THE NEXT MORNING, Sean was still mad at me and all I could say that I didn't know what came over me.
Which was true. Normally, on any given day, I would be acting afraid of Travis, and Robbie, and Lucas, and any other of their friends; but, I had no idea why I was acting like myself that day—maybe because I do have a bit of a problem with controlling my anger.
Okay, a bit might be an understatement.
I decided to make breakfast because I knew that what happened yesterday was only going to be a one-time type of thing. After I cooked the usual breakfast—pancake and bacons, I went upstairs to get ready but not before checking on mom to see if she was still asleep and she was.
It was officially the first day of school and because of what happened yesterday, I needed to get into Sean's good graces so I wore the stupid floral dress. It's literally just a red dress with sunflowers painted on it.
Why would people ruin a perfectly good dress with flower patterns?
As I walked downstairs and caught my brother's attention, he pointed at me with his fork and shook his head. "Just because you're making me happy by wearing that for your first day, doesn't mean that I'm still not mad at you."
I threw my hands up in the air, irritated. "Are you looking at me? You're telling me I wore this for nothing? I'm changing."
"Ah!" He chewed on a piece of bacon like a maniac. "No time. You've got ten minutes to eat and then we're leaving."
Giving my brother a glare, I ran up to the table and sat down, chomping down as many bacons and pancakes I could eat while he finished up and took a picture of how I look like a pig whilst laughing his ass off.
By the time we parked in front of school, he had shushed me for yelling out the word "no" over and over when he told me I needed to apologize to the guys for what I did yesterday, especially to Travis.
"I'm going to tell mom what you did," he threatened, looking down at me. How is that even possible when we're basically the same height? "You know how she is when you punch people out of the blue."
You would think that I would get over that threat easily after so many years but no, I was still very afraid of my mother and didn't want to give her any bad news especially when I'm the one who's involved.
So, I couldn't do anything but roll my eyes and get out of the car with him following after me. "We had a deal, okay?"
"I apologize to the guys," I replied, completely unamused. "not revert back to my fake-ass nerd stereotype self, and not punch anyone because you're helping me not to get detention, and, of course, not get caught by stupid sore losers who I fight with."
He wrapped his arms around me, catching me off guard, and giving me a kiss on the top of my head. "I love you."
I let it stay like that for seconds before pushing him off of me. "I hate you."
As I turned around, I stopped dead on my tracks when I saw Travis, Riley, Lucas, Tyler, and Robbie approaching us. They all had stoic expression except for Travis—oh, Travis was so mad. He had his eyes on me as if they were lasers, and if they were. I would melt and then be six-foot underground from where I'm standing.
I had a good look of what I did to him—his eye was bruised with purple and blue, his cheekbone with a small gash, and his brow split. I didn't even know how I could have done that to him, but I did.
The second I stepped to walk at the back entrance, Sean grabbed my hand tightly, not letting me go no matter how much I tried to get out of his handle.
"Just apologize and it'll be over," he whispered before smiling at the boys. "Hey, guys. You remember my sister, right?"
Lucas with the dyed blonde hair and pompadour look, that gave way for people to see his grey eyes, and somehow defined jaw and cheekbones, grinned at me like we were old friends. He looked more built than the rest of the guys but the rest were a little taller than him. "Wow, you're pretty."
Before he could say anything else, Tyler had already slapped him at the back of the head and I felt so grateful while the butterflies that were in my stomach were going crazy. Oh, didn't I mention that I have a huge crush on Tyler?
He had this long light brown hair that was always tied up into a man bun and it matched those chocolate brown eyes. He's more serious than anyone of them. He's the only one that ultimately has never made fun of me. He's quiet, mysterious, and the definition of the phrase "tall, dark, and handsome"—of course, everyone would like him.
I remember when we were in tenth grade, and I was pushed down by some guys from the football team. Their names are Freddy and Harry. They decided that it was a good choice to play a prank on me. I was going to drink some water from the fountain but when I pushed the button, it seemed like a trigger of something and I didn't know that until I felt a bucket of blue slime fall and land onto my hair, face, and shoulders. I was pointed at by fingers and was being laughed at.
I was supposed to get used to it but something about that just snapped inside me and I was suddenly crying. My feet weren't moving because I knew that if I did that, I would fall and that would be even more humiliating than what's happening right now.
