To say he was on edge would be a massive understatement. Jake’s classes had gone well. A little too well. No one had bothered him for two whole days at school. That was, quite literally, a new record since his accident. 

He had a lot of practice at keeping a low profile over the weekend, so he was somehow unscathed for five days straight. There were a lot less magic users in the classes with human teachers, so Jake knew he had less eyes on him, but it also made him a more obvious target. 

Warily walking to his Literature class with his thoughts in a tangle, Jake calmed a little when he saw it was empty. He moved toward the seat of his choice – back row, all the way over – and pulled his messenger bag over his head. 

“Agh!” Jake crashed against the wall when something squeezed his shoulder, half turning to see who had snuck up on him.

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” Damien was standing directly behind him, both hands out as he apologized. “I said ‘hi’ and I thought you had heard me!”

Back pressed against the wall, heart hammering in his throat, Jake could only stare at him as the words slowly registered. 

He wasn’t getting attacked. 

He was safe for the time being. 

After a long moment, he let his guard down a tiny bit. They were early and there were only two other students who had just entered the classroom. 

“It’s all good. Sorry I overreacted,” Jake said quietly, hoping his forced nonchalance was convincing. 

Moving on autopilot, he turned to set up his tablet and pull his notebook out of his bag. He still felt awkward when people watched him and was trying not to show how flustered he felt as he prepared for class. Doodling in the margins of his notebook helped calm him down until Damien’s voice broke into his thoughts again. 

“You’re a lefty, huh?” 

“More like an only,” Jake mumbled before he could stop himself. Realizing he’d said it outloud, he felt his face burn, wishing he could bury himself alive. 

To his surprise, Damien snorted a laugh. He glanced over cautiously, unsure of what to expect. Anticipating a threat at every turn, Jake wasn’t sure how to classify the curiosity playing across Damien's face. The softness of his expression made his heart stutter, feeling safe with someone at school for the first time in a year. 

Damien waited patiently until Jake made full eye contact. “Only? Care to explain?” 

As an answer, Jake twisted his torso so he could wave what was left of his right arm toward Damien. 

“That’s a pretty solid explanation.” Damien looked a little taken aback, but hadn’t reacted past that. 

Tearing his gaze away, Jake tucked his arm against the wall, back where it wasn’t as noticeable. He’d been able to get his two favorite hoodies tailored to fit his arm, sewn right above where his elbow should be, but he still felt self conscious talking to people about it. Even when they did take it as easily as Damien had. 

Damien. Who was really sweet and was going to get hurt because of him. 

“Why are you still talking to me?” he asked in a low voice, not wanting any other students to hear their conversation. 

“Ouch,” Damien replied, melodramatically placing his hand on his chest. “Because I don’t think you actually want to get rid of me.”

“Shh! Not so loud!” Jake hissed under his breath, shooting a panicked glance around the room.

Damien stilled, watching him for a moment, causing Jake to fidget under the scrutiny. Class began, the sounds flowing around them like they had broken into another dimension where they were the only two people in existence. Jake expected Damien to shift his attention to the teacher, but he kept his gaze on Jake throughout the class. It was… odd to feel reassured by attention instead of threatened by it.

After class - wow, he hadn’t focused at all - Damien nodded at him with an easy going smile. 

“Catch ya later, Jake.” He waved as he left the classroom. 

Jake stared after him, unsure how to categorize the array of feelings swirling around in his chest. He repacked his bag in a bit of a daze before heading to his next class. 

Zoning out as he tried to sort through his morning, Jake wasn’t sure who caused the hallway collision. Since it was a magic user, the blame landed squarely on his shoulders and they made their displeasure known quickly and forcibly. 

“Stay out of the way, you useless cripple,” the voice snarled from somewhere above him. 

Cheek pressed against the cold, grimy tile, Jake gritted his teeth, nodding to let them know they’d been acknowledged. He should have seen it coming, but flinched hard against the kick to his rib cage, barely muffling his cry of pain. As the hallway cleared out, he slowly made it to his feet, cupping his hand to catch some of the blood dripping from his nose. 

He found a restroom – thankfully it was empty – and set about cleaning himself up. His cheek was throbbing where the mages’ fist had connected, but doubly so since he’d landed on his face when he hit the ground. A twinge of pain in his shoulder let him know that wasn’t the only place he’d impacted and Jake let out a heavy sigh as he wiped up the last of the blood. 

A noise from outside had him bolting toward the door. He’d found out the hard way that restrooms were prime beating grounds, so he tried not to linger in them. 

It was just a human in the hallway, however, and her eyes seemed to gloss over him like he wasn’t there. He knew he wasn’t worth the humans’ attention anymore, although they didn’t understand why, but it still stung sometimes. He wasn’t just damaged goods – he was worthless, too. 

Sinking into a seat at the back of the classroom, Jake was grateful when the teacher only glared at him and nothing worse. He gently prodded his ribs through his hoodie, wincing at the sting of pain. They weren’t broken, but it would be a hell of a bruise. His face was going to be a lot harder to hide, though, even with his shaggy hair. 

An air of melancholy wrapped around him as replayed the scene in his head. It seemed like last semester was repeating itself no matter what he did.