Disclaimer: See initial chapter.
A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to get this out here. Hopefully there are people still reading, or interested in this story.
"Fuck." Alex shoved the boy who'd walked into him, sending the kid sprawling to the ground, and causing him to lose his backpack, and the lunch he'd been clutching to his side. "Watch where the fuck you're going, douche-bag."
It should have ended there, because Alex was an upperclassman, and judging by the looks of the kid who'd been studying his feet too closely to notice anyone around him, he was a lowly freshman. No way would someone in the lower echelons of the high school cesspool be challenging an upperclassman. It would be a stupid move on the kid's part.
Therefore, Alex was completely unprepared for what happened next. He was already smiling broadly, wiping his hands off on his jeans jacket. He was so focused on making sure that he still looked good and retrieving his own lunch- as well as the one that the kid had dropped. The idiot deserved it for walking into him in the first place. Asshole should've watched where he was going, not looking at the fucking sidewalk- the attack from behind took him completely by surprise. The kid screamed something unintelligible and slammed into him, causing the lunches to go flying, and Alex to bump into a group of students. He turned around, eager to pummel the kid and show him who was boss, but the kid was suddenly on him, throwing punch after punch like there was no tomorrow.
The kid was a scrawny thing, dark-hair and brown skin, thin as a rail and wild-eyed, but he packed one hell of a punch, and it was all that Alex could do to protect himself as he couldn't get a good shot in. Alex threw an arm up in front of his face, to avoid a broken nose or black eye.
"Get the fuck off me, cocksucker," Alex growled, shoving at the kid, no longer caring how he looked, or who was watching. He just wanted to get the kid off of him, and maybe get in a good punch or two before one of the teachers intervened. No way was the kid going to wind up the victor in all of this. No fucking way.
"Hey, that's enough, come on, stop already," several students were shouting and Alex could see, out of the corner of his eye, that there were two upperclassmen trying to pry the kid off of him. Two. It was a sobering thought, or would've been if Alex could think of anything other than exacting immediate revenge once the kid was pulled away and he could roll free of the boy's fists.
The boys who'd managed to pull the kid off of Alex were shaking the kid, trying to get him to back down, but the kid was too far gone and still spitting insults even though his arms were pinned to his side. He was kicking out with his feet, and trying to pull free, trying to attack Alex for a second time that morning.
Alex's lips stung, and when he raised his fingers to them, they came back bloody. Seeing red, literally and figuratively, Alex stopped thinking and walked up to the trio of boys - the two attempting to get the younger boy to back down were unaware of what was about to happen and unprepared to stop it once it did - and slammed a fist into the kid's gut. It would have doubled him over were it not for the boys holding onto him, keeping him in place. Alex wasted no time in striking the kid again, this time squarely on the jaw, snapping his head back. Alex hit the kid once more and blood spilled from his mouth.
"What the hell is going on here?" the voice of a teacher, Morrow, Alex's mind supplied, rang out, and the boys who'd been holding the kid suddenly let him go.
The kid dropped to the ground into a boneless heap and groaned. He pushed up on his elbows, but collapsed back onto the ground. Spitting out blood and gasping for air, he rolled onto his back and blinked up at the sky.
"Fuck," the kid moaned and he raised a shaky hand to his head and covered his eyes with it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered, and Alex couldn't help but agree with the kid's self-assessment.
"Alright everyone, there's nothing here to see, get to class," Morrow said, shooing the onlookers who reluctantly left. The bell hadn't rung yet, but it would be ringing any minute now.
"Trager, Teller and Winston, stay right where you are," Morrow's voice kept them in place when the bell rang, kept Alex from picking up the discarded lunches and the kid's backpack.
"Why am I not surprised that you three are involved in an altercation on the first day of school?" Morrow asked, pulling off his sunglasses and kneeling so that he could get a good look at the downed kid, who, now that the adrenaline had worn off was lying there, still as death.
"Wasn't my fault," Alex said defensively. "The kid came at me like a fucking psycho."
"Language," Morrow said.
Alex rolled his eyes and gave the man the bird behind his back.
"I saw that, Trager," Morrow said, and it was all Alex could do not to repeat the gesture and add another one. Man was a fucking know it all prick. No way he saw that.
"We didn't do anything wrong, Mr. Morrow," said one of the boys who'd pulled the kid off of Alex. He had red hair that went down to his shoulders, and muscles to match his height. "We were just trying to help."