With my hands on my face, covering my stifled cries, I felt fingers on my hands, pulling them away from my face. I lifted my eyes up to find Tyler's expressionless eyes staring right at me. He didn't say anything and just turned away from me to look at Freddy and Harry. The two shitheads were fidgeting around, eyes on the people around us but not on Tyler's.
"Did you two do this?" He asked and the two of them nodded. "You're going to the principal's office and tell him what you did, do you hear me?"
They just simply nodded again.
Next thing I knew, I'm being dragged away from the scene with him holding my hand. I'm staggering behind him and we stop at an empty hall that I never even knew this school had. He removed his back pack and reached for his plain blue navy t-shirt and hands it out to me.
I furrowed my brows at him, completely confused at what's happening.
"You need to go to the girl's shower and change into something that's not covered in slime. Seeing how your pants aren't even affected, then you can just use it again. Your shirt, however, isn't going to work anymore so take this," I stare at the shirt. He pushes it to me even more. "Take it."
I took it reluctantly. "Thank you."
"For what?" Tyler asks. "I've wanted to get them kicked out of football for a long time. I couldn't do it out of nowhere so when they did that to you, it was pretty much a good excuse. Your shirt is ugly, so I'm glad that you now have a reason to throw it out."
Then he just walks away.
It wasn't romantic, I admit, but it was kindness and I gladly took it.
"You have something to say to me?" Travis stepped closer to me, obviously catching my attention from the flashback I just had.
Just him getting on my face like some asshole made me already want to punch him again. This time, right at his mouth so he can shut up. And then hit him with my shoulder bag that's full of books.
Sean tightened his grip even more on my wrist.
Forcing out a smile, I stepped back a little from him. "I'm sorry for what I did. It was completely my fault. I shouldn't have punched you."
With a smug look on his face, he nodded. "Great. How about you make it up to me by telling me that I'm the best, Sammy?"
"Did he just—" I faced my brother again, anger rising in me. "He just called me Sammy. I apologized, Sean. I already did it."
Sean's eyes widened, clearly knowing what the warning on my voice was. He forced out a smile and pushed me away from their group. "Okay! I think that's enough. You should go inside before you do anything stupid."
I continued to walk away from them, my hands on my dress, balling into a fist just so I wouldn't be able to do anything that I would regret. When I got inside the building, I felt abnormal. I shouldn't be wearing a dress, boots, or even having my hair loose on my shoulders.
Everything felt like it wasn't normal. I mean, it never was in the first place but it was my normal, you know?
It felt so weird because usually, as soon as I step inside this hellhole, I'm already being laughed at but this time, there was nothing but invisibility. And I could definitely get used to it.
Walking to my locker, my phone buzzed repeatedly. It was Alex. Even after what happened, I still couldn't remove that stupid picture of his off of my contacts.
He was staring right at the camera, hands on the side of his jaw, his dessert sand hair messy, and him lips curling upwards, beaming at me. It was one of those days wherein his amber colored eyes squint a little from the smile.
"How was first day so far?" I could just imagine the smugness of his look as he said those words. "So, Sean told me what you did."
"Seriously, how in the world did you become friends with my brother?" I rolled my eyes, not waiting for an answer. "It's fine. I'm good. Are you calling to check up on me or calling because you actually have a job for me? If it's the first one, I'm seriously blocking your number."
"And if it's the latter?" he questioned.
Thank God. "Then, I'll be there tonight."
Without wasting a second, I hung up on him, placing some of the books from my shoulder bag inside my locker before closing it.
Maybe today's not so bad.
* * * *
FOR THE PAST FEW HOURS, I wasn't being bothered by Christi or the Golden Sisters. If you don't know who they are, then, you're so lucky. You know those movies where it's like a page taken out of the movie Mean Girls?
Christi Brad is the very first name that will come out of people's mouth if ever you're new. She's crowned as the most beautiful girl in school, wins the pageant that the school holds every single time, and has everyone doing her homework voluntarily. Every girl in school is jealous of her red, curly, long hair. She wears ripped up jeggings and tank tops that are made of lace and silk that always hugs her thin figure.
Then, if you notice, there's two girls beside her. The Golden Sisters—Hailey and Bailey. They would wear tight leggings to show off their asses and crop-tops to show off their flat stomach. While the two of them have the same blonde hair, Hailey straightens hers while Bailey curls it to match it with Christi. Hailey has orange highlights, and Bailey has black ones.
