by Hart, Rebel
And I most certainly used that to my advantage.
“I see you’re already locking things down with tits over there.”
I chuckled as Roy walked up to me, his arm slung around Marina’s shoulders. She swayed those thin hips of hers in the skirt she wore, chewing on her bubblegum like her fucking life depended on it. I still didn’t know what he saw in those women. Girls with bony arms, gangly legs, and horse faces. But he didn’t understand why I enjoyed my women with a little more meat on their bones. It evened out.
Gave us more to gawk at without getting jealous, too.
I shrugged. “She’s nice enough.”
Roy quirked an eyebrow. “Nice enough? A few days ago, you were ready to get it on with her. You feelin’ okay?”
I snickered. “You might want to envision me getting it on with her, but I haven’t even started that rat race.”
Marina giggled. “And here I thought leather jacket over here was the kinky one of the group.”
Roy rolled his eyes. “What the fuck have we talked about with that mouth of yours?”
“Sorry, Roy.”
“You’re so nasty. All the time. That talk is meant for only me, when we’re alone. Got it?”
I chuckled as Roy gripped Marina’s chin. But, once they started sucking face again, I turned away. I didn’t want to watch that shit. Gross as fuck. The way they swapped that chewing gun around like it was a shared snack made my stomach turn. Roy was a nasty one, though. He enjoyed things with women I’d never indulge in a million years. Like passing them around and jerking off on their faces with other men surrounding her, too.
I mean, come on. I had some fucking standards.
And I sure as hell wasn’t jerking off in front of a crowd of dudes.
A small crowd gathered and I pushed off my bike. I hung my helmet off the handlebars of my bike, like I did every morning. We all started shooting the shit while those of us taken within the group practically dry-humped one another in front of the school. Roy pinned Marina to the front wall, kissing down her neck while she made sounds that would haunt me in my damn nightmares.
Then the main show arrived.
I saw Rae walking up with Michael and Allison. And I knew they were giving her a pep talk. She looked on the verge of tears, and it was priceless. Oh, if I made Rae cry this semester, it would be the icing on the cake. She prided herself in being tough. Strong. Different than the rest of us. But she wouldn't be so different if the big, bad Clint made her cry.
I made everyone cry.
Even my own damn mother.
“I hate to see her go, boys,” I said, chuckling.
Rae scoffed. “Do you ever know when to stop?”
Michael piped up. “Don’t pay him any mind, Rae. Keep walking.”
And as her friend Allison started rubbing her back, I found my ‘in.’
“Hey, Allison,” I called out.
She shook her head. “Whatever it is, I don’t care about it. Come on, Rae. Let’s get to homeroom.”
The crowd parted for me. “Have you and Michael fucked yet? Or is the jury still out on whether or not he’d rather partner up with me?”
The three of them stopped and that brightly-colored twat whipped around. Allison clung to Rae as he stormed me, taking long strides with those chicken legs of his. I shot up, rolling my shoulders back as he approached me. There wasn’t a damn kid in this school that towered over me. Not when I stood at over six fucking feet tall. Michael craned his neck back to keep my eyes in view. His nostrils flared with anger as a grin spread like wildfire across my face.
“Oh look,” I said, “I poked the bear.”
Michael’s eye twitched. “You leave them out of this. You wanna pick on me? That’s fine. But, only a pussy little prick like you picks on girls.”
I circled around him. “Oh, yeah? Trying to be the big, tough guy so we don’t figure out you suck dicks with your butthole?”
He grimaced. “Could you be any more crass? I mean, really. Come on.”
I shrugged. “All I’m saying is own up to who you are and what you like. If dudes are your thing, why hide it? Only embarrasses you more.”
I blew against his ear, causing my friends to laugh when he jumped. Michael’s eyes bubbled with rage and I heard Rae calling out for me. Telling me to stop. Her friend held her back, though. Kept her from storming over. And as Michael stood toe-to-toe with me, I smiled.
“Let me guess. Her pussy’s not tight enough for you.”
