Honey Don't (Ringo Starr)

Ch.2

Lunch that day with Richard made me happier than anything ever has before. I got to know him a little better, and I learned that he got sick very often, lived with just his mum, and had a knack for woodwork and mechanics. I noticed that even though Richard was very excited to talk about things, his eyes still seemed sad...but very soulful. I also noticed that we kept getting very strange looks from others.

"I'm sorry that we keep getting attention." Richard mumbled. He realised that during our conversations, I was constantly looking around and noticing the stares and whispers.

"No, no, it's fine. People here seem very rude though." I reassured him.

"Are we friends?" Richard blurted out, which took me aback.

"Well...only if you want to be. I don't exactly have anybody else." I half smiled.

"Me neither."

"Wait, you don't have any friends?" Richard shook his head. "But...I don't understand."

"Well, it might have to do with me always going missing, but that's only because of how sick I get. I just wish people didn't judge based on what they've heard. I'd tell people what's wrong, but what difference would it make? I'm still a weird kid." Richard looked down and started fiddling with his thumbs.

"You're not weird in a bad way." I placed one of my hands on his. He began to smile, and of course I smiled too. "Heck, I'm pretty weird myself! Look at me, some American girl on English soil who can hardly understand what people are saying because of these extravagant accents." This made Richard laugh. Such a beautiful laugh. "I'm sorry for bringing this all up. But I assure you, that we'll be friends forever. You know, I already think of you as my best friend!"

"So best friends forever?" Richard looked up at me.

"Best friends forever!" I held out my pinky to him and he locked his with mine.

"Oh my God, one day of being here and they already have a thing! American girls must be so slutty. Especially one who'd go for Richard STALKY." said an oh-too-familiar voice. I turned around and saw Donald behind Richard and I.

"Excuse you?" I got up, fists clenched.

"Oh, you heard me. You know, you've pretty much ruined yourself for the rest of high school, love." Donald smirked. At this point, Richard had gotten up and stood his ground with me.

"Don't call her 'love', especially in such a condescending matter." Richard said sternly, which once again, surprised me. He was already defending me like he's known me forever.

"Oh, sorry mate. I forgot that she's already yours. Have fun with your first shag soon. Not sure if it'll be her first though." Donald laughed as if he had just told the funniest joke in the world. I was furious. Never had I ever been talked about this way, and I wasn't expecting my first day of high school to go at all like this. It seemed too surreal, like this was some novel. I knew at that moment though, that I wanted to hurt this kid, which I've never wanted to do in my life. Just as I was about to slap this kid across the face though, Richard beat me to it, sucker punching him right in the jaw. Richard actually punched him hard enough to push him back a few steps. Donald walked back forward, rubbing his jaw, smirking again. Richard and I both stepped back, a bit in fear. Donald just snickered. "Who would've thought? Don't worry, I won't tell on you." Donald stepped between us, patting Richard on the shoulder, and walked out of the lunch room. Richard and I looked around us, seeing so many stares.

"Good job, Richard!" some girl yelled from across the room. Richard and I just looked at each other and laughed. Just as we did, the bell rang for us to go to our next class, which sadly, we did not have together.

"Well, I guess I better get going now." I sighed. I didn't want lunch to end.

"Would you like me to walk you to class?" Richard offered sweetly.

"Thank you, Richard, but our class's are on two completely different ends of the school."

"Oh, right. Well, I'll at least see you in Science at the end of the day!"

"Of course. Hey, Richard, where do you live?"

"42 Penny Lane in Dingle. How about you?"

"38 Penny Lane in Dingle...just 2 doors down."

"That's great! Would you like to walk home together?" Richard offered, which of course, I had to take.

"Of course, Richard! That would be fantastic."

"Alrighty. Well, I don't want you being late to class, so I'll see you in Science, best friend!"

"See you, best friend."

Richard and I exited the lunch room together, him going down the hall to the left, and me to the right. How could anyone think so poorly of him? People in this town are so cruel.

I got to my next class and saw the most gruesome thing ever: Donald. "Oh, great." I huffed, making sure that when I found a seat, it was as far away from him as possible.

"Hey, Mrs. Stalky!" Donald shouted, just so everyone could hear. I couldn't take it anymore.

"You know, you must really like the sound of your own voice. Also, Stalky? Really? Is that the best you could do? I bet you don't even have a REASON to refer to him as a 'stalker.' And another thing, you sure do act like such a tough guy, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm sure no one thinks you are, because even though a lot of these people probably have the same opinion as you do about Richard, I haven't seen anybody ONCE glance your way for ANYTHING you've said about him. So do you enjoy trying to make people miserable? You might as well stop because it's not affecting me in any way. But don't you worry, Donald, because when I'm older and I have high school stories to tell to friends, family, or anyone else listening, you will definitely make a big contribution on why my first day of high school was completely not as I expected. I can already see it now! 'So here I am, completely new, not having spoken a single word to anybody before, and they were already treating me like someone they've known for years, acting like they knew my life story and how I was.' It sucks how probably nobody will get to know how I truly am, because of judgment." I felt my faced turning red, but I kept my cool throughout this whole rant. God, that felt great. It even left Donald speechless. I mocked his smirk, and turned around, facing the front of the room, until I felt a little tap on my shoulder. I turned around, seeing that it was a girl who was in my Mathematics class this morning. I think her name was Alice. She seemed pretty quiet, at least when she spoke.

"You know, I think Donald has this whole facade, and picks on people because he's insecure about himself. He's been doing that with Richard for years, which I don't get. I also don't understand why he has anything against you too. You seem like someone who's very cool to be around." she smiled. I was surprised to hear this.

Someone actually isn't judging me based off of Richard? "Cool? I never thought I could be cool," was all I could think of to say.

"Yeah. The way you defended yourself this morning and just now, that's awesome. It's great that you're able to speak up for yourself like that, because not many people can, including Richard. I heard about what happened in the lunch room. I didn't know Richard had it in him to just hit him in the jaw. I think that's amazing."

"Well...thanks. I'm sure he'd like to hear that." I chuckled. "Alice, right?"

"Yep."

"You seem really cool yourself. Thanks again, for not thinking of Richard so poorly."

"Of course! I hardly know the kid, so who am I to say anything?"

The bell rang to signal the start of class, and Alice opened her notebook, writing her name on top of the first page. I turned around, sighing a breath of relief. At least someone has some sense in them.