Please read this A/N

*Pokes head around door frame* .....Hello, am I late?

Stupid question, I know I'm late by Uhh... Four months? Five months? Whatever, I'm late. HOWEVER, I'm not dead, so that's a good sign right? Right??

Sighhh... in all seriousness though, I am sorry that I keep doing this. I had a good, clean schedule, producing content for this every two weeks or so (I have literally no idea how I managed to do that. Like, seriously...) I know you guys say it's okay and that I should prioritise myself more... but idk. To tell you the truth, I've never gotten this much recognition before, especially over a Wattpad book. And now this book is approaching 300k, which don't get me wrong, is amazing, but also extremely unexpected. It makes me feel like I have to work ten times harder to produce stuff - which isn't true, I know, but it's just another insecurity I have and it's a bitch. Plus, I am a people pleaser which is something I need to work on.

One thing I feel like I should mention though, I do get the occasional message asking when I'm updating... I know you're all just excited to read more, and that is extremely flattering. But messages like that unfortunately add pressure, and do end up discouraging me. Don't get me wrong, I know you mean well, and I'm not upset or anything like that. But I thought I would just let people know by asking if this will update anytime soon... it does intimidate me just a little bit hehe...

So, I know I ask this a lot, but please be patient with me. I may not update as much as I used to, but I have not, and never will forget about this book, and I am constantly working on it even at a snail's pace. I'm not ending this anytime soon, don't you worry.

Now then... as for where I've been.

Ngl I've actually been kinda busy. 2020 was mostly about staying out of sight from people and the virus, and honestly by the end of it I didn't feel all too good about myself. I had to finish my college course early, I've slowly been drifting apart from my friends, my mental and physical health hasn't been all that great lately. I mean, me suddenly making jokes about my mental disabilities isn't exactly a good sign...

Soooooo I have actually been doing stuff! Stuff to help me get back on my two feet. I've started attending a course that helps young people like me figure out what they want to do with their life. And they teach you things like finding jobs and learning life skills. Ya know, learning how to be a functional adult contributing to society and all that good stuff (woohoo.....) And because of that place, I'm a certified First Aider now. So that's cool.

Also unrelated, but I got my Covid jabs.

Like seriously, I'm literally fully vaccinated now. I'm superior to likely most of you right now.

I'm kidding, please don't hate me ;-;

But yeah, it's been a busy few months. I have been slowly coming back to this every now and then, but I am 20 in less than a month and I don't want to live with my parents forever hehe...

Anyway, before we begin, there is something I'd like to mention. Up until now I've addressed Y/N's school as a 'High School', because I figured a good portion of my readers go by that school system. However, as you may or may not know, I live in the UK, (I have resisted the urge to use British slang so much... I think I used it once and everyone was confused as hell) and therefore go by a different system. And... I've actually been going by that instead of America's High School system. Soooooo.... I think I should explain that, to those who don't know.

If I'm correct, American kids stay in school until they're around 18, right? Well, in my country's 'Secondary School' as we call it, we stay there until we're around 16-17 years old. And instead of going up in grades, we go up in years.

For example, if I'm right, you guys start school at 14-15 right? And that's called Grade 9? I dunno I'm googling this as I go. Well, we start Secondary school at 11-12, and we call that Year 7. Then, from there we stay in school up until Year 11, where we graduate and seek either higher education or we get jobs/apprenticeships. Am I making sense so far? I really hope so.

Well anyways, by that logic, I think I should show you what point of School the characters in Y/N's memories are. Including their ages. I know it might have gotten confusing at times, so I hope this helps:

Jonas Johnson
Age: 16
Year: 11

Christian Markoff
Age: 16
Year: 11

Henry Huang
Age: 15
Year: 10

Seth Rodríguez
Age: 14
Year: 10

Nathaniel McLain
Age: 16
Year: 11

Desmond Davison
Age: 14
Year: 9

Nicole Davison
Age: 15
Year: 10

Kayden Evans:
Age: 16
Year: 10

Roseline Mendes
Age: 13
Year: 8

Emma Tate
Age: 14
Year: 9

And of course
Y/N L/N
Age: 13
Year: 8

Hopefully that clears some things up... I think I have said enough, but if you have any more questions, let me know.

Now then, let's get down to business (to defeat the huns)

So then, relax, enjoy your stay. This is yet another long chapter.

And don't forget to say hi to Harold while scrolling (Seriously I don't know who started that, but I die every time someone calls this '—-' Harold. You guys are an absolute riot, I love you.)

It is nearly 4am, so as soon as I hit publish, I'm going to sleep.

Oh, and also: Fanart by annettethebandit. :3

"Nathaniel be a lamb and find Desmond for me, and take him to the janitor's closet, so that we can have a... chat with him."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow "Why me? Wouldn't Seth be the better choice, since he's fast and all?"

"Yeah, but I just know you're itching to see our dear friend right now..." A small, almost sadistic looking smirk curled the upperclassman's lips "Besides, if you do it... I'll let you throw the first few punches~."

The bargain that had been set seemed to strike something in Nathaniel, as he stood straight and pushed away from the wall. His eyes shared the same dark intentions as his friend, as he gave a low chuckle behind clenched teeth, and proceeded to very unnecessarily crack the knuckles of his left hand.

"Now you're speaking my language... Okay, I'll go. Oh, and get well soon, Y/N."

Jonas didn't reply as his friend exited the music room, he didn't even move until the door closed, and neither did the other people in the room. After a moment of silence, Chris sighed and crossed his arms, staring down at Jonas disapprovingly "You know he's not going to hold back on the kid."

"I know, and when I get my hands on him, I'm not planning on holding back either..."

With a roll of his eyes, Chris let out a huff and walked towards the piano "Whatever..."

I didn't want to speak at that moment, because honestly, Jonas was scaring me a little bit. I knew he had a tendency to make threats, but... I thought they were just going to kick Desmond out of the group, not physically beat him up.

"Um, Jonas?"

He turned to me, the sinister tension in his face melting away "Yeah, what's up?"

"Um..." I gulped slightly, the fact his expression could change with such ease "Why is it necessary to do... that to him?"

"You mean teach him a lesson?" He frowned again after realising I wasn't happy with the way he was handling this. "Y/N, I know you don't like it when we involve violence, but this is the only way Desmond is going to listen - or rather, learn. He's too proud and thick headed to listen to words, and besides... The world he lives in is the one he was exposed to before he met us. Words mean nothing to him. It has to be this way, or else he'll do what he did again, even when he is out of the group."

Now it was my turn to frown "No he won't. Once my uncle sees me like this tonight... I'm out of here."

"Well it's a good thing he's not going to see you like this then."

"Uh... pardon?" I blinked "Jonas I don't want to challenge your eyesight here, but... have you even seen me?"

Another smirk tugged at his lips, much more mischievous and lighthearted than the vengeful one he wore not too long ago as he rested his chin on his fist "Yeah, I have - You look f*cking terrible. If you step out looking like that you'll without a doubt be swept off to Ms. Hündin's office."

".....Okay, I'm confused."

"My point is, you're not gonna leave this room looking like this. So you're not going to be forced into a meeting with the principal, and your uncle will never find out! Which, in conclusion means you don't have to leave."

"Jonas," Seth spoke up, sounding slightly irritated at this point "You're gonna fry her brain if you keep that vague bullcrap up."

"Yeah, besides I don't need some kind of fancy ass introduction." Henry added on from his crouched position; at some point he had begun rummaging through his backpack for something "I already knew I was gonna take over, this is my department after all..."

Jonas' lips puckered into a pout as he turned in his swivel chair, his hands up in annoyance "Guys come on, you ruined my epic reveal! I was gonna drag it out until the suspension was just right, and once she was at the edge of her seat, she would ask 'why' and I would very cooly say 'because we have a Henry!' as if he was a secret weapon! It was gonna be sick! I should've kept Nate around a little longer, at least he gets me!"

Wow. didn't think Jonas was the type to.... whine.

"Yeah," Chris popped after a prolonged moment of silence, looking up from his fiddling with a black hair tie on his wrist "I think I speak for even Y/N when I say... no."

"No one asked you, punk ass bitch!" Jonas retorted, which had his friend rolling his eyes.

"Oh no, you wound me..."

"Well, you— Ugh! Look, I'm not talking to you right now, so just sit there and—!" 

"Uhhhhhh, sorry t-to interrupt." I raised my hand to get their attention, as if I were in class and wanted to ask a question. My gaze switched between Jonas and Chris; even if they were looking at me, I could still feel the tension between them. Had they been arguing before they came? But they seemed so close...

Oh, right.

"I just wanted to know... how exactly is Henry going to help me with my... situation?" I asked, my hand once again finding the spot Desmond left his mark "This isn't something I can easily hide."

At that, Henry chuckled, finally standing once he found what he was looking for and making his way over to Jonas and I. He held a large black pencil case in his hand, maybe two sizes bigger than normal, which he gestured to with a smirk "Oh, don't worry. The answers to all your questions are inside this case..."

Seth snorted from behind him "Sounds like you're about to show her your friends from the other side."

He rolled his eyes, exasperated "No, but I do wish sometimes I could turn you into a frog. Anyway, can I take over, Jonas?"

"Sure thing." Jonas shrugged and stood from his seat, gently pushing it towards Henry before addressing me "Don't worry Y/N, you're in good hands."

"Uhhhh..." I blinked, my eyes locked on Henry's case in suspicion. He noticed and let out a sigh, unzipping the top and holding it open to show me the contents.

"Would you relax? It's just makeup. I'm not gonna force you to take drugs or anything like that."

Makeup?

"Surprising, right?" Jonas spoke up with a grin, his arms resting on top of the chair Henry sat on "You ever wondered why our faces stay relatively clear, even though we kick ass on a weekly basis? Well—," he reached over to ruffle his friend's hair, which he did not appreciate "This guy is why! He's a master when it comes to covering up battle wounds, so we never have to worry about getting caught. He's like a ninja!"

"Not a ninja. I'm just a makeup artist... in training." Henry slapped Jonas' hand away "Also quit it. I haven't let you touch the hair before, I'm not gonna start now."

"M'kay." Jonas stepped back with a shrug "Anyway, I'm gonna bounce. Gotta make sure Nate caught Desmond okay. But Y/N."

I perked up from watching Henry rummage through a ridiculous amount of brushes "Y-Yes?"

"I am so sorry I couldn't keep my promise this time around," His brow furrowed slightly as a remorseful frown took over his features "I'm gonna make sure it doesn't happen again, personally. But don't let this incident make you forget that we're here to protect you, okay?"

I felt my heart leap. There it was again; the sense of security I had thought I lost for a moment. It made me forget I was injured, even for just a second. In response, I gave him a nod "Okay...!"

"Atta girl." The boy leaned down to lightly boop my nose, before brushing a strand of hair behind my ear just as he pulled away. I didn't know why, but that simple act sent a shiver down my neck. Jonas gave me a wink before standing straight again "Alright, I'm off. Henry, don't go overboard."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"No idea what he's—," Seth practically spluttered "Last time we did this, I only needed a black eye covered up, and I ended up looking like a f*cking Victoria's Secret model!!!"

"I was trying something out!" Henry huffed.

"Yeah but you didn't have to try it on me!"

"Guys." Chris muttered, sending the two of them a glare that shut them up instantly. Honestly, with how silent he was being, I almost forgot he was there. Jonas however did not seem affected by the boy's sudden participation in the conversation, and made his way to the door.

