AUTHOR'S NOTE: Mild swearing in this chapter.
PE has been going on for about twenty minutes when Kyle realises he needs to go to the toilet.
"Um, Mr. Gardiner, can I please be excused to go to the toilet?" Kyle asks.
Mr. Gardiner nods his head and Kyle walks off to the bathrooms not noticing that his three bullies were watching him leave.
He walks into the boy's toilets and walks into one of the stalls and locks the door; much preferring to use a stall for at least he can be locked in, rather than being ambushed from behind.
After he's finished he walks out to wash his hands and that's when he comes face to face with Wesley.
"Hey nerd!" Wesley sneers and grabs Kyle by the shirt and shoves him hard against the wall.
Casey and Ryder are in the gym nervous that Kyle hasn't returned yet, especially since they saw Wesley go shortly after him, and Casey knew about Wesley targeting Kyle on Saturday during the game and did not trust that he wouldn't try something on his brother again.
"Dude, ask if you can go. Wesley's going to slaughter Kyle if he's alone," Ryder whispers as he runs up to Casey.
"You're right," Casey says and walks over to Mr. Gardiner.
"Sir, can I go to the toilet?" Casey asks.
Mr. Gardiner shakes his head.
"No, Casey, you can wait until either your brother or Wesley get back," Mr. Gardiner says, not wanting too many kids out of the class.
"Please, I'm busting," Casey tries begging but Mr. Gardiner calls his bluff.
"I'm sorry Casey. Only two students out of class at a time and if you were busting so bad why did you not approach me first?"
Casey doesn't know how to respond so just shrugs.
"Go and sit back down and wait," Mr. Gardiner informs.
"Fine," Casey grumbles and sighs, walking back past Ryder.
"He won't let me go. We just have to hope and wait," Casey mumbles; really hoping that his brother is not being bothered by Wesley.
He really wanted to push Mr. Gardiner further, but then he may have asked why he was so desperate to go, and he knows that Kyle doesn't want any teachers to know that he's being bullied.
Kyle squeals as Wesley squeezes his upper arms.
"I had to listen to my mates teasing me for letting your brother score more goals than me all night last night, as well as today!" Wesley barks.
He got so sick of his friends teasing him, now Kyle's going to pay because not only would it help his frustrations but would get back at Casey too knowing Kyle was targeted.
"Sorry to hear that, but it's not my fault," Kyle stammers only to whimper as Wesley squeezes his arms again,
"I don't care, you're easier to push around than your brother so I'm making you pay," he hisses and flicks Kyle's ear.
"I'm sorry you didn't score as many goals!" Kyle says, hoping that Wesley will feel some uncharacteristic kindness and let him go.
"Good start, but we're not done here yet!" Wesley hisses as he grabs Kyle's neck and pushes him towards the sink.
"What about Mr. Gardiner, he'll be wondering what is taking us so long," Kyle stutters.
"Pfft, let him wonder. I'm not going back to class and neither are you until we are done!" Wesley snickers and holds Kyle's head under the tap and then runs water all over Kyle's face.
"You're lucky that Aiden and Grant had to stay in class or your head would be going down the toilet!" Wesley hisses.
"P…ple…please!" Kyle pleads as he splutters on water.
Wesley pulls him out and once again bundles him up against the wall.
"If I don't score more in the next game over your brother I'm going to make sure that you feel the worst pain you've ever felt!" Wesley snarls, "Got it!"
He yanks Kyle closer so their faces are nearly touching.
Kyle nods his head slightly; there's no point arguing.
"Good!" Wesley warms as he lets go of Kyle with his right hand while continuing to hold him with his left.
He uses his right hand to reach under Kyle's shirt and grab ahold of his left nipple. He squeezes tight and twists.
Kyle yelps in pain and tries to get away from his bully but Wesley holds him in place.
When he eventually lets go, Kyle doesn't get much of a break before he grabs ahold of his right nipple and does the same.
"Stop please!" Kyle pleads.
When Wesley eventually lets him go he glares down at Kyle.
"Be grateful it wasn't a wedgie, now scram!" he yells.
"Can I wash my hands first?" Kyle questions, wondering why he needed to resort to asking permission from his bully.
"You really are such a freak. Fine, make it quick, if you don't do it quick enough your pain will continue," Wesley hisses in warning.
Kyle quickly washes and dries his hands.
