Presence

Chapter Two

Firestarter by Torre Florim

Brunch rolled around and I met with Side. I munched on a bag of Doritos as Side spent the time talking about the girl he had met in health. As lunch drew nearer, I began to get nervous about sitting with these people that I didn't know.

   I walked as slowly as possible to the lunch area, dragging my feet and with my hands in my pockets. My destination was on the opposite end of the school so by the time I had it in my sights, the majority of other students had cleared away. My head was bent so I didn't notice the approaching figure until I felt a hand grip tightly around my arm.

   I was roughly yanked into a hallway adjacent to where I had been walking. I didn't fight. This was something I was used to.

   Polen slammed me against the wall and placed his hand on my shoulder as he pulled back his fist. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head to brace myself for impact.

   His fist collided with my cheek and clipped my jawline. A wave of pain rushed through my face, but I didn't flinch or wince, because I knew that the more pain I showed, the more pain would be inflicted. Polen only punched me three times before a door on the end of the hallway opened and he was forced to release me.

   The sudden loss of support caught me by surprise and I stumbled forward slightly. Before he ran off, Polen spat in my face and snarled, "Fag."

   The teacher that had interrupted Polen's fun, heard the sound of Polen's footsteps as he fled the scene and looked up from her phone. I didn't stick around for her to say anything. I pulled my hood back over my head and strode back to my original path.

   "Hey!" The teacher called to me, but I ignored her.

   I tried to ignore the blood dripping from the slight gash on my left cheek. It wasn't much so I wiped at it carelessly as I walked. My pace had quickened, but I still didn't look up as I entered the grid of checkered lunch tables.

   "G! Over here!" I heard Side's familiar voice and let my ears guide my feet towards it. Upon reaching the table, I bent to level my head with Side's.

   "I'm just going to go eat by my next class, maybe I'll sit here tomorrow. Sorry Side," I said quickly and quietly, trying to make my apology seem as genuine as possible.

   "What's wrong?" Side turned his head completely and his gaze fell on my face. "Oh...G. Not again? Those fuckers. Was it Polen?" Side gently touched my cheek where it was cut and I recoiled in pain.

   I could feel the eyes of the other guys turn towards me and my face heated up as I felt a blush spread through my cheeks. This was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen.

   "Just...I'm gonna go Side," I said in the smallest possible voice. I turned and hurried away. I had only walked about five feet when someone came up behind me and gripped my shoulder. I spun around with my fist raised and ready to attack.

   "Whoa man," the guy said and backed away from me.

   "Sorry," I mumbled.

   "I just wanted to see if you needed help. Your cheek looks pretty fucked up." The guy offered as he kept pace with my brisk walk.

   I shook my head hoping that whoever this guy was would just go away.

   "Hey," he touched my shoulder again, halting me with his firm grip. "I'm just trying to help you out. Can I at least take you to the nurse?"

   "Look..." I began.

   "Shadow," he filled in.

   "Look, Shadow, I don't need your help. I don't need anybody's help. Just leave me alone. Who do you think you are anyways?"

   "Well you were supposed to come and sit with us today, but instead when you show up you've just gotten beat up. It's only the first day of school and you're already getting beat up so you must be a pretty interesting person." He paused and his eyes flicked down my body and then back to my face. "Plus you're freaking adorable."

   I was taken aback by this. It was so abrupt, so direct that I didn't know how to respond.

   "Come on. I'll take you to the bathroom and we'll get you cleaned up." Shadow began to walk away from me and I thought it best to follow. I couldn't argue with him after he'd called me adorable.

   We reached a door and Shadow whipped out a black lanyard and selected a key from the many attached to the end. He unlocked the door and ushered me inside.

   "Shadow?" I questioned.

   "Took the key from my chem teacher back in freshman year. The staff restrooms are much cleaner than the crappy ones they make us share."

   "You haven't gotten caught?" I asked. With each minute that rolled by in Shadow's presence, I felt more and more comfortable and talkative.

   "Nope. No one really cares here." he replied as he ran the faucet over a piece of paper towel. I pulled my hood off and looked at Shadow. Our eyes connected and I noticed the beautiful emerald green that they were. His skin was slightly tanned although not as dark as mine and his brown hair was stuffed under a New York Mets hat. I let a small smile adorn my face at the sight of him, but immediately regretted it as my braces showed.

   "What?" He asked.

   I shook my head and looked down at my feet.

   "Well you have to look at me so I can clean up your face," he laughed slightly as he put his fingers under my chin and lifted my head up again.

   The gesture was so gentle and caring that I just wanted to melt into a puddle of mush on the tiled floor. However, I contained myself and turned my face so that my cheek faced him. Carefully he wiped away the blood until the cut was just visible. When he was finished he tossed the towel into the trash can and then he bent to pick up his backpack.

   "Ahem," Shadow coughed as I remained rooted to the spot.

   "Oh," I jumped and spun around, my bag hitting Shadow in the stomach.

   "Ow," he said without enthusiasm.

   "Shit. I'm sorry." I hurried out of the bathroom and was going to just keep walking, figuring that it was time for us to part ways. But Shadow held me up.

   "Hold on. What's the rush? I don't even know your name."

   I slowed and Shadow walked once again beside me. "I'm Aaron, but my friends just call me G. Actually everyone calls me G," I amended.

   "Well then, G," Shadow stuck out his hand and I gripped it with uncertainty. "Nice to meet you."