✮Ｔ．Ｈ．Ｉ．Ｒ．Ｄ✮

Colby rushed out of his house hastily, the energy around him exciting and nervous as it was his first day of school yet again. He was late, not to school but to his meet-up with Sam. They were planning on going with each other the night before, both staying on Facetime until they fell asleep or their phones died. Colby picked out an original outfit, a white tee, black skinny jeans, and surprisingly, no beanie. Sam helped him choose it out, Colby being very indecisive when it comes to clothing.

Nevertheless, Colby's feet clashed hard against the ground as his legs moved rapidly, sprinting toward Sam's house in a hurry as he panted. He didn't want to let Sam down on the first day. Lucky for Colby, Sam lived close to him. It made life easier, living near your best friend. They both did vine together, sharing a collab account as they made quite the following over the past few months. But then again, they got a few haters from their school often. They'd also call out slurs in the hallways, throw crumpled papers at them, and sometimes if they're unlucky they'd slam Sam and Colby into the lockers.

Sam hated it whenever they got close to him or Colby, the feeling of anger always threatening to burst out of his chest in violent ways. Colby was the only thing keeping him calm, his words being used delicately to calm down Sam's voices. Sam always listened to Colby, their bond strong as everyone knew they were always together. No matter what, Sam would be beside Colby and Colby would be beside Sam. They are an inseparable duo, which Colby was grateful for.

Loudly, Colby's fist clashed against Sam's front door rapidly, knocking hard and excitedly as he couldn't contain his nervousness either. He heard muffled voices, some shouting and some chuckles from the other side of the door. Shadows appeared behind the door, the knob slowly turning in front of the brunette.

"Hey, dude! You're late!" Sam scolded jokingly, turning his red cap so it lay backward. Sam's backpack slung over his shoulder nicely, a perfect fit. He wore a black tee, the opposite of Colby and he wore black sweatpants, matching with the shirt. His sneakers were slightly dirty, but originally black as well.

"I know, bro, I literally rushed out the door to get here! I almost forgot we had school, dude," Colby muttered the last part, Sam chuckling lightly as he shut the front door to his house. Sam stepped on the porch, Colby following behind him as he walked down the stairs. Sam yawned, fatigue still fading as he woke up minutes ago.

"Are you even ready for this?" Sam laughed, his voice teasing as he knew Colby was extremely worried for the first day. Colby chuckled nervously, his mind racing as he thought of endless possibilities. What if one of the players from the football team was in his class? What if Sam wasn't in any of his classes? Colby didn't know how he'd survive without him.

"Nah, I'm not, to be honest..." Colby mumbled, looking at the empty streets as nobody was near them. They lived in a small neighborhood, fortunately. One percent of the reason they were glad to have each other. Sam felt a small amount of guilt for teasing Colby, not wanting to scare the younger.

"Hey, dude, you'll be fine! I'll be with you, I promise," Sam said, smiling widely at the brunette. Colby looked at Sam thankfully, appreciating his comforting words dearly as they helped his nerves a tiny bit.

"Thanks, dude... I trust you, honest."

Sam didn't say anything, just smiling at the younger with determination.

✮

✮

✮

Colby gulped down his nervousness as he saw the nostalgia building in front of him, good and bad memories flooding through his brain as he remembered certain situations. "Hey... You'll be okay, Colby," Sam said, grasping Colby's hand and squeezing it reassuringly as he looked at him promisingly. Colby smiled nervously, trying to grasp bravery desperately. Colby nodded, closing his eyes as he tried to control his anxiety.

"Okay,"

They walked closely together, their hands still clasped together platonically. Colby tried to calm himself down, struggling as he hopelessly tried to calm his breathing. Sam squeezed his hand, not looking back as he kept his eyes on the front doors of the school. People gave them dirty looks. Well, at least Colby thought they did. Nobody looked at them, paying attention to their friends or partners with affection and care as mostly everyone was kind.

"Blue Valley, here we come!" Sam said, opening the door with his extra hand and stepping in. Colby gulped, following behind as he held Sam's hand tightly. Sam had a smile on his face, a warm energy radiating off of him as he nodded his head at friends or people he knew, such as acquaintances. Sam glanced at Colby, seeing the nervous boy becoming slightly more comfortable each second. "You doing good, dude?" Sam asked, smiling gently at him. Colby chuckled gently, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Colby responded lightly, his voice light and no longer dense with worry. Sam felt a sense of pride below him, mentally patting himself on the back as he was glad he helped Colby become more comfortable.

"Wanna grab our lockers?" Sam asked, smirking as if it was a dare. Colby gasped jokingly, staring at Sam with wide eyes.

"You wouldn't!" Colby shrieked, seeing Sam rush over to the office as they always fought over the corner locker. "Samuel John Golbach, don't you dare!" Colby shouted, everyone looking over at them curiously before returning to their conversations. Sam giggled childishly, running over to the locker with Colby running behind him as he tried to catch up. Sam slammed his own body into the locker, claiming it victoriously as he cheered, throwing his hands in the air.

"Suck it, Colby!" Sam shouted happily, jokingly trash-talking the brunette who panted for air, his hands on his knees.