"Well then, with that I bid every person except Chris Adieu! Later, nerds!"

When Jonas left, the room fell into the same silence it did when Nate  departed to find Desmond. Only this time, looks of confusion were shared between most of us. However, Henry was the one to break that cycle by addressing Chris, "Did something happen?"

The older boy shrugged and blew a strand of hair away from his nose "We got into a fight."

He says casually...

"Seriously?" Seth repressed a snort "You two haven't seriously fought since forever. Did that thing you spilled to Y/N upset him that bad?"

Chris shook his head, his arms coming up to rest on the piano behind him "No... it's a little more personal than that..."

"I suppose that means you're not going to tell us." Henry didn't look up from his case as he asked - or rather stated that, and Chris nodded.

"Nope. Butt out, snoopers." He obviously didn't want to talk about it, because behind that joking line was a warning tone. Henry and Seth sensed it too, and because of that opted not to say anything else on the matter. Chris hummed and addressed Henry "Make her pretty, Huang."

"Don't tell me how to do my job, Márkoff." The younger boy retorted as he began to pull out different shades of concealer, before addressing me "Oh by the way, before I forget to ask, you don't have any allergies to makeup do you?"

"Umm..." I trailed off in thought "I haven't reacted to anything I've tried, so... not that I'm aware of?"

"Good enough," He answered in a 'meh' tone "Just so you're aware, while I can cover up and disguise any bruise, I can't make it disappear. So you're still gonna be in pain."

"Heh. That's nothing I'm not used to."

"Wow, real edgy. Okay final point of order." Suddenly, I was hit with the same glare he gave me when we first met "If you tell anyone outside of our group about how I like to use this stuff, I won't walk you to classes anymore—,"

"Yes he will." Chris intervened, tone lacking any emotion "If you wanna say shit like that, better do it when I'm not around, kay?"

The boy huffed, his eyebrow twitching slightly at the interruption. Although, his cheeks did become noticeably darker "Just... don't tell anyone, alright? I don't need gender ideology coming for my ass, I get enough of that at home."

"I... I promise I won't." I told him softly "I mean, who would I tell? I'm not exactly on speaking terms with... like, anyone."

"She has a point," Seth pointed to me "It's a sad one, but still. I think your secret's safe with her."

"Y-Yeah, and anyway, you seem to be keeping it a secret well on your own! I-I never would've guessed you were a makeup fanatic!"

At that, Henry's serious expression softened, though instead it twisted into a rather smug smirk "What, did you think I was naturally this pretty?"

Overheat!!!

"U-U-Um, th-that's not what I— I... I just—,"

"Haha! Relax, I'm only poking a bit of fun." He chuckled, resting his chin on his closed fist "Still though, thanks. A lot of people would kill for information like this, ya know."

I smiled slightly, albeit small and almost unnoticeable, before shrugging "Y-Yeah? Well... f-f*ck them."

That was uncomfortable to say...

"Oop—," Seth spluttered, almost keeling over in laughter as he slapped a hand over his mouth as his widened eyes landed on me "You're just full of surprises today, aren't you!"

"I think we've tainted her..." Chris added with a sigh, though unlike before he had a smile, albeit small and half hearted. Henry gave a shrug in response.

"Eh, we can just blame it on Nathaniel. Anyway..." He turned to me once again. As we were conversing, he had squirted a small amount of each concealer he had onto his hand, most likely to see which would most fit my skin tone. After checking and double checking, he nodded to himself and carefully dipped a small flat brush into one one the shades "I'm sure you already know this, but I'm gonna have to get pretty close to you to do this. And it's gonna be for an extended period of time. Having said that, are you still up for it, Y/N?"

I gave a small nod "I-I can handle it."

I cannot handle it...

"That's what I like to hear. In that case..." I pursed my lips to suppress a squeak as he brought his chair closer, reaching out to lift my chin slightly in order to give himself more access to my injuries "Close your eyes, and hold still."

I absolutely cannot handle it!!!

I secretly gripped the stool underneath me tightly once I felt the brush begin to dab the cold substance around my eyes, biting my lip to erase any noises threatening to escape. It wasn't just because I had no social life, and therefore wasn't used to stuff like this. It was also because of Henry himself, too. Speaking for appearance alone, save for Nathaniel, he was likely the most attractive in the group I had suddenly become a part of. From his abnormally clear skin to his forever shimmering hair, it was obvious he took very good care of himself. Out of all the boys, other than Jonas, he had the least amount of piercings visible on his face - save for a singular diamond stud on the side of his nose, and a beautiful moon charm hanging from his right earlobe. He was clean, soft spoken - even though he had a bit of an attitude, and always came prepared. It was quite a shock when I learned he hadn't even dated once, even though his final school year was fast approaching. However, that didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Maybe it was to make hiding his secret a little easier. I mean, imagine hugging your date and leaving a smear of foundation on their shirt. How do you explain that?

Wait, I'm zoning out.

But yeah. The fact I had this... blessing of the eyes this close to me without being repulsed by my presence... I suppose I should be used to new things by now, but this is pushing it a bit.

Suddenly I felt his thumb brushed just under my eye, probably to remove a detached brush strand, and my entire body almost jolted.

"Oh my God, she looks terrified..." I heard Seth chuckle, only embarrassing me further and causing a natural reaction to open my eyes in shock.

"I am not!!!!"

"Oh, my mistake." He rolled his eyes mischievously "I can now see you're the embodiment of calm and composed."

"S-Seth!" My face began to heat up, and even more so when I heard Chris begin to chuckle. It was one thing to be teased by Seth - it was his thing, after all. But Chris? I might just die....

"Actually, compared to Nate, I'd say she's doing pretty well." He finally spoke up, finally sounding a little more like his usual self "You remember how much of a disaster he was the first time he did this."

Okay, I'll admit that part made me react in a way that resembled one of those girls thirsty for gossip. However, it was Nathaniel they were talking about; he was just about the most unbothered person I've been acquainted with. And to hear his name be associated with the word 'disaster'.... well—

"He what?!?!?" My head turned so fast to stare at Chris, it was a miracle it didn't dislocate. Can you blame me? This new information was just too shocking... However, as soon as I turned away from him, Henry wasted no time turning me back to him by taking hold of my jaw.

"Y/N I know these idiots are being distracting as hell," He sighed- not quite in exasperation, not directed at me at least "But you gotta keep facing me. Otherwise I'm not going to hold myself accountable if you walk out looking half baked."

I nodded, my eyes looking anywhere but him "O-Okay... s-s-sorry..."

"You sure you should be so calm right now, Henry?" Seth asked with a scoff "From what I can remember, you weren't really much better than Nate. I'm surprised you could finish the job with those shaky ass hands."

Chris snorted in amusement "Oh yeah, he tried to play it off by saying the room was cold... in summer."

Henry's eyebrow twitched as they continued to poke fun "Oh yeah, hilarious. Don't think I don't know you're only saying this because Nathaniel isn't here."

"I mean yeah, we don't want to die."

Henry grumbled.

"Oh, plus, we wanna make sure you know the real reason why you were accepted into the group."

It was only barely noticeable, but at Seth's statement, a darkened hue dusted across Henry's cheeks. His brush faltered a bit as he slowly looked up to meet my eyes. To say I looked curious would obviously be an understatement. He huffed "See, now you're putting ideas into her head. I know why I was accepted into the group - it was for reasons beneficial to you guys. Same goes for Seth, and... Dez."

"Yeah." Seth, who has been smirking before now, had a sudden shift in his tone "Good call there, Chrissy."

Chris scoffed and leaned back on the piano "I didn't know he would turn out to be a backstabber... Plus I didn't hear you objecting either."

"We all misjudged his character," Henry exclaimed with a roll of his eyes "We can't predict the future, but we can do what we can to make sure he isn't in a position to do this again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Seth crossed his arms with a huff, before looking over at me. I still looked confused, but I was trying not to move so that Henry didn't have any trouble. His smirk soon returned "Hey Y/N, wanna hear about how we all became friends?"

Chris raised an eyebrow "Why would she want to know that?"

"Well it gives her an idea why I'm hanging out with a bunch of losers."

"From what I can remember, you were over the f*cking moon when you were asked to join. I'd probably quit acting cool if I were you."

Seth's jaw tightened slightly as he rolled his eyes "Whatever, butterfly."

"Right, keep that up and you're heading straight towards a—!"

"Will you two shut the F*CK up!!" Henry turned around quickly, almost smearing foundation across my face as he did so "I literally cannot work when you guys start pointless arguments! Or if that's impossible, why don't you try actually telling Y/N about what you asked. You know, how we all met? Not that it actually matters - from how this day's going, we'll be disbanded before the final bell."

My eyes widened at that, a shaky breath escaping my lips. I didn't want them to disband. They all seemed really close - at least... before I came along, "Wait, that's not true, i..is it?"

"What? Oh! No no no, I was just..." Henry grimaced. He probably realised I was already feeling guilty about Desmond, and his statement wasn't making me feel any better. After sharing a glance with his schoolmates- even though Chris was glaring, the younger student sighed "We're not going to 'disband', Y/N. This isn't anything new; we fight all the time. It may look bad from someone outside looking in, but it never gets so bad we split off permanently. The worst it's gotten is when one of us gave the rest the silent treatment for three days *cough* Seth *cough*."

"Hey, Jonas ate my PB&J! It was justified!"

"You know he offered to get you a new one." Chris pointed out, but Seth only scoffed.

"I didn't need his charity..."

"Riiiiiiight... anyway," Chris suddenly addressed me, just as I turned my face to give Henry better access to my cheek. Of course, that meant we were now staring at each other. I obviously couldn't do anything about it, but he seemed reluctant to look away. However, soon enough he cleared his throat "Y-Yeah, so, about the whole 'how we came together' thing. You sure it's something you wanna hear? I mean, we aren't the type of people most would want to learn more about."

I frowned slightly "I want to learn, though. I mean... if it doesn't make you uncomfortable, of course."

"Oh trust me," Henry rolled his eyes slightly "At the very least, it won't make Seth feel uncomfortable. He loves talking about himself."

Seth made a loud, offended noise as he spread out his arms "What, is this bully Seth day today or some sh*t?"

"No, that's everyday."

"Damn okay, I see how it is. You see how they treat me, Y/N?"

"Uh..." I grimaced slightly "Don't you treat them the exact same way?"

"Wh— No! Pffffft, I'm a perfectly nice and caring person!"

A harmonious snort filled the room. Yeah, even I can admit, as much as I like Seth, he did have a malicious reputation that he most definitely lived up to. So no, he was not a 'perfectly nice and caring person'.

"Okay first of all f*ck you guys." He whined with a pout. "Look, Chris, just tell her the story."

"Um, alright, but where do I begin?"

"Anywhere's good. You can even simplify it for your smooth brain."

Chris began to chew on his lip, obviously ignoring Seth's previous statement as he pondered on what to say. He hummed before finally turning to me, presumably with at least an idea on what to say. "Well... it started off just being Jonas and myself - we grew up together after all, and then we met Nathaniel during our first year of High school at basketball tryouts, and we kinda... merged. A year after that, Jonas decided the three of us weren't enough, so if one of us took interest in someone, we would consider letting them join the group. Ya know, to continue our 'legacy' or some sh*t."

