Hi everyone. I'm back with another chapter. Honestly, I didn't expect all the reviews you left. I would like to thank you all for your kind words and for adding this fanfic to your alerts.

To Comrade: I'll try to see what can I do to make this interesting for you.

To TroyGroomes: I might consider that. Thanks for reviewing!

Now, on to the story Enjoy! (I apologize for any grammar mistakes and/or repetitive writing. I'm not a native English speaker.)

Chapter 1: High School Madness

This was just another day in Eric's life. He woke up as soon as he heard the small Casio alarm clock beeping exactly at 6:30 in the morning although it took him some extra minutes to wake up since he'd stayed up late doing some homework. It was Friday, the 22nd of March. When he felt ready to leave his bed, he muttered a curse and abandoned the cozy safety of his bed to turn off the alarm, which he wasn't really fond of because of the ear-piercing sound it produced.

The young man walked to his bathroom and turned the shower on. After making sure the stream was warm and gentle on the skin, he undressed and walked under the showerhead.

'This is it,' he thought to himself while rubbing shampoo on his hair. 'Just a couple more months and then I'll be able to start over in college.'

He felt comforted by the prospect of living a somewhat normal social life when he reached the college campus of his preference. It's true, bullying would probably stop once he got out of high school. He just couldn't wait to see what it would be like to stop being teased by immature students. Thankfully, graduation wasn't that far over the horizon.

One of the aspects that he would miss about Fairport would be his friends, unfortunately. The last time he'd spoken to them about the subject, they'd admitted that they wouldn't go to the same university. He wasn't upset, but he felt nervous and, to some degree, anxious. He was naturally shy, so making new acquaintances away from home and what he knew just felt… daunting.

'Eh, whatever. I'll have to deal with it,' he continued thinking as he washed the lather off his head. 'Can't be that hard, can it?'

After this moment of tranquility, Eric finished cleaning himself and turned the water off. With his towel wrapped around his waist, the boy walked up to his wardrobe and picked a black leather jacket, a grey t-shirt, his favorite pair of black denim pants and a pair of white sneakers from his closet before putting them on. Once he was dressed, he headed back to the bathroom to groom his hair, then he headed downstairs to the kitchen to make his breakfast. Today he would have a simple ham and cheese sandwich accompanied by a tall glass of cold orange juice.

While he ate his food at the modest kitchen table, Eric's mother and father suddenly rushed in, both dressed in business attire.

"Good morning, Eric," his mom said, opening the cupboard to grab a box of cereal.

"Good morning mom, did you sleep well?" he asked before taking a gulp of juice.

"Yeah, you could say so," she replied while serving two bowls of wheat flakes. "A bit stressed out, is all."

"You and me both," his dad added grumpily while manning a coffee maker next to the sink. He couldn't stop yawning while rubbing his eyes. "We are flying out to San Jose in 3 hours. Shame that the neighbor's cat kept me up well into the AM."

"What's in San Jose?"

"Just a business summit," Eric's dad paused for a second to inhale the smell of fresh coffee. "We'll be representing the firm there for the entire weekend."

"Seems fun, I heard the weather's lovely over there," Eric tried to add some positivity to the conversation.

"Yeah, well. We'll try to make the most out of it," Eric's mom sat down at the table with the two bowls and a couple of spoons before digging into her cereal. "Might even try to sneak away with your dad for some drinks at night, like we used to when we were dating. Wouldn't that be nice, Ed?"

Eric chuckled while his dad sat down next to him.

"Sounds good to me, Rose," the mood of Eric's dad seemed to be improving after taking his first sip of coffee. "I mean, since we won't be here for the weekend, you might as well party, eh?" He elbowed Eric playfully and returned to focusing on his hot drink.

Eric looked up and sighed.

"I don't know, dad. We're working our way towards the midterms," Eric took another sip out of his glass. "Besides, I'm a little sore." The high school student groaned as he rubbed his right shoulder, wincing a little.

"Those kids again, huh?" His mom had a look of concern on her face.

"Huh? Nah, not at all," Eric attempted to deflect the question, but deep down he knew his mother was right. He still could feel some of the hits Calvin and his friends had gotten on him not too long ago. "It's just my posture when I work upstairs, besides-"

"Well, if they're still bothering you," his dad interrupted bluntly while clearing his throat. "You should just stand up for yourself. I remember whe-"

"I don't see the point," Eric retorted. "Like, I'll be out of that school soon. I won't see those bastards ever again either way."

"Language son," his mom's expression turned to one of shock.

