Homeroom

36: Wednesday

[A/N] Song for this chapter is Lost Boy by 5SOS because I am in love with that song. In celebration of almost hitting 100k reads, I have a special surprise for you. OMG I LOVE YOU ALL FOR READING NOW PLEASE ENJOY:

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Aaron's POV

Though I tried not to show Callie in Biology today, I'm absolutely furious that Zander touched her. There's one thing a man shouldn't do in this world, and that is to physically impose himself a girl in any unwanted way.

I impatiently tap the heel of my sneaker on the floor, watching the clock. I plan on catching Zander by surprise at his locker at the end of the day before he heads to practice. I want him to leave school today with a bruise on his jaw.

I watch the minute hand on the clock reach the 12, and the bell rings. I rush out of my seat, lightly shoving people so I can be the first one out of the classroom. "Aaron, please don't leave yet. I need to have a word with you," Mr. Pratt shouts from behind his desk.

I pause, letting the rest of my class exit  before turning around to face the 30-something year old English teacher. "Yes?" I reply, turning towards him.

"Sit down for a minute or two." He gestures towards the desk right by him. I hesitate but obligate. It's already too late to get Zander now, anyway. "I just wanted to know if you applied for a college or technical school yet," he says. "I have been informed by the guidance office that you haven't started the process yet."

I'm not really sure why in the world he cares, but I nod. "I'm not really interested in college or anything like that."

"So what's your plan after high school?"

I shrug. "I want to be a performer, a drummer to be exact."

He gives me an odd look, "You're joking, right?"

"No," I slowly say so he'll get it through his thick head.

He incredulously chuckles. "Well, tell me when you change your mind, preferably before winter break."

I don't say anything as I head out of the class and storm towards Zander's locker. Charlie, Luke, Al, and I have been talking. We all enjoy playing together and none of us have any concrete plans after we graduate, so why not just make the band our job? We could head to New York City and play in bars or on the streets. We'd be poor, yes, but living the dream, right?

I pass Zander's locker, and as I expected, he's not there. So, I decided to do the next best thing: head to the locker room.

I whip the door open, and it bangs against the wall. Everyone stops and stares at me. "Where's Edwards?" I call, crossing my arms across my chest. A couple of the freshman take a step back from me.

"Is that Aaron I hear?" a voice belonging to Zander asks. I turn my head and watch him step out from behind one of the rows of lockers. "I see you got my message from your bitch, hmm?" he asks with a taunting smile.

He knew a comment like that would set me off, and it very much did. I pounce on him, knocking him to the cold ground and punching his jaw with my clenched fist. I'm not going to lie, it felt amazing to let my anger out on the person who's causing it.

Suddenly, I'm yanked off his body by two sets of hands and thrown up against the wall. I try to shake myself free, but Zander's cronies are too strong. I watch Zander get up from the ground, struggling a bit. Once he's up, he walks up to me, getting right up in my face. "You and your little friends need to butt out of the Battle of the Bands competition," he demands.

I don't flinch when I say "No."

He punches me in the nose, and I let out a small grunt. An immediate rush of pain crashes down on me, warm blood falling from my nose and running down my lips. "Girls don't find bruised men attractive. I'm sure Callie will agree with me on this one," he laughs evilly. The comment sends a wave of anger pulsing through my system as I struggle against the iron grip of Ty and Spencer.

And with that, he finished me off with numerous amounts of punches to the face. I black out and drift into a world of darkness and oblivion.

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I groggily open my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar bed. The sheets I lay on are white, and the pillow under my head is as hard as a rock. I groan, feeling a whole lot of pain in my gut and on my face. Memories of how I acquired this pain begin to flood back to me.

A small hand weaves its fingers between mine, and I feel a gently kiss planted on my temple. "You look absolutely horrible," Callie laughs, brushing my hair away from my forehead.

"Where am I?" I ask, moving my arms to push myself to a sitting position. But before I can do that, Callie pushes me back down on the white bed.

"You're not going anywhere," she says sternly.

"Where am I?" I repeat, pleading for an answer.

"You're at Al's house, in his guest bedroom to be exact."

"How did you find me?"

"We didn't have to go looking for you, actually. Zander dropped you off on Al's doorstep, and Al found you when he got back from the grocery store."

"And his parents saw me like this?"

She laughs. "Nope, only him."

"Oh."

Silence fills the room.

"At least I got one punch in," I say, moving the ice pack off my frozen face.

She sighs. "I think getting physical with him wasn't the best idea we ever came up with."

"It was worth it, though."

That made her laugh. "Next time, we should steal his gym clothes from the locker room like they do in those chick flicks."

"When I'm able to breathe without feeling pain, we'll do it. Does that sound good to you?"

She smiles, brown eyes twinkling as she kisses me right on the lips. "Yup."

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[A/N] This chapter turned out to be a bit more morbid than I expected, oh well! Happier times are coming in the next updates :)