Dignified

Chapter twenty

Ryan pushed his way through the crowded hallways, smiling to himself as he thought back to the incident with Darren in his first period. Mr. Carter, his teacher, had dismissed the jocks from class to go change their clothes, making sure to use terms such as 'wetting yourself' and 'completely ridiculous' to embarrass the boys. He looked down at his wrist watch, astonished at how fast the day had gone by. He adjusted his bag and walked out of the building, loosening his tie as he made his way towards their car. Ryan had enjoyed lunch with Hannah, Delia, and his brothers. The jocks made sure to steer away from Clark, still feeling shaken from the morning. Ryan looked around, not seeing the others. He leaned against the hood of the car, sighing slightly as he plugged in his headphones. Over all, Dawson wasn't that bad. He made friends, the building was nice, and he saw his brothers plenty of times around the school. He smiled slightly. It still would have been better at Brassford where he knew everyone and everyone knew him, but the best part would have been Peyton. She always made everything better. He looked down, unable to resist smiling. He loved everything about her, from her chocolate brown hair to her emerald green eyes. She used to be the same height as him, but after the Chronics, Ryan grew about eight inches, leaving her at 5'0. "Did someone slip you a love potion?" Clark asked, coming around from another vehicle. Ryan shook his head, coming back to reality. "What?"

"You're obviously crushing." He said, unlocking the car. "Only an idiot who's in love would stand there with that look on their face." Ryan threw his backpack inside, plunging into the seat. "Oh, shut up." He said.

"So who is it? Did you meet her today?" Clark asked, turning the car on.

"No, I've-" he stopped, blushing slightly. "Er, nothing."

Clark smirked, looking around for Trace and Zach. "So, you've already known her, huh? I wonder who that could be.." He said sarcastically.

"Pull up over there. I see Trace." Ryan said, trying to change the topic.

"You don't have to hide it, Ryan. everyone knows you two have a thing." Clark pulled out of the parking spot, driving over to the entrance of the school. "Hey, over here!" He called out, waving at Trace. He grinned when he spotted them, running over to the car. "Hey guys. Sorry, I hadn't seen y'all."

"Where's Zach?" Ryan asked as Trace got in.

"I don't know, I think he said he was going around the back."

Clark groaned. "Why the hell would he do that? That's going to take him forever."

"He was following some girl he likes." Trace said, shrugging.

"If he's not back in five minutes, I'm leaving him." Clark said, leaning back.

On the opposite side of the building, Zach was treading after a tall, blonde junior girl who was walking with a friend on either side. He grinned as the girl departed, walking towards her vehicle without the other two. He rubbed his hands together, taking a deep breath. "Let's do this. You got this." He said to himself, fixing his hair. Zach jogged slightly to her car, giving his best smile and raising his eyebrows. "Hey there." He said, slipping his hands into his pockets. The girl turned to Zach just as she was about to get in. "Um...hi?"

"What's up?" He asked, leaning against the door.

"The sky." She said, rolling her eyes and getting into her car.

"Hey, wait." It was too late. The girl turned her car on, quickly driving forward.

"Great. Nice going." He muttered, turning towards the school. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the group of jocks leaving the school. They were laughing loudly and looked idiotic. One of them smirked and pointed at Zach, the rest of them, turning to see where he was pointing. "Damn it." He said, walking rapidly towards another entrance in the school. It was only a matter of seconds before he could hear them getting closer to him. They were right behind Zach and he knew it. "Hey, ginger!" He saw a hand on his shoulder, grabbing him and spinning him around. He felt a fist collide with his jaw, sending him falling down. He yelped in pain, holding the side of his face, and got up, trying to run away. He was kicked in the lower back, making him fall towards the ground again as he got up. The boys began to beat him, laughing and spitting as they kicked, punched, and slapped Zach. The pain was exploding across his body. It was unbearable. Without thinking about it, Zach yelled out, "ESTEMUS!"

-sorry it's a short chapter. Anyways, thank you guys so much for reading! Please vote or comment! Make sure to share with your friends! :) )-