The School Bully

Unlucky

I couldn't believe this was happening to me.

I couldn't believe that in just one day, or one lunch period, my boring life was turned upside down.

Topsy-turvy.

A complete and utter disaster.

I had never, ever labeled myself unlucky. I had been in a lot of bad situations and moments but they weren't entirely hopeless. I eventually fixed them. I may not be a fighter but I was a survivor. But now, it felt like Lady Luck was playing with me.

Lady Luck definitely hated me.

Like, a lot.

When I awoke yesterday and found myself in the school infirmary, I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I must have been dreaming, I thought. There was no way, no way Leon Gage would come up to me and say that I was his.

No freaking way.

I rose from the bed and slid down. I scanned my surroundings, frowning.

But why was I here in the infirmary?

"It wasn't a dream."

I whipped my head to my right. The nurse was sitting behind her desk and on her table laid a cross, a rosary and a statue of some saint. Around her neck were strands of garlic. Her face was apprehensive as she stared at me, like she was scared of me, like I was about to swing a machete right her way.

I blinked in shock. "Excuse me?"

"It wasn't a dream," she said in a stronger voice. She made a quick sign of the cross. "You were whispering to yourself, saying you must be dreaming."

My head reeled back and a sick knot of fear lodged in my stomach.

Oh, God, no.

No, no, no, no!

The memory of Leon holding me in his arms resurfaced in my mind, the way he held me, the way his eyes captivated me, his warmth and his breath against my neck. All of it came rushing back to me along with a great deal of fear.

I shut my eyes tight, feeling lightheaded.

This was not happening to me.

"I'm sorry, dear." My eyes flew open and saw the pity in the nurse's eyes. "Because if this was a dream, then you're living a nightmare."

A nightmare.

That must be it. I pinched myself, convinced I was having a nightmare.

But I wasn't.

The thought of becoming Leon Gage's girlfriend horrified me I almost fainted again. I swallowed and took several deep breaths to calm myself down. The nurse offered to take me home, it was already past five, but I declined. There was no way I was getting in her car with the garlic smell and there was no way I was going to listen to her whimper and cry about my unfortunate fate.

I managed to get home without incident and without eating dinner, I fell into a deep slumber.

Now, I was staring at the wall clock in my kitchen, eating breakfast. I did not want to go to school. I dreaded the thought of meeting him.

Maybe I could stay at home and hide until the school year ends, I considered. Or until my parents, who were always busy they couldn't be bothered with their only daughter, get another contract which could relocate us again.

I put my unfinished bowl of cereal in the sink and put my hands on the edge. I sighed.

But why did he choose me?

Why didn't he choose another unsuspecting girl? Like one of those gutsy, gorgeous girls in school and not a total wimp which was what I was.

If he wasn't what he was, he would have been a dream come true for a girl. But instead, he was a nightmare come alive.

Leon Gage was infamous around East Private School. Everyone talked about him in whispers and everyone shrunk from him whenever he passed. He was a sophomore student like me yet even the seniors were afraid of him. The teachers distanced themselves from him and avoided any interaction with him if they could.

Why?

Because rumors had it he was a bully, the greatest, most vicious, unfeeling bully anyone has ever met.

He enjoyed beating up people and he never showed remorse for hurting them. His knuckles were always raw whenever he came to school, his boots splattered with blood. Even his friends were big and mean-looking with the same taste for blood like he did.

He was the bane of my school.

And this person was my boyfriend.

A loud honk outside my house made me jump. My heart slamming inside my chest, I walked to the front door and peered through the window. My jaw slackened when I saw Leon outside the driveway, sitting on his motorcycle. His eyes were trained to me, impatience written on his face.

I gasped and ducked. I crawled to the side and slowly rose, pressing my body against the wall.

What the heck was he doing here? How did he find out where I lived?

"Get the f**k out, Sophia," I heard him speak through the door.

I didn't move nor breathe.