"Yeah, for example Jonas took interest in me when he saw my track team tryout." Seth joined in with a casual shrug "He didn't seem all that impressed by my speed, but after I put some hecklers in their place... I dunno, I guess he liked my 'scary surprise face' or whatever he called it. A little while later Henry joined us— I'm actually surprised it took that long; Nathaniel had been giving him goo-goo eyes for months—,"

"That's a fat lie. He thought that I could keep your guys troublemaking out of the spotlight, since I always had bruises that 'magically disappeared'. Speaking of which..." Henry, after a few more strokes of his brush pulled away with a satisfied hum, and reached into his makeup case to pull out a small mirror "You're all done, just remember not to wipe your face too much."

"I'll... keep that in mind. Thank you." I took the mirror from his hands gratefully and took a look at myself, only to have my jaw drop practically to the floor. Not only had he covered up my bruises.... but also pretty much any mark I had previously on my face. Like seriously, eye bags? Who's she? I looked up at Henry, who was patiently waiting for my feedback, and smiled sheepishly "I umm... I know I said it already, but that was before I saw the result. So... thank you, so much."

"Meh," Henry waved a dismissive hand "It was nothing. Besides it's nice to not do this to sweaty idiotic athletes for once."

"Uh, excuse me," Chris raised his hand "Still here, remember?"

His friend began rolling his shoulders back, as he had been hunched over for quite a while "Y'all hear somethin'?"

Well... damn.

"You Keith Kogane looking ass bi—!"

As the three of them continued throwing metaphorical sh*t at each other, I tuned them out and once again looked down at the mirror in my hands to examine my freshly done face. Honestly, if it weren't for the pain, I would probably forget they were even there. Especially... that one. As I once again traced where the bruise on my cheek once was, I turned to the bickering boys.

"...What about Desmond?"

The name seemed to be a trigger for all three of them. Even though my voice was still small, my words still managed to reach their ears, and their argument halted. The way they stared at me like three deer in front of headlights made me shift uncomfortably.

"D-Did I say something... wrong...?"

"No, you didn't." Chris answered immediately, as he began to approach "We just... didn't think you wanted to hear about him, because, you know..."

Ah. I see...

"That's kind of you, but..." I let my eyes travel downward, and found a sudden interest in the light reflecting from the mirror onto the floor "You guys sound like you asked each other to be friends, but Desmond... he told me had to work hard for your recognition. So... I guess I'm curious about what he did to make you finally consider him. Do you mind?"

Chris blinked in surprise, as he and Henry exchanged a glance before shrugging. "I mean, sure thing, we did say we'd tell you about us after all."

"I think you should be the one to take this one, Chris," Seth clapped his shoulder. "You are the one that recommended our Dezzy boy, after all."

"Yes, thank you Seth for continuously implying that." The blonde rolled his face in exasperation. "If you're trying to get me to hold myself accountable for what's happened, it's not working."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Uh huh, sure. Anyway, uhhh...." Chris scratched his neck in thought, his eyes wandering around the room and his tongue poking the inside of his cheek "Well, I think it's safe to say Desmond's circumstances were... different from Seth and Henry. When we- when I first met him, he didn't have anything overly remarkable going for him. In fact, he was quiet and didn't hang around with many people. In that sense, his situation was kinda similar to yours Y/N. Keyword similar - I'm not entirely comparing you to the prick. So when I did meet him, I didn't even once consider asking him to hang out. I even forgot about his existence for awhile."

I frowned. Where exactly was this going...?

"But then, months later, people started gossiping about some guy who had popped up out of nowhere, who had challenged the baseball captain to a fight at 3:30 that same day." Chris looked up at me with a half grimace "See if you can guess who that was."

"Desmond...?"

He hummed "So, as two boys itching for a fight, Jonas and I decided to go. And at 3:30, we had pushed ourselves to the front of the crowd to see who this kid with a death wish was. Instantly, I recognised Desmond, but he looked a lot different than the shy loner with a tidy uniform I first met him as. With a fresh gelled back undercut and a much larger form going on for him, he destroyed that baseball captain... and because of that, he earned a lot of praise."

I tilted my head "Is that why you decided to let him join you?"

"Not quite. Jonas had briefly suggested it, but I wasn't sure about a guy who goes toe to toe with someone for recognition." He crossed his arms "Desmond didn't quit though, and because of that, he did finally catch my attention. Not... exactly for the right reasons though. I know it's a bit shameless for me to say, but I think the main reason I brought him up to Jonas is because I sort of took pity on him... Don't get me wrong, he definitely was physically fit, and his popularity was improving too, but.... he was just trying too hard, and it was obvious... I thought giving him what he wanted would, you know, calm him down a little. That's why I let him sit with us."

Even though he said Chris could tell the story, Seth spoke up, his face deprived of any emotion "You may have guessed, but it didn't end how Chris was hoping. Because he got our attention, Desmond developed quite the superiority complex, and it only got worse as time went on. That was when he became the Dez you were acquainted with."

"Yeah..." Chris sighed "Thing is, I can't for certain say I would've done things differently - I mean, for all I know, he could have turned out worse if I didn't invite him to join. He's just... unpredictable. Never thought he'd do something like this though..."

"Me neither." Henry leaned back in his chair and shook his head "If anything, I thought there was a possibility he would relate to Y/N."

Seth scoffed "Knowing him, he probably did, and then turned that relation into resentment."

"Yep."

The short boy turned to me with a frown "What?"

I was glaring at the floor, Henry's mirror tightly clutched to my chest "Desmond did say he held resentment towards me for being accepted among you guys as quickly as I was... and he said he hated people like me too... In fact, after he punched me, he went seriously out of his way to tell me how insignificant I was, when in reality, I think he really—-,"

"Wait, back up a few.." Henry held up a hand to halt me. Now, his eyebrows tugged downward in confusion "Did you say Desmond actually hit you?"

I frowned in confusion, then gasped when realising I did in fact say that. Well, I suppose denying it now would be useless, especially with Seth there... I sighed and pointed to my cheek "Yeah, right here... I think I said some things that... made him mad. I provoked him, so I guess... it isn't entirely his fault..."

"No, it is entirely his fault." Chris argued firmly, his gaze as icy as his eye colour as he lay a hand on my shoulder "Do not blame yourself for being a victim, Y/N. You didn't do anything wrong in this whole thing, okay? I don't care what you said; no amount of trash talk should ever result in this. He shouldn't have hit you, it's as simple as that."

Seth nodded firmly, before turning to his tall friend "Letting Nate loose on him suddenly doesn't seem so bad, does it?"

"Not the time, Rodríguez..." He didn't sound annoyed this time, compared to the other times Seth pissed him off, but his frown did deepen "You know she doesn't like it."

"....Oh, yeah." Seth grimaced "Sorry."

"No, it's fine..." I shook my head "I just... wish I didn't have to be in such a defenseless position."

"I know, me neither," All of a sudden, before I even realised it, Chris's arms had pulled me in for a hug that almost swallowed me whole "But it's never going to happen again, you can count on that... Jonas promised you, and so will I."

"Me too," Seth declared.

"Eh, I've made worse oaths." Henry shrugged jokingly.

I stood unmoving tucked in the arms of a boy that was swearing to ensure I was protected, with two more boys standing beside us promising the same thing. It felt... warm. I wonder... can I finally allow myself to believe that I am cared for within the school gates...?

I let out a shaky breath, and at last reached up to recuperate Chris's embrace.

"Thank you..."

—-

Henry had volunteered to walk me to my next class, despite his class being pretty far away. He seemed to be anxious about leaving my side after the incident, even though he wouldn't dare admit it. Once again I was walking in silence, but it was nowhere near as awkward as it was with Desmond. In fact, if I'm honest Henry was the person I was most comfortable to walk with right now; knowing what Nate and Jonas were up to and... not knowing what was going through Chris's mind. Plus, Seth being Seth, a walk with him would wind up with me a flustered mess. It's not that I don't trust them - I do, but sometimes I remember that these guys are the people I would typically be afraid of.

Well, most of them.

"Does space look good from there?"

I blinked back to reality when a sudden voice spoke to me "Huh, what?"

"You were daydreaming," Henry tilted his head "Something on your mind?"

Blushing slightly from embarrassment, I tucked my hair behind my ear "N-Nothing interesting, really... Umm. Though, how many 'thank you's do you think are too many?"

"Whatever number you're on sounds good," he replied blankly "I don't need anymore, Y/N."

"Yeah but—," I pouted slightly "You saved me, you brought me to safety, you kept me calm, you hid my bruises, and now you're taking me to class. That may not sound like much to you, but it is a lot to me!"

"Calm down...." Henry murmured with a sigh "It's like you haven't experienced basic human decency before."

"That would be because I haven't, not from anyone other than my Uncle, anyway."

"What about that council girl?"

"She has too much faith in the adults of this school... knowing she'd definitely believe their word over mind isn't exactly a comforting thought..."

"Ah... yeah, I can see why that would unsettle you. Still though, surely you don't need to express your gratitude too much, not to me alo—"

"Ey Puddle Girl! Billy Ray! Wait up!"

Henry froze "Oh, sh*t..."

I didn't blame him for reacting that way, because there was only one person who still called me 'Puddle Girl' in this school... However, I think that his verbal curse meant differently to my mental one. Regardless, we did stop and allowed the one calling us to catch up.

"Hi." Nathaniel simply said when he stopped between Henry and I, a casual grin on his face and a skateboard under his arm for some reason. Was he even allowed to carry that around?

"Hey," Henry eyed his bruised knuckles with a raised eyebrow "I hope you didn't kill him, did you?"

Nate scoffed "Nah. I may be a d*ckhead, but even I know that's just a cruel way to go. Besides, what would Y/N think of me?"

I quickly looked away when he turned to me, which made him chuckle "Hey, looking good by the way. I see Henry worked his magic huh?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah..." I tucked my hair behind my ear. So much for a quiet walk "He did really great..."

"Damn right! He always does!" With one big swing, Nate gave Henry's back a firm slap, sending the poor guy forward a couple steps "And we wanna keep it that way, so no snitching alright?"

"I-I won't. I already promised to Henry I wouldn't tell."

"Great, just wanted to make sure," suddenly, he leaned forward to speak quieter "Cuz this makeup stuff is really important to him. I don't want that to be weaponized against him... I hope I used that word right. Anyway, you won't believe how many people like to destroy another person, just for the sh*ts and giggles, so I hope you aren't one of them..."

I frowned slightly. It really did suck that Henry had to hide what he was passionate about... though, I suppose that's what got him in the group in the first place.

"I'm not." I say, with more confidence than I knew I had, and he smiled slightly.

"Then we'll get along just fine, girlie." He said with a wink

Oh my god my heart did a flip. I'm not a circus, dammit!

"So, Nate." Henry strained as he lightly rubbed his back, unaware of what his friend just said "What's with the skateboard? Are you going to the park after class? If so, isn't it still too early to carry it around?"

"Oh no, it's nothing like that," Nathaniel shrugged "I'm ditching."

"....You say that like it's a normal, completely okay thing to do."

"It's okay to me, and that's all that matters!"

"That's... not how... it works... Fine, what is it this time?"

"My brother called saying they had band practice in an hour, and if I wanted to join I had to get there pronto, so I'm just heeding his words."

Henry cocked his head to the side and folded his arms over his chest "Okay but like, your house is only 15 minutes away from the school. What are you going to do with that extra 45?"

"Grab coffee for the bandmates."

"And?"

"...And come up with a story about why my hands are bruised."

"There it is."

