A/N: Be careful who you bully in school, kids, or you too might just get dragged by them for a paragraph later. ;) (Name slightly altered obviously, but still, lol.)

I realize that Alex should probably actually be a senior, but for the sake of this series, he's a junior because I do what I want. (Does AH even know his own canon? No, he does not. So it doesn't matter. lol)

Sorry this took so long. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to do this one.

7. Trying

The school year started like any other.

With Oahu being the small island that it was but still housing a joint Navy/Airforce base, there were always students coming and going. Sure, the schools in Pearl City took the brunt of it, but Aina Haina had its fair share of military brats come and go, too. There was nothing terribly exciting about new students.

The new kid with the British accent, however, was an interesting novelty. Especially when, two weeks into the semester, he allegedly punched another student. Allegedly because he missed classes the Friday it happened but was back on Monday. Still, it didn't stop the rumors from circulating.

Koa didn't put much stock in rumors and gossip, and honestly Brandon Fitz probably deserved whatever happened anyway. Fitz was a known bully but since he played first-string for the Kukui Kings' defense, teachers and staff alike tended to look the other way. Whether the new kid had actually punched him or not, Fitz had had it coming.

For the first few days after the incident, nothing changed. But then, on the Wednesday after, Alex had pushed his way through the usual lunch crowd that surrounded him to a symphony of stunned silence. A new rumor started after that, and everyone left him alone.

While initially everyone had been curious and had wanted to talk to him, after what happened at lunch, everyone started keeping him at arm's length. It wasn't that anyone had lost interest; no, it was more that they now preferred to talk about him instead. To Koa, it didn't seem like Alex minded the change that much. Still, as Koa watched him sitting alone during lunch, he couldn't help but think that Alex must be at least a little lonely.

By the next Friday, Koa had had enough. He'd been wanting to actually talk to Alex since the first day instead of relying on second-hand information, but they only had one class and lunch the same, and since Alex had always been surrounded by others, he hadn't particularly had a chance. So why not now? Everyone had left Alex entirely alone; there was nothing to stop Koa from trying.

By the time Koa made it through the line, Alex was already sitting at his now-usual table off to the side of the quad, as far from the rest of the students as he could be. Hoping that he looked more confident than he felt, Koa marched right up to the opposite side of the table. But as soon as he saw the hostile glare on Alex's face, any words he'd been planning to say died on his tongue.

"What?"

"I - uhm, I just…"

"If you've come to gawk, you can leave."

Koa swallowed hard and summoned up all the courage he could muster. "That's - that's not it. I just thought - well, you're eating alone…"

Alex raised an eyebrow at the statement. "So?"

"So I thought I'd come and sit with you?" He hadn't meant it as a question, but under the circumstances, he couldn't help that it had come out as one.

Alex snorted. "I won't stop you."

Taking that for as much of an invitation as he was likely to get, Koa sat down with a relieved sigh. But just as he was about to ask a question, Alex stood up without a word and walked away.

No wonder he didn't care, Koa thought, slumping in defeat. He was already done eating.

"You know, most people would have been dissuaded by someone walking away from them."

Koa shrugged. "Guess I'm just not a quitter." It was Monday and Koa was more determined than ever. Alex also seemed to be in a better mood, which helped his own confidence from being steamrolled over.

Alex snorted. "Fine. Can't exactly stop you."

The two ate in silence for a moment before Koa asked, "So, you like soccer?"

Alex's head snapped up, clearly surprised. "What?"

"Do you like soccer? I do. I guess I should probably follow the US league, but I don't know, I've always had a thing for Manchester United."

"Won't hold that against you, I guess, but I'm Chelsea all the way."

Koa smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard as he had thought it would be on Friday. "Should've known. I heard that's where you're from, yeah?"

He didn't miss the way Alex tensed or the guarded expression that slid much too easily into place. "Yeah, but that was… it feels like it was a long time ago." Alex stood up and turned to leave, grabbing his tray and bag.

Koa could only watch as Alex walked away, wondering what he'd said wrong.

"So, do you play?"

"What?"

"Soccer. Do you play soccer?" It hadn't taken Koa long to figure out what had gone wrong the day before once he'd stopped to really think about it. Soccer? Impersonal; safe. But Alex's history, including previous places of residence? Not so much. He had heard through the grapevine that Alex was a foster kid and, if that were true, it suitably explained why he wouldn't want to talk about the places he'd lived. So Koa stuck to what he knew to be a safe topic.

Alex shrugged. "I'm pretty rusty, but I'm playing in a community league right now. You?"

"Nah, I'm horrible. I'm much better at being a spectator. You gonna go out for the school team this winter then?"

"I don't know." Alex shrugged again. "Maybe. Steve is trying to talk me into it, though."

Koa perked up at the information - accidental though it may have been. "Steve? Who's that?"

He saw the way Alex froze for a moment before murmuring, "My guardian. He thinks I should."

