I was walking around the empty hallway during lunch, wanting to go to my locker to get my books, when I heard a noise. A sound of a girl crying. I was debating whether to or not go to the source of the sound. Ultimately, I decided to go with my good nature and follow the source of the crying. When I got closer, I spotted a girl with long, blonde, curly hair cladded in a pink shirt and white mini skirt over white tights. Brittany? I wanted to turn around to leave and do what I need to do, but I cannot leave someone who is upset like this behind. It will haunt me forever.
So I stepped closer until I was just about a feet away from her. I don't want her to be too close to me, just in case this is a trap for something. But seeing her so vulnerable, I am starting to believe something else.
"B-Brittany?" I whispered.
The said girl, shakily looked up at me, wiping her nose for what may be snot.
"W-w-what are you d-doing here, nerd?" Brittany said with mascara running down her face.
Even while she's crying, she still holds some insults to throw at me, but I don't mind. I know I have to focus on her more than me.
"I was going to my locker, when I heard you crying. Are you okay?" I said, kneeling down in front of her.
Seeing the fluorescent light casting down on her face, I see a bruise on her porcelain cheek. My jaw tighten and my brow furrow in a glare, getting ready to beat the bastard that dared to lay his hand on a girl.
"Who did that to you?" I asked, anger filling my veins.
"N-none of your business." She said, wiping away your tears.
"Brittany, I know that we don't get along, but that doesn't mean I want you to get hurt. Especially not like this, I mean look at you! You're crying and you're bruised. Just tell me who did this to you and I will handle them myself." I told her, starting to get up.
"You're not strong enough to handle him." She told me in a low voice, fiddling her thumb in her lap.
"Who?"
"B-Blake." She stuttered.
"How long has he been abusing for?" I said, feeling a vein pop at the name. So the little bastard would go as far as to abuse the woman that he claims to love.
"S-since freshman year. I-I just hid them from the world with makeup and long sleeve." She said, making me kneel to the floor again.
I look back to most of the times I've seen Brittany in the hallway. She's always wearing a ton of makeup on and tights, even though she seems to have slender legs to show off. I didn't really care too much to know the reason why she would cover her body, even if I did, I wouldn't even think of the fact that someone might be taking their outrage on her. I didn't think Blake was this much of a coward.
"Well, not anymore. I will straighten him out myself." I said, cracking my knuckles.
I know Melly doesn't want me to fight people anymore, unless it's absolutely necessary. I believe fighting for an innocent person who is suffering a wrongdoing is a perfect definition "absolutely necessary". I would do it for anybody, all I ask for in return is their gratitude.
"No, don't do it. I don't want anyone else to get hurt." She said, sniffling.
"Don't worry about me. Just go fix yourself up." I said, lending her hand to help her up.
"You're really too kind. No wonder she loves you so much." Brittany said, giving me a sad smile before walking to the bathroom.
I stood there for a second, staring out the ground, before turning around to go to the direction I came from. On my way to my locker, I bumped into a large, broad figure. I looked up at the person, immediately glaring the guy who came into my view. Blake.
"Watch where you're going, nerd." He said in a mocking voice.
I looked him up down before I connected my fist with his face, making him crash to the ground.
"What the fuck?" Blake asked, confused.
"You think that beating girls are funny? You think that's okay?" I yelled, as I walked over to him, my figure shadowing him.
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, looking confused before realization hit him. "Oh my gosh. She told you?"
"Yeah, and I am here to end it." I said, kicking him in the stomach.
"Watch how you're not. I am not even doing anything too bad to her, besides this isn't even your problem. Go back to that little whore of yours and deal with it." He remarked.
Okay, now he has gone beyond the line. There's no way that he is calling my fiance, a whore. I am here to defend hisgirlfriend for something that he shouldn't be doing, and here he is telling me to let him continue what he's doing and call my girl a derogatory term that she didn't do anything to deserve that. Bloody hell, he really is asking for a death wish. I shouldn't even be here trying to straighten him for what he's doing Brittany; he should be spoiling her with love not beating her into a pulp. He deserves what he's getting.
I grabbed the coward by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. He chuckled and flipped us over, so now he were hovering me.
"You really think you can beat me? I know I have let you win before, but that doesn't mean your luck will win forever. I am stronger than you, Brittany, and Melly. I have the higher hand, not you guys." Blake said, his stinky breath invading my nostrils.
"Can you please got off of me?" I yelled, pushing him off of me. His body slammed against the locker, the metal echoing through the hallway.
"Looks like I'm that weak." I retorted.
"Fight!" Some kid yelled.
All the sudden I heard the sound of feet running against the marble white tiles of the school floors.
"Oh shit!" I heard a bunch of voices say as they arrived with their phones in views to take whatever shot they can get to post on social media.
"World star hip-hop!" Dumbasses exclaimed.
I was too focused on the crowd that were surrounding that I even notice my opponent getting up. I noticed a certain brunette fighting her way through the crowd with her blonde best friend by her side.
"Excuse me." I heard her say to the sea of adolescent, before she came into full view.
Oh no, I certainly do not want her to see this. Now I know for certain this won't end well. We made eye contact, before I was struck down to the floor by the swing of Blake's arm.
"Baby!" I heard Melly exclaimed with her hand covering her mouth in horror.