Nathaniel looked away with his cheeks puffed out "Get off my dick. You know how scary my brother is, especially when he finds out I've been fighting."

"Yeah, I know," Henry popped "And every single time, I agree with his view on the matter."

"Wow, thanks bro!" The tall brunette scoffed loudly, throwing an arm up in the air in frustration "Can you believe this guy, Y/N?"

I blinked. I hadn't really been paying attention to their bickering, rather I'd focussed on one thing Nate had said. I cleared my throat and turned to him bashfully "S-Sorry, I was just... I didn't know you were in a band."

I mean, can you really blame me? Nathaniel didn't really seem like the type of person to be into music, unless it had some really heavy bass, so I didn't really pin him for the type to join a band, even if his brother was part of it too. Then again... I never expected Henry to be into makeup either, or Chris to have a tattoo. Time and time again, I'm reminded not to make assumptions about people.

Nathaniel smirked at my surprise "Oh yeah, pretty cool right? I mean, it wasn't my first choice, but my brother's band lost their bassist to college last summer, and I play bass so they took me for a test run and—," he gestured to himself "The rest is history. Of course, it means I have to skip school every now and then, but who cares about that?"

"More people than you might think..." Henry muttered under his breath, followed by an eye roll.

"Oh stop, I enjoy what I'm doing and that's what matters. I don't blame you for not getting it; you look to the future while I'm living in the present."

"You know your path's more uncertain that way."

"That just gives it more thrill, ya know?"

"And that's the exact attitude that'll get you shovelling fries at a McDonald's."

"Yeah— well... you... you're a bottom."

"Ohhhhh really?!" In an instant the shorter boy had Nathaniel in a headlock, not seeming to lose his grip any time soon as he messed with the poor guy's dark curls "Would a bottom be able to do this?"

"Most likely, but let's say you proved your point anyway!!!!!" Nate pulled and tugged to free his head from the boy's grasp, but to no avail. He groaned "Let me go, femboy!!!"

"Just for that, no, I don't think I will!"

"Wow! Hoe's mad!"

The two continued wrestling each other in the hall, completely stopping our pace, which meant all I could do was stand by and watch them almost pull each other back into the lockers. I won't lie though, seeing them act like this, especially Henry after assuming he was the calm and collected one... it was kind of...

Funny.

"Hehe..."

I slapped a hand over my mouth, praying to whatever god above that they did not hear the little giggle that left my lips. But... they did. And now they were staring at me... wide eyed... unmoving... and oh god this isn't helping my self conscience at all.

"She just giggled."

"I know, I heard it."

"She's never done that before. Like seriously, I have never heard her—,"

"Nathaniel, you're making it weird."

"Says the one that still has me in a headlock."

"You're right, my bad." Henry responded blankly and released his grip, only causing the upperclassman to stumble backwards after he attempted to tug himself free "Whoops, sorry."

Nate scoffed at him and rubbed his neck "There is literally no reason for a dude your size to be that strong."

He shrugged as he turned away to face me instead "It's probably to keep moronic giants like you in check."

"Love you too, man..." 

"But like, he's not completely wrong," I squeaked when the aspiring makeup artist took a step towards me "You've never laughed in front of any of us, not to my knowledge anyway. You rarely smile too - and when you do, it's barely noticeable, and you tend to hide it. I don't want to sound like I'm prying, but why is that?"

"Uh..." I stammered slightly, tearing my gaze away "I-I dunno."

Nathaniel groaned, disappointment evident "Oh come on, that's—,"

"Can it, man baby," Henry snapped his fingers, which silenced the boy like a dog "She doesn't have to tell us Jack diddly squat if she doesn't want to, so keep your thirst for gossip in check."

"Whatever, mother..."

"Wow, who's older again?"

I grimaced slightly "It's not that I don't want to tell you, I just... I literally don't know why I don't like smiling in front of others. It's only in school too. It shouldn't be an issue, but I just panic whenever I do it..."

Henry raised an eyebrow "Could it be that someone made you feel bad about it? Like, they called your smile dumb or something lame like that?"

"N— wait actually..." My eyebrows knitted together as I thought about his question "There was this girl that sat next to me in Chemistry last year - this was before the bullying actually became a real problem... but we had a teacher that was really funny, and made us all laugh a lot. But one day, every time we'd laugh, that girl would tell me to shut up..." I lifted my shoulders slightly, something I found I did when I was embarrassed "She did it so much, that people around her started doing the same thing... and..."

"And because of that, it's conditioned your mind into thinking laughing in front of peers is bad." Surprisingly, it was Nathaniel that put the pieces together, and his voice was more solemn than usual. Regardless, I gave him a small nod and began to fiddle with the hair that hung over my face. He stared at me for a moment, then shared a look with Henry that screamed pity. I know they meant well, but I really didn't like being pitied. It felt sort of like being looked down on... I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid, as always.

"Well," Henry spoke up after a little bit "You don't have to hold it in with us. We won't judge."

"Yeah, I mean have you heard Henry's laugh?" Nate stifled his own laugh "He has a friggin' nerd snort! I'm sure no one has it worse than him, and we still keep him around."

"Thanks, really appreciate that." The complete exasperation on Henry's face almost made me chuckle again "Didn't you say Exer wanted you there for practice ASAP?"

"Eh, big brothers are made to disappoint - that's why my parents' expectations of me are so low! Besides, I can't leave Puddle Girl now! You heard her, she hasn't had a good laugh in forever!"

"....And?"

"And who better than I to give that to her— Hey where are you going??"

Henry had begun dragging me away by the arm, mumbling stuff under his breath as he did so "I told you skating to school was a bad idea! All those concussions have you speaking bullsh*t!"

"Okay fine, I'm no jester of the king! But even I can make a poor soul smile!"

"Well, maybe you can start by not calling her puddle girl. It's a pretty demeaning nickname. And anyway, we don't have time for this, she's already late for class and so am I."

"Wait what??" Quickly, I pulled out my phone to check the time, my face dropping in horror when the time popped up on the screen "Oh no!! I-I-I'm gonna be in so much trouble!!"

"What's the big deal?" Nate asked, picking up his pace to catch up with us "It'll literally just be a slap on the wrist. I should know, I have the experience."

My faced warmed from embarrassment, as I averted my gaze as I muttered under my breath "Idon'tlikebeingyelledat..."

"Huh? What was that?"

"....Idon'tlikebeingyelledat..."

"You're gonna have to speak up, sweetheart." The tall boy leaned over to me, to have a better chance of hearing me "You're making no sense to me here."

I quietly apologised, my nerves rising even more. It's not like I was trying to be difficult, but my excuse sounded incredibly wimpy... luckily for me though, it seemed like Henry had made some sense to my gibberish. "I think she said she doesn't like being yelled at."

"Oh. Is that all?"

I winced. I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not, but that comment really didn't help the matter. However, it didn't seem like he meant it as a tease, as soon enough I realised he wasn't laughing mockingly. And instead clicked his tongue with an empathetic grimace.

"Yeah, I feel ya kid. I used to have the same problem," I quickly turned my head in shock, which made him chuckle "I know. Big, confident me being nervous about a middle aged bitch's scolding? God forbid, amiright? But, luckily for me, I had picked up a few tricks - or rather, distractions to help me get through it without bringing out the waterworks." He gestured to himself proudly, before humming to himself in thought "You know what... I'm generous. I'll tell you one of them, if you'd like."

"Y-You will?"

"Yeah! C'mere." I yelped when his strong arm was slung over my shoulders, and urgently had to remind myself that it was not Kayden that it belonged to. After all, this guy was waaaay taller.

"Nate, get off her," Henry scolded the upperclassman, "She may not look it, but she is still hurt."

"Hey, chill. I'm being gentle. Anyway, if you wanna know what to do in situations like this, just remember what I do..." he grinned at the curious tilt of my head, and leaned in closer "I just remind myself that when people are yelling at me, their asscheeks are clenching and unclenching as they speak. That way I'm focusing on not laughing rather than the fact I'm being yelled at. Sure, it means I don't take in anything they say, but let's be honest... it's not like I'd do anything they tell me anyway."

This guy is literally a moron.

"You are literally a moron." Henry scoffed "You can't expect her to take that seriously."

"Hey, I'm just saying what works for me. It might be different for her, I don't know. But still—,"

"Oh look! We're here..." Henry almost sounded relieved as we stopped outside my assigned classroom, and turned to me "Now, Y/N, as much as we'd love to stay here as moral support for you, we really need to get going. I need to sprint to my class, and Nate..." He gave his friend a look over "Yeah he's looking kinda suspicious right now. So we're gonna have to bounce."

"O-Oh... okay." I tried not to sound nervous, but I think I failed quite obviously. As the two boys turned to leave, a sudden burst of confidence overtook me "W-Wait! Before you go..." they looked at me, confused "I just wanted to thank you both for today..."

"Y/N—,"

"No, please." I cut Henry off. Even I was surprised, but I continued regardless "I know I'm not exactly the type of person you'd typically give a damn about, but the fact you are... it really means a lot to me. What you did with Kayden and Nicole... even with Rose, that was the most noble thing anyone's ever done for me, and no amount of thank you's could ever be enough for that... Y-You guys - all of you, really are the best..."

Wow, that was a mouthful...

For some reason, the two of them had grown silent, and that opted me to look up at them. Though, unexpectedly I saw them with... rather remorseful expressions. They met my eyes, and in unison they opened their mouths to speak, but when noise came out they stumbled over each other, and that caused them to silence themselves again. However, soon enough, a strained chuckle emitted from Nate's throat, as he reached forward to lightly ruffle my hair. It was almost as if he was trying to push my head down so I wouldn't look at them anymore...

"That's real sweet of you, kiddo. I might just get diabetes from that," he joked, but it was halfhearted "Besides... The people this school has let down need to stick together, right...?"

I nodded slightly "I guess we do..."

Henry watched us in silence, his eyes almost completely shadowed by his dark hair as he stood hunched a couple feet away. His jaw was tight, for some reason...

"Time to go, Nate..." he muttered, unable to look me in the eye "Bye, Y/N... come find me if you need a top up."

"Uh... will do."

Nathaniel gave me one final wave, as he jogged to join his friend's side. The two of them seemed gloomier now; I wonder if it was something I said?

I shook my head, telling myself I couldn't think about that now, and turned to the door. I sucked in a breath and tried to seem as confident as possible, before lightly knocking on the surface.

"Ah, Y/N," the pointed nosed man clicked his tongue when opening the door, his eyes glowering at me through his small specks "I hope you have a good reason for being late to my class... and for skipping your last one entirely."

Ah great, he heard about that. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I prepared to throw any excuse I could think of at him.

Remember... if he yells, he's clenching his buttcheeks really hard...

—-

The evening breeze was cool and serene as it lightly grazed my face, somehow soothing the dulled throbbing of the almost forgotten bruises concealed behind Henry's work. The sky was painted over with orange, and the sun barely peeked over distant rooftops as street lamps only just started to come on. I took in a breath of welcomed air and stuffed one hand into the pocket of my smoky grey sweatpants, as the other was clutched around the handles of a plastic shopping bag. My eyes weren't cast downwards for once, rather they were gazing up at a lone cloud moving across the sky, as I thought about the day I had just endured. It was, to say the least, a rollercoaster. I had learned a lot in the span of six hours, especially when it came to the six boys I sat at a lunch bench with... though, I suppose it would be five now. Up until not so long ago, they all seemed like untouchable gods, rather than a bunch of rowdy schoolboys.... but the more I hang around them, the more their humanity shines through. The good, the bad, and the ugly... 

