Chapter 4

"No! Tia! Stop it!" I ordered uselessly, my words falling into deaf ears. She's definitely leaving bruises.

"You. Don't. Get. To. Diss. My. Best. Friend. Whilst. I'm. Around." She yelled at Gina in between punches. She has successfully mounted Gina and has begun beating the shit out of the now whimpering mess.

I tried to get her off Gina but failed miserably until one of Ryder's friend stepped up to help me by wounding a hand around Tia's small waist. He lifted the girl up and carried her a couple of feet away from a battered Gina. Tia was still kicking and thrashing around in the guy’s arms, fighting to be let go. The guy whose name was Theo, well I think it was Theo anyway, finally put Tia down when she finally cooled off.

"Bitch," Tia added as an afterthought and I glared at my best friend to get her to behave but she shrugged it off.

"What? You're too nice so I have to be the mean one." She said cheekily and I threw my head back and asked the Gods silently on when did they decide to turn my best friend into an ape.

"She's right, Luce. You're too nice," Ryder piped up and I turned to glare at him instead. He’s not helping.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're backing the bitch up?! Look what she did to me!" We all turned to Gina who was still on the floor, fuming eternally.

Ryder shrugged as he scanned her bruised physique. "You deserved it," he stated nonchalantly and I joined Gina in gaping at him while Tia cackled and gave him a high five.

"Hey, Luce? He's a keeper," Tia stated with her eyes glinting with mischief and a growl came from Gina.

"You little worthless piece of shit! I'll show you what happens to people who challenge me. You have my word, Kennedy. I will make your life a living hell."

This time I surprised myself by replying to her threat, "Sweetie, you've already done that, use your tiny brain and come up with something else or just do both of us a favor and zip it."

My comeback received a grin from Tia and she linked arms with me before proudly saying, "That's my bitch!"

I laughed with her on her comment as we walked to the cafeteria. We’ve spent half of lunch gossiping and running from Gina and spectating a fight and breaking up said fight but as always, there will always be time for food.

Footsteps followed us but I didn't bother looking back, knowing it was probably Ryder. Despite what happened back there, I was still uncomfortable seeing him. You know what they say, girls can hold grudges like no other. It was no help that I was on my period either.

"Hey, Luce, wait up!" Tia halted, holding me back, but I dragged her with me as I sped up.

"Luce!" Ryder called out once more before I felt a hand on my arm, forcing me to stop. I didn't want to meet his eyes so I glared at his hand that was on my arm. Catching the drift, he let go and opened his mouth but didn't get to say anything because I immediately started walking again the second that my arm was free.

His hand shot out and latched onto my shoulder, this time his grip was tight and I could see his jaw tick. I knew he was holding back from squeezing me to death.

I know I'm annoying but I consider that as a price you have to pay if you want to befriend me. It applies to everyone and that's why Tia has been my only friend.

"Will you sit with us?" He gritted out before sighing and letting go of my arm but still watched my movements.

"No," I stubbornly declined as I crossed my arms and Ryder instantly changed tactics.

"Tia, help me talk some sense into her." He begged but silence was what blanketed us. Suddenly, his face lit up and a lightbulb practically appeared above his head after frowning in something like confusion and puzzlement.

"I'll treat you to ice cream!" He said excitedly as if he was the one who was about to receive the treat. I narrowed my eyes at him before looking behind me at Tia who was feigning innocence by whistling and acting oblivious by looking up, at the ceiling, like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

There were only a few people who knew about my weakness and it was my family and Tia. My love for ice cream will not come unreckoned. I sighed in defeat, I mean, who could possibly deny ice cream? A free one at that. So of course, being the smart person that I was, I followed him into the cafeteria where people stopped what they were doing and stared, wondering why in the world is the popular bad boy hanging out with the school's biggest outcast.

"Mind your own goddamn business!" Tia yelled and they immediately turned their heads to look at something else. Nervous and uneasy chatter echoed within the hall’s four walls and Tia grinned in satisfaction. We made our way to the queue to grab some food. Ryder went first, grabbing two ice cream and paying for it and then I took 2 slices of pizza, a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy along with some baked lasagna and mac and cheese.

I loved the school's cafeteria. They serve the best food.

I paid for my food and turn around to face a gaping Ryder. “What?” I quirked an eyebrow at him.

“B-but how?” Ryder asked, looking between the food and my petite form. The edges of my lips lifted to form a cocky smirk.

"Don't let looks deceive you, Mr. Bad Boy." I told him cheekily before stepping to the side to walk around him and occupying on an empty table. Tia took the seat on my left like she always does, as expected. What I wasn't expecting was to see a pair of feet on my right and an ice cream cup shoved right beside my tray of food. Well, the ice cream part was definitely a pleasant surprise but the person that came with it was certainly not.

I looked up to see that Ryder’s friends had dragged a few additional chairs and sat on the same table with us. I was about to voice my protests but I took another look at the ice cream Ryder just bribed me with – free ice cream at that.

Okay, it's definitely worth it. I started to dig in silently but got interrupted by someone clearing their throat. I looked back up to see the guys looking at me and Tia expectantly.

I quirked my eyebrow at them, silently questioning whether they have a death wish.

One does not simply interrupt a moment between a girl and her ice cream.

They swallowed nervously at the look that I plastered on my face but the Theo dude cleared his throat and, with what seemed like great effort, uttered a word.

