A/N: Possible trigger warning. There are depictions of bullying in this chapter as well and for story purposes. I apologize if I inadvertently caused any negative feelings to resurface and cause you distress.
"It's not funny." he groaned trying to shake off the pain. He couldn't yell, he didn't have the strength to raise his voice.
Samantha looked confused and raised a hand. "I'm laughing at the situation, not you." she soothed.
Noah then thought what could Samantha be thinking. And suddenly he had an idea. "Is it because I'm holding my stomach and Owen ran out laughing? Oooooh I get it!". A wave of relief washed over him. She doesn't know about Owen or what he just did to him. He didn't want her to know the truth at the risk of looking week so he just laughed. Noah then and quickly thought of a lie.
"Yeah, it was the lunch. Avoid the pizza at all costs." he then joked trying to force a smile.
"Noted." laughed Samantha. "You're a really funny guy!"
Even though he was still hurt, the compliment helped him manage the pain and make him feel better. And a genuine smile came across his face.
"Do you need help again?" he asked still trying to hide that he was hurt.
Samantha just then remembered why she was looking for Noah. "Actually...yeah I do. Where's the cafeteria?" she asked sounding confused.
"Oh just go down the stairs by the Computer Lab, down the hallway, and make a right."
"I kinda get lost easily." she expressed looking down. "Can you help me get there?
Noah suddenly felt rejuvenated, he was hurt but he liked his new friend. "Of course I can!"
Samantha smiled and they began to walk together to the cafeteria. But suddenly she began to look a little guilty. "I actually kinda feel bad for laughing at you. You're a nice guy and those guys didn't have to be jerks and run out laughing if you were just using the bathroom. I'm sorry."
"It's alright, don't sweat it." he replied with a smile.
"Just who were those clowns?" she asked.
Noah thought for a second, "She seems caring and kinda nice. Maybe I can let her know a little about Owen."
"That guy was Owen. Owen Murphy." he explained. "Owen's not a nice guy. And neither are his friends Kenny with the curly hair, and Victor."
Samantha then looked concerned. "I should avoid them, huh?"
"Yes." he answered quickly. That was just the question he needed to hear. "They're bad news."
Samantha agreed. "I used to know kids like that at my last school. They were the school bullies, always picking on...me-er-my friends. I meant my friends because they didn't bother me much."
"Why do bullies have to be a thing-" Noah started but didn't finish. For as they got closer, there was Owen at his locker with his friends near the cafeteria. Noah felt his stomach churn. But he looked at Samantha. He decided right then that he wasn't going to back down or turn around. He confidently continued on escorting her to the cafeteria.
"Guys do you see this?" he asked mockingly pointing at Noah once he noticed him. "Caldwell has a girlfriend!"
Noah gritted his teeth, continuing to escort a now annoyed looking Samantha. "Ignore them. Just ignore them."
"I don't know why she'd walk around with a punk like that." sneered Victor.
At last Noah had enough. He stopped and spun around, and stormed right up to Owen and stood in front of him, Victor, and Kenny.
Noah's face was red, and he felt white-hot fury course through him. "Leave me alone!" he growled at them. "And mind your own business!"
Owen, Victor, and Kenny were shocked. Noah had never spoke to them that way before but he stood his ground. And oddly enough...it felt good to Noah. But that good feeling faded when three boys howled with laughter at him.
Suddenly that fury sparked in Noah once more.
"I'M NOT JOKING!" he roared and then without thinking, with all of his might and strength he could muster, he shoved Owen into the lockers, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Victor, Kenny, and Samantha were all stunned. Even Owen was for a second. But he quickly got up and grabbed Noah's t-shirt and balled a fist-
"Hey! Hey! Murphy and Caldwell! Separate!" a tall older and balding man was rushing towards them. It was Mr. Smythe. "What's going on here?"
Owen let go of Noah and spoke first. "I was just talking to my friends and Noah pushed me!"
"What?!" yelled Noah in disbelief. "Sir, I was-"
"Enough. Let's get to the bottom of this. Miss Bergman?" he motioned to Samantha to come forward.
Samantha then slowly stepped towards them. "Yes, Mr. Smythe?"
"Miss Bergman, could you tell me what happened?"
She felt a lump in her throat form after hearing that question. Noah looked nervously her. "Well I-"
Mr. Smythe was losing patience. "Look I need to get to the cafeteria." he said curtly. "Did Noah push Owen?"
Samantha looked guilty and only nodded yes.
"But only after they started mocking me!" spat Noah.
"No excuses, young man. We have strict policies against bullying here!" he told Noah in a very stern manner.
Noah was speechless. He felt as though his jaw would hit the floor. But another thought took over. He was not going to tell Smythe the truth about Owen and be in deeper trouble with the bully and his cronies. He didn't want to be in anymore hot water.
"I'll be reporting this to Mrs. Armbruster." snapped Mr. Smythe. "Noah, get to class and you're relieved of your touring duties. Owen, this is you and your friends' lunch period so you get to the cafeteria. And Miss Bergman I'll escort you for the day."