I just hope... that the rest of those boys' ugly sides were not as ugly as Desmond's...

In any case, I hope I can get home before anything else exciting happens—

Bonk

I hardly had time to even process what had happened before I had fallen sideways onto the gravelly floor, my body braced onto my elbow as I tried to blink away the spinning earth around me. I just couldn't make sense of what happened, except that the side of my head had been hit with something... and that something appeared to be the orange basketball rolling in front of me.

Welp. God hates me...

"Oh f*ck, sorry about that!" A panicked, suspiciously familiar sounding voice called out to me, as rushed footsteps could be heard getting louder each second. I quickly blinked away the shock and grabbed the basketball in both hands, ready to give it back to the approaching person. They stopped in front of me and held out a hand "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I replied, though sounding kinda out of it as I lifted the ball up to them "And, it's okay, happens to the best of us! I assume this is y—,"

And there it was. The final piece of excitement I did not ask for.

"Y/N...?"

"J...Jonas?"

In an instant, the olive skinned boy went from concerned to downright mother worried. He instantly dropped down and grasped my face between his hands, tilting my head back and forth, as if to look for something.

"Are you bruised anywhere? Or bleeding? Did you get a friction burn??"

I didn't answer. I couldn't - not when I was being held like this, with his face that close to mine... I just could not speak. And that of course made Jonas even more anxious.

"Oh god, please tell me I didn't give you a concussion." He rushed out, his voice cracking in between, which finally made me realise I should probably say something.

"N-No! I'm okay, I'm okay!" I exclaimed, waving hands around in front of me "It just g-gave me a shock, that's all! I promise I'm not hurt!"

"You're sure." He pushed, and I nodded which gave him the opportunity to sigh out in relief "Thank f*ck for that... after covering up all of Desmond's bullsh*t, if I was the reason that was all exposed, then..."

After a moment, he composed himself well enough, and hooked his hands under my arms to pull the two of us to our feet before taking his ball out of my hands "What are you doing out, anyway? It is pretty late ya know, Cupquake."

I scrunched my nose slightly at the nickname, not because I didn't like it, but because of the slightly teasing tone that came with it "I could ask you the same."

"Ah, you got me there." He chuckled slightly, briefly spinning the basketball on his finger before repeatedly bouncing it "I was just doing some dunks in the court - cooling off some steam, ya know?"

I tilted my head "Yeah? What steam?"

"My mom." He replied without hesitation, and from the bite in his voice I could tell he was frustrated "We got into a fight at dinner, and I kinda stormed out on her.... I'm not quite ready to go back and get screamed at for 'disrespect', so I'm just doing this until I'm too tired to register their bullsh*t."

"Oh..." his aggravation, though not aimed at me made me cast my gaze down "W-Was it a bad fight?"

He shook his head "Nah, it was nothing new. She was pestering me about my grades again, because as you probably know, I'm failing at almost everything."

"Yeah... I think anyone knows."

"Yeah probably but, well, I have it under control. I keep telling her I have it under control, but she just doesn't—," He realised he was raising his voice when he saw me tensing up, and that made him step back and take a breath "I mean, I know that my situation may look tight, but I have a plan and it's going to work, whether she trusts me or not... it has to work."

His jaw clenched, and for the first time since this conversation started, the ball stopped bouncing. He clutched it between his hands and glared down at it, as if it had done something bad... or, was he imagining that ball was actually someone? His mother, perhaps?

"Well..." I mentally cursed myself when my voice cracked, coughing to recover before trying again "Whatever you have planned... I know you're capable of seeing it through. I mean... you are street smart right?"

Jonas snorted slightly, his amber eyes peeking through his long dark hair to lock with mine. However, his smile soon became... rather sad looking "You're too innocent for this world, you know that?"

I huffed "Yeah. Pretty sure that's what gets me into trouble; I'm too innocent to fight for myself."

"Well I don't know about that, but let's see just in case." all of a sudden, Jonas had his ball under his arm, and his other hand was outstretched with the palm facing me "Well? Go on."

"Uhhh... what?"

"Christ on a stick, I want you to throw a punch, Cupquake." He stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Come on, give me everything you got."

"......Seriously?"

"I mean if not sticking up for yourself bothers you that much, why not find out if you actually can't."

"Yeah, 'cuz that'll totally help my self esteem."

"Oh wow, this is new. Did Desmond hit you with his sass as well as his fist?" He sounded almost mocking. Was he trying to provoke me into hitting him? Because it was working. "Would it help if I acted like him? Oh you're so pathetic, Y/N. You don't deserve to be near me and MY friends. You—,"

Normally it would have taken more than that for me to have even raised my voice a little... but I really was running on a short fuse today. With a huff I brought my closed fist back and aimed for his palm.

It didn't even budge, and he didn't make a sound. All he did was close his fingers around my fist and raise an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, what was that?" He did not sound amused. "I said punch me, not give me a tap."

My face grew warm from embarrassment, as I glared at the ground "I told you, I can't stick up for myself..."

"Well that's because you're doing it wrong." His hand moved down to hold me by the wrist instead, so that my fist was now in view "This is not how you punch someone - this is how you break your knuckles."

I frowned when he dropped his ball, not even bothering to chase it as it rolled across the pavement, only to hold in a gasp when his now free hand opened up mine. "If you wanna do it properly, instead of clenching your thumb, you've got to position it over your fingers, like this..." he positioned my hand like he explained it, "Keep it clenched, and hit with your knuckles this time, rather than the flats of your fingers. Like this," before finally letting go, he lightly bumped my fist against his palm "But ya know, harder. And with more swing."

I blinked, staring down at my clenched hand in surprise "Huh..."

"So? Try it out." Once again, his palm reached out to me "Oh, and might want to put down your bag this time. To give yourself more swing."

"Okay..." bending down, I placed my bag on the floor before straightening again and bracing myself. I brought my hand back once again, and with full force I brought it forward, aiming directly at his palm.

It jolted back ever so slightly.

"Now that's more like it!" Jonas was smirking proudly when he brought his hand down, but I was slightly sceptical.

"You moved your hand back, didn't you?"

He shook his head "That was all you. Keep that up, and you'll be sending assholes flying in no time."

I frowned and looked down at my hand. I didn't really feel powerful, not yet at least, so it was difficult taking his words to heart. "You think so?"

"I mean, Desmond was able to do it, how hard can it..." he trailed off, noticing my negative shift in expression, and cursing to himself "Ah crap, I said the D word... Does it— does he really still bother you?"

"I mean... I can't help but worry. I know I shouldn't, but... I know what it's like to be alone in this school, and I wouldn't wish that upon anyone, not even him..." by this time, stars started to appear in the sky, so I opted to stare at them instead of the boy in front of me "Do you think he'll be okay...?"

"Eh, he's popular and strong, he'll find another group in no time. He'll survive. You might not have if we kept him around though."

"...I know..."

Jonas sighed and bent down, hooking his hand through the handles of my discarded plastic bag "You really are way too innocent for your own good, Y/N... I hope that doesn't get you badly hurt in the future..."

"What do you mean by that?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Eh, nothing." I was handed the bag, and soon enough Jonas's hand was lightly pushing my back "Come on, you were heading this way, right? I'll walk you home."

"W-What?! Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why not? Besides it's against my best interest to let a girl with a pixie punch walk alone in the dark."

His tease made me scoff "I thought you said my punch was great."

"What I said was that your punch could be great if you keep using my advice." He corrected, as he looked around the area for... something "Now if only I could find my... Ah!" He jogged over to a nearby bush, where his basketball had ended up when he dropped it. After picking it up, he turned to me "Well then, shall we?"

At this point I thought there was no use fighting him. He did what he wanted, and to be honest I didn't want to walk home alone anyway. Especially since the house would be empty when I get there. So, with a defeated sigh I nodded "Okay, let's go..."

"Mkay!" He joined my side, and began lightly tossing the ball into the air "What's the bag for, anyways, were you getting groceries?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. My uncle's been staying late at work recently, so I thought I'd treat him by getting takeout from the noodle place nearby. Because, well... I can't cook..."

"....That's adorable."

"Don't patronise me."

"...No, I take it back. You're reminding me too much of Chris right now, and it's starting to creep me out."

"You can't stop me now, Jonas."

"God f*cking dammit. This better be temporary."

—- (Y'all I'm telling ya, sh*t's about to go down!)

It was not temporary...

In fact, it had been almost a month, and for some reason, my somewhat changed attitude had not gone away. I don't know if I had gained confidence, or if it was actually the exact opposite... Maybe I was subconsciously doing this to spite those who had called me wimpy. Well whatever it was, it had definitely freaked people out. Especially since I had started using curse words in my vocabulary more often... On top of that, I had definitely taken Jonas's advice, and had therefore dug up Uncle Dennis's old punching bag in the garage to practice against. Hey - you never know when I may need it.

Well anyway, the boys eventually got used to my sudden personality change - in fact, they kinda liked the fact I was talking more now. Maybe I was Desmond's upgrade... or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Although... There were two people, besides the people who found making fun of me harder, who weren't so thrilled with these changes...

And one of those people was none other than Emma.

"I don't think you should hang around them anymore."

I rolled my eyes slightly, my gaze remaining ahead as the school slowly came into view "I'm overly aware of your opinion on the matter, Emma... after you continuously give it every time we have a moment to chat."

"I know, but..." Emma seemed to fidget uncomfortably next to me "They're changing you, Y/N."

"And?"

"And... what if it's irreversible?"

My expression didn't change at all "Well maybe that's what I want. People are finding it harder to spot things about me to make fun of. To me, that seems to mean the guys are doing a pretty good job."

Emma's fists clenched at her sides "By turning you into them?"

"If that's what it takes," I replied firmly. Honestly, the amount of times we've had this exact same conversation is... exhausting to say the least "I don't like where I was before I met them, Emma. They're strong. They're cool - honestly being like them actually sounds nice."

"But if you do become like them, I won't be able to hang out with you anymore right? The student council doesn't associate with the school troublemakers, which is what you'll be if you continue like this."

"Yeah, well," I snorted slightly. "That sounds like a you problem. I never really agreed with the way the student council handled things anyway ." 

"What is that supposed to mean? We help people."

"No, you help your people." I hissed, my face hardening as I reminded myself of all the times she brushed me off, saying the teachers could 'handle it' "The only people you're really helping are the golden students, the rest of us are left to the teachers."

"Well yeah, they—,"

"THEY DON'T DO SH*T!!!"

Emma jumped away from me in shock, her dark eyes wide as they stared at me. I had my hand over my mouth, as I wondered where that sudden burst of anger came from. It had been happening a lot lately, I'd just randomly raise my voice almost completely unprovoked, which takes everyone around me by surprise, including myself...

Maybe I should talk to someone about this... but Emma wasn't that person.

I sighed "Look, I get you're worried about me, and you want to help me in your own way, but that way hasn't been working. So I have to look elsewhere. Right now it just sounds like you don't want me to get help unless it comes from you. You've been adamant on your opinion of those guys from day one, but can you at least trust me when I say I trust them? I mean, the one you were mostly worried about was kicked out of the group."

"Wait, what?"

"Desmond! He got kicked, remember?"

"You mean the arrogant Year 9? ....Y/N, He wasn't the one I was worried about."

"Wait....You weren't?"