Michael growled. “That’s it.”
The beast snapped, and I saw his fist coming around from the corner of my vision. I heard Rae and Allison shriek, calling out for him as I wrapped my hand around his wrist. I brought my knee into his stomach, buckling him as he gasped for air. And as the girls came charging for me, my friends closed the circle. They pumped their fists in the air. They pushed Rae and Allison away as I watched Michael gasp on his hands and knees.
“I mean, really. If you’re going to be a man’s man, at least man up a little bit. You of all people should know gay dudes don’t like pussies.”
He lunged off the concrete and wrapped his arms around me. He barreled through the crowd behind me, knocking me clear over my bike. I heard him cursing. I heard him shouting. I heard the pitter patter of footsteps as my bike went tumbling to the ground. The second I heard metal and paint scraping against the concrete, my vision dripped red. I lost all sense of time and space, of what I was doing.
Because no one fucked with my bike.
“You’re dead meat,” I grunted.
I brought my elbow down into Michael’s back and he pulled away from me. He kicked my shins, then reached down and grabbed my ankles. He flipped me clear over my fucking bike before stepping over it as a crowd of kids gathered. They chanted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” And as I scrambled to my feet, I saw him coming for me again.
Only this time, I was ready.
I hit him with a right hook that sent him stumbling back. I heard the girls crying out, but it was no use. Their voices faded into the background. Michael’s face slowly morphed into my father’s. I hit him with a blow to his gut, taking him back down again. And as my knee came up to connect with his chin, I felt anger swelling my veins, blood rushing through my ears. I heard nothing but the sound of my own racing heart as steam came barreling out of my ears.
I had some anger to dispel. And Michael’s face always irritated the fuck out of me.
Time to make a statement.
I reached down and grabbed Michael’s shirt. I pulled him off the ground, holding him in midair before I dropped him to his feet. I threw a few punches he dodged while he tried to get his bearings. Then he came for me again. He ran straight into my stomach, taking me to the fucking ground again. But as I wrapped my legs around him, I rolled him over. I forced him to look up at the sky before my face came into view. I smiled broadly down at him as I saw my father, pinned underneath my legs.
“You’re gonna regret that move, asshole,” I glowered.
His arms came up in defense of his face as blow after blow landed on his arms. I heard sirens wailing off in the distance and I knew I had to wrap it up. But not before I broke this fucker’s nose. I felt him bucking underneath me. I felt him trying to get away. And just as I went to pry his arms away from his face like the coward he was, I felt someone tugging at my leather jacket.
“Get. The fuck. Off him!”
Rae’s voice took me back. I felt her hands wrapping into my leather jacket, pulling me away from her friend. And for a second, it stunned me. Her knuckles dragged across the nape of my neck, shooting electricity down my spine. I heard teachers calling out in the distance, rushing toward us as she pried me off her friend.
Then she tossed me to the side. Like I was a fucking rag doll.
I wiped at my mouth as Michael scrambled off the ground. His eyes bulged with anger as he tried coming at me again. Rae placed her hands against his chest, and for some reason I didn’t like that. I didn’t like her tou
ching him like that. Fuck, I didn’t like her touching me like that.
I spat. “Get the hell out of my way.”
Rae whipped around. “Not a chance in hell, you womanizing, abusive dickwad.”
Everyone cheered as the three of them scampered off. But her words cut deep. I watched them rush off as someone tugged at my arm, trying to get me inside the school. Girls kept looking on, smiling and cheering my victory. I shook myself away from whoever the hell had a grip on my elbow before I scurried into school. The last fucking thing I needed to be caught doing after seeing my father yesterday was fighting. Because I knew damn good and well that selfish asshole would toss me out on my ass the second he got the chance. The second he found any reason to deem me a threat to his new wife, or to him, or to him, or to that bullshit prison I called home.
But I couldn't shake the way Rae handled herself. The way she handled me. It was reminiscent of her putting me into that damn stairwell wall.
