The lunchroom was chaos.
With 300 people in all, it may not sound like a lot, but the room was very small.
Roderich stood in the middle of the room, his tray in his hands. He wanted to sit with Elizaveta, but Elizaveta was surrounded by other females. And so he looked around the cafeteria, searching for a place he would be welcome.
"Oi, Roddy, over here!"
Kind of Angered by his nickname, he looked around for who had called him that. And it was none other than Gilbert himself.
"Come sit with us!" He motioned for Roderich to sit beside him. Across from him was vash, and beside vash was Ludwig.
Well, Roderich didn't really have anywhere Else to go, so he walked over and sat beside Gilbert.
"Could you please call me by my real name and not that ridiculous nick name?"
"Awe, but roddy..."
"Please? It makes me feel like a toddler."
"What else should I call you then?"
"How about Roderich."
"But that's boring..."
"Then how about-"
"Hey, faggot!"
Gilbert's face went from playful to murderous in about 3 seconds flat. "What is it, shithead?"
A large boy who had to be at least a foot taller than Gilbert plunked down beside him. and the entire cafeteria went silent. "Hey, this new kid. He your boyfriend?"
Roderichs face went comppletely red. "N-no! No it's not like that at all, we're just roommates I-"
"I didn't ask you, midget dick."
Roderich just kind of sat there with his mouth open, offended.
"He's a friend." Gilbert growled threw his barred teeth.
"Your boyfriend..."
"My friend. Unlike you, I have friends."
The entire lunchroom was quiet for a moment, and everything seemed to freeze.
"Say that again." The boy rose slowly to his feet.
Gilbert remained seating, watching vash. "Is your hearing really that bad, Ulz?" He sighed. "Must be gettin worse and worse every day."
Ulz leaned in, practically spitting the words. "Say that again, faggot."
Gilbert stood up, knocking Ulz's lunch tray over so the food spilled over the table, the milk pooling and spilling onto the ground. "Oops."
"You wanna go, fag?"
"Where?"
"Do you wanna fight?"
"But you just asked me if I wanna go... Where are we gonna go? Outside? To the dorms? To the basket ball court? Maybe I could beat your ass in a game of football?"
Ulz was so angry he was practically red, his slicked back blond hair slightly messy and his green eyes murderous.
It wasn't long after that that Ulz was hunched over, holding his crotch while Gilbert kicked and punched and kneed and yelled insults. "You stupid piece of shit!" He yelled, kicking or punching him in between most words. That is, until Ulz grabbed Gilbert's ankle and tugged it out from under him, causing Gilbert to fall back and smack his head on the floor.
Before Roderich actually knew what he was doing, he was standing in between them, his arms stretched out. "Stop!"
That gave Ulz the time to properly stand up, looming over Roderich with a look on his face that would appear in children's nightmares.
Despite the fact that Roderich was terrified, he managed to keep a cool exterior and a level voice. "Physical fights are pointless. It'd be best to finish this dispute with conversation."
And suddenly, there was a noise like thunder in Roderichs head, and both of his ears started rigging, almost as loud as the thunder. Then there was the pain, As if his head had been pressurized. And there was a sharp pain in his nose, and there was stinging and blood and he was floating. And Ulz was inches in front of him. And he couldn't breath.
Gilbert sat up, his vision blurred and his head spinning.
Roderich was being held against the wall by his neck, about a foot off the ground, gasping for air, blood dripping down his face from his nose.
And the entire cafeteria was watching. Just watching, while Ulz was squeezing him dead with his bare hands.
Gilbert was sick to his stomach. He hated these people so much it wasn't even funny.
Gilbert stumbled to his feet, the world swaying around him. Ulz had an evil sort of look in his eye, as if he wanted Roderich to die, which Gilbert wasn't going to let happen. He was going to save Roderich. And after he saved Roderich he was going to get Ulz expelled.
Roderich felt small and weak, and compared to Ulz, he probably was. He squeezed, and squeezed, and Roderich was in this far away place, falling backwards really slowly, just drifting away from everything. Everything was a dreamy, blurred out haze. And everything was pale and cold.
And then he was really falling, the air coming back into his lungs so fast it hurt. He just sort of crumpled to the ground, coughing and gasping and breathing heavy.
His head pounded, everything hazy and dream like. He took in as much air as he could, his neck already starting to bruise.
It took him a few white, spinning moments to realize that Gilbert was leaning over top of him, lips moving and red eyes staring into his own. "...rich? Roderich, answer me, are you okay?"
Roderich couldn't speak. His mouth was dry, his voice seemed broken. But he forced himself to nod.
Then everything was back. The people sitting at their tables, watching. Ulz laying on the ground, holding his head. His nose, and how bad it hurt. And the blood that covered the lower half of his face and his uniform. And the sudden blush that covered his face, as almost all eyes were on him.
"Can you walk?" Gilbert demanded.
Roderich wasn't really sure how to answer that question. He felt sick, and weak, and dizzy. He just wanted to lie down for a while.
"I-I don't know." He croaked.
And so, Gilbert slipped an arm under Roderichs back and another under his knees and lifted him up, holding him in a sort of bridal carry. Roderichs face burned a bright red, his eyes wide. "Wait, I- what are you doing?!" He croaked.
"I'm taking you to the nurses office."
"Why?!"
"You've got a bloody nose and almost lost consciousness. And I'm awesome."
"Why are you carrying me?!"
"Because I'm awesome. How many time do I gotta tell you?"
Gilbert began walking, kicking open the door to the cafeteria and strutting out.
But not before spinning around and flipping up his middle finger. "Next time there's a fight, how 'bout you maybe get a teacher or somethin? You don't just watch."
And he left the cafeteria, a blushing aristocrat in his arms.
"Just relax," Gilbert assured, smirking. "You're in good hands. Mine. Which are awesome and superior to everyone."
Roderichs eyes began to water and a painful shame gripped him. He'd just gotten in a fight. And lost. And had to be rescued by some hooligan who was the definition of narcissistic.
Gilbert looked down at him, somewhat concerned. "Hey, I'm your night in shining armour, remember, Priss? I'm here to save you and make all the bad things go away. I'm your friend, and I'm here for you, so go ahead and cry if you need to."
And just the fact he'd gotten in a fight. His school record was perfect- no fights, barely any absences, close to perfect grades. And now it had been tainted. He already had a detention, and now he had gotten in a fight. Luckily, there weren't any staff to witness it, but it was still a fight. The injuries explained it all. Not to mention almost the entire school witnessed it.
Although the shame he felt was the strongest emotion at the moment, he also felt confusion and gratitude.
Confusion mostly because Ulz had just randomly sat down beside Gilbert and called him names... He had no reason to do so, at least as far as roderich knew.
Gratitude because Gilbert had basically saved his life. The look in Ulz's eyes said he was trying to kill him. And that was a terrifying thought. All he had done was gotten in between him and Gilbert, and yet he was punched in the nose and held against the wall while being choked to death.
It really made him wonder... What had Gilbert done to cause that boy so much anger?