The bell rang, marking the end of the school day. Alex got up from his seat, then went up to the man that had been bothering him for days, finally confronting him.
Even in the last years of high school, these types of immature people existed. For pure entertainment, they pick fights with others weaker than them.
Most students had already left class, giving Alex the best opportunity to strike.
"I need to talk to you." He said, his voice full of determination.
Jon turned his head back at Alex, bewildered that the frail kid was trying to pick fights with him.
He clicked his tongue, expressing annoyance.
"What is it?" Jon replied, a hint of sass in his tone.
Seeing the expression on Jon's face, Alex frowned slightly. He was sure that Jon was thinking of unspeakable stuff about him in his head.
He'd thought he would be able to beat him by himself, therefore he chose to not tell his only friends about this. After all, despite how frail he might look, he had training sessions and practiced with different tools during his free time.
As Alex reaffirmed himself, he stepped even closer then extended his arm and gripped Jon's shirt. "Leave us alone. I'm tired of you."
Jon's eyes slightly widened, more shocked at how resilient Alex turned out to be, since he usually saw him as the nerdy, quiet kid.
Jon pushed him off after a mere moment, rubbing his shirt off as if it was stained by Alex's hand.
Alex stumbled, his back slamming into one of the wooden tables.
A hand grabbed Alex's shirt, then a fist rose into the air.
The punch hit him square in the face. A burst of pain rang inside his skull. Another blow followed, rattling his teeth.
Alex's vision blurred. Blood filled his mouth, the taste of iron burned at his tongue.
Another punch followed, breaking his nose. Jon let go of his grip as he looked down at Alex, "You're lucky. I'll let it slide for today."
Having said that, Jon raised his leg and struck Alex once more. Grunting, Alex tried to gaze at Jon, but he was a pathetic mess.
He wasn't able to.
Jon looked down on him for a few more seconds, inserting more dominance.
However, his thought process wasn't correct. Alex couldn't give up that easily after showing that much confidence.
Alex grabbed his leg using one of his arms, then quickly pulled it to his direction, tripping Jon.
Jon fell, the back of his neck slammed hard into one of the school desks, knocking him out.
Alex put a hand over the desk he first stumbled into, to support him in standing up.
Looking down on the unconscious Jon, he chuckled.
'That's what you get.' He thought.
He spat the blood out in another direction before wearing his backpack and slowly exiting the room.
***
Around half an hour had passed until Alex arrived back at his home, avoiding his father to hide his injuries.
On the outside, it didn't seem like much. But, in reality, the pain could not be any stronger.
He was suffering both mentally and physically.
Alex grabbed his phone, then laid down on his side while holding the phone, only to see nobody texted him.
"I should have expected that." He muttered to himself.
He lived in this small house with his father, by themselves. A disagreement happened between the two parents, causing a lot of trouble and dividing.
Alex was only a kid, but he chose to go with his father. But his father never liked speaking on this particular topic, while he accepted to speak about quite literally anything other than that.
He shook his head, wiping away the pointless thoughts. If his father didn't want to talk about it, then that was settled.
'I am curious about it, though.'
His curiosity tends to get the better of him most of the time. He had a younger sister and a mother that he longed to see again, even once, but they lived overseas.
After a bit of pointless scrolling throughout his phone, he heard his father downstairs call him out for dinner.
His eyes widened. He thought he wouldn't come back until late at midnight, which he usually does most of the time.
"I'll be there in a moment." He said, his voice loud, but not to a large degree.
Alex got up, then quickly went into the bathroom to inspect the injuries he sustained once again.
He looked mostly fine. A bit of bruises, but he could cover it up.
More minutes passed until Alex finally got to the dining room. His father was already seated, waiting for Alex.
Seeing Alex, his father slightly smiled.
Alex sat down, quietly. Breaking the silence, his father asked, "Did something happen to you?"
He stared for a few moments. Alex wanted to tell him about what happened with Jon, but knowing his dad, he would do unprecedented things to him.
"Nothing happened. I just tripped." He answered calmly.
"If you say so," said his father, his tone half-suspicious.
Alex nodded stiffly, then took a fork and began to eat from the food on the table.
After finishing eating, he told his father that he was going to go for a walk outside, to get some air.
In reality, he just wanted to breathe off the worrying thoughts about Jon that had been rapidly increasing in his head.
From the moment he went to confront him, he felt stressed. Jon had connections with all kinds of people, Alex barely knew anyone.
He regretted his choices a bit, but that feeling after he knocked Jon out was something truly memorable for him. He would never regret that even if Jon sent an army after him.
The cold winds of winter bit at him, he put a hand over his face to block off the strong wind.
As the sudden wave of wind stopped, he saw a great spot to rest in for a bit.
Dug below him was a flowing river, next to it was a grassy place that wasn't too big, but not small either.
'Perfect. Loir never disappoints… I should thank dad for allowing us to live in such an area.'
He walked ahead for a bit on the path built higher than the river, then found a staircase that led to the scene below.
After he got down, he found a spot to lay down, to listen to the flowing river and stare at the sea of stars above.
He raised his hand to one of what looked to be a star that shone brightly with a light blue color.
He looked up to the sky as he questioned himself, 'I wonder at my place in the stars.'
After a few seconds, he came to realize what he was saying. His eyes narrowed a bit as he let his arm fall back on the grass.
'Why did I just say that?'
He sighed. Closing his eyes, Alex started listening to rustling trees, grass, chirping insects, and the flowing river.
Minutes passed. He finally chose to go back and sleep normally back home.
He slowly got up, eyes still closed.
But when he opened them…
The world around him had changed.