If you think that you can absolutely take them on, think again, my friend. They can get away with anything because of Christi's lawyer parents, and Hailey and Bailey's parents who owns many schools around the globe, including this hellhole.
If this is Sean's plan to keep me out of the spotlight, then, this even worked out than my plan to be a nerd and get bullied because now, obviously, I'm not getting bullied by them.
When lunch came around, I got some sandwich and an orange juice on my tray, and ate at one of the tables outside of school. Right as I was enjoying my time alone, someone sits in front of me and the familiar blonde hair made me roll my eyes as he was being followed by the two brothers.
I could feel the disappointment hitting me when I realized that even if I was invisible to the rest of them, this group of guys would never forget what I did to their friend.
Oh, I wish this was just a dream.
"That's what you're eating?" Lucas raised a brow at my tray. He had a two slices of pizza and pasta on his tray, same with Riley and Robbie.
Apparently, when you compete for the school's name, you get the benefits—including getting a fancy food rather than the plain one the rest, including me, gets.
Riley pushes his tray towards me. "Do you want to take the other piece of my pizza?"
I can't believe I made a stupid deal with Sean not to start any fights. "No, thanks," I shook my head at them and took a big bite on my ham and egg sandwich. "Listen, if you could just leave me alone. It would be so—"
"Why the hell are we sitting here?"
Oh great.
Travis sat down beside me, throwing down his tray on the table as if it there was nothing on it. "And why are we sitting with her?" He said it with so much disgust, it felt like I was just a scrap from the bottom of his shoe.
Keep quiet. Keep quiet, Sam.
"We're just keeping Sam here some company," Robbie winked at me. Gag. "Plus, it's nice to sit here rather than our usual spot."
His brother, Riley, nodded in agreement. "That's true."
Out of nowhere, Tyler and Sean sat down on the other side with Sean beside me, his eyes going to the guys then to me with confusion in them. I just shrugged and started grabbing my tray but before I could even stand and bolt, Lucas groaned. "Oh come on, Sam, stay! We'd like to be your friends."
I do not know how he made it sound so creepy.
"I don't," Travis whispered under his breath. My brother glared at him.
Looking around, I could see them waiting for me to make a move. Lucas, Riley, and Robbie were gesturing for me to stay, Travis was taking a bit out of his pizza, not caring at all, and Sean looked like he was going to have an aneurysm from what's happening. I locked eyes with Tyler next who was just watching me, waiting for me to do something.
Then, out of nowhere, he smiled. "Just stay."
Letting go of my tray easily, I returned his smile, trying to ignore what it was doing to me. "Okay."
"That's the spirit!" Robbie clapped happily. "How come we never even noticed you around here?"
Sean shook his head immediately. "I told you not to bring it up."
Let's give them the taste of their medicine. "Oh you didn't know?" I faked shock.
Their brows furrowed at me. "Know what?" Lucas sat closer, clearly interested.
"You all know me," they all stared at one another except for my brother and Tyler who clearly knew who I was. "Yeah, you have cute nicknames for me. Let's see... On fourth grade you came up with Glasses which was a classic, on sixth grade you started to call me Loser Sam which stuck until a year ago. There was a lot more but that's what stuck to me the most. Don't you remember?"
Their eyes widened in realization—even Travis's.
"Oh shit," Riley whispered loudly.
Giving them all a grin, and winking at Robbie who had his mouth wide open, I stood up. "I love how you all thought I was new." Sean and I shared glances before he flipped me the bird.
I couldn't help but feel smug as I went back inside.
For the rest of the day, each one of them ignored me.
* * * *
BEADS OF SWEAT rolled down from my body as I continued to fight, using the remaining energy I had left, the large orange skin, and hairy man in front of me. I think he had a little bit too much of a fake tan. But it doesn't matter; because when I stepped inside the ring, I immediately ended the person I'm fighting. It was easy because their pride and ego always seemed to cloud their mental ability—not that there's any of that in their brain.
Okay, that was a bit mean. I'm sorry that I'm not sorry.
The man I'm fighting, Knife, picked me up on the ground, placed me over his shoulder, ready to throw me down but before he could do it, I tried to grip on his shirt so he won't be able to do it but it was too late.
He tackled me down, my back hitting first before my head slammed down. For a second, I thought that my spine was broken and my head had a gaping hole in it. My eyes started to get blurry from the tears clouding my eyes because of the pain. "Oh shit!" I breathed, trying to ease it. Slowly, with the help of blinking profusely, my vision begins to clear and I see his large body on top of me.
