Chapter 6:

My next class was PE. I'm really starting to like it in there. Tavros, kankri and I have become pretty cool with each other. That equius guy doesn't really talk to anyone but nepeta. I see him get nervous a lot. He carries around towels in his backpack. When I got to PE I knew immediately that something was wrong when I looked at kankri. His eyes were red and his usual confident demeanor was changed into a submissive hollow feel that echoed around the room. "Kankri… are you okay?"

He shook his head and wiped the tears off of his face. My mind was immediately trying to figure out things that were wrong. When I first met him, I learned that his parents were extremely religious. Did they force kankri to go to church where he got made fun of? That wouldn't make him cry, would it? What if his parents found out about Cronus. Oh my god. That would be terrible. You can tell by the way that kankri talks about him that he really loves Cronus. It's so cute. It makes me wish that Dave and I were that close… but what if Cronus and him aren't doing good? Did cronus dump him? Did kankri finally get tired of the pressure and dump Cronus? My train of thought was paused when Tavros put a hand on my shoulder. I could tell that everyone was a little bit off. I didn't like the familiar feeling of an elephant being in the room. I looked over at Tavros and that's when he said it. "It's Cronus… He..-" Tavros gulped. I knew it had something to do with cronus… but… Why couldn't he finish his sentence? He looked… pained? Why pained? "He hit kankri."

That's when it hit me like a bus and I was almost breathless. Kankri spoke through his hoarse voice. It's obvious he'd been crying. Hell, I'd be crying too. I've only been hit by someone I love once and I stopped it immediately. I shook my head to keep myself from thinking back to those days. That's when he finally spoke. His words were soft and quiet "he loves me. He does… He just has some issues he needs to work through. Please, don't be mad at him."

Don't be mad at him?! DON'T BE MAD AT HIM?! Why would someone hurt someone they love like that?! And kankri is just forgiving him?! Making up excuses for the pisspot. NO. I cannot accept this. I will not accept this. I do the only thing my mind will let me think to do in that moment. Confront the asshole. Confront the asshole. I got up and bolted towards Cronus. "HEY ASSHOLE!"

He put down his cigarette and scoffed as he looked at me. The look on his face was quizzical and slightly amused. He has no idea what I can do when I'm mad. Again I shake my head not letting myself think of my past. This is no time to feel sorry for myself. I need to confront this asswipe. That's when he spoke. His voice was almost cold and demanding when he spoke. I then began to see the other side of him that kankri has never talked about before. Chills ran down my spine. "What do you want, nerd?"

Why does everyone think I'm a nerd? Whatever. This is about him and his mistake. I take a step towards him and clench my fists in preparation. I don't want to take a swing, but I will- Especially since he has no problem throwing a swing. I took a deep breath to calm my thoughts before speaking in a low voice- the low voice was just a warning. He had better take it. " I know what you did, Cronus. I know what you fucking did. Do you think that this is okay? That you can just go around hitting whoever you want?! Kankri is over there crying right now. Do you like that? Hm? Is that what you get off on? He's going to leave you someday. You're going to be alone- just like how you feel. Just you fucking see. You're going to wish you had never hit kankri."

I bet he thinks that this is some huge joke because I seem scrawny. He laughs in my face, his nicotine breath lingering in my nostrils. Disgusting. "HA. Listen hero. I can do what I want. Kankri isn't going to do shit. You-" He shoves me against a locker. I feel the instant thud and I smell the nicotine bursting out of his pores as he got real close to me. Damn. How much does he smoke? " you shut the hell up before I fucking break you in half"

Wow. Such a fucking threat. I was about to say something but It caught in my throat. It isn't normal for that to happen when I'm mad. I look at him- fury burning in my eyes. I was going to kick him off of me, but that's when Dirk Strider walked up. What the hell is he doing here? Cronus stepped off of me and began to stammer in fear. Something's fishy. Fear? Of dirk? Why would an abusive bastard like Cronus be scared of him? "uh.. dirk… Whataya doin here…?"

His voice sounded like the Cronus that I had heard and grew fond of from Kankri's tell tale. My eyebrows furrowed together and I looked around at the entire situation. What is he doing here anyways, and how did he know what was going on from all the way across the locker rom? That's when he started to speak in a threatening tone. "you stay away from the new kid. He's Strider property"

Strider property…? Strider property?! What the hell could that possibly mean? I looked at Cronus as he grunted and turned around. This is a complete different Cronus than the one I saw just 3 minutes ago. Why does he fear dirk? I looked at dirk and recognition filled my mind. He's the guy that was all possessive with me on my first day… He was either trying to hurt me or come on to me. He kind of gives me a creepy vibe. In fact, more than a creepy vibe. I'm too pissed off at the entire situation to even think about that right now. I look at him trying to see what the hell he thinks he's doing here. I decide to thank him anyways- halfheartedly of course. "Thanks…" I decide to get straight to the point that's basically flooding my mind at the moment. "Hey uh, what did you mean 'strider property'?"

