{ Noah's P.O.V }
I stared up at Ray with wide eyes and a beating heart. He was looking down at me caged between him and the wall with blanked over eyes and a mouth that was in a straight line. I gulped down and let out a shaky breath.
"Let me go, I- I have to get to Pri and Eli," I stuttered meekly and attempted to push him off me. I placed my hands on his chest and lightly pushed in a way to say 'get the fuck away' without triggering him.
However, as soon as I did that, my wrists were slammed into the wall and were held by a pair of hands.
"Ow! Let go you're hurting me!" I yelled and tried to tug my wrists free from his tight grip. Marks were definitely gonna be left there. I kicked my legs out and made an effort to get him off.
'Don't lie to yourself, you're enjoying it...' The little voice said in my head and i hate to admit this but... i kind of do. But thats the thing i hate.
I hate that I like this.
I shouldn't like this, it's wrong! Beyond wrong.
Shut the hell up, I'm not.
I was stopped in my kicking by Ray tightening his grip on my wrists, and stepping even closer.
"Stop moving," He breathed into my ear.
Bang!!
My head whipped to the door that banged open and in the doorway, stood Priyanka with Elijah behind her. Her face started with confusion, then slowly changed to anger and she stomped inside.
"I wondered why you were taking so long to just pack up," She hissed whilst glaring at us two before pushing Ray off me and shouting into his face.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?! We're at fucking school, can't you use your brain and not act like a rouge animal for at least one minute?!?!"
Elijah started to walk into the class and came towards me with a slight smirk.
" 'Im not gay' huh?" He chuckled and i replied with a glare and 'shut up' before both of us returned our gaze back to the two.
"I was just playing with him, why do you always have to be such a bitch?" Ray answered in a bored voice and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pocket.
My jaw dropped.
Playing with me? Am I a game?! Wait no-
Did this bitch just call Pri a bitch? Did he-
"Whoa hold the FUCK up. You," I pointed at Ray, "are calling her," I pointed at Pri, "a bitch?"
"you?"I questioned whilst directing my finger back at Ray with squinted and confused eyes. Elijah scoffed and crossed his arms with a sneer.
"You're making it sound as if being a bitch is a bad thing. It takes a badass girl to be a bitch, you bastard," Elijah remarked and looked straight at Ray's eyes. Ray stared at Elijah for a second before slowly walking up to him.
"and who the fuck are you?" He demanded with a twitch of the lips.
"I'm Elijah fucking Wood" Elijah bit back with narrowed eyebrows. Now that they were standing next to each other, i could see that Elijah was only about two centimeters shorter than Ray, him being very well toned whereas Elijah was lean and slightly toned.
"Is bitch the only word you can think of by the way?"
A vein in Ray's head was starting to show and you could tell he was holding himself back. I reached out and tugged on Elijah's sleeve, "Elijah," I tried.
Elijah seemed to notice Ray's pissed off expression, "damn, it was a joke not a dick, why you taking it so hard?"
Ray growled out and swung his arm back before punching Elijah square in the jaw. Elijah stumbled backwards at the unexpected attack and looked back with shocked eyes at Ray, who was again advancing on him.
"What the f-" Before Elijah could finish his sentence, he was grabbed and slammed into the wall with me and Pri watching in shock.
Elijah's head clashed against the brick walls twice before hanging low, his own hands reaching up to grab Ray's wrists.
"Ray- RAY! STOP IT!" Pri ran up to the two and tried pulling Ray's hands off of Elijah whilst I tried the other. She cried again, thwacking his back, "LET. HIM. GO!"
But we were like flies.
Legit flies.
It had no affect on him whatsoever, it was like he couldn't even feel us tugging at his arms. Elijah made to punch him in the face with his free hand but before he could, Ray threw his head back and headbutted Elijah on the nose, making us hear a stomach-churning crack. Elijah's hands flew up to his nose as blood started to ooze out.
I yelped in shock and staggered back.
This- This is not sexy at all!
I suddenly felt a flow of anger bubble at the bottom of my stomach and I glared hotly at Ray.
What the fuck does he think he's doing?
"STOP IT YOU SON OF A-" before Pri could finish, Ray swatted her away, accidentally slapping her in the process as she fell to the ground and held her left cheek. He looked at her before looking back at Elijah in a deadly stare.
That was it.
