New Kid

Broken Hands

        I sighed heavily, walking in the front doors of Huntington Beach High School with my backpack slung over my right shoulder. I rolled my eyes at the preppy girls giving me dirty looks, their jock boyfriends occasionally making snide remarks as I passed them. It didn't bother me, and nobody seemed to notice my swollen eye (which I had mistakenly tried to cover up with foundation; it just looked like I was wearing eye shadow, now) as I stumbled towards my first hour class, English II.
        I sighed again as I sat down and then pulled my notebook, my textbook and my pencil out of my backpack before sloppily thrusting them onto the desk. I hated English. Hell, I hated school in general, but I only had a few more months left, and then I'd be out of that house, maybe even on the road touring with my best friends. Maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to finally-
        "Baker." Brian's voice growled next to me, and I shrank down into my seat a little bit before I finally looked up at him. He looked like he was going to tease me, but when he saw my black eye, his voice softened. "Shit, dude.. D-did I do that to you?" He asked quietly, his tone dripping with concern.
        "N-no, no!" I stuttered, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "No, I.. I punched myself in the face trying to pull my covers up last night.." I lied, using the same fib that I had used on Jimmy last night when I had sneaked out of the window to talk to him. Brian's eyes seemed to linger on my bruised face for a minute before he frowned.
        "Are you surethat's what happened?" He murmured quietly, sitting down in the empty desk next to me. He placed a hand on my knee, seemingly to try and comfort me, but my mind began to wander into different areas. No, Zack, stop thinking bout that! You don't even like him! He's an asshole to you!
        "Y-yeah.. I'm sure.." I stuttered, noticing Jimmy's tall figure out of the corner of my eye. Brian nodded, his hand sliding up a fraction of an inch before he completely removed it, giving me an unsure glance as he turned back to his desk. Jimmy stared cautiously as he took his seat in front of me, and I simply slumped downwards, feeling a bit more uncomfortable as more people began to pile into the small classroom.

        I pretty much tuned the teacher out for the entire period of class and mostly focused on Brian out of the corner of my eye. He tapped his foot on the floor and occasionally stretched, looking pretty done with the entire 'learning' thing by the time class was over. After the bell rang, I got up and swung my backpack over my shoulder, simultaneously hitting the still-seated Brian in the shoulder, quite hard.
        "Dude, I'm so sorry!" I cried as I touched his injured shoulder gingerly. He chuckled and raised his sleeve a little bit, checking to make sure there were no bruises or anything like that. I saw a hint of a faded scar peeking out from underneath his sleeve, but I decided not to pressure him into telling me what it was.. Yet. That looked like some sort of cut or an old gash.. I thought as I looked into his eyes with a concerned expression.
        "It's fine. It's not the worst I've endured." He grinned and gave a weak chuckle, standing from his seat. He seemed to glance over my entire body for a second before he nodded and then walked out of the classroom, still grinning. I raised an eyebrow but then shook my head as I walked out of the classroom, my head down and my shoulders slumped. Suddenly, I received a hard shove to my shoulder, causing me to topple over and crash into the lockers before I fell on my butt. I looked up to see one of Matt's old friends from his 'jockdays' standing there, receiving high-fives from his group of friends. He began to stalk over, but someone stepped in front of me, seeming to square up for a fight.
        "Back the fuck up." Brian's deep voice growled, and a sudden chill ran down my spine at the sound of him being truthfully angry. How the hell did he get here so fast? He left class before I did!
        "Lay off, Haner. Kid's got a shiner anyways, might as well give him a few more battle scars." The jock teased, giving a wide grin. Brian took a step forward, placing his hand on the other boy's chest before he shoved him backwards, into the opposite set of lockers.
        "I said back up. Nobody picks on this kid but me, got it? This is my territory." Brian snapped, and it was then that I noticed the entire hallway had stopped what they were doing to watch the scenario that was unfolding. But that wasn't what I was focused on at all. Brian's clenched hands, his firmly set legs, his ass, it all looked really fucking nice right at that point.
        "Tch. Whatever, Haner." The obviously frightened bully scoffed before he scampered off, his band of friends following closely behind. Brian watched him go before he turned around, staring down at me for a minute with a strange expression before he gave me a grin.
        "Get to class, Zack. If they bother you again, I'll take care of it." He said, then sauntered off, seeming to ignore all the horrified stares from the rest of the seniors. I watched him go, admittedly biting the inside of my lip and staring at his ass as he walked. Why in the world did he just stand up for me? He hates me! I thought as I stood up and brushed myself off, then began heading to my next class of the day, my thoughts seeming to stay with Brian the entire time.