Liam Crossford was standing in front of his locker when he began to fill it with his heavy books and large folders. As Liam tried to balance everything he was juggling, the obnoxious bell loudly rang to signal it was lunchtime.
As the hallway began to stampede with people rushing to the cafeteria, Liam let them pass by as he didn't want to get lost in the crowd. Despite being a student at Beckerford High School for a little over a week now, Liam still wasn't used to his surroundings.
Liam began to put his backpack on when he watched his locker close without him touching it. He turned his head slightly to see Melissa assisting him by shutting the locker, eager for them to get some food.
"You're too slow Liam. Can we go yet?" Melissa whined. "I want to get some pizza while it's still hot."
Liam nodded his head as he walked to the cafeteria with his best friend. "I think so? It's probably just safer to come with you now since you would probably hunt me down."
"You're very book smart Liam, but you surprisingly have a terrible sense of direction," Melissa laughed.
"At least I know my left from my right." Liam quipped back.
Melissa let out a quiet gasp as she gently pushed Liam. "That's a low blow! I may get them mixed up sometimes, but loads of other people do too!"
Liam chuckled as he stopped moving in the middle of the hallway, with Melissa copying him too. Their height difference made it so that Liam had to tilt his head down slightly as he laughed, "And I used to think you were one of the smartest people I met when I moved here."
"Let's be real, I'm like the only person you've met so far." Melissa snorted.
Liam was worried about making new friends when he moved to Michigan with his family. Every one of his peers seemed to be in their own circle of friends, and Liam didn't want to force himself into those friendships because he was never that sociable. As much as Liam didn't want to spend his school days lonely, he didn't want to conform and change himself to fit those people.
He was almost ready to spend his final year of high school alone when a curly-haired girl came into his life like a wrecking ball. Melissa was the more outspoken one between them as she tried to be Liam's friend first. Liam appreciated their similar taste in music because that was what their first conversation was about.
Melissa pulled her purse out of her bag because she was preparing some money to pay for her lunch. "Let's stand in the queue."
Liam patted his pocket to find his wallet and pull it out. After not finding it on him, Liam groaned out loud when he realized where it was. "I think I've stupidly left my wallet in my locker."
Melissa pressed a finger against her chin as she hummed in contemplation. "I'm going to have to deduct some IQ points from you now."
"Ha. Ha." Liam dryly mocked. "Find us a table and I'll come and find you afterward."
Melissa saluted Liam with all the seriousness she could muster as he then laughed back. Liam then stepped out of the queue so that he could go back to his locker and retrieve his wallet.
~~~~~~~~~~
After a little while, Liam paid for his food as he then picked up his tray of food to take with him. He then turned towards the eating area and scanned the room until he eventually found Melissa in the corner of the room.
Liam expertly moved past everyone without bumping into anyone and sat his tray down beside Melissa. He had to squeeze into his seat because the tables were extremely cramped near the corners of the room.
"I wish this canteen was bigger." Liam expressed out loud.
Melissa meekly looked away as she whispered, "Sorry. It's my fault we don't have a better table."
Liam felt someone bump into him when he was knocked forward by someone's bag. After hearing a faint apology, Liam turned back towards Melissa and frowned. "Should we get a different table? I'm actually terrified that people can so easily breathe onto my food now."
"There are no spaces available," Melissa told Liam.
Liam looked over his shoulder and remembered how there was a table in the middle of the room with only two people on it. Thinking that they could move there, Liam suggested that they should sit with them. "Let's go over there."
Melissa followed where Liam was pointing to, and vigorously shook her head at the table she was just kicked from. "No! We can't sit there."
Liam chuckled as he pointed out, "It's just a table. Come and sit with me over there, Mel."
"This table is good enough," Melissa tried to reason. She ignored how Liam was pushed again by a random backpack as she filled the silence with a burst of nervous laughter.
Liam noticed that Melissa was acting really weird. The fact that she hadn't touched her pizza was also strange since it looked completely cold now.
Liam swapped their plates so that Melissa could have his hot pizza slice while he would settle with Melissa's cold one. But when Melissa remained silent and still didn't touch her food, Liam grew concerned.
"Is something wrong?" Liam checked.
Melissa tried to play off how she was just humiliated in front of everyone by laughing out of the blue. "Of course not!"
Melissa's eyes unconsciously glanced towards Alex and then quickly moved back to Liam's. Liam noticed this and eventually followed to where she had just looked at. "Did that guy do something to you while I was gone?"
After pausing for a couple of seconds, Melissa ducked her head as she eventually admitted, "Kind of."
Melissa then shared with Liam everything he had missed when he went to his locker. She told Liam how she felt intimidated by Alex angrily and forcefully removing her from the table.
