Authors Note: Hasn't been beta'd so all mistakes are mine. Feedback is much appreciated.

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Sitting alone in the back corner, his favourite spot of the English classroom, the young boy stared out of the window to watch the students play rounders on the playing field. He recognised his older sister immediately for she stood several inches above her classmates with a mane of golden blonde hair which reflected the bright sun giving her a heavenly glow. The way she moved with a long legged gracefulness only served to solidify her angelic appearance.

Suddenly the teacher's voice brought him back to the confines of the stuffy room, the kind, plump woman repeated her question which he answered without hesitation granting him a few unsettling stares from the other children, especially the coalition of boys who also sat at the back, a couple of desks away. He was used to the looks and comments by now for the class were near the end of their first year at secondary school. Intelligent and mature beyond his years, teachers had come to rely on the boy to answer questions which the others couldn't. He didn't mind of course, the others weren't his friends and he owed them nothing.

He did have one friend in the London school of over a thousand students. Rebecca was a girl in his year but in a different tutor group who he'd come to think of as an ally in the middle of enemy territory. Both were introverted, naturally intelligent and were interested in matters beyond playground politics. He greatly missed her company at lunch today which had made him more reclusive than usual for the afternoon. It was rare for Becky to miss a day at school and leave him to deal with the continued questions shouted over the lunch hall such as 'has your girlfriend dumped you?' He sat and tried to read his book however he couldn't block out the taunts.

The ringing of the school bell always came as a relief. Packing up slowly, he waited for the rest of the class to leave first before thanking Mrs Matthews and leaving himself. He was half way towards the car park when suddenly an aggressive voice came from behind.

"You think you're so clever don't you Adam?" The boy increased his pace, not daring to look back and hoped in vain they would leave him alone.

"Don't ignore me!" The voice came again, one he recognised as the class clown's. Adam's heart raced as he marched forward however he wasn't quick enough, suddenly a hand on his backpack brought him to a halt.

"Go away!" Adam replied rather pathetically.

Three boys were immediately around him, closed in and surrounded him. Panic clutched at the young boy's heart as he blindly flung out which elicited a round of malicious laughter from the much taller, bulkier boys. He felt tears prick the sides of his eyes which he unsuccessfully tried to fight.

The tallest of the three, Dan Marshall a boy who took great delight in teasing and taunting the son of the man who had arrested his father last summer, said in a mocking tone, "the big bad policeman's son is going to cry! Where's your girlfriend Adam? She had enough of you?"

Looking down at the ground, Adam didn't react to the boys even when they started pushing him around the tiny circle they had created. Someone was bound to see him soon, to come to his rescue.

After several minutes of torture his prayer arrived in the form of a tall, well built and unkempt teenager with a mop of curly brown hair with eyes to match. "Oi!" He shouted as he strode confidently towards the boys with his hands in his pockets.

Towering over Adam's bullies, his saviour snarled, "why don't you go find someone your own size to annoy."

The bullies backed off slowly and regrouped, "we can't be bothered with you today Hunt, but just you wait until PE tomorrow." They walked away laughing.

"Piss off." The older boy shouted back before looking down and taking pity on his younger brother. The twelve year old had yet to have a growth spurt of any kind and was skinny as rake, an easy target without the added ammunition of their father's occupation.

Adam sighed as they meandered towards the busy car park, "I didn't need your help Tom."

The older boy laughed, "yeah 'cos you were doing just perfectly without me."

They rounded the corner to see the immaculate silver Nissan Skyline sitting proudly, looking effortlessly stylish against the boringly ordinary cars.

"Don't tell dad..." Adam said earnestly, his blue/green eyes wide with worry, "please."

Thomas nodded his head and chuckled, "don't worry bro, the fact that you're a geek is safe with me."

"Alright boys?" Their father asked in his gruff voice as they jumped in the back of the Skyline as their sister had already taken the coveted front seat.

Tom nodded his head and replied in an easy tone, "we're good dad, how was work?"

Adam sat silently and looked out the window as they drove off. Feeling dejected after another round with the bullies, self deprecating thoughts filled his mind. He wondered how he could be the product of Gene and Alex Hunt, two headstrong, self assured people with two confident and beautiful children to match. Where did that leave him? Not for the first time he wished he had different parents, ordinary people like a bank clerk or a doctor.

Gene sighed heavily, "not good," he started, "young girl died last night." Having decided that their children were both old and mature enough, Gene and Alex spoke about their work more openly now in order to prepare them for the harsh realities of adulthood. Neither wanted to sugar coat the pill and leave their children defenceless.

"I'm sure you'll work it out dad," Olivia reassured, looking over at her father as he drove.

Adam remained as silent as a mouse until they reached their detached home a couple of miles from the school at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in a more residential part of the capital.

Noticing his mother's car was missing from the drive, Adam quickly kicked off his shoes in the hallway and retreated to his attic room at the top of the house without a word. He was tired and stressed after a long day dealing with the outside world alone. He considered calling Becky however he decided against it until he'd chilled out.

Flopping down on his bed, he grabbed his walkman, placed the headphones over his light brown hair and leaned back on his pillows letting the voice of Michael Jackson sooth his troubled soul.

To be continued...