The Jock and the Nerd—Soulmates?!?

Chase and Jacob took Milo to the bathroom, but when most eyes were out of sight… Jacob threw Milo to the ground and kicked him in the gut. Hard.

Hunter was counting down the seconds until he thought he could go in. Time seemed to stretch into infinity as he waited for the clock to tick by so it wouldn’t seem too coincidental that him and Milo came in at the same time. After a good amount of time, Hunter just got too impatient and headed in towards the school with a small smile on his face. That is, until he went into the bathroom by the main office and didn’t find Milo there. He frowned a little, then went to go look for his at his locker.

Milo groaned after the kick. The wind had been knocked out of him and it wasn't helping that his breath was very fast. He started coughing while curling up on the floor, holding his stomach. He closed his eyes waiting for the next thing to happen. This was definitely not what Milo had in mind for this morning.

Chase launched a kick aiming for Milo’s chest, but kicking wasn’t exactly a precise way to bully someone, and Chase ended up kicking Milo square on the nose. Jacob, meanwhile, sent a kick into Milo’s gut again.

Hunter made it to Milo’s locker, his frown growing when Milo wasn’t there. He pulled out his phone.
Where r u?
He tapped his foot on the ground, trying to tell himself that Milo probably just passed him in the hall and they just missed each other.

Coughing, even more, Milo was having trouble breathing properly. His nose was bleeding onto the floor, he feared it was broken, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. He tasted bile in his throat but he somehow swallowed it back. Feeling a buzz come from his back pocket, he sighed ever so slightly. It must be Hunter wondering where he is, but there was no chance he would be able to respond with Jacob and Chase right there. A small pool of blood from his nose was now on the tile floor, that wouldn't be fun to clean up…

It was right then, Hunter almost felt it. Just this wave unease throughout his body. And then his feet started moving, as if they already knew where to go. ‘Moving’ meaning basically running, until his feet carried him to the bathroom. When he opened the door and saw the scene lay out in front of him, at first he felt nothing. Then a very, very cold rage came upon him like a title way, and he didn’t hesitate when he ran in and threw a punch at Jacob, who quickly fell back a few steps -stunned- and slammed Chase up against the wall. “You don’t ever touch him again,” He said in a voice that didn’t quite sound like his own because it was just so icy and filled with pure anger.

Hearing a commotion, Milo hesitantly opened his eyes, a shallow sigh mixed with a cough came out of his mouth. A wave of relief washed over him. He relaxed a little, but he was still curled up in pain. Milo didn't feel like he could move without being in even greater pain.

Chase looked at Hunter open mouthed, but before he even said anything, Jacob grabbed Hunter by the shoulders and pulled him away, “What are you f-cking doing, a—hole?” Jacob demanded, but his answer was clear when he looked down at Hunter’s glowing chest.
“You don’t ever lay a hand on him again,” Hunter growled, his voice still filled with cold rage.
After a moment that seemed like an eternity, Chase and Jacob started walking out of the bathroom, but not before Jacob ground out, “Watch your back, a—hole.”
When they finally left, Hunter whipped around and fell on his knees beside Milo and grabbed him and held him to his chest, his panic clear in his voice when he asked, “Areyouokayareyouokayareyouokay?” There’s so much blood…

"I… I t-think so…" Milo was shaking a little and his heartbeat seemed to be beating ten times faster than Hunter's. His nose was still bleeding and now into Hunter's shirt. His chest was glowing a cold glow, it seemed to change between warm and cold in different situations. The bell rang, making Milo flinch a little, but he didn't move any more than that.

“We don’t have to go to first hour, I’m taking you to the nurse,” Hunter told him firmly, but there was a clear panic behind his eyes. Milo… my Milo… He got hurt, all because I thought it would be better to go in the school at different times… “Do you feel okay enough for me to pick you up?” He asked softly, desperately wishing this was all some bad dream.

Milo nodded. Wrapping his arms around Hunter, he took a sharp breath. He sniffed back some blood causing him to cough more. He looked up at Hunter, attempting a small smile. "T-thanks…"

Hunter gathering Milo into his arms, trying to be gentle and tender as possible as he stood and start speed walking in the direction of the office. A few people going to class staring as Hunter went by, but he didn’t pay them any attention. His only focus was his soulmate in his arms, in pain. Hunter vowed to never let it happen again.

Milo winced a little as he was lifted. He wasn't moving much more than breathing, not wanting another spike of pain. He didn't notice any of the people wandering the halls and he certainly didn't notice their stares. Just a moment later they were in the office being taken to the nurse.

Hunter charged in the office, greeted by a secretary, “Oh, what can I- Oh gosh, Karen! Oh my gosh-“
The nurse came rushing out with a gasp, “Oh my! Bring him in here, I need bandages,” The nurse led Hunter into the sick room, which had a few beds for students to lay out on. Hunter’s chest was illuminating the room even before the nurse flicked on the lights and grabbed a first aid kit.
“I’m gonna set you down, love, but I’ll be right here the whole time,” Hunter promised, gently lowering Milo’s onto one of the beds.

Milo nodded slightly, letting go of Hunter. He relaxed a little on the bed but he couldn't really relax since he was still in a lot of pain. Jacob and Chase had done a real deal on him, worse than Hunter ever did.

The nurse quickly went to work on Milo, but Hunter maneuvered around the bed out of the nurse’s way so he could hold Milo’s hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time,” He murmured softly, concern etching in every feature.

"No… no… you don't need to be sorry…" Milo gripped Hunter's hand back. He winced a little as the nurse did something.

