head in the clouds

eight; tyler

As I near the food court to the mall, I can hear Jen's and Maddy's laughter. I smile softly to myself when I see them sitting at a table. I fast walk over to them, taking the seat next to Jen.

"Hey." I say.

"Ty, Mads was just saying the funniest thing!" Jen laughs. "Go, tell him."

Maddy looks at me, trying to suppress her laughter. "What do you call a magical dog?"

I shrug, shaking my head. "I don't know, what?"

She bursts out laughing, not being able to even finish the joke. Jen and I start laughing while we watching her choke on her words.

All of a sudden a loud scream emits from behind us, making me whip my head back to see what is going on. A girl around Madison's age is, from what I can see, being harassed by a fully grown man. There's no one with the girl, which causes my heart to sink.

I get up, the sound of all three of our chairs scrapping against the floor echos. I know Jen has Maddy so I quickly make my way to the girl.

"Hey," I say, deepening my voice to get the man's attention. "What the fuck is going here?"

The girl looks at me, very frightened, as tears spill from her eyes. I pull her arm gently to get her behind me with Jen and Maddy.

"You have a thing for fucking with little girls, you creep?" I ask, getting closer to the man.

He backs up, cornering himself into a table. "N-No, I didn't do anything, s-she came onto me!" He stutters.

"Then why the hell did I hear her scream across the God damn room?!"

"I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"Y'know," I chuckle. "There's one thing I hate more than liars and that's grown adults who thinks it's okay to harass little girls! And you seem to fit both categories!"

"Ty," Jen says.

"No!" I yell at her. "This guy very clearly thinks he can do this shit and get away with it? How many other girls have you hurt, huh?" I ask shoving him backwards. "How many other girls have you borderline defiled?"

"Tyler, that's enough." Jen says more demanding.

I look back at her for a split second, and in that moment the man placed his hand on my shoulder to get my attention and punches me in the face. The girls gasp behind me, same as basically everyone else in the giant room.

I hold my nose, blood instantly flowing out of it. Holy shit! I forgot how much of a bitch it is to get punched!

"You're fucking dead." I say to the man.

I throw a fist directly at the side of his head, making blood fly out of his mouth. I try hitting him again but Jen's hand holds my arm back. I look at her and she gives me a pleading look.

Lowering my fist, I turn back to the guy. Grabbing him by the neck of his shirt, I get in his face. "Get out of this mall, now. If I ever, ever,  see you again, your ass is fucking done!" I yell.

He nods and I let go of his shirt, forcefully pushing him to the floor. I watch him scramble to his feet before running past us and going to the exit. I turn back to face the three of them. 

"Are you okay?" I ask the girl gently.

She nods, tears streaming down her face. "Th-Thank you." She cries.

I shake my head. "Are you here alone? Do you need me to call anyone to pick you up?"

"I-I'm- my siblings are h-here. I-I lost them."