Noah stormed away angrily as the others left for the cafeteria. He could imagine Owen and his friends laughing and smirking at getting away with with their behavior.
For the rest of the day Noah was quiet and quick to his classes. He didn't speak to Ryan or try to speak to Samantha. His mind was swirling with thoughts. How good it felt to make Owen pay for his behavior, Samantha telling the truth, Ryan's growing concern, what Mrs. Armbruster was going to say, but most concerning for Noah, what was Owen going to do?
He didn't have to wait long to find out what Mrs. Armbruster was going to say. At the end of 6th Period, she approached him at his locker and let him off with a warning but officially relieved him of student touring, much to his chagrin. Luckily he didn't run into Owen again and at the end of 8th Period it was time to go. He retrieved his backpack and then quickly left the school.
That night at home, dinner with Mrs. Caldwell was starting to go the same way it normally did. But Mrs. Caldwell had news that night for Noah.
"Guess whaaaat?" she sang to him in a whimsical tone.
Noah was still very annoyed at the day he had. But he decided to answer her. He put on a fake smile.
"You found a sale on bacon?" he joked, hoping he came off as convincingly as possible. And that she didn't detect his annoyed mood or fear of Owen and the next day.
"Your sister is coming home for Halloween!" Mrs. Caldwell chirped excitedly.
Noah's smile faded and he groaned. "Yaaaaay."
Mrs. Caldwell sighed. "Noah, she's your only big sister. Don't you miss her?"
"I miss her friend, Sabrina." quipped Noah with a sly smirk.
"Noah Robert Caldwell!" snapped Mrs. Caldwell angrily.
"I'm joking, I'm joking." said Noah throwing his hands up.
"Just try to get along with her, okay? College is no picnic." she demanded in a sigh.
Noah groaned again. "Okay, mom. I'll be nice to Carly Beth."
"Good." said Mrs. Caldwell.
"When is Dad coming home?" asked Noah, looking hopeful.
"Oh he's going to be in Chicago for another week on business, hun." she replied, knowing Noah wouldn't like the answer.
He looked down at his plate with disappointment.
"Oh." sighed Noah. "Okay.". Noah sadly got up and took his plate and placed it in the sink. Then he grabbed the cordless phone and proceeded to his room. He then dialed in a number, and soon enough his good friend Ryan picked up.
"Hello, Ross residence!" he chirped.
"Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. We gotta talk." Noah said excitedly.
"Oh I heard. So you really are a tough guy, then!" joked Ryan, laughing. "Nice man!"
Noah felt a strong sense of pride wash over him after hearing that. But he decided to joke back instead.
"Awww...that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!" he joked, pretending to coo.
"Oh brother." groaned Ryan on the other end. "Just tell me what happened before I hurl."
"I just got tired of Owen. And he wasn't going to treat me like that in front of Samantha. So I pushed him down." he responded dryly.
"Ooooooh." said Ryan slyly. "You didn't like being messed with in front of your girlfriend."
Noah was a little embarrassed, but he wasn't going to show it.
"She's not my girlfriend." hissed Noah. ("Not yet." he thought.)
Ryan laughed then said, "Whatever you say. But I'm glad you stood up for yourself to Owen. He had it coming."
Noah felt the urge to say whether or not he could do it on his own when Samantha wasn't there. And that he was truly scared of the repercussions of his actions. But he decided to wrap up the conversation.
"Thanks. Are we still on for tomorrow?" asked Noah quickly trying to change the subject.
"Yeah! For sure!" Ryan said excitedly. "Come over by six when the trick-or-treating time starts!"
"I'll be there. I'm gonna borrow one of my dad's fedora for the Freddy mask." said Noah trying to get excited.
"Nice! That way we can still get a lot of candy even though we're not too dressed up." added Ryan.
"That's the plan! But hey man, I gotta go. Smythe really dumped on us with homework." groaned Noah, hoping Ryan bought it.
"I know man. I'm still not done yet. Talk to you tomorrow!"
"See ya!" Noah responded and hung up the phone. "How's that for convincing?"
Soon it was bedtime and Noah could barely sleep. He was thinking about Owen. How would he react? Will he hurt me again? were all questions swirling around in head. But in time a worried Noah fell asleep.
The next day Noah was in school but waiting for him at his locker was Owen. He didn't want to go to his locker, but he had to get his books for class. Owen said nothing as he grinned at Noah. A cold and sly grin at him that made Noah feel uneasy. Suddenly, behind him Kenny and Victor grabbed him and held him for Owen.
He was frightened.
"Help me!" Noah shouted in fear. "Somebody please help me!" But no teacher came. But from one locker stepped Samantha and the one next to it out stepped Ryan. And both were grinning at Noah with mischievous smiles. Then Noah noticed Mr. Smythe poking his head out of his classroom.
"Mr. Smythe! Over here!" he called to him. Mr. Smythe slowly strolled over to the commotion. Noah hoped he would help and send Owen and his cronies away. But Mr. Smythe's face twisted into a mean sneer. And me looked disdainfully at Noah.
"You're such an embarrassment, Noah." he hissed. "And I don't help such weak embarrassments for students, pal."
