This was really fast and is unedited so please feel free to point out errors like usual. It is shorter than normal but hopefully not bad?
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Where to begin? Was it right to start with him on the floor crying as his bully slammed his foot into Lance's stomach, or perhaps it would be right to begin with that morning during class...or it would be okay to skip all of this? It wouldn't be fair though, would it? It would be selfish to leave out the bits that allow you to take a peek into someone's life, to see the true them that lie beyond the mask they wear to the world.

Well, if we're going to show the whole truth, it started in fourth period when Lance had been working on his chemistry homework during the class's free time. He had been minding his business as he explained the reason why hydrogen bonds in water were strong when someone placed their worksheet on his desk and crouched down next to him with a giant smile on her face. The girl crouching down to peek over Lance's desk had long blonde hair in one of those high ponytails girls seemed to be trying to make into a trend, a black cardigan with a pink blouse tucked into a grey skirt, a pair of black tights, and finally a pair of heels that made her taller.

Her blue eyes sparkled slightly as she grinned at Lance making him feel the fiery gaze of Lotor's eyes on his back. The guy's on and off again chick was about to make Lotor jealous by using the kid he bullied. Lance was so not dealing with this bullshit. He glanced at her for no longer than a single second before he turned his gaze back to his paper and began to work on the next question which asked for the definition of a vacuum.

The blue eyed girl smiled, "Are you ignoring me Lance? I just wanted to talk to you!" She said in a cheerful voice.

Lance wasn't falling for it. He pulled the sleeve of his blue hoodie over his left hand and used it to shield him from the jealous gaze being thrown his way by his tormentor across the room at the table of douchebags. "No one wants to talk to me unless we're forced to partner up," Lance stated in an annoyed tone as his writing became rushed. He really really just wanted to turn in his homework for that night so he could use more time to teach Keith.

Nyma furrowed her little blonde eyebrows and tapped her manicured nail on the tabletop. "I just need help with the worksheet..." She mumbled pitifully.

Lance looked over at her sheet and nearly shoved it off the table when he saw that she hasn't even written her name on the sheet. "Do you need me to write your name on it too?" He asked sarcastically. If she were any other girl, especially Allura, he would've literally jumped into a hot pool of lava just to flirt with them, but Nyma was already taken in this confusing relationship between her and one of the best players on the football team.

"Why are you being so mean to me?" Nyma pouted slightly which made Lance's cheeks burn red hot. She was kind of cute when she pouted and he was fighting a war inside his heart as he tried to figure out if he wanted to help the blonde or to shove her away and save his own skin. Her fingers walked their way across his desk and gently played with the sleeve of his right arm. "I'm not with Lotor anymore, so you don't need to worry about him, could you just help me with this? I can't seem to remember how to do stoichiometry."

'Can't she take no for an answer? God damn she's persistent,' Lance thought to himself in annoyance as his blue eyes settled down onto her hand. Who could really blame his heart for doing summersaults in his chest, for his brain screaming nonstop, or even for the fact that his foot was tapping against the cheap flooring a mile a minute. Nyma was the most popular girl in his entire school and had a perfect record, she was also ranked number one on 'The Chart'. She was stunning and Lance wanted to melt in her touch and fade away with the image of her smile in his mind. He was her own little lapdog ready to go running at her beckoning call.

"S-Sure!" Lance stuttered and felt his ears beginning to grow red as he leaned over and began to explain the problem to Nyma in steps.

In no time the girl was flirting with him and sending looks over at her ex that were screaming, 'jealous?' Lance was completely unaware as he was sucked into a trance. He couldn't seem to keep himself calm while Nyma flirted with him so openly in front of the whole class and even occasionally she would 'accidentally' touch his hand while they worked together. It was like one of those horribly cliché high school movies where the loser got the hot romantic interest in a weird twist of fate but he might as well have flowers caught in his throat since this little admiring crush was one sided.

"You get it now?" Lance asked Nyma nervously as he smiled down at her.

Nyma peeled her eyes off of Lotor and nodded in elation, "Mhm, you're so smart Lance. To be perfectly honest I don't think I would have been able to do it alone so..." Her voice trailed off as a pink blush crossed her cheeks making Lance's heart go into full shutdown mode from cuteness. God, he loved pretty faces with innocent blushes. "Want to sit with me at lunch and help me more?" She asked nervously.

Lance could not believe his ears. Nyma, the Nyma Roberts that was ranked number one, was personally inviting him to sit next to her at lunch. This created conflict for him since Hunk invited him to sit with his friends from cooking club, but the big guy would understand Lance's reasoning's for going to sit with Nyma to help her with science. Right? He had to; it was like every boy's dream at Hyde High School.

Lance nodded enthusiastically as he smiled innocently at Nyma, "Y-Yeah! I'll help you with anything you need Nyma!" He said in excitement.

His mind was short circuiting already, but Nyma made it worse by kissing him on her cheek leaving behind a red lip mark on his dark colored cheek as she walked away, swaying her hips as she made her way back to her desk, heels clicking away to the rhythm of her own confidence. Wow, Lance was a total wolf for this chick. He was already drooling over himself as he giggled slightly and touched his cheek with his fingertips longing to feel the touch of her lips on him again. He was so ready to throw himself at her feet.

