Nothing To Lose

Chapter 1: Intro

"How are you feeling today, Eli?" Dr. Nichols asked with a gentle smile.

Like shit. Eli thought before actually responding.

"The same as everyday you ask me that question." Eli replied dryly. He then bit his lip and smiled apologetically when he saw that her smile had faltered. He couldn't help it really. His new medication had him feeling very defensive as of late. He usually almost always thought things through before he blurted them out, but these pills just wouldn't let him do that. After he had went off on both of his parents (which is a strange occurrence for Eli) he had asked Dr. Nichols about the pills. She had explained that it was one of the many side effects.

He had explained this to both of his parents when he got home that night and they had forgiven him. Eli did feel bad for his parents, though. Living with him lately hasn't been as easy going as it had been in the past. About 8 months ago, Eli lost his beloved girlfriend Julia. It was a major hit to the whole Goldsworthy family. That's why he was forced to see Dr. Nichols four times a week. And to top it all off, his parents were practically breathing down his neck twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.

Bullfrog would barely let him out of his sight anymore, which really wasn't too hard since he did his radio show from home. Bullfrog cooked fro Eli, took him places, helped with homework (which really wasn't necessary), made him snacks, etc. Basically, the only thing Bullfrog didn't do for his son was wipe his ass. Bullfrog has always been a protective and caring father towards Eli, but this was a little too out of character for Eli's liking.

"Sorry, that was completely uncalled for." Eli apologized quietly, staring at his hands as if they had grown hands of their own.

"That's alright, Eli. It's always a struggle adjusting to new medications." She smiled warmly at him while peering through her glasses at his nervous state. She scribbled a few things onto her notepad before turning her full attention back to the young man sitting in front of her.

"Alright, Eli." The doctor sighed with sympathy for the boy. "Why don't you head off to school and we can finish this session when you get out."

Eli nodded obediently, grabbed his things, and left without a word.

This wasn't unusual for Eli. He barely ever talked in his sessions. He never really talked anymore, no matter where he was. He didn't talk to his mother, CeCe. He didn't talk to his father, Bullfrog. He didn't enjoy talking to his friends or teachers. After a while, a few of his peers (Friends he had started pushing away) and teachers started voicing concern for Eli. The guidance councilor ended up having to make a call to his parents after Eli had gotten into a fight with some older boys at school.

Eli had been unaware of the call until he had arrived home that night. CeCe and Bullfrog had been waiting patiently on the couch for him to return home. His mother had rushed over to him as soon as he came in the door. His father simply waited on the sofa. CeCe fussed over his appearance and ushered him into the living room while she got a damp towel to clean off his face. After she had finished getting all of the blood off of Eli's face, CeCe went into hysterics.

Bullfrog rolled his eyes and quickly snapped at his wife, " Cecilia! Calm down, you're only going to make the boy feel worse." He gently touched his wife's arm as she sat next to him and across from their son.

The father's facial expression hardened as he turned towards his son. "Now Eli, tell us what happened." He paused for a second before adding," We need to know everything."

Eli rummaged through his locker until he found the brown paper sack his mother had given that morning. He grabbed the sack, shut his locker, turned around and let his back touch the cold metal. He slid to the floor and crossed his legs. He opened the sack to find a turkey sandwich, a coke, and a bag of cookies CeCe had made the afternoon before. He smiled to himself and went for the cookies and set the bag on the floor.

Eli did this everyday since that tragic night. He couldn't take being in the cafeteria anymore. He couldn't stand the stares and the whispers. They knew it was him, they knew it was his fault. These people never even liked Julia. They didn't even know her outside of their stereotypical opinions of the girl who wore only black and a knowing smirk to match her lover's. They didn't know her, yet they tortured him almost as much as he tortured himself.

Eli ate a cookie before putting the bag down and picking up the latest issue of his favorite comic, The Goon. He read in silence for about five minutes before he heard obnoxious laughing coming form down the hallway. Eli peeked down the hallway to ease his curious mind. Although, when he saw who was coming, his mind was anything but at ease.

Brad Cunningham and two of his friends were strolling his way. Brad's smug smile was wide and grew even wider (if possible) when his friend started pointing towards Eli. Brad was a senior and has been Eli's main tormentor for two years, it all started when Eli had entered high school as a freshman. Brad walked closer to Eli, cronies in tow, and smirked down at him.

"Eating alone today, emo boy?" He sneered down at the pale boy as his friends laughed.

