Crystal Sides

Chapter 14: Nice Necktie

--POV = Logan--

"But, like, what do you do all day?" I heard Virgil asking some emo thugs he'd met.

We'd arrived at the school about two hours ago, and were already somewhat fitting in. It was lunchtime, and Patton was sharing lunch with a group of people the other students labelled the 'anime nerds'. Not a clue what anime is, but at least he was meeting some fellow nerds. Remy was lying on the table next to him, lapping coffee out of a starbucks cup he'd most likely stolen off a student. Roman had already caught the attention of at least five different girls and were talking to them over in the corner. I caught a snippet of their conversation:

"So you mean that women aren't superior here?" Roman looked baffled.

The girls giggled and flicked their hair, shaking their heads.

"Huh. You have weird customs in this place." he smiled charmingly.

The girls laughed some more, their high-pitched squeals echoing around the lunch hall.

A blonde-haired girl leaned against him, "Oh, Roman. You're so funny." she smirked, putting on a 'sexy' tone.

I smiled at them and walked away. So far I hadn't spoken to anyone. I trotted along, trying to find the teachers everyone seemed to be talking about. From what I'd heard, they seemed to be my kind of people. Suddenly, I stumbled as my foot hit something. I heard chuckling behind me as I righted myself. Curious to see what head tripped me up, I turned around. Three bulky boys stood grinning at me.

I raised an eyebrow, "What's so funny?"

The one at the front who's tripped me up leaned forward so that his head was only a few inches from my face. He scowled, pursing his lips.

I took a step back, "I don't want a kiss, thank you."

Some girls nearby who'd overheard put their hands over their mouths and giggled.

I glanced at them and then back at the thugs. They stared a the girls, looking enraged. The apparent leader glared back at me before lunging forward and grabbing my blue and black tie.

"Nice necktie, nerd!" he pulled me toward him.

"Yeah, nerd!" one of his friends echoed.

The leader balled his hand into a fist and leaned back, preparing to punch me in the face.

Without giving a second thought, I grabbed his arm and heaved. With barely any effort, I flung him over my shoulder. He landed on the hard floor behind me with a slam. The hall went silent as everybody turned to look at us. Clutching his head in his hands, the thug stared up at me in horror.

There was a pause. My thoughts were blank.  No sense of victory. No trace of remorse.

"Don't touch me." I said flatly. My words seemed to fill the silent hall.

After a brief pause, I walked away, into the corridor. Behind me, I could hear the thug's horrified roar, "He's a gem! They're all gems!"

Panicked chatter arose behind me. I kept walking, not turning around.

 I heard footsteps rushing after me. 

A hand touched my shoulder. I turned.

"Let's go." Roman murmured, glancing back at the hall. Virgil stood next to him, his expression grim. Patton stared at me, wide-eyed in shock, holding Remy like a baby.

I narrowed my eyes and nodded once, not meeting their gaze.

I felt ashamed. I'd hurt a human. I should never have done that on purpose.

We headed to the door. Suddenly, a boy came running in, looking out of breath. He ran straight past us, into the canteen. But the look of utter horror in his eyes was enough to make me turn and watch him. 

When he reached the canteen, he cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "There's a corrupted gem!"

A teacher emerged from a door, "What?"

He nodded, looking terrified, "A corrupted gem! Outside! It's heading for the school!"

The panicked chatter morphed into terrified screams. People started to run around, yelling at each other.

I glanced at my roommates. They returned my stare.

"We have to do something." Roman said.

Looking determined, Patton placed Remy down, "We have to save them!"

I summoned my hand guards and the others summon their weapons, preparing for a battle.