I got up off the floor and stepped towards him, eyebrows narrowed and bottom lip stuck out.
I raised my hand high up into the air.
And swatted him hard onto his shoulder, "Leave him alone!"
Ray paused and slowly turned to face me with a confused expression, "Did you just tap me?"
Embarrassed.
I blinked and clenched my teeth, pride suddenly hurt. I watched on in embarrassment as Ray turned back to Eli.
"You are so fucking lucky you're her friend, or else I would have beaten you to a pulp," He growled out before pushing Elijah away roughly, grabbing his bag and walking out the classroom.
Immediately, both Priyanka and I ran towards Eli who was now on the floor holding his nose.
He hissed in pain, reaching behind to feel the back of his head and withdrawing it to look at his fingers, relieved when he didn't see a trace of blood.
"Fucking hell are you okay Elijah?!" Pri asked and frantically pulled his hands away to inspect his nose. "Oh thank God, it's not broken..." She sighed in relief and relaxed her shoulders.
"What were you thinking Eli!?" I asked and rubbed my temples in a circular motion.
Pri fumbled into her bag and quickly got out a first aid kit. She opened the small box and got out what looked like a type of liquid and applied it to Elijah's nose, making him hiss and flinch away.
"Ow! What the hell is that?!" He snapped and glared at the bottle that was in Pri's hands.
Looking fed up, Pri replied.
"It's an alcohol, it's gonna sting a bit but it helps with the wound. Now stay still and let me apply it," Priyanka explained and again, leaned in to dab it at the nose with Eli grumbling.
"Why did he stop? I saw what he did to Liam, how comes he spared Eli?" I questioned and looked at Pri in confusion. Priyanka gave a bitter laugh and took something else out the bag and putting it on Elijah's nose.
"His dad loves my mum, my mum loves his dad. He wouldn't dare to seriously injure me or someone I care about, because he knows I will tell his father and then," Pri pauses, "Then my step-father would probably whoop his ass." She finished and looked at me while throwing the small cotton with alcohol through the air, landing it in the bin.
Show off.
Eli grunted, gripping his head. I grimaced at this and felt my own head, as if I were the one who had received what he had just received.
"Is your head okay?" I asked, reaching into my bag. Pri swiveled her head back to him and shuffled forward, placing her hand at the back of his head and feeling it.
She scowled with contempt, "There's a fucking bump because of him."
That was so unnecessary, is this a movie? A book? Wattpad?
Why did that- that- idiot get into a fight on his first day and-
Anger issues. Got it.
I kissed my teeth in annoyance at not finding the thing I was looking for, and dug deeper into my bag, before bringing out a small packet of pills, popping one out of its socket and handing it to Eli, along with my water bottle. "Paracetamol. Have one."
Elijah shook his head, waving his hand, "No, no. It's not that bad. It doesn't hurt- ow."
He winced when he shook his head a bit too hard, looking up at me with a sheepish half smile.
Yes Eli, it definitely doesn't hurt.
I huffed, shaking my head and shoving the pill and water bottle into his hand. "Eat."
"Eat? Do you even eat a pill-?"
"Eat!" I pushed with a pout.
Elijah quickly threw the pill into his mouth, swallowing it with water and wrinkling his face tight with distaste. "That tastes horrible."
Eli took another sip of water before coughing hysterically. Pri quickly reached forward, patting his back. A few moments after Eli's coughing ceased, we fell silent.
All three of us sighed at the same time and stared at the ground. Pri was now sitting on the table, Eli was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, and I was sitting crossed legged, with my elbows resting at my knees and my face in my hands. All three of us in our own dream world.
"Pri?" Elijah suddenly spoke.
She hummed in reply, still staring at the ground.
"What did you think... when your mum said that she was going to marry again...?" He hesitantly asked looking up at her. I also looked up at her, awaiting her answer.
After a few moments of silence, Pri spoke with a dazed off expression.
"I felt really happy... I was happy my mum was moving on from the death of my dad." Priyanka sighed with a small smile, "She seems more happier now...and I was delighted to hear that I was finally having a sibling, I never had a sibling. Or cousins."
Pri's smile turned into a frown, "So when I found out he was a complete dickhead... I... I don't know... I guess I just, felt disappointed?"
She looked up from the table and at us, "Well! I have you guys! And that's all I need," She finished and beamed down at us two.
