The Submissive Assassin

Chapter 8 - Boss!

Nate knew they would approach him sometime during the day, but he thought it would be inside the school's building; he was hoping it would be since he could either get help from a teacher. They did cross him during lunch, sending him death glares as they walked past him, but none of them landed a hand on him. It was clear that it was merely an intimidation tactic, which Tyler agreed as she tapped Nate's shoulder to regain his attention.

"They won't do anything to you in school," she assured, picking at the carrots in her container. She glanced towards them, seeing the group of girls that also followed them and sat at their table.

Jake was seen talking to many of them at the same time, a few of them giggling as if he had said the funniest joke they had ever heard in their lives. It was clear all they wanted was his attention and Nate couldn't blame them—Jake was very attractive. His blond curls bound lusciously, as if each of them had a life of its own. His smoky navy irises seemed dark and mysterious, an intriguing sight that captivated the attention of all these women once they met his gaze.

His rounded jaw made him appear charming, with dimples that squeezed his cheeks whenever he smiled. The fact that he was a football player was hot in itself, the body of an athlete always one many wanted to explore. Which was potentially why Nate couldn't stop glancing in his direction as well; although he had ridiculed Jake in front of the class, he still found him extremely handsome and wouldn't mind getting with him once or twice.

Nate returned his attention to his meal, twirling his fork around his salad. "I figured as much." They spent the entire lunch chatting away about random topics, both of them learning more about one another with every conversation. Nate spoke about his parents, explaining to Tyler why he had to switch schools.

After his father retired, they decided they wanted to live overseas and one day, booked one way tickets to a random country. They refused to let Nate tag along with them, adamant that he had to finish school. However, since they were afraid of having him be all alone, they moved him all the way to Dyson City. He still had his own apartment, but Aunt Judy lived right around the corner from his home. As his mother had said, she would, "keep an eye on all his delinquencies."

"They haven't called in three days," he revealed, Tyler noticing the way his lips curled downwards for a split second. "To be fair, I haven't called them either."

"At least your parents are still in the picture." Tyler tilted her head with a saddened smile. "Both my parents have been in and out of my life so I live with my grandmother and don't speak to them at all. The last time they talked to me was to wish my happy birthday four years ago."

He glanced towards her for a second, noticing that her jaw tightened for a moment before she leaned into her meal for another bite. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to comfort her even though he barely even knew her. "Life isn't fair but the fact that you're here is an accomplishment in itself. You should be proud." He noticed her eyes begin to blink rapidly for a second, brightening ever so slightly, crossing her face like a flash before she returned her attention to her meal.

She cleared her throat, dismissing his assuring words. "Don't talk to me like that, I'm not a kid."

Nate rolled his eyes. "You remind me too much of my aunt."

He hadn't seen Tyler for the rest of the day, to which he was pretty bummed. She had been his companion for the morning that he thought maybe they would cross paths during the afternoon, but not even when he passed by a few lockers towards the exit doors.

Once he reached outdoors, seeing all the school busses and city busses embark students, he glanced around to find his aunt's car. He knew it was a bad idea to leave with her in the morning since she was talented in being late. He grumbled a few curses under his breath, angrily stomping his thumb across a few numbers before bringing the phone to his ear.

"He—"

"Where the f**k are you?" he spat nastily, walking a few meters away from other crowds of students to avoid anyone hearing his vulgar language.

He heard Aunt Judy gasp at his tone. "Are you serious? I'm on my way right now."

"How long?"

Aunt Judy waved her hand dismissively. "Relax, I'll be there in a little bit." Before he could protest for an exact time, she disconnected the call and he heard the followings beeps.

Nate hated needing to be patient, it was one of his worst attributes. Waiting for the bus, waiting for the arrival of his parents, waiting for the release of a new game or trailer—he never had the patience to do any of these stuff. That was why he began pacing across the grass, his fingers continuously curling into fists as numerous curses circled in his mind.

However, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and flinch, startled by the sudden presence of someone he had partially been expecting but had hoped he could avoid.