The bell rang a few minutes later signaling the students to go to either their fifth period class or to their lunch period. Lance had second lunch like most of the school so he was forced to go to his history class with his bag slung over his shoulder as he wiped away the traces of Nyma's kiss. He had been snacking on a pack of graham crackers and finished the entire row which meant that his body was about to do the one thing he hated the most. Reject the choice of trying to be normal.

Once he finished up his business inside of the bathroom stall he grabbed a paper towel sheet from next to the sink and wiped his mouth clean before he turned the cold water on and began to splash his face to get some color back to it, helping the fuzziness in his head go away. He felt weaker than usual today which was understandable since he didn't have very natural habits, but he felt like he were on cloud nine even so since Nyma had kissed him. That was something that would honestly follow him for the rest of the week or even month. It was the first kiss (on his cheek) that hadn't been from family, so it was special.

Or it had been, until two hands slammed into his side forcing him to fall onto his left side and slam his head on the floor, causing his vision to become blurry. There was a tall figure standing above him, their hands balled into fists at his sides and his shoulders heaving up and down as he breathed heavily. It was Lotor, naturally, who else had the balls to physically harm Lance on school property after all? Lance felt like crawling out of the bathroom to hide away in a locker and never come out ever again, he knew what was about to happen.

"You touched my girlfriend you fucking prick!" Lotor growled as he walked over to Lance and grabbed his hoodie in order to lift him up and slam him against a wall, knocking all the air out of Lance's lungs instantly causing him to gasp for air and claw at Lotor's hand that held him up from the floor, leaving Lance's feet to dangle in the air.

"She touched me, you've got it all wrong I-" Lance wanted to resolve this peacefully, but he didn't have the chance to as he felt the blow of Lotor's free hand against his stomach creating indescribable pain to course through Lance's body, but before he could even cry out, Lotor used the same hand to cover Lance's mouth.

His golden eyes narrowed on Lance as he kept a firm grip over the boy's mouth, "Did I give you permission to fucking talk?" He asked as he pressed up against Lance's body with the look of murderous intent in his eyes.

"Yoooo," a voice sounded from the entrance making Lotor drop Lance onto the floor instantly. A normal student with a pair of sweatpants and glasses stared at the pair with wide eyes. He clutched a bag of clothing in his hands as he backed away, "I'll just go and get changed in another bathroom, far, far away from here."

The boy skittered out of the bathroom leaving behind a whimpering Lance and an angered Lotor. Lotor spat onto the floor and crossed his arms, "Damnit, I have to get to history or that stupid teacher will tell coach I skipped again..." He sighed deeply as he touched his chin. Then he glared down at Lance and kneeled down to look the boy in the eye. "If I see you and Nyma anywhere near each other again, I'll be sure that if I see you off campus, I'll make it so that you never want to live again."

Lance stared into Lotor's eyes before he dropped his gaze to the floor and pressed his back against the wall in order to put distance between them. "R-Right," He whimpered. His heart was busy running the bloody mile in his chest as he tried to keep himself from collapsing from the pain running through his body currently. This was so lame.

Lotor grabbed Lance's face and yanked it up to look him in the eye as he leaned dangerously close to Lance's face, to the point where the Cuban boy could feel his hot breath tickling his lips. "Say it again, but sound even more pathetic than what you are," he chuckled. He definitely got off on this knowing how much pleasure he was about to get out of humiliating Lance like this.

Lance squeezed his eyes shut as tears threatened to spill over his cheeks, he didn't want Lotor to do anything while he was so defenseless, he was afraid. "Y-Yes Lotor... I understand," he whimpered and tried to tug his face away from the boy's grip.

He knew Lotor was still inches from his face since that disgustingly warm breath of his danced across Lance's cold skin as he leaned over to Lance's ear slowly. His cheek touched Lance's, but the feeling of Lotor's breath against Lance's ear made the poor boy shiver in fright. "Say it again but call me sir."

Why would Lance let such a jackass take control over his life? The cliff note version was simply because Lance was the weakest of the weak. He was a piece of grass on the food chain. He swallowed down hard as he ignored the feeling of Lotor's smooth skin against his, "Yes... y-yes sir," He whispered and felt a tear slide down his cheek.

He wanted to cry out in fright when Lotor chuckled in his ear sadistically and shoved off of the skinny boy he constantly tortured for his own sick pleasure. "Good, I'll see you later then Lance. Be sure to not touch what isn't yours or I'll have fun with your little body ~" Lotor sang as he left the bathroom in pleasure.

Lance opened his eyes and wiped away the tear with his sleeve quickly before glaring at the bathroom door in anger. "What are you, fucking gay?" Lance spat as he prayed that his bully didn't hear him, he didn't want round two that was for sure, but he couldn't help himself from making that lame remark.

