I really couldn’t focus on the conversation with the other girls. I sat away from them, my knees pulled up to my chest, drifting off. Victor was interviewed by the newspaper. Would there be an article about him tomorrow in the paper? Would all the boys be interviewed? Would Mr. Blackbourne allow it? I didn’t understand what it meant, but if they needed to be a secret, wouldn’t that be the worst? Victor had said it was a bad thing. I rubbed at my forehead, wanting desperately to learn these secrets. How my world turned over in a couple of days, I didn’t understand. It was one thing to have brand new friends and a new school. It was another to have friends with secrets from an elite Academy no one was allowed to talk about. Further still was the fact that at nearly every turn, the boys were at risk and I was caught in the middle.
What else could I do? Go back to being no one again? Sitting in the shadows? I knew other students weren’t worrying about the things I was worrying about. How far did I want to take this? Inside of me, I knew that answer. I blamed my insatiable curiosity and my desire to please Kota and the others. I was hooked on their faces, their smells, and their touches, and the possibility of belonging with them. They’d said before I was one of them now. Was I really? Why didn’t I feel like I was? This felt like something bigger than the friendships I saw around myself with other students. Academy friends were stronger. Was it better?
When class was over, I wasn’t sure if I should wait for Gabriel or walk on to the bus without him. I waited alone in the front hallway close to the gym doors and the entry way to the boys’ locker room, searching out Gabriel. I didn’t want to leave him behind just in case he was trying to get to me.
Minutes passed. I was about to give up and head to the bus by myself because I was afraid I would miss it. Shouting echoed from around the corner, near the boys’ locker room.
“Hey, faggot,” a loud voice vibrated through the air. “Where are you going in a hurry?”
I turned the corner. There were a handful of guys standing around the far wall of the hallway, surrounding someone. I’d seen something like that a few times at my old school when fights were about to start. My first instinct was to run. Ducking your head is what everyone did. If it wasn’t your business, you didn’t get involved. What propelled me to remain and look, I didn’t know. I searched the faces of the ten or so boys.
Gabriel was at the heart of the group, against the wall, pressed by a large guy who had forearms as big as his neck.
My fingers pressed into my palms. My heart stopped.
Gabriel murmured something to the guy holding him and I couldn’t hear it.
“Shut the fuck up,” the guy holding him by the shoulder pulled Gabriel away from the wall, only to slam him back into it. Gabriel’s head rolled loosely, his eyes going up to the ceiling but he did nothing to stop it.
“Gabriel!” My lips moved and my voice called to him before I could stop myself.
Gabriel’s crystal blue eyes flashed at me, focusing from across the hallway. Despite his silent pleading warning me otherwise, I dropped my things by the wall, striding forward. I wasn’t going to leave him.
The guy and his friends holding Gabriel turned and saw me coming. “Hey there,” the guy holding Gabriel said. “Where’d you come from, sexy?” His short cropped, curly brown hair looked greasy. Random pimples splattered his face.
My eyes flickered to Gabriel for only a moment. I looked back at the bully and I jerked my chin toward Gabriel. “What are you playing around with him for?”
“What? You mean gay ‘tard, here?” the guy asked, pushing into Gabriel’s shoulder.
Gabriel grunted.
My fingernails dug into my palms. My heart thundered to life in my chest and my lips flew open. “What are you? Some kind of homophobe?”
The guy reeled his head back, letting go of Gabriel and pointing a pudgy finger at my face. “What did you say?”
“I just wondered why you were here playing with the boys instead of the girls.”
“Sang,” Gabriel called. He was on his feet, his back against the wall and breathing heavily. Did they hit him already? “Don’t,” he puffed out.
“Shut the fuck up,” the guy said, and he jabbed his fist into Gabriel’s gut.
Gabriel bent over, holding his abs. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve said that already,” he quipped, sucking in a breath through his teeth.
The guy’s hand moved into a fist again but my hand shot out, cupping around his knuckles. He paused, his eyes widening and confusion covering his face.
What was I doing? My mind blanked out. I wasn’t about to let him hit Gabriel again. Where the new sense of bravery came from, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was someone who liked me was in trouble and I wasn’t about to let him down. “Dude, seriously. Are you going to play with him or me?”
Feet shifted around me. Mumbling, laughing. Were people only going to watch? Did they think this was funny?
“Go home, Sang,” Gabriel called to me.
“She doesn’t want to talk to a fag,” the bully spat at him. He turned to me. “You’re Sang? I’ve heard about you.”