"Sorry, didn't mean to," he lied. He still felt a great deal of contempt, he just wanted to be done with it.

"All I'm saying is," Ed put his hand on Eric's shoulder, trying to pass him some confidence. "It's a bit of a tough world out there. Maybe your future coworkers won't be resorting to physical violence over a disagreement, but people can still be really nasty when they want to."

"Look, I just don't want to give them what they want," deep down, Eric knew any sort of confrontation would end up worse for him despite him desperately wanting to fight back sometimes. He'd watched Karate Kid before, but he was no Daniel LaRusso. "It'll be better for everyone in the long run if I keep my head down."

"Just saying," his dad removed his hand from his shoulder and went back to his cereal. "You have to take control and show others that you're not a doormat."

"Noted sir," Eric replied dryly, yet trying to sound as convinced as possible.

"Anyways," Rose tried to turn the conversation around, handing out 30 dollars to her son. "Here's some money for food, in case you have plans with your friends later."

"Thanks, I guess," Eric took the money and shoved it in his pocket. "I gotta go now though, it's getting late."

With that, he finished his food, took his plate and glass to the sink, and walked out of the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later, Eric was back, teeth brushed, schoolbag slung over his shoulder, just about ready to leave.

"Uh, you guys fly safe," Eric hugged both of his parents, giving his mom a kiss on the cheek as well. "Good luck with work."

"You have a good time here, son," his dad replied. "We love you."

"Likewise, see ya on Monday."

"Goodbye, Eric. Have a good day at school," his mom added.

The young man waved, turned around and walked outside with his keys in hand. He gave out a heavy sigh with some frustration and got on his bicycle.

Things were smooth and calm during his ride to school. The temperate weather was delightfully cool and not even a car was on the road. 15 minutes later he arrived at his school. After writing down the time it had taken him to get there on a little notepad, Eric left his bicycle on the rack that was at the entrance and entered the twin-buildings five-story facility. The school's hallways were wide and didn't have any glass on the windows. They also produced an echo that irritated Eric sometimes. These hallways also connected the two main buildings to the other facilities the school had. It had several science labs, a gym, a football field that was also used to play soccer, a spacious dining hall, and more. At this time, the whole place was as quiet as a graveyard, with no one to be seen except for Eric. This was pretty much what Eric liked about being slightly early. He could take his stuff from his locker without having to worry about unfriendly people or getting to his first class on time. He even had a brief conversation with himself to put his mind in order. His schedule was somewhat overwhelming that day. The first four hours included 2 hours of chemistry, and only one hour for his literature and French classes.

'What a heavy day,' he thought as he made room for his French textbook in his bag. When he finished taking his supplies, he decided to take a walk through the deserted hallways before the class began. "Well, thank goodness it's Friday," he said with a hint of tiredness in his voice. A few minutes later, both students and teachers began to arrive, making noise with their chattering and their cars. The school's buses also were polluting the air with the annoying and loud grumbling of their engines. When Eric noticed them, he began to walk cautiously so that he would be able to avoid other students.

The sun was already coming up as the systems that controlled the school's lamps turned the lighting off. However, this left some areas in complete darkness. This didn't seem to startle Eric, who happened to be in a poorly illuminated hallway at the time. He couldn't see anything except for the sun's faint reflection on the white-tiled floor. Actually, that reflection all that he really needed to find his way to class.

Suddenly, a tapping sound he wasn't very familiar with surprised him. It resembled the noise someone wearing heels would make. This didn't make any sense to Eric because he knew that heels were prohibited for both girls and female teachers. He stopped and turned his head both ways, without really being able to make out a single soul in the relative dark. The tapping, however, stopped.

"Hello?" He called out. No answer was heard.

'Heels?' He asked himself mentally as he lifted an eyebrow. Soon, he had a gut feeling telling him to get to class before that person got to him. Not really feeling safe anymore, he began jogging but the mysterious person following him did the same thing. Eric heard the heels getting closer and soon, his jogging turned into a frantic dash towards the nearest illuminated hallway. 'What the hell is going on here?! Who's that?!' the young man wondered. Eric ran as fast as he could, but the heels were getting closer as he ran towards the light. But fortunately, he managed to come out of the shadows after a few seconds. He immediately realized that his pursuer couldn't let him know who he or she was, as he turned around and spotted the figure of a person with pointy ears, or a part of it, leaping over the window frame of the dark hallway. Eric ran towards it and stuck his head outside to try to spot the stalker, but he only got to see a black sedan with no number plate speeding towards the exit of the school's parking lot. Eric just shook his head, believing it only had been an amateur prank. Later, the boy got to his classroom and waited for the class to begin.

