Today's playlist: "Creep" by Stone Temple Pilots, and "Creep" by Radiohead. They're two different songs btw lol.

Enjoy, you creeps;)


Wednesday morning comes, and Luna opens her locker. There's no white envelope inside today.

While she had anticipated this, she still feels her heart sink. "Quentin…"

Sam makes her way over, and smiles at her girlfriend. "Good morning," she greets, and she pecks Luna on the cheek.

"Morning," Luna simply replies, and Sam picks up on her despondence.

"What's wrong?"

Luna sighs. "I still feel bad for breaking the little guy's heart," she says with a melodramatic pout.

"Awhhh… Chin up, buttercup," Sam sweetly says. "Let's go learn about the Marxian dialectic and forget all about it," she jokes, imitating Mr. Andrews.

Luna grins. "Let's, my fellow proletariat," she jokes back.

As they come around the bend into the hallway leading to room 2211, they discover a crowd of people circled around some sort of commotion.

They curiously look to one another, then rush over to see what's going on.

They cut into the crowd, taking their place by Carol and her fellow Vortex. In the middle of it all, Hank and Hawk are towering over Quentin.

Unlike their previous encounter in which the smaller boy simply cowered to them, he's getting right in their faces.

Luna looks to her left and sees Carol, and she notices her too.

"Luna?!" she blurts out, clearly caught by surprise.

"Hey," Luna coyly says back.

They turn their attention back to the calamity.

"You better take a step back, pipsqueak," Hank threatens Quentin.

"Yeah- we really don't wanna have to get suspended again because of a loser like you," Hawk adds.

Quentin snarls.

"You think I'm a loser, huh? Well I'll show you assholes who the loser is!" he yells back.

Luna and Carol return their eyes to each other.

"What's happening?" Luna asks her.

"Uhm… I guess that kid just came up to those idiots and starting running his mouth," she speculates.

"What?!" Luna says with disbelief.

"I know! I gotta say- I'm putting my bet on the idiots," she callously remarks, returning her focus on the excitement.

By now, Hank is grabbing Quentin by his shirt. "I've had enough of your crap, kid," he sternly says.

Luna instinctively raises her right hand, and Sam grabs her wrist.

She turns to face her.

"Luna! Don't!" she cries.

Luna just looks into her pitiful eyes, then looks back to the bully clenching a fist and preparing to swing at the helpless boy in his grasp.

"He's gonna get hurt!" she yelps, and she forces herself out of Sam's grasp.

Then, she channels her power.

*REWIND*

She comes to, and finds herself standing in the middle of the hallway. No Carol, no Hank, no Hawk, no Quentin, no Sam.

"Shit… She's gonna know…"

She disregards the thought as she sees the two bullies approaching, and they're laughing about something.

She hurries behind the corner to hide, and peeks her head out to keep an eye on them.

They converse about something she doesn't know or care about, and sure enough, Quentin approaches. He's clenching his fists, and his posture is composed.

He gets right up to Hawk, and the bullies meet him disgust.

Before either of them can say a word, he starts up.

"I am so- sick of you assholes!" he curses.

Luna's eyes widen. "What are you doing, dude?!"

"What the hell, bro?" Hank retorts.

"I heard what you two were saying about me! That I'm a creep?! A stalker?! I follow girls around?! Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about!" he yells.

The two bullies roll their eyes, and by now, students are starting to gather around them.

"Well it's true," Hank bluntly says, earning him an elbow from Hawk.

"Dude! We can't get in any more trouble! Shut up!" he scolds.

Quentin shoves him with one hand, "I've taken enough of your bullshit! Go ahead and hit me! Punch me in the face! See what happens!" he challenges, shoving him harder this time.

And now, everything is almost exactly like before. Quentin is right in their faces, and Carol and her friends are taking the same spot as before.

Carol just glances at Luna, and she glances back before returning her attention to the conflict.

"You better take a step back, pipsqueak," Hank threatens Quentin.

"Yeah- we really don't wanna have to get suspended again because of a loser like you," Hawk adds.

Quentin snarls.

"You think I'm a loser, huh? Well I'll show you assholes who the loser is!" he yells back.

Sam comes rushing from around the bend, and Luna notices her. She runs over to join her.