"No! Sure he's not the best person either, but he isn't someone I had to keep a close eye one. Y/N, I wasn't worried about Desmond. I was worried about Christian."

I stopped walking instantly, my eyes growing wide "...What? Why would you be worried about Chris?"

"Because I know him, Y/N. At least, I used to." All of a sudden, Emma's expression became almost remorseful, "We used to be close."

"But... I thought you didn't associate with 'troublemakers'."

"No, but he..." she trailed off, before starting up again, her tone way more solemn this time. "You probably didn't know this, but Christian used to be in the student council. He was up until the beginning of the year you came to our school, which is why you probably weren't aware. I'm guessing you weren't from your current expression."

She was right - I wasn't aware, and I showed that through my wide opened mouth that quivered slightly from me trying to find the words to say. Chris? In the student council?? There was no way... He's nothing like them!

"Th... That's impossible!" I blurted "His entire appearance- no, his everything breaks every rule you guys have."

"He never used to be that way!" Emma retorted "He used to be well refined, and well behaved - he was who I looked to when I first joined the council. It used to be so much better back then..."

Honestly, I was still slightly in shock. Other than Emma, I hated everyone that was in the council. So to hear that Chris, someone I had grown to trust was associated with them... I didn't know how to feel.

"...So what happened?" I asked reluctantly "Why isn't he in the council anymore?"

Emma sighed and pulled at the sleeves of her blazer, "He was associated with the wrong people. Jonas and Nathaniel... they were never really a problem before, so the council didn't really have a problem with them being Christian's friends. But... then they started causing trouble, and Christian started defending them and pulling strings for them. And he continued doing that for Henry and Seth too... It was giving other students ideas that they could break the rules too. One of the most important things about being in the student council is you can't give exceptions to anyone, and he was continuously breaking that rule... we didn't have the guts to stand up to him either, because we looked up to him too much. That's when Rose joined us."

That name... the one that always left a bitter taste in my mouth, even when I wasn't the one speaking it. "...What did she do?"

"She didn't know Christian before all this, so she had no trouble standing up to him and giving him a choice. She told him he could either give his friends their due consequences... or he'd be kicked out of the council." The girl's expression became gloomy "He came in the next day with his letter of resignation in hand... and three different piercings in each ear... I still remember the look on his face; it was like he was waiting for the chance to leave us."

I scoffed under my breath "Can't say I blame him. What's this got to do with why you're worried about him?"

"He knows things, Y/N. He knows students, and how they tick. He knows how to defuse situations, and how to convince people in and out of them. I'm worried that these people act the way they do around you because he told them to. He told them what behaviour you'd feel comfortable around, because I know people like them wouldn't—"

"People like them? What do you know about people like them, if you don't associate with them?"

"I know they're trouble, and they influence those around them. They're literally doing it to you, Y/N! And I bet they did it to Christian too!"

"Or he just saw that his friends had his back, when the school authorities didn't." I crossed my arms, and for once, now that I was standing straight, I realised that I was actually a head taller than the council member "You said he seemed happy to leave, right? Don't you think there's a reason for that? I bet money it's the same reason why I put my trust in these guys, instead of holding onto the false hope of your beloved principal throwing me a bone. You, and your council f*cking suck."

"... That's not true."

"If you can't see it, then you're more delusional than I thought." I growled "In fact, after what happened with Rose and that f*cking puddle, the fact you stayed with the council proves to me you see a justice that isn't there. They're corrupt. They're selfish. They turn their back on those who really need help, just like me. And if you continue to turn a blind eye from that, then you're just as bad. You're focusing on the wrong problems, Emma... it's time to see what sh*t your own side is pulling, instead of the 'trouble' I'm in, hanging out with those boys."

She stood, frozen on the pathway, giving me a chance to walk away from her before she could think of an excuse. I was done with her... I had enough of her pointing her finger at Christian, and Jonas, and the rest of the people that showed me more charity than those she claimed were there to help me. She was either holding on to the past, or she truly believed Miss Hündin and her council friends had good intentions. Either one was stupid as hell...

"You'll see what they're really like sooner or later, Y/N!" Emma suddenly called out, and I stopped my stride, but I didn't turn around "They'll end up hurting you, I know they will."

I clenched my fists. Well, wasn't she confident...

"Even if that were true..." I turned around slightly, eying her from over my shoulder "Even if I end up hurt and alone after this... there is no way in hell I'm going back to how things were. I'm not going to be 'thankful' things didn't end up worse anymore. I refuse to accept the treatment I've been given... by Rose, by Kayden and Nicole... by Miss Hündin... and especially by you. You're not my friend, Emma... you just want to keep me in check."

"That's not true! I want to help you, in the proper way! The way that doesn't end with you being a rowdy out of control teenager!" She retorted, sounding pathetically desperate at that moment "You were so well behaved before all this, I was trying to keep that part of you! The last thing this school needs is more of them running around."

My face twisted into a scowl. So that's what it was... She really was looking out for the school image, and what I was going through made me look like a quiet obedient student... that's what makes them look good...

"Well then... isn't that selfish."

Even if she tried to defend herself further, I didn't listen. If she tried to catch up, I only walked faster. If she tried to grab me, I would yank away. I wasn't about to listen to her excuses of 'the teachers have their reasons' or 'wanting to give me proper help'. She was a broken record at this point... spitting out the same things as if the school image was her religion, and she was trying to romanticise it.

That school has done nothing for me. To hell with their beloved image.

But then, an Angel appeared. What I believed to be one, at least.

I sped up my pace even further, and as expected, Emma followed suit. I paid her no mind though. I kept my gaze forward, locked on my destination with fierce determination. It seemed as if the girl at my heels noticed I had a motive, for soon enough she was following my gaze until hers landed on him.

She gasped and halted abruptly, while I sped up further until I practically dove behind the tall upperclassman.

"W-Woah, Y/N?" Chris blinked in shock as I grasped the fabric of his sleeve. He hadn't seen me coming, so the fact I basically jumped on him had caught him off guard "You good? You're looking slightly out of..."

As he trailed off, he noticed I was glaring at someone, which caused him to look up slowly until his eyes met the wide eyes of the curly haired council member. He seemed to understand immediately, as his gaze almost immediately hardened, and he shuffled closer to me to whisper "Is she bothering you?"

I nodded "Yeah."

The boy hummed and straightened to address the still girl "You can move along now, Emma." Her name almost sounded like venom in his mouth "I appreciate you making sure Y/N was safe during her journey to school, but I can take it from here."

Emma's fists clenched at her sides "You can't expect me to be okay with that."

"I didn't ask if you're okay with it. I'm saying that's what's going to happen." Chris retorted "Move along. Now. Y/N doesn't want to be around you right now, and honestly neither do I."

I could see it - the pain in Emma's eyes when he said that, as if he had shot a bullet right into her chest. Of course, she said they used to be close... I suppose this confirms it.

"What are you trying to do, Christian?" The girl sacked, suddenly not sounding so determined "What can you hope to achieve by doing this?"

"That doesn't concern you. Besides, no matter what I'm doing, or why I'm doing it, you and your council always find bad in it. I'm simply helping someone you didn't, so there's no reason for you to involve yourself." The blonde took a step in front of me, as if to hide me from her. Of course, I felt a little bad about using him as a shield like this... but Emma wasn't going to back off otherwise. Besides, this is what he was here for, wasn't it?

"You're not going to get away with whatever you're planning. There will be consequences for this, and I'll personally see that it happens. You can't pull your strings anymore." Chris rolled his eyes at her threat, and slipped his arm out of my grasp to pull me into him by the waist.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll take my chances. Besides..." he gestured to me with his head "I'm just going with her preferences. She ran to me, instead of staying with you. If that's not telling, then you might want to get your eyes checked. I think it's clear who she feels safer around, despite my quote unquote 'bad intentions'. So yeah, excuse us."

I did my best not to trip as he pulled me alongside him towards the school gates, not even sparing another word to Emma when passing her. His arm remained around me as his gaze remained ahead... I won't lie, it sort of reminded me of the first time Jonas saved me.

All of a sudden, Chris changed course, where he led me to a tree and stopped under it. Only then did he let me go.

"Are you alright?" He asked, tone softer than before.

"Yeah," I nodded slightly "Thank you, for taking the wheel like that..."

"I told you. I'm here to help you if you ask for it. And you did ask for it."

"Hah, yeah... guess I did..." I gave a sheepish chuckle and reached up to move some hair out of my face. But suddenly, I noticed Chris's face fall slightly. "Uhh, you okay?"

He sighed "You did it again..."

"Did wha— hey!" He grasped my raised wrist without much warning and held it between us, gaze disapproving.

"You were using the punching bag without gloves again." He pointed to the scabs forming on my knuckles "You're supposed to wear them for a reason."

I puffed my cheeks, frustrated, but also a little embarrassed "This way I can hit harder though..."

"Who told you tha—," He paused, his eyes flickering in thought, before he let out a small groan "You know you really need to stop taking advice from Nate... he's called a dumbass for a reason."

"It works sometimes."

"Sometimes is an important word here, Y/N. I know you want to start looking after yourself, but it seems to me that you need to understand your limits."

I leaned back against the trunk of the tree "At least I don't feel defenceless anymore..."

"And I'm happy for you when it comes to that, but..." He trailed off, as his jaw clenched at a thought he seemed to have at that moment "If you decide to fight back against someone you can't win against, there's no telling what they might do to you... You've gotten stronger, but you've also acquired Jonas's cocky attitude. Case and point, your poor hand."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Remember when I said there were two people that weren't so happy with the changes I was going through? Chris was the other. Of course, he wasn't worried for the same reasons Emma was, but it seemed that he thought I was rushing my development. I wouldn't say his worry was suffocating, but we didn't exactly see eye to eye at the moment...

"Well, I haven't needed to fight back yet." I raised my chin, something I had taught myself to do when I felt like lowering my head. "It's just a precaution. I want to at least stun someone long enough to run away."

"You're missing the point here, Y/N..." Chris frowned "Damn, sometimes I want to punch Jonas for giving you advice... I wish you wouldn't idolise him so much, especially when—,"

"You talking about me, Chrissy?"

His cold blue eyes widened, as a familiar dark haired student stepped out from behind him, with a hand raised to rest on his tensed shoulder. The tension around us had suddenly become heavier with Jonas's arrival, despite the fact he was grinning at us... his eyes trailed downwards, till they landed between Chris and I.

"Well~. Holding hands before school, are we?"

Chris gasped when he realised he was still holding my wrist, and let go instantly while clearing his throat "Oh no, that wasn't... I was just... ugh. S-She has cuts on her hands again."

"Oh yeah?" Jonas raised an eyebrow at me, amused "Practicing hard, Cupquake?"

"Please don't encourage her. She'll end up with scars if this keeps up."

"Scars add character."

"Oh yeah? And what character, may I ask, was added when you ran with scissors?"

Jonas scoffed and pushed his friend away by the forehead, which despite the obvious tension, caused him to laugh slightly.

"Though, I suppose you have a point..." Jonas sighed, and combed a hand through his dark curls before turning to me again "I mean, it's great you're taking my advice about practice, kiddo, but... There is such a thing as progressing too fast. Am I right to think the joints in your arms hurt after practice?"

I cocked an eyebrow "That's not normal?"

"No." Both boys answered in unison, then Jonas sighed.

"That's a sign your muscles are growing faster than your joints, which is another sign you should probably bring it back a few steps." He stuffed his hands in his pockets "You can't really punch someone if your arms are hanging stiff at your sides, ya feel me?"

