Otters

Chapter 14

"Jo, I swear, if you ask me if I'm okay one more time, I'll smother you," I joked. I was laughing as I held a wad of tissues on my nose and discarded the ones that had been soaked in dark red blood.

"You are so stupid, Shane," she told me as she dabbed under my eye with a washcloth as we say in the nurse's room.

"It looks worse than it is," I told her, hoping to calm her nerves. Her hands were shaking. "I promise. I'm fine, princess."

Jo's hand dropped to her lap. "Why'd you have to go after him?" she asked. "Why couldn't you let me handle this?"

I chuckled. "Because he needed to be taught a lesson. I swear I didn't plan on him going to the emergency room with a broken wrist. I should've warned him I had abs of steel," I joked as I lifted up my shirt.

Jo giggled and her cheeks turned red. I reached over and gripped her hand. "Thank you," she whispered, pushing up her glasses.

I smiled. "It was my pleasure. Honestly."

*an hour earlier*

"Shane, please stop. He's not worth it." Jo tried to pull me away from the hallway that lead to his locker.

"Oh, of course he's not worth it. He's not worth anything. But he needs to pay for what he did to you yesterday." I tugged away from her grip.

"It's not that bad," she said.

I spun around and cupped her face. I stared down at her, slightly swollen, black and blue cheek. I lightly traced it with my thumb and she winced away. "I'm sorry," I said, pulling her in for a hug. "He's never touching you again. I promise, princess."

"Jo, what're you doing with this misfit?" Darien mocked as he approached his locker.

I started towards him, but Jo pulled me back by my shirt. "Shane, stop," she spoke softly.

"Jo, let go of me," I said under my breath as I ripped myself from her grip and ran at Darien, punching him square in the jaw.

Darien's head flicked to the side as he stumbled backwards, grabbing onto the wall of lockers for support. His hair flipped into his eyes and he dropped his backpack. His chest rose as he took a deep breath, coming up with a battle strategy in his head as he studied me. He glanced over at Jo and grinned. "Wow, Shane. Is that all you got?" he sneered, his expression turning into a scowl. He licked his lip and lunged towards me, fists flying.

I dodged him and pushed him to the ground, the momentum of his jump making it easier. I knelt down as he flipped over on his back and smashed his head on the ground, following the action with a blow to the nose. He returned the favor and socked me in the nose.

Darien grimaced as his knuckles made contact with my skin, just below my eye. He squirmed loose from my grip and stood up, his nose gushing out blood. He wiped it away as he grunted. He stood still for a moment, his eyes narrowing, like a predator tracking its prey.

People began crowding around us. There were teachers there too, but they appeared to want to watch how the fight turns out. They're probably rooting for Darien, hoping I'll get expelled and won't be in their classes anymore.

I licked my lips and raised my eyebrows mockingly. "C'mon, Darien. Hit me. I dare you." I held my arms out at my sides. "Or do you only enjoy hitting girls?"

Darien grit his teeth and ran at me, slamming my body against the locker, and punching me in the abdomen. I felt the breath get knocked out of me. I crouched over, holding my stomach, wheezing.

Jo knelt down next to me and gripped my shoulders. "Come on, Shane. Breathe." She inhaled. "Breathe in." She let her breath out. "Breath out." She pursed her lips.