'Eight, nine, ten, eleven...' Eric frowned as he mentally kept count of the number of times he was hit in the back of his head with a piece of eraser. The projectiles were coming from the back of the classroom. It was clear that Calvin Garrett was having lots of fun being a nuisance. Even though math was Eric's last class, he just couldn't put up with Garrett's antics anymore. He tried to focus on the class and read the information Professor Green had written on the board at the front of the classroom. He had to keep his mind busy, or else he'd pick up a fight. Especially after the conversation with his dad in the morning, he felt that he was being pushed over the edge.

The worst part is that, even though Eric did his best to keep his cool, sometimes he'd get jumped by Garrett and his friends whether he liked it or not, and the usual outcome would always be the same, Eric would wind up bleeding and bruised. On normal days, Garrett would be less violent but still would try to make Eric's existence miserable by pulling classic but equally humiliating routines such as staining his victim's homework with soda, locking him up in lockers and trash containers, or even by sticking Eric's head in the restroom's toilets. The worst part being, there was no evidence of these happenings with the exception of Eric's word. The school system was just inefficient at handling these situations, turning a blind eye.

All of this filled Eric's head with hatred, and his only wish was to get revenge on Garrett. Five more minutes passed before the bell rang, indicating the end of both the class and the day. Professor Green said goodbye to his students and left. Meanwhile, Eric sighed in relief and began to stuff his things in his bag but suddenly, WHAM! The boy was smacked in the back of head. He didn't make a single sound, but he furiously rubbed the place on which he had been hit. Calvin walked right up next to him, laughing and holding the complimentary calculus book with his strong hand. Eric knew right away that Garrett had been the one who hit him. "I'll see you next week, sissy!" Garrett shouted at Eric as he threw the book in the classroom's trash bin right before he walked out of the classroom. However, this only triggered Eric's anger. The enraged boy put the rest of his supplies into his bag, which he slid over his shoulder and pushed his desk to one side with so much strength, that he tipped it over.

Not giving it even the smallest of thought, Eric picked up the book from the trash bin and walked out of the classroom and placed himself right by the door frame. He looked out into the sea of students in the hallway, trying to identify Garrett. This didn't take long because Garrett was just a few feet away from the classroom. Eric gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Hey, Garrett!"

"What do you want, Gay-llow?" answered Garrett, who turned around while giving Eric a threatening stare.

"You forgot your book, asshole!" Eric snapped back, throwing the book at Calvin with both arms. The 800-page book flew through the air, its pages gracefully flapping like a bird's wings and soon enough, it collided with Garrett's face, knocking him down to the ground. Right after this, Eric's breathing slowed down. Almost immediately, he began to regret what he had just done after seeing Garrett back on his feet with a bloody nose, fuming. Terrified, Eric rushed back into the classroom, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it. He couldn't go back to the hallway or else Calvin would certainly beat him to death for real this time. Eric took a quick look at the room and noticed that one of the windows was open. He walked slowly towards it and looked below. Right under the window there was a container filled with old books, cardboard boxes, and some leftover styrofoam. He immediately knew that he had to jump out the window to escape but the problem was the two-story drop. He pondered on whether he should do it or not, but finally decided on doing so the moment that Calvin began to bash the door with his fists. Feeling the adrenaline in his veins, Eric walked towards the window and stepped outside onto the ledge beneath the frame. He then threw his bag into the container and looked below the ledge hesitatingly. Then, for some reason unknown to him, all he could really hear was his breathing. He closed his eyes, and whispered a phrase to himself.

"Well, here I go."

With that, he leapt off the building, feeling the wind ruffling his brown hair as he fell until his body landed inside the container. Sure, his landing had hurt every so slightly because he didn't know how to land. Eric laid on the discarded material and rested for a while, incredulous. He then stood up and jumped out of the container to finish his escape.

"And with that you get a sixteen," said Nick, sporting a happy smirk on his face. "Still want another card?"

Laura shrugged and replied. "Sure. Another one won't hurt." Nick picked another card and placed it facing down next to the other cards Laura already had. Then he picked another one and placed it over his own.

"I'm sure you're going to lose again," Nick grabbed the card he had just taken and got ready to flip it.

Laura bit her lip and flipped her own card. "It looks like you're right," she said, looking away in defeat. A nine had made her go past the twenty-one that would've granted her victory. "Seriously, how do you expect me to beat you in a game of Blackjack? You're the son of a casino owner. I'm sure that it's got something to do with this." Laura didn't seem to be pleased with her disastrous decision.

