Defender's Heartbeat 2

Chapter 5

Enzo

It was easy. Mia said she liked me, so now we're girlfriend and boyfriend. I kissed her sweet lips to show the whole class she was mine.

Pam is mad at me again. Diego and Noah seemed confused that my girlfriend was a scholar, but big-brained Elijah wasn't. He didn't look surprised.

"I think she can bring out the good side in you," he said.

"What does that mean? Am I not good?" I asked, irritated. Elijah and Noah exchanged glances, and Diego laughed.

"Are we going to tell him that?" Noah joked. Everyone laughed. He's the dumbest in the group, constantly cycling through new girlfriends without even breaking up with the last one.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"You're really a bad dude," Noah said, smirking. The others laughed, but I'm not bad. I know that.

"Have I ever done anything bad to anyone?" I asked, now angry.

"Dude, are you serious? You've punched guys for no reason," Noah said, his smirk growing wider.

"That's just because they made me angry. That doesn't make me a bad person," I shot back, glaring at them. But they were all looking at me like I was insane.

"Are you being serious or...?" Elijah asked again, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm serious. Do I look like I'm joking, you fools?" I snapped.

"No," Diego said, looking me straight in the eye, his expression serious.

"Good," I muttered. I couldn't believe my friends thought I was bad. I haven't done anything bad to them.

"Did you guys bring any cigarettes?" I asked, uncomfortable with where the conversation had gone.

"Yeah," Noah replied.

"Let's head to the hideaway," Diego suggested.

While we were hanging out, Pam stormed in, furious.

"What did you do in class, Enzo?" she demanded.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"You kissed a scholar. Are you serious?" she yelled.

"Why do you care who I kiss? It's none of your business, Pam. Just leave me alone," I snapped, growing impatient with her.

"So now your girlfriend's a scholar? Don't you have any shame? You're the one who said they're disgusting and filthy!" she shouted, and the others looked at her with confusion.

"Why don't you go find a boyfriend and stop bothering me?" I said coldly.

"Oh, I will, Enzo. I don't want you to be my boyfriend. You don't even love anyone. I'll find someone better than you, and you know what? It'll be easy because you're the worst," Pam spat out, her anger boiling over.

"And you're the worst," I shot back. "Good luck finding a boyfriend, Pam. If anyone actually dates you, either they've got brain damage or they're the biggest idiot on the planet."

She tried to slap me, but I caught her hand mid-swing. "You'd better keep your hands to yourself, Pam. Because if someone slaps me, I'll hit them back ten times harder," I warned, my voice dark with anger.

The other boys pulled us apart, but I was furious. Who does she think she is, trying to slap me? I've had enough slaps at home, and now she thinks she can add to that? I can't hit Papa (Gerado) back when he slaps me. I can't slap Pedro or Louis either. They haven't hit me in years, but they did when I was younger. So if I ever get the chance to slap someone, I'm not just taking out my anger on them. It's multiplied by all the anger I've bottled up from my family too.