"....Yeah." I huffed slightly, my gaze dropping at my sides "I guess I shouldn't take things into my own hands just yet... I'll at the very least go back to practicing with gloves."

"That's the spirit. And don't worry, you still have the remainder of this year with us before you have to fend for—,"

"Hey Johnson! How's life as an outcast kiss up treating you??"

Jonas seemed to grow irritated at the sudden interruption, as he squeezed his eyes shut and let out an annoyed clenched teeth hiss, "Don't tell me that's..."

"Oh yeah," Chris seemed just as bothered as he was "It's totally Niall."

"Riveting..." The dark haired boy gritted, before turning his head to shout over his shoulder "Eat sh*t, bench warmer! Mind your business!"

I tilted my head to the side to peep behind the two upperclassman, curiosity piped, only to see a tall strawberry blonde boy stalking up to us, obviously looking to start some sh*t. Niall caught my eyes and grinned maliciously, as he reached up to cover his eye with his hand and made a mock crying face.

Remember when I said someone threw a battery at my face? Yeah, that's the guy. And he wears that 'achievement' like a badge of honour. I scowled and turned away from him, instead focusing on the two seemingly pissed Year 11s in front of me.

"What does he want?"

"Niall really likes messing with people on the basketball team," Chris sighed, adamant on ignoring the newcomer "Ever since he found out about Jonas helping you out, he's been extra insufferable."

"Me? Insufferable? Now that's just mean." Niall forced himself between the boys, nodding to me in the process "Y'alright, snitch?"

I scoffed.

"Piss off," Jonas nudged him back by with his elbow. "I'm not above hitting a dude with glasses, so beat it before I—,"

"Hey hey, chill," Niall held his hands up, but his smirk remained "I'm just here to see how this little bitch is doing, y'know since I haven't seen her since the puddle incident. To be honest it's a little unnerving, to have seen her go so long without something happening to her. It sucks because that's where I got most of my entertainment..."

Chris joined in on trying to push the blonde away "We don't need your sh*t right now, man. If you're trying to mess with Y/N, that's not going to happen with us around."

Niall's eyes traveled to Chris, as he hummed in amusement "And why not? It's extremely unlike you to be this set on looking after another student. Especially when they have as much stigma surrounding them as Y/N has. Everyone knows it's odd for you and your little group, but it's time someone spoke up about it. What do you get out of this, Christian? What's truly stopping me from slamming this little girl's face into this tree trunk here."

I shuddered at the imagery of that, which Jonas noticed as he clenched his jaw and looked over Niall's head, giving Chris signals to me with his eyes. As he did, he gave the nuisance of a student one more shove, just as Chris got the memo and reached for my arm. "As I said. Mind your business. If you came here just to ask pointless questions, we're done here."

Jonas and Chris made a move to leave Niall under that tree, with me walking between them. All three of us had our gaze fixed in front of us, our expression irritated.

"Okay but you know I'm just gonna assume!" Niall called out again, as he followed us like a yapping puppy.

Oh my god, just shut up...

"Hmmm, hey wasn't Jonas in a vulnerable state in Year 8 too?" At that, Jonas did tense "Yeah it was after your parents had that messy divorce, and your sister went to join the army! You couldn't even console your friends about it, because you had that big tough guy act. You were so alone, it was hilariously pathetic!"

"Just ignore him," Chris whispered "He's trying to start a fight."

"I know that...!" Jonas hissed back.

"Oh my God, is that why you're doing this? Because you see yourself in her or some sh*t?" Niall barked out a laugh "Holy f*ck that would be amazing if you were! Of course it's not going to make a difference; as soon as you're gone after this year, things will go right back to the way they were. She'll have no one to protect her, and you'll go about your life knowing you couldn't protect a sad, alone, weak little sad sack. That's kinda depressing now that I think about it. You probably should've just stuck to fixing your grades, that way at least your mama could be at least a little proud of you. But hey, guess some of us are just meant to be losers. Ha, you guys are meant to walk together—,"

It happened all too fast... The only indication of it happening was the sound of glasses clattering on the floor.

"Jonas!" Chris pivoted with a scowl, pulling me closer to him "What happened to ignoring him?"

"F*ck that!" Jonas was facing Niall now, his fist now red from the action he just took, which left Niall standing there with his face turned to the side, his glasses gone. His cheek was turning red too, and there was a small amount of blood pooling from his lip. Jonas just punched him...

Niall laughed slightly from surprise and turned to look at the scowling upperclassman, his eyes wide from the adrenaline that punch gave him "Hit me again - I dare you."

"Oho, you cocky bastard. Be careful what you f*cking wish for."

Niall was sent back a couple steps when Jonas's fist met with his nose, but was able to recover quickly, and therefore caught the next punch thrown at him. He gave a grin and pulled his opponent towards him, landing a knee to the gut and then an uppercut to the jaw. Despite a years age difference, it would appear this fight wasn't as one sided as I caught myself hoping it would be.

"God f*cking dammit..." Chris hissed under his breath, as a crowd of students began to form around the brawling boys. He then gasped as I attempted to tear myself from his grasp, and pulled me back with an arm hooked under each of my armpits "Oh no, you're staying here. You don't just run towards two dudes duking it out, especially when one's blinded by dumb f*cking rage. It's like trying to separate two dogs mauling each other."

I glared up at him "But Jonas needs help."

"Trust me, he can get himself out of this situation. You on the other hand would only get hurt."

"Tch. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, no," His grip seemed to tighten at my claim, not that I could escape anyway "I'm not taking that risk."

I let out a growl, as I glared at Niall. He seemed to very much be enjoying taking out his frustrations on his basketball teammate, as despite having a messed up face right now, he had the same smirk that remained on his face since he interrupted us.

"You know, you never really answered Niall's question..." I muttered.

"What...?"

"You always say you're here to help me, but you never give me a real reason..." I felt his grip loosen slightly, which made me smirk "That or you just ignore me completely... why is that? Are you hiding something from everyone? What could you possibly gain from helping just for the f*ck of it...?"

Chris had become still. Even though he kept me facing away from him, I could tell he was not happy with my questions. It was probably because I had just accepted his answers, or lack of before now.

"Jonas hasn't really given you much of an answer either, you know."

"Yeah, well..." I scoffed slightly, and moved to look over my shoulder at him. His icy blue eyes stared down at me in confusion, likely wondering where I had gotten my cold attitude towards him. "To be honest I trust him more than a former member of the student council."

If it was any other moment in time before now, I probably would have regretted saying that, because immediately the roughed up boy's face fell. He probably didn't want me to know that... if he did, he probably would have told me himself...

I felt his grip soften even more, which was what I wanted... There were people here; I could use this to show them how fearless I had become... Maybe then they would finally leave me alone.

"Look out!!!"

Chris and I were alerted to a student's yell, causing us to turn our attention to the fight once again. But we didn't react in time.

It would appear Niall had gotten his arms around Jonas's abdomen, and had trapped him in his grip as they both stumbled across the makeshift battlefield... and right towards us.

Jonas's elbow flew backwards and nailed me right in the face, causing me to fall backwards into Chris and hold my face in pain. A few students around us gasped, and Chris adjusted his hold so he could support me comfortably. He glared up at his friend "Jonas you idiotic prick!"

"What did you call—," Jonas swallowed his words when he saw me holding my hand under my nose, blood pooling into it as I winced in pain "Oh sh*t..."

"That is enough!!"

Niall and Jonas shot up at the sound of a new, infuriated voice that seemed to be pushing through the crowd, both their faces growing even more panicked when the owner revealed herself as a teacher. And she looked mad.

"Both of you. Get yourselves to the principal's office. Now."

Man oh man oh man (Yunobo reference haha...) haven't really done a proper cliffhanger in quite awhile...

I didn't really know what direction I wanted to go in this chapter. Quite frankly the main reason I was so stuck on this for months is because I was so stuck with it. But, I think I managed in the end... keyword 'think'.

Now then. I do have one more thing before we go about our day. Another little bit shown from (kinda) Jonas's point of view. It's third person but still.

Oh and btw, the next chapter will be the last on Y/N's backstory. Y'all will be back in Hyrule with our dorky heroic elf soon.

Enjoy!!! (This takes place just after Jonas leaves the music room btw)

—-

As soon as the door clicked shut, Jonas's playful demeanour melted away. He probably overdid it a bit there, especially with all the fake whining, but he had to hide the fact he was itching to get his hands around that blonde bastard's neck from Y/N. She was already unhappy with him kicking Desmond out the way he was, the last thing he wanted was for her to start feeling unsafe around him. That would undo everything he had been working towards.

Eyes on the prize. He told himself, as he walked down the hall.

The janitor's closet wasn't hard to find. All he had to do was take one or two rights and he'd be standing right in front of him. As he drew closer, it was apparent something was already going on in there, which made his jaw clench. He knew exactly who was behind that door. And that person's nose was about to become acquainted with his fist.

He knocked on the door, and the noise halted. A muffled gasp came from the other side, as if the person inside had just been silenced by a gag... or a hand.

"Nate it's me..."

"Oh." The dude sounded very much relieved "Come in then, moron."

Jonas let out a scoffed chuckle and reached for the door, but he hesitated "Actually could you come out? I got some things I wanna get off my chest."

"Umm... yeah, sure, hold on. Stay here, f*ckstain..." that last bit obviously wasn't aimed at him, as soon after shoving was once again heard inside the closet. A small crash, followed by a pained groan was the last thing Jonas heard before the door opened and Nathaniel quickly slipped out. His hand remained on the handle, just in case his victim inside tried to escape, and he raised an eyebrow at his friend "So, what's up?"

Jonas huffed through his nose "I don't know, everything? I feel like this whole thing's falling through the ceiling..."

"Yeah? Why's that? Surely Desmond stepping out of line wasn't enough to sway you great and mighty self."

"Shut up, I'm serious." He glared "And it's not just that... I mean yeah, that was a bit of a dick move, but it is Dez we're talking about... but there's more to it."

Nathaniel tilted his head "Go on..."

"It's just— I don't know, it's getting a lot harder taking the hits for this girl. I've been given many after school detentions because I stood up to that four eyed council bitch, and I'm pretty sure a suspension isn't far off if it keeps up." Jonas brought his hands to his face and groaned "Not only that, but Y/N seems to be favouring Chris more than the rest of us, which is likely going to cause a problem for us because the prick is considering bailing on us!"

"What the f*ck?!" Nate's tone shifted to a snarl instantly after hearing that "He convinced us into accepting that stupid deal in the first place - that's messed up!"

"I know, that's exactly what I said!"

"....Want me to beat him up too?"

"No—!" Jonas caught himself and sighed. He should not be caring about that asshole's well-being right now "If Chris showed up with bruises, Y/N's going to get suspicious. And he'll have more reason to expose us. We can't risk it."

"Yeah, I guess..." The taller boy sighed and leaned against the door "I guess we're lucky Desmond didn't expose us, huh? He had the opportunity to, and I'm pretty sure that would have gotten rid of Y/N. Guess he's just thick headed."

Jonas fell silent, which confused his friend.

"That is what it is, right? There's not anything you're not telling me, is there? Or rather... telling him?"

His form tightened, and he clicked his tongue sheepishly "So, funny story..."

Oh hell to the mother f*cking no.

"You didn't tell him?!" Nate roared, sending an echo down the empty halls and causing Jonas to wince.

