Just Another High School Story!

He was no one to her yet. They were just two ex-lovers. His blood boiled at the thought, and before he knew it, he was taking out all his frustration on Erik, punch after punch landed, from both sides, Leah was just frozen, she did not tell E to stop, or Erik, she just let them fight.

She had once realised, when she was at her cousin's home that whenever something happened, her cousin, who was a male, he didn't ever act out. They were frequent talkers, he was the go-to guy when you wanted advice and she lent him ear, and they talked about things. Once, when things were not working out for him, there were a couple of bad things that happened at the same time, his parents were fighting all the time, his younger brother was being annoying, they weren't eating or sleeping properly, he was keeping it all in, he was not the 'cry your heart out' type either, he was the 'hold it in to blow up' type, the type that has ruined the world, but it still doesn't matter, the way that you relieve emotions, at least relieve them, do not hold them in to blow up, unless that is what you plan to do-- become a ticking time bomb-- a source of constant worry for others, become an unreliable person to yourself, he held it in too, until one day, his younger brother wanted some money, and so naturally he asked his pretty brother, umm, typo, I meant petty brother, to lend him some money, he blew up and they argued, then they beat the shit out of each other, he talked to her on the phone that night, and said that relieving anger that way didn't help at all, that rather, he felt sadder, and not that he wasn't before, he was definitely in pain, but he just shirked away from his vulnerable side. Your vulnerable side is pretty volatile, if not given space to come out, it comes out as hostile, you don't want to let emotions get the best of you, you need to be vulnerable and give yourself space and time, to invest in getting to know you better, if you don't know who you are, then is it not just a waste of time going around beating people, rather than that, looking for your dream seems like a good thing to do. Leah remembered what he said that day, apart from feeling bad about beating his brother, he didn't regret anything else, he really did feel better in a way, and then let a long sigh to say, "Sometimes, even a beating can be good." She remembered his words at the moment and realised that she didn't want to stop him, let E beat the guy, she was tired of Erik messing with her all the time, and today, he had crossed a line, he had never forced himself on her before, but today, he had basically stripped her. That was enough!

Like any and every boy fight, they fought for a while until they were broken up. The coach came and pulled them away from each other, then the other kids helped restrain them. Erik seemed to be amused, Ethan looked possessive, Leah was worried about E this time, rather than being afraid of him, she finally understood why he had done what he had done that night, he was tired too, he did what he did on impulse, people do that sometimes, say things they don't mean, she shouldn't have gotten so angry. She could finally understand him now.

The coach looked at her, and asked, "Which punk was it?" She looked at the coach, her eyes fierce, and said, "Erik, he's insane." "Oh, come on, bitch" Erik shot back immediately, "don't even say a word, you are such an attention-seeker, you came onto me first!"

Ethan and Erik's faces were bloody, Ethan was still looking at him as if he were prey, "Calm down." she whispered to him, she realised that she had gotten a bit scared of his dark side, but everyone has a dark side, and the dark can be done away with, by light, rather than doing that previously, she had added to his darkness that day, that was what their problem was, striking a balance, she finally found the key to making things work. She held his hand and helped him calm down first. She was rubbing his hand, the situation was subsiding, when Erik opened his pig-mouth again, "He's playing with you, girl! You be careful of this bastard. He's got both of you under his wing. Bloody hell!" With that, the scum walked away, and what was left was an Ethan, stunned, because rather than shying away from his anger, and letting go, she had held on, he had wanted her to understand him more than anything, and in that moment, it felt like she finally did.

He was already out of his I'm-going-to-kill-someone-today mindset, what was left behind was the fact that he was shirtless, and the coach offered him his hoody, he was fine now. The coach didn't want to ruin the mood, so he told them to do something fun after making sure Leah was okay.

They walked around for a bit, Leah and Ethan, sulkily walking in the back, they reached their tent soon enough, and Leah bolted to hers. She changed into a hoodie, exposing Ethan's shirt, after all the drama, she didn't want him to think that she had wasted his effort or was refusing his protection, she got medicine, and bolted right back towards him.

"She was definitely the best runner back in Middle, but dude, she's never run that fast before." Xin commented as they talked about the 'incident' as 'guys', whatever that meant. "She loves you man, take care of the poor rabbit before she flies off, trying to get to you. Do you understand me?"

"Of course I do.", Ethan said, as Leah bolted towards him, he felt warm, this was his way of seeking protection, she would dress his wounds, that was more than enough to numb the pain.

She knelt a little and started using a cotton swab to clean the wounds, his face was ruined, he looked like an ugly duckling, yet Leah, in that moment, felt like he was the most beautiful person she had ever seen... those marks on his face were scars left from a battle that she didn't have to fight, someone fought in her stead, and unlike her usual self, she didn't mind it, she didn't have to do things alone this time, it felt right, she felt like she could get used to it... to him, and it would be a bother letting the moment go, she pulled out of her phone, and for the first time in a very long time, she took a snap of them while they were smiling. She wanted to remember the moment forever, when her first love protected her. Love is so weird, we build iron walls to protect ourself, we have minds capable enough to rationalise things that happen to us, and we never ever let our guards down, as humans grow untrustworthy, and the world grows more materialistic by the moment, there are some people that make things comfortable, help you break those iron walls down, loving someone is truly magical, wanting to see them all the time, when their warmth cools us down, gives us chills, all at the same time, when everything they do seems amazing, when we want to stare at them just to get a little, the stare that doesn't ever get old, our loving gaze, their beautiful face... to each lover, their lover is special... I sincerely wish for all of us to experience that love, that love that makes miracles happen, the love that makes even the little things bigger... the love that everyone needs and wants.