"Oh." Accidental information confirmed said foster care rumor, and Koa was smart enough to know he should let it go. "Well, our team is pretty good - made it to the play-offs last year - but they lost a lot of seniors, so I know they're looking for more good players. You should do it. Can't hurt, right?"

One corner of Alex's mouth twitched upwards in a semblance of a grin - the closest thing Koa had seen of a smile since they had started eating lunch together. "Maybe."

"Hey, Nathan! You have World History with Alex, right?"

Nathan closed his locker. "Yeah, why?"

"He wasn't at lunch. I just wondered if he was in class today."

"Nope."

"Oh."

"Don't look so disappointed," Nathan scoffed. "Why do you even care so much?"

Koa glared at him. "Don't pretend you don't remember what it's like to be the new kid - plus I may be working on getting him to go out for soccer this year, so you should care, too."

Nathan perked up. "He plays?"

"Yeah, you didn't hear that through the grapevine, now did you? Sometimes it actually pays to talk to people."

"Is he any good?"

Koa shrugged. "It's not like I've seen him play."

Nathan snorted. "Then why do I care?"

"Maybe because he's a person? And he has no friends?" Koa shot back. "And he's a lot nicer than the rumors make him out to be?"

"Fine, fine, I get your point," Nathan interrupted with a sigh. "Can't really blame me, though, can you? Especially after he punched Fitz out the other day."

"Clearly, he didn't actually punch Fitz or he would have been suspended at the very least."

"Fair point." Nathan paused. "So what do you think really happened?"

"I don't know. But I hope one day he'll actually tell me."

"I don't get it."

Koa looked up curiously from the notecards in his hand. Another week had passed, and he and Alex were sitting on Koa's bedroom floor, surrounded with materials for a project for class. "Don't get what?"

"I know you would have rather partnered up with someone else, so why didn't you?"

"Who said I would have preferred someone else? Maybe I wanted to partner with you."

Alex glared at Koa. "I know you have actual friends in that class."

Koa shrugged and turned his attention back to the cards he was holding. "Did you ever think maybe I'm trying to be your friend too?"

Alex huffed. "No, I guess I didn't. But I don't really get that either. People are always curious at first, but curiosity doesn't last and eventually they just get tired."

"Well, you don't exactly make it easy."

Koa could hear the frown in Alex's voice when he quietly replied, "I'm not trying to make it difficult."

"I know. Why do you think I kept coming back?"

"To be annoying?"

Koa glanced up to see Alex smirking and smiled back. "Dang, you got me. Yup, that was totally the reason."

They both turned back to the mess on the floor and worked in silence for a moment before Alex murmured, "Thanks for not giving up on me."

"That's what friends are for, man."

"Oh, come on, Nathan. He doesn't bite."

Nathan's shoulders sagged and he threw his head back dramatically as he groaned. "Alright, fine. I will come eat with you and Alex. But just this once."

Koa shrugged. "You were the one who said you should meet him before the season starts."

"That's still two months from now, you realize."

"So?"

"Like I said," Nathan sighed, grabbing his tray from the counter, "I'll come sit with you."

As the pair approached the table, Alex looked up, raising an eyebrow in a silent question.

Koa was only too happy to provide the answer. "This is Nathan. He's on the soccer team. Played second string on Varsity last year as a sophomore. He's, like, scary good."

Nathan shrugged as he sat down. "Heard you were thinking about trying out. Are you any good?"

Koa rolled his eyes. Always straight to the point.

"I'm a bit rusty, but I used to be. Briefly made captain at my school back in England."

"Yeah? What happened?"

Alex shrugged. "Life."

Nathan snorted. "That's fair. Anyway, some of us on the team are playing a pick-up game on Saturday. You interested? Might help you decide if you want to go out or not."

Alex seemed to consider for a moment before replying, "I'll ask. Where and what time?"

"Eleven at the community park next to the elementary school."

"I know where that is." Alex nodded. "I'll try to make it. Thanks for the invite."

"Can I ask you a question, Alex?"

Alex shrugged, taking another bite of his ice cream. "I guess."

The community team Alex had been playing for had just won their final game of the season. Koa and Nathan had both gone to watch, and now the three of them (plus Alex's guardian) were celebrating with ice cream at Whit's End. (How Koa had lived on Oahu his entire life and not known about this place was beyond him.)

Koa smirked. "What really happened with Brandon Fitz last month?"

Steve almost choked on his ice cream as he started to laugh; Alex pointedly ignored him, grinning like a wolf, a mischievous glint in his eye. "I guess you could say he punched himself." He shrugged. "All I did was move out of the way."

Nathan stared in stunned silence, and Koa guessed his own expression was similar; Steve was still laughing quietly to himself, and it looked a bit like Alex might join him.

Koa shook his head and muttered, "I knew it. He definitely had it coming then."

Alex nodded. "He definitely did."

A/N: I don't usually put notes at the end, but that bit at the end? Yeah, that's a bit of a play on that scene in Never Say Die where Alex takes out a couple of bullies using only self-defense. Same concept, haha.