Reasons To Love A Nerd Like Me (10th Anniversary Edition)

Chapter 2 ~ Confrontations

Taylor's trainers were gleaming white. They were all I could focus on as I kept my eyes glued to the floor. He had the best in everything. The best shoes, the best shirts, the best equipment. Because he was the best. His affluent father had almost made it as a professional tennis player and now Taylor was following in his footsteps as Havensdale's shot at Wimbledon. Naturally, I didn't stand a chance against such a mini-celebrity. He could probably murder me in cold blood on CCTV and the teachers would find a loophole to get him off the hook.

All I could do was duck my head down and keep moving. I tightened my grip on Olive's arm, barging my way through the incoming P.E. class. But of course, he blocked us.

"Scotty, what are you doing out here? I thought you were all tied up this afternoon?"

There was a smug smirk spreading across his annoyingly perfect face. Because on top of everything else, he was handsome too, even in a sweaty polo shirt. Especially in a sweaty polo shirt. It seriously wasn't fair.

"Excuse me, can I get past?" I mumbled, trying to channel some small semblance of self-confidence. There wasn't much to work with, but at least I got the words out.

Arsehole Alfie was trailing behind Taylor, looking like he could crush me at any second with his giant, meaty arms. He was the textbook example of a hanger-on, hoping that if he did all of Taylor's dirty work for him, he might score some life-altering brownie points. How clueless could he get? As soon as Taylor got out of this town for good he would drop Alfie faster than a bag of flaming dog poo. Still, for now, he was useful to keep around. Particularly when it came to tormenting me.

"How did you get down from that hook?" Alfie boomed in my face. Up close I swear I could see the vast expanse of space itself in his eyes. "Did your little girlfriend save you?"

"Good luck with that Olly," came a shrill, plummy voice. Patricia. Taylor's girlfriend. The third point in the triangle of evil. "Scotty's gayer than that guy in Bohemian Rhapsody. But hey, maybe you like that in a boyfriend since it means you can stay a virgin forever."

The whole hateful trio burst into spiteful laughter. As the rest of their class filed into the changing rooms, they remained in a clump, their sole purpose to become a human roadblock. We were well and truly cornered. Olive's face was burning pink, and meanwhile, I had lost my ability to function altogether. I hated that they frightened me so much, but the throb of rope burn on my wrists was a painful reminder of what they were capable of.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," Olive finally erupted. She was so much braver than me and I bloody loved her for it. "Scotty could have been seriously hurt by your stupid little stunt. What did he ever do to you?!"

Taylor took a casual sip from his water bottle like this whole conversation was boring him. "Oh, calm down Olly-Wally. It was just a little prank. No harm done." He actually had the audacity to reach over and pinch my cheek. "Right, Scotty-boy?"

I slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me."

My reaction was short, sharp, and instinctive. It caused Alfie and Patricia to jeer in unison. "Ooooh!"

"Getting a bit feisty now!" Patricia cackled, swinging her ponytail behind her. She thought she was the spitting image of Ariana Grande, but her aesthetic was far more equine to my eyes. Like a horse that had been magically transformed into a teenage girl.

"Oh, get stuffed," Olive snarled. "You lot are pathetic, you know that? You're in Year 12 and still acting like nasty little brats. It's lucky Scotty is such a nice guy because if were up to me, I'd have you all expelled so fast you wouldn't know what hit you."

"Jeeze, take a joke," Taylor shot back, running a hand through his spiky blonde hair. "We were just coming back to get him. He's fine."

I wasn't fine. I was physically shaking and I only hoped none of them noticed.

"Jokes are supposed to be funny," I said quietly, taking Olive's hand. "Come on, let's go."

With all the strength I could muster, I pushed my way past Taylor and his sidekicks. Naturally, they pushed back against me, an impenetrable wall of bullies. I eventually managed to swerve around them, Olive's hand still clasped in mine. We broke into a run down the corridor, the pain of exercise well worth the reward of getting as far away as possible from The Satan Squad.

"Hey, no running in the hallways," Taylor called out behind us. "I thought you were meant to be a good little girl."

Olive paused mid-run to give Taylor the finger, then carried on legging it out of the Sports Block and into the courtyard until his howling insults were nothing but whispers on the wind.

I collapsed against the big oak tree where all the smokers hung out, my lungs exploding in my chest. Running was not part of my agenda today. Neither was being tied up like a hog for that matter.

Olive leaned against the thick trunk, letting out a small scream of frustration between her own gasps for air. "I hate those guys so much! Why are they so awful?!"

I grabbed my emergency asthma pump from my bag and took a puff before answering. "Because they have nothing else in their lives and being awful is a fun way to pass the time."

