A New King

{TW: Violence}

Liam lunged at me, his fist cutting through the air with force. I caught it easily, my fingers wrapping around his knuckles like a vice. He struggled, trying to pull away, but my grip held firm.

"Your punches are already different than before," I smirked, yanking his arm forward and throwing the punch right back into his face. His head snapped back, and I saw the realization dawn in his eyes—I had baited him, and he fell for it.

I grabbed a handful of his shirt and let out a chuckle. "Come on, man! Don't bitch out! I've only just started with you!"

He thrashed in my grip, genuinely trying to escape, but it was pathetic. I slapped him around like he was a joke, jerking him back and forth like a ragdoll while he flailed. Every time he tried to get his footing, I shoved him again, making sure he understood just how outmatched he was.

"E-enough! I lost! I'm sorry!" Liam gasped, his voice strained. "I take back what I said!"

"Stop fucking around, square jaw! Are you even sure you're actually friends with those losers?" I turned my head to look at the two idiots from yesterday. They were pale, trembling as they clutched their desks, clearly horrified that their so-called "secret weapon" had just been dismantled in front of them.

"I didn't do anything but stop those two from becoming rapists," I laughed. "Now, I've never fucking seen you before, so that must mean Jason Leonetti sent you."

"That's not something I know!" Liam begged, his voice breaking under the weight of fear.

"Whatever! I'll find out when I fuck them over anyway! So just—"

Before I could finish my sentence, I was suddenly yanked off my feet, lifted into the air like I weighed nothing.

"What the—?!" I flailed wildly, kicking my legs. "Motherfucker! Put me down! How dare you manhandle me!? I'll break your fucking legs!"

"He's already down! Please stop it! Everyone gets it, just—just please calm down!" Damien pleaded, his arms wrapped around me in a tight grip.

I stopped struggling for a second and took in the room. Some of the girls were crying. The entire class had backed away from me, including the teacher, their faces pale with fear. Even Jared was trembling, his hands clutching his sleeves as he refused to meet my eyes.

I glanced down at Liam. He was barely moving, sprawled out on the floor, his nose a bloodied mess. His breathing was uneven, his face swollen from the beating I had just given him.

"Fuck," I hissed under my breath.

I had let my instincts take over. Street fighting and civilized society just didn't mix. What the hell was I doing going full gangster mode in a classroom full of students?

"I'm going to the bathroom," I muttered.

I yanked myself out of Damien's grip and stormed out of the classroom, ignoring the tense silence that followed.

***

The mirror in the bathroom reflected something... dangerous. My eyes were wild, my expression dark. I looked like someone who was seconds away from committing a murder.

No wonder they were scared.

I'd already had to drop out of school once because of shit like this in my last life. And now I was doing the same thing all over again. I was never respected—only feared. People avoided me, kept their heads down, because nothing good came from getting involved with me.

No wonder I was killed.

I gritted my teeth and turned on the sink, washing the blood off my hands.

Fuck. I had a long way to go if I ever wanted to change.

But what do I do about Jason? That asshole won't leave things alone. Why not just lay low instead of stirring up more drama? Then again, he's clearly not smart enough to end things here, so maybe I should find him first and fuck him over?

I sighed, rubbing my temples. I was thinking too much. My head was starting to hurt.

***

When I got back to class, my anger spiked all over again.

Damien's desk had been vandalized—graffiti scrawled across it in marker. Jared sat there, shivering, his clothes soaked through with what smelled like dirty mop water, The rest of the class had gathered near the front, chatting among themselves like nothing had happened. The teacher did nothing. No one even looked at me.

I clenched my fists.

Alright. Fine.

I walked to my seat, my voice cutting through the air like a knife. "Who—"

"Please don't worry about it," Jared interrupted, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's not the first time this has happened."

I turned to Damien, my patience wearing thin. "You satisfied running away and pitying yourself?"

"S-sorry—"

"Sorry sorry sorry, is that all you know how to fucking say?!" I snapped. "Fuck, why get me off that fat-jawed fuck in the first place?!"

"Violence isn't the answer," Damien said quietly.

I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "You're so naive. Violence is the answer when you're getting randomly attacked. You know why they bully you two? It's not because they don't like you. It's because you're fucking easy—"

"I couldn't do anything because if I said no, they'd do something worse," Jared whispered, staring down at his desk. "I wouldn't mind if I was just ignored and left alone."

I stared at him.

For once, I didn't have anything to say.

Dammit. I was an asshole!

I need to hit something!

I let out a slow breath, then turned my attention to the two idiots in the corner of the classroom.

"Take me to Jason. Right now." I grabbed the blonde one by the collar and shoved him forward. "Or call him here. Right now."

"L-Liam already went to get him," he whimpered, flinching as I loomed over him. "They'll be here any minute."

Good. I cracked my knuckles.

I'd handle this shit myself.

As the blond had warned, Jason arrived at our classroom, dragging a severely battered Liam beside him. Two other guys followed closely behind, their expressions twisted in smug satisfaction, like they were about to witness a public execution.

