The Three Of Us (Lauren/You)

| 3 | Pizza and Chill

Your POV

September seemed to arrive too quickly and with it came the sudden gusts of strong wind. It was steadily getting colder as the days passed by, reminding me that the holidays were really just around the corner.

It also reminded me that it's been three weeks since I met Marco and we were still having our little lunch chats.

It's weird because I normally can't handle being around a small child for so long. They cried all the time and they were messy as fuck. I just didn't have the patience for that kind of thing. But the maturity Marco radiated was a welcome change.  He talked like an adult even if he did still have his child-like tendencies.

And one such thing was his severe stubbornness.

Even I had to admit he was a smart kid but not to the point that he was going to be always right. So whenever I tried to correct him, he would get annoyed and wave me off. I was genuinely curious if he got that from his mom or dad.

As I was lazily strolling to our spot, I realized that I was earlier than the usual time we usually met. Mainly because God answered my prayers and James wasn't an asshole today and let me do my job. Even the hell ladies were quiet, busy with their own work to bully me. At least for once, it was a good day for me.

I heard a few whispered shouts from behind the school as I passed by. Normally, I would just walk past it, thinking it was just kids playing or roughhousing. But when I heard the unmistakable sound of Marco's voice, I decided to check it out.

I stopped just behind a wall and peered behind it. My eyes immediately caught two boys snickering in front of Marco who held a Rick and Morty lunchbox close to his chest.

"Just give it already!" one of the boys shouted while the other one just snickered beside him. Marco was standing his ground and looking at them with a hard glare but I could see his whole body shaking even at this distance.

The other boy forcefully grabbed the lunchbox and opened it. Marco was about to protest when the bigger boy, the one shouting earlier, shoved him into the wall making him fall to the ground.

They must be the bullies he was talking about. That's when I suddenly realized why he was always looking at me eat all the time. I thought he was finished eating his lunch when in reality, these kids were taking it from him. And of course this little devil's stubborn ass wouldn't tell me about it.

Shaking my head, I proceeded to take a step forward, fully intending to stop them when a sudden thought popped into my head. What would me stopping them now do? Would it stop them from bullying Marco forever? Yeah, I could stop them from taking his lunch now but what about later when they were inside the school and I wasn't there to defend him anymore? They would bully him more precisely because Marco needed someone to step in instead of him defending himself.

That's why I found myself stepping back as the boys ate his lunch and walked away.

Marco slowly stood up and grabbed his lunchbox from the ground. I watched him turn it around and dust off the dirt that got on it. He looked so sad—so lost. He looked different from the boy I've been talking to for weeks.

A sudden thought entered my mind. He was going to be stubborn about it for sure but doing it would be for his own good.

"Sorry, Marco. You're gonna have to wait a little longer for me," I whispered before turning around and walking away from the sad boy in front of me.

-//-//-//-//-//-

Marco was already on the bench when I came back. He was looking down on the grass as he swung his legs back and forth. His head turned to me once he heard me approaching and I plastered an easy smile on my face.