Chp.17

"Where the hell do you think you're going in such a hurry?" I stop when I hear Ander, calling from behind me.

I roll my eyes, and then continue to walk on the pavement, to the bus stop, not even turning to look back at him.

"Hey!" He yells louder than before, "Didn't you freaking hear me?"

My pace quickens to a stride. I really don't want to get into a fight. Not when I have so much in my mind to figure out. But I can feel his entire group running after me. Anxiety pumping in my blood, a sprint into a run, the bus stop so close that I could see it.

Come on. Come on. Just a few more blocks. I can make it.

But I don't. And I'm immediately surrounded by all of them. Marcus, Aaron and Ander. I can't describe how much I hate him. I hate him with all of my guts. I notice that Josh isn't here.

"I see that your group has been reduced by one." I jeer.

Ander laughs a sickening laugh, "We don't need him."

Marcus and Aaron don't say anything, just snickering beside him, looking at me with glee.

My face turns serious, "Listen, I really like to sit and have a little chit-chat but I need to go home, alright? So if you could just scoot a little…"

I step towards the gap between Ander and Marcus, but they both quickly block it.

"I'm really not in a mood for this." I warn, aggravated.

Ander folds his arms on his chest, smirking, "Long time, no see, killer-boy."

I ground my teeth, "Don't call me that."

"Oh?" I could see mischief in his eyes, "Then, what should I call you?"

I don't have time to waste. I need to go home, see if I should go to the camp or not. But here he is. Forcing me to lose control over my anger. What does he want from me? Beat him till one of us is dead? Not a sane thing to do, is it?

I decide that the right thing to do is to just go in the other direction. To ignore them and walk home instead.

So that's exactly what I do. I grab hold of my bag's strap and walk away. It'll be a long walk. But they'll eventually go away. I wish I had my headphones to show even more how badly I want them to leave. But they're as stubborn as I am. They follow me,

"Where're you going, stupid?" Aaron says.

"You think you'll just walk away from a conversation?" Marcus pretend to be shocked, "Didn't your parents tell you that it's rude?"

Ander's still got that smirk on his face which I really wish to scratch off. "The only thing his parents taught him is how to kill someone. Jessica did it well. I'm not sure he can."

You're going to let him get away with it?

They wait for me to react. To burst and scream at them. But I only clench my fists until my knuckles go white. Because I don't care what they say about you. You deserve all this.

"You're really boring me right now." Ander sighs, dramatically, running his hands through his hair.

Before any one of them could say anything else, he grabs the back of my shirt and pushes me to the ground. Both of them look shocked at the sudden movement and stare at Ander, who's grinning down at me.

"You know, I'm very angry right now," He sneers, "And you're not helping it to get better."

I wipe the dust of my hands, rubbing them on my pants, rage building up inside. Why the hell did he do that?"

"The school's sending me to a freaking camp. What a waste of good vacations." He rants on. His eyes lit up looking at me, "But I heard that you're coming too. So, that's one entertainment. I'm going to enjoy it, though I can't say the same for you, Lukas."

And the trio starts laughing, throwing their heads back hysterically.

So, you're really going to let him say all this? To get away with this? Because that's not you in these situations. Get up and show them a piece of your mind!

And for once, I agree with this voice. I can't let him get away. With this.

"You're right." I mutter.

"Huh?" Ander frowns, "What did you-?"

Before he could finish, I kick his stomach hard with my feet and jump up. Ander yowls, both his hands on his torso as he falls. Taking heavy breaths because of the effort, I quickly grab my bag and make a run for it.

Marcus and Aaron, who were standing in shock start chasing after me as soon as Ander yells,

"Get him, you morons!"

I run past people, who give us suspicious stares, panting with the heavy bag loaded with books. I just need to find a crowd. Fit in them. So they don't find. I run towards a mart. My only hope is that it's full with customers.

"You think you can run away that easy?" I realize Ander is back on his feet, shouting.

A surge of adrenaline chases my body as a pick up my pace, running faster than before. I can hear townsfolk grunting and swearing at us as we push them out of the way. My heart is beating faster than lightening and I know they'll catch up to me any minute.

Sweat beading on my forehead despite the cold piercing wind hitting me like sharp daggers. I squint my eyes and I could see a supermarket. But they know what I'm doing, yelling that they'll get me no matter what.

I hesitate, slowing down a bit. Because the voice speaks to me again.

What will they do exactly if they get you? You can stand up to them, if you have to.

"But…" I wheeze, sprinting towards the market, "I don't… want to stand up to them."

"Lukas!" Marcus yells.

My heart leaps because I hear desperation in his voice. Like he knows they won't be able to catch me if I go inside the market. That gives me more than enough encouragement to move quicker.

"I won't let you run away, you good-for-nothing coward!" Aaron screams on top of his lungs.

And I have a grin on my face when I notice how far his tone is. Maybe I'll make it. Maybe I'll survive this day.

Or will you?

"What…?" That is when I see what it means.

My face fells when I see someone in front of me. And we're just a few meters away. And there's no time for me to stop. And she turns her face, with an ice expression of surprise, clutching at her groceries.

And before I know it, I hit into Sophie.

********

I groan, rubbing at my head, the pain swelled up only there. I stare down at the ground, eggs, milk, flour and all those other groceries spilled on the parking lot. What a mess.

What shocks me is that how I didn't notice her walking in front of me. Even when she was just few steps away. How the hell did I not realize we'll bump into each other?

I can hear Ander whooping with joy, running to catch up with us. Is this the reason why they stopped? So that I could crash into her?

I look at her, nervously. An awkward meeting. She's still on the pavement like me, but her eyes are still wide with shock, as if she wasn't expecting this at all.

