Stupid, stupid, stupid! Billy cursed himself as he ran, clutching his aching stomach as he pushed past an older couple. He heard the woman gasp, the man calling after him in anger, but he kept on running. Bounding down the stairs, Billy could hear the two boys steadily gaining on him. Fuck! He knew exactly what they were going to do when they caught him! He leapt down the rest of the way, stumbling as his ankle nearly twisted, then straightened up to take the left corner. Please, God, he prayed. Please let there be a train!
"Stop, you little runt!" Billy heard one of the boys yell, and he paused for the briefest of seconds to look down the track. Yes! A train! Sucking a breath in, the boy took off, pushing his way through the gathering crowd. He heard shrieks of indignation, shouted curses, but kept going. Had to get to it, had to get in! Another round of angry shouting told him the boys had reached the crowd, and he shouldered his way through a clustered family. Sidestepping their youngest, Billy finally stumbled onto the train, spinning on his heel to look back out. The two boys were pushing their way forward through the crowd, and he took another step back as they closed in on the train. Would they get on board? What would he do then? He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists in worried anticipation as they successfully made it past the family. The tall boy reached out, lunging for him, and Billy lurched back as the train doors thudded shut. Furious, the two boys beat at the door.
"We know where you go to school!" the shorter one yelled in at him. "We'll find you, we'll-" As the train shuddered into motion, their curses faded as it slowly began to chug forward. Breathing a sigh of relief, Billy flopped into the nearest empty seat. Slouching back against it, he closed his eyes as he focused on breathing. Safe. Well, for now at least. They were right, he'd have to lay low at school from now on. Crap, that'd be a pain. This wasn't the first time he'd had to do that, the boy reminded himself as he shifted in the seat, it just sucked. He experimentally waggled his foot about, grimacing at the pain that shot up his ankle. Well, great. That was just great. Groaning at his horrible luck, the boy leaned back and shut his eyes. Might as well rest his eyes before the next stop. Mr. Sivana so wasn't going to be happy that he was home early.