"But that's not even true! Taylor's life is crazy tennis training so why is he wasting energy on being so vile? This is like the third or fourth time he's specifically targeted you and I just don't get why?"

It was true. Taylor's nastiness had really escalated this past year from spilling Coke over my bag to tripping me up in class. He'd even pushed me into the Lost Property box once, giving me a face full of scent-assaulting, unwashed shorts. It was such childish, petty behaviour, but it was becoming relentless.

"Olly, do you really need to think that hard for a reason? I'm not exactly popular around here, am I? The loser, maths-loving nerd with questionable masculinity who runs the school Dungeon Adventure Club..."

"Yeah, yeah, everyone knows you're a dork Scotty..."

"Gee, thanks."

"But why this vindictiveness? Why now? We've been at school with Taylor for years and all of a sudden he starts a hate campaign against you? It just doesn't make sense."

We had collapsed side by side against the tree, Olive's hair floofing out behind her like a golden pillow. She was like a stubborn Yorkshire Terrier with a bone at times, but it was only because she was so protective of me. I didn't know what I'd do without her in this dark crater of despair known as daily school life.

"Well, maybe the pressure is on with his sports stuff and he's taking it out on the nearest person available, which just so happens to be me."

"Maybe. I don't think he's doing as great as he makes out. Aren't all those famous teen tennis stars already competing in big tournaments by now? Like he'd even have time for A-Levels if he was that far up the ladder." Olive sat up straighter against the tree, an invisible lightbulb blinking above her head. "He's probably totally jealous of you, Scotty because you're so sure of yourself. Just like Patricia is jealous of me."

"The gruesome twosome. Egging each other on."

"Evil squared. Ugh. I can't even imagine them doing it. I bet satanic smoke clouds billow out every single time."

"Billow out of where? Wait. Oh God, don't answer that. Please don't answer that."

Olive patted my shoulder. "Some things we're better off not thinking about."

"You got that right," I shuddered.

After a pause, we both started laughing, so hard that I actually had tears in my eyes. Maybe it was the relief of surviving my ordeal. It was finally over, and Taylor wasn't going to win by making me cry. No. I was laughing. At him. I hope he heard it echo through the open window.

"Shoot!" Olive suddenly exclaimed, glancing at her watch. "I've got my mentoring session in five minutes. Will you be OK if I dash off? Or should I cancel?"

Of course she had somewhere to be. She always had somewhere to be. She had so many education-focused side-hustles on the go that her personal statement for University was fit to burst. In comparison, I hadn't even started thinking about writing mine yet. That was one stress-inducing task I couldn't handle right now.

"No, no, go do what you need to do." I waved her off, trying to appear in control and not at all traumatised by the last few hours. "I'll be fine. Honest."

Olive pulled me into a tight goodbye squeeze. "I'll pop over and see you tonight. Street Rat battle to get the anger out?"

Street Rat was our favourite ever online fighting game and I couldn't imagine a better day to play it. "You're on. As long as I can be Ninja Alpaca."

"You got it. See you soon."

As Olive rushed away, I felt spits of rain against my skin. It was a typically British grey day. The start of another grey, crappy year. I couldn't wait for it to be over already.

Final period was almost finished. I should have just gone home, but I found myself heading back into the school building, my feet taking on a mind of their own. I needed to find Mr. Bicknam and explain why I'd missed Maths. Maybe pick up some notes. Screw Taylor Raven if he thought I'd get behind in my homework because of him.

The corridors were heaving with students. I felt like a bespectacled salmon swimming upstream as I headed in the opposite direction to them all. There was a paranoid part of me wondering if Taylor, Alfie and Patricia would still be lingering around, but why should I have stopped going about my daily business? Why should I have been so scared?

Oh, who was I kidding? I was scared. I was terrified. Every time I caught a glimpse of someone blonde and athletic I jumped out of my skin. I was so pre-occupied with playing 'Where's Wally?' – or rather, 'Where's Bully?' - that I didn't look where I was going and ended up smacking into someone in the crowd. Hard. So hard that their bag went flying, scattering workbooks and pencils all over the floor.

"I'm so sorry," I spluttered, flushing beetroot red. "Let me get that for y..."

I stopped dead as I saw who was standing before me.

It was Vincent Hunter.

As in brooding, threatening, scary as all hell, head-bashing-in Vincent Hunter. Toughest guy in the whole school.Today was really not my day.

- - -

Today's fancast is the 2014 vs. 2024 edition of Vincent... I always saw him as Nicholas Hoult (specifically in his Skins era), but I reckon Nicholas Galitzine would make a great modern version (maybe just imagine him 10 years younger haha)... Guess there is something kind of sexy about the name Nicholas?! 

Anyway, thanks to everyone who has been catching up with story and leaving a comment or vote, I really appreciate it! :)