Bullying the Bully *EDITING*

Chapter 11

It was my turn to pick up the twins at daycare, and I knew I would be seeing Tucker there. Once inside, I said my greetings to Pat and remained standing.....with my camera out, waiting for that door to open.

Finally, when it did, my heat was pounding so hard that it revealed the twins holding Tucker Branch's hand who just happened to be dressed in a pink tutu, fairy wings, and a tiara.I laughed out loud, causing all three of them to look up at me. "say cheese." And I took the picture. Tucker's surprised face suddenly turned to anger as realization kicked in that I had just taken a humiliating photo of him.

"Well, would you look at that. It seems like I got a picture of Tucker dressed as a fairy princess. And by tomorrow, the whole school is going to see this if he doesn't stop bullying people."

Tucker remained silent, but switched his gaze to the floor.

"Do you have any last words, Tucker?"

He didn't look at me, but instead at the confused twins. "Okay, girls. I'll see you tomorrow."

And just like that, both of them began to scream at the top of their lungs. "I don't want to go with her. No, Tuck. I wanna stay with you."

They grabbed onto each leg as I groaned. Why did this have to happen to me? I was supposed to come in here, take the picture, then make a dramatic exit with the twins. I had it all planned out...but it wasn't working out too well.

"Come on, girls. The sooner we go home, the sooner we get to see mommy." I put as much enthusiasm into it as I could, but it wasn't working.

"She's not you mommy!" Becka said, and although she was a tiny six year old, what she said still hurt.

I looked down, wondering what to do, as I played with the bracelets on my wrist. I looked up, meeting TUcker's eyes who was now watching me with a curious expression.

"Your mom is going to be upset if you're late." I said, this time a bit quieter. And they still continued to scream.

"Okay, girls. If I walk you to the car will you promise to be nice to Megan on the way home?"

They both looked at Tucker before glancing back at me, then nodded. I looked at Tucker who had a small smile on his face as he helped the girls onto their feet.

"Okay, let's go out to the car." I led the way and when we got to the car, I unlocked as Tucker began putting the girls in their car seats. We walked around to the back of the car and just stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Thanks," I said, finally breaking the silence. "You really helped me."

He gave a little smile. "No problem."

"Well, I should get going."

He nodded as I turned around to get in the car, but his voice stopped me. "Megan?" I turned around to face him.

"Yeah?"

He sighed. "They're crazy about you, you know."

I must have looked confused because I elaborated.

"You're all they talk about to me when they're here. They act like they don't like you, but just between you and me, they'd be heartbroken if you ever left."

I looked down at the pavement, a smile now plastered on my face. It was amazing to think that this was Tucker Branch, the bully who never got in trouble. Yet, here he was, able to tell I was down and tried cheering me up.

I looked back in those eyes of his and gave another smile. "Thanks, Tucker."

I turned around and got in the car, ignoring the complaints of the twins, and trying toi ignore the butterflies I felt in my stomach.

************

"Megan and Tucker sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Becka had been repeating that stupid rhyme since we got back from daycare. I thought it was annoying the first thirty times I heard it, but five hours later, she was still going strong.

We were all sitting around the dinner table now as my family looked at me curiously. "Megan, is there something we should know?" Uncle Tim asked.

I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. "It's about time you got a boyfriend," Karen said before she took a drink of water.

Aunt Linda, however, was not happy. "Megan, were you kissing this boy in front of the girls? They are at a very impressionable age. Tim, did you hear that? Your niece is kissing her boyfriend in front of our children. I, for one, think that is highly inappropriate."

I quickly stood up, causing the chair to screech across the floor. "May I be excused?" I didn't even wait for a reply as I ran upstairs to my room. No one understood me. Just because my parents weren't filthy rich and thought signing their daughter up for a beauty pageant gave her the wrong image of herself as she grew up, didn't mean these people were any better than me. However, they seemed to think they were. I wasn't part of their family. To them, I was just some charity case that they took in--that's all I would ever be to those people.

I collapsed on the bed, picking up a pillow, and screamed into it. I let out all my anger until it was gone, before sitting up again and pulling out my camera.

I went to the picture that had Tucker standing there in his fairy princess outfit, all confused looking and the twins glaring at me. I smiled at that picture and how ridiculous Tucker looked, and in that moment, I didn't see Tucker the evil bully, but Tucker, the friend. As weird as it was to think of Tucker as a friend, I knew that in a way he was.

I thought back to that afternoon and how he was so willing to help with the twins, not rubbing it in my face that they wouldn't listen to me, and not even acting like he enjoyed it, even after I took that humiliating photo of him.

And in the next second, I clicked the delete button. The confirmation screen ca,e up, and I stared at it. All I had to do was press no, and it would all be over. Tucker would be done bullying people, I wouldn't have to use Miles anymore, and I would be able to go back to my old school knowing I was never caught.

But then I thought of that day in the restaurant when I looked over at him as he sat in the middle of two bickering people, and as I sat in the middle of a family who would never understand me. All it took was one look from him for me to realize he, at least, understood. And deep down, I knew Tucker Branch was a good guy.

So it wasn't a surprise that I caught myself smiling as I pressed the delete button, erasing the image forever.