He took a step towards me. The smirk on his face was both devious and whimsical at the same time. It honestly scared me a little. My body tensed up in fear of what the smirk was for. The creepy vibe flowed over me like a wave except it wasn't as much creepy as it was… controlling… He then began to take more steps towards me and he whispered in my ear. "You'll see..."

I'll see? He'd better fucking tell me right now. That's when he grabbed my ass. My thoughts varied from both confused as hell and extremely flustered. So he was coming on to me the first day… I think? Was he? Oh my god his hand is still on my ass. Why wont he let go. Instead he just let himself get a better grip. I bet he's really enjoying himself, huh? I tried to divert his attention. "D-dirk… I-"

That's when I got interrupted. He got real close to me- and by real close I mean I could hear his heartbeat. My breathing hitched slightly. Was I getting… No. Not aroused. Not at all. I pushed him off of me and he smirked that devious smirk again that sent even more chills down my spine. "see you later, john."

What the hell is wrong with that guy?! He just… Wait isn't that Dave's brother? Oh those brothers are just alike! All tease and no fucking explination. This recent turn of events made me even more mad than I was before, and quite frankly more confused. The golden questions on my mind right now: Was him grabbing my ass out of admiration, or something else? Does Dirk Strider actually have feelings for me like I have feelings for his brother? No… I would never disrespect Dave like Dirk just did to me. There's no explaining any of that right now. My mind just fills with the same questions. To think, I was actually in a really good mood when I came to class. That's when my mind was going to drift off to daydreaming about Dave. Anything is better than the thoughts I'm thinking right now. I just walk over to my group and look at everyone. Tavros and equius had left. Shocker. Kankri looks at me. His face looks like he's said this all before. It really makes me stop and appreciate that I'm not getting hurt like that… anymore. Kankri talks to me in a tired tone. "You didn't have to-"

" No. I wanted to. You don't…" I felt a lump in my throat. I've never gotten upset over someone else's problems before, but god damnit kankri is my friend. He doesn't deserve any of this! I can hardly finish my advice. "don't let him do that… You can leave." I mean it, too. He needs to leave. He looks at me with his sad and tired eyes. I'm not used to this look on him. Usually he's so… plucky. I mean, yeah, he gets nervous a lot. And, yeah, he talks a lot more for other people's feelings than he should, but that doesn't mean that he deserves this. NO ONE deserves this. I pulled him in closer when I saw his arms raise slightly. I knew he was asking for a hug and I hugged him for a long time. I'm pretty sure he let out a few tears on my shoulder. It frustrates me because I don't feel like I know how to comfort him. My experience like this was so… small compared to this. I don't know how I could possibly use my experience to comfort him, or if I could even compare my experience to his at all! That's when he talks in a soft voice.

" Thank you, john…" He has no reason to say thank you. This is something I would do for anyone I cared about. He looks around our area of the locker room. It's just me and him left by our lockers. All the other kids are waiting by the door for the bell to ring. "You really helped. Thank you for going over and trying to stick up for me… Can I ask you for a favor?" I looked at him and nodded in approval. Of course he could. He could ask me for anything. When I nodded at him, he nodded back. "Can you please never put yourself through something like this…?"

I look at him and my jaw drops slightly. Should I tell him about that time… better not. It would expect him. It's not fair. It's so not fair! He knows this is a bad thing to put himself through because he wouldn't want me to go through something like this. I just decide to do all in my power to show him the unfairness of what he just asked. "I'll do you that favor when you listen to your own advice, kankri." The bell rang and I got up. I gave him one touch to the shoulder to show him that I still cared for him and I was still here even though I wasn't doing that favor for him and walked off. That's when Tavros looked at me. I shook my head and looked down at the ground. Too much is running through my mind right now to talk to Tavros, Equius, or anyone, really. The thoughts of Kankri flooded my mind. I thought of him sitting on the floor asking Cronus to 'please stop.' I quickly shook my head. If I think about this any more tears will flow. I just walked to my next class not wanting to think about this anymore.