Dark & Light (bxb)

Part 1

Mom is late again, Xander thought, for the third time that week.

Though, he was never particularly upset with his mother that she failed to pick him up on time, but rather confused. Everyone else had parents that picked them up within a few minutes of the elementary school end-of-the-day bell.

But Xander never did.

He didn't mind. Every day after school, he'd get to see Drew Dawn walk past him. Xander could never pinpoint why he found Drew so interesting. He just did.

Today, however, was different. Drew never walked by the front of the school, like usual with his brother. Xander knew he was at school that day, for they shared the same homeroom. So where was he?

The rain that day had been consistent, but Xander wanted to stay outside a little longer, just to see if the boy he was curious about would come out.

A voice from the left front of the school pulled Xander out of his trance.

"Make sure you walk home safely! And go straight home, Drew! No detours-"

"Yeah, yeah I'll see you at home!"

No sooner than he heard that mysteriously sweet voice shout out, Drew Dawn came rushing down the sidewalk.

Before Xander had a chance to move out of the way, Drew had run into him, almost knocking the both of them down. Only the bubbly of the two had taken a fall.

"Sorry!" Drew said, even though he was the one on the soaked cement. "I didn't mean to knock into you."

"It's fine," Xander offered his hand to Drew, which he took gratefully. "Are you hurt?"

They both remained silent for a second, only exchanging curious glances before Drew shook his head. "Um, no, I'm okay." His shock was clear to Xander. But he couldn't blame him. He rarely spoke in class, let alone to other kids. "Are you hurt?"

Xander watched as Drew adjusted his circular, white-wired glasses on his freckled face. Something within his chest jumped at the action.

"I'm fine. But you should probably get home. The rain might make you sick."

"Oh, right. Thanks, Alexander! See you in class tomorrow!"

Before he could even form a response, Drew was gone. He meant to at least tell him to call him 'Xander'.

Oh well, he thought. He tried to let it go and tell himself that there would be another opportunity to tell Drew, but it was unlikely that they'd ever talk again.

With wistful eyes, he watched as the boy with the strawberry blonde hair bounced his way down the street, pure carelessness in his blaze. But that would only last a moment.

Two other kids from their class, Mara and Dex, emerged from across the street and started to follow Drew. Those two wolves were known to be the bullies of their grade, constantly causing sneaky trouble and being able to get away most of the time. There was no way they were up to any good following him.

Xander knew Drew would be an easy target. He was shorter than most of the boys in their class, without his brother, and as innocent as a lamb. Everything about the situation felt wrong.

Without much thought, he stood up from his spot under the roof that kept him dry and rushed after the three.

He sprinted toward Drew, whom he managed to make it surprisingly far across the street. Xander slipped and landed on his knees from running on the slick pavement, but he quickly pulled himself back up to his feet when he saw the two bullies shove Drew forward. He couldn't make out what Mara and Dex were saying, but they started to corner Drew, forcing him to walk backward and eventually trip and fall.