Rebel High

Chapter 2

The next morning, Kanan woke up startled, much earlier then usual. He had a nightmare...about Ezra?? He was hurt!! Someone was harming him!! And Kanan couldn't get to him!! It...it scared Kanan...a lot. For some reason, the nineteen year old already cared for the boy and hoped he was okay. After getting a few more hours of sleep, Kanan - along with everyone else - got up and got ready for school; Hera made some breakfast for them all before getting ready herself. This was what life was like their their home. Soon enough, they were leaving the house and on their way to school, remembering to pick Ezra up on their way; they reached the creepy alley way and waited for a minute. They were rather alarmed when yells and bangs could be heard coming from the house they were stood next to; the window could be heard being pushed open. The group looked up to see Ezra throw his bag to the ground and then climb out of the window; Zeb made his way over to go and pick it up. All of a sudden, someone came up behind Ezra and shoved him!! Making the boy fall to the floor with a thud and yelp!! All eyes widened with complete horror "Ezra!!" the four friends exclaimed before rushing over; Hera and Sabine helped the teen sit whilst Zeb held his bad and Kanan stood next to them. The nineteen year old looked up to the window to see someone slamming the window shut; he wondered who that was?? Even though it was rather bright out, the alley way was dark and Kanan was unable to see the face of the guy. "Ezra...Ezra look at me" Hera instructed "are you okay??" she was full with worry; her three roommates teased her by calling her momma Hera for a reason. The boy nodded his head as he began to get up with Kanan's help, although he seemed to refuse to look at any of them, using his hood to shield his face "yeah...yeah, I'm fine...just caught my hand on some glass" he stated as he looked down at his bleeding hand; it was just a little bit "I just...I lost my footing". The four friends shared a look of confusion and concern; why would Ezra lie to them?? Sabine and Hera focused on removing the bit of glass from the kids hand whilst Zeb decided to fire some questions at him. 

"Who was that??".
"Who??".
"The person that was shouting and pushed you off of the ledge??".
"I...I wasn't pushed, I lost my footing".
"Ezra. We saw someone push you. Now who was it??".
"...His name's Tom".
"Who is he?? Your dad??".
"No!! He's...he's my guardian".
"Guardian??".
"Yeah....you know, the person that takes you in when...when you're an orphan".

