Walking into the Lit classroom, Jake couldn’t hold back his smile seeing Damien had beat him there. They were usually the only two in the room for a solid ten minutes before anyone else showed up. Jake wondered if Damien did it for all his classes or just this one. 

“It is too early,” Damien groaned, half answering Jake’s unspoken question. 

“You could have slept a bit longer,” Jake mentioned, now more curious than ever.

Damien was suddenly very interested in the desk. “Then I wouldn’t get a chance to chat with you.” 

In the middle of unpacking his bag, Jake’s entire face flushed and he dropped his notebook. He leaned down to pick it up, cringing at the pain shooting through his rib cage. When he straightened, Damien was tense, staring ahead at the front of the room with his jaw clenched. 

Biting his lip at Damien’s odd reaction, Jake remembered too late that his lip hadn’t healed. He grimaced as he felt a trickle of blood hit his tongue, the coppery taste a bitter reminder of everything outside this room. Setting up his tablet in silence, he turned back to Damien, surprised to find him staring rather intently. 

“You have the e-book?” Damien asked. His tone seemed very… neutral. 

“Yeah. It’s, umm, easier. For me.” Jake felt the heat rise in his cheeks again. What was going on with him this morning? 

“That makes sense. Hadn’t thought about that.” 

“Last semester was a learning curve,” Jake said quietly.

Tilting his head, Damien opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He ran his fingers through his hair before meeting Jake’s gaze head on. “Was that recent?” he asked hesitantly, motioning towards Jake’s missing right arm. 

He’d seen where the conversation was heading and had braced himself for the typical discomfort, but it never came. Damien was just so easy to talk to – and he wasn’t being weird about anything. Another unanticipated moment of sweetness. 

“Yeah, last year.” Jake’s voice barely came out. Even if Damien was being kind, the memories still caused him to choke up. 

“I’m sorry—” 

“Please don’t,” Jake cut him off, throat still tight. He shot Damien a ghost of a smile, relieved when Damien didn’t balk at his obvious grief. 

The first few people began trickling into the classroom and Jake immediately dropped his gaze, pressing himself against the wall. Damien waited until class had begun to pass a note over. 

Why do you do that?

     Do what?

Push yourself so far away. 

Jake worried his lip – tasting blood yet again. His ribs were screaming in protest from how hard he’d tensed at the question. Damien was way too observant for his own good. But if he kept up this friendship… He’d seen what happened to people that tried to be close to him. 

Entirely unsure how to respond, Jake peered down, but the note was gone. Damien slid it back a moment later. 

Don’t answer if you’re not comfortable. I was just curious :) 

The warmth that filled his chest almost brought tears to his eyes. Damien gave him a tiny smile, then turned his face toward the professor, making it clear he didn’t expect a reply. 

For the last year, Jake felt like it was him against the world. But these days, though it barely seemed real, it felt like Damien had his back. 

————————

Jake was pissed. He was going to be late for his next class. 

Again. 

Apparently he needed to find a new route between his Lit and Accounting class because this was prime time for him to be accosted. 

The tile offered no protection as he curled into himself. He vainly attempted to protect his face and ribs, but the blows kept coming, wearing him down until his senses blurred from the overwhelming onslaught of pain. 

At least it was after Lit class or Damien would be really upset.

A well-aimed kick to his back made his whole leg go numb and he flinched, coming back to the real world with a sickening jolt. 

His attackers finally dispersed, yelling insults back at his huddled form. Dragging himself to his feet, Jake took a few seconds to breathe through the pain before limping to class. 

The unfairness of the situation grated against him for the thousandth time. He was just trying to finish college. But this had to stop or he wasn’t going to survive. 

————————

Doing everything he could to keep from limping, Jake flinched at the impact of every step. If he showed any weakness, the magic users would descend upon him like hungry wolves. 

He just had to make it through these last two classes – and the hallways in between – and he would be free for the weekend. Free for the coffee meetup with Damien in a couple days. 

Damien had afternoon classes on Tuesday and Thursday, while Jake had all morning classes this semester. It would be unlikely to run into him, but it didn’t stop Jake from hoping. 

It only took a moment of spacing out for Jake to realize his mistake. A fist connected with his stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs. 

“Idiot,” they called back, not even slowing down as he gasped and coughed. 

Jake kept moving, carefully feeling his stomach as he went. One more bruise to add to the collection, but he couldn’t stop to verify. Sitting ducks made easy targets. 

————————

Leaning against the inside of his dorm room door, Jake couldn’t find it within himself to care that Tom was glaring at him. He’d only had one other minor incident – by his standards – and now he was done for the week. As long as he was careful on campus, he was safe for three days. 

It was only 2pm, but Jake was exhausted to his core. He kicked off his shoes and padded over to his bunk. Gently sliding into bed, his attempt to avoid the worst of his bruises was an epic failure. Taking a calming breath – not so deep to hurt his ribs – Jake let himself relax and fade into sleep.