It took the boys roughly 15 minutes to obtain the copies and soon enough we were off to put them up all over town. By midday, the three of us had put the posters up around most of the town. I had suggested putting a couple on the high school's bulletin boards. Jonathan had pulled up to the school and put his car in park. It was my turn to go with Jonathan, so I got out of the car and followed him inside, seeing Barb and Nancy hanging with Steve and two of his asshole friends. I heard Steve say something about Jonathan and I made sure to listen to everything being said. "How much you wanna bet he killed him?" Tommy had said loud enough for me and most likely Jonathan to hear. I glance over to see that Jonathan had briefly paused before continuing to put up a couple of posters. "Oi, fuck head! Shut the hell up. Show some respect, just because you don't like Jonathan doesn't mean you need to say stupid shit like that." I yelled across the hallway. The group had given me looks of shock and anger. It was probably the first time that I had ever spoken to any of them like that, always trying to avoid conflict but something about the current situation had changed my attitude. Nancy started to walk over. "Hey, I'll be right back. I need to grab something really quick." He nodded at I, acknowledging that he had heard me, and he would wait. I could feel the eyes of everyone on my back as I walked past, giving Barb a quick hello before continuing on my way to my locker.
After grabbing what I needed, I walked back to see that Nancy and Jonathan were still talking and Steve's little group were looking unamused and bored. Not wanting to interrupt, I stood off to the side, away from Carol and Tommy. I had hoped they wouldn't confront me about my outburst, but alas, they came strolling over, Barb and Steve in tow. "You don't ever talk to me like that. If it happens again, I swear to God, it'll be the last thing you do." Both Tommy and Carol had gotten in my face. "Hearing you speak like that, are we sure you didn't hurt Will?" While I maintain my composure on the outside, I was silently cursing myself for not controlling my tongue. I heard Barb quietly gasp, no one else but me had heard it. I had hoped that the bell would ring soon before I got my ass beat to a pulp. Sure, I could take on Carol if she tried anything, but I knew that Tommy had the advantage of being stronger than me. "It's only a matter of time, y'know, before Jonathan needs to kill again, and I'll make a bet that he'll go after you next." Tommy had gotten really close when he said those words and they made me snap. Before I could stop myself, my arm swung back and I punched the bitch right in the nose, hearing a slight crack, unsure if it was my fingers or his face that made the noise. The commotion made Jonathan and Nancy look over to see Carol holding Tommy and me preparing to lunge at him again. I would have gotten to him if Steve hadn't come up behind me and stopped me from escalating the situation even further. Jonathan ran over and took a hold of me, dragging me out of the hallway. "Don't you ever say that shit to me again. You may be stronger than me, but I'm not afraid of you. If I have to, I'll fucking fight you." I was yelling the entire time Jonathan was dragging me out of the school and towards his car. Over my screaming, I heard the bell ring, indicating that class was starting. The last thing I saw was Tommy's nose bleeding before Ezra got out of the car and stood in front of me, blocking the view. "What the hell happened? Why are you yelling?" Being the taller one, Ezra slightly hunched over to look into my eyes.
Looking into his bluish-grey eyes, I had finally calmed down enough for Jonathan to let go of my waist. "Fucking Tommy, that's what. He was running his mouth, and I got sick of it, so I punched him." Taking a couple of steps back from the two boys and running my hand through my hair, breathing in a few deep breaths to stop my hands from shaking. "It was actually quite impressive, seeing him be hit like that." Hearing Ezra sigh, I finally looked up to see that he had a smile on his face and was trying to hold back laughter. "You should have seen the look on Carol's face. She looked scared shitless. Probably fearing that she would be next." I had started to laugh and bent over to catch my breath. Ezra chuckled and patted me on the back, commending my act of bravery. "Come on, I think we should go get something to eat. I'm starving!" The three of us got into the car and drove off away from the school. After grabbing something to eat, Jonathan drove us back to his house, dropped us of off, and drove back out of his 'driveway', knowing he was going to his dad's in search of Will. Sighing, I looked at my watch and saw that it was still midday, and I was exhausted from all the running around. "Come on, let's go home. I need a nap," I said as I walked towards my twin's car. "I'm proud of you, by the way. I didn't think you had it in you to punch Tommy, but boy am I glad you proved me wrong." Ezra said as he started the car and began to back away from the Byers' residence. Looking at him, I could see that he was being genuine. I had never been in a physical altercation, but he had, more than once. While very similar, the two of us were also complete opposites. I always tried to avoid conflict and getting in the middle of some petty high school drama, while he would defend himself and those he cared about, even if it meant getting physical. "Your rule of being the family disappointment may be coming to an end. Mom finds out about this and she's gonna see me in a completely different light." I joked around with him the entire way home while listening to a Mercyful Fate tape. Pulling up to our house, I was glad your mother wasn't home yet, meaning I had time to take a quick nap before she got home from work. I headed up to my room yelling at Ezra that I was going to be asleep, I flopped on my bed and fell into a quiet sleep, no nightmares plaguing my subconscious.