Noah was dumbfounded as he watched the teacher spin on his heel, and walk away into a classroom - slamming it's door behind him, causing a loud echo to ring throughout the building.
"Embarrassment?" Owen said slowly, looking into the air and thinking. "I got an idea boys. Turn him around, I think Noah has earned himself a wedgie."
"NOOOOOOO!" yelled Noah. He tried to wriggle free, he tried to break from their grasp. But it was too late. Owen, Victor, Kenny, Samantha, and Ryan began to roar with laughter as Owen humiliated him...
Noah then woke up with a start, still screaming out. He frantically looked around, sweating and panting hard.
"I'm-still-in-my-room." he said panting very hard. "It was-just a dream."
Noah let out a deep breath of air and wiped his forehead with his hand, as he was relieved it was only a dream. But he couldn't shake the feeling of embarrassment. And that only made Noah feel much worse.
He was being embarrassed by Owen even in his dreams. Noah felt like the teenagers in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies he loves so much. No matter how hard he tried, he felt couldn't escape Owen. Not in school and not even in his dreams. With those feelings still swirling into his head like a tornado, poor Noah finally fell asleep again.
It was a quiet and but beautiful autumn morning. Noah this time wore a white and red thinly striped t-shirt with light blue jeans and his favorite (and only) shoes. He didn't speak much to his mother or even say "Bye mom!". He just left quietly.
During his walk, he could only think of Owen. And then he forced himself to think of Samantha and talking to her again just to try to take his mind off of his tormentor. But even then it went back to what Owen was going to do to him.
Soon Noah found out. As he entered the building there stood Owen at Noah's locker, waiting for him. But this time he was alone. Owen stood at him glaring a hole through Noah's head with his cold eyes.
Noah felt smaller and smaller AND smaller as got close to him. When Noah got close to his locker he and Owen were now face to face. To Noah, it felt like everyone in the school was gone. It was just Noah and his worst enemy, staring at each other. He tried to muster that same fury he had yesterday, but he couldn't. He was truly scared and felt helpless.
"Push me again, punk." growled Owen. "Do it."
"Look, I'm sorry Owen. I didn't mean to-" Noah started but then Owen yanked his shirt.
There he had Noah again in front of different peers who weren't even trying to help him but murmuring amongst each other, to Noah's embarrassment. Owen's face was twisted with fury as he stared at Noah. Poor Noah only looked frightened and embarrassed as he stood there. No teachers were on sight or paying attention. Both teachers who's classrooms were in that small hallway were hard at work preparing their classes in a rush.
"Because we were buds before, I'm going to let you off." Owen snarled. "But if I see you tonight, you and Ryan are history. Got it?"
"Yes. Okay, whatever you say." soothed Noah as his word came out quick.
"Good." hissed Owen. With a jolt he let Noah's shirt go and left for class. Noah leaned against the locker and let out a sigh of relief. But he felt someone was staring at him still. He looked up quickly and saw it was Samantha who was staring at him. He waved to her, and tried to fake happiness. But she only closed her eyes and solemnly shook her head and quickly ran off to her first class, leaving behind a sad Noah.
"She saw everything." he thought. "She saw me acting like a wimp!"
With that, all the events and confrontations with Owen and now the idea that Samantha thinking he's weak and a wimp began to fly around Noah's head. And he felt that white-hot rage again. Owen had hurt him on more than one occasion, had been a thorn in his side since school began, he haunts his dreams, had humiliated him, he cost him student touring, and now he cost him some form of friendship Samantha and even wants to ruin his Halloween - even threatening to hurt Ryan! Now more than anything, Noah wanted revenge.
Noah thought about how good it was to push to Owen down - to make him feel what he felt. To finally act on what he truly felt instead of ignoring his anger. As he started to retrieve his books from his locker, he thought about that Halloween from when he was six. When he found the coolest mask he had ever seen, much to his big sister's chagrin. And the strange power and anger he felt and unleashed when he put it on. So much he vowed to not ever do it again. And it was at that final thought, Noah knew what he was going to do. He knew how he was going to get even. Owen had hurt him for the last time.
"Oh he won't see 'me' tonight." thought Noah darkly. "He won't see me at all."
It was then that Ryan walked up. He immediately noticed Noah's wrinkled shirt and angry expression. He immediately got serious with his good friend.
He placed his hand on Noah's shoulder. "Let me guess, Lumpy paid you a visit?"
Noah frowned. "Yes." he responded curtly. "I want to be left alone, Ryan. I have a lot to think about."
Ryan sighed. "Okay, man. Are you still coming over tonight for Halloween?"
"Of course." said Noah, but not in a happy tone at all. "I'm gonna bring my own mask though." His friend looked very upset.
"I thought we were gonna be Freddy and Jason!" moaned Ryan.
"Next year." said Noah curtly. "I'm going to be something a little different this year." Noah began to walk to class, leaving behind a confused Ryan.
"What exactly will you be?" called Ryan.
"You'll see." called Noah back to him.
A/N: I hope you very much enjoyed this chapter! More to come! Any and all criticism is welcomed!