Rigid Love (Sequel to Stockholm Syndrome)

Dare

TW: depression, thoughts of suicide, underage drinking (literally 3/4 of the chapter involves underage drinking soooo ima put this tw here and that's it) roofies/date rape drug

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*3rd Person POV*

TJ awoke before George which was surprising because George usually couldn't get an ounce of sleep with TJ by his side, arm wrapped protectively around him. TJ very carefully slid out of bed, being as quiet as he could manage. He cursed under his breath when his phone vibrated on the nightstand next to George - but it actually wasn't his phone... it was George's. Who would be texting George this early in the morning?? he thought. He picked up his phone and turned the phone on its side next to George's face, attempting to unlock it with his face ID. After several seconds trying to get the right angle, the phone unlocked and TJ was in.

He snooped for a bit, just looking at his apps, reminders, notes - nothing was out of the ordinary or weird, but then he looked at his contacts and messages. He scrolled through a couple people's conversations until he found the contact name, 'Dream.' TJ swallowed hard, resisting the urge to slap George for continuing to talk to this guy. He took a deep breath and scrolled through their messages. Their texting style wasn't overly flirty, but there was definitely something going on between them as TJ expected. He scrolled through the messages more and found a message from George calling the recipient 'Clay' teasingly. Well, that solidified it, TJ thought. He figured this 'Dream' guy was the same as 'Clay' though he wasn't given any specific details about this man for obvious reasons.

George stirred in his sleep, turning on his side, whimpering softly. TJ glanced at the sleeping boy and without giving it a second thought, he blocked Dream's number. He carefully placed the phone back on the nightstand. TJ approached George and brushed a few stray hairs off his forehead before kissing him delicately where his fingers just were. He definitely felt something for George though he didn't know what it was nor how to feel about it. George's eyes burst open and he jumped when he saw TJ standing by his side. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. TJ slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked to the door.

"I'm going to class. "Get some sleep baby boy, I'll be back soon." When the words left his lips, he wasn't sure why he suddenly had a sour taste lingering around in his mouth. TJ didn't give George time to respond. He just left out the door, leaving him alone in the room.

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*George's POV*

*caution: depression + suicidal thoughts*

The past couple days had been torture and today was no different. Dream wasn't responding to me either which made everything worse than it already was. I often wondered if he was mad at me or maybe he thought that I had moved on from him and never wanted to see him again...or maybe he never wanted to see me again. I didn't like to think about that, but because I would often be bored in the room all day (per TJ's request) it was hard to not let my mind wander.

I had become fascinated with the little fire sprinkler thing on the ceiling. I stared at that - sometimes for hours - just thinking of what I could do if I just wrapped a belt around there...would that work though? Maybe glass was the way to go...I brushed my scars on my wrists lightly, letting my fingers dance around them almost tauntingly... or maybe not - too much trauma from glass already. I'm going to do it one of these days. I just don't think I can keep living like this. But my mum...I think of her a lot. I called her last night and it was a good talk but I need to be selfish for a second and think of my own happiness. I really don't think TJ will ever leave me - he even said he'll move to London with me. I don't know what to do. Maybe this is for the best. One day. One day I'll have the courage to do it.