"Now."

I immediately unfroze and rushed to get my backpack from the sofa. I dashed to the door, opened it and darted through it, only to find myself hitting a wall of granite. Arms shot out to steady me. I looked up and my rapidly beating heart slid up to my throat.

Scary hot Leon Gage had me wrapped in his arms again.

He was wearing his usual attire, leather jacket, tight black shirt, denim jeans and leather boots.

He really was so, so hot.

"What took you so long?" he muttered, looking pissed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered up to him.

He growled and I blanched. "Don't make me wait for you again."

I nodded frantically to appease him. He seemed satisfied with my nods and led me to his motorcycle. I sucked in a breath, telling myself to pull it together as I let myself be dragged.

He surely wasn't going to kill me in broad daylight, right? I snuck a peek at his hands and boots. His hands weren't bloody and not a trace of his victim's blood was splattered on his boots like they say he always had.

But what if I was going to be today's victim? Even though this was a quiet neighborhood, people would still come to my rescue if I began screaming, right?

Oh, heck. Now I was back to trembling again.

Way to go with your pep talk, Sophia.

Leon turned and I swallowed. He gave me a helmet and I stared unseeing at it, too distraught to think clearly.

"Aren't you going to put that on?"

I started and glanced at him. He was already on his motorcycle, his helmet on his head, and his scowl in place. I watched him, perplexed.

His scowl melted and he sighed.

"Come here," he ordered and I complied. He took the helmet and placed it on my head gently and adjusted the clasp. I stood stock-still through this. "There. Now get behind me."

My eyes widened, panic building inside me.

Oh, my God. He wasn't making me ride on his motorcycle, was he?

I glanced at the big, scary motorcycle, at the big, scary driver and back at the big, scary motorcycle once more. I didn't know which I preferred anymore, for him to kill me now or to embarrass myself by fainting, or worse, screaming when I try to get on.

I had never ridden a motorcycle before. Especially a motorcycle driven by Leon Gage.

Oh, boy.

"f**k," I heard him curse and returned my gaze to him. "I should have taken the f*****g car, instead."

I cringed and took a step back. Why did he always curse so much? Was it hot bully etiquette?

He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.

"Put your foot there," he instructed bossily and I followed. "No, the other foot. Okay. Now, step up and throw your other leg to the other side. There, you're all set."

But I wasn't. At least my heart wasn't. I was gripping the sides tightly, praying to the heavens that I wouldn't fall off. I leaned back from him, careful not to touch his body.

"What the f**k are you doing?" He glanced back at me with an irate expression that made me want to weep. "Put your arms around me. You'll fall off if you won't."

Hesitantly, I put my arms around him. He stiffened when I first put my hands on him but he relaxed a second later. I blushed when my chest hit his hard back. I was glad he couldn't see me.

He started the engine and my hold on him tightened. I thought I heard him chuckle but I immediately lost the notion as I shut my eyes and braced for my first motorcycle ride.

Everyone in the parking lot gaped at us when we arrived. Leon helped me down and I was glad he did because my legs felt like jelly. He removed my helmet for me then grabbed my hand and walked me to class.

"I'll see you at lunch," he said in parting.

I nodded, even though I would rather not see him at lunch.

Or at all.

He narrowed his eyes over my head and I heard everyone inside my classroom inhale sharply. He squeezed my hand and left me to the damage he had done inside the room.

I exhaled before I turned to walk in the room. Everyone recoiled from me when I passed to get to my seat. Nobody talked and it was completely silent when the teacher arrived to begin the class.

I sunk my face in my hands and groaned.

My life definitely sucked right now.

***********

I splashed cold water on my face and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

I winced.

The whole morning, none of my classmates spoke. Everyone just sat in their desks, faces ashen and every now and then, somebody would burst in tears. Even the teachers looked trouble as they discussed their lessons and stole wary glances my way throughout them. Two of them kept dropping their markers on the floor because they kept trembling.