After he's done Wesley gives him an evil glare causing Kyle to run away, of course due to his nervousness and lack of sporting ability, he slips, causing Wesley to howl with laughter.
After he gets back up, Kyle quickly makes his way back to the gym, dreading that he was going to get in trouble.
When Kyle enters the gym again, he can see eyes immediately on him.
Mr. Gardiner calls him over.
"That took a while Kyle, and your face is wet," he comments.
"Ah, yeah; sorry," Kyle mumbles.
"Is there a reason; are you alright?" Mr. Gardiner asks, curious why it took the kid so long to get back.
"Sorry Sir, I got distracted," Kyle mumbles.
"Procrastinating just to avoid being in class is not acceptable. I think I'll have to have another conversation with Miss. Scott about this. I don't want to have to fail you," Mr. Gardiner informs, in which Kyle nods in response.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees Wesley walk back in.
"I understand that Sir," Kyle mumbles, knowing that his brothers weren't going to be happy.
"And your face?" Mr. Gardiner questions.
"I was hot so I splashed water on my face," Kyle replies.
"Very well, go and join your team."
"Mr. Gardiner, can I please just say, I wasn't intentionally wanting to get out of PE," Kyle says, hoping that it will lessen his punishment with his brothers.
Mr. Gardiner nods his head but doesn't fully believe Kyle; why else would he take so long to get back?
Mr. Gardiner turns to Casey who suddenly looked more distracted than eager to go to the bathroom like he was begging moments ago.
"Casey, you may go now," Mr. Gardiner dismisses.
"It's okay, Sir, I don't need to go anymore. It might have just been my nerves playing up wanting me to play," Casey lies.
Mr. Gardiner rolls his eyes, knowing Casey had been bluffing all along, and focuses back on the students playing.
Kyle walks back to the game and continues to play and as usual he gets passed the ball sometimes but drops it sometimes and the ones that he does catch, he passes them on as fast as he can.
Kyle and Ryder are currently getting changed back into their uniforms, while Casey stands around waiting.
The changing room is empty as all of the other kids had already gotten changed while Kyle was packing away all the gym equipment they had used. Kyle is especially happy to see that his bullies have gone.
"What happened Ky?" Casey questions his brother, curious to know what happened between his brother and Wesley.
"Don't worry about it," Kyle mumbles, not exactly in the mood to talk about it.
"Come on Ky!" Ryder encourages, wanting to help his friend, but can't if Kyle didn't tell what happened.
"Just leave it," Kyle sighs, as he puts on his vans.
"No! We can't help you if you don't talk to us!" Casey protests.
Kyle drops his head and runs his hands through his hair.
"Fine," He mumbles sadly, "Wesley was upset that he didn't score as many goals as you, so he took it out on me. He also made it clear that if he doesn't score as many goals in the next game it will only get worse."
Casey and Ryder look at each other shocked.
"So because that loser didn't score as many goals as me, he's going to make your life hell?" Casey questions and ignores the look that his brother gives him for his swearing.
"Pretty much, but when don't he and his friends make my life miserable?" Kyle sighs as he picks up his bag.
"That's unfair! I can't act like a loser and not score in games just because that arse says, but I don't want to be the cause of you being attacked either," Casey says with a grumble.
Kyle shrugs, "Like I said, I don't think it matters they make my life hard anyway."
Neither of the boys know what to say, so it's a quiet walk back to the main building.
Kyle is thankful his fourth period is music and that meant absolutely no bullies; finally, a reprieve.
Music came and went too quickly for Kyle's liking and now he's on his way to lunch.
On his way he sees Zeke and Damien but he quickly slips away before he can be seen and he's able to make it to his friends without any problems.
"You okay, Dude?" Romeo asks his friend as Kyle takes a seat.
Kyle nods his head in reply and gets out his sandwich; it's a ham and cheese with mayonnaise. He takes a small bite and looks at the sandwich in his hands.
"Anyways Ky, can I ask you a huge favour?" Liam asks as he pulls out his Maths homework.
"Yeah sure, what's up?" Kyle asks as he turns to look at Liam who is sitting right next to him.
"I really need some help with Maths," Liam says and Kyle immediately nods his head.
"Sure, do you want to go to the library as it's quieter and it'll be easier to talk?" Kyle asks.
"Yeah mate, that'll be good," Liam says and nods his head.
