Big Bad Bully

Chapter Three

The last lesson for the day ended and Kass thanked the heavens that she had gotten through the rest of her day without any more issues. She gauged the work load of each of her classes and knew she would be fine catching up. She had spoken with some of the teachers about ways to get extra credit and worked out a plan of action in her head on what work she needed to do to keep her grades stellar. As she packed away all the textbooks into her backpack and headed towards the door, she noticed Liam lingering at the threshold. He smiled at her, and she returned the look, glad to see him looking a little better.

'How you feeling?' She asked, cringing slightly as she got a closer look at the swollen eye.

'I mean I have been better, but I have also been worse.' He smirked, but his statement just saddened her, 'I just wanted to say thanks again, for your help.' She nodded in reply as they walked along the corridor. She didn't have much to say about the incident. It wasn't that she regretted helping him, but she didn't love the attention it brought after.

'How did the rest of your first day go?' He asked.

'Not too bad I guess, I am glad that it is over though.' She smirked, she really was relieved to be done with it.

'Yeah, I can imagine that it's not easy starting a new school. If you need any help with anything... just let me know.' His sincere offer warmed her heart, but the feeling was quickly overshadowed by nerves when she noticed the 5 figures lounging around as they walked toward the car park.

'Looky here! New girl, you really have an interesting taste in new friends.' Stephanie shouted. Kass pretended not to hear her and kept walking in their direction.

'Oh... New girls ignoring you Steph. How rude!' The tall blue-eyed boy smirked at her.

'No...I'm not... Look, I don't want any trouble.' Kass spluttered out, knowing this was the last thing she needed.

'Maybe you should have thought about that before you stuck your nose into our business. Asher, maybe you should go and teach the new girl some manners for me.' Stephanie suggested with a pout before her eyes narrowed on Kass, who tried to continue walking past them. Asher grabbed her upper arm firmly, and she froze in place at the unexpected contact. She just stared at where his hand was placed, her heart rate beginning to skyrocket. She could feel the fear and anxiety pumping through her body, the adrenaline causing her to physically shake, and her palms began to sweat. She fought to keep tears at bay that threatened to spill. She noticed Asher's grip loosen a little, she met his gaze, and could have sworn a brief look of guilt passed over his features.

'Dont. f*****g. Touch. Me' She spat out and pulled her arm free as she stormed past them.

'Ohhh, new girl thinks she is a badass!' One of the other boys in the group shouted out, and they all started laughing. Kass looked back as they did, and to her surprise, Asher was watching her leave, but he didn't seem to be laughing. She switched her focus to ensuring one foot was going in front of the other. The battle to keep the tears at bay was lost now, they were relentless in their assault on her face. She tried to brush them away, but every time she did, more seemed to fall. Thank God she kept them in until she was out of site of those assholes. She thought she was going to be okay today, until he touched her. She could have handled name-calling and verbal abuse, but the second he grabbed her, her mind went into overdrive, and she went into full freak out mode. Her body suddenly became possessed and all she knew was she needed his hand off of her.

'Hey Kass,' Liam shouted out as he ran to catch up with her. She turned away from him, trying to hide her streaky red face.

'Listen, I am so sorry about that. They are just assholes, please don't let them get to you. Here!' He stated as he handed her a tissue.

'How far do you live? Want me to walk you home?' He asked, and she took a deep breath before answering.

'My Aunt, she will be here in a minute. Thank you though.' She tried to force a smile.

As if right on cue, her Aunt pulled up in the parking lot. 'I'll see you around.' She turned to get into the car.

She spent the entire journey trying to convince her Aunt that she hadn't been crying for any particular reason and that she was just overwhelmed by being in a new school. She wasn't sure Aunt Sylvia bought it, but she stopped the interrogation as soon as they picked up her little brother. Brandon, luckily, had a much more successful day. The joys of being 5. Children haven't usually become giant assholes yet.

When she arrived home, she started with her homework, trying to take her mind off of her abysmal first day. She couldn't help worrying about how much of a mess of things she had made. Keeping her head down wouldn't be enough now, she was on their radar, they could make her life hell. How had things gone so wrong in one day?

A vibration on her phone pulled her attention away from her spiraling doom of thoughts. Someone was trying to send her a message, but not someone she knew. She sucked in a breath, trying not to panic, not after the day she had. She loosened her breath when she saw who the message was from. Ryan, the good-looking guy from English lit,

'Hey Kass, hope you're good! Just wanted to let you know if you need any help in class or want copies of my notes or anything to help get caught up, then just let me know :)'

She couldn't help the giant grin that grew on her face and the tight feeling in her chest. It felt so nice to have someone looking out for her. She wondered why he was being so nice? Something about him was very trustworthy, but she couldn't help that little niggle in her head that told her no one was nice for free, it always had a price. What was Ryans, she wondered? She tried to compartmentalize her doubts and replied to him, thanking him for his offer, and he agreed to give her copies of his notes. They recapped some of their classes, and before she knew it, she had been texting him for hours. It felt like only moments had passed. The conversation just seemed to flow so easily, everything just felt so natural. She wondered if her no-friend rule was finally going to be broken.