A Different Kind of Friendship (IDk)

Part 2

         The boy was having a crappy day. In fact, he'd say his whole life was crappy. His father was a drunk addict who was currently serving his time after being caught smuggling drugs with a nearby dealer. His mother was having a difficult time working two shifts to provide for him. Every night was the same. She always came home late, so, the boy, Eric, had to find food for him. On Saturdays and Sundays the two would spend their time hanging out and spending their whole entire day with family. Today was one of his worst. Not only was he already failing in all of his classes, he was late to school and to his classes. A random kid had accidentally spilled his water all over his papers. His hair was a mess and he had one dress shoe on one foot and the other, a tennis shoe. He wore one of his stained shirts and ripped pants along with two mixed matched socks. People all day were looking at him in a funny way. So you can imagine the look on his face when he had collided with a young girl. The two stared into each other's eyes before he realized that there were people staring at them and the pile of fallen papers all over the school hallway.

In one swift movement, the girl quickly got up and rushed out the door not bothering to look behind her. Finding a nearby alley she sank to the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest, crying. A sound interrupted her causing her to jerk her head upwards. Standing up, she saw in the distance as a group of large men approached her. At first she was contemplating what to do, when she did the only thing she could do. The one thing that she knew how to do. It was the only thing she was good at. And that was to run. She ran so fast the speed would've rivaled the flash's. If only she could do this all the time. Run from the crowd, the people. Run from her life, her problems, her life worries, run from all of it, everything. The world.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she ran and jumped over and under objects. Daring to take a peek behind her, she saw the men in pursuit. Two were behind her and as she rounded a corner she saw a third hot on her trail behind her. She ran 'til she was faced with a large brick wall. It wasn't until she turned around and backed away into the wall when realization dawned on her. She was trapped. Trapped between the wall and this gang of men. Trapped, between life and death. Trapped where there was no way out. The three men approached her and as the first one threw a punch to her guts the others started to pull her down on the ground and kick her. She curled up into a fetal position, her hair splayed all around her as her arms instinctively gripped her head to avoid any physical contact there. Her eyes were squeezed so tight she was seeing dots swarming her vision. She tried to shut it all out. The sound as her bones cracked, the men grunting as they kicked her. She tried to shut it all out. The world around her and everything else making noise. She felt as a loud sickening crack was heard throughout the alley. Soon, all three were kicking her. Their boots jabbed into her spine and stomach. They kicked her head at least once, but hard enough to cause a mild concussion. Her ankle was bruised and twisted in an uncomfortable position. She was definitely sure she'd be severely bruised after this. Another crack sounded, this time coming from her arm. Then suddenly, as soon as the pain came, it ended.

She forced herself to open her eyes and saw in awe as a figure started beating the men up. She watched as her knight in shining armor scared the three full grown men off. She watched as it walked towards her. A sudden wave of fear washed throughout her whole entire aching body. She was falling, and she knew that. She was falling hard and deep; she could feel it; until a single arm stretched out and offered her their hand. She soon found herself pressing her body against the wall even further, if that was even possible. Then another wave of emotions sent relief throughout her body. It was that boy she ran into. The one who looked at her, actually looked at her like she was another person, another human being just like him. At the moment he looked at her with eyes not showing pity or resentment, but eyes of understanding. Never in a million years had she thought someone would look at her with those kind of eyes. Not looking over her, not past her, not through her, but actually at her. A feeling of happiness spurred within the girl's body. The boy looked at her patiently with his hand outstretched and a soft smile played on his face.

He had followed the girl who ran away before a word could be spoken. He didn't know why, or what urged him to do it, but he did. He lost her in the alley until he caught sight of three men beating a frail girl on the ground. Rushing over to the scene, the boy didn't hesitate to punch the first man, and before he knew it, he was fighting three grown men, and surprisingly, he was winning. Of course it was easier 'cause they were all drunk but in the end, they soon gave way and left the two alone in an empty alley. Eric took a look at the girl as she was curled up in a tight ball, her eyes glassy, almost to a breaking point. He knew she wasn't far from death's door and he had to do something. He couldn't just leave her there to die, could he? No, that was out of the question. One of many he had, like how did she get here? Who is she? Why is she alone and covered in dirt? He stretched his hand out slowly as to not frighten the girl. The girl, in response, only shrank away, her body pressing against the wall as if it would protect her. He gave her a genuine smile letting her that he wasn't going to harm her. She looked at him for a while before she slowly let her bony hand into his. Gently, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his home that was not too far from where they were.