'Valentines Day - the rose that changed his life' by Sapere aude

hehe
ik vind alle FF's die ze schrijft mooi
zelfs darkroom
en ja, barefoot is zooooo mooi <33
khoop dat ze snel verder met het gevolg van dit verhaal gaat
ik ben nog altijd hypernieuwsgierig <333

xx Chi

ja kga nu eten en dan zalk posten

omg, barefoot is zooo mooi
ik heb door haar verhaal de film gezien (barfuss) en die is ook zoooo mooi
*smelt weg*
*ligt als een plasje op de grond*

xxx

CHAPTER 4: somebody cares
The next morning Bill was a nervous wreck. He had woken up half an hour before his alarm clock would go off. He had tried to go back to sleep but he couldn’t, so he had been lying in bed for thirty minutes trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach. When his alarm clock had gone off, he had literally jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to get ready.

Right now he was sitting at the breakfast table, his feet tapping nervously on the floor.

“Bill, honey, are you all right?” Simone asked, when she noticed Bill drinking out of an empty mug.

“Hm?” He said, looking up at her nervously.

She laughed shaking her head. “Have you got an exam today or something? Why are you so nervous?”

“No… no it’s just-“ His gaze fell onto the clock on the kitchen wall, “-oh! I gotta go!” He jumped, grabbing his bag.

“What? But Bill, it’s early, you have enough time!” Simone called after him.

She heard the front door slam shut and sighed.

***

Bill sat on the pavement in front of the little gate at Tom’s house. His stomach kept turning, his palms were sweating and his heart was racing. He cursed himself for being so shy; he was worried he’d forget how to use his vocal chords when Tom stood in front of him.

It had happened to him before, that time when Tom was the new kid at school. Tom had approached him and introduced himself nicely. Bill had been so surprised and somewhat shocked that someone was talking to him. He had wanted to say something, he really had wanted to, but his voice had seemed to have disappeared that moment. Bill hadn’t known what else to do, than to smile and walk away. That had been the first and last time Tom had ever spoken to him.

‘No,’ Bill thought, ‘the last time was yesterday.’

He couldn’t help but smile.

***

“Bye Mom, bye Dad!” Tom yelled, opening the front door.

“Bye Tom!” His dad replied.

“Have a nice day,” he heard his Mom, before leaving the house.

He closed the big, wooden door behind him and walked down the little path to a small, dark-green gate. He opened the gate and looked up. He stared into a pair of brown eyes with smoky, black eye-shadow surrounding them, and gasped.

Bill nervously played with the hem of his T-Shirt, staring into the pair of surprised, brown eyes before him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came out.

Tom blinked. Once, twice. He couldn’t believe his eyes. What was Bill doing here? How did he know where Tom lived? What did he want from him and why wasn’t he saying anything?

‘Fuck,’ Tom thought. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck. He knows!’

Tom swallowed hard, breaking the eye-contact and closing the gate behind him. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked past Bill.

‘Please don’t follow me,’ Tom thought, picking up his pace. ‘Please don’t ask about the rose.’

Bill stared at Tom walking away, and it hurt a little. He thought Tom wasn’t like the other guys who ignored him. Why had he just walked past him like he wasn’t there?

‘No,’ Bill thought, ‘oh no, you’re not!’

He grabbed his backpack and started jogging towards Tom. He hadn’t gotten that far so it didn’t take Bill long to catch up with him. When he reached him, he slowed down to Tom’s pace and walked beside him, silently.

Tom kept his gaze on his feet and played with the insides of his pockets nervously. What was Bill doing? Why was he following him? What the hell did he want?

Bill’s heart was beating quickly, the butterflies in his stomach were going crazy and his palms were sweating more then ever.

“Hey,” he croaked out louder than he had intended to, finally remembering how to use his voice.

Tom’s head shot up and he looked at Bill, taken aback by his greeting. Tom was sure he had never heard Bill speak to anybody before. Only to teachers, but it rarely happened and Tom really wasn’t used to hearing the black-haired boy’s voice so clearly.

“Um,” Tom replied, not sure about what to say. He was too busy worrying about why Bill was here. He hoped Bill hadn’t figured out who the rose was from, it would make things unnecessarily complicated.