"Erm," he paused and when I didn’t bite him yet, he took the risk and continued. "It seems like we haven't been properly introduced," he said whilst sending a pointed look to a sheepish Ryder.

"My name's Theodore but they call me Theo," I nodded in silent greeting while still chewing on my pizza. "These are Callum and Finn," he pointed to blondie and brunette dude. I nodded once again before going back to eating.

What? It's not like these guys don't know me.

They didn't bully me but they weren’t clueless newbies either so I doubt they didn’t know about the school's biggest outcast. But despite that fact, I still received a shove from Tia from under the table. I rolled my eyes at her but complied. "This is Tatiana, Tia for short and Lucy, at your service," I gave them a small bow while sitting down before returning to my food.

Beside me, Ryder chuckled at my antics and I could feel my cheeks warming up. Damn hormones. Damn Ryder for being hot.

Did I just say that? Ugh. Stupid brain. I kept eating my food, keeping my head down as people occasionally looked our way in curiosity and wonder. I was getting restless from all the prying looks that we were receiving from everyone else in the hall and that caused me to eat even faster so that I could get out of there sooner.

I finished 5 minutes before the bell and grabbed Tia to drag her away with me, she was hardly eating anything anyways, and said a quick goodbye to the guys before speed walking to the double doors.

"See you after school?" I asked and she nodded in confirmation before we parted ways. I made a stop at my locker first before walking to my next class.

I walked down the hall to History class but to my horror, a classroom door opened and a dark figure stepped out of the room right as I walked past it. Someone grabbed me by the waist and a hand covered my mouth, silencing my yelp.

They dragged me into the empty and dark classroom. It was way too dark for me to see anything and I didn’t get to catch a glimpse of their face when they stepped out of the darkness to grab me. My captor was definitely a guy, though. I could feel the presence of his built and he was bigger than me, taller, his physique definitely wider.

I was petite but I wasn’t exactly tiny.

I breathed heavily under the hand that was covering the lower half of my face, contemplating what would be smart for me to do next.

I was in the process of running different scenarios in my head when he finally opened his mouth and said something.

"You're not gonna scream, are you, Princess?" The nickname was frighteningly familiar but the voice that came with it wasn't the deep and smooth one I've come to tolerate. It was deep but gruff and it spiked fear in the pit of my stomach.

Despite my fear though, I still managed to send him, "Do you have a brain the size of a peanut" look that earned a hungry growl from him and I quickly shrank back.

"Attitude. Feisty, I like. But listen closely, Princess, if you try to scream, I won't hold back just because you're a girl," he whispered menacingly and I inched away from him as far as I could. Tears were starting to prick the back of my eyes as I felt his hand creep up and slide under my shirt.

I whimpered, all of the false bravado I had stored in my little emergency compartment gone out the window, but still thought to myself that I shouldn’t go down without a fight. The least I could do for myself was try to break away from his hold. So, I made a final attempt to fight him off with a burst of energy.

I stepped onto his foot and brought my knee up to try kneeing him where his rotten balls dangled but of course I was too slow and he caught my leg. He tutted me slowly and squeezed my leg painfully, "You shouldn't have done that." He started to place sloppy kisses on my neck and a fearful cry from the back of my throat rose and broke free. I was in the brink of sobbing but he seemed to take that noise as encouragement to continue whatever he was doing.

I don’t know if this guy was on drugs or drunk, I smell something strong on him but I wasn’t sure what it was, my brain wasn’t working well enough for me to be able to put my finger on it.

I still didn't see his face since it was dark but I could make out the outline of his body and that was enough to know that I don't stand a chance.

Just when I was starting lose hope as his hand came too close to my chest for my comfort, the classroom door banged open and Ryder strode in with a thunderous look on his face.

Surprisingly, Tia was right behind him. "Get your filthy hands off of her, you bastard!" Tia yelled out as she charged. Ryder’s and Tia’s entrance left my attacker in a daze and I took the opportunity to fight back even harder than the last time, shoving him away with all the strength left in me and shaking my head until I was able to bite down on the hand that was covering my mouth, hard.

The guy yelled out in pain, cursing me out and shoving my away. I stumbled back and hit the wall behind me, my head bouncing off it harder than what I think was safe. He was forced to step away from me as Tia started running towards him and lunged for his throat.

No one wants to face Tia when she's feeling murderous, and despite what he did, I could feel pity growing in the darkest parts of my heart, but I crushed it as soon as it sprouted. I ran to Ryder, with the back of my head still throbbing and my head itself starting to feel lightheaded. I stumbled over my own foot and crashed into him, letting his arms hold me up. Although I knew I can’t even technically call him a friend yet since I barely knew anything about him, he still caught me and held me in his arms and all thoughts of things being awkward between us flew out of the window as I sobbed into his chest.

I knew nothing was going to happen to Tia because I knew she could take care of herself. I regretted my choice of not taking up her offer in studying martial arts together. So I stood there, a sobbing mess, with Ryder supporting my weight because I was too weak to even stand straight while Tia beat the guy into a pulp behind us.

I started feeling even more dizzier as my tears slowed and my sobbed died down a bit. I could feel my world spin as I rested my forehead against Ryder’s chest and I willed it to stop for a moment. But the next thing I knew I was met with darkness.

Why is this happening to me?