"One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalised and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered." - Michael J. Fox

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I wish he would stop making fun of the mess my hair was in today.

I sat on a bench with a whole lot of other kids who were out of the game, most looking completely beaten and out of it. My arm felt almost numb, the skin there gone beetroot red. That's going to leave a nasty bruise.

Watching the game was way better than actually being in it, the only thing really annoying me though was that no one could land a single hit on Adam. He was too good at this game, ducking and throwing with so much force... it was almost emotional. I narrowed my eyes and concentrated on him, noticing how his eyes seemed almost clouded over, like he was thinking about something else. There was anger in his throws, resentment and hate-

I had to blink myself out of it again. Stop it! Don't let that part of yourself get out of hand. Taking in a deep breath and trying to calm down the fizzy feeling in my head, I hunched over, smothering my face in my hands. I completely blocked out everything until the end of the match. Heck, why am I feeling so sensitive today?

The coach blew the whistle, signalling the end of the game and everyone began packing away the equipment.

Adam's team won obviously.

Emma came running over to me, checking me over and eyes widening at the sight of the big, stinging red patch on my arm. She grit her teeth and gave me a look, asking if I was okay.

I shook my head, keeping my gaze to the floor and not trusting myself to look into anyone else's eyes. That was enough for one day and I plan on going home. We went to the changing rooms and got back into our normal clothes. the bell ringing for the end of the school day.

Hauling my shoulder bag over me, we marched our way out of the school grounds. I don't understand why today of all days my sensitivity has been on high. My head pounded hard in my skull. Maybe I'm coming down with something. Yeah... that's got to be it.

Emma tapped me on the shoulder, snapping me back to reality. She was frowning at me, concern etched into her features. 'You're not acting like yourself. Want to come back to mine?'

I shook my head. 'No thanks. I've got to do these posters for the club remember? Also, I'm okay don't worry about it. I'm just tired.'

She looked skeptical, but clearly decided to believe me. 'Okay. Take care I'll see you tomorrow. And don't be late again!'

I grinned as we stepped outside of the school gates. 'I'll try not to be. Later!'

She smiled and waved goodbye, as we both took our separate routes home. I turned my back on her and began walking down the street, along with a bunch of other kids eager to go home. I hated walking; it made me wish I had my bike so that I could make it back faster.

"H-Hey! I-I don't want any trouble..."

I snapped my head around at the noise, barely audible above the sounds of the city, but I heard it. Curiosity lead me towards a darkened alley and upon peeking around the corner, I spotted Adam with three other boys circled around someone with their back pressed up against the wall.

Adam chuckled darkly, his tanned skin looked so pale in this lighting and blue eyes looking more sinister. "Well would you look at that? He does have a voice!" The boys around him laughed.

"P-please..."

I poked my head around the corner a little further to see who was Adam's victim for today, recognising them to be the new boy from earlier whom I had bumped into. He was trembling on his hands and knees, cowering underneath Adam and begging for mercy. I couldn't help but tut silently. You can't give the bully what he wants, especially that feeling of superiority.

The bully smirked, gripping the boy's chin and yanking upwards to force him to look at him. "I hear you've got no ability. Is that right?"

At first he didn't reply, but then he bit his lip and nodded. I had to stifle my gasp by clasping a hand over my mouth. Though everyone has powers now, some people are known for being born without. It's extremely rare though and usually they don't fair well against the harsh world we live in. He has no chance.

"Haha! Really?! You seriously don't have anything?" Adam let go of the boy's chin and nudged him with his foot, prodding him like some kind of animal.

"N-no..." His voice came out in such a whisper that it was barely audible.

"What's your name, kid?"

The victim pressed his lips together into a thin line, silver hair overshadowing his eyes. Adam was clearly growing impatient, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him off the ground. His body shimmered as he turned to bronze.

"Answer me weakling!"

"N-Nath! My name is Nathaniel..."

Adam let him drop to the ground, smirking. "I think we'll be good friends, you and I." Digging into his bag, he brought out a stack of books and loose paper, letting them fall on Nathan's head. The boy flinched but didn't retaliate. "You smart?"

"Um..."

"That's good enough. Get this work done for me by tomorrow or there will be major consequences." Adam clenched his fist, metal creaking as he moved his joints before turned his back on the him, waving his hand in dismissal. "Oh and remember to mimic my handwriting too. See ya later, weakling."

As he and his small group came walking out of the alley, I had to duck out of the way so as to not be seen.

When they were gone, I peaked my head back around again to see Nathaniel crumpled on the floor, chest rising and falling heavily. He brought up his fist and punched the ground, but only to yelp and pull back his hand away in pain.

Whether it was my business or not, I decided to enter the alley and without saying a word, I knelt down and collected the books and paper sprawled out on the floor.

He seemed to panic, standing up and trying to snatch them back from me. "H-hey! I need those-"

"Calm down! I was only picking them up for you." I let him take the stack, watching as he tried to juggle it all in his arms.

"T-thanks..." he said quietly, peaking around the books. Even as he did so, he still wouldn't meet my gaze, eyes darting about on the floor.

"No problem. And hey I'm sorry about earlier when I bumped into you. Are you new at our school?"

Nathan nodded. "It's fine. A-And yeah I'm new..." he trailed off, voice always getting quieter and quieter the longer the sentence he spoke.

As much as I wanted to ask him more questions like why he was late and about not having any abilities, it was clear he didn't feel comfortable for some reason talking to me. By the looks of things, he's painfully shy and there really was no point in trying to help him feel better about this whole situation he was in now, because there wasn't anything I could really do.

"So... good chat..." I nodded awkwardly, walking towards the end of the alley, eager to get out of the shadow. I waved at him, trying my best to be friendly. "I'll see ya."

"...Bye, Clara."

My hand instantly dropped to my side and an unsettling feeling fell over me. "How do you know my name?"

He glanced at me before looking at his shoes again. I couldn't see the expression on his face. "Didn't you say?"

I eyed him up and down. "No. I didn't say..."

Nathan stayed quiet for a while before speaking again. "We... we're in the same science class."

"...Right..."

Without saying another word, I turned the corner into the street, back on my route home.