The Light Behind His Eyes

I was ahead of Patrick running towards the cafeteria. By the looks of it, since there was no big crowd or cheering, the fight hasn't begun yet. I rushed inside the doors to find Stephan whispering in Frank's ear. Stephan had a menacing look as he whispered. I walked over, but a hand pulled my shoulder back. Patrick shook his head, "I wouldn't get involved. It's okay as long as Frank doesn't agree to go outside with Stephan, Stephan can't hurt him in front of lots of people-"
Frank's words said aloud, "Okay. I need to blow off steam anyway." Frankie got up and walked out the back door with Stephan following.
Patrick turned on his camera, "Looks like I was wrong."
Everyone, and yes I mean everyone, rushed out their seats. They all followed Stephan and Frank outside to the back of the building.
"Where in fucks sake are all the teachers at?" I said.
Patrick shrugged, "Beats me. I know where I'm going to be though." Patrick rushed out the door with his camera and I followed.
I followed Patrick close behind who made his way through the crowd. He said as he passed the teens, "Move, move, I need to get this story." When Patrick and I were in the front, he immediatly started to record. He pointed the camera in my direction, "So, are you going to jump in?"
"No, I'm sure Frankie can handle it."
Patrick set his camera down, "Frankie?"
Heat struck me, "Uh, you're going to miss your shot."
Patrick looked at me before pointing his camera back to the direction of the fight. Frank eyed Stephan who was in a MMA position. Frank rolled his eyes. Stephan drew the first punch, hitting the side of Frank's cheek.
"Ouch." Patrick said.
Frank, being the man I've came to known, stood his ground. He kicked Stephan's knee who fell down onto the floor, so he could knee his face. Stephan was already bleeding from his nose, but he was too hard headed to let Frank win.
Patrick scoffed, "Stephan got a bloody nose from a cheap shot."
Stephan looked over at my direction, "You." He said. He walked over and yanked me into the circle. Frank said, "This is our fight. You don't need to bring him into this."
"That's cute. You're looking after each other." Stephan snarled. He gave me a hard hit in the stomach, "I'm getting my scholarship taken away, I might as well fucking smile at the camera." Stephan looked over to Patrick, "Get a good shot, Stump." Patrick jumped when Stephan punched my jaw, knocking me over to the side. I regained my balance, but was it normal to see spots?
Patrick sighed as he shut off his camera and tucked it away. Stephan yelled, "What the hell Stump? You wanted a good story, well now you have it."
Patrick replied, "Not every story makes it into the newspaper." Patrick turned his back to Stephan but Stephan tugged at his shoulder bag, "Get over here!" He yanked his shoulder bag, along with Patrick, causing him to fall onto his back. Patrick groaned, "Fuck."
Frankie ran over to me, "Are you okay?" He whispered.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Go help Stump."
Frank left my side to punch Stephan. I wasn't fine. My head was spinning, my legs couldn't carry my whole body. I needed to rest, just for a while. My eye lids were growing heavy, my legs were weak. So I laid on the ground, and let my eye lids shut.

There was irritating voice calling my name. It was fuzzy at first, but the more I gained conscious, the more clear it was. I opened my eyes hesitantly to meet Mrs. Osmar's. She cheered, "He's awake! Hello Mr. Way! Welcome back! I really hope you had a great rest. The staff got you the comfiest bed." Her voice was flat which wasn't normal for her. She was being extra nice, which made me cringe.
Patrick rolled his eyes at Mrs. Osmar. He turned his attention me, "Hey buddy. So, we have a lot to talk about. First of all, you were in a coma for three days."
I sat up on bed, "What? Holy shit."
Patrick nodded, "Secondly, you're going to be fine. You just need to take a pill every day for two weeks. Oh, and did I mention why Mrs. Osmar is acting so sweet? Well, we're sueing the school." He said, "You wouldn't have been in this coma if Mrs. Osmar's staff were simply doing their job."
The thought of Patrick being in court as jury, hell even judge, suite him. Still, I didn't need all of this piling up on me. I shook my head, "I don't need to sue."
Mrs. Osmar cheered, "Well, there you have it Mr. Stump. Mr. Way doesn't want to sue. Toodles." She walked out the room with a big grin.
Patrick looked at me, "What are you doing? Don't you care? What if something like this happens again but more severe?"
I sighed, "I just want to get home and rest."
"You don't get it, do you? I'm doing this for the future loner teens who get beaten up on the same soil you did. Maybe your son will get beaten up on school grounds but ends up going to a real hospital with a pernament coma."
"I'm never gonna have a son." (Ha, pun).
A knock caught my attention. Frankie appeared under the doorframe with a bouquet of roses, "Hey, Gee." I smiled, "Hey Frankie."
"Do I get a nickname?" Patrick smiled.
Frankie grinned as he walked beside my bed, "I heard you awake from Mrs. Osmar's cheering...so I snatched you roses from the garden and wrapped the stems together with cheap yarn. I'm not even sure if you like flowers." He chuckled.
"No, I love them."
Patrick glanced at us two, "Are you guys together?"
Frank shook his head, "No, no,"
"It's okay I don't judge."
I shook my head, "We're not Patrick." Sadly.
Patrick nodded, "I need a story...and well, a gay couple in the school walking hand-in-hand would make a great one." Patrick bashed his eye lashes, "pretty please?"
"I'm telling you Patrick...we're not together..." I said, and this time he believed it.
It was silent, but it didn't take long until Frank said, "How do you plan on buying your new camera, Patrick?"
I turned to him, "What happened to your camera?"
Patrick snarled, "Stephan. Just when I was about to flee the scene, Stephan reels me into the circle. When my back hit against the ground, I heard a crack. I was hoping it was my back but it was worse. My beautiful camera was shattered."
I smiled, "Now it makes even more sense why you want to sue."
Frank raised a brow, "Sue?"
"Yeah, I already told Patrick no though-"
"No, no, it'd be great to sue!" Frank smiled.
"Wait, what?"
Frank sat on the edge of my bed, "This school has millions, Gerard. Imagine if we won the case! We can rebuild your bookstore with the money we earned."
Patrick added, "And get a new camera for myself."
"A new bookstore would be nice..." I said.
"And camera."
Frank added, "And fix the heater..."
I frowned, "Listen, Frankie, about that night-"
"It's okay. I'm okay." He smiled.
Patrick said, "Well, I guess since I'm an expert on the whole court thing, I'll be in charge of booking the perfect lawyer, the plans, witnesses, and so on." He grinned, "My dad is rich. He owns the Fall Lake."
"Then why won't he buy you a new camera?" Frank asked.
Patrick frowned, "Let's just say...he'll never forget December 17th."

Notes