Everytime someone looked at me, I could read the blame on their faces, like I had brought the apocalypse to the class.

I wanted to yell at them that it wasn't my fault. I didn't entice Leon Gage into making me his freaking girlfriend.

Couldn't they see I was the complete victim here?

It seemed my relationship with Leon Gage not only made friendless state worse, it made me a complete social pariah.

I was doomed.

Doomed.

I was wiping my face with my handkerchief when hands shot out and pulled me into an empty stall. My heart stopped beating and for a moment, I thought it was Leon. I wouldn't put it past him to enter the girls comfort room to beat up girls but it wasn't him.

It was Hannah.

And boy, did she look mighty pissed.

"Is it true?" she asked, her hands on my shoulders, shaking me.

"What?" I whispered, taken completely aback by her.

"That you and... God, I don't even want to say his name." She grimaced before she shook me again. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What did I do?" I responded back, trying to remove her hands off me.

"Why are you dating he-who-must-not-be-named?"

"Voldemort?"

She glared at me and pinched my cheek. Hard.

"This is not the time to be joking, nerd. Do you have a death wish or something?"

I managed to throw her off me and backed away until my back was against the door.

"I don't!" I cried out. "I don't even know why this is happening to me! He suddenly approached me yesterday and decided I was his. I've never even seen him before."

"But you must have done something!"

I shook my head. "Hannah, you know my nose is always in a book and I don't even have a single friend. You're actually the only person I've ever talked to in the whole school."

Hannah blew a frustrated breath. "Yeah, you're right. And you aren't even pretty."

I nodded. "I know, right?"

"And you're always wearing unfashionable clothes. Gosh, how many sweaters do you own, anyway?

I glanced at my clothes. My usual outfit mostly consisted of a big sweater which engulfed my body, jeans or leggings, and sneakers. I liked wearing big clothes because they were pretty comfortable.

And this was school, not a fashion show, which Hannah clearly needed to be reminded of because she was always wearing clothes fit for a runway. Today, she was wearing a lace top and skirt set, tall heels and her red hair was up in a fancy chignon.

"I wore a hoodie last week," I pointed out just to be stubborn.

She glared at me. I almost cringed but then again, this was Hannah. She was as harmful as a butterfly.

"Whatever," I grumbled as I unlocked the stall door and got out. "Why are you so interested about Leo—."

"Don't say his name!" she screeched, putting her hands on my mouth. I rolled my eyes. "You're going to make him appear."

I pushed her away. "Oh, my gosh, Hannah. This isn't Harry Potter. He doesn't have a jinx on his name."

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear, remember?" she shot at me.

She really was a crazy person.

"You haven't answered my question," I reminded, keeping my distance away from her. "Why are you asking if we're dating?"

She narrowed her gaze at me and put her hands on her hips. "Someone has to look after you, nerd."

"And that person is you?" I asked in surprise. I certainly wasn't expecting that.

She nodded seriously. "Don't you know? We're totes besties, now."

I laughed. Besties, my butt.

"And because you remind me of this bunny I had when I was little."

I ceased laughing and eyed her with sneaking suspicion. "What happened to your bunny?"

"It died!" she wailed and grabbed my shoulders again. "Eaten by a wolf. I don't want the same thing to happen to you!"

"Your logic is downright terrifying," I snapped. "I am not going to die."

"That's the spirit," she gushed in fake cheeriness. "Maybe thinking positive will help you live after all."

I glowered at her. My life was terrible enough without her having to add to my fears. Then, my eyes widened as her words sunk in.

What if what she's saying was true?

What if I was going to die?

She saw the expression on my face and nodded somberly. "Don't worry, nerd. I'll help you."

Hope flickered within me. "You will?" I asked, doubt laced in my voice.

She opened the door of the comfort room and let me exit first. "Yeah. I'm going to talk to him for you. I'll tell Leon to..."