That sounded dirty. I swear that I did not mean it.
He begun to laugh maniacally and started thumping his fist in the air but the whole crowd is silent, observing him. He crouched down in front of me, breathed using his mouth—and I start holding back telling him not to forget to use a toothbrush after this is over—and looked at me with a big smug smile that I so badly want to shit on.
I started to whisper something inaudible and his eyebrows knitted together, confusion etched at his face. "What? Speak louder. If you're already quitting, you little bitch, I want to hear it."
I do it again and he moves his feet to get beside me, leaning his head. "What the fuck are you saying? Speak."
With that, ladies and gentlemen, I raised my head and hit my hard forehead to his nose. Pain shot through my head. Ow, fuck! The hell is that nose made of, metal? That hurt.
He grabbed his nose, blood sputtering out badly. That's the time I took the opportunity to push him back before he decided to get blood on my face or any other parts of my body. He fell down to the ground, screaming a bunch of curses, whining about how his nose was bleeding and broken.
I raised myself and walked towards him. The crowd was chanting for me to finish him off while he was still on the ground, not moving, crossing his eyes to try and stare at his injured nose. It was now my turn.
I crouched in front of him, his eyes snapping to me in an instant. He raised his fist and almost punched me in the cheek but I dodge it easily. His eyes widened at my quick reflex and I take that to my advantage so I pulled his hand back, stood up, and raised my foot and weighted it down to his fingers.
He howled in pain as I felt the bones of his hands moving in different locations.
I hate when that happens. Glad it's not me.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" He yelled, his other hand going for my foot, trying to take his hand out.
I grinned. "Say the magic words, Knife."
He panted, spit coming out of his lips. "I forfeit! I forfeit!"
In a second, I removed my foot from his hand and take a good look at what I did to him—he might have some concussion from the punches but he will definitely have to get his hand and nose fixed.
The crowd around us is still silent, their eyes on me as I wipe the blood on my lips and the gash below my cheek, careful not to touch any bruises.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WINNER... ICE!"
Everyone started cheering when I pumped my fist in the air, not minding some of the people that was helping Knife to stand and get out of the ring.
I eyed the familiar amber orbs that was staring at me with a bright grin on his face. Even after everything what happened between us, I couldn't help but feel comfort that Alex was here with me even if it was an obligation because he was the one managing my fights. "What time is it?"
He shook his head. I could tell that he was thinking about something then looks down at his wristwatch. "Two."
"There's plenty of time!" I yelled out, and the people cheered again. "One more!"
They cheered again, waving their fists in the air. "Yeah!"
The announcer tapped on the microphone several times, clearing his throat and we wait for him to announce my opponent. "EVERYONE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, TWO CHAMPIONS ARE GOING TO FIGHT. WE HAVE ICE OVER THERE AND NOW, WE HAVE... THE FLAME!"
This was hilarious. I was going to fight someone named The Flame. Was this a practical joke?
Apparently not. The guy jumped on the ring, his shirtless, ripped body just screaming at me. What caught my eyes was the tattoo on his shoulder—it was a hand covered by the flames. Then, we met eye to eye.
It hits me like a train. Gray fucking eyes.
Holy shit. Travis Mason.
I felt like I was going to be sick. I was a deer caught in headlights.
The adrenaline was pumping in my veins and the fight or flight mode was on. I was never the one to run from a fight but this time, I jumped off the ring, running out to go backstage, not minding the gasps that the crowd had and the announcer telling everyone what was happening.
For the first time ever, I was running out from a fight.
But I didn't care. All I could think of was getting out of here.
The door opened while I was wiping the vomit off of my lips. It was Alex. "What the hell happened over there?"
"You didn't fucking tell me that Travis Mason was here!" I yelled, completely angry. "What if he recognized me, huh?"
He came closer to me, his hands on my shoulders, eyes directly at mine. "Will you calm the fuck down? Look, that's why you had a mask to cover your face, are you kidding me? I got you a few minutes to compose yourself but you have to get out of there and show 'em what you got or else you're going to lose the money."
"Fuck," I muttered, running my hands through my hair.
"Holy shit!"
Alex turned around, giving me access to whoever was at the door and almost immediately, I wished he hadn't done that.
Riley was standing in front of me, with his eyes enlarged and his mouth agape. Then, his eyes went to the classic black half-mask on my table.