Don't Hurt Me

Chapter 7

Sasha Kenny.

The most beautiful girl in school. Perfect hair. Pretty eyes. The kind of walk that draws all the guy's stares - my brother Rob included.

He watches her with a transfixed gaze as we stand in the school parking lot one morning, and I start laughing into my hand. He looks at me sharply, becoming self-conscious.

"Come on," I say to him playfully. "Why don't you give it a shot?"

"Give what a shot?"

"Ask her out."

A fast blink. A bit of stuttering. "Ask who out?"

"Sasha."

"Sasha?" he repeats her name, doing an unconvincing snort. "Please. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aw, it's all over your face, Robbie. Puppy-dog eyes and all."

"Shut up," he retorts, embarassed.

"Who knows? She might say yes."

"Yeah, right. I know my league, and she is so not in it, Clare."

Rob is terrified of rejection. I wonder if it has anything to do with the time I dared him to ask out a girl we saw in a café once. She told him she was a lesbian. To this day, I wonder if she was bluffing or not.

The school bell goes off then, drowning out the sea of conversation for a moment. We jog up the porch steps, hurrying to class. I sit through another morning of paying minimal attention and being ignored by the other kids, just wanting for this day to end.

At the sound of the lunch bell, I'm walking down the school halls when someone appears next to me.

"Hey, Clare," Adam greets me.

"Hey."

"Joining us for lunch today?"

"Uh ... that's OK." I have nothing against him. I just hate feeling like a third wheel.

"You sure?"

I start to answer, when I see something that stops me in my tracks. Alex is standing at her locker, depositing some books. Someone stands behind her, one arm on the locker next to her, leaning in close and talking in her ear. Derek.

Adam follows my gaze, stiffening. I hear his sharp intake of breath, but he doesn't say a thing. He doesn't move at all. He just stands there while Derek presses close to his girlfriend. Alex is leaning away and shaking her head, but Derek refuses to let her go. He runs his fingers over the small of her back, and I can feel Adam bristle.

"Hayes," I hiss to him.

He turns to me in surprise. He looks like he's forgotten I'm even here. "Do something."

"I .... "

"Are you just going to stand here and take this?"

"What can I do?" he whispers.

"Go over there and tell that jerk to back off."

"I-I can't."

I watch. I wait. It's no use. He just stands there, his mouth opening and closing helplessly. I get the feeling he's never been in any situtation of real conflict before. Derek isn't even that much bigger than him, and frankly, size isn't everything in a fight. Really, all you need is the willingness to do what you need to, before the other guy does it to you first.

It doesn't always have to end in fighting, I tell myself, even as the blood in my veins picks up. "Damn it, Hayes," I mutter, leaving him behind and stepping towards the two of them. Relief floods Alex's face at the sight of me, which only makes me angrier at this jerk. "Clare," she says my name, and Derek turns around.

"Oh," he goes, clearly not interested in wasting any time on me.

"Derek, I have to go," Alex tries to use the moment to escape.

"Hey, where are you going?" he coaxes her, cutting her off again.

"Derek, please."

"Let her go, Derek," I warn him.

He frowns at me. "Hey, we're having a private conversation here."

"Get a clue, Hughes. She's not interested."

"Yeah, well, I'm not talking to you, Carrie, so get lost."

Carrie?? I can't believe it. This idiot forgot my name again? My temper shoots up, and I sock him hard in the shoulder. "It's Clare, you moron!"

"Ow!" he goes, backing up and clutching his arm. A few kids turn to look at us, curious. "What the - ? What did you do that for? Crazy bitch."

I stand perfectly still for a moment, the noise of kids all around me fading into a distant buzz, like hearing sound through a glass. All I hear is that word echoing in my brain. Bitch.

My hand goes out before I realize what I'm doing. It clenches into a fist at just the right time, a second before it hits his cheek.

He staggers backwards, right into a group of shocked kids.

Everyone's staring at me. Everything goes quiet. There is only me. That word still sounding in my ear. And Derek, lying there, groaning deeply. He says some nasty words, hand to the left side of his jaw. I can't really hear him. I'm thinking, What happened? What did I just do?

Out of the crowd, someone emerges. A teacher. Her gaze flits between us, then she points a red-nailed finger at my face. "You. Principal's office, now."