I looked up at him, feeling a gush of blood run from my nose. I ran my fingers across it to wipe it off and ran it down my pants. I got up with a hard cold glare at the coward that is looking at me with a stupid grin on his face. I panted before I started to swing my arms, punching him to the ground again. Blake and I rolled our bodies around the floor, each taking a turn in getting a hit. The crowd was cheering as we pounded each other to the floor, using this fight as a source of entertainment as if we were wrestlers on TV rather than acknowledging that we're two seniors actually beating each other up for our own anger. I was on top of Blake again, getting ready to take a swing, when I felt someone pull me back. I was about to swing at the person to let me go, when I turned around and realized that it was Melly who is holding my body. I instantly relaxed in her arms, not willing to fight the mother of my child at the moment.
"That's enough, Derek." She whispered.
I panted, sweat dripping from my forehead as I was getting over the high. I looked around to see blood spewed on the floor and Blake laying down on it. Unfortunately, he is conscious enough to get up and wipe his head with the back of his sleeves. I ran my hand through my auburn hair as I replayed the scene in my head, not believing that I was the one who caused this.
"What came over me?" I thought.
I would like to say this is all for a girl who needed defending herself, but I knew it was much deeper than that. Blake and I have a long history full of hate towards each other, and we never failed to show it to each other. This fight is the battle that was waiting to happen with all the tensions from this year and the year before. The last battle we needed to get our minds sorts out before the school year ends and we're off in our own directions.
"What the Sam Hell is going on here? Go! Get to class!" I heard a male teacher yelled, making all the witnesses jump and disperse to wherever they needed to go. He came towards us and said, "Except you two. Come with me to the principal's office."
I exchanged looks with Melly and Blake, before I slumped my shoulder and dragged my feet to the office. All the while, I was questioning in my head, what have I done? Maybe this was what Melly was talking about when she said I may not cause most of the fights, but I do participate in them. I don't know any other reason why I did it other than to help a person and ourselves into letting our anguish go.
The four of us entered the office. The teacher told us to take a seat while he goes in and talk to the principal. We did what were told. Melly and I were close to the door, while Blake was sitting close to wall, far away from us. I stared at the tiles on the floor as Melly puts her hands on my knees, rubbing a small circle on it, trying to think of the right thing to say. I wouldn't blame her if she hated me so much right now.
I decided to beat her to the case and said, "Go ahead. Yell at me how I start fights and what not. Tell me how much of a bad father I am for participating in it. I deserve it."
She swallowed her saliva, before opening her mouth to speak, "I am not going to yell at you or scold you for anything. At least not until I know the real story. Why'd you do it?"
"I, um...I was walking to my locker when I heard Brittany crying in the other end of the hallway. You know I can never leave a crying soul alone, so I went to check it out. She had a bruise on her cheek. When I asked her who caused, she told me it was Blake. I told her to don't worry and wipe her tears; I'll take care of the coward. So that's when I did what I did." I explained to her, not looking up at her once, avoiding to see the disappointment in her brown eyes.
"You did that just to defend Brittany?" She questioned as if it were the strangest thing to do.
"Of course, there's more than that, given my history with her boyfriend, but yes, Mel, I did do it for Brittany." I said.
"Why would you do that? She hates us." Melly asked, still confused by all of this.
"I know, but I had to do something. I can't just bear the thought of anyone abusing the person who they claim they love the most. And no, reporting it to the authorities is not enough. You know it isn't. I'd expect someone to do it to me, if I did it to you." I said, finally looking up at her, leaning my head back against the wall, my lips in a straight line as I waited for her to respond.
Melly was looking at her lap, processing all of the information in her head. She took a sharp breath and exhaled, before she told me, "Look, I am not happy with the fact that you started a fight. That was a really bad move on your part. You can get in trouble for this. But I do applaud you for doing what you can in this case. I may not love Brittany, but she doesn't deserve to have a man who bullies her on a daily bases. You're truly a nice guy."
"Really? You mean that?" I said, scrunching my nose, taken aback a bit. How can she be so cool with this?
"Yes, I do mean that. I know you wouldn't do anything drastic without a purpose which is why I questioned you first, before jumping to conclusions." She said, smiling at me.
I smiled back. I truly do have the best fiance in the world at hand. "I love you." I said, happy to have someone to understands me.
This is how we are with each other. This is how we functioned. We tell each other our problems, truly listening to each other. We may not accept what the other did, but we understand why we did it. And that's what makes us Derlina, or Delly, for short.
"I love you too." She said, pecking my lips. She then chuckles and said, "This just reminds me of that one time where we were in fourth grade, and you had your first blown out fight with the same guy, when you saw him hit me."
I looked the other way, trying to remember the memory in my brain. "Oh yeah! I remember that." I said, laughing a little. "Or, that time where he dared to take the Hannah Montana poster from you locker. I don't know how he got in, but I gave him the piece of my mind for it. Stealing is never pleasing. I guess some things never change."
Melly just laughed at the memory of our childhood. That's another quality that Melly and I share. Whenever we needed to cheer each other up or genuinely have a good time, we look back at our past, pick out a time that seems relevant to our situation, and laugh at it. Whatever was once horrifying in our lives is now used for laughing purposes only. We continued to laugh, when I heard the door open with male teacher stepping out of it.
"Blake, Derek, the principal will see you now." He said, stepping to side to let us in.
We stood up and looked each before we approached the door. I waited for the bully to enter the office, when I looked over my shoulder. Melly gave me an encouraging smile that I gave back, but the person behind her is where my attention is at. There is Brittany, dressed in pink and white, her blonde hair glowing due to the light shining behind her, looking happier than ever.
She gave me a smile and mouthed, "Thank you."
I nodded my head in response before I turned around and headed into the mahogany office where my future lies at.
Whew! What an intense chapter! And there's more coming. I hope you like it! Until next time. :)
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