Eli averted his eyes, breaking any eye contact he had with the Neanderthal. Eli stood up after putting the remains of his lunch in his backpack. With his eyes still downcast and backpack in hand, he began to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Brad asked while violently shoving Eli into a set of lockers. Eli groaned at the contact and before he knew it, he was a good four or five inches off the ground. Brad's hands were entangled in Eli's shirt collar with their faces just inches apart. Brad slammed him into the lockers again; only this time he kept him there, trapped.

"Just leave me alone." Eli's fragile voice was barely audible and a bit rough from staying silent for the good part of the day.

Brad laughed right in his face. "Now why would I do that, runt? I mean we just have so much fun together." Brad paused before adding the last part with a mocking smile.

Eli glared at him with evident disgust. He loathed the nicknames Brad called him. Especially when he called him runt. It didn't bug him as much when he called him "emo boy". That was just a reference to the clothes he wore. He could change his clothes if he wanted. He couldn't help it if he was short.

All of a sudden, Brad's grip on his shirt collar was gone and Eli fell to the floor with a loud thud. Before he could react, Eli was pulled to his feet again. Eli thought about running, but before the thoughts could register properly a large arm was slung around his shoulder and started guiding him down the hallway.

Eli started to feel very nervous. If they had to take him somewhere else to do whatever they were going to do to him, then it couldn't be good. Eli saw Brad smirk and was sure that he could feel Eli shaking beneath his muscular arm. They walked for about a minute before Brad let go of Eli and shoved him into the boy's bathroom. He fell to the floor and scrambled to get up. Eli realized that his attempts were in vain when he felt a sharp kick to his side. He let out a cry of pain while the others went into fits of laughter.

Eli hated their laughter. He couldn't stand it, not one bit. An idea surfaced in Eli's mind as he watched Brad turn around to laugh with his friends. He then lifted his right leg and sharply kicked Brad in the back of the knee. Brad fell face first to the ground. It was a cheap shot, but the asshole deserved it. Eli then realized that his plan might not have been as clever as he had thought. Brad stood back up, hovering over him.

Brad quickly straddled Eli's hips and began delivering punches let and right into Eli's fragile face. This went on for a good five minutes with Eli trying desperately to protect his face and desperately holding back his cries of pain while Brad was being cheered on by the others. Brad finally got off of Eli and inspected his work. Eli had a large bruise blossoming on his left cheekbone, a soon-to-be black eye, and a slit lip.

Eli didn't even attempt to get up this time. His face hurt and his torso hurt as well. As Brad had been hitting his face, his friends took the liberty of kicking him without mercy.

Brad was now washing his hands in the sink while Eli lay silently on the floor. He groaned and rolled around every once in a while when one of the other jocks decided to kick his legs or side. Other than that, he was strangely quiet, even for him. When Brad had dried his hands he turned his attention back to the crumpled boy on the floor.

Eli had found enough strength to scoot himself across the dirty floor to sit up against a stall. Brad slowly walked over to him and bent down so he was eye level with Eli. He slowly touched his victim's face. Eli flinched away from his cold hands.

"Aw… guys, looks like we hurt his pretty little face." Brad cooed. There were various responses like "too bad" and "poor baby". Brad then smiled a wicked smile and suddenly his fist was thrown painfully into Eli's stomach. Eli doubled over in pain and groaned. Brad grabbed Eli by his hair and pulled his head back to look at him. Brad smirked in triumph when he saw the shiny tears glistening in the younger teen's eyes.

"Well, emo boy, we must be going. But, there's always tomorrow, right?" Brad laughed and let go of Eli's hair. He stood up to go when suddenly the bathroom door was swung open.

"Eli?!" The voice was laced with worry and Eli recognized it as his best friend, Xavier (Eli had shut him out after the whole Julia ordeal).

After that things just blurred into a soothing black for Eli. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the nurses repulsively white office.

"… And that's what happened." Eli finished in an ashamed tone of voice.

"That is unacceptable!" Bullfrog roared. Even he had tears in his eyes after his son's story. No one hurt his baby, even if his baby was sixteen. No one means no one.

CeCe's soft voice broke the tension. "Sweetie, we want you to transfer schools after this break (it was Thursday, they get off for break tomorrow)."

"Where would I go?" Eli asked. This actually excited him. He desperately needed a fresh start and maybe this could be it.

"You'd be attending Degrassi Community High School."