"That deserves a group hug...come on" I said, getting up with Elijah chuckling. Pri giggled lightly as we embraced each other in a tight group hug for a few minutes. I was the first to pull apart and laid back on the floor with my hands behind my head, closing my eyes slowly. I felt two bodies come on either side of me and opened my eyes to see Priyanka on my left and Elijah on my right. Both were in the same position as I was and had their eyes closed. I smiled and went back to closed eyes.
"I'm so glad I met you guys."
"Same."
"Agreed."
After that, the three of us stayed in a comfortable silence for the rest of the free period.
[ At Lunch ]
I opened my eyes to the sound of the icons on a phone being tapped and yawned.
Stretching, I glanced at the clock on the wall to see that it was 5 minutes till lunch time. I turned my head towards the sounds of a phone and saw Elijah sitting in a chair vigorously tapping his phone whilst keeping a hard stare at the screen, indicating that he was playing a game.
I looked to my left to also see Pri on her phone. She looked up from her phone and gently nudged the side of my head.
"Finally awake, sleepyhead."
Perplexed, I furrowed my brows and lifted my head back up at her,
"I was asleep?" I asked threading my fingers through my hair, "That felt so quick..."
"Hm... Well you were in a deep sleep so we decided not to wake you." Elijah remarked with his focus still on his phone. I hummed in response and swiveled my head towards Pri.
"When's lu-" the bell rang before I even got to finish my sentence, making me whine in annoyance. "I don't want to get up."
"Oh stop whining you little child," Pri said, rolling her eyes in a playful manner. I grunted as I got up on wobbly legs. I hate waking up.
Sleeping- If sleeping was a person, I'd marry them.
My bed? Well, I'm already married to my bed.
"Elijah get off that game you've been playing for an hour straight!" Pri ranted and lifted our bags off the floor. A real mother.
"Coming..." Elijah mumbled, still focusing on his game.
He carried on tapping on his phone a his eyes shot from side to side. Me and Pri stared at him.
"One more round...I'm coming..."
"Why did you start a game if you knew you won't finish it in time?!" Pri stomped her foot, crossed her arms and pouted, "I'm hungry."
"I'm not that hungry." He replied and a silence followed suit. Me and Pri looked at each other in shock.
"Whoa," I bluntly said and stared at our nineteen-year-old friend, "You, Elijah Wood, are not hungry?"
I can't believe it.
"You, Elijah Wood, are not hungry?" I repeated in disbelief, "Who are you and what have you done with our friend?"
A loud grumble echoed the classroom as we all stopped what we were doing and looked at Elijah's stomach. "Ok maybe I'm a bit hungry..." he chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
We all laughed light-heartedly and made our way to the canteen, our arms over each other's shoulders.
"My head doesn't hurt anymore." Elijah pipped happily, skipping his feet, before stopping abruptly, "Hold on a second."
Me and Pri stopped as he turned to us with narrowed eyebrows, "Haven't you ever wondered why paracetamol knows exactly where to go when you're in pain?"
Oh no, not one of his superstitions. We carried on walking, Eli still facing us as we did.
Pri sighed with a small smile playing at her lips, "Elijah..."
"No no I'm being serious! Like- when my head hurts and I take one, it stops. When my stomach hurts and I take a pill, it stops!"
To be fair, it was a good point. But I couldn't help but think how stupidly smart the thought was. "What's the problem if they work?"
I felt the grin pull my mouth muscles up before it actually appeared.
Eli took a slow, deep breath in thought, squinting his eyes and turning back around to face forward, "I don't know... seems kinda sus to me..."
Welp, this is Eli. My goofy best friend.
Pri rolled her eyes, flicking the hair in her face out her eyes, "Eli, you're overthinking again."
He shook his head, holding up a single finger with confidence and turning towards us on his heels, walking backwards again. "I'm telling you, these small pills aren't what they seem. They're alive and are hearing our every word."
Oh God.
I mentally facepalmed, and I could feel Pri do the same as we saw the double doors to the cafeteria.
Arriving at the entrance, we stopped short at the scene before us.
In the middle, was Ray and another guy throwing punches at each other violently. It was clear that Ray had the upper hand, as the opposing guy kept stumbling back after every punch that was rapidly thrown at him, not giving him time to punch back. The male already had a bruised face and busted lip, that clearly wasn't going away in just a few days. The audience just watched silently from their seats, some not even looking and eating.
"Again?!"