Summary: He needed to get away from all these people staring at him, judging him, starting to whisper and gossip about him even now. All this attention focused solely on him was making him sick.
Date: Feb. 12th, between Stars and Teamwork (Timeline: http :/ shiruy. livejournal. com/ 3602. html)
37. Eyes
Considering how much he wanted to be normal it was almost funny how being back in school could make him both so glad and yet so uncomfortable at the same time. Sitting in his classrooms, listening to the teachers drone on, taking notes - there were no words for how wonderfully normal and boring it all was. But somewhere between people shooting at him, explosions, completely mad egomaniacs and running for his life he had forgotten one very important fact.
"Hey Alex!"
A hand came down on his shoulder and Alex flinched away, only just restrained himself from bringing his fists up. His scar was stinging something fierce.
In school, he was surrounded by kids his age. And lashing out because he was startled was not the approved standard response.
"Hey Tom."
The dark-haired boy grinned at him and fell into the seat across from him. "Man, did you hear the rumours going 'round about you? It's crazy!"
Crazy. That's what he'd become if everyone didn't stop watching him like they expected him to do something weird any second every minute of the day. He'd regretted coming here the minute he'd stepped through the door.
"I haven't really been paying attention," he grumbled and stabbed at his clumpy mashed potatoes. He kinda missed the food he'd gotten in St. Dominic's.
Tom was still grinning - and no wonder, he'd made the smart choice and selected the chips from the menu. "Aww, are you mad? Come on, I heard Leila Stevens telling her friends how handsome and mysterious you are! I bet right now they're fighting over who gets to ask you out first."
Leila already had. He shrugged. "You know I don't have time for that stuff right now. I have to make up so much work it's not even funny anymore."
The other teen groaned. "But Alex, Leila Stevens! Do you have any idea - no, of course you don't." The boy huffed in exasperation.
Alex chuckled, then bit back another flinch as he felt several pairs of eyes boring into his back at the sound. "Sorry."
Tom shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. It's even kind of funny how they're all clamouring to find out what's going on with you. It's like you're a new student every time you come back."
"Yeah," he muttered sourly. "It's fantastic."
The other teen frowned lightly. "Come on, it can't be that bad."
He sighed and rested his chin on his fist. "It's just kinda annoying. I feel like I'm the star attraction in a zoo or someth-"
"Hey, Rider!" a mocking voice called from behind him, accompanied by a few snickers. "Heard you were in hospital again. What happened, did you break a nail?"
Surprisingly, it was Tom who seemed the most pissed off by the comment. Alex just rolled his eyes, way too used to these remarks. There were a couple of kids from the grade above theirs that had been trying to get a rise out of him all week. Waving at his friend to stay seated, he answered loudly, "Nah, it was my ankle this time. Twisted it when I tried out my new heels."
There was some laughter from around and behind him. Nice to know just how many people were listening in on them. Tom still had a frown lingering on his face, but at least he didn't look like he was about to go over there and start a fight anymore. Instead he chose to take his ire out on his chips.
"Carter's such a bloody pillock. Since the summer vacation he's started bullying the younger kids and 'cause he's got his gang," Tom gestured, but Alex didn't turn around to look at the four or five boys surrounding Carter, "nobody dares to stand up to him on their own. I bet he's pissed you're back, he knows you used to kick any bully's arse," the dark-haired boy finished with a grin.
Alex smiled too, remembering that their own friendship had started when he'd gotten rid of a couple older kids who'd been bullying Tom. "Well, right now he's just annoying. I'd rather not get in a fight."
His friend looked quite disappointed at that. "Damn, I'd hoped you could take him down a peg or three."
The blond shrugged and concentrated on his food, effectively ending the topic. It wasn't that he thought he'd lose against four or even five kids his age, the problem was that he wasn't sure that he wouldn't hurt them quite badly without even meaning to.
"Sooo... d'you think you'll rejoin the football team now that you're back?" Tom asked, talking around a mouth full of chips. "There's a game in a couple o' weeks and we could really use some help."
"Don't think I'll be allowed," the blond admitted with a grimace. "I've got too much work to make up."
His friend swallowed and blew out a disappointed sigh. "That blows. Well, then you'll have to join up next term again. I bet I can convince the coach to let you back in."
Tom was the captain of the football team and quite well-liked by pretty much everyone, so that was probably even true. Still, Alex couldn't even say for sure if he would still be alive come next term and he didn't want to make promises he couldn't keep. He half nodded, half shrugged. "That'd be cool."
"Hey, Rider!"