"Goddangit..." Colby muttered, still trying to catch his breath as he wasn't on track like Sam.

"Hey, that's my line!" Sam argued, a fake scowl on his face as he tried to hide his laughter. Colby chuckled, rolling his eyes as he got to the locker beside Sam. Colby opened it, placing his extra binders, papers, supplies, and his backpack in it effortlessly as Sam struggled to put his backpack in.

"Bro, are you stupid? Just take the stuff out!" Colby laughed, watching Sam groan.

"Hey, I'm good in math, you piece of garbage!" Sam argued jokingly, even though he was extremely good in math, and helped Colby every day with it. Colby rolled his eyes, not denying the fact that it was true. Sam unzipped his backpack, placing his books and supplies into the locker.

A few minutes passed by, and both Sam and Colby were tired as they had twenty-five minutes left before class started. Sam leaned against the locker as Colby kept his backpack slung against him, standing normally with his hand holding the backpack. They made a couple of jokes, laughing about last year as they didn't know what to expect this year. Abruptly, Sam's face turned into a scowl as he saw three of the jocks walking toward them, basically twenty feet behind Colby. Colby's brows furrowed, looking at Sam for a few seconds before looking behind him and-

"Hey, Brock! Catch!" A voice shouted, Colby's brows furrowed further before he turned his head.

"Colby, don't!-"

A deafening smack erupted through their ears, the feeling of a sting going through Colby's cheek as the apple hit his face. Colby winced, holding his cheek as he stared at the jocks in confusion, watching them stand in front of him. "What do you want?" Colby asked angrily, not appreciating an apple to the face.

"Hey, man, I just wanted to say hello!" Jeremy said, smirking evidently as he didn't try to hide it. Sam had his teeth clenched, fighting off the urge to shout at the jocks restlessly. Colby was angered with a small amount of nervousness in his gut but not enough for him to back down.

"Sure, man, sure..." Colby rolled his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. That small action angered Jeremy and his goons, all of them cracking their knuckles behind Jeremy. Colby looked away, waiting for them to leave before looking back at Sam. "Let's go, dude," Colby muttered, walking toward Sam.

"I didn't get to say goodbye yet!" Jeremy said angrily, a smirk hiding his anger. Suddenly, Colby was pulled back by his wrist.

"Hey, let him go!" Sam shouted, failing to grab Colby's hand. Colby's eyes widened with fear, memories clouding his mind as this felt all too familiar. "Jeremy, fuck off, man!" Sam argued, stomping over toward them. Suddenly, Colby cried out in pain, his body being slammed against the locker with a strong amount of force. Jeremy held his shoulders tightly, his nails gripping at the clothed flesh angrily.

"Hey, let me go, you asshole!" Colby shouted, frustration and fear coating his lungs sickly. Sam clenched his teeth angrily, his fists tensing up as he felt the need to punch the sense into Jeremy. Suddenly, Sam's arms were grabbed from behind him, holding him back from getting to Colby.

"Hey, what the fuck! Let us go!" Sam shouted, struggling against the hold he was trapped in. Anger and protectiveness burst out of his chest once he heard Colby cry out again, watching his frail body be punched in the stomach.

"This is just a welcoming gift, Brock! You have no idea what you have coming for you," He chuckled, throwing a knee into Colby's groin. Colby groaned, clenching his teeth as he was pinned to the lockers.

"L-Leave me alone, Jeremy!" Colby pleaded angrily as he fought against the pain. Jeremy laughed, watching as Sam glared angrily at him.

"Let him go! I swear to god, you'll pay!" Sam growled against clenched teeth. Jeremy pursed his lip before smirking once more, kicking Colby in the gut. Colby yelped, falling to his knees once Jeremy let him go. Sam couldn't take it anymore, kicking the person behind him with an extreme amount of force. They cried out, holding their stomach in pain as Sam escaped. Sam ran up to Jeremy, throwing a punch to his head. Jeremy shouted in pain, holding his head as Sam pushed him to the floor. Sam stomped on his abdomen twice, kicking his side as rage flooded his vision and his only objective was to hurt him.

Jeremy got up, pushing Sam and groaning. "This isn't the end!" Jeremy shouted, walking off with his goons. Sam smirked, watching them disappear into the crowd that formed throughout the fight. Sam heard a small whine, his head ripping to the side as he saw Colby hold his abdomen with clenched teeth.

"Woah, hey, hey, dude, don't move..." Sam said, rushing over to his side. Colby whimpered, clutching his stomach as his leg throbbed in pain. Sam sighed, watching as a bruise formed on the side of his cheek. "Hey, we should get to the nurse, okay?" Sam said gently, warning Colby. Colby nodded, his throat sore from the whimpering and yelps. Sam wrapped Colby's arm around his neck, pulling him up. Sam wrapped an arm around Colby's waist, helping the brunette walk to the nurse's office.

"T-Thanks... for saving me," Colby mumbled appreciatively, looking at Sam thankfully. Sam chuckled, looking at Colby with affection.

"Of course, bro, anything for you,"

✮Ｅ．Ｎ．Ｄ✮