And for a split second, I wondered where she learned how to handle herself like that.
9
Raelynn
The second I heard Clint’s words, I saw Michael snap. I saw it in his eyes, and his fist flew like wildfire. I didn’t even know Michael knew how to throw a punch like that. But when I saw Clint wrap his hand around Michael’s wrist, I knew he was in trouble.
I shrieked. “Michael, no!”
Allison kept screaming as the fight continued. Clint’s fucking goonies closed in the fight, and I struggled to get through the crowd. I heard them tussling around, punches being landed and grunts filling the air. Someone gasped and I heard something drop to the ground. And as Roy physically shoved me back, I jammed the heel of my hand directly into his ballsack.
Marina gawked. “What the fuck?”
I shook my hand out as I stepped around Roy. He could die, as far as I was concerned. I started charging Clint, with Allison hot on my heels before the sea of people closed again. I leapt into the air, feeling them catch me and hold me back. And that was when I realized Michael was the one gasping for air.
Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit.
“I mean, really. If you’re going to be a man’s man, at least man up a little bit. You of all people should know gay dudes don’t like pussies.”
Clint’s words fired me up like nothing I’d ever experienced before. And I found a renewed sense of vigor to tear through that damn crowd. I saw Michael practically toss him over his bike and I heard Allison cheering him on from behind me. I scrapped with a few people in front of me, trying to get them out of my way. And the more people I tossed to the side, the more adrenaline I felt rushing through my system. My vision bounced between Clint and Michael and D.J. and my mother. It was hard to focus. Hard to see straight. Hard to keep things in line as faces morphed and changed right before my eyes.
Then Allison’s voice pierced my hazy thoughts.
“No! Stop it! You’re going to kill him!”
I looked up, only to see Clint hoisting Michael in the air. I gawked at the scene as kids cheered and clapped, chanting for Clint to slam him into the ground. Michael had his hands around Clint’s forearm, and fear gripped my chest. And the second Michael went plummeting to the ground, I knew I had to get to him.
Otherwise, we’d be in a hospital later.
Everything happened so quickly after that. First, Michael was in the air. Then he was punching Clint. Then Clint was somehow on top of him on the ground. I took one last charge through the crowd, physically shoving girls and guys alike to the concrete. Sirens wailed in the distance as teachers rushed over to see what was going on. The last thing Michael needed was to get caught fighting, and the last thing any of us needed was to be seen as cohorts in the matter.
“Get. The fuck. Off him!”
My hands came down on to Clint’s leather jacket and I tugged. I wrapped my hands up in the worn material and felt something akin to a god take over my body. I tugged at him once. Twice. Three times, before I felt his body move. I tightened my grip into his jacket so tightly I felt my knuckles dragging across his skin. I gnashed my teeth together as Allison rushed around us. I growled out like a wild animal as I felt his body budge. I pried him off Michael, watching as Allison helped the poor boy to his feet.
Then I tossed Clint to the side.
Like some discarded paper plate of useless food.
I rushed to Michael, who was foaming at the mouth with anger. His eyes bulged and his nose was bleeding, but overall, he looked good for going a few rounds with Clint Clarke. Which was always a bad idea, given how massive Clint was in the first place. I placed my hands against his chest while Allison tugged at his wrist, trying to pull him away from the fight as I tapped my hands against him.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here. We need to get you cleaned up.”
Clint growled, “Get the hell out of my way.”
And when I whipped around, I leveled my eyes directly with his.
“Not a chance in hell, you womanizing, abusive dickwad.”
Allison grunted. “Come. On. Michael. It’s done. Enough is enough. Walk away. Just walk away from him.”
I turned around and kept pushing at his chest, trying to get him away from all this chaos. Fighting Clint Clarke was a bad fucking idea because the boy was practically made for scrapping. Built for schoolyard fights and drawing blood from his enemies. The kids around us booed as Allison and I physically dragged Michael away from that fucking fight. Clint kept yelling after us, but I wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying. Michael kept hollering back, too. And the only thing I did was reach up and place my hand over his mouth.