"What the heck is going on?" she asks, apparently oblivious to Luna's rewind.

"…I don't know," she simply responds, guiltily turning away.

"What are you gonna do?!" Hawk angrily yells at Quentin.

"I'll kill you! I will freaking kill you, that's what!" he yells back.

Apparently Luna missed that part of the conversation the first go 'round, and she feels a sense of fear overwhelm her.

"Did he just say he'd kill them?"

Carol leans in to whisper to Luna with a sly smile. "I've got my money on the idiots."

And now, Hank is grabbing Quinten by his shirt. "I've had enough of your crap, kid," he sternly says.

Luna looks to Sam with a sense of desperation, and Sam meets her with conflicted uncertainty.

She then looks to her right hand.

"What should I do? He's kind of asking for it, and I already had to tell him I don't like him… Stepping in will send the wrong message…"

"But if I don't, he's gonna get creamed, and Hank and Hawk might get suspended- or worse. They are jerks, but maybe they're really trying to change. And maybe they need me right now…"

Hank balls his hand into a fist, and readies to hit Quentin.

"Stop!" Luna yells, stepping in between the bullies and Quentin.

Hank releases him, and they remorsefully look to her. She looks over to Quentin, who's still fuming.

"You don't wanna do this, guys. You said yourselves you can't make any more mistakes…"

They say nothing, but look to her with affirmation.

She turns her attention to Quentin.

"Quentin…" she begins.

But before she can continue, he angrily trudges away.

After a moment to calm down, the observing students groan amongst themselves, and begin to disperse.

Luna gets a look at Carol, who just softly, weakly smiles, and goes on her way.

Then, she looks to Sam, who meets her with similar somberness. Even so, she carefully walks over to join Luna.

They look to the two boys, who actually display some sorrow.

"…Uhm, thanks," Hank utters, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

Luna looks to Sam, as if to read for approval. She seems empathetic to the two, and gives Luna an encouraging look.

So she responds.

"Just… Try to stay out of trouble…" she simply says.

With their heads hung low, Hank and Hawk make their leave.

Luna turns to Sam, who looks at her with a conflicted expression.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

Luna sighs. "I don't know, dude…"

And for a moment, they just sadly look to one another.

"Hey," Sam says to finally break the silence, gently taking Luna's hand.

"You were awesome. Don't beat yourself up."

Luna just forces a little half smile.

"Come on. Let's go learn about the Marxian dialectic and forget all about it," she jokes, imitating Mr. Andrews… Again.

Only, she doesn't know it, because Luna broke her promise. She sullenly takes her hand though, and follows her to room 2211.

She glances at her, and forces another smile as Sam sweetly smiles to her.

"I'm sorry."


Fourth period Biology comes, and Luna decides she really needs a break from learning about chordates.

She's excused by Mrs. Gurira for a bathroom break, and she takes her sweet time getting back.

After all, it is pretty hard to focus on school work with so many other distractions in her life.

"Jeez… If you would've told me earlier I'd actually help and Hank and Hawk keep from getting in trouble…"

"I can't believe Quentin stood up to those two like that. Part of me wants to be proud of him, but damn… He said he'd kill them. I mean, he obviously didn't mean it- but maybe there's a side to this guy I don't know… I really don't wanna find out either…"

"But he has been bullied, and he's always been nice to me. I just hope he doesn't hate me now. I mean, I honestly don't know that we could be friends, but I wanna help him, if I can."

"Jesus, Luna… You're so full of yourself…"

She makes her way around the bend, and sees Mr. Andrews approaching with the same "I wish I weren't here right now" demeanor he usually displays.

He looks up to see Luna, and she just gives him a weak little smile and wave. He stops though.

"Luna, do you have a minute?" he asks.

"Uhm… Sure. I'm just on my way to the bathroom," she explains.

"Well I won't keep you long. I just wanted to say I was really happy with your essay on SI theory. I hope you don't mind if I use as an example piece in my future classes," he asks.

"Shucks, Mr. A. You really liked it?" she bashfully responds.

"Let's just say I give praise where praise is do," he responds.

She smiles. "Go ahead, teach. I don't mind," she tells him.

