Bullied By Michael Clifford - Muke

The School

Luke's POV

Physics wasn't hard to find. In fact, it was the building right next to the one I was previously behind with that other boy. I shook him from my mind; he was the same as the rest of the bullies. At my old school, they were just the equivalent to that boy. I'm sure they'll be plenty more like him, too. I never really bothered with them, I liked having a positive outlook on life.

I never really had any friends at my old school. I knew a boy named Charlie who I'd always found immensely attractive, and would stare at him whenever I got the chance. I do miss Charlie, but he didn't really notice me. He'd give me the odd 'hello', but since he was popular and definitely good looking, he didn't really pay attention to me, a loner guy surrounded by books and music, no real friends other than the posters on my walls and fictional characters.

I didn't really expect to make any friends at Southwell High, imagining them to ignore my existence like they did at Abbott Academy. I walked through school with my head down and my hands inside my pockets, like I've done my entire school life.

I didn't even want to move here. My mum got a job in London as a head chef, and took it as soon as possible. It's always just been me and my mum, so it wasn't like she needed to talk to anybody about it. And neither did I; nobody cared that I left. To be honest, I didn't mind that nobody cared, because I was hoping to get a fresh start here in London. My old home in Sydney wasn't very nice because my mum only worked at a little diner place, but now we had a pretty big house so maybe it'd all be okay. It wasn't too awful here, anyway.

So I made my way to Physics after talking to that boy and walked in the room awkwardly. The teacher- Mrs Cooper- was a nice friendly woman, middle-aged and all teeth. She welcomed me politely, patting me on the back, despite being half an hour late to her lesson. I mumbled a quick explanation, but she didn't seem to mind. She glanced around the vast class of teenagers before the pointed to a spare seat at the back.

"Well, Luke, you're lucky because we do have a chair for you," Mrs Cooper chimed, walking to the spot and pointing to it like I was five and wasn't capable of going there myself without adult supervision. I thanked her, before sitting down and taking a pen out of my backpack.

Suddenly, a slim boy next to me with coffee skin and dark hair with a streak of blonde leant over and spoke to me in a low voice. "I'm Calum."

I was surprised; someone was actually talking to me without being cruel. I gawped at the boy for a second before smiling and nodding. "I'm Luke, I'm new here. Nice to meet you." I felt myself relax a little; maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

Calum pointed towards the whiteboard at the front. "We're supposed to be writing down the uses of these metals, but I've already finished it so you can copy if you like, seeing as you haven't learnt any of this stuff." His oval brown eyes crinkled as he beamed.

"Um, thanks, but I've learnt this at my old school." I remember physics quite clearly. It was one of the small amount of subjects I had without Charlie, which meant I had a lot of concentration. Charlie is the reason I flunked Algebra, actually.

Calum nodded as I began scribbling down the answers on a sheet, before leaning in again. "You're good at science, Luke. I'm in a Science Club in school called SIL which means Science is Life. I mean, it's pretty cheesy and you might get a couple of jerks pushing you about in the hallways, but it's a really good club and you'll probably learn a lot. I'm the leader, and it's run by Mrs Cooper. At the end of the year, we have a big quiz thing against Hearst High, and if we win, it'll look really good on your CV in the future." His eyes sparkled at the sound of future.

I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't want to make Calum hate me seeing as he's the only one who's acknowledged my existence today in a polite manner, but I'd just started Southwell High and I really needed to focus on my education right now. I wasn't looking to join any clubs at the moment, because I needed to ensure I got extra help on subjects like Algebra which I obviously failed last term.

"I'm not really looking to join extra curricular activities right now. I mean, I just started here today." I told him nervously, biting my lip. I really didn't want to get rid of a potential friend, even if Calum would get me in trouble with the bullies.

He nodded though, smiling. "I understand. Just come along sometime. We're on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's at lunch in this room. We have five members at the moment, and six if you decide to join soon. I hope, anyway." He grins wolfishly.

"Sure, I'll come along." I smiled back, then remembered the boy from before. I really wanted a name for him, just because I felt like he knew mine and now I should know his. I'm positive Calum would know him, if they've been in the same school. Plus, I doubt a figure like his would go unidentified. He had fiery red hair, for goodness sake. "Calum?" I mumbled sheepishly.

He cocked his head to the side. "Yes?"

"Do you know the name of the boy with neon red hair and an eyebrow piercing? He smokes, too. Seems a bit rebellious, and definitely a bully." I pursed my lips, narrowing my eyes. The way he smirked was enough to make me want to punch him in the face, although I definitely wouldn't. I couldn't win in a fight against Calum probably, let alone that boy.

Calum's eyes widened and he cleared his throat. "You mean Michael Clifford, right?"

Michael. "I guess? Why? What's he like?"

"I hate him! All Michael cares about are his two tag-alongs and the amount of girls he can snag for sexual purposes only. Once, he gave me a swirly for just looking at him. Shit, Luke, seriously- don't get involved with Michael Clifford unless you want a death sentence." He shuddered and closed his eyes. "One of his friends- Ashron Irwin- and I used to be good friends until he got into different things and ended up leaving me for Michael. The other friend, Kellin, doesn't even speak. He just beats people up all the time. One stare gets people running."

Fuck, it's like the male version of the Plastics. "Well, I talked to him earlier on. He was outrageously rude but wasn't violent. I saw him just break up with this girl. He hadn't a care in the world when she was practically crying."

"Yup, that's Michael for you. He dates another girl every week. You'd think the girls would have noticed that he only wants them for the sex, but I guess they all think he's hot or whatever. Though, if girls at our school stopped fucking around with him, he'd find them someplace else."

I shook my head in disbelief. "How can he be so inconsiderate? They're not just property, they're human beings."

"Yeah, but I suppose that the girls aren't exactly innocent, either. Michael doesn't rape them or anything. He will get with them as long as they want him, too, so they must've been pretty willing to take their clothes off and let him use them for his own sexual needs. Ashton and Kellin do it, too, but not as often. Every chick wants a piece of Michael Clifford. Even some of the guys."

I laughed. I'd figured out about two years ago that I was gay and had no sexual attraction towards women at all, but a strong one towards males. Plus, I was totally crushing on Charlie Baker, so that was proof enough that I wasn't straight. I wasn't going to just announce to the whole school of my orientation but I also wasn't going to conceal it. I had nothing to hide, after all.

People at my old school didn't know of me being gay, because I was too chicken to tell people. But this time it was different; I was going to start afresh and just be me. I wasn't going to let anybody get me down and make me feel like I don't belong here because I'm a little different than the mainstream high schoolers. Just because I was openly gay, enjoyed the subjects most students despised and was a little weakling, it didn't mean I was weird.

For now, I'll decide to ignore Michael Clifford for now. I didn't need somebody like him in my life anyway. He was a cheat and a user. He might be attractive and a bit of a bad boy, but I would stay away from him.

***

This was also short because these two chapters kind of just tell you what kind of people Luke and Michael are.