It had been nearly four years since you met him, at the beginning of high school. You had never seen him around, and that said a lot, even taking the sheer size of your class into consideration.
You had always adored your school, being it everyone was from different origins, schools, and families. No one could make fun of anyone, because there was no majority. Or so you thought.
When you first saw him, it was long after everyone had gone home. You were walking to your locker after staying behind to study in the library, in hopes of bringing up your AP Chem grade. Hearing shouting, you quickly pressed yourself to the wall, peeking around the corner.
A boy was on the floor, quarterback and wide receiver of the football team standing over him, snarls on their faces.
"I asked you a question, you dumb shit." Jongin, the broader one growled.
"He thinks he's too good to answer us, is that right?" Tao drawled, a twisted smirk on his face. You drew nearer, sucking in a breath when you saw the boy on the floor, bottom lip wavering dangerously. He had large doe eyes, cherry lips, and a nose that would seem too big for his features, but for him it worked.
Your eyes were drawn to his left eye, and that was when you noticed the large bruise beginning to bloom around it and on the cheek, marring his fair skin.
"You think you can get away with that? I asked you for an A paper, but what you gave me was a B-. Do you think that's okay?" Jongin was practically screaming in the boys face, making him flinch and close his eyes.
Say something, you urged in your mind, hoping the boy would at least stand up for himself.
Tao was clearly getting tired of the lack of responses, reaching down to grab the other student's collar and lifting him up roughly. That was the last straw, so you stormed out, surprising all three.
Tao dropped the boy immediately, face morphing into a wolfish smirk.
"Hey sweetie, what are you doing here? Did you come to see me?" His voice was laced with fake sweetness, but to you it was just poison.
"What the hell were you doing?" You spat, glaring at the pair in disgust. You had stepped between them and the boy unconsciously, and you could feel him trembling silently behind you.
Kai's face contorted into his signature smile, the one that made girls practically faint when he directed it at them and boys hate him for luring them all in.
"We were just having a little conversation about school, so if you will please leave like the good little girl you are, so we can finish our...'talk'."
You scoffed, rolling your eyes and stepping closer to the silent student behind you.
"I wouldn't in a million years, so I would suggest you leave, or I'm getting the principal!" You countered, determination in your voice.
The two boys stared at you, disbelief in their eyes.
"You're helping him? Mr. I-am-too-good-to-talk-to-anyone?" Tao asked.
You nodded fiercely, hearing the boy exhale in relief. The bullies lingered a moment longer before turning around.
"We'll continue this later, punk!" Kai shouted as they broke into a sprint down the hall.
When the sound of rubber on linoleum finally faded away, you sighed in relief and turned around.
"Hey...are you okay?" You asked, kneeling down to be face level with the terrified boy. His bruise was turning purple already, and you unconsciously reached out to touch it, making him flinch violently.