Nick chuckled and replied to Laura's claim. "The secret to winning this little game is simple. Luck and confidence are all you need," Nick took the 5-dollar bill Laura had just lost to him. "You would've won if you hadn't asked for another card," at this point Laura paid attention to every word the smiling boy in front of her was saying. He was about to finish his explanation when someone cut him off.

"Because you certainly went over twenty-one as well," Eric had just arrived at the dining hall in which his friends had been for at least twenty minutes playing. "So, when are you guys going to stop playing Blackjack?" he said jokingly.

"I will once I beat our little gambler here," Laura replied, following Eric's joke.

"Look who's talking!" Nick retorted, "I'm afraid that you'll have to wait, Laura. I'm slightly tired," Nick put his deck in a ziplock bag and tossed it in his schoolbag. "So, what got into your way, Gal? Professor Green kept you after class?" This was a nickname Eric was already used to. It didn't bother him at all.

Eric took a seat next to Laura. "That's one funny question, you know? I'm getting better at math, but unfortunately," he made a small pause. "I had a problem on the way here."

Nick and Laura looked at each other and realized what that little problem was.

"Let me guess, Eric. You ran into Garrett again?" Laura asked with a serious expression on her face.

"Nailed it."

"Dude," Nick pointed his index finger at Eric. "This can't keep happening, you've run into that idiot too often this month. For obvious reasons, I'm not including that beating you got in the parking lot a while back. I think you still have that bruise on your cheek."

"That's not true. Besides, I can't believe I've gotten into so much trouble in the first three weeks of March. I managed to escape from this one, though." Eric replied, clutching his hand into a fist.

"Escape?!" his friends asked in unison.

"Please tell me you're not the maniac everyone's talking about!" Nick begged.

"Wait what? What are you talking about?" Eric asked as he removed his fringe from his forehead.

"Some daredevil pulled a stunt by jumping out of one of the building's windows. News travel quite rapidly in this place," someone said from behind Eric's back. The young man looked upwards and grinned. It was Alex Brixton, whom he had met a few days ago. A transfer student from out of state, Alex was new in Fairport, but what they had in common was the same bully. Alex, a hobbyist specialized in martial arts, managed to fight back, unlike Eric.

Eric looked at his friends and resumed the conversation by introducing Alex to them. "Guys, this is Alex Brixton. We're in the same class," Alex shook Nick's and Laura's hand and, of course, the usual 'nice to meet you' or the 'pleased to meet you' were exchanged between the teenagers. Alex sat down next to Nick and told the school's most recent gossip to his new friends. "And then, Eric scored a hit right on the bastard's face with the book, creating a bloody gash on his face!"

"And that's when I retreated into the classroom and escaped." Eric interrupted him, knowing that Alex was exaggerating things a little.

His friends' mouths were wide open.

"But how do you intend to survive now?" Nick asked. "Garrett's going to be constantly looking for you from now on. He might even kill you if you're not careful."

"Honestly," Eric was sweating profusely. "I don't really know."

Alex decided to cheer his friend up. "Hey, at least you managed to fight back. Who knows? Maybe he'll stop messing with you if you keep this up. Small actions can cause considerable changes."

"It's funny that you say that," Eric bit his lip and crossed his arms. "I had a similar conversation with my dad this morning."

"I've got an idea," Nick stood up and wiped the table with a handkerchief to get rid of some cookie crumbles. "Let's go hang out at my place. I have food, videogames; y'know, the essentials. We're going to have a great time."

Everyone accepted Nick's invitation and walked towards the entrance of Fairport High School. Nick unlocked the doors to a red old-looking European sports sedan.

"I asked for a Corvette and my parents gave me this. Sweet, isn't it?"

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. He surely was proud of his car. Before leaving, Eric took his bike from the rack so that his friend could help him remove the front wheel so that it would fit inside the trunk. Then everyone got inside, which prompted Nick to take off. However, the gang of friends didn't notice the black vehicle which lacked a number plate following them out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

Well, that was it for this chapter. I'll see you in the next one.

Updated on 10/05/2016: Minor fixes.

Updated on 03/28/2021: Added small changes to Eric's morning routine in order to have a better view at his motivations and desires, as well as dialogue with Eric's parents, in relation to the fact that giving him a proper family makes the story a little more believable while also providing more depth to how he feels about where he is in life while providing his parents' assessment of such.