“Was the rose from you,” Bill blurted out, surprising himself.

Tom stopped in his tracks. He felt his face heat up and his heartbeat quickened.

“Wh-what rose?” He stuttered and continued walking. Bill followed.

“On Valentines Day. I- I got a rose and… I recognized your handwriting,” Bill said, suddenly not feeling so shy anymore.

Seeing Tom so nervous seemed to make Bill’s shyness fade away a little.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tom said seriously.

“I can understand why you wouldn’t want to admit it, but I promise I won’t tell anybody.”

Tom smiled a little. Of course Bill wouldn’t tell, because he doesn’t ever talk to anybody. He sighed; he had to get this out of the way somehow.

“Look Bill.” Tom stopped walking as they almost reached the school gates. “I’m glad you received a rose and I hope you’re happy about it, because the person who sent it probably wants you to be. It seems like somebody out there wants to see you smile, and although I think you should smile more often too, the rose wasn’t from me,” he lied.

“I really liked it, it made me happy,” Bill smiled shyly.

Tom’s eyes lit up and he smiled, revealing his white, perfect teeth. “I’m glad that you’re happy about it, but maybe you should tell that to the person who sent it to you,” he said, not able to take the smile off his face. “I’ll see you in class, ok?” He said, and left Bill standing by the gates.

Bill breathed in deeply and then let out a loud sigh.

‘What a liar,’ he thought.

***

People tend to think that Bill was a little naïve. People were sure he would believe anything they told him. He seemed a little stupid too, because he never spoke to anyone, nor defended himself when he got insulted.

People also thought Tom was a little vain. Tom knew he was popular, he knew everybody loved him. People thought he only spoke to certain individuals because only they were cool enough to have his attention.

But Tom was everything else than vain, and Bill was neither naïve nor stupid.

Tom seemed to have forgotten that. He sat at his desk that morning, after the encounter with Bill, and he was sure Bill had believed him. He had to have believed him, because Bill didn’t know that Tom admired him for being the way he was and neither did Bill know any of the other guys in his class properly. Any of them could have sent the rose secretly.

But Bill wasn’t stupid. He had known the guys in his class long enough to know they would never send him a rose to make him happy. They might do it to make fun of him, but usually people didn’t even bother to make fun of Bill, because he wasn’t worth it. Bill knew how they thought of him, and he knew that Tom was different. The rose must have been from Tom. The handwriting, the drawing, Tom’s reaction when Bill had mentioned it and the fact that Tom seemed to be the only person who actually knew and remembered the black-haired boy’s name pointed out that it must be from him.

Bill was happy that the rose was from Tom. He couldn’t say that he was entirely sure it was from Tom, but he was almost sure, and that was enough to make him happy for the moment. However, it did hurt Bill a little that Tom wouldn’t admit it. Was it really that bad to have made the school freak happy? Tom should know that it would stay a secret if Bill knew, so why couldn’t he just admit it? If he had sent the rose to any girl he would have admitted it, Bill was sure of that. It did make Bill a little sad.

Tom watched Bill out of the corner of his eye. Knowing that Bill was happy because of the rose had made his day. But it still worried him that Bill had so easily figured out who it was from. However, he had cleared things up and Bill must have believed him, so he had nothing to worry about. But there was still and annoying feeling nagging at his insides. He had lied to Bill, in his face, and it made him feel a little guilty. Tom wasn’t the type of person who lied to people. He always spoke his mind and he always did his thing. He didn’t care what other people thought of him and whatever he did or said, everyone liked him anyway so there really wasn’t a need to lie about anything. So why did he lie to Bill about the rose? Why couldn’t he just admit it? He didn’t want Bill to think that he wasn’t admitting it because he didn’t want anybody else to find out. Because Tom didn’t care what others thought. He knew that if people found out he had sent Bill a red rose, they would gasp and turn away from him. They would probably start treating him like Bill. He didn’t really care though, ‘cause he’d still have Georg, and possibly Bill.

Tom really admired Bill. The dread-head knew he’d always have Georg by his side, Georg knew everything about him anyway and he knew everything about Georg. But Bill had no one. Bill was a lonely outcast and he wasn’t treated nicely by other students, yet he came to school everyday, being himself. He never changed who he was; he had stayed true to himself all these years, and Tom admired him for it.

