Pride

Chapter 2

As crazy as Zara had sounded, she was right. And Scooter should have taken her rules a little more seriously. The day had gone by and although not many people seemed to understand, only a handful of students had gone out of their way to harass them. There was plenty of misgendering and cold glares, but Scooter quickly noticed that those went away when they stuck next to Zara... People left others alone when they were in groups.

Scooter just hadn't realized that those rules applied to after-school as well. Zara had warned Scooter... She had told them that they should just hang out after school while she had volleyball and she'd give them a ride home. But Scooter was stubborn and always looked for the best in others. They had way too much hope for this town and had thought that one walk home alone wouldn't hurt.

Scooter had noticed the small group of teens walking behind them - but they simply assumed they were just heading in the same direction. They had no reason to believe otherwise, especially since Scooter's neighborhood was a lot bigger than the others and was close to the main parts of the town. Scooter soon realized they were wrong when a strong hand gripped their shoulder.

"Where are you going?" The question sounded innocent enough, but Scooter knew the menacing look in his eyes. They knew that they weren't safe around this boy or his friends.

"Live him alone, Ryder" A pretty blonde girl rolled her eyes. She was engulfed in an oversized leather jacket and she had smokey makeup that in any other situation, Scooter would have complimented and asked for tips.

"I'm not sure it's a he" The other boy chimed in with a light laugh. "What are you? Girl or boy?"

"Neither" Scooter mumbled. They shrugged Ryder's hand away and put a couple of feet of distance between them. "I'm just going home"

"That's not a thing" Ryder deadpanned. "What's in your pants?" Scooter felt their face flush, maybe from frustration or embarrassment. But they were certain their face was as red as their hair.

"Just... Fuck off" Scooter muttered.

"Fifty bucks says it's a girl" The other boy chuckled.

"I'll take you up on that offer" Ryder smirked.

"Ryder" The blonde girl snapped. "We're gonna be late. Just leave him be"

"One sec" Ryder scoffed. Scooter silently cursed and turned to leave as fast as possible when a hand caught their arm.

"Let go" Scooter snapped. They struggled to pull away, squirming as Ryder easily put his arms under Scooter's armpits and rested his hands behind Scooter's head restraining their arms.

"Shh... Just gotta check to see if I'm allowed to beat your ass or not" Ryder laughed. All blood drained from Scooter's face as they thrashed around more and harder than ever. They needed to leave and soon. They could already feel themselves begin to panic, their heart rate picking up and breathing slowly becoming impossible. They knew they were getting air... They were breathing too quickly not too. But it was like trying to inflate a balloon with a hole in it - pointless.

"Hey!" A deep, yet feminine voice snapped. Whoever it was, grabbed Ryder by the arm and yanked him away, giving Scooter a chance to pull away from his restraint. They spun around and were surprised to see not only a girl but a very short and petite one. There was no doubt in Scooter's mind that Ryder could toss her over one shoulder and be done with the fight as a whole.

She had honey-like skin, two hooded brown eyes, and her lips were drawn back in a sort of snarl as she sized up the much bigger boy. Her hair was long and a straight jet black and she wore a baggy and cheap jean jacket with an assortment of patches sewn into it. A black skateboard was in her hand and they looked ready to use it too.