Friends

"Go home"

"HE TIAN!" I shouted after him. But he was too far gone to hear me, so I clutched his bag closer to myself.

"Ming, go find Zheng Xi and bring him to the garage". I ordered as I swung He Tian's bag over my shoulder and dashed off towards his house. I need to call Qiu-ge, or find a way to contact He Tian's brother. Only they can help us now. I rounded the corner, hand gripping the side pole, forcing myself to turn into He Tian's lobby. I skipped forward and before I could stop myself, I collided with a black solid back. I stumbled back before feeling a strong palm rest against my back, straightening me up. The man turned around, and I never thought I would be happy to see He Tian's brother.

"What's wrong?" The voice from behind me asked. I turned to see Qiu-ge and before I could stop myself, I surged forward to grab Qiu-ge by the arms.

"He Tian and Jian Yi are in trouble, She Li....." Before I could finish, Qiu brushes my hands off, exchanges a single glance with He Cheng and runs out of the building.

"Stay in He Tian's house.' He Cheng commanded me before pushing past me. I reached out to grab hold of his sleeve.

"I am not staying here." I replied in a surprisingly steady voice. I stood my ground and stared into his eyes. I see his lips tighten before giving me a curt nod, he stalked out of the lobby with me closely behind.

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I dashed past the art store and rounded a bus stop, from the distance I saw two blond-haired people walking closely together.

"Zheng Xi!" I yelled at him to get his attention. He stops and turns around as I catch up towards him.

"Jian Yi is cornered by She Li and He Tian just went to find him. Mo-ge told me to come and get you." I went off the list of things I should convey. Zheng Xi has always been a calm person, but for the first time, I saw his face morph into anger and fear. He shrugs off his backpack and passes it to his sister.

"Please go home without me, I need to go." He pleaded with his sister, and she gave a nervous nod before Zheng Xi dashed off. I followed closely behind.

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I yank the gate open to a scene of She Li gripping Jian Yi's hair, in his hand is a wretched cutter. I feel my anger boiling over and suddenly there is nothing but cold and staleness in my mind. Jian yi looks up at me and his face morphs into concern.

"What are you doing here Tian?? Where's Mo?" He whimpered, clearly hurt. This idiot, even at this stage he is more concerned for us than his own safety. I see She li dropping Jian yi onto the ground, standing up to meet his new challenger. Me.

I move forward, everyone else in the room is at a standstill, I move till I am directly in front of that snake. Both our body tensing, who is going to make the first move. I tighten my fist and the next noise that pierce through the silence was music to my ears. I felt his nose crack under my fist, his body slamming into the ground. I hear the intake of breaths before the shuffling of feet. I didn't need to turn around to know that I've been boxed in. I heard Jian yi grunting and figured someone must have gotten to him. Before I could turn around to face my audience, a bike rumbling can be heard in the distance. It got louder and louder till all of a sudden, the flimsy fence shook and the gate fell. A bike screeched to a halt, and its rider pulled his helmet off.

I looked over the stunned crowd of boys and caught Qiu-ge's eyes. Deadly. Slowly, gracefully, he got off his bike, hung his helmet by the handle and took a single step forward. The tension in the room mounted, before anyone else could react, Qiu-ge swung his fist. And in that silence, I could hear the bone cracking. Such music to my ears.