‘It must be so hard,’ Tom thought, ‘especially if no one likes you the way you are.’

Bill deserved to know that not everybody thought he was a freak. He deserved to know that there actually were people who liked him the way he was, who admired him for what he was.

‘Maybe I should tell him,’ Tom thought. He knew that Bill would be even happier if he knew exactly who had sent him the rose. He could explain to Bill why he had done it and why he wanted to see him smile. Maybe this way, he could help Bill build up his self-esteem a little. ‘It’s the least I can do,’ Tom thought.

***

At lunch time Bill sat in his usual cubicle again. He sat and stared at Tom’s drawings, nibbling at his sandwich. He had examined the doodle on his rose tag often enough to be 100% sure that it was the same one he was staring at right now. He was also sure that it was the same one he had seen on Tom’s homework.

Tom can deny it as much as he wants. But Bill was sure he had sent it. He really couldn’t think of anybody else who’d have done it. He had proof enough to know who it was from.

‘It must be from Tom,’ he thought, ‘it must be.’

***

Later that day, when school had finished, Bill approached his locker to put the books he wouldn’t need at home away.

Tom watched him from a safe distance. He saw Bill take out another bag from his locker, and heave it over his shoulders.

‘Why did Bill keep a second bag in his locker?’ Tom asked himself, furrowing his eyebrows.

He watched how Bill organized the inside of his locker a little and then shut it. When the black-haired boy turned around, he walked into a big guy and stumbled backwards, almost falling from the force. Tom watched as the guy turned around and scrunched up his face.

“What the fuck?!” The guy exclaimed, eyeing Bill. He turned around, looking for someone. “Hey Ben,” he yelled, “Check out this freak!” He laughed, pointing at Bill.

Bill’s head hung low as he clutched his bags tightly to his chest.

“Oh my God,” Tom heard Ben yell. “He’s wearing make-up, what the fuck!?” He laughed, now also pointing at Bill.

One after one the students turned to look what these guys were laughing at. When they saw Bill, they joined in.

Tom clenched his fists. ‘What the fuck is Ben’s problem?’ He thought. ‘Bill’s been wearing make-up for fucking years, how could he have not noticed until now?’ Tom didn’t understand. 'They do it on purpose he thought,' he thought, 'they fucking do it on purpose.' He couldn’t believe how ignorant human beings could be. It hurt him to see Bill in a situation like this. Bill obviously didn’t like the attention he was getting and Tom noticed that he was freaking out. He couldn’t watch this any longer.

Bill could feel a lump form in his throat, but he wasn’t going to cry. Not in front all of these people. He held onto his bags tightly, letting out a shaky breath. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? Why couldn’t they just ignore him and pretend he wasn’t there like they always do?

Bill looked up, scared of what he saw. Never had so many people looked at him at once. He scanned the crowd, looking at the people. It wasn’t that many actually. About eight people had turned to look and laugh at Bill, but it was more than enough to scare him. He had heard about how some people get beaten up at school if others don’t like them. He had always considered himself lucky, because it had never happened to him. Sometimes he thought he was lucky that people just ignored him rather than let out their anger on him. But whenever things like this happened, whenever people’s attention was on him, he got scared that things would change, scared that he’d get beaten up like the people he had heard about.

He scanned the crowd once more and suddenly saw a dreadlocked head coming towards them. ‘Oh no,’ he thought, ‘no, no, no, no.’ He really didn’t want Tom to see him in a situation like this, it was embarrassing enough already.

Tom pushed through the small crowd, trying to get to Bill. He wouldn’t let these people treat him that way. But when Tom came to stand next to the big guy at the front, he stared at an empty space. Bill had gone.

“Where did Bill go?” he asked.

“Who?” The big guy said, arching an eyebrow.

“The guy you were laughing at,” Tom said through gritted teeth. He really felt like punching this guy, but he had to control himself.

“Oh the freak?” He grinned. “He ran off. Probably crying, that wimp,” He laughed, exposing his crooked teeth.

Tom pushed past him without hesitation and made his way to the exit.

