THE NEXT DAY

Ciel sat at his seat, silently. Everyone in the class kept taking worried glances at him, but he insisted he was fine. Sebastian was at the front of the class again. After about three hours of math, history, and science review, it was lunch. Sebastian walked into the cafeteria with Ciel, urging him to get in line. Ciel wasn't too trusty with this school, and he wasn't going to eat random food.

"Young master, honestly! Just get in line and eat!" Sebastian instructed Ciel. Ciel, with a sigh, did as told. After he got a tray of food, he turned to see Taylor urging him to sit with her and Anna. He nodded, walking towards them, when he was stopped by Tanner, the man who insulted him in class.

"What'chya doin', Phantomhive?" Tanner smirked.

"I'm not sure about you, but I'm walking," Ciel replied, boredly.

"Oh, really? To where? To see your girlfriends, I bet," Tanner sneered.

"Well, no, but at least I have the ability to get one. Also, I have the ability to get on with life instead of picking on people smaller than myself," Ciel looked up at Tanner, his eyes emotionless. Tanner was raging. He pulled back his arm and punched Ciel right in the gut, causing Ciel to fall on his knees in pain.

"You done?" Tanner kicked Ciel's rib.

Taylor screamed in horror and stood up. "Tanner, that's enough! Stop it!"

"Oh, so you need your girlfriend to fight your battles for you? Pathetic!" Tanner kicked Ciel again, but this time, Ciel didn't move. He merely looked up, a smirk on his face and his eyes glowing a fierce red.

"There's a saying I've heard, Tanner..." Ciel put humor into the fight as Tanner staggered backwards at the sight of Ciel's eyes. "Don't kick a man when he's down." Ciel stood up and Tanner ran out of the cafeteria.

"Are you okay, sir?" Taylor asked Ciel, eyes filled with worry.

"I'm fine, Taylor. But why so formal? Just call me Ciel," Ciel smiled ever so slightly at Taylor and sat down, across from Anna. "Now come on, sit." Taylor sat next to Anna and they chatted for the rest of lunch, when the bell rang.

"Hm… Our next class is gym," Anna looked up at Ciel. "What's yours?"

Ciel took his phone out of his pocket and checked his schedule. "Gym," he muttered. The latter smiled and stood up, followed by Ciel. The trio walked down the hall, and luckily, it was the farthest room away.

"So… Is Sebastian your dad or something?" Taylor asked.

"He's my… butler," Ciel said quietly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. You have a butler?" Taylor seemed utterly surprised. "You must be rich! Dang, Phantomhive!"

"Taylor, don't be like that… You're making him seem like an outcast," Anna frowned at Taylor.

"Oh! Sorry, Ciel!" Taylor blushed.

"It's nothing…" Ciel muttered. "Let's just get to class…"

When the three finally reached the gym, they found that they were late. Fifteen minutes late. But still, they got dressed, got in line, and participated in class. The teacher looked up and saw Ciel, whose skin was paler than everyone else's, and whose hair was an unnaturally tinted color. Also, he seemed to have his hair cover his eyes, or have a bandage over it. Nobody asked about it, because, well, they all saw what happened to Tanner.

The teacher stopped class temporarily and smiled at Ciel, beckoning him to come to the front of the gym. He audibly gulped and nodded, doing as told. His visible eye moved rapidly across the line of students, all staring at him, paying attention to him.

"And what's your name, sweetie?" the teacher asked calmly and kindly, seeing how nervous Ciel was. Ciel slowly turned his head to look at Taylor and Anna, who were giving him enthusiastic smiles and thumbs up.

"I'm Ciel… Ciel Phantomhive," Ciel stuttered. The teacher nodded and patted him on the back.

"Alright. Nice to meet you, Hun," she smiled at him again, before backing up and raising her voice so the entire class could hear. "Line up, time for music!"

The class did as told. Soon, there was a large line… except Ciel was standing in the middle of the gym, with Anna and Taylor grabbing their backpacks and Ciel's. Taylor grabbed Ciel's arm and pulled him into the line, Anna following.

Later, when everyone reached their chosen music rooms, Ciel found himself with Anna and Taylor once again. They all chose string instruments, in which they all had experience. About halfway into the class, it was time for solos. Hesitantly, Ciel raised his hand.

"Mr. Phantomhive! What are you going to play for us?" the teacher asked enthusiastically. Ciel looked up at her, his face emotionless.

"It's a piece that… someone I know wrote for me… I'd rather not label it with a petty name," Ciel closed his eyes, before picking his violin up. He began to play a slow, sad song with just a ring of regret. Anna and Taylor's eyes were widened with surprise, along with the rest of the class. Ciel soon finished the piece and put his violin down, when the bell rang. Ciel immediately grabbed his instrument and backpack before rushing out of the building. Of course, he was stopped (again) by Tanner.

"Going home, huh?" Tanner teased, kicking Ciel's ankle gently.

"At least I have a home to go to, but with how you look, I'd say you don't," Ciel recoiled. Tanner's smile turned into an angry frown and he punched Ciel on the side of the face. Unfortunately for Tanner, Sebastian was standing a few feet away.

"Tanner… Didn't I tell you to discontinue this behavior?" he frowned. Sebastian Michaelis frowned at Tanner. Tanner's eyes widened with fear, as he didn't know what punishment would be in order.

Thanks for reviewing! And gurnius, you are a GENIUS! I had already considered that, but you confirmed it! I already had a little scene picked out for when that time came ;))) It's very... "heated", if I must say. xD See ya next time! Bye!