"You got a new student," the principal said as he handed over the paper to the teacher.
Everyone in the class looked up at the tall, broad-shouldered man. Even though he was hiding his body under a hoodie, it was clear to everyone that he was well built. Some of the girls whistled and made meow noises but he didn't turn his head to look at any of them.
"Roman Reigns?" The teacher asked as she looked at the paper.
"Yes," he answered.
"Welcome. I'm your teacher Mrs. Stratus. You can take a seat next to Kayle," she said.
He finally turned his head and looked through the room. It wasn't hard to figure out who Kayle was since it was the only available seat in the room. Brown, semi-curled hair was sticking out from under the hood that she had up around her head. The hoodie was open and she was wearing a white shirt underneath it.
He walked down towards her. She didn't look up at him once but kept her eyes glued to the book in front of her while he sat down next to her.
"Kayle, mind sharing your book with Roman? I'll get him his own tomorrow," Mrs. Stratus said.
She pushed the book towards him, still not looking up at him. He noticed her hand shaking a bit and he wondered if he scared her. He had gotten that reaction many times. He was a big guy and he could look very intimidating.
"Thanks," he said, hoping to put her mind at ease.
She quickly looked up at him and he was taken in by a pair of dark green eyes that seemed to swallow him whole before she just as quickly looked down again. He turned his head as the guy at the table next to him poked his shoulder.
"If you wanna have some fun with her, stick with us in the break," he said and grinned.
Roman didn't answer. He turned his head back to Kayle and saw that her entire body was shaking at this point. Not much but enough for him to notice. He knew every school had its share of bully victims and he had clearly just come across one.
The bell rang and most of the class got up. He noticed she wasn't in a hurry to leave. Classic victim, he thought. He had seen it before. Wait till the entire class was gone and hope to slip out unseen.
"Roman, was it?" A female voice sounded.
"Yeah," he answered and looked at the blonde in front of him with her gang of girls just behind her.
"I'm Emma. I'd love to study with you one day if you're free," her voice was filled with sex to make sure he understood what the word "study" really meant.
"No thanks, I'm good," he said.
Her jaw dropped. Clearly she wasn't used to the word no from any guy. He shook his head as he walked out of the class.
"What are you looking at?" Emma shouted as she saw Kayle looking up at her.
"Nothing," Kayle whispered and turned her head back down.
"Do you fucking dare to look at me, bitch?" Emma shouted.
"No," Kayle whispered.
Someone grabbed the hood and pulled it down. A hand in her hair yanked her head backwards and all the girls were laughing.
"You're such a little bitch, aren't you?" Emma taunted.
Kayle pushed her way up and through the girls. She ran out of the classroom to the sound of Emma's voice yelling after her.
"Yeah, you better run, bitch!"
Roman sat outside on a bench. He had just watched the guy who had poked him during class walk by with some of the other guys and they had disappeared around a corner. He didn't care to follow them to see where they went. He didn't care about this school. He just needed to be here for the rest of the year like everyone else and then he would be gone. No need to make friends for such a short period of time. After what he had already experienced in class, none of them was worthy of his time anyway.
He looked up as Kayle ran past him. Except for her. She might be worth his time. She seemed different. Allying himself with a bully victim wasn't a smart idea but he had never been known to do what everyone else expected. No one dared to stand up to him anyway. His size alone scared most people and he could look really cruel when he had to.
He watched her disappear around the same corner as the guys before but he didn't think more of it. He just enjoyed the sun on his face. Around 10 minutes later the guys came walking back around, all of them laughing. He watched them. Something didn't set right with him. It wasn't until he noticed one of them carrying a white shirt and a black hoodie in his hands that he knew something was very wrong.
He got up from the bench and walked around the same corner they had just come from. Nothing. He walked along the wall until he reached the only door. She had to be in there unless she had run off. He opened the door and heard soft crying right away. He walked in and closed the door behind him. He followed the sound until he found her in a bathroom sitting on the floor up against the wall in her jeans and her bra, leaning her arms and her head down on her knees while crying.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
Of course she wasn't. He just didn't know what else to say. She looked up at him with blood running from her nose. She looked scared. He was brand new and she had no idea what he might do to her.
"It's alright, I won't hurt you. Let me look at that," he said as he went down on one knee next to her to look closer at her face.
Nothing seemed broken. Someone had hit her and given her a nose bleed, that much he could figure out, but at least everything looked to be where it should be. He got back up and looked around till he saw a towel. He took it and turned on the faucet to make it wet. He sat down on the floor next to her and cleaned her face with the wet towel. She didn't say anything. She just let him do it while she tried to cover up her front with her arms.
"There, much better," he said and smiled.
Something in his smile made her feel a bit more at ease.
"Thanks," she whispered.
He pulled off his hoodie and she couldn't help but stare at his muscles as they became very visible in the tight t-shirt he was wearing underneath.
"Here, take this," he said and handed her the hoodie.
She quickly put it on. It was way too big for her but at least she was covered up again. He got back up and reached his hand down to her. She hesitated for a second before putting her own hand in his and allowing him to help her up.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked.
"Maybe I'm just a nice person in general," he answered.
"No one's ever nice to me," she said.
"Good thing I came along then," he said and smiled.
She smiled back at him and he felt warm inside. He was sure he had made the right call with her. He knew instantly that she didn't deserve the heat she was getting from the classmates and he made a silent vow to stand by her side and not let anyone give her shit anymore.
"Ready to go back out there?" He asked.
As they approaced the classroom, they could hear everyone laughing in there. They both knew the laughter was due to the guys telling the story about what they had just done and everyone probably assumed that she was still hiding down there. Everyone got quiet as they stepped inside. She looked down and tried to hide behind her hair. She felt a gentle hand on her lower back and she knew it was him. He was telling her he was there for her. It gave her the courage to walk down to her table in the back and he followed, still with his hand on her back for everyone to see.
They sat down and he looked around. Everyone was still quiet. He could see they all looked at his muscles and he flexed them a little while shooting them all evil looks. He was marking his territory right then and there. No one would be allowed to bullshit her around as long as he was there.