She tapered off and her mouth slackened as she stared at something behind me. I grew uneasy as I watched her face drain of color. A shadow fell over us and a burst of fear erupted inside me when I heard a deep voice rumble behind me.

"Tell me what?"

Speak of the devil, the devil shall appear, I thought as my panic rose, almost choking me.

Lady Luck was definitely against me right now.

***********

Leon watched the girl with Sophia pale like she had just seen a ghost.

He didn't give a damn, though.

He was pissed he had to look for Sophia. Still, he should have told her he was coming to get her after morning classes, but logic be damned. She should have waited for him.

He decided to extract a little revenge.

"Tell. Me. What?" he reiterated in a menacing tone.

The girl's mouth opened, closed, and opened again, like a fish out of water. Her face was panic-stricken and she was trembling hard. He would have laughed out if he wasn't so f*****g pissed. Her eyes slid to Sophia before she dashed away, her high-heels clicking furiously on the floor.

Leon eyed her as she ran, distracted by how fast she could go on those shoes. He could never understand why girls wore heels. They seemed really uncomfortable. He glanced at Sophia. She still hadn't turned around and he was running out of patience.

He was thinking of picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder so they could leave when she finally turned around. She wouldn't look directly into her eyes, however, and his irritation worsened.

"Eyes, Sophia," he muttered and she quickly acquiesced.

And, just like yesterday and this morning when she gave him her eyes, his breath caught in the back of his throat.

She stared up at him, those blue eyes big and locked on him. Crystal blue eyes.

His own reaction surprised him. And it annoyed him.

The fear on her face made him focus again. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. Weren't those the words she muttered when he spoke? He wondered if she believed he was a demon. The look in her eyes suggested she did, and it took a great deal of discipline not to smile.

"What was she going to tell me?" he asked, leaning in.

Sophia turned stark-white and for a moment, Leon thought she was going to collapse on him again. She better f*****g not. He was behind schedule already and he didn't need that.

"N-nothing!" she answered as she took a step back.

Leon reached out and took hold of her, settling his hands on her shoulders in a firm grip. She wasn't going anywhere until he was ready to let her. Or until he was finished with her.

"Are you sure?" he demanded.

She swallowed before she nodded. Leon decided to stop fooling around. It was time he set a few things straight. He pulled her toward him and slid his arms around her waist. He wished he hadn't. She was stiff in his arms but soft and she smelled wonderful.

Fuck, f**k, f**k.

Why was she affecting him so damn much?

"You made me look for you and you took long in there," he bit out and she flinched. "I'm f*****g starving over here."

"I'm sorry," she said in her soft, appealing voice and his d**k twitched.

Fuck.

"After morning and afternoon classes, you wait for me outside your classroom, you get me?" She bobbed her head up and down. "Good, now let's go eat."

He heard her exhale as he moved away and yanked on her hand. They started walking in silence as he led her outside to the same table he met her. He made her sit before he leaned towards her.

"Where's your lunch?" he asked.

"I forgot to bring it," she whispered, her eyes widening as if she just realized the fact.

He nodded then he told her to stay. She nodded once, wringing her hands. He entered the cafeteria and the air grew still. Nobody moved. Everybody froze. He went directly to the line and the people scrambled to leave.

This didn't bother him. Nothing bothered him anymore.

As he studied the food in front of him, he realized he forgot to ask Sophia what she wanted for lunch. f**k it, he thought, piling food on his tray. Food was food.

He went back, sat into the seat opposite of her and slid the tray towards her. Her eyes widened at the sight of the mountain of food but she didn't say anything. Leon grabbed a burger and began to eat.

"Who was that girl with you?" he asked.

Sophia's eyes shot to him and her face became troubled. "A c-classmate," she stammered as she picked up the only fruit on the tray. "But she's nice and friendly and-and really n-nice!"

"Name?"

Her eyes slid to the side. "Hannah."

He nodded as he tossed a fry in his mouth. "You close?"