"Thank you. I'll take your name off of it," he tells her. "Now, get back to class, and try to stay out of trouble," he slyly jokes.

"Trouble always seems to find me first," she quips back, and they go on their way.

Shortly after their encounter, she begins hearing some rattling as she continues her walk.

It seems to be coming from one of the locker rows to the side of the hallway, and she cautiously peeks to see what it is.

Standing at his locker, grudgingly throwing something into it, is a very unhappy looking Quentin.

She catches herself staring at him, and he notices. He frowns, and tries to go past her without a word.

Luna considers just leaving him alone, but she's her own worst enemy.

"Dang it…"

She follows him. "Quentin! Wait!" she calls out to him, jogging to catch up.

"What do you want?" he bemoans.

"I just wanna talk, dude. Please?"

He stops, and he slowly- reluctantly, turns to face her.

He says nothing though. He just frowns.

But Luna won't allow herself to become deterred.

"Quentin, I'm sorry about earlier," she apologizes.

He looks to the side, then back to her.

"I didn't need your help."

Luna deflates. "I'm sorry, dude. I just- I didn't wanna see you get hurt…"

He seems to relax a little. "I had it under control, Luna. I knew what I was doing."

"Hank was gonna punch you?"

"I know… I know… I wanted him to," Quentin reveals.

And Luna raises her brow. "Uhm… What?"

He sighs. "Look, I know it sounds really lame, but I wanted him to punch me. Then he might've gotten expelled. I know I can't take those guys. But maybe I could do something else to make them pay…"

"You don't know what it's like Luna. I try so hard to just get by, and it's like- nothing I do is right. Everybody's always out to get me!" he says, visibly getting excited again.

Luna stays calm as she composes a response.

"Quentin… That's not true. I know I don't- I know we've only known each other a little bit, but I don't want anything bad to happen to you. And, I care about you. You know what I mean?"

The anger that was rising from seems to die. In its place, there's a sense of hope- a feeling of newfound optimism. He brightens up.

"…Yeah. I think I do…"

He leans in and places his hands on Luna's face, and tries to pull her in for a kiss.

She shoves him away. "Stop!"

Once the contact is broken, he just dumbly looks at her.

"Quentin… I told you I don't like you like that…" she scolds.

And that brief serenity she felt radiating from him is once again subjugated by hatred.

"Liar! You're just like everyone else! You're just like all those other girls!"

"…Quentin, what are you talking about?" she worriedly says.

"You think I'm just some freak too, don't you?! Don't you?!" he shouts, and he grabs her by the face.

"Stop it! You're hurting me!" she cries.

"Nobody knows what I go through! You're all gonna pay!" he shouts.

Mr. Andrews makes his way around the corner, and sees what's happening.

"Hey!" he shouts, and he hurriedly trudges over. "Get the hell off of her!"

But he doesn't. He keeps squeezing her face and vengefully looking into her eyes, and she can feel her heart pounding against her ribs.

"Help!" she desperately cries.

Andrews conflictingly watches on, but Quentin won't relent.

"Get off of her! Get off of her right now!"

He still doesn't let her go.

Andrews grabs Quentin by his shoulders, forcing him to break his grip on Luna, and shoves him to the ground with all his strength.

Luna feels her tender cheeks, then looks to Mr. Andrews. He shows immediate regret.

She then looks to Quentin, who pathetically lies there for a moment.

Then, he picks himself up, and contemptuously looks at the two.

"I hate you! I hate all of you! I'm going to make you all pay!" he yells.

Then, he hurries in the other direction, until he's out of their sight.

For a moment, they just stand there, looking to the floor.

Finally, Andrews turns to Luna. "Did he hurt you?" he gravely asks, looking into her eyes.

"…I'm fine," she somberly says, nervously rubbing her arm.

He breaks the eye contact, and despondently rubs his face with his hand. "Jesus…" he utters to himself.

"…Mr. Andrews, are you okay?" she asks him.

He turns, but he doesn't face her. He only looks to her from the corner of his eye.

"You just get back to class, Luna…"

With that, he begins to walk away.

But Luna stops him.

"Mr. Andrews… Thanks…"

He doesn't respond. He just keeps walking, leaving Luna alone in the middle of the hallway.

"What have I done?"