"The guy is also a lot bigger than me too if you didn't miss that. My bag would have gone flying across the room if I didn't give up the table, and I could have gone with it if people weren't already watching." Melissa added.
Liam was grinding his teeth as he listened to how hurt and vulnerable his friend sounded. Liam didn't believe anybody should have been treated like an outcast like that, especially someone that was always so naturally positive and bright like his best friend.
"That bastard can't get away with it," Liam vowed.
Melissa tried to stop Liam from rising to Alex's level, but she was too late as Liam immediately shot up from his seat. She was frozen on the spot as everybody in the room then watched how Liam knocked Alex down onto the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~
Alex wasn't exactly pleased by being called a bitch in front of the entire school. He was scratching his head because he was very confused at the moment. Alex narrowed his eyes to study the guy's face more intently, but his mind still failed to remember his name.
"Have we met before?" Alex asked seriously.
Alex conked his head to the side as he then further studied the guy. The angry person in front of him had blond messy hair that pointed up slightly near the front. Alex thought that his dress sense made him look insanely attractive, with the rolled-up navy button-up and white t-shirt making him look extremely flattering in those dark fitted jeans.
'Definitely someone I would remember...'
"Are you insane?" Liam was grossed out as he explained, "I've never met you before in my life."
Alex laughed as he then brushed the actual food and dirt off his letterman jacket. "Why are you so hostile then?"
Liam stepped closer towards Alex and aggressively pushed his chest once again. "You think you can go around and scare people into getting whatever you want?!"
Alex wasn't floored this time as he was prepared for Liam's aggressive assault. "Kind of."
Liam began to harshly mock Alex with his dry laughter. "I've met people like you before, and you're just another egotistical bully that thinks they're some sort of god."
"Do you really not know who I am?"
Alex was no longer joking around as he listened to a stranger berate him in front of the entire school. Alex could see that everybody was watching them, and were completely engaged with how this stranger was trying to knock him down the school's social ladder.
Alex heavily sighed as he stared directly back at Liam. "Why did it have to be today where my mood is constantly ruined by subordinate wastes of spaces like you and your friend."
Something snapped inside of Liam once again as he was now on the receiving end of this person's lashing. His fists were quickly clenched as Liam then swung and punched Alex.
Alex's head turned at the impact of Liam punching his jaw. Alex wasn't going to admit how stunned he was by the punch, instead, he just rubbed his jaw to relieve the pain and shock from being hit in public like this.
The cafeteria then erupted with thick tension as they then began to chant 'fight' together. No one dared to intervene because they were all aware of the wrath that Alex would unleash if they interrupted him from what he was about to do.
Alex was always a crowd-pleaser because he was ready to comply. He had just grabbed Liam by the collar of his shirt when he felt Owen drag him away.
"Get the fuck off me!" Alex whispered harshly under his breath.
Owen was trying to stop his best friend from getting into more trouble. Alex's reputation was already notorious to those around them, and Owen didn't want his best friend to visit the principal's office multiple times in one day.
"Not until you calm down," Owen answered back. "Violence isn't always an answer."
Alex tried to lunge past Owen and retaliate at the person who just attacked him in front of the whole school. He couldn't let everyone see him as inferior and weaker to some guy that just strolled up to him out of nowhere. Alex wanted to get his revenge and remind everyone that he wasn't one to be messed with.
"You owe my friend an apology!" Liam belted out loud. He thought it was the least Alex could do for being so vile towards Melissa.
Alex followed Liam's gaze to see where he was looking at and saw how Melissa was now avoiding their gaze. As he went back to stare daggers at Liam, Alex remembered how there was an audience with them. The room had gone completely silent because everybody was heavily engaged in what was going to happen next.
"I'm sorry that you're stuck with your whiny little girlfriend that has ruined my day." Alex then leaned forward and antagonized Liam by whispering, "How's that for an apology?"
Liam was ready to punch Alex again when they were both separated with more force. Liam watched how Owen continued to block Alex's path towards him, while Melissa moved towards them and stood in front of him.
"Can we please just go?" Melissa begged Liam. They had both received enough attention from all the onlookers, and Melissa hated every second of it because of the implications from today.
When it looked like neither of them were going to get into an angry scrap of a fight, Liam huffed one last time before aggressively shoulder barging Alex out of his way.
Alex continued to stare at the man that had dared to cross him. He felt Owen put his hands on his shoulders to try and reassure him that fighting that guy wasn't the best idea, and steering clear from a fight was the best outcome for everybody nearby.
Alex's blood was still boiling from seeing that same guy so confidently walk away from him. "What were you saying about not using violence?"
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