So what did he do? You're probably wondering if Lance sat with Nyma out of spite but that's not what happened. He gathered his stuff and left school with his mother's permission given to the office using the excuse that he had felt really weak. When he got home he didn't even talk to his mother who had generously picked him up from school as he stomped all the way into his room and slammed the door shut, before throwing his bag onto the floor and practically ripped his hoodie from his body in order to stand in the mirror. Why was he so scrawny? He looked like a damn stick bug. He was so revolting, he wanted to throw the mirror onto the floor and break his reflection, he was just so angry. No, he was pissed off at the world for making him this way. His nose twitched as his shoulders heaved to the tempo of his heavy breathing.

He wanted to destroy everything in his room, he wanted to make everything disappear and just sit on the floor and cry until he could no more. He wanted it to end, all the suffering he went through at school, what was it all for? What was even the point in this? He slowly pulled his black shirt up from his torso and felt his stomach knot up at the sight of a dark bruise forming on his stomach. His throat tightened in a way that it felt as if a snake were wrapping itself around his neck as it whispered such outrageous things into his ear, calling him no good, a useless member of society, or even a waste of breath.

Lance wanted to believe none of this was true but he just... he couldn't. He dropped his shirt in disgust and walked himself over to his bed before falling down onto his back to stare at the painted clouds above him. He was different and it was something he had to accept, but it felt like an impossible task. How can you love yourself when all anyone else does around you is look at you with so much disgust?

"Mi sol?" Lance's mother's voice sounded as she knocked on the door and opened it slowly in order to peek inside. Her blue eyes were wide with worry as she stepped in and closed the door behind her, "Should we go to the doctors to see if they can do anything to help you?" She asked as she fixed her beige dress quietly before finding herself a spot to sit down next to Lance as he stared at the ceiling quietly.

Lance shook his head slowly, "Nothing that a little bit of rest can't fix, mom," he smiled and turned his gaze onto the best woman in his life he could ever ask for. "Are you okay though? Marcia has been a handful and it's all my-"

Ms. McClain shook her head and placed her small hand onto Lance's slightly larger one, "When you get to my age, sol, and your children throwing little fits such as Marcie's is nothing but a simple thing. She could do those tantrums all day but I wouldn't care, I am still happy with my family," she smiled widely.

Lance couldn't help but smile along with her, "How can you stay so positive when dad left you to raise all of us on your own? He's off with the secretary he cheated on you with and you're just so happy, how?" Lance questioned his mother as he sat up on the bed and leaned against the petite woman.

Ms. McClain shrugged slightly as she wrapped her arms around Lance's body and began to hum a tune of a lullaby to him. "I can be happy because I've got all my children with me in my house. Victor can leave me with the bills and five kids- not counting Vincent's, but I won't complain because seeing my babies smile is what keeps me going in this world," She said slowly as she rocked Lance back and forth. "You've just got to find someone you'll love unconditionally and they'll be able to help you keep a level head in any time of crisis."

"I wish I had a mini me so I could be strong like you..." Lance mumbled under his breath.

Ms. McClain laughed slightly, "Oh don't bring any more babies into this house, I may love all of you here unconditionally, but a woman can only handle so much screaming in one day!"

The two of them laughed at her joke and sat on the bed for a while longer in silence until it was time for her to go and make snacks for Heidi, Christian, and Patrick for when they got home. She gave Lance a kiss on his forehead and squeezed him tightly in her arms making him wince in pain, but it was all worth it since he got a hug from his mother.

Once she shut the door behind herself, Lance reluctantly pulled his phone out in order to apologize to Hunk for not being with him and his few friends at lunch with a long paragraph explaining how he became suddenly ill and had to leave school. He hated lying, but he didn't want to listen to someone give him the bully talk. Y'know the overly cliché one which included reporting the situation to an adult, asking the bully to stop politely, etc. Then, he told Keith that he wouldn't be able to help him with chemistry again because he was babysitting. He didn't want to look like shit on camera when he talked to his rival, but he pondered the idea of screwing with the Asian boy by calling him again dressed like he had been the previous night.

Lance wouldn't admit it out loud but seeing Keith under the influence had been surprisingly adorable. Well, entertaining. He found the fact that the boy had been shouting about aliens and Fanta on the street and how he stared at Lance with giant purple eyes and whispered 'damn' to himself had been a very cute thing. Seeing a grunge looking boy say such things would so make anyone laugh and smile. Lance hit send on his text and quickly closed his phone and placed it on silent so that he could be by himself for the rest of the day. He was going to enjoy the quietness of his room and try to ignore the stabbing pain on his torso.

He wanted to feel like he was the only person in the world; maybe he would like himself then since he was the only person on the entire globe.

Enjoy this surprise update. I didn't plan on posting until Wednesday but shit happens lol. I got bored and decided to do another chapter so maybe you'll get another update Wednesday which would be funny since the support group meets Wednesdays and Saturdays and it would be posted on a Wednesday.

Idk I find it funny. I hope you enjoyed, constructive criticism is always welcomed and feel free to say anything you want about this chapter whether it's bashing on it or not. I read every comment and take any criticism under review.

Have a good night/day
-Anri