Meanwhile Bill left the school premises in a hurry. He was glad no one followed him, because if they caught up with him they might beat him up. Bill was terrified about getting beaten up, he was sure it would happen someday.

Little did he know that someone did follow him; someone who wouldn’t beat him up for anything in the world.

Someone who’d stand up for him instead.

oh got dees is zooooo moooooi... damn....

omg...
zo erg!
kmoe der echt van wenen...

meer bitte

x

hehe, ik krijg er geen genoeg van dees te lezen egt geweldig

deez verhaal is echt super hea!

xxxx

Spoiler:

kheb em ook al volledig geleze ^^
em is zo mooi ^^

hijs super mooi
en het mooiste eraan is...ER KOMT EEN VERVOLG :D:D:D

xx Chi

idd ^^

like, heeft iedereen em al geleze op da ander forum? xD dan ga k hem hie niet meer posten hea xD

xxx

van mii mag ge um hier nog posten hoor, kan ik alles weer opnieuw lezen ^^ das leuk ^^

*miss btj dubieus maarja...*

xx Chi

gehe xD oke dan ^^
zo lees ik hem zelf ook nog eens voor de 483ste keer xD

xxx

5 HIS PERSON

Bill didn’t seem to notice Tom following him. He was too lost in thought. Thinking about the people at school, why they treated him the way they did, and about Tom and whether he had seen what had happened back at the lockers or not. He really hoped Tom hadn’t seen any of it, because he didn’t want Tom to see just how unpopular he was. Of course Tom already knew that people at school didn’t like him, but he would be embarrassed if Tom witnessed one of the situations in which people reminded Bill of just how unpopular he actually was. He didn’t want Tom to see him being so pathetic and helpless.

Bill didn’t care about what other people thought of him or said to him, but he did care about Tom, because he liked Tom. He wasn’t sure about just how much he liked Tom, but he liked him.

When they almost reached Tom’s house, instead of carrying on walking the direction towards his own house, Bill took a right turn and crossed the road instead.

Tom stopped, eyeing the situation curiously. Where was Bill going? There were no houses on that side of the street, he couldn’t possibly live there. When Tom saw Bill walk into the field on the right side of the road, he arched and eyebrow and followed. He ran across the road and slowed down as he entered the field.

Bill must have been deeply lost in thought if he hadn’t noticed Tom by now. The dread-head wasn’t exactly keeping a large distance between them, and his steps weren’t silent either.

‘Where is he going?’ Tom thought, as he followed Bill across the field.

The grass looked green and fresh and once in a while he came across beautiful blooming flowers. Tom could see one single tree in the distance. It looked like an almond tree.

They walked for a while, until Tom realized that Bill was heading towards the tree. He stopped and watched Bill put down his bags next to it. Tom saw him open the bag he had gotten out of his locker before, and pull out a thin black blanket.

The dread-head furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he watched the scene before him.

Bill spread out the blanket at the foot of the tree and lay down on it, staring into the sky. He did this whenever he felt like getting away from everything. Sometimes he’d stay by the tree, gazing into the sky, until it got dark and then he’d count the stars. During the day, he watched the birds sore around in the sky, like now. He lay his hands on his stomach and let his mind run free. He thought about everything that was keeping him busy and awake at night.

Right now he thought about Tom. He didn’t even care anymore whether Tom had sent him the rose or not, because even if he hadn’t, he was still nice to him. This morning, when Tom had tried to convince him that the rose hadn’t been from him, he had been so kind. He had said that he was happy for Bill and that he thought he should smile more often.

A smile appeared on Bill’s lips almost immediately.

He didn’t know why Tom was being so nice to him, but he didn’t think there should have to be a reason either. Maybe Tom was just a nice person who didn’t mind the way Bill dressed.

When Tom had first come to school, Bill had noticed that Tom was different right away. First he had thought that people would treat Tom the way they treated him, because they had looked at him like he was a freak. Tom was different to the other guys, just the way Bill was different. They both had their own style, just that Tom’s style seemed to be considered as cool, and Bill’s wasn’t. Bill’s was considered as weird and gay.

The black-haired boy sighed.