The exact same voice as before, even the exact same tone. Exasperated, Alex turned around this time. "Look, don't you have anything else to do besides bother me with your lame pick-up lines?"
Behind him, Tom gave a loud snort of laughter, quickly joined by snickers from the other tables. Alex smiled, small and tight, unfazed by the scowls at the table he was now facing but not very amused either. He just wanted to be left alone, was that so hard to understand?
"You think you're so smart, don't you, Rider?" snarled a tall boy sitting right in the middle of his four friends - Carter.
Once again, the blond shrugged. "Not particularly, no. You just make it real easy for me."
Now they were muttering among themselves and another boy with a round face and his sideways combed dark hair almost hiding his eyes called, "Oi, didn't your family ever teach you to be polite to your betters? Oops, I forgot - they're all dead, aren't they?"
Admittedly, that wiped the grin off Alex's face but to be fair he totally hadn't expected them to go there. That was way below the belt.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're-" Tom started in on them but Alex interrupted, his eyes narrowed, voice sharp. "Is that really the best you can do? Hitting the one obvious sore spot you know for sure will hurt me? Pretty pathetic, don't you think?"
He wasn't sure what the other teen had expected, but Alex's response sent him floundering, shaking his head and sputtering, "That's not-" but Alex talked right over him.
"Yeah, my whole family is dead and it fucking blows. But you know what? At least I didn't turn out to be some sad little bastard like you. So why don't you stop wasting my time and leave me the hell alone?" He swept his gaze over all five boys, noted their expressions ranging from plain pissed off to taken aback to insulted.
Useless. It didn't matter what he said. They wouldn't get it and they wouldn't leave him alone. Shaking his head, he pushed his tray away and got up, throwing a quick, "I'll be outside," in Tom's direction. He needed to get away from all these people staring at him, judging him, starting to whisper and gossip about him even now. All this attention focused solely on him was making him sick.
"Alex, wait!" There was some clattering behind him and then Tom jogged up next to him. A wave of gratitude hit the blond and he smiled at his friend, unspeakably relieved to not be alone in this. To not be the only one storming out of the canteen after one stupid little fight.
The second the swinging doors closed behind them Tom exploded. "What a bunch of assholes! I can't believe they'd bring up your family, that's so low it's disgusting! And nobody even thought of helping, they all just sat there and watched like you were putting on a show or something!"
Alex bit his lip and shrugged, although he was just as frustrated. He knew he shouldn't let these kids get to him, knew that he had much bigger things to worry about. It was stupid to get worked up about something so meaningless.
Tom put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Good job calling them out on their shit, though. Still kinda wish we could beat them up."
The blond snorted, feeling himself smile in answer to his friend's grin. "I get into enough trouble as it is. I don't need to add 'starts fights at school' to the list."
Of course, just then they heard the doors behind them bang open and both boys turned around, startled at the noise. Alex wished he could at least pretend to be surprised when it turned out to be Carter and his friends following them, but all he really felt was a sense of exhaustion. Next to him, Tom shifted so that he was standing legs slightly apart and tense, obviously getting ready for a fight. Alex grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along at a normal pace, ignoring his friend's startled "Alex!" or the calls from behind them. He'd already left the stupid lunch room, he'd cleared the field, retreated as if there was anything to run away from - and thus he was so not doing this. He refused to do this.
"Oi, Rider, wait up!"
"Come on, we just wanna give you something!"
A punch to the face, probably. He laughed low under his breath, a grim smile twisting his lips. There was a threat at his back, the adrenaline was singing in his veins and he felt better, more like he belonged than he had all day so far. It was messed up.
Beside him, Tom was stumbling along, on the one hand wanting to face the others but on the other hand unwilling to try to make Alex stop by force. He tried it with words. "Alex, come on, they're gonna catch up anyway. And just look at them, they're practically begging for a beating! We should oblige, don't you think?"
Of course they were going to catch up - Alex refused to run like a dog with its tail between its legs - but it was all just so. Argh. Pointless. And stupid. Letting loose a frustrated huff of breath he stopped and turned around on the spot, Tom nearly stumbling as he was yanked to a halt.
The other boys, seeing that Alex had stopped, came closer until they were only a few steps away. As expected, Carter was once again the first to speak, a mean grin on his face. "Enough running away, Rider? And here I thought we'd have to chase you all over school."
Unimpressed and letting it come through loud and clear, Alex asked, "What do you want?"
The same boy who'd made that remark about Alex's family spoke up, smirking as well. "We told you, didn't we? We just want to give you a little welcome-back present."
