Rich and George: The Power Couple

George's POV: I'm So Fragile

One Monday in the middle of October during seventh grade was the worst incident with Henry. We were all outside for recess, and I was sitting alone to read my book. I had a headache, so I opted out of playing soccer with my friends.

Rich came up to the bench and sat down, and I instantly felt my headache get worse. Great, just what I needed. More gay feelings.

"Hey, what book is that?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" It was Simon and the Homosapien's Agenda. I put my bookmark between the pages and closed it in annoyance. He was smiling his awful smile that made me question why I hated him.

"What's a nice kid like you doing sitting by himself?" He looked into my eyes. Shit, he was charming me!

"Avoiding you," I muttered.

"Wow, okay. Why do you hate me so much?" He didn't seem angry when he asked that question. In fact, he was grinning.

"That. That's why. You're never serious, you're always teasing me and calling me cute, and I'm sick of it." He kept smiling. "Rich! Stop doing that!"

"I can't help it!" I rolled my eyes.

"Davis!" Henry called, running over to the bench. "Why do you keep hanging around this fag?"

"I was wondering the same thing," I replied, immediately wishing I hadn't.

"Wow, twerp. You've really got a big mouth." I winced. "What, you think I'm gonna hurt you? Because I can if you want."

"Christ," I whispered.

"You know what? That sounds like a fun idea. Yeah, maybe I will hurt you." I looked at Rich, and his expression was blank. I wanted to scream at him.

Henry grabbed me by the collar and forced me to stand. When I did, he pushed me down and I hit my head on the corner of the bench. I screamed in pain as my head started to throb. I could tell I was bleeding instantly.

"Rich! Come on, help me out here!" Henry cheered. He said nothing, giving me a mere glance before walking away. Great.

Henry was ruthless towards me. He was a lot bigger now, and stronger. I was pushed down countless times, hitting my head harder each time. I didn't know why Rich had to walk away.

I thought he would never stop until I heard a girl shout "Stop!" I didn't recognize her voice, but it sounded like she had an accent. Henry threw me down and ran, probably trying to avoid getting in trouble.

"Excuse, you are okay?" I looked up at the girl, tears pouring out of my eyes. She couldn't have been much taller than me, and she had blonde hair that was twisted in the back. Standing next to her was Bex Anderson, who was in one of my classes.

"Um, yeah. I should be fine, thanks." Bex helped me stand and then sat me down on the bench. "What's your name?" I asked the girl. She looked nervous, and hesitated to answer.

"It's Jillian," Bex replied for her. "She's from Germany, still learning English."

"Oh." I shook her hand. "Well, thank you for helping me back there. My name is George." She smiled at me.

"You are very pain," she told me worriedly. I understood what she meant, and nodded. "You go to, um... Bex? Where go?"

"Nurse." Bex looked at me, their hair covering their eyes. "Come, we'll take you." I nodded as Bex helped me stand. I didn't get very far before I fell over. My head hurt so bad, I wanted to disappear.

Sidney noticed what happened and came running over, followed by Maximillian and James. He took my hand, and without another word, helped me stand. The Sekowskis bombarded me with questions that Bex answered. I felt like I was underwater, I couldn't hear anything. Then it all went black.

God damnit.

I woke up in the nurse's office, with everyone standing over me. I blinked in confusion, then everyone stepped back.

"Drink this," Maximillian told me, handing me a cup of water. "Your parents are on their way over here to take you home."

"Did I faint?" I asked. Sidney nodded.

"I was so scared you would hit your head, but I caught you," he told me. His hazelnut brown eyes were filled with concern.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing I thought to say.

"No, buddy. Don't be sorry." He sat down next to me on the cot. I started to cry again, feeling ashamed of taking up everyone's time. "Hey, just look at me. Breathe."

"Why does this keep happening?" I cried. "I keep getting... I'm so fragile."

"You're anything but fragile," Maximillian refuted. "You're the strongest guy I've ever met, George. You always get back up when you're down."

"I..." There was nothing to be said. I hated myself for not believing him.