My eyebrows shot up, shaking me out of my faux confidence. “What?”
“Greg said you were kinky shit.” His lips pulled back, revealing yellowed teeth as he grinned.
I bit my lower lip, losing the anger as the focus turned to me. Rumors were spreading about me. What did Greg tell them?
I took a step back, bumping into someone behind me. It forced me to stop. Hands grabbed my biceps, locking me in place against someone’s chest. I yanked to free myself. The hands tightened. I twisted to check over my shoulder but he held me in place.
The crowed of guys started laughing, circling around me. The main bully let go of Gabriel and closed off the circle.
“Let her go,” Gabriel warned. I couldn’t see him around the group.
My throat seized. I wanted to tell him to run like he did for me but I couldn’t find my voice. I’d taken this too far. I redirected attention like I thought I wanted. Now what? He should go get the others. Go find a teacher to stop this.
The guy ignored him, his yellowed teeth parting. “What do you guys think?” he asked the group around us. “Do we want to see what kinky shit looks like?”
His hand shot out, his fingers hooked the collar of my shirt and wrenched. Two buttons broke, bouncing to the floor.
“Get your fucking hands off of her,” Gabriel flew into the air, dropping hard on the back of the guy who yanked my shirt. His feet connected with the back of the bully’s knees. His fist struck the side of the guy’s neck.
The bully slumped to the floor. His voice erupted into a howl. He choked. His palms wrapped around his throat, and he slurped at the air.
The guy who’d grabbed me pulled back, yanking me with him. The others started piling on top of Gabriel. I cried out Gabriel’s name. Gabriel disappeared amid a pile of students, all swinging at his body.
I tugged, kicked and jerked myself to get free. The guy behind me gripped my arms tighter until my knees buckled at the pain.
A body flew into the fight in a blur, landing on top of one of the students. He moved like a blur. My heart leapt that someone, anyone, was trying to help Gabriel. His head turned, looking my way.
My heart went from pounding a mile a minute, to dead still.
It was Kota. His glasses were gone, which was why I didn’t recognize him sooner.
Victor sailed in behind him. They wrenched at the shoulders of guys piling on top of Gabriel.
Kota’s fist swung at someone’s abdomen. Victor lifted a foot, his heel making contact with someone’s chest.
Shouting echoed to an all-encompassing thundering in the hallway. Most of the guys who had been watching and laughing fled. The handful that remained swung fists at the boys. Most flailed, trying to launch themselves at the Academy guys t
o knock them over.
Kota, Victor and Gabriel struck with precision. They waited, dodged and jabbed. Nathan was not the only one who had training.
I was shoved aside like unwanted trash. I landed on my knees, and pain radiated from my bruises. It knocked the breath from my lungs.
The guy who had held me stepped over my body to join in. He seized Victor by his shirt, heaving him back.
I flew to my feet, wanting to help and not having a clue what to do. My hands found the guy’s shirt, and I yanked as hard as I could.
The collar of his shirt jerked into the guy’s neck hard. He let go of Victor, whirled with his hand out. It made contact with my face.
“Sang!” Victor’s shout filled my ears.
My back rammed into the wall.
I fell to the floor. My sandals slid out from under me on the tile. Tears filled my eyes at the sting at my cheek. My tongue shot out, tasting blood at my lip.
Victor’s fist and foot collided with the side of the guy’s head. When the guy swung out again, Victor jabbed him with a fist at his face.
The guy reeled back, ducking away from Victor’s oncoming foot. He backtracked and stumbled toward the exit.
Victor whirled on me, his fire eyes a roaring blaze. “Sang!” he called out, dropping to his knees next to me. His fingertips brushed against my forehead.
For the moment, all I could see were fire eyes.
Gabriel’s cursing barked over the others. Kota shouted to people in the hallway to clear out, commanding anyone left to go home.
Victor collected me in his arms. My body trembled. I wanted to be brave and stand up but my body wouldn’t allow it. I swallowed back tears. I was ashamed. I’d been stupid. I couldn’t help Gabriel even when I wanted to. I made it worse.
Victor’s arms encircled me close to his body, his cheek meeting mine.
“Victor,” I whispered, finding my lips near his ear and tracing at his skin. I was unable to speak louder. Now that it was over, I was a wreck.
Victor shuddered against me. He bent down, his arm going under my thighs and he picked me up off the floor. My face buried into his shoulder. I was worried about the others, but too afraid to look at them.