the words are broken from his lips like a plea for salvation. he’s not even sure why his voice is so loud – it just IS. his chest feels like a cobra is wrapped tightly around him, constricting his muscles && forcing him to fight against this invisible tether that seemed to coil around his heart & lungs. he hadn’t wanted anyone to FIND him. no one wanted to break down at school – much less someone with a reputation to protect. he’d found an empty classroom with no one in the surrounding rooms for a while. everyone was at lunch. or, at least they wereSUPPOSED TO BE. seemed that brittany had wandered off with santana or anyone else during the hour break.
his sobbing was broken; pulling at this throat & straining his red a shade of red that didn’t quite fit his complexion. that was the least of his worries. when brittany came into the room, he’s sprang from his seat on the floor & swiped at his face like a toddler, trying desperately to look like he wasn’t sad. he wasn’t ALLOWED to be sad. he knew that. he backs up when she comes towards him, his chest not quite released from the vice grips. he can’t handle her actually trying to comfort her — BRITTANY PEIRCE, of all people. he was here, broken up about his life choices & lack of a future to look forward to. he wasn’t good enough for college, his father was a drug addict, && his only possible future was being a grease monkey for the rest of his life, like burt. nothing he WANTED. brittany wasn’t even graduating. compared to her, he had nothing to complain about ———– still, that only made him more resilient to keep her away from him; allow him to w a l l o w in his own self doubt & pity without having to remind himself that others had it worse than him.