My Words Are Law

Past

Last semester...

After Amaryllis had cleared her head of what happened in the lobby, she began to think about how she was going to behave in front of Chryses. While she didn't want to associate with him anymore, her conscience internally battered her. Everything she thought about him was all speculations, after all.

And yet those speculations grew bigger the next time she crossed paths with Chryses.

After lengthy deliberation, she finally compromised with her conscience and decided that being cordial with him is the least she could do to repay his kindness. But it was Chryses Taylor who decided to turn his back on her. She started greeting him whenever they met, but he didn't reciprocate her enthusiasm. Or rather, he began to ignore her. The first time it happened, she thought he might not have heard her, but it became glaringly apparent through the days that he had also turned his back on her.

At the same time, gossip about her altercation with Melinda and Harrison began to spread, and her classmates not only ostracized her but they started to resort to verbal abuse, as well. She could hear the name-calling whenever she passed by a group of students. Words like, 'gold digger,' 'fuckhole,' 'cum dumpster,' 'slut,' and a few other things she'd heard before were being passed around without a care. It only ever stops when she's with Mia.

She turned a blind eye to their harassment, already aware that reporting it to the Student Disciplinary Office won't make any difference. They'll only get scolded and will come back even more equipped. It was useless to fight back. It was useless to defend herself. It was useless to complain. There's no justice when there's no money or power. It was a harsh reality that crushed her countless times in the past.

Anyway, she'll just endure it until they get tired of it and move on to the next issue.

She was sure it would stop sooner or later, but when she felt someone deliberately bump into her in the hallway, she began to question her forecast. It seems she overestimated their maturity... She sighed, about to get her folder that had fallen on the floor, but a foot had kicked it away.

"Sorry. Didn't see that there." The mocking voice earned a frown from her, but she remained quiet and stood up to retrieve the folder that had slid a little farther away.

How childish...

The second time she reached for her folder, someone stepped on it.

"Oh? Sorry..." How was it possible to talk in a tone that was gentle and icy at the same time..? She looked up and met Chryses' eerie amber eyes. The backlighting projected dark shadows on his face, making his eyes gleam dangerously as he stared down at her with a blank expression.

She gulped.

"Be careful not to drop your things next time..." He pushed the folder closer to her with a slight push of his foot and went on his way, leaving Amaryllis, who couldn't even manage to utter a syllable in fright. That expression was almost identical to the face she saw that night.

"Chryses! Wait up-! I-!" Harrison's voice echoed in the nearly empty hallway as he hurried out of the room. He was rushing but stopped by the doorway when he noticed Amaryllis crouching near the egress. His twisted expression was unnoticed by the woman as she sat there immobile, seemingly dazed.

At least not until a foot came down on her hand. Hard. She yelped, wincing at the pain. "Excuse me. You're stepping on my hand," she called out as she lifted her eyes to look at the stranger. A smirk greeted her, and she froze when she realized the guy intended to step on her hand all along. "Harrison... Get your foot off my hand-"

"Or what? What will you do..? You bitch-" Harrison's response was cut off by an all-too-familiar voice roaring from the end of the hall where Amaryllis was directly facing.

"You dickhead! Get your motherf*cking foot off her hand!" It was Tobias. Amaryllis was clueless about why he suddenly decided to visit her department, but she felt slightly relieved when she saw his face. Her friend ran past Chryses, who had already entered the elevator. A slight frown tinged his impassive expression.

As soon as Chryses' eyes lowered to look at Harrison's foot, Tobias' punch connected to the former's stomach with a heavy blow. The doors closed, and Chryses' blank expression was the last thing she saw of him that day. Harrison let out a painful grunt as he stumbled back and hit his head on the door frame. He lay rolling on the floor, clutching his midsection while hurling curses at Tobias.

She blinked at the loud thud, and her eyes instantly swerved to her furious friend.

"T-Tobias.. Tobias! Stop! Don't hit him anymore!" Amaryllis gripped her friend's sleeves with all her might when she recognized the aggressive posture that was all too ready for violence. "Enough! Don't get yourself in trouble because of him..! Please! Think about your promise to Mia!"

Tobias hissed as he lowered his arms to his sides reluctantly. Amaryllis sighed in relief. He was still heaving with anger, but he didn't make a move to harm Harrison a second time. Mentioning the name of his childhood friend really does make wonders.

"If I catch you bullying my friend again, it will not just end with a punch, you hear me? You better tell this to all your friends...- Better yet, your whole department. And make sure to remember that I, Tobias Weiss, will always watch you from now on," he muttered with a grim face that made Harrison tremble in fright.

"W-Weiss..? Th-that... You're that crazy punk from Southwest Highschool!?"

"That's right... While I've matured enough not to send people to the ICU for fun, you better pray I won't see you anywhere near my friends, or even the ICU won't be able to save you... F*cking shit," Tobias spat as he pulled Amaryllis up to her feet.

"Thank you, Tobi... M-my folder, too-" Before she could finish her sentence, her friend had bent down to pick the item up.

"Sheesh... I can't believe guys are still bullying girls at this age... This punk." Tobias showed his fist to Harrison, who covered his head in fright while whimpering.

"H-hiii!! I-I promise I w-won't do it again! R-rest assured I-I won't let your friend be bullied again, ever!" Harrison muttered.

"Tobias...! I need to go to the clinic. My fingers are hurting..." Amaryllis' attempt at urging them to leave was effective when he looked down at her injured hand in alarm. She was scared some people had heard the racket a while ago, and she didn't want to get Tobias in trouble.

"Dammit... That looks nasty. Let's go quickly." Tobias didn't bother to say any last threats to Harrison as he pulled her towards the elevator.

Ever since that day, nobody dared to bully her anymore, and she never saw Harrison or Melinda, for that matter.

***

A/N: I'll end this chapter with a reminder. Don't be a bully! Bullying is not cool!

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