[A/N: i wish i could write these fics shorter; this was supposed to be a much bigger story, but i decided to break it up into a couple of different entries, hopefully all of which can be read independently as well. Sorry about that, and the bad grammar again. Part 2 of 6
TW/CW: bullying, a few paragrapgs of violence]
Junior was taking his time returning from the restroom. He didn't much care for the empty halls, but he disliked the overcrowded classrooms enough to make up for that. It wasn't as if he was missing anything important there anyway: the school system didn't exactly care what nor how much the children learned as long as it took up the time. Plus, nobody would miss him.
He watched everything going on in his mind through the corner of his eye; nothing making enough impact in the moment for him to focus on. He appreciated being able to zone out of himself. At least until his ears recognized something from beyond them.
The sound wasn't very loud. It was coming from a hall or two over from where he stood. He listened and tried to identify anything discernable. It sounded like someone was talking.
Actually, it sounded like two people were talking. One sounded much louder than the other. It felt aggressive, even at this distance. Junior was concerned by it, hoping that it wasn't someone getting picked on. He decided that he was going to take a peak to make sure that nothing bad was happening.
He poked his head out from around the corner. A little ways down the hall, he saw a larger boy leaning in towards the lockers. He didn't seem as if he were ill or anything, but he was hunched over enough to definitely not be fully standing. Then Junior noticed that there was another figure with the boy: someone was scrunched up underneath him, trapped between the ground and the lockers. It sounded like it was almost whimpering, clearly distressed by the situation. The bigger boy barked at him, pinning him down with his presence alone, much more so with the aggression he had. Junior had to step in.
He was always nervous about bullies. If he ever did get attention from his schoolmates, it was almost always from being bullied. Whether it was verbal or physical, or most commonly a combination of the two, Junior had always wished that he'd just be ignored altogether, rather than being a target for torment. It wasn't fair, he knew he didn't deserve it. He promised himself that, whenever he saw somebody else get picked on, he would absolutely have to intervene. Unfortunately it was most typically a futile effort, often resulting in either the two of them getting bullied together, or the aggressor turning their attention from their initial target to him, with that person then running away without a second thought. Sometimes that would hurt more than whatever else he had to endure from the encounter.
Still, Junior had a duty to himself to try and defend his fellow losers. He figured that, if he were ever lucky enough to be the one to receive that kind of compassion, he would most certainly show his gratitude for the savior. He would want for someone to do it for him: he wished for someone to do it for him: so he had to do it for others. And it wasn't the worst: while he usually just accepted what would happen when he was a target, he would never be afraid to do what it took to get the other person to safety. Luckily for him, it didn't usually take more than a quick transformation into some beast or other to scare a bully off, at least for a moment. It wasn't as serious when someone so mean could be so cowardly.
Junior hastened over to the commotion. He thought about what he's say on the steps to the action. The bully didn't look familiar, but there probably wasn't too much to worry about here. This guy was clearly a coward, having decided to corner someone while the rest of the school was preoccupied. Since no one else was around, Junior'd have ample opportunity to give the punk a good fright, along with many stern words. If anything did get messy, at least no teacher could butt in and put the blame all on him, as they so often seem to do with bullying victims of all kinds. And if things came to it, he'd have that open cover to stow away the problem child in a far off corner of the highest floor or the depths of the basement of the school. He always secretly liked being able to dish them such awful treatment that they so loved to give.
As he came up to it, he could hear the boy barking at the kid on the ground. "What are you gonna do, punk? Are you gonna cry? Like a little baby?"
"Excuse me there!" Junior boomed his voice.
The bully looked up at him. He immediately grew a smug smile on his face, wildly unintimidated by the small boy that had interrupted him. "Hah, what do you want, shrimp?"
Junior stood his ground, also unfazed. "I want you to leave that kid alone." He crossed his arms in front of him, glaring with an unsympathetic eye.
"Or what? Are you gonna stop me??" The guy stood up, showing off how much more mass he had compared to this stupid 'hero.'
"Or else something bad might happen to you." Junior growled, feeling his tentacles emerge and creep between his skin and his clothes.
"'Something bad??? Something BAD???'" The guy chuckled. "Something… like this?" He hiked back his leg and kicked it hard into the child sitting on the ground. They let out a scared cry, whimpering at the intense pain they were in.
That tore it, it was enough for him. Junior whipped his tentacles forward, ensnaring the guy and preventing him from moving. He was shocked, desperately trying to move his arms and legs in spite of the firm grasp. Junior pulled the guy close to him in a swift motion, bringing more tentacles between the two of them in order to assault the guy into submission.
He thrashed at his face and body, making sure that it was understood that he shouldn't go trifling with violence towards others if he wasn't able to take any himself. "'Something like this???'" Junior mocked him. "Maybe 'something like this?'" He socked him again and again, emphasizing himself with the attacks.
He raised the boy into the air and threw him down onto the ground, where he skidded to a halt in a pile. "Is that bad enough for you?" Junior loomed over the bully, threatening to go further if he needed to.
The guy looked up, quivering. He shuddered, bruised and sore, deciding that it wasn't worth this pain. He scrambled to his feet, hasting away to somewhere far from this monstrous boy.
Junior huffed proudly. He shouldn't like being so violent, but he figured that was that "godly wrath" about him. He'd probably grow out of it eventually, and the consequences were far less severe for children, so he didn't worry about it. 'It was still fun,' he giggled to himself.
He turned to the child on the ground. "Are you alrig--" He was shocked to see who it was before him. Their big green eyes were still frightened from what they saw, but something between the boys kept them staring instead of running away. "P-Pud'n?!"
He sniffled the snot that was dripping from his nose. He had sat up more from when the bully ran away, but the pain in his gut insisted that he stay on the ground. His cheeks were wet with tears, and his breathing was still hitched. Junior crouched down to get a better look at him to make sure he was okay, but Pud'n flinched when he got close.
"Do… do you need any help???" Junior spoke cautiously and held out his hand. "I can take you to the nurse if you want."
Junior watched Pud'n argue with himself about accepting the help. He knew that Junior would help him, but he had just witnessed how awful he could be. He was terrified, he didn't know what to do.
Junior began to accept the rejection. He really wanted to help Pud'n, but he understood why he was hesitant. He realized that he probably lost all trust that he tried to gain from Pud'n. He decided that he should get back to class.
Suddenly his hand was full. He looked up and saw Pud'n warrily smiling at him. Junior felt warmth in his chest, so happy to have regained Pud'n's trust. He gripped his hand tightly and used himself as leverage to bring Pud'n to his feet. He cringed at the stinging pain, and Junior jumped to be able to catch him if he fell. He didn't need it, but he smiled in appreciation of the concern.
Junior carefully escorted his friend to the nurse's office, making certain that he was not only fully able to make it there, but that he wouldn't be harrassed by anyone else along the way. Pud'n took his time getting there, fully confident that Junior would deliver him there safely. He thanked him for scaring the bully off and for protecting him, and he admitted how frightened he was by everything that happened. Junior reassured him and apologized for having scared him, saying that he was really happy to have gotten him out of that situation.
A little while later, the boys waved each other goodbye. Pud'n sat on the cot in the office, and Junior turned from the doorway where he was standing to head back to class. They told the nurse about the bully, and she was kind enough to write a note to Junior's teacher explaining what had happened. He appreciated it, but he wasn't too concerned about what they would say: he was just relieved to have helped his friend and regain his trust.
[A/N: I feel like this was kind of lame, sorry. i don't think i'm good at describing action-type stuff. If you have advice, i'd love to hear it!]