Jonah's POV:
Punch after punch. Blow after blow. I was starting to see blood, and I was unsure with how much I could endure. Tyson had already been beaten badly, despite my efforts to stop Kip.
Kip spoke as he continued to beat me up. "You are a faggot. You shouldn't even be alive, and neither should your fellow gay friends. How about you just go home tonight and just hang yourself or something?"
"That's enough!" Principal Garnet's voice boomed through the halls. "Kip Sorenstine! In my office this instant! I am going to have a word with you!"
Kip dropped me to the floor. A tiny puddle of blood has formed on the ground. He looked back at me. "This isn't over."
As Kip walked into the office, Ms. Garnet stepped towards me and Tyson. "Do not worry." she said calmly. "That boy will not be bothering you anymore. I promise you, he will get the punishment he deserves. Nobody should be bullied based on who they like."
"Thank you." I said weakly.
"You are very welcome. Let me escort you two to the nurse's office. You two are badly hurt, and we are not risking further injuries over neglect for care."
"We understand." Tyson replied.
—————
Buffy's POV:
"Alright, class!" Mr. Shimada said. "Today, I need to finish some last minute grading, so you have a free period today. You may use the equipment for whatever activities you want, but if I see you are misusing them, I will not hesitate to hand out detention slips. And don't forget. Next week is your dance performance day. I highly recommend that you practice this period. That is all."
Marty whispered, "I was told this happens a lot. Apparently, Mr. Shimada never does his objective."
I looked at him, confused. "Are we going to pretend that never happened?"
"Pretend what never happened?"
"The kiss! You and I kissed. It might just be me, but I feel like we should talk about it."
He nodded his head. "You're right. It's just-- I don't know what there is to talk about."
I leaned a little closer to him. "Maybe this is telling us something about... you know... us."
"Well, what do you think it means?"
"I don't know. I really like you, but I'm not sure if that means we should date."
"What do you want, though? Cause me? I like you too, and I want to date you."
I shrugged. "I feel... scared."
He broke out in a smile. "The legendary Buffy Driscoll, scared?"
"I know, right?" I said jokingly. "It surprised me too."
"Why are you scared?"
"I spent a lot of my time on the sidelines in the dating bench. First, it was Andi and Jonah. Then Jonah and Cyrus. Now, it's Cyrus and Tyson." I started bouncing a basketball around. "I sort of picked up on the fact that they were all super close, and then breakups happened, which caused them to drift apart."
He started to pick up what I was saying. "And you're scared that if we break up, we'll end up losing what we have now?"
"Exactly. I really want to date you. I'm just scared about what'll happen if it doesn't work out."
"We're both athletes, Buffy. You know the saying when we're out on the track or field."
"'Don't leave your mouth open while running with bugs around?'"
"Haha, no. 'If it's a healthy risk, then take it.' I feel like we should take the risk. Who knows? Maybe it will work out between us."
I wrapped my arms around Marty. "Okay then. Should we make it official?"
"Not yet." he said. "Let's start slow, and see where this goes."
"Yeah. I guess you're right."
—————
Cyrus's POV:
I lightly knocked on the nurse's door as I walked in. "Hi, there." she said. "Can I help you?"
"Is it okay if I visit Jonah Beck and Tyson Vermont?"
"Of course. They're in the other room."
"Thanks." I made my way to the other room, and saw both of them talking. For the first time, they actually seemed to be bonding.
"Hey, guys." I said to them both.
"Hi." they said back.
I held up my phone, which showed a page on social media. "What's that?" Jonah asked.
"It's my Voltpad account. I thought I would read you guys one of my stories."
"For real?" Tyson said excitedly. "You never read those to me."
"Me neither." Jonah said. "Are you feeling okay?"
I chuckled. "I just feel like after everything, you guys deserve to hear it. I have a fanfic and an original series. What do you want me to read?"
"Original." they both said.
"Okay." I put on the story on my phone. "This story is called, By the River."