"Keep your voice down, will ya?"

Nate put a hand up to his face, anger boiling inside his core "Well no wonder he acted the way he did! With his background being similar to Y/N's, and you giving her a 'free pass', no wonder he was so pissed! I would be too if I was in his shoes! Why the f*ck would you leave him out of this?!"

"It shouldn't have mattered!" this time, Jonas raised his voice too "He was still going back on what I told him, he still broke my trust!"

"You know a 'say so' is never enough for him!!"

"Well then he shouldn't be in this group, should he?!"

Nate scoffed and threw his head back "Jesus your superiority complex is really shining through today, bro. I mean really, he's your friend—,"

"Was my friend." Jonas corrected.

"Whatever. You still kept something from him, yet you told the rest of us." His eyes narrowed "I want to know why."

Jonas scoffed and turned away for a brief moment. To tell the truth, the reason he didn't tell Desmond was because he panicked. He thought that the kid would react the same way Chris was acting right now. So, either he was weary about the wrong guy, or he had two untrustworthy assholes in his group. Maybe both... he sighed and turned to Nathaniel again, "If you want to know so badly, I was... weary. Given Desmond's background, if he knew about this, he probably would have seen himself in Y/N or something, and would try to warn her about what we're planning. That, or he would have acted the same way he did, and being the idiot he is, he would've disclosed the plan in a fit of dumbass rage. Either way, I didn't want to risk him knowing."

"Yeah well because of that, now we're down one guy, and now he probably knows anyway because of all the yelling we're doing!"

"Yeah, and who's fault is that prick?!"

"I—," Nate paused, "Good point, but still! If you ask me, I think he had the right to know!"

"Well I'm not asking you," Jonas hissed "And frankly, if you keep talking like that, I'm going to start thinking you might be thinking about bailing, too."

Nate caught his words in his throat. The way his friend was looking at him... He could tell Jonas was clinging onto this chance tighter than he was at the beginning. He must really think of this whole thing as a last resort, and the fact his own friends were either questioning him, or completely going behind his back... His behaviour wasn't justified, but Nate could empathise with him.

"No... I'm not... I stick to things, unlike some people. But despite that, I am starting to think this isn't a good idea."

"What, are you starting to like Y/N too?"

"No, it's not like—," The tall boy huffed irritably through his nose, and stuffed his bruised hands into his pockets "Ugh... look it's stupid, okay."

"Well that's normal coming from you, Nate, so continue..."

He scoffed, almost earning a grin from Jonas, and turned away from him, his tuft of curly brown hair sweeping over his eyes as if to hide them.

"You know how people let loose when they've been through a lot of sh*t?"

Jonas cocked an eyebrow "Uhhhh yeah? But what's that got to do with—,"

"I think Y/N's close to that point." Nate blurted "You should have seen her today, Jonas. The way she screamed at that council girl. I'm... I might be overthinking it, but what if she finds out about what we're doing, and she might not take it well. Like, really not take it well."

".....So what I'm hearing right now is you're scared."

"That is not what I'm—,"

"Your 6'6 ass is scared of a tiny little girl three years younger than you."

"Jonas!" Nate outwardly groaned, almost wanting to strangle his smirking classmate "Look, making fun of me doesn't erase the fact that it's definitely a possibility. We gotta be careful, man. We've been keeping an eye out for risks up until now, so what makes you think that Y/N herself can't be one of them?"

Jonas crossed his arms, looking as if he was actually thinking about his friends theory. Technically, anyone could become strong with certain motives. Chris got strong to push back the expectations on his shoulders. Henry got strong to hide his less masculine side.... Desmond got strong so he could finally be taken seriously, even though it kinda backfired for him...

What if revenge was Y/N's motive. If she ever found out, that is... What if her reason for getting stronger was because she had enough.

"Hmmmm, nah I doubt that." Jonas finally said, though his grin was a little less certain this time "Besides, even if it was true. Even if you're right about her, it won't affect us. We'll be out of this school soon enough, anyway."

Nate frowned "For you, me and Chris, yeah. But Seth and Henry will still be here. Do you expect them to take the heat for us?"

"Calm down, I didn't say that. Y/N doesn't have to know that they knew, if what you think is going to happen actually happens. Which, again, I doubt. We literally could just get out of this scott free - all of us."

"What about Desmond?"

"That's why we're here, isn't it?"

"Right..." Nate hummed, not at all convinced "Not gonna lie, you sound like a gang leader, my dude." He sighed and ran a hand down his face "I'm still kinda skeptical... I was fine with the whole plan before, because it was a new idea, and you seemed so sure about it... but now, having thought about it a little more, and considering that Chris, the smartest of us all is considering wanting out..."

Jonas's eyes narrowed in suspicion "Choose your words wisely..."

"Look, I just don't think we should blindly trust the deal we've been handed anymore... especially considering who handed it to us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's turned her back on people like us countless times before Jonas... what makes you think she won't do it again?"

Not going to lie, that was something that was constantly on Jonas's mind. The person who had made this deal with them- him specifically wasn't really someone he particularly liked. In fact, he hated her. But she had given him a chance, possibly his last, so he had to take it.

"....This is the only thing I have going for me at the moment, Nate.... I have to trust it."

"And I guess you want us to trust you... which means we have to trust it too..."

"You know my pride wouldn't allow it without a very good reason. So, yes..."

Nathaniel let out a long sigh, his head slowly moving back with the air he let out as if it was pushing him back. Of course, he still didn't like it, but hey, you make sacrifices for your friends all the time... And sometimes those sacrifices involve lying to a tormented young girl.

"If this blows up on us, you owe me like, ten bags of Doritos." He bargained, almost jokingly, causing his friend to snort.

"You're addicted to those things, I swear."

"What can I say? It's my comfort food." Nate shrugged, before letting his eyes travel back to the closet door. Desmond had made no moves to open the door yet, which made him think he might have accidentally knocked the kid out. "So... Uhh, back to this. How are we going to cover this up?"

"Oh, uhhhhhhhh... didn't think that far. Any ideas?"

"...... How about we pin this on that Kayden guy? He's got the bruises to back the claim up, thanks to me. We just need to tell the teachers they were fighting in the closet, and Kayden bailed, and they'll believe it because it's right in front of them. Rose would probably vouch for it too, to keep herself out of trouble."

Jonas let out a small 'huh' "That's... not actually a bad idea. Wait, what about your hands though? I know you're usually beat up and stuff, but it's still suspicious."

"I have pockets for a reason, Jonas."

"You know what, that's fair enou—," The sound of a very obnoxious ringtone interrupted the conversation they were having, which had Nate digging through his trouser pockets with a grimace.

"Oh f*ck, it's my brother. Hold that thought, Jonas-," he brought the device to his ear "Exer what do you waaaaaaant? Yeah I'm busy, I'm at school!....... Yeah, yeah... well maybe I decided to pay attention for once! Look, what do you need? You obviously didn't want to say hello - because you never do that, that's why!"

Jonas leaned against the wall and waited impatiently, briefly listening to Nate's side of his conversation with his brother as he messed with the collar of his white school shirt. Hopefully whatever goes on in the janitor's closet... blood won't splash on his clothes, after all it's a bitch to wash out of white.

"Okay fiiiiiine, I'll come over.... No I am not ecstatic! You guys obviously need me, so I'm taking precious time out of my school day to help! Uh huh, yeah I'm not listening anymore. Oh, sorry. You're breaking up - what was that? Nope, you're gone, byyyyyyye!" Nate hung up abruptly, a shit eating grin on his face as if hanging up on Exer was some sort of big feat. "I have to go; Exer needs me for band practice. You'll be alright uhh... cleaning up?"

"Oh yeah, totally." Jonas shooed him with his hand "Go, rock out or whatever. It's more fun this way anyway."

"Normally I'd say mood, but you're creeping me out today."

"Thank you."

"Yeaaaaaah.... Well, whatever. Bye."

"Yep." Jonas pushed away from the wall as soon as Nate turned to walk away, cracking his knuckles in the process to prepare for the next few moments. He rolled his shoulders back and reached for the door, letting out a breath as he did so. Then—

"Oh, and Jonas."

He inwardly groaned "What?"

The sound of footsteps stopped behind him, which was followed by a small squeak which indicated that the tall boy had turned around. All of a sudden, his voice became serious once again.

"If it comes to it, if Henry wants to duck out that is, you cannot expect me to stand in his way. Because I'm not doing that to him."

Jonas looked over his shoulder to meet Nate's eyes. He was serious - he always had been clear on the fact he wouldn't hurt Henry, no matter the circumstances.... It was a wonder how no one outside their friend group had picked up on the hints yet.

"Don't worry, your boyfriend's blood will not touch your big clumsy hands." Jonas ensured with a playful eye roll, which made the other boy scoff.

"One, not my boyfriend. Two, that is not reassuring at all."

"Sure, anyway go," Jonas shooed him again as he turned to the door "The halls are only empty for so long."

The tall student said nothing this time. The only indication of him leaving was the sound of footsteps echoing down the hall... and then, Jonas was alone.

He wasted no time opening the door to reveal the closet. He was absolutely still angry at the person inside, possibly more so after his conversation with Nate. His violent urge just couldn't wait any longer.

His shadow, and the light of the hallway shone through the doorway and was cast upon a figure. Jonas snorted loudly.

"Holy sh*t, you look terrible."

Desmond sat sprawled out amongst many fallen cleaning tools, which was probably where the clattering from before came from. His uniform was a mess, his hair now unkempt and no longer kept together by the gel that he put in it daily, and his face swollen and bruised. Nate really did not hold back on him, just like Chris said...

Desmond slowly sat up, his hand moving to hold his shoulders as he grit his teeth at Jonas "You bastard..."

"Oh, come on," Jonas rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind him "You can't honestly say you didn't expect this."

"That... isn't what I mean." The blonde strained "All... all that stuff out there... what was... that all about?"

The older boy clicked his tongue and stepped towards his beaten ex friend "What does it matter? You wouldn't care - you made that obvious today. How is what we're doing any more f*caked up than your little attempt to get rid of that girl?"

Desmond growled, but flinched away from his upperclassman's movement "The difference is I was clear about my dislike for her from the beginning... I did not deceive her... like you think I did... but you still kept me around her to carry out your twisted plan, whatever that is..." he averted his gaze "You didn't even tell me... were you waiting for me to be done with this?... Did you want a reason to kick me out?"

Jonas shrugged casually, before kneeling down to level with him. His face showed no emotion now, which frankly was more terrifying than any scowl. "Maybe, maybe not. But that's not important. What's important is now you're a threat to Y/N, which means you're a threat to my plans. Which means you gotta go. So, yeah... Sorry, it's been fun. Kinda."

"You know, Nate was right..." Dez's lips twitched into a weak smirk "That girl... The way she spoke to me today... She's going to give you hell when she finds out..."

"Yeah, as if she can do anything to me. She's a bully target for a reason."

"Wow. Ya know, I really hope you're proud of yourself..." Desmond sighed and shook his head "What I did was bad, but you... you're just sick. Using her for your personal gain like that, shaming Chris for wanting out, calling Nate an idiot for being worried... Not telling me about your plans and still expecting me to go along with it... I don't like Y/N, but not even she deserves this...."

"Oh so now you care about her. Well..." Jonas brought his fist back, watching as Desmond braced for impact with an almost hateful smirk spreading across the length of his face.

"It's a little late for that, isn't it...?"