Trapped (egobang trans)

Chapter 5 - First Fight

At lunch Arin once again found a secluded place to sit. She didn't do cafeterias. Too many people that might be staring at her. Instead she found a picnic bench outside. It was small enough that she hoped that no one would come and sit with her, at least not if they had a group. Jon and his friends were nowhere to be seen.

The ball game had been fun, she had to admit. But the masculine atmosphere with that group wasn't something that she wanted to get too involved with. If she did, she'd only make them angrier if they found out she wasn't a guy.

The picnic bench Arin chose was close to the school, though just far away that she wouldn't have to listen to all the stupid conversations. She could still hear people talking, but it was more of a background noise than anything. She didn't like silence; it made her feel like someone was watching her.

Out of nowhere Arin heard a loud crash, followed by what sounded like shouting. She jumped, falling backwards on the bench. With a wince of pain she climbed to her feet, glad that she was alone so no one saw that. She wasn't usually the nosy type, but whatever was going on sounded extreme. Quickly packing up her lunch she made her way to the door that lead back into the hallways - it sounded like it was happening in there.

Walking in she saw a crowd of people, circling whatever was going on. She could hear more clearly the shouting now, and she recognised at least one of the voices: Jon.

"Get off me!"

Afraid of what was happening to him, Arin found herself pushing through the crowd. She liked Jon. He was the first person she'd ever really liked, even if he didn't know the real her. If she ever put her trust in anyone again, it would be him.

With some difficulty she made it to the front. Pushing her head through she saw Jon on the floor, struggling as someone was on top of him, trying to throw punches. To her surprise she recognised that person too. It was the girl from earlier, curly hair even wilder than before as she seemed to be in some kind of frenzy.

Jon blocked her punches with his hands, though that prevented him from fighting back. At some point, however, she managed to get one through and his head whipped to the side, blood spraying from his nose.

"Aw, you bitch!" Jon cried angrily, suddenly pushing her off as she paused for a second.

The girl flew back, but before she could do anything the roles were swapped and Jon was on top of her instead. Arin gasped as he punched her square in the face, not even hesitating. He punched a second time but she was ready, moving her head so he instead punched the tiled floor full force. He cried out in frustration, then in pain as she bit down on his hand.

Jon reeled back and the girl leapt on him, uttering a kind of banshee cry as she tried to hit him in any way possible. Arin couldn't watch any more. Without thinking she ran forward, grabbing Jon by the shoulders and tearing him away from the girl. She grabbed at Jon, barely noticing Arin as she wasn't finished with him yet.

"Stop it!" Arin screamed, voice cracking in panic.

The girl stopped at that. Her wild eyes refocused and she looked around at their audience, frowning. She sighed angrily and got to her feet unsteadily, wiping blood from her lip. She glared down at Jon who was still on the floor being held by Arin. For a moment Arin thought she would attack him again, but at that moment a teacher pushed through the crowd, looking around at the aftermath of the fight. She saw Jon's bloody nose and frowned.

"Who's responsible for this?" she asked harshly.

Almost immediately a few people pointed at the girl.

"It was her. She tackled him to the ground!" exclaimed someone.

The girl's eyes burned as she listened to those words. Arin wondered why - was she annoyed that she'd been caught? She didn't get to think more about it as the girl suddenly turned away and shoved past some people.

"Hey, come back here! Danielle!" the teacher shouted, but to no avail.

She sighed angrily, then turning to Jon. She didn't seem to feel sorry for him at all, even though he was the victim. Though he did technically fight her too, Arin thought.

"You. In my classroom, now," she ordered, beckoning Jon to follow her.

Pulling himself from Arin's hold Jon got to his feet. As he walked off he cast a glance back at Arin. It wasn't a friendly glance.

Arin sat on the floor for a moment longer, not really knowing what to do. When she did get up, everyone was staring at her, probably because she'd been the one to break up the fight. She blushed, hanging her head and hurrying away from them all; she hated being stared at.

Unknowingly she'd gone the same way as the girl, Danielle. Arin only noticed when she saw a trail of blood spots on the floor that lead into the bathroom. The boys bathroom...

Even though she didn't know this girl, Arin found herself walking inside. She was stopped by another crash that echoed through the bathroom and what sounded like crying.

Peeking her head round the corner Arin saw Danielle stood by the cubicles, balled fists as she had obviously just been taking her anger out on them. Her back was to Arin but she could see her shaking, sobbing because she thought she was alone.

"D-Danielle?" Arin called weakly.

The girl froze, shoulders tensing.

"Don't call me that," she growled.

"Why n-not?"

"BECAUSE THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"

Without warning she slammed her fist against the cubicle again, making Arin jump. What was wrong with this girl? Arin thought about leaving, but the girl turned around then. Her eyes glistened with tears but burned like fire.

"You... What're you doing in here? Let me guess, you're here to tell me off for hitting your friend? Well just get it over and done with," she said, voice still choked from crying.

"W-What? No, I just wanted to check that you were o-okay..." Arin stammered, cringing at how pathetic she sounded.

Danielle snorted, folding her arms and leaning back against the cubicle. She stared at Arin with narrowed eyes from behind a mass of curly locks, the corners of her mouth pointed down in a disgusted frown.

"Yeah right. You might look all soft and innocent, but you're just like everyone else. You don't understand..." She muttered the last part to herself.

The two paused, an awkward silence setting in. Arin watched as Danielle pulled at her shirt slightly. It was large and loose already, but the way she tugged at it made it seem like she was trying to make it even more so. Arin said nothing, not wanting to be judgy.

"W-Why're you in the b-boys bathroom?" she said instead, never liking silence and always wanting to fill it.

Danielle stopped messing with her shirt and came away from the cubicle. Her eyes went dark and she put her lips in a thin line. Her whole body looked tense as she stared at Arin. Even though she was slouching she seemed to tower over Arin, an unpredictable monster that could so easily beat Arin up right now. Arin closed her eyes, scared and not wanting to watch. But the most physical contact she felt was a hard push on her shoulder as Danielle shoved past her and stormed from the bathroom.

"Must've walked in by mistake."

A/N: OOOH THINGS ARE HAPPENING