Ass kisser, Alex thought and he snorted, knowing that Morrow would see right through it. The man might be an asshole, but he was a fair and honest asshole.
"Yeah, Winston, from what I saw, you two were helping alright. Helping Trager beat the crap out of a freshman," Morrow said dryly. "Everyone's gone now, you can get up, kid."
"It wasn't like that..." the wiry, blonde-haired boy spoke up, "we don't even know -"
Alex wanted to shove a fist down the boy's throat. Fucking whiny-assed shit eater, Alex thought.
"Teller, I don't want to hear it," Morrow said. "You need a hand, kid?"
The kid still hadn't moved, and Alex was starting to get nervous. The kid had hit him first, all he did was act in self-defense, albeit after the fact, and when the kid had no way to defend himself, but, still, Alex didn't do anything wrong, considering the circumstances. He'd just done what anyone else in his place would have.
"Here, let me give you a hand," Alex said, crouching next to the kid and Morrow, not understanding why the fuck he was offering the kid his hand when the little fucker had tried to cave his face in a few minutes ago.
The kid smacked the offered hand away and snarled at Alex, revealing a mouthful of blood. "I can get up myself."
Alex raised his hands and backed away, shrugging. "Suit yourself, sunshine. Sooner you get up, sooner we can get to class."
The kid rolled over onto his side, and shoved Morrow's help off as well. He spit blood out onto the pavement and struggled to push himself upright. Alex hovered beside him, itching to help the kid up and get him moving. Not that he was all that eager to get to class or anything, but because now that he got a better look at the kid, he could see that he didn't look so good.
"What's your name, kid?" Morrow asked, hand held out to help in spite of the kid's rejection.
"Juan Carlos Ortiz," he mumbled, glaring at Morrow who merely smiled in response.
"Trager, take Ortiz to the nurse's office," Morrow said, gripping Ortiz by the wrist and hauling him to his feet in spite of his protests. The kid swayed, and elbowed Alex when he reached out to steady him. Apparently he was still pissed.
"Teller and Winston, let's take a trip down to the principal's office," Morrow said, gesturing for the two to walk ahead of him.
"Don't you have a class to teach?" blondie groused.
"It's your lucky day, Teller, my first period's free," Morrow said, shoving his sunglasses back on his face and grinning. "Now, walk."
"My mom's gonna to kill me," Winston muttered, running a hand through his hair and making it stick up in all sorts of funky directions.
"Yeah, well, your parents aren't personal friends of Mr. Morrow's," Teller said, shoulder bumping his friend.
"Guess you boys should've thought about that before you got into a fight. Less talking," Morrow bellowed. "More walking."
Alex and Ortiz were left behind, and Alex wondered if Morrow really expected him to get the brat to the nurse's station in one piece. The kid eyed him warily before taking a full step away from him and shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
"You heard the man," Alex said, jerking his chin in the direction of the front doors. Now that the fight was over, and he had a moment to consider what happened, he realized that his ribs were sore, and his lip was throbbing.
"I ain't going to the nurse." Ortiz wasn't looking at him, was already heading over to his backpack and lunch, which he stuffed into his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder with a wince. He draped an arm across his stomach and nearly face planted when he turned and took a step in the direction of the school. If Alex hadn't caught him, he would have.
"Hey, dumb-ass," Alex said. "It's either the nurse or the principal's office right now, and I gotta tell you, the nurse is a whole hell of a lot hotter than the principal."
Ortiz shook his head and rolled his eyes, pulled free of Alex's hold and started walking. His gait wasn't steady, and Alex shook his head, now understanding why Morrow had assigned him with the task of taking the kid to the nurse. He clearly wanted to torture him.
"Look, I don't care if you go to the nurse or not, sunshine," Alex said, gripping Ortiz by the elbow and tugging him toward the school doors, fetching his lunch on the way. "You can rot and die in a pool of your own blood for all I care. But, it's my ass on the line, so, you're going."
"Get the fuck off of me," Ortiz said, his voice a low hiss. "I'm not a baby. I can walk myself."
"Well then start walking and stop tripping over your own damn feet," Alex growled, releasing Ortiz' elbow and inwardly groaning when the kid stumbled forward a few feet before clutching at the wall to regain his balance. He pushed off the wall, and walked a little more steadily. Alex couldn't wait for this day to be over. One good thing about this, though, his father was going to be proud of him for not backing down from a fight.
Reviews would be greatly appreciated, and let me know if anyone is interested in reading more, especially after not having written for awhile. Thanks.