"Umm…" I say, sheepishly, no words escaping my mouth. "Hi…?"

I really want to smack myself for saying that. Seriously? I literally threw all her things away and the first thing I can say to her is 'hi'? Shouldn't I say something like: Sorry for ruining your day.

She parts her lips to say something but before she could, I'm lifted from the ground by the back of my shirt and in the air. It's only for a few seconds, but it's enough to make me choke for a while.

"Gotcha, didn't I?" Ander sneers and throws me back on the ground.

My knees are scraped, the skin of my palms red and burning.

I turn to face Ander, Marcus and Aaron, who are all standing there snickering. Ander with a smile that says I lost. Again. His olive complexion sweaty in the humid sun.

Why in the world are you letting them embarrass you in front of her? Do you want another incident added to your list?

I don't.

I get up, frustration welling up in my blood, patting the dust off my clothes, I say,

"Why are you doing this, Ander? What do you want from me, huh?" I'm surprised how my voice isn't shaken or scared. It encourages me even more.

He folds his arm, "Do I need an excuse? Isn't it obvious why I'm doing this? You Wells deserve it."

Marcus and Aaron high-five each other, the most ridiculous thing to do right now.

I roll my eyes, my face scrunched in disgust.

"Are you looking for trouble, Ander?" It's Sophie, her face flustered, now standing beside me.

Ander snorts, "So you got a girl to help you fight me, Luke? Real low."

"I don't need anyone to take you down." I flush, immediately regretting what I said, gritting my teeth.

"Is that so?" Ander smirks. "Why don't you prove it to me, then?"

"Now you're really gonna get it." Marcus grins, enjoying every minute of this.

I take a step forward, gathering all the confidence I have.

"You think it won't be easy to fight off a so-called tough guy who's insecure from the inside?" I clench my fists, unclench them.

I almost open my mouth in wide shock to see Ander's face fall. But I gain my composure, trying hard so my voice won't tremble with fear or excitement.

"So you thought your little secret will always stay hidden?" I pretend to laugh, "You're kidding, right?"

It's working. Whatever I'm doing, it's working. I actually don't know what his dark secret is. But once, someone told me this trick to avoid getting into a fight with people like Ander. Every person like him has a guilt they want to hide. Sure enough, he has one too.

By someone, don't you mean Jesse?

"What's he saying, Andy?" Aaron asks, frowning curiously.

"Oh," I smirk, "So they don't know?"

Sophie staring at me with a confused yet beaming look.

"Shut up, Wells." But his voice is so weak. It doesn't affect me in any way.

"I can't believe you didn't tell your own partners that you-"

"I said shut up!" Ander growls, tackling me to the ground.

Too much?

I hit my head on the hard land of the parking lot. I yell in pain but he screams even louder than me, a fist in the air, which soon ends up in my face. I ground my teeth, already tasting my blood dripping on my lips. Adrenaline shoots in my body as I dodge his second punch and raise my legs and kick him the same way I did before. But he doesn't budge off, instead it makes him angrier. He pins my wrists on the road as I frantically try to move away. I kick him again, this time he groans, and quick as lightening he punches me, sending pain all over my left cheek and lower part of my eye. He jabs his knee on my stomach so that I won't move. I cry out, half in anger and half in pain. I can hear all three of them telling Ander to stop. He stops punching, but doesn't get off me.

I hold my breath when he shouts, spraying spit all over my face, "You won't be leaving till I tear every single part of your body!"

"Get the hell off of me!" I shout back in his face.

"Stop it!" Sophie hollers, "Stop right now Ander or I swear I'm calling the police!"

"Shut up, Blondie!" Ander snarls at her.

"Ander, man, you're losing it." Marcus squeaks.

"Stop…stop, dude," Ander stammers, 'I think you've done… enough."

All this time, I try to twist from his grip but to no avail.

"I'm going to count to ten." Sophie's face scarlet. "And then, I'm calling the police, Ander."

Ander ignores them, looking at me with his wild eyes. I hold it for as long as I dare.

"One…Two…Three…"

She takes out her cell phone.

"She won't hesitate, Marsh." I mutter, "So get lost."

His grip tightens, his hair sticking on his sweaty forehead, eyes bloodshot. My hands feel cold with the tight grasp, as if blood stopped flowing in my hands.

"Four…Five..."

"How do you know?" He demands in a hysteric whisper, "Tell me, Luke, How do you bloody know?"

"Know what, Damnit?" I grunt.

"Six…Seven…Eight…"

"I don't know how you found out but I'll get you some other time. When there will be no one except for you and me." He threatens in vicious spite.

'I doubt I'll ever let that happen now." I scoff, despite the pain.

"Nine-"

"Quit counting, will ya?" Ander snaps, finally getting off me. "I'm going. No need to call anyone."

I scamper on my hands and feet, scooting away from him, feeling the back of my head, glad that there's no blood flowing out from it.

"Just you wait, Lukas bloody Wells." He snarls.

"Whatever you say." I get up, wiping the blood from my lips with my shirt sleeve.

"You know," He tilts his head, in deep thought, staring at me, "It saddens me to think Susan was ever Jessica's friend."

"How very bad for you." I mutter, a grim look on my face.

"See you tomorrow." He says with a smile I didn't like, walking away with his two buddies, who're looking at him with genuine fear.

"That won't happen anytime soon!" I call out, scowling.

"We'll see, coward." I could imagine him grinning at that.

I watch him walk away. I realize how quickly he swings at his moods. How he was punching and yelling when I said I knew his secret but then he goes all calm. Just because he thought I knew something no one else knew. Is this secret of his that bad? That bad that he couldn't let anyone know?

What is he hiding from the world?

"What a moron." Sophie mutters, slipping her phone back in her pocket.

I almost forgot she's standing there.