“Stop it. He’s not worth the energy, I promise you that,” I said.
Some of Clint’s friends followed us, trying to block us in again. But Allison kept stepping on their toes. She jammed her heel into their feet, causing them to buckle and cry out. I was very proud of her. It made me smile as she backed up, clearing a pathway for us to get away from the chaos. The teachers were on their way, and I had a sneaking suspicion that siren call off in the distance was for us. And if Michael got caught fighting in any way, that blemish on his record might override his good grades and keep him from getting into college.
Michael grumbled, “I’m gonna bury that fucker.”
Allison sighed. “You’re making me break a sweat. Can’t you tuck it in?”
I giggled. “You’re going to be in deep shit if you’re caught. Why don’t we get this sleepover started early?”
With our backpacks practically hanging off our bodies, we dashed across the front lawn of the schoolyard. Michael had Allison’s hand tightly in his, and I brought up the rear. Just in case anyone else tried coming after us. The last thing we needed was to deal with the fallout from this bullshit drama. Because as far as I was concerned? Clint could take the brunt of it all. By himself. Since he was the asshole that started it in the first place.
But I had to work not to give him the satisfaction of looking back.
I don’t know why I wanted to look back and check on him, but I fought that urge. He didn't deserve someone making sure he was all right like that. We rushed across the street just before the schoolyard bell tolled, signaling the beginning of the day.
The day we’d all skip in order to get this party started.
We didn’t stop running until we got to Allison’s house. She pulled out her keys, and Michael’s hand instinctively fell to the small of her back. I smiled at their connection. At how this had somehow bonded them. And since Allison wasn’t brushing him off, I figured that was as good a sign as any.
That Allison returned Michael’s affections.
We all walked inside and I stood there, marveling at the grandeur of Allison’s home. It never ceased to amaze me. I slowly closed the front door behind me, taking in the beautiful staircase. The wooden banisters that glistened in the sunlight streaming through the multiple windows of the home. The hardwood floors that matched those banisters, covered intricately with plush rugs that
sat underneath cushioned, comfy furniture. No matter how many times I went over to Allison’s or Michael’s homes, I was always amazed at how they looked. Large, with vaulted ceilings. Beautiful stainless steel appliances that always looked brand new every time I came over. Massive flatscreen televisions mounted on walls and expansive decorations that added a classy sort of flair to the entire place.
I sighed. “Wow.”
“I’m going to grab some things to bring down into the basement. Rae, can you take Michael down there?”
Allison’s voice ripped me from my trance and I nodded.
“Yep. Come on, Michael. Let’s go get you cleaned up. You look like hell.”
He snickered. “I feel like it.”
I shrugged. “That’s what you get for trying to take on Clint Clarke first thing in the morning.”
While Allison rummaged around in the kitchen, I took Michael’s hand. I led him down into the basement, where I clicked the light on, illuminating the beautiful expanse of one of the most perfect spaces I’d ever seen. It was practically its own apartment down here, complete with a little kitchenette area, a mounted flatscreen television, every single streaming service known to man loaded on the smart television, and bedrooms as far as the eye could see. There were bookshelves lining the walls, filled with books I wanted to read. The plush microfiber furniture was broken up with bean bags we always flopped onto when coming downstairs. The soft carpet underneath my feet caused me to toe off my shoes, just so I could feel the material tickle my toes.
But, when Michael sat down with a grunt, it pulled me back to reality again.
“I’ll be right back. We need to get you cleaned up,” I said.
Michael sighed. “I don’t plan on moving until lunch.”
I giggled as I walked into the bathroom. I fished out the first aid kit from underneath the sink, then walked back into the main room. I sat down by Michael before I opened the kit, preparing myself to clean him up. He had caked blood on his nose and a scrape just above his left eye. Not to mention the massive amount of spit he had dripping down his neck. I ripped open an alcohol wipe and gripped his chin softly. I turned his face toward me, tilting his head in order to clean him a little better.