After the first school year together with Tom, Bill had actually been kind of sad that Tom ignored him the way the others did. He knew that it was probably his fault, because he hadn’t talked to Tom that time he tried speaking to Bill. But he had hoped Tom would try again, because he had developed a little crush on the dread-head.

Bill wouldn’t say he was gay. He had found girls to be pretty before, but guys could be pretty too, right? He still thought Tom was good looking, even if his crush on him had disappeared with time. He also thought Tom was pretty. He had pretty, rather feminine eyes, delicate, full lips and long fingers.

Yes, Tom was definitely pretty. And he was nice. He didn’t completely ignore him like other people did and he said nice things to Bill. He was definitely nice and Bill liked it. Bill liked him.

Tom stood a few metres away from Bill, not quite sure of what to do. Bill had just been lying there since they arrived. ‘Maybe he fell asleep,’ Tom thought.

Taking a deep breath, Tom took the few steps towards Bill, until he stood in front of him. Bill was awake, but he didn’t move. He didn’t even look at Tom; he just carried on staring into the sky with a faint smile on his face.

Tom pulled his hands out of his pants and sat down on the blanket, next to Bill. The silence between them wasn’t an uncomfortable one, it was just… there.

Bill kept his gaze on the sky. He had had the feeling that someone had followed him, but he had been too scared to look back. He was glad it was Tom, and somehow he had already known it was him. Finally, Bill turned his head to look at the dreadlocked boy. He was staring right back.

After a few minutes of silence, Tom sighed heavily. “I want to see you smile today, Bill. Ps. I thought your locker would be more original than the box,” he broke the silence, somehow feeling dumb.

Bill cracked a smile. “I know,” he said.

“You know what?”

“I know the rose was from you, even if you tried to deny it,” he answered, shifting his gaze back towards the sky.

Tom scanned Bill’s face and mentally traced his soft features. He followed Bill’s gaze and lay down next to him.

“How come you were so sure? Some guys in our class have really similar handwriting to mine you know,” he said.

“I know,” Bill answered, “But only you draw that little squiggly drawing whenever you doodle around. I saw it on the tag of my rose, in the boy’s washroom and on your homework.”

Tom stayed silent. He hadn’t even realized he’d drawn his signature doodle on the rose tag. Somehow he was glad he had, because if he hadn’t, Bill wouldn’t have found out who the rose was from and they wouldn’t be lying here now. They probably wouldn’t even have ever spoken to each other.

“Why are you so nice to me?” Bill asked, watching a small bird trying to keep up with the other bigger ones.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Tom answered.

Bill shrugged, “Because everyone usually ignores me.”

“I’m not everyone.”

Bill smiled.

Another silence followed. Only for a few short minutes, until Bill broke it.

”I’m sorry I didn’t reply that day you spoke to me,” he said, not expecting Tom to remember.

“I’m sorry I never gave it a second try,” Tom replied.

Bill shook his head, smiling, and closed his eyes.

“What?” Tom asked.

“Nothing, I just- I can’t believe you’re actually here, talking to me,” he said softly.

“I can’t believe you’re actually talking back.”

Bill laughed. It wasn’t a loud laugh, but it was the very first laugh Tom had ever heard coming out of Bill’s mouth.

“I’ve never heard you laugh before,” Tom said, a little surprised.

Bill sighed, keeping his eyes shut. “I don’t usually have anything to laugh about.”

“I’m sorry,” Tom said, looking back at the sky.

“Don’t be,” Bill replied quietly.

Suddenly Tom felt bad. Bill was such a nice person, so friendly and interesting; he didn’t deserve to be treated the way he was at school. If people would only stop being so ignorant they would be able to actually see Bill for who he was, and they would like him. Because it was impossible to not like a person as nice and interesting as Bill was.

“How do you do it?” Tom suddenly said, sitting up and looking at Bill.

Bill opened his eyes and looked up at Tom. “Do what?” He asked a little confused.

“How do you handle the way people treat you? How can you live through everyday and still be the way you are?”

“The way I am?” Bill arched an eyebrow.

“So interesting and friendly and… not… depressed and… bitter… or whatever. How can you not hate the world for treating you the way it does?” He asked, gesturing with his hands.

