like a kitten¹ P.H.

Chapter 10

  It was a long while before Xena stopped crying. Eventually, Patrick, along with his friends, led her out of the classroom and out to the football field under the bleachers. Her tears subsided to sniffles and then to the occasional sniff. Patrick sat with his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

"Are you gonna tell us what happened," Henry voiced everyone's thoughts, making Patrick glare at him.

"You'll think I'm crazy." Xena's voice was quiet and cracked even then.

"Honey, we are friends with Hockstetter. No one is crazier than him." Belch laughed, earning himself a menacing glare from Patrick, which just helped to prove his point.

"I think I had a bad dream, but I was awake. It was there, I swear, but it doesn't feel like it could've been real." Xena went on to explain the encounter in full, earning worried glances from all the boys. "It's silly, I know, but it's easier to avoid something that could be brought back around just to worry you." Xena sniffled again.

"It's not silly. It's just a little bit of fear. That's alright," Henry said with a soft smile, reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder.

   Xena jumped up and moved quickly out of the way.

"That's the thing. I'm not afraid. I'm never afraid of anything. I don't get scared of the things that go bump in the dark. I've been the thing that goes bump. I am the fear. I don't fear. I make people afraid. You don't see it, and I'm hoping you never have to. You don't get that I don't get afraid. This isn't fear. This-- this is worry banking on the people I care about. If whatever it was comes true, then I don't know what will happen. I don't know who will get hurt."

   Patrick looked like he was about to die of holding in laughter, as did his best friends. Victor was covering his mouth with his hands, squinting his eyes shut. Belch was curled into his knees, shielding his face from Xena's view as his shoulders shook with silent laughter. Henry, however, let out a huge guffaw of laughter without a care in the world.

"You? Something to fear? No offense, hun, but you're not exactly screaming serial killer to me." Henry chuckled even as he spoke to her.

   Dangerously, Xena's eyes flashed in a different shade. She took a step back and then another. She turned around to stop herself from doing something she might regret later.

"That's the thing, Henry. No one ever suspects the angel, but even the devil was one once. Even the most beautiful people can be the ones you should run from." Xena quietly picked up her bag and walked away, leaving Patrick to run after her.

"Hey, dolly, he wasn't trying to insult you. You just aren't intimidating, kitten." Patrick spoke, but he soon regretted his words as Xena turned on him quicker than the speed of sound.

"And what do you know? You don't know me? You want to think I'm some innocent little thing that needs to be protected, but the truth is that I am far from innocent. There are people dead because of me. I have burned my way all the way here, and I don't want to do it again. So, for the time being, do your best to keep your pitying looks elsewhere. I don't need your help. I let Greta bully me, because she then will think she is the strong one. I let you think you're the alpha male here, because then you won't question it when I run away. But the truth is really that I am the alpha, the omega, and everything in between. I am not some innocent little girl that needs some arrogant asshole to tell her he's not intimidated by her. So, if that's your goal, go somewhere else, Patrick." Xena had backed him into the bleachers, her eyes livid and shining with something he hadn't seen in anyone's eyes before.

   He looked down at her with fear hiding deep inside him, but he'd never felt intimidated by someone else before, let alone a short girl dressed in all pink. His breath was slightly shaky as he prepared to speak. Before a word could be said, Xena held up her hand.

"Don't bother. Go back to pretending you don't know me, because as far as I am concerned, you do not. If you see me in the halls or anywhere for that matter, you walk away. If I see you so much as looking at any of my friends the wrong way, there will be hell to pay. That much, I can promise you." Xena gave him one last glare before walking away, leaving him and his friends to wonder what they had just done.

   In fact, they did leave her alone. She often caught Patrick sitting closer than he should or staring at her. She never saw the creature again, and she was always hanging out with the self proclaimed "Loser's Club". Patrick had tried to speak to her once, but one glare had sent him running with his tail tucked between his legs. The losers became her everything. She was with them everyday, and they weren't bullied near as much when she was around. She started having dinners at their houses, especially enjoying the time with Bill's family as his mother reminded her of her own in the slightest.

   Everything was going amazing in her life and her friends' lives, until it wasn't. Georgie went missing, leaving Xena to revert back into a mute state, shying away into herself and rarely ever even responding to people. Zach and Tracy became more worried as every day passed by. Christmas came and went, each of the boys receiving a personalized gift from Xena and her aunt and uncle. Xena went through the motions, but she found it hard to feel anything. Between her and Bill, the group was having a hard time going on. Bowers and the gang began to bully her friends again, with the occasional exception of Bill. She was always too out of it to notice that it was going on. Then, it finally came. The one thing that all of the students were looking forward to more than anything was their summer.

   The last day of school came around, and Xena found herself being able to pay much more attention to what was going on around her. However, she still didn't even look at Bowers and the others. The friendship was short lasted, and she didn't expect it to hurt so much. Yet, she found it wonderful that they never brought up that day in any conversations with the Losers' Club.

"Beverly, I'm gonna go ahead and meet up with the losers. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" Xena's voice rang out in the bathroom.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." Beverly called back, the smell of smoke flooding the room even more.

   On Xena's way out, she bumped into dear old Greta and her friends. Xena sent a glare to the girl, her eye twitching just once.

"If you're planning on messing with Bev, I will make sure you regret everyday of the rest of your life." She sent back a harmless smile and walked away.

   The losers walked down the hall, looking for their small, quiet friend. She popped out of a side corridor and walked in step with Stanley.

"Hey, Xee. How was class?" Stanley looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

   Before she could respond, Richie interrupted with a loud question about the proceedings of Stanley's Bar Mitzvah that was going to come later that year. Xena cringed, looking away and making the dreaded eye contact with her old friends. The smile Patrick sent their way wasn't the same as it used to be. It was malicious and, dare she say creepy.