She opened the doors of the courtyard, and stepped inside the hall. They kept peeking inside the many empty classrooms and dozens of lockers.
Still nothing; he was nowhere to be found.
Guess she'll have to check the second floor inste-
Sniff.
She turned around to see nothing, but they knew better. She looked at the only room they hadn't checked.
The janitor's closet.
She reached out to open the door, but saw the handle was ripped off, most likely due to desperation and lack of key. They cautiously and slowly opened the door, ignoring the audible gasp inside as she closed the door behind them.
Or at least tried to. Not an easy feat without a handle.
"Oh Hell no. Fuck off, I'm not doing this shit, go away!" He hissed while she put a heavy box in front of the door to keep it shut. They then turned on the light and gave him a good long look.
He looked miserable. His box braided hair was a mess, the sclera of his deep crimson eyes was pink and he was sitting in the floor, clutching his red cap. She noticed the faint brush of lip gloss in his lips, and he rubbed it away as soon as he saw them staring at it. That snapped her out of it and they turned fully towards him.
"Pinky, I mean it! Leave me the fuck alone!" He almost yelled and she sat down in front of him. They pulled at the sleeve of her dress to cover their palm and reached out to touch him, which in turn made him flinch and bat her arm away, so they scooted closer and reached out slower, her eyes not leaving his for a single second. He calmed down a bit, and let her rub the tears from his face. She let her hand rest there in his cheek for a little longer before attempting to pull away, only for Brick to rest his head against their covered palm, sorrowful, and embarrassed. The gesture made her part their lips in surprise, but she decided not to comment on it. He was embarrassed enough.
"...Brick-" She began, but it seemed like their voice snapped him out of whatever trance he was in, and he pulled her arm away from his face, scooting further away from them.
"Don't. Even. Start. I mean it. I don't want to hear it. Especially from you." His voice was filled with venom, menacing and harsh, but not to them. She saw right through him. Embarrassment. Confusion. Anger. Sorrow. Anger again. Confusion again, then sorrow again, and lots of embarrassment. The endless cruel cycle of emotions kept hovering over him like a stormy cloud. The tears threatening to fall, the words he wanted to say, to scream, the things he wanted to do, to slap himself, run away, disappear, they were all there. His eyes reflected everything. But there was one thing, that was so obvious, yet so small compared to the rest that seemed to constantly wring his neck and swallow him whole.
Denial.
Rejection.
Disgust.
Fear.
Call it whatever you want, it was there. He denied the truth, he rejected himself, he was disgusted of the possibility, he feared that maybe...
He wasn't himself.
"...Okay." She stood where they were, not leaving, but not getting closer either. Brick looked at her in spite, then looked away. They stood in silence for what felt like years, but were probably mere minutes, before he spoke again.
"...I wasn't trying to steal anything." He said almost whispering, impossible for the human ear to understand. Good thing neither of them were humans.
"I know." She nodded.
"..."
"..."
"...I'm not gay." He mumbled in almost disbelief.
