Pretty Things Bleed Too

The Devil Of Blackthorn Academy

The next day at school felt different. Like the air was heavier. Like everyone was waiting for something bad to happen. I kept my head down like always, hoodie up even though it was kinda warm. The bruise on my cheek was still there, but I covered it better this morning. My lips had the tiniest bit of gloss again. Strawberry. It made me feel less broken.

I didn’t expect anything. I never did. But the second I walked into the main hallway, whispers started. People were staring more than usual. Not just the normal “look at the freak” stares. These were different. Curious. Scared. Excited.

“Did you hear what happened yesterday?” some girl whispered loud enough for me to catch.

“Damian Valenti actually talked to that Reyes kid…”

I hugged my books tighter to my chest and walked faster. My heart was doing that stupid nervous flutter again. Why were they talking about me? About 'us'? There was no us. He just picked up my stupid drawing. That was it. But in a school like Blackthorne, even tiny things turned into huge drama.

I made it to my locker without anyone pouring anything on me. That was already a win. I was twisting the lock when I heard heavy footsteps behind me. Too heavy to be normal students. I turned slowly.

It was him.

Damian Valenti stood there like the hallway belonged to him. Tall. Broad shoulders under his black school jacket that he wore open like rules didn’t apply to him. His hair was messy in that hot way, falling over one eye. His jaw was clenched tight. Those dark eyes locked on me immediately, like nothing else in the world mattered.

I swallowed hard. “H-hi…” My voice came out all soft and shaky. Pathetic. I hated how small I sounded around him.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just stepped closer. Close enough that I could smell that expensive cologne again, dark wood and something sharp like danger. His eyes scanned my face. Stopped on the spot where my bruise was hidden. His expression got darker. Scary dark.

“You’re wearing gloss again,” he said quietly. Not mean. He just.... noticed.

My cheeks burned hot. I touched my lips without thinking. “Y-yeah. It makes me feel… better.”

He nodded once, like that answer made sense to him. Then he leaned against the locker next to mine, arms crossed, watching everyone who walked by. People literally moved out of the way when they saw him. Like he was a wolf and they were rabbits.

That’s when the senior came.

His name was Marcus. Big guy. Football player. Always surrounded by his dumb friends. He’d bullied me before — called me names, shoved me into walls, once stole my sketchbook and drew gross stuff in it. Today he was laughing loud with his crew, walking straight toward us.

“Look at this,” Marcus said, voice dripping with disgust. He pointed right at me. “The little femboy got himself a bodyguard now? How cute. You two f*****g or what, Valenti?”

The whole hallway went quiet. Phones started coming out. Everyone loved drama.

I shrank back against my locker. My hands started shaking. Here it comes. More humiliation. More pain. I waited for Damian to walk away. To pretend he didn’t know me. Nobody ever stayed to protect me.

But Damian didn’t move.

He pushed off the locker slowly. Dangerously. Like a shadow coming to life. “Say that again,” he said, voice low and cold. The kind of voice that made your spine freeze.

Marcus laughed, but it sounded nervous now. “I said, why the f**k are you protecting this weak little-”

He didn’t finish.

Damian moved so fast I barely saw it. One second he was next to me, the next his fist slammed into Marcus’s face with a sickening crack. Marcus stumbled back, blood already pouring from his nose. Damian didn’t stop. He grabbed Marcus by the collar and slammed him against the wall so hard the lockers rattled.

“You don’t talk to him,” Damian growled. Another punch. Marcus’s head snapped back. “You don’t look at him. You don’t even breathe near him. Understand?”

Marcus tried to fight back, swinging wild, but Damian was too strong. Too angry. He beat him down like it was nothing. Blood splattered on the floor. Marcus’s friends just stood there, too scared to help. One of them ran.

I was shaking so bad. “Damian… stop…” I whispered. But my voice was too quiet. He couldn’t hear me.

Teachers finally came running. Two of them grabbed Damian and pulled him off. Marcus was on the ground, groaning, face all messed up. He looked unconscious almost. Blood everywhere.

Damian didn’t even look sorry. He wiped his bloody knuckles on his jacket and turned to me. His eyes were still burning with that scary protectiveness. For a second, just a second, his face softened when he looked at me.

“You okay?” he asked.

I nodded, speechless. Nobody had ever fought for me before. Ever.

Security dragged Damian away, but everyone knew he’d be back. He always came back. Rumors said he’d been expelled twice already but his family paid or threatened the school so he stayed. Mafia ties. Gang fights. People disappearing if they crossed him. That’s what everyone whispered about Damian Valenti.

The Devil of Blackthorne Academy.

And now the devil had chosen me.

By lunch, the whole school was exploding with the news.

“Damian Valenti beat Marcus half to death for insulting that femboy Kai Reyes.”

“Valenti is protecting him.”

“Is the pretty boy his boyfriend now?”

“Watch out, don’t even look at Reyes wrong or Valenti will kill you.”

I sat alone at my usual corner table in the cafeteria, picking at my food. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. People were staring. Some with fear. Some with jealousy. A few girls even smiled at me like I was suddenly interesting.

That’s when Damian appeared again.

He dropped his tray across from me with a loud clack. The entire table went silent. He sat down like it was normal. Like we did this every day.

“You’re not eating,” he said, pushing a carton of strawberry milk toward me. The same kind he bought me yesterday.

I stared at it. Then at him. “Why are you doing this?” My voice cracked. “I’m nobody. I’m just… me. Weak. Weird. Pretty boy who gets beat up at home and school. You’re gonna get in so much trouble because of me.”

Damian leaned forward. His knuckles were bruised and split but he didn’t seem to care. “I don’t care about trouble.” His eyes were intense. Serious. “I saw you. Yesterday. With that ruined drawing. The way you looked like the whole world was crushing you and you still tried to hold on.” He paused. “I don’t like when people crush pretty things.”

My heart squeezed so tight it hurt. Tears stung my eyes. “Pretty things get destroyed,” I whispered. “That’s what always happens to me.”

“Not anymore.” His voice was rough but gentle at the same time. “Not while I’m here.”

I took the strawberry milk with trembling fingers and sipped it. It tasted sweet. Sweeter than anything had in a long time. For the first time in forever, I felt… safe. Even if it was next to the most dangerous person in school.

But deep down I was scared. Terrified.

Because if Damian Valenti was protecting me, that meant my life was about to get a lot more complicated. A lot more painful. Luca would find out. Dad would find out. The mafia rumors around Damian… what if they were true?

Still, when he reached across the table and gently wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb, I didn’t pull away.

“You look better smiling,” he said again. Same words as yesterday. But this time they felt like a promise.

I tried to smile for him. Small and shaky. But real.

And just like that, everything started to change.

The boy everyone hated… now had the devil watching over him.

And I didn’t know if that was going to save me…

Or completely destroy me.