever since to hold whenever he felt alone or overwhelmed. Henry thought it was actually kind of cute, but he would never say those words to his friend...he feared that he might get the wrong idea.
He quietly moved to Edward's side and offered the stuffed toy to him
"Here." He said, a gentle smile upon his face.
A couple seconds passed until the word was properly processed in Edward's head, pushing through all the fog clouding his mind, before he quietly looked at Henry. His nose was running, his eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were wet with tears. Then it took a whole minute for him to finally reach out and take the offered toy. Henry said nothing, since he saw in Edward's eyes that he was having trouble getting his arms to move like he wanted.
Edward quietly thanked Henry and held his stuffed kitten close, closing his eyes as tears still ran down his face. A few more sobs left him after that, the kitten's fur now wet with tears. But it was still an improvement. And after a couple more minutes had passed, Henry spoke up again; soft and curious, while he pulled their bags towards him.
"Do you want to go back up to class?"
But Edward hastily shook his head, his embrace around his stuffed toy tightening.
Henry frowned. Mrs Smith wouldn't be happy about that, but he also didn't want to force Edward to have to face her and the other students so quickly. He thought and thought, trying to find a middle ground that would please all.
And then it hit him.
Technically, as long as the work they were given was completed and they handed it in for her to look over, then she probably wouldn't mind their abscence for just one lesson. Edward was happy and the teacher was pleased.
"That's alright. I won't make you go back, Edward. We can just finish up our work here and then i'll take it back up to her when the bell rings. Would that be okay with you?" Henry offered, smiling warmly as he pulled his English book and a black pen out of his school bag.
Edward took a moment to think, hiding his face in the stuffed kitten's fluffy and warm body. He quietly nodded, and after pulling out his own pen and English book, Edward slowly crossed his legs and opened said book, letting the stuffed toy rest against his stomach as he turned his head to smile a small but grateful smile at Henry..
"Thank you, Henry." He said.
"Anytime Edward. I'll always stick with you, no matter what." Henry softly reassured.
And until the bell rang, the two sat there; resting against each other and writing peacefully together. They were an inseperable duo, and that meltdown hadn't changed that. They were friends to the very end.
The End
I hope you all enjoyed this fic, it was a lot of fun to write and I was happy to write something new. And to those on the spectrum like myself, I'd love to hear if you would like to see more of this version of the boys in future short fics.
And of course, don't forget to leave any and all feedback in the comment section down below, before you go!
BYE! BYE!
