Corrupted

Chapter Twelve

“Or what? The little fag will hit me again? I saw you talking to James. You guys are super cute. You know the story with him right?” I take a step away from him in shock. “He’s just like you,” he whispers.

I don’t know why I feel so defensive and protective over James, but I do, which explains my next actions of punching him in the jaw and kneeing him in the stomach. Someone grabs me, throwing me onto the pavement, but I roll up to my knees and jump to my feet. Three guys are suddenly flanking Zach.

“Oh, you have backup?” I laugh.

“You’re stupid; coming here alone for a fight.”

I glance over as Adam appears at my side, crossing his arms over his chest. Zach doesn’t seem to be phased until Derek comes out of the shadows. Zach’s friends stare at Derek, drinking him in. Panic floods their eyes, but they quickly replace it with their “intimidating” stares.

“Oh, look, she’s got all of her friends to gang up on us. What a little bitch,” Zach laughs.

“You can take this one,” I comment.

“Gladly,” Adam replies, stepping towards him. They’re fighting within seconds. The people around us have formed into a crowd, watching silently.

I glance at Zach’s two friends and see that the one on the far left is the guy that fought me earlier at school. He grins at me, so I step closer, punching him instantly. Derek takes on the other two at the same time, which I’m not entirely sure he can pull off.

I punch the guy twice in the face and he gets me in the nose, once. Blood drips from my mouth and nose, but he’s bleeding too so I don’t worry about it. I stumble backwards, wiping the blood from my mouth on the back of my hand. I risk a glance at the others, to see James fighting one of the guys and struggling a little. Why the hell is he fighting?

When the guy punches James in the face, I lose my temper again and grab my guy’s face, slamming it into the truck. He falls to the ground, unconscious. I step in between James and the guy. He gives me a wide stare as I drag him away and throw him to the ground.

“Don’t get up or you’ll be unconscious like your friend,” I hiss.

He just nods too beat up to argue. I glance around at the people, seeing they’re all in chaos now. Screams are coming from all different directions and people are starting to take sides, even placing bets. “Derek!” I yell. “Get out of here!” I glance over as the cop cars pull into the lot. Now, it really is chaos. “Derek!” I urge.

He risks a glance at me, letting the guy hit him in the jaw. He stumbles back into the truck, but not breaking eye contact with me. “Go! I’ll find you!” he yells.

I see Adam trying to get out of here too and then I lose sight of both of them in the screaming teenagers. I reach out, searching until I find James and grab a hold of his arm, pulling him through the crowd.

We sneak out the back of the crowd, swerving through a few trees and down a steep hill. The sirens and screams fade out as we tumble down the hill and across the street to a building. The sign reads Pawn Shop and it’s closed so we collapse onto the pavement, breathing heavy. My back hits the pavement, so I’m staring at the night sky. The stars are bright tonight and the air is cool. My heart is pounding, my adrenaline is pumping, and I’m drenched in sweat. My head rolls over to see James already lying back, looking at me. We both erupt in breathless laughter.

“Holy shit,” he chokes, sitting up.

“Why do you get involved?” I ask.

His eyes narrow. “We both know that second hit was for me.”