The two friends stand up and Kyle turns to look at his brother.
"Do you wanna come, Case?" Kyle questions his brother.
Casey shakes his head vigorously.
"Ah no! Why would I spend my lunchtime doing school work; borr-ring!" Casey huffs causing his brother to roll his eyes.
"Okay, see you guys all later then," Kyle says as he and Liam walk off to the library.
Casey and all the other friends continue their lunch when Casey and Ryder share a look, wondering whether they should tell the others what happened to Kyle.
Ryder nods his head and Casey clears his throat.
"Hey guys, Kyle had a rough time in PE today," Casey says.
"When doesn't Kyle have a rough time in PE? He's got to deal with those arseholes as well as every other dickhead that wants to torment him," Romeo mumbles.
"Well yeah, that's true. But this time Wesley was angry that he didn't score as many goals as Case in the game, so he took it out on Kyle. And threatened that if Casey didn't lay off his skills in future then Kyle would cop worse," Ryder says, causing all the friends to sigh.
"He really can't catch a break. Even I haven't been that much of a target over the years. I guess it pays to be unnoticeable sometimes," Dex says.
"Na, now look at him. He's spending his lunchtime helping someone study. He really doesn't deserve to get treated the way that he does," Romeo says.
"It's ridiculous! All I want to do is bash them, but then all that will do is get me suspended or expelled and give them more of an opportunity to hurt him," Casey says.
All the friends nod their heads in agreement.
"Anyways, we haven't decided what we are doing after school, since we can't play basketball," Romeo says.
"Well, what about a Mario Kart tournament? It's something we all can do," Ryder suggests, thinking of something that both Dex and Kyle wouldn't mind joining in with.
"Could be fun!" Casey grins and I wouldn't have to worry about being on my ankle so Brax won't be on my back.
"Yeah, too bad you'll be crying when I smash you though, Braxton!" Romeo smirks.
"In your dreams, Smith! I'm great at that game. Kyle's never beaten me," Casey brags.
Secretly knowing that those kinds of video games aren't his brother's thing, so it's no surprise that Kyle's never won.
"Alright, after school we'll see just who the Mario Kart king is!" Romeo yells dramatically causing all four friends to laugh.
It's after lunch and Kyle and Liam walk out of the library.
"You are the best Ky!" Liam says as he swings an arm around his friend's neck and ruffles his hair.
Kyle can't help but smile.
"Alright alright, let me go. I'm glad I could help," he laughs.
Liam pulls away and smiles down at his friend.
"I'm serious though Ky, I would flunk all my subjects if it wasn't for you," Liam says.
"Well, if it wasn't for you and the boys I would spend all my time crammed in bins or hanging from the fence by my undies," Kyle says, shrugging his shoulders.
Liam's face falls; it's really hard for him and the boys to swallow that Kyle's treated so horribly.
"I guess we all need each other, though I wish you wouldn't let them treat you like that Ky, you don't deserve it," Liam says as he grabs ahold of his friend's arm.
"What can I do Liam? They're all bigger than me," Kyle says for what feels like the thousandth time.
"You can tell your brothers," Liam says.
"That will just backfire," he mumbles.
"Okay, but whenever you're ready to talk. I'll be there to protect you; so will the other boys. I just wish they could see what all of us as your mates see you as," Liam says.
Kyle looks up at his friend and smiles.
"Cheers Liam," Kyle cheekily grins.
"Anytime, little guy," Liam replies and jokingly slaps Kyle lightly on the cheek.
Liam and Kyle start walking towards their next class.
Liam's planning on walking Kyle to French, just so no one can bother him.
"You don't need to walk me Liam," Kyle says, causing Liam to shake his head.
"I want to, besides it's the least I can do after you helped me," he says.
Kyle smiles as he looks at his feet, grateful his friends really look out for him.
Kyle takes his seat in French and lowers his head as Haley walks in.
"What's up loser?" she hisses and flicks his ear.
"Just leave me alone, please!" Kyle says as he turns to look at Haley.
"Or what? What are you going to do?" Haley questions and glares at Kyle.
"You going to fight back? I'd love to see you try, you probably couldn't even beat a year 7 in a fight," Haley says.
Kyle doesn't have an answer and just turns around and faces the front again.
"That's what I thought," Haley sneers.
Kyle rolls his eyes and rests his head in his hand; wondering why so many kids found it fun to torment him.