The Incident

Change

With spring finally coming around, Kieran's schedule got even busier. Baseball went from keeping in shape to actively training and playing.

This didn't change his schedule too drastically as he was prepared for it, but it meant less work in the evenings and more homework in the mornings. On the upside, it gave him an excuse for ignoring the freshman, Danny.

The kid seemed to understand that he wasn't interested in being friends with a kid he didn't have anything in common with, but he also seemed determined to build an association of some kind.

Unfortunately, Danny did use their general acquaintance to ask him for suggestions about jobs. Kieran wasn't much help though, he didn't know what was available or what the kid could do, and he certainly didn't know the kid well enough to link his name to him by any recommendation. But, Danny had at least left him alone beyond that awkward conversation.

Things didn't really change until one day when Kieran was going to lunch. As a senior, he was able to leave the building so he was passing the lunchroom when he heard a commotion on the stairs.

Turning, he just caught sight of Danny being attacked by two boys he didn't know.

They maneuvered their way past Danny up the stairs while he was going down in such a way that they intentionally tripped him.

Danny took the fall in a roll, but his shirt ended up high on his chest revealing some nasty looking scars. He'd been hurt badly by something, or someone!

A teacher arrived on the scene to help and gasped at Danny's previous injuries before he could move to pull his shirt back down. The teacher was ex-military so for him to be horrified meant what had been done was particularly bad. "Those responsible for that…" he drifted off and even Kieran could tell he wasn't talking about the trip down the stairs.

"Have been arrested," Danny seemed more scared than embarrassed as his past was referenced.

The teacher was kind and gentle as he helped Danny up making sure he was okay, "Come to the office, Danny. This needs to be addressed." Then he barked the names of the two responsible for tripping Danny in full military force.

The boys froze before another teacher moved to handle their discipline. She directed the other teacher to handle Danny's situation.

With such a ruckus, more teachers were responding and Kieran was directed to move on with the other students.

Kieran was slower going to lunch than he expected. His mind kept going back to Danny.

To his knowledge, the kid had never done anything to deserve such treatment. There weren't any bad rumors. Even just after the incident, some kids called him a geek while others said he was nice. Being a geek wasn't a bad thing, he'd even been called one himself.

Then there were the scars indicating that something far worse than bullying had been done to the kid.

He didn't seem to know anyone that first day they met, so maybe he was new, he could have been forced to move to get away from whatever had happened.

That wasn't even mentioning how no one but teachers had moved forward to help the kid, not even to collect his spilled things that came out of his bag in the fall. Had no one become friends with the kid, not even after all these months?

When he got back to school, Kieran saw two women come out of the office with Danny.

One seemed to be lost in a fog as she simply followed along while the second was attending the shaken kid. Whatever they'd discussed, it seemed to have brought up some nightmares from his past.

As they left, he heard the attentive one talk about his mom indicating that she was the distant woman following.

There was no father in sight or even mentioned in anything Kieran overheard.

Feeling guiltier, Kieran had realized over lunch that they did have something in common; they were both perceived as geeks and were out of place in their peers.

It was probably harder for Danny though. He was the nearest person the kid seemed to have towards a friend, and he hadn't even been friendly with him. Then the situation after lunch didn't indicate a good home life.

How did the kid handle it all?

The kid kept running through his mind, but he didn't know what to do.

His year took a drastic turn one day when he was walking down the stairs to transition between classes.

The easiest route for him to take went down the long and wide set of stairs next to the cafeteria, past the crowds of upperclassmen leaving for lunch, and then through the nearest hall to his destination.

However, it was as he was walking down the stairs that two bullies decided it was funny to trip him.

He'd seen them coming, but he hadn't thought they'd be willing to risk getting into trouble due to the number of teachers monitoring the students leaving the building and those students going to the cafeteria who also created a large crowd of potential witnesses.

Still, he'd found himself taking a tumble down the stairs before he landed on the floor below. He'd managed something of a roll, but it also meant he'd taken a thorough beating and could feel the results all over his body.

Then to his dismay, a teacher noticed his scars and made comments before insisting on hauling him to the office!

There was a bustle of noise about after the teacher barked at his tormenters, other teachers moved in and students already had a buzz of gossip going, but it was just a hum to him.

It wasn't long before Danny found himself sitting in the principal's office with the teacher, his mom, and his aunt Ellen. Questions were asked and things were discussed, but Ellen was taking the lead on most of it so Danny just answered the questions where he was directly applied to.

Otherwise, he was too busy fighting the memories of his abduction from the year before and fearing the potential consequences of drawing too much attention to himself.