"No, but she talks to me sometimes. She's really nice!"

He rolled his eyes. Why the f**k did she kept on repeating that? "You already said that."

"Because it's true," she said in earnest.

Ah. Light bulb. Sophia was terrified he was asking for Hannah's name so he could find her and perhaps beat her up. She was so easy to read. He bit on another burger to stop himself from grinning.

She obviously heard the rumors and believed them.

"Hannah," he said, testing her name out loud and Sophia flinched. "Hmm..."

He said nothing anymore and continued to eat. Sophia munched on her apple just as quietly. He studied her as she did and knew Sophia sensed what he was doing because her cheeks turned pinkish. She cast a quick look at him and he raised a brow at her. Her eyes widened a fraction before she looked away.

Fuck him.

She was f*****g adorable.

"Why aren't you eating, anymore?" he asked. He was already half-way through the tray. "You barely touched anything else."

"Cafeteria food sucks," he heard her mumble. "This is actually my first time to eat something from there."

She picked up a plate of spaghetti with her forehead creased up in a frown. She picked up the fork to eat but Leon grabbed the plate and the fork and put them back on the tray.

"Don't eat if you don't like the food," he glared at her, pushing the tray away.

She ducked her head. "I'm sorry."

Now he felt like total asshole, which he actually was. But it didn't quite sit well with him to act like it towards her.

"Bring your lunch tomorrow," he amended in a softer tone.

Her head shot up and she looked relieved. "Okay. I-I'll make you lunch too if you want. But I'm not much of a cook so..."

"You're offering to make me lunch?" he asked, incredulous.

She nodded. Hell, she was always nodding at him like one of those bobbing head dogs John kept on putting inside his car, which he always threw out.

Did he terrify her that much she couldn't speak?

The answer of course was a f*****g yes.

"Fine," he clipped.

Her face flinched at his curt tone and his gut tightened. His cell phone vibrated in his jeans and he fished it out, glad for the distraction. Looking at the screen once, he slid it back and stood up.

"If you won't eat, I'm taking you back to your class."

Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her up and walked towards her classroom, her soft, cold hand firm in his grasp. He stopped outside the room, sending a glare inside. He returned his gaze to Sophia, and as if he couldn't help himself, slid his hand into her wavy hair.

Then he left.

**********

Leon stood at the back of the school building, smoking a cigarette. He was waiting for John, and like always, he was late. He closed his eyes and exhaled. Sophia's face appeared in his mind and he laughed low.

He was both amused and irritated at the set of emotions she unknowingly showed him during their short time together. He knew she was afraid of him and yet, she neither cried nor begged him to leave her alone.

Was it because she was terrified of the consequences if she tried?

Or was it because she actually hid a backbone?

Fucking hell, this was getting more interesting than he first thought.

Footsteps approaching made his eyes fly open. John was coming towards him, his hand coming up to pop the earphones out of his ears before he gave him a wide grin. He didn't even seem to be sorry he was late.

Asshole.

"Any news?" Leon asked as he stubbed his cigarette with his boot on the ground.

"No."

"Then why the f**k did you make me come here?" he grumbled.

John smirked. "I needed to smoke."

"So?"

"I don't have a cigarette."

Leon glowered at his best friend. If it had been any other person, he or she would have run screaming for their lives. But this was his best friend.

His f*****g annoying best friend.

"f**k, you," Leon muttered at him with a black look on his face. "You're always mooching off me. Why can't you buy your own pack?"

"I'm helping you cut down your cigarette use because I'm worried you're going to have cancer before you're even 20," John quipped good-naturedly.

Leon threw his pack at him. "f*****g freeloader," he grumbled irritably. "And what the hell is taking so long?"

"It's going to be over, soon, Leon," John informed him, lighting up a cigarette.

Leon started to clench and unclench his fists. He didn't know why but hearing those words left a bad taste in his mouth.

It's going to be over soon.