Life Escape

Chapter 1

"Hey, Vargas!" the group of boys yelled. Lovino had just barely walked in the doors of his school and he was already getting called out. He knew today was going to be bad. He just kept walking to his locker, trying to ignore them, but it wasn't enough. One of the boys grabbed Lovino's backpack and yanked it off of his shoulders. "Hey! " he shouted, "What the hell was that for?" he was starting to get tired of this happening everyday. The boys snickered as they dug through Lovino's backpack.

"What's this?" The one holding it said. He pulled out Lovino's journal, which they knew was private. "It looks like a diary!" another sneered. Lovino's heart sped up as they opened it and started flipping through pages. "Eh... there's nothing interesting in here!" one of the boys said. "Let's throw it in the trash!" laughed another. Lovino didn't know what to do. That was the journal his grandpa had given him for his sixteenth birthday. Hand-made and leather-bound. One of the few gifts his grandpa could afford to make. It was too important to be thrown away. "No. Please don't." he pleaded. He almost slapped himself in the face for sounding so pathetic. Stop being so weak, Lovino! They'll beat you up even more if you show weakness! He yelled silently in his head. One of the boys, seeing the opportunity, pushed Lovino backwards. He bumped into someone with an, "Oof!"

"What was that for?" asked a familiar voice. Lovino turned around and saw that it was Antonio Corriedo. One of his classmates who he had grown surprisingly close to. The tall Spaniard, after figuring out the situation, stepped forward and said, "What's going on here?" he looked from the bullies to Lovino. He noticed that one of the bullies had the journal Lovino would carry around with him a lot. "Isn't that Lovino's, Mathias?" Antonio asked. Mathias jumped at the mention of his name, almost dropping the journal. "It is, isn't it?" Antonio said, his voice growing more serious. "Why are you so mean to him? He hasn't done anything to you." Mathias just looked from one of his friends to another, hoping they would help him, but stopped when they didn't seem like they would.

"W-well-" he began to explain, but backed away. "It is his. I was just having some fun, Toni!" Mathias smiled at the Spaniard, but was shot down by the cold stare of his emerald eyes. "It's not like I'm planning on giving it back, though!" He said, standing up tall. Mathias was barely even taller than Antonio. Maybe a couple of inches or so. His friends all looked back and forth, not knowing who to pay more attention to. Antonio stiffened slightly, which made Mathias freeze. He knew what Antonio was capable of. Especially when protecting someone. Mathias finally realize his mistake when Antonio's smile faded.

"Give me the journal, Mathias. I'm asking nicely." Antonio was getting sick of Mathias being so rude. He knew that he was just messing around but it was kids like him that made Antonio get in so much trouble. Even if he was just protecting friend, he always got in trouble for delivering the last blow. "Please." he tried his best to force a smile again. He could tell he was intimidating Mathias.

"No. I won't give it back!" Mathias yelled. Lovino's eyes widened and he felt a slight rage build inside him. Even after all the times he was asked nicely to give it back, that kid still didn't give it back to him! He clinched his jaw. Lovino went to take a step, but before he could Antonio quickly walked forward and grabbed Mathias by the front of his shirt. Emerald eyes blazing. Lovino watched as all the cockiness from Mathias was drained and replaced with fear. Lovino never expected someone like Antonio to have such an intimidating, surprisingly scary side. His heart began to race as he watched Antonio raise his fist into the air, preparing to deliver a blow to Mathias's face. Oh god, this was all my fault! I should've done something. Lovino thought, a pit of dread filling his stomach. Lovino looked at the floor as he heard a loud, "thump!"  and a loud pain-filled scream. He didn't need to look up to know that Mathias had a broken nose. Mathias had dropped Lovino's journal, which Antonio picked up and handed back to the Italian.

"I believe this is yours?" he said, smiling.

"Yeah, it is," Lovino took the journal back from Antonio, "You didn't have to break Mathias' nose, you know. You could've just taken it from him by force."

"Yeah, I know. My rage just got to me." Antonio looked at the floor, now feeling guilty. He hadn't meant to hurt Mathias. He just wanted to help Lovino.

"You know what, forget about it." Lovino said, "Class is about to start anyway."

Antonio and Lovino began to part ways when Lovino said, "Hey, Antonio." Antonio stopped and turned around to face Lovino.

"Yes, Lovino?"

"Can I tell you something? And if I tell you this, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Of course, what are friends for if you can't tell secrets to each other?" Antonio said with a slight smirk. Lovino had a determined gleam in his eyes. Those gorgeous olive green eyes. Antonio had to stop and think about that last thought. He looked into Lovino's eyes again, to let him know he was listening. Antonio did have to admit that Lovino did have pretty eyes.

"I'm planning on running away tomorrow." Lovino said, snapping Antonio out of his strange thoughts. Antonio wasn't very surprised by that statement. He knew why Lovino was going to run away.  Lovino was constantly being bullied and put down by everyone. He was constantly being compared to his younger brother, Feliciano. Everyone said that Feliciano was better than Lovino at everything, which really hurt the Italian.

"Okay," Antonio said, "Can I come along? If you don't mind."

Lovino paused a second, studying Antonio's face carefully before speaking again, "Why do you want to go with me?"

"Well, I've always wanted to know what running away was like. And I also kind of need a break from everything too." Antonio was telling the truth, but also bluffing. He wanted to go along and keep Lovino safe. Antonio didn't want anything happening to his new-found best friend.

"Fine, you can come along. Just meet me at the park on the swings at the right time. I don't want to get caught." Antonio smiled at the permission. Lovino was softer and more caring than he let on. Antonio wanted to make sure that side of him was kept safe and sound.