Sweet Karma [boyxboy]

Chapter Seven

A couple of the guys belonged to the gang Walter used to hang out with as well as a couple of the junkies that hung out in the boys bathroom before and after school. Walter just sat there, teeth gritted as one of the guys taunted him about being a psychopath.

"Pricks." I muttered, taking a step toward them when Adam caught my elbow and pulled me back, making me scowl at him in confusion before he gave me a hard stare.

"Don't bother him, Julian. We already have enough shit on our plate. The last thing we need is the school lunatic following us around again." He warned, glancing up toward Walter, who had finally gotten up out of his seat to leave. I followed his eyes, my body still tense and ready to move, but Adam was right.

Walter had his own troubles to deal with. Karma was bitchslapping him hard... But I couldn't help feeling guilty about this whole thing. It was my fault Walter was kicked off his pedestal. Well, kind of anyway. I mean, he was the idiot who drank from my thermos, but all the things he said about vampires was true-- mostly. That didn't make him crazy. It made everyone around him stupid because they wouldn't believe him.

What did it feel like to face people who called you crazy, when you weren't?

And, then there was the fact that the people he once called friends had turned on him. Now that was something I could relate to. While Kipp and Seth were being a lot more cooperative than Walter's ex-friends, they were still lashing out at me. Kipp didn't want to touch me. He also avoided eye contact every so often. And then there was Seth, who watched my every move, like he was afraid I'd attack at any moment-- like I was a beast on the loose.

And that's what Walter looked like now.

He was cornered near the table his friends had abandoned when he tried to sit with them. He was on his own against a handful of guys that were mocking him and pretending to see vampires everywhere, making Walter twitch. I could hear his heart from here, pounding out of control with rage, frustration, and pain. The look in his eyes told me he wanted to get away from there.

"But it's my--"

"It's not your fault," Adam interrupted me firmly, making me turn to him now as he reached out to put his hand on my arm, turning me away from the scene, "And this is probably something the prick should learn from. Sometimes you need to be kicked in the face by life to learn a lesson."

"Yeah, but--"

"No more," Adam insisted, looking impatient now, "We need to talk to Kipp and Seth about this gig. And I need to ask Katie how much they're willing to pay us. The D.J. that used to work for the school did it for eight hundred. I'm thinking we have a chance to ask for a little more and we can split it evenly amongst ourselves." He seemed engrossed in the idea, and while it was extremely attractive to me too, it was really hard to turn my back just as Walter received a blow to the gut.

By now, the teachers in the cafeteria decided to take action and got up to start yelling at the kids, sending them off to the principal's office.

Adam and I sat down at the table where Kipp and Seth were sitting. Seth was watching the scene with Walter and the teachers, sipping at a juice box. Kipp sat beside him, wearing an oversize sweatshirt that probably belonged to his older brother, Richard. His hair was pulled down a little low, his bangs across his forehead, and a scarf around his neck. Judging from his occasional sniffles and groans, he had a cold.

"You better not be sick." Adam told him as we sat down. Kipp scrunched up his nose, then hesitated and made the oh god gonna sneeze face before he covered his nose and sneezed into his gloved palms. Seth wrinkled his nose in disgust, rolling his eyes before looking at us wearily.