That last statement shut all four of them up until Kanan broke the dreadful silence "I...I didn't know you were an orphan" he stated earning a shrug "yeah well...no one wants an orphan as a friend...I learnt that the hard way" this saddened them evidently. "We still want to be your friends Ezra" Sabine stated with a smile; they all nodded in agreement. The fifteen year old himself gave off a small smile "thanks...that means a lot". Kanan helped the youngest teen up to his feet and Zeb returned his bag before they resumed walking to school. As they spoke on their way, the four realized Ezra still had his head down with his hood up covering his face; they felt something was...off, but left it be. As the boy was about to walk into a lamp post from not looking where he was going, Kanan reached out and gripped onto his arm, pulling him so he would miss the lamp post...only for the kid to yelp and flinch away in pain. During this, Ezra looked up, confused and startled from someone grabbing at him; they all gasped in horror as they could see the fifteen year old's face was completely covered in cuts and bruises, as well as fresh and dried blood. "Ezra?! What happened to your face?!" Hera asked with wide eyes "I...em..." before anyone could say anything else, Ezra suddenly burst out into a sprint, running away from his friends and in the direction of the school. He couldn't tell them his secret, not his secret that he had kept hidden from the world for many years. He just couldn't!! The two boys were about to race after their run away friend but were stopped by Hera "we'll see him at school...we just need to give him some time" she had a point...as usual. After a few minutes, they arrived at school and made their way towards their class; they entered the room to see Ezra was already their, his hood still up but his head was resting on his arms upon the table. They all sat down - the boyfriend and girlfriend switching seats as Sabine had something to talk about to the older girl; Ezra didn't seem to mind that he was next to Kanan. Within a minute, Miss Hart entered the classroom and greeted everyone with her usual bright smile; she explained everything to the class that they needed to know. That was until the woman noticed that a certain student had their hood up "excuse me Ezra but can you remove your hood please??" she asked politely, although it was clear it wasn't a question "do I have to??" the boy asked, slightly curling up as if not to be seen "you ca keep your hoodie on but you need to at least remove your hood". Miss Hart was kind and gentle when confronting her students but they all know she could come down on you like a ton of bricks. "Okay" Ezra hesitantly did as told, making the whole class gasp in shock and horror, including the teacher "em...Kanan, could you take Ezra and wait out side please??" once again, it wasn't a question. The nineteen year old still nodded and did as told; both students stood up from their seats ad left the room. Ezra sat on a ear by seat whilst Kanan stayed stood, arms class as they was deep in thought. "You gonna tell me what happened to your face or what??" the younger teen shook his head "I..I can't" his voice was barely visible but Kanan still somehow heard him "sure you can...did someone beat you up??" he asked earning a small nod "okay...who??". Ezra did answer, keeping quiet as he looked away so the man crouched down so that they were eye level; he gently grabbed the young boys chin and made him look at him. Ezra's eyes were full of tears, as well as pain and..fear?! "Oh Ezra" Kanan wrapped his arms around the boy to hug him, only for Ezra to jump out and push him away "sorry, it just...it hurts". The man seemed to realize something and stood up, sticking his head into the class room and asked Miss Hart if he and Ezra could go to one of the private rooms - they were usual used for counselling sessions; the teacher agreed and so the two students went to find one before locking the door. "Ezra...I know this might be hard for you...but I need you to hoodie and shirt off please??" Ezra's head shot up, his eyes now filled with panic and more fear "what?! No, I...I can't!!" the man gently rubbed his arms in reassurance and comfort "yes you can...please Ezra...please trust me" the boy looked up "I...I do trust you...I trust you and the others" he admitted. Ever so slowly, Ezra removed his hoodie to reveal his cut, dirty and blood covered shirt - he couldn't tell what it's original - and his scarred, cut, bruised and burnt arms!! It took everything for Kanan not to release some tears "are you sure you want to see under my shirt?? It's a whole lot worse then my face and arms" he admitted, not wanting to scare the man off; Kanan nodded, although to be honest....he wasn't sure if he was ready. Hesitantly, the fifteen year old pulled his shirt up and over his head, placing it next to his bag and hoodie which were sat on one of the chairs; Kanan felt his breathe get caught in the back of his throat. "Oh my god" his stomach, waist and chest were covered in more scars, cuts, burns, bruises, blood and....whip marks!! "Oh Ezra" Kanan couldn't help but stare in horror, anger and sadness; who had done this?? For how long?? And why!? "They're not that bad...the most recent ones still hurt but I'm used to it" Ezra admitted "you can't tell anyone about this Kanan" the man blinked a few times, wiping his eyes to rid himself of the tears "Ezra...we have to tell someone, if you don't it'll just get worse" he pleaded "please Ez...I don't want to see you hurt, no one does...well except this scum bag that's doing it to you" that brought him to another question "who is doing this to you Ezra??" for a while, the boy doesn't say anything before finally sighing "Tom...my guardian". Somehow, although he's not exactly sure how, Kanan was able to convince his young friend to tell and show the head teacher who quickly got the police called and involved; the man never let Ezra's side during the interviews and talks, much to the fifteen year old's relief. He was grateful for his friend's support. At lunch, Kanan explained what was happening to his friends who were all horrified; Hera and Sabine both cried whilst Zeb shook his head, balling his hand into a fist with the need to punch something. "I can't believe Ezra has had to deal with this for ten years...poor kid" the couple hugged one another as a means of comfort "what's going to happen to him?? Where's he gonna go??" Sabine asked earning a shrug; Kanan didn't know that yet. The group soon noticed that their friend was talking with a police officer; he seemed sad. Ezra look a glance at his friends before saying something to the officer; they parted ways and the boy approached the table and sat down. "Hey guys" he greeted "I'll take it Kanan told you about everything??" he asked earning three nods "well...I'm being put into an orphanage...which is in the next town" all eyes widened "what!?". Sabine was the first to object "but that means you have to leave Rebel High!!" she exclaimed "you can't leave!!" although they had only been friend for such a short time, they already felt extremely close "why can't you go to an orphanage in this town??". Ezra sighed as he wished he could "there are no orphanages in this town and there's no one seventeen or older that want to foster me" he admitted. Kanan and Hera took note of the last statement and glanced at one another "em...we'll be back in a bit" they both seemed to have the same exact idea; they stood up and left the canteen to find either a police officer or Ezra's social worker. Finally, school was over; Ezra needed to clear his mind so he went for a walk in the near by park. He was really bummed out by the fact that he has to move towns and leave his friends; for once in his life, Ezra felt like he belonged. He was doing good in school, he had made some friends that seemed to really care about him and wanted him around. The boy soon found himself sitting on a swing; he just wanted to stay with his friends - sure, he only knew they for a couple of days but it felt like a lifetime; he saw something in each of the, that he didn't understand...but liked. Especially Kanan, it seemed he was closest to the man and today had proved it. Ezra shook his head to rid himself of theses confusing thoughts; it was too late anyway. He was to leave town his his social worker tonight after returning to Tom's house and gathering his things. After that, he would most likely never see his new found friends again. Saddened by the horrible thought, Ezra decided to return to his school; he noticed Sabine and Zeb sat on a picnic bench talking. "Hey you two, what are you still doing here??" he asked as he joined them; the two happily greeted their friend "Kanan and Hera wanted to talk to the someone about something, you okay??" they honestly weren't too sure what. After half an hour, the couple could be seen leaving the school with the boys social worker; their approached their three friends. "Ezra, do you want to say here?? Continue attending Rebel High??" the social worker asked earning a nod "absolute...why??" he was confused by the question "well...we've found a couple that live near here and want to foster you" Ezra's eyes widened with shock and wariness "really?! Who?!". Before anything else could be said, the young couple stepped forth "us" Ezra stared at them whilst Zeb and Sabine's shot open wide "you...you guys want to...to foster me?!" was he hearing this right?! He had as they both nodded "yeah...you don't have to call us mum or dad of course...we're still your friends Kanan and Hera" the woman explained with a smile "you'll just be living with us, Sabine and Zeb and get to stay at Rebel High". They were both cut off by the teen boy jumping at them and hugging the two tightly...well as tight as he could with his now cleaned and bandaged injuries. "I...I'd love that. Sabine and Zeb soon joined the hug; they were going to be one big happy family.