“It was my fault, I said we should go in at different times and-“ Hunter was cut off by the principal entering the room.
“What happened? Hunter Kemp, I want to see you in my office,” The principal said sternly, looking at Milo and the blood that was on Hunter’s shirt.
“I’m not leaving,” Hunter stood his ground. There wasn’t a chance he’d leave Milo’s side.

"No… you should go. It must be important, if not then it wouldn't be the principal. Besides, you would just be in the next room." Milo glanced from Hunter to the principal, then to the nurse. He was always a follower of authority so he would have easily left to talk with the principal.

“I don’t want to leave,” Hunter told him softly, his voice weak for once. He wouldn’t leave this time, especially since this time it was Milo. And ever since that one moment years ago, he vowed never to leave his loved one alone when they were in pain. Hunter looked back to the principal, saying stubbornly, “You can talk to me here.”
The principal sighed, frowning a bit but moving to sit on the couch. He glanced at Milo again, “I suppose that would be okay. I did need to talk to you too anyways, because of all this,” The principal nodded to Milo, “So what exactly happened here?” He gestured to the blood flowing from Milo’s nose, which the nurse was currently trying to fix.

"I…" Milo looked up at Hunter again before continuing. "I was at my locker and um… Jacob and Chase, they shoved me into the bathroom…" He took a breath, accidentally breathing in some blood, coughing it up immediately after. The coughing made him shrink back a bit in pain. His grip on Hunter's hand tightened.

The nurse quickly shushed Milo, giving a look to the principal as she quickly tried to prop Milo’s head up, then finally offering some pain medicine.
Hunter squeezed Milo’s hand, looking at the principal, “I wanted to meet up with Milo before school started, and I couldn’t find him. And then I went to the bathroom, and I saw them,” Hunter clenched his hand that wasn’t holding on to Milo, trying to contain his anger at his former friends. “They were kicking Milo, Chase -or Jacob, I can’t remember- kicked him in the face. I stopped them.” Hunter clenched his teeth, his chest glowing fiercely. Not quite in a soft way.

Milo nodded, taking the pain medicine. He must have really been out of it at that point because he already seemed to feel a bit better. His nose had stopped bleeding finally, some dried around the edges. Relaxing a bit, Milo closed his eyes and his hand loosened just a bit. He was definitely going to have some major bruising.

The principal eyed Hunter distrustfully. “I know you two are,” The man glanced between Milo and Hunter’s chests, “soulmates, but Hunter, even you know you have a bad track record. Especially with how your dad-“
“Shut up,” Hunter quickly interrupted before the man went on. “Just- I just wouldn’t hurt Milo. Not any more. This one was just Chase and Jacob.”

The medicine didn't seem to just make the pain disappear it also made Milo extremely tired. He heard the conversation, processing it very slowly. A few minutes later, Milo responded, "Yeah… he would… neverdo… anything like that…" He was out of it… it was possible the fatigue was also due to the adrenaline disappearing and his body realizing what had happened.

Hunter glanced at Milo, his expression filled with concern. “Okay,” The principal gave in -probably for Milo’s sake- though he still seemed unconvinced, “Well, we’ll have to hear Chase and Jacob’s side of the story-“
“He’s f-ckin’ covered in blood, how could you possibly believe Chase and Jacob might be innocent!” Hunter exclaimed angrily, glancing down at Milo. Those two got away with too many things, even before Hunter was Milo’s soulmate he had thought it was unfair. Only now it really mattered.
“Hunter, I know you’re upset but you’re going to need to change your shirt and go back to class now and let Milo rest-“
“I am not leaving him, I don’t care if you give me a million more detentions. I’m staying.”
The principal looked like he would say some other retort, but the nurse gave him another look and pointed him out of the room. After a moment of hesitation, the old man sighed and walked out leaving Hunter, Milo, and the nurse in the room.

No matter how hard Milo fought it, he ended up falling asleep on the bed. His hand still holding Hunter's. His chest was still glowing, probably dreaming about Hunter again.

Hunter was glad the principal was finally gone, and his gaze and chest softened when he turned his attention back to Milo. At least he wasn’t in so much pain that he could sleep.
“Are you going to make use of yourself or are you going to just sit there and ogle at him?” The nurse asked, and Hunter was about to glare at her until he saw the twinkle of humor in her eye. She held up a can of ointment. “Put that on his bruises, it’ll help them hurt less when he wakes up.”
Hunter quickly took the ointment with a nod, and the nurse left the room probably because she knew Hunter wanted to be alone with Milo, even though the latter was asleep. Hunter gentle tugged off Milo’s shirt, tears almost welling up in his eyes when he saw the damage Chase and Jacob did to Milo. His sweet Milo… Hunter didn’t hesitate to delicately rub in the ointment over each bruise.
After he was done, he tucked the can on a nearby shelf. He waited for the ointment to soak in and dry before laying Milo’s shirt over his chest—he didn’t want to risk waking his love by attempt to put the shirt back on him all the way. Then Hunter got himself comfortable and waited by Milo’s side, stilling holding his hand, until however long it would take for Milo to wake up again.

Maybe 30 minutes later, Milo's eyes slowly lifted. He blinked a little, remembering where he was. Turning his head, he saw Hunter and smiled. "Hey…" He tried to sit up, wincing immediately and shrinking back down. He felt his hand still in Hunter's, he tightened his grip a little.

Hunter was quickly at attention when Milo woke up. “Hey Milo, how are you feeling?” He asked softly, gently giving Milo’s hand a squeeze. He reached up and brushed a little bit of Milo’s hair away from his face too.

"I… I'm not completely sure… I think I'm okay though." He noticed his shirt not completely on. "What's going on with this?" He asked referring to the shirt.