"The comedian," he said with a sneer, patting his friend on the shoulder before tilting his head to the side.

Nate hadn't realized the height of Jake; he was much taller than him, almost an entire head. His navy eyes appeared as cold as an iceberg, almost able to pierce through his heart with his mere gaze. His shoulders were much broader than they appeared during class and the smirk twirling his lip was definitely a threatening look.

Jake placed his palm on Nate's shoulder, squeezing much harder than he needed to. "Nice joke you did in class."

Nate glanced around, realizing that all the busses and cars had vanished, barely any left. The crowd of students were gone and he exhaled a long annoyed sigh, not in the mood to deal with four wanna-be bullies. He was surrounded, three of them behind him and Jake in front of him, tightening his grip around his shoulder. "I didn't think it was funny though."

There was not a trace of panic in Nate, not even of fear. All he wanted was for them to leave him alone. He pushed Jake's hand away without hesitation, rolling his eyes before meeting his gaze. "Look, I'm waiting for my aunt and I'm not in a good mood. Can we reschedule this little...I don't know, your bullying session?" Jake's smirk fell when his friends behind Nate began to laugh. "Is that what you call it?"

He wanted Nate to be frightened of him, at least to start sweating by the sight of him. But although their gazes met, it didn't seem as if Nate was really looking at him, focused on more important thoughts that made him pay no minds to this confrontation.

And Jake did not like that.

Suddenly, his fingers reached for Nate's collar, tightly squeezing and twisting his wrist, seeing it wrap around Nate's neck tighter. Instantly, Nate groaned and raised his hand in the air, no resistance to this grab. "I really don't have time for this," he mumbled, seeing the fury behind Jake's eyes, as if he was seconds from combusting into flames.

Jake narrowed his eyes even further. "You know what your problem is?" Nate inhaled a sharp breath when he felt his fingers squeeze even tighter. "You talk too f*****g much."

"Right." Nate tried to exhale but it was squeezing his throat a bit too tight. "Could you loosen up a little?" His voice cracked, noticeably losing air as his face began to grow a slight shade of pink. "I feel like I'll pass out."

"See, here you go again!" Suddenly, Nate felt his entire body thrown forward when Jake stepped back. All of a sudden, he felt Jake lower his reach, pulling Nate down before his knee slammed into Nate's stomach.

Nate grunted, nausea roaming around his stomach and he felt as if he would collapse. Jake's palms kept him up, the hold still around his neck and he seriously felt as if he could no longer breathe. The others around him laughed, folding their arms and puffing out their chest, all asserting their dominance as Jake did the same thing again.

Nate's entire face had gone red, his eyes barely even kept open and his legs feeling like jello. Even though he was getting beaten up, the only thought crossing his mind was how much he would cuss out Aunt Judy when she arrived, even excited to blame the entire altercation on her lateness. He even wanted to pass out, wanting to have her find him laying on the grass with blood leaking from his mouth.

"It's your first day and you asked for a beating." Jake lifted his arm and pulled back his elbow. "How embarrassing is that!" he shouted with laughter before rushing his fist forward, seconds from connecting with Nate's cheek when he suddenly felt a blow to his head.

His grasp of Nate completely flattered, Nate falling onto the floor and Jake tumbling to the side as well, a loud screech in his ear. He placed his fingers against his ear, a sudden excruciating pain causing an unbearable headache, and it was only when he glanced towards his fingers that he realized his ear had started bleeding.

Nate was on the ground, gasping for air and holding his stomach where Jake had kneed him. He felt as if his entire world was collapsing, unable to see straight while his lungs begged and begged for more air. He couldn't even push himself up, laid on the grass as his nails dug into the fabric of his shirt, the cramps in his stomach making him feel as if he would puke any second.

It took a few seconds before he felt himself calm down, his body returning to an ease and his vision returning to its normal self. His focus had been on his breathing that he only realized there was another person with them when Jake whispered in a shaky breath, "Boss! W-What...what are y-you doing here?"

When Nate followed Jake's gaze, his breath shortened once again when he saw the devilish grey ones of Dante.