The door opened in the classroom making all the heads turn. It was noon and Joseph walked in. He was gaunt with his hair in a tight bun. He was standoffish as he sat down at a desk in the back. The professor went back to his lesson after Joseph sat down.
There were some whispers as they tried to figure out why he was late for the fifth time this month. Marc joked with Roy about giving him a tattoo on his ass and Nina turned around in her seat. "Guyyysss. Think we should invite Joseph to lunch?" She asked and Marc shrugged. "I did once. He just flipped me off." He said rolling his eyes.
Joseph ignored them even though he sat right behind them. His eyes flicked to the front of the classroom and saw that it was almost time to leave. He was packing up his stuff as the bell rang and the professor called out Joseph and Marc; wanting them to stay behind. "OooooooHHH." Nina said and giggled with Roy as they left the classroom. Joseph played with a button on his shirt and waited for everyone else to leave.
"You two. Joseph I'm gonna have to call your father if you come late again. So Marc why don't you meet him in the mornings and make sure he get's to his classes on time." The professor announced while Marc's eyes flickered to Joseph. He had stiffened at the mention of his dad and nodded quickly mumbling a "Yes sir." Marc nodded and Joseph walked to the door about to bolt.
Marc grabbed his arm and pulled him to the greenhouse. "We are gonna go over some rules. One do not make me late. Two you will meet me here at 7:00 am every morning. Three. Don't act like an asshole when people try to be friendly." He said and Joseph tore his arm away from Marc. "Don't touch me." He snarled and Marc rolled his eyes.
Joseph ignored him and turned around walking out of the greenhouse. Marc ran out to see if he could yell at him again but Joseph had vanished. He shook his head and realized that while Joseph was tall he weighed nothing. He shook his heads ignoring his thoughts and walked to the cafeteria. He got waved over by Shawn and went to sit down. "So whutcha get in trouble for?" Roy asked and Marc started ranting.
"He fucking made me in charge of Joseph. Like what the fuck. So Joseph fucking try's to bolt but I dragged him to the greenhouse and then he bolted again after I set down rules." Marc yelled and Nina widened her eyes. "He's such a fucking prick no wonder he is always alone." Marc finished and Nina stuttered "He-he's behind you." Marc turned around and he saw Joseph trembling with Marc's notebook in his hands.
He said nothing as Joseph shoved his notebook at him and ran off. "MARC JUST BECAUSE HE CAN BE STANDOFFISH DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO SAY THOSE THINGS." Nina yelled and ran off to go find Joseph. Marc sat in a stunned silence as Shawn and Roy went off to go find Nina. Two kids came over and glared at him. "Why the hell did you see those things about my brother??" The guy said angrily.
Marc shrank back as the girl crossed her arms. "Yes he's standoffish but that's not his fault." The younger girl said and the guy nodded. Marc sat there and had one question on his mind. "Why the hell is he so fucking tall but weighs what feels like less than a hundred?" He snapped and the guys shook his head.
"Just stay away from my brother if you are gonna hurt him." the girl said and they swiftly left. He stood up and left the cafeteria. He went to his room and shut the bathroom door. He rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the razor blade. He pressed it to his skin and quickly drew it deep into his skin. He did this about 10 times on one arm and ten on the other. He threw away the razor and cleaned out the wounds. He put bandages on it. Marc grabbed the bag with the razor in it and went out to throw it in the trash. His sleeves were still rolled up with the bandages on when Marie came around the corner.
"Hey bro. I heard-" She stopped staring at his arms and the blood splotches bleeding through them. "Marc.." She said softly as he turned ignoring her and shut his door. He could hear her outside as she sighed and left. He flopped on his bed and fell into a restless sleep. He awoke to a knock on the door. He opened it looking out to see Nina glaring at him.
"Say sorry." She said and made Joseph move in front of her. His sleeves were still rolled up and Joseph's eyes fell on his arms. He blinked and Marc quickly pulled them down. "Ok I'm sorry. I really am. You just pissed me off with your attitude." He said sincerely and Joseph nodded. "Yeah I know. I'll go away now." He said and turned to walk off. Nina grabbed his arm and pushed past Marc. She pulled him in the room. "Marc here is your roommate."\ Nina said a twinkle in her eye.
She smiled and waved goodbye shutting the door. Neither of them moved for a moment. Joseph wandered to the other bed and went into the drawers. "Hey wait those are someone else's!!" Marc said and Joseph rolled his eyes. "Have you not figured it out. I'm your roommate." Joseph said and undid his hair. Marc blinked and sighed. "I thought she was joking." Marc said and Joseph shook his head.
"Nah I just stay up late for my swim team and get up early to study. Oh and other stuff." He said mumbling the last bit. He went into the bathroom to take a shower. Marc screamed into his pillow and started doing his homework. He turned his head when he saw Joseph. His ribs were poking out of his chest and his collarbone was his chest. His jaw dropped when Joseph just stared at him saying "What???"
"You are literally skin a bones." Marc said and Joseph shrugged. "I ate yesterday. Oh and today." He added going to get a granola bar. He only had on sweatpants which were obviously tied the tightest he could make them. "Are you sure??" Marc said and Joseph nodded munching on the granola bar. He sighed and finished his homework. He changed into another long sleeve shirt but Joseph stopped him.
"Wear this t-shirt." Joseph said throwing him a giant t-shirt. Marc shook his head and threw it to the floor. "Wear it." Joseph growled and clenched his fists. Marc smirked and Joseph tackled him. He grabbed his hair and held him to the ground. Marc gasped for a breath; this tiny kid somehow managed to knock the air out of him.
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