Smoke And Steel

• One - I'm Not A Princess •

Ebony

"You dick head!"

The roar of yelling and cheering  assaulted my ears as I hurried out of the back entrance of the library, almost causing me to drop my book-filled rucksack in surprise.

A large crowd had formed around two boys, who were absolutely beating each other to a pulp. I groaned inwardly, shielding my eyes as I tried to look away from the scene. This was not what I wanted to see after a peaceful hour or so of reading. Seeing people hurt - either physically or emotionally - was not my idea of fun - I was just too empathetic. I wanted none of this, and just as I was planning which way would be the better way to just run past, I caught a glimpse of the barbaric fight.

Through a break in the crowd I saw the two boys, bloodied, bruised, and attacking each other with ferocious intent. I knew that if someone didn't break it up soon, someone would get seriously hurt or the cops would be called. Neither seemed like a great outcome, and I was still considering whether or not I could bring myself to just run past without remorse.

Crack!

I winced as I heard bone breaking under the force of a well-timed punch. The dark-haired boy on the bottom clutched his face, letting out a guttural cry. The top boy was straddling him, rearing his fist back for another hit.

"Stop!" I pleaded, breaking through the wall of cheering spectators, "please, just stop!"

The top boy's head snapped up, his grey eyes meeting mine with a look of fiery death. I shrank back into myself, but his eyes stayed on me for a second more before shooting back to his opponent.

The boy with the broken nose tried to use that moment of weakness to break free but the top boy wasn't budging. He struggled, trying to get out.

"Not this time, you little shit!" The boy on top spat, as he landed a final punch on the already wounded body beneath him.

By the time I reached the pair, the top boy was already pulling himself off, brushing the dirt off of his faded Levi's.

"Fuck you, Steel!" The broken-nosed boy cried through a fountain of blood. He leaped up and started to back away, but not before getting the last word in. "Mess with me again and you'll be the one with the broken nose next time!"

The crowd had already diffused, leaving me and the apparently called 'Steel' to be the only two people left in the parking lot.

"What was that?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Are you alright?"

Here I was, asking a probable bully if he was alright. Honestly, I didn't understand myself sometimes.

"Don't you worry you're pretty little head, Princess" he said rudely as he bent down to collect his jacket from the bitumen. "We big boys know how to handle ourselves. So, I'm asking this with the utmost kindness - just fuck off."

He was already halfway gone before my mind started working again and I had to practically run to catch up to the bloody Usain Bolt of the speed-walking world.

"Excuse me?" I asked, more fiercely than intended, as I reached around and forcefully grabbed him by the shoulder. There went my no-violence policy.

"Don't you fuckers ever leave me alone?" He sneered before spinning around, shrugging hard to loosen my grip. He had a stupid English accent that would've been nice if he wasn't such an idiot. He quickly looked me up and down before speaking again. "Why are you still here? No, you can't have an autograph, just piss off."

"Are you always so rude to people who try to help you?" I asked, annoyed at his blatant disrespect. "Actually, I don't care for you answer!" I shouted, spinning around angrily, turning to walk back to the library.