Our Colliding Orbits: Chapter 1

Author’s Note

Dear reader,

Welcome to my story. 

Each chapter will consist of a first person perspective, unless it is a narrator perspective. It will mainly be the two main characters but there will occasionally be side characters. I will upload a chapter each issue, so once every two weeks. The writing will be in the form of a poem but still a continuous story. Every part of this story is completely original, except for possible references to lyrics or quotes. 

Before you start reading, I have to warn you of a few things that may provoke certain people. They won’t necessarily come up every part. But they will be there at some point in the book. 

I will list all trigger warnings below, for future reference. However, I am writing it part by part, so there will be some that aren’t mentioned here. I will definitely put a TW at the beginning of each chapter for anything that I think might concern anyone, whether it is mentioned here or not. Please don’t feel pressured by anyone to read any section if you believe it will influence your mental health. 

  • Verbal, physical, and psychological abuse
  • Bullying/harassment 
  • References to/implied self-harm 
  • References to/implied eating disorders
  • Homophobia 
  • Mental disorders

I hope you enjoy my work. 

I’ll try not to make it too traumatizing!

Love, 

Your anonymous writer 


TW: minor implied self harm, implied physical abuse, verbal bullying/harassment.

olivia

the first person i notice is a boy 

a boy with sunken cheekbones 

dark circles under his eyes 

long dark hair 

that falls over his face

a black band t-shirt 

clings to his slender figure 

navy blue cargo pants 

held up by a brown leather belt

he’s wearing 

loosely applied concealer 

attempting to cover 

the bruises on his tan skin

spreading from his neck to his face

his lower lip is swollen 

faded cuts line his slim wrists 

showing under his bracelets

i want to help him

but i know he won’t accept it 

as easily as anyone else would

i’m a stranger to him

no one else has kept his trust

why would i

he drags his dirty converse

across the floor

through the crowded hallway 

little designs with sharpie

scribbled onto them

he’s slumped over 

his posture is begging 

to get out of this place 

where he can’t be free

kids linger around him 

reuniting with their friends

struggling to open metal lockers

shuffling their feet 

across the dusty marble floor 

the sun sneaks through a window

but the hallway remains primarily dark 

reminding me slightly of a jail

it portrays the illusion

that we’re all trapped here

we’re all birds

captured in the same cage

the boy’s round eyes 

glued to his phone

to avoid looking up 

headphones on 

his music so loud

i can hear it faintly

trying to block out 

the whispers

the judgment

they don’t say his name

but he knows 

he can feel the piercing eyes 

burning into the back of his head

i watch in despair 

as two boys and a girl 

shove him forward 

call him names 

forcing their voices 

into his overthinking mind 

they creep into his ears 

causing him to tense up

but the boy lets them 

push him around

call him unworthy

“a real man would fight back” 

“you’re just a coward”

i can see it in his defeated eyes 

the way his gaze remains steady

instead of filling with tears 

he has tried to defend himself

but they kept going 

it never worked for him before

eventually he decided 

to let them take him

they’ll destroy him 

make him lose 

the little hope 

he has left 

tear him apart 

like he’s a piece of paper

yet to be shredded

crumpled 

burned

they’ll play with him

like a cat with a mouse 

taunting him 

until he finally falls

he gave up a long time ago 

he raised his white flag

but they tore it down 

stabbing it with their insults 

as sharp as knives 

continuing the ceaseless war

his eyes meet mine

they’re empty 

two black holes 

portraying pain

trauma 

suffering

he’s clearly numb

he doesn’t whimper

he doesn’t shout

or tell them go away

i can’t take it anymore

“stop that”

i yell at the bullies 

“why do you want to hurt him?”

“what did he ever do to you?”

“will it make you feel better

about your own miserable lives?”

the boy looks up 

and for just an instant 

i see a flicker of hope 

a spark of a dream

a candle in his darkness

for the first time 

his eyes light up 

but just as fast 

it disappears 

like a broken lightbulb

about to go out

the kids aren’t used to anyone 

daring to go against them 

“what did you say?”

the older boy growls 

aiming to sound intimidating

“i said stop”

i reply calmly 

standing my ground

“he doesn’t deserve it”

“don’t bother”

the boy speaks 

for the first time 

his eyes narrowing

his voice runs 

as smooth as syrup

yet raw at the same time 

he has a slight accent

he almost seems angry now

“but-”

i say 

“i said stop”

he says 

 cold as ice

his tone rising

“ungrateful

i whisper

then regret it 

because it’s clear 

he has been through enough

to have trust issues

he hears me 

and the concrete wall 

he’s been building up forever 

falls for a brief second 

his dark eyes get shiny 

but he blinks it away 

before anyone can notice 

shit

i understand that

he didn’t want me to defend him

but he wanted someone on his side 

he lost his one ticket out

i’m so sorry 

i want to tell him 

but he turns away

with a subtle shake 

of his head

a certain sadness 

to the way he’s walking

the one chance he had 

gone.