To try to stop the fight or to make them really angry? Ah, to hell with it. Alex grinned right back at them, the expression every bit as friendly as a shark's. "Look, I know I'm irresistible but I just don't swing that way. You'll have to keep your flowers and chocolates, maybe find a pretty girl to give them to or something."
Tom snickered, but the other boys were less amused. "In case you were wondering," Carter snapped, "that's exactly why nobody likes you. You come back here and behave like you own the place, but you know what? You're not all that great, everybody knows that you're in therapy and doing drugs! Hell, I bet you were in hospital 'cause you tried to off yourself or something and now you're back here pretending to be the Amazing Alex Rider again. It pisses me off!"
Alex couldn't help it, he laughed. "That - that's your reason for disliking me?" He laughed again, louder, sharper. "Because I'm stealing your show? Oh bloody hell, how old are you?" He chuckled, shook his head. "I wasn't aware that I'd been put back into kindergarten while I was away."
"Shut up!" one of Carter's friends barked.
Alex did, but he just couldn't get rid of the mad grin on his face. This was just too absurd. At least it seemed they were finally done talking because all of a sudden Carter took a big step forward, fist cocked back.
Tom called something, maybe a warning, maybe an encouragement, but Alex didn't register it either way. With barely a thought, he ducked Carter's punch and stepped forward, marvelling in the back of his mind that it was all happening so slowly. Carter moved nothing like Nile, like Conrad, like Yassen; it was all slow clumsy steps and telegraphed intentions. But even that didn't matter as he hooked his foot behind Carter's ankle and shoved his palm hard into the older boy's sternum. The move stole the other's breath and sent him tumbling to the floor in a helpless sprawl.
Alex stepped back, getting a bit of space to work with, and not a second to soon. While one of the boys helped Carter to his feet the other three came at Alex, trying to box him in. Tom intercepted the one on Alex's right and the blond felt another surge of gratitude before it drowned in a fresh wave of adrenaline. From one moment to the next he was busy ducking, weaving, shoving, and he had to be careful, couldn't aim for the places his body wanted him to, couldn't kick them to make sure they stayed down.
He stumbled when one of them clipped his shoulder, more distracted with the flash of pain in his back jerking back brought him than the actual hit. He allowed himself to be pushed back another two, three steps, let the other two believe they had the upper hand, always watching, waiting, waiting, there-
His hand flashed out to intercept the taller one's fist and as soon as he had his fingers around the boy's wrist he twisted, jerking the other's whole body around and to his knees as the boy howled in surprise and pain. Alex didn't much care, just forced the arm up the other's back, making him bend over into an awkward position.
The second boy had frozen for a few seconds but soon he was moving, coming at Alex from the left to help his friend. The blond waited, watched and just when it was clear the boy was fully committed to his attack he twisted the arm in his grasp. There was a sickening 'pop' and the boy screamed, the second one attacking jerked back in shock and stumbled and Alex swept out his leg.
He'd timed it perfectly; the second boy went down quick and hard, sprawling in an uncoordinated heap. Before he quite knew what had happened Alex had shoved him onto his stomach and gotten a good grip on his wrist as well. From there, all he needed to do was give a warning little twist and the teen froze, terrified of having his arm broken as well. He couldn't know that Alex had been careful to only dislocate the first boy's shoulder.
When he had the two of them completely immobilized Alex looked up for the first time, unsurprised to see the dozens of kids watching from several metres away. A lot of them had seen Carter and his gang follow Tom and him, so of course they'd come and watched instead of doing the smart thing and getting help.
Tom had finished his own fight, the boy who'd come at him leaning with a bloody nose against the wall and obviously not about to try another attack. Alex noticed the split lip his friend had, but it didn't look too bad. Only Carter and the fifth boy were left standing, but considering Carter was still mostly busy gasping for breath and the last boy looked completely terrified, it seemed like the fight was pretty much over.
[Too soon.]
Letting go of the two boys on the floor Alex stood up and stepped away, over to Tom. His hands were shaking with adrenaline and he was itching to run, fight, do something. He forced himself to stand perfectly still.
"Hey," Tom smiled at him. "You alright?"
Alex nodded, made his mouth return the smile. "Yeah. You?"
"Mostly," the other teen grinned, displaying his split lip. "How much trouble you reckon we're gonna be in?"
"What's this I hear abou- Oh my goodness! Carter, Rider, Harris! What in god's name did you-"
He looked over the hallway filled with beat up kids, one- no, wait, now two screaming teachers, the talking and wildly gesticulating students in the background and his smile became more real, if slightly strained. "Lots of it. Lots and lots and lots of it."
Tom laughed.