Would they find him again if too many questions were asked?

When Danny was released, Ellen tried to help him deal with the memories while also ensuring his mom was looked after.

Since it had been a long day, they picked up some food and went home to eat in privacy. Ellen spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening with them as she continued to handle the official necessities as needed in between endeavoring to distract them.

After she left, Danny was left alone in his room to handle his fears. It had been a while since he'd needed to, but he left the light on as he went to sleep. That way it was easier to dispel the nightmares when he woke up.

Missed

The next day, Kieran arrived at school and took up his usual position. He was distracted from his crossword by an unusual amount of people watching. His mind was mostly occupied by checking for the kid, but Danny hadn't shown by the time the bell rang for school to start.

He had his schedule to keep, so he went to classes much like he usually did, but with an extra awareness of those about him.

Although he looked for the kid through the day, he never crossed paths with Danny like he normally did.

Going home that evening, Kieran wondered if Danny had stayed home due to the injuries from his fall, the embarrassment of being made such a spectacle, or maybe a bit of both?

Thanks to the 'incident,' Danny had to miss a day of school while the initial response was handled.

Although the school had a satisfactory story from the Marshals through the local police, there was still concern about what might happen if students talked, but he didn't think that would be an issue. He'd be gossiped about more for his trip down the stairs and the resulting mass of bruises than the scars.

Kindness

When he got to school the next day, Kieran resumed his vigilance.

Fortunately, he was rewarded by seeing Danny slowly approach his usual seat a little later than usual.

Based on his slow movement and the masses of bruises visible despite his jacket, the kid had to be sore! Settling down into his usual seat, Danny gratefully set his backpack down on the ground before he began to read his comic.

What surprised Kieran, was that Danny hadn't nodded in acknowledgment of his presence, he hadn't even looked around to notice him! That wasn't normal, but it was likely his response to being treated so badly the other day.

Feeling guilty, Kieran was reminded of his poor behavior again, and it renewed his determination to help the kid out. The kid shouldn't have to deal with everything alone.

When the bell was about to ring, he packed his backpack and began the walk across to Danny's alcove. This way he arrived as the bell was ringing and was easily able to pick up Danny's backpack before he even realized that he was present.

"Here, I'll carry it for you," Kieran stated his intent as Danny looked for his bag.

Danny looked up slowly when he couldn't find his backpack, and his face was covered with surprise as he realized that Kieran was holding his bag.

Kieran wasn't expecting Danny to put up such a fight in trying to refuse his kindness. Wouldn't he be grateful that someone was willing to help; wouldn't he be glad not to have to carry the bag on his bruised shoulders?

Danny tried to deflect his efforts by waving him off, but Kieran had his bag and he wasn't giving it back until the kid was in his first classroom.

Then he planned to return after each class to carry it again. It was the least he could do to help the smaller kid who'd been through so much, who deserved the simple act of kindness.

Returning to his usual perch, Danny ignored Kieran as surely as the older student always ignored him. He didn't want to know what was going around the school about him any sooner than necessary! Besides, they weren't friends so there was no reason for the other student to care about what had happened or his first absence of the year.

It hurt to carry it, so he gratefully put his bag down and slowly retrieved his comic to read for the morning. If only he could disappear into its pages and not deal with everything for a change!

His mom had retreated so far into herself that she hardly remembered he was at home the day before, let alone that he was hurting as all of the bruises made their presence known.

He'd spent most of the day slowly putting their house in order and getting his own meals between icing.

Ellen had helped after she got off work, but she only had time to clean up and get him off to bed before she needed to be in bed for work. She'd offered to take him home with her, but she worked and he needed to take care of his mom so he'd declined.

Sighing as the bell rang; Danny wasn't looking forward to the long day of toting his bag on sore shoulders. He'd also probably get looks for the mass of bruises coloring his visible skin.

Moving to put his comic away, he was surprised to see feet in the place of his bag. What?

"Here, I'll carry it for you," a voice answered his thoughts.

When he looked up, Kieran was holding his bag and waiting for him.

Confused, Danny couldn't think of a reason for his actions until he thought of pity. Did the older student pity him? He wasn't a victim, perhaps by technicality, but not in spirit.

"I'll manage; thanks though." He tried to defer the actions and discourage unneeded attention. Holding his hand out for the bag, he was surprised that Kieran didn't hand it over, consider his duty done, and walk away.

"You shouldn't have to," Kieran slung the bag over his shoulder keeping it away, "What's your first class?"

After a few more attempts, Danny gave up and stated his class.

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