I met them at the door, arms crossed, already feeling my patience wearing thin. "What the fuck do you guys want now? I told you to leave me alone already!"

Jason's eyes burned with fury. "How dare you talk to me like that?!" he snapped, his voice carrying an arrogant snarl. "You think this is all fun and games when you don't even know your fucking place! Who the hell are you to start acting up and telling us to stop messing with the scholarship students?! You're fucked today!"

Finally, the teacher stirred from his seat, looking wary. Now he cared? Where was this energy earlier? Did that mean Jason was someone the teachers actually wanted to protect?

"Now, boys—"

"Ain't no fucking way!" I cut him off.

Fuck people being scared of me! If I beat Jason, was this teacher finally going to do something?

Only one way to find out.

Jason lunged at me, tackling me to the ground. My back hit the cold floor with a dull thud, but I quickly rolled us over, struggling to get the upper hand. We were locked in a brutal, even fight—punches flying, fists slamming into muscle and bone.

"You arrogant fucker!" Jason snarled, trying to get a hit in as I blocked his swings. "This school is mine! You don't call any shots here!"

Oh. So that was it. Because I was giving out orders, he had to come here and assert dominance.

Good.

If I won this fight, leadership transferred to me. I could call the shots. And that counted as finishing what they started, right?

I decided to take the fight seriously instead of blowing off steam. Timing my move perfectly, I grabbed a hold of the back of Jason's head and slammed it down with enough force to flip him over. His head bounced hard against the floor as he crashed through a desk, sending books and pencils flying.

A stunned silence filled the room.

Everyone gasped.

"Jason! No way!"

"Jason lost!"

"Jason lost to Jack Spencer!"

"Jason got knocked out! He's done!"

I wiped a bit of sweat off my brow, catching my breath. I turned to the gawking students, my voice sharp and commanding.

"Well, that means I'm in charge now, right? If any of you fuck with my Damien or Jared again, I'll kill you! And all the fuckers who annoy them for no reason, I'll—"

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"

A loud, booming voice cut through the moment like a whip. A large, chubby man stormed into the classroom, his eyes scanning the wreckage—the broken desk, the bloodied Jason, the bruised and beaten Liam.

Ah.

This... looked really bad.

"YOU RUFFIANS!" the man bellowed. "YOU CAUSED ALL THIS TROUBLE IN MY CLASSROOM AND DARE TO DESTROY SCHOOL PROPERTY?!"

Yeah. That didn't sound good.

But if I was already getting in trouble, I might as well finish Jason off, right?

The class fell into dead silence, everyone frozen.

"JACK SPENCER, YOU—"

"I-it's not Jack's fault!"

Damien's voice rang out, startling even me.

The entire class turned to look at him.

"Those two are trying to rape scholarship students and bullying them!" Damien continued, his voice shaking but firm. "I saw them try to attack someone yesterday! That's why Jack beat them up! They keep telling lies to try to get Jack in trouble because he stopped them! They came into our classroom to start this fight!"

I turned to Damien, a strange feeling rising in my chest.

No one had ever taken up for me before.

And Damien had nothing to gain from this.

That weird chest feeling again.

Did I need a doctor?

"V-violence in school is wrong, but you should at least investigate the cause of it!" Damien pushed on, his face pale. He looked like he was about to pass out. He hated speaking up like this.

The fat man, Dean Coral, went red in the face and turned to the teacher. "They did come in here and pick a fight. Self-defense."

The dean wiped his face, then glared at me. "Take this one to the infirmary." He motioned to Jason's unconscious body. Then, he pointed at me and the others. "you four—my office, now!"

Shit.

He crossed his arms. "As for you, Spencer, your spotless record is the only thing saving you from expulsion! I will only be contacting your parents!"

Fuck!

I sighed, but my shoulders loosened.

Nice save, Damien.

[Mission Accomplished! The bullies have been stopped]

I followed Damien and Jared out of the classroom, feeling lighter than before.

Especially since I didn't have to snitch at all.

"Ay, you really saved my ass there!" I grinned, throwing a light punch at Damien's arm.

The moment my fist connected, his knees buckled.

"Whoa!" I caught him before he completely collapsed. "What the fuck?"

"That was terrifying," Damien gagged. "I just lost all feeling in my legs."

"Then why the fuck did you do it?"

"I thought about what you said," Damien mumbled. "And I don't want to be like that anymore."

Jared hesitated before speaking. "Do you think they'll all stop now?"

"Yeah," I said confidently. "Didn't I say I was going to make them? I don't know a better way than what I did!"

"We'll know the outcome later," I added.

I glanced at Jared's status.

Love Bar: 82%

Hate Bar: 1%

Huh. I thought being mean would make it go down. But it seemed to have the opposite effect.

Even Damien's Love Bar was still sitting at 99%.

What... would happen if it reached 100%?

I didn't know.

But for some reason...

I was scared to find out.