19 Days - One Shots

Negative Reinforcement

One Day

The day started just like any normal one. Mo Guan Shan had woken up, gotten dressed and went to school. He barely listened in class and tried not to get too irritated by the three idiots that seemed to have attached themselves to him. When he left school he made his way towards one of his part-time jobs. Along the way, he had been made to promise a certain demon that he would cook food for him at his own house this time. "I want to see Auntie, it's been a while." Was He Tian's excuse.

After his job, he made his way home with the setting sun in the background. Guan Shan used the front of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his chin - although it was getting dark, the air was still stifling hot. As he walked past an alleyway, Guan Shan was suddenly dragged into it by a few different hands grabbing at his shirt and all but threw him in.

He staggered but managed to catch himself and stood up straight to find himself in a dead-end. Adrenaline and anger burst forward and he whipped himself round to face the people that had grabbed him. He came face to face with the last person he wanted to see - She Li and two of his friends. Guan Shan clenched his jaw as his heart jumped in his chest for a moment.

"What the fuck?" That was what he managed to say through gritted teeth.

She Li tilted his head to the side as he put his hands in his pocket in a relaxed manner. The two guys on either side of him grinned and stood in a fighting position like they were ready to take Guan Shan if he tried anything. "We never did get to talk in the subway station. Honestly, for a while, I was in shock that you hit me with your bag and ran. It hurt my feelings." He sounded mock hurt which pissed Guan Shan off even more.

"Fuck you and your feelings. I've got nothing to say to you. I don't want anything to do with you so leave me the fuck alone or-"

"Or what," She Li's relaxed position went rigid and he took a step towards Guan Shan. "you'll get He Tian to do your dirty work yet again? Have you gone that soft, Mo Guan Shan?"

Guan Shan glanced between the two boys. "Me, go soft? I'm not the one with two chicken dicks for brains doing my dirty work for me. Too scared to fight me yourself?"

She Li laughed loud and hard but there was no humour in it and Guan Shan had to admit it frightened him a little. "Fight you? Why would I want to do that? I just wanna hurt you a little, is all. You'll learn your lesson this way. You own me, Guan Shan - I own you. The fact you hang out with that asshole He Tian really pisses me off. So, let's introduce you to some negative reinforcement* shall we?" He grinned slyly and the two boys walked towards Guan Shan.

The first hit landed straight in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Guan Shan managed to get a hit on the guy on the left before the second hit got him.

*

Guan Shan woke up and flinched. He was lying face down on the cool pavement. He let himself get his bearings before he made any sort of move. He realised he was still in the alleyway where She Li and the two others had left him after beating him unconscious. He made to stand up but his entire body protested, causing Guan Shan to grunt and moan in pain.

Guan Shan couldn't feel his face and he could barely see out of his right eye, his right hand had decided to curl into itself and refused to move, his ribs screamed with every breath and he figured they were seriously bruised, fractured even. As he took a step forward, his left leg protested slightly and Guan Shan wondered how many times they had kicked him in it.

Making his way out of the alleyway slowly, Guan Shan felt dizzy and nauseated. He looked around and realised it was dark now and not many people were around. He wondered how long he had been unconscious. His first thought was the hospital but Guan Shan realised that neither he nor his mother could afford the bill.