Author's Note: Feels so weird to churn out another fic after such a long hiatus, and yet, here it is!br /
This was based on a very old Tumblr prompt for "Push me. One. More. Time. I fucking dare you."
Please heed the warning for high school bullying and also for bad language words.
More tags will be added as the fic continues.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Thunderbirds Are Go - they belong to the late Gerry and Silvia Anderson
Fourteen-year-old Virgil Tracy hit the tarmac with a broken yelp.
"You gonna cry, Tracy?"
He could already feel the throb of his cheek as he gritted his teeth and glanced up towards the source of that mocking voice.
"Well?"
'Don't react,' John's voice seemed to echo in the back of his slightly-dazed mind. 'Don't give them the satisfaction.'
He grunted as a sneaker-ed foot collided with his stomach.
"Too good for us, are ya, Tracy?!" Jake sneered as he kicked the prone teenager again.
Behind him, another boy with scruffy blond hair scooped up the canvas Virgil had been working on from the ground, sneering at the artwork. "What's this? Another one of your pansy paintings? When are you going to man the hell up, Tracy?"
His words were followed by a crunch.
Something tearing and splintering.
It was a hideous sound that made the raven-haired boy cringe; a choked sound emitting from the back of his throat.
He had spent so much time on his latest work...
And now it was utterly ruined.
He could feel good vision blurring; eyes feeling almost too hot with the signs of oncoming tears. In a futile attempt to stop the inevitable flood of emotions, Virgil bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
Suddenly, one of the boys - the one that had grabbed the precious canvas, something in the back of Virgil's mind supplied - yelped in pain before being thrown to the ground in a heap.
"The hell do you think you're doing?"
Oh no.
Virgil knew that voice without even glancing up. It filled him with both a sense of relief and dread.
Out of all of his siblings that could have happened upon what was going on...
"Back off!" Jake sneered, how body language immediately on the offensive. "This ain't any of your business!"
A pair of sneaker-ed feet moved in front of Virgil's line of sight, shielding the raven-haired teen.
"It's my business when a piece of crap like you decides to pick on my brother."
Virgil cringed at the venom behind his older brother's voice.
"What are you gonna do? Get your rich daddy to sue me?" Jake let out a short bark of a laugh, throwing the remains of Virgil's artwork to one side. "Rumour has it, your dad ain't ever around for you sorry lot in the first place."
Scott's hands balled into fists. "Don't bring our father into this."
"Or what?" Jake closed the distance between himself and Scott in a couple of steps, squaring up to him. "You think I'm scared of you, pretty boy?"
Scott's reply was quick and sharp. "You think I'm scared of a bully so cowardly that he only picks on those smaller than him?"
"You want to fight, Tracy?" Jake snarled, shooting a hand out and shoving the brunette roughly. "I'll fucking snap you like a twig!"
A gentle hand was suddenly on Virgil's shoulder, making him jump.
"Hey, easy..." John was suddenly there, helping him up and moving him away from the two older boys. "You OK?"
Virgil did not answer; still too shaken up over what had happened, and too concerned with what was about to occur. He allowed himself to be guided away and under the shade of a nearby tree.
He glanced over just in time to see Jake shove his older brother again, closing the distance between them yet again.
In response, the brunette silently dumped his backpack on the ground, followed closely by his leather jacket.
"Push me…" Scott's voice was low, and Virgil could feel all the muscles in his body tensing up from the underlying threat that emanated from his older brother as the brunette turned and stalked towards the other three boys.
"One…"
Blue eyes were narrowed in an unforgiving, arctic glare; locking on to their target.
"More…"
Virgil could feel his heart thudding in his chest, his chocolate-brown eyes wide as he felt his entire body stiffen in anticipation.
"Time."
A final step forward had Jake and Scott practically chest-to-chest as they squared up to each other.
"I fucking dare you."
An uncomfortable silence followed, and Virgil was so sure he could feel the sheer tension emanating within the surrounding atmosphere. It was as if the air was becoming supercharged with some unseen energy; like lightning about to strike in a storm.
And then it did.
Virgil could not quite recall exactly what happened next - almost as if his brain refuses to let him register the scent that had seemingly exploded before him. He heard shouts and grunts - sounds of a scuffle - and John's voice yelling to stop.
Something solid hit the ground with a thud and a pained whimper a couple of feet away from them, snapping the raven-haired teen out of his stupor.
He glanced over to see one of Jake's friends - the one who had grabbed his canvas - laying in a crumpled heap.
Part of Virgil's addled brain felt at least a little triumphant to see the state of the seedy blond as the latter struggled into a sitting position; trying to stem the flow from his bleeding nose.
"You little shit...!"
Suddenly, John was moving; scrambling to his feet and darting towards the fray.
"Just what in the blazes is going on out here?!"
Oh no...
Virgil recognised that voice.
Principal Dooley's booming voice was enough to both halt the scuffle and abruptly silence all of the onlookers in unison.
The crowd of students parted to reveal a stocky, balding man in his mid-forties.
Virgil grimaced.
Principal Dooley was a man not to be trifled with.
"Brady. O'Reilly. Tracy. My office. Now."
"Me, sir?" John enquired.
"Yes you," Principal Dooley's tone was curt. "Your brother's will join you after they see the campus nurse. That goes for you as well, Banks."
There was a collective mumble of 'Yes, Sir' from the boys.
"Oh, and Brady?"
Jake glanced up from trying to dust himself off. "Sir?"
"Don't think I didn't see what you tossed into the bushes," Principal Dooley remarked gruffly. "I think the authorities will have something to say about a knife being brought onto school premises."
Virgil seemed to freeze at those words.
A ... What?
Before he could continue to piece things together, gentle arms were helping him up and to his feet.
"C'mon, Virg..." Scott's voice was quiet. "Let's get you checked over."T
he raven-haired teen could only nod his head quietly as he was guided towards the medical room.
Behind them, there were whispers and low murmurs from the other students as the crowd started to slowly disperse, leaving nothing but the tattered remains of a painting canvas and a small trail of blood behind.