Bill looked back at the sky, thinking.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “It’s just the way I am, and I’m not going to change just because some people can’t handle someone being different. I believe that someday somebody will see me, and not think I’m a freak. They’ll accept me the way I am and they won’t care about what others think. They’ll love me for me and they’ll be my person” Bill smiled at the thought.

Tom stared at Bill. He couldn’t help but think that maybe he was kind of Bill’s person. Just a little.

Bill closed his eyes again and Tom observed his face. He looked so delicate and fragile from the outside, but Tom was sure that Bill must be the strongest person he had ever met.

“Can I kiss you?” He blurted out, shocking himself.

Bill opened his eyes, taken aback.

“Sorry I- I didn’t-“

“Yes,” Bill whispered, interrupting Tom.

“What?” Tom asked, surprised.

Bill turned his head to look at Tom, and Tom understood. He nodded, leaning forward a little as Bill closed his eyes. His heart was racing and his mind went blank. He didn’t know why he had asked that and he didn’t know what he was doing, but he didn’t care.

His face was hovering just above Bill’s. Their breaths were mixing and they could smell each other’s scents.

‘He smells so good,’ both of them thought.

Finally, Tom shut his eyes and closed the distance between them.

A firework exploded inside of Bill when soft lips touched his own. His heart was beating furiously behind his ribcage and he was breathing heavily.

Never had another pair of lips touched his own before, and it was a shame, because this must be the most beautiful thing he had ever felt.

Bill let out a shaky sigh against Tom’s lips. Their lips only lay on each other, ever so softly, but it was enough to sent jolts of electricity through both their bodies.

Tom applied pressure, placing a proper, moist kiss on Bill’s full lips. It only lasted a few seconds before he pulled back, stood up, and left without looking back.

Bill kept his eyes closed, his lips slightly parted. He noticed Tom’s absence, but the feeling of the dread-head’s lips was still there. He lifted a finger to his lips and touched them, feeling the butterflies in his stomach go crazy.

-

Tom ran through the deep, green grass, holding his pants up tightly. His heart beating furiously.

His backpack was still at school, by his locker, but he didn’t care. He’d leave it there until tomorrow. At the moment he only cared about one thing. About what had just happened. He didn’t know what had gotten into him and he didn’t know why he had done it, yet he was smiling. He ran through the field, towards his house, smiling to himself. He was smiling because now he was sure:

He was Bill’s person.

das egt zon mooi stukkie ^^ vin ik het mooiste stukkie van het hele verhaal eignlk xD de eerste kus...

joycie_ke schreef:ja kga nu eten en dan zalk posten

omg, barefoot is zooo mooi
ik heb door haar verhaal de film gezien (barfuss) en die is ook zoooo mooi
*smelt weg*
*ligt als een plasje op de grond*

xxx

waar hebt gij dien film dan gezien? want das toch nen duitse??? kwil die ook ziiiieeeeen!!

ik HEB die film thuis
ne maat van mij heeft die n keer gedownload vr mij
swel me engelse ondertitels, ma as ge wilt moogt ge em wel ne keer lenen
(na Lari dan wel xD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_0FyXBrCV8

echt n supermooie film

xxx

ah en waar download ge die??misschien kannek da dan zelf doen, en zo nie..
O.O =D ik lene jajajaaa *jumps up and down*
LARIIIIIIIII??? gaan we em dan same kijke ^^ is veeeeeel leuker =D

hehe
ik heb GEEN idee waar ge die download, zoals ik zei, n maat van mij heeft die voor mij gedownload
ik weet wel nie of ge die op de tv ga kunnen zien, want das zo n divx, sommige dvd's spelen die af, en sommige nie
dusja

xxx

ah mah dan kunne we em bij mij thuis zien, eh larii??? ik kijk nl alt mn dvds op de pc want ik eb geen dvd speler xD

aa voila
kzal em meepakke op de forummeeting of op wb
wat eerste is xD

xxx

ik vrees wb mah das nog zo laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang O.O

nene we zumme wel ies nert stad kome ^^ (??)

aah ja cava xD ook goed vr mij
xxx

magk mee komen kijken??

x

ps, weiteren me da verhaal
(kheb em wel al ies 2 x gelezen, ma hij is super!!)

twee keer nogmaar? xD

xxx