Alex walked down the hallway of her new school with books clutched tightly to her chest and eyes cast down at her feet as they clicked along the floor. She could imagine the eyes of her fellow students upon her as she walked between them, judgemental. Her qauint blue skirt swirled about her legs and her auburn hair floated about her shoulders in rhythym with her matching shoes, a pair of short heels. Her dear old mother wanted her to be perfect in every way, her crazed parent who thought that her daughter's life was a game to play with. She imagined her child a doll to dress up and send off to school, complete with sky blue ribbon tied in her softly waving locks. Her classmates stood to either side of her, huddled near their lockers in their different social groups, as she made her way directly down the center of the hall. She could only imagine that their murmured words were about her. Not knowing why she should be so afraid of what others thought, seeing as her dollish appearance had been with her for as long as she could remember, she continued to worry. Perhaps it was the fact that she thought this time could be different. A new school, a new chance for acceptance. But she supposed she would have no such luck as she noticed fingers being directed towards her none too discreetly. "She must be a virgin," someone kiped, loud enough to reach her ears. "Never done anything wrong in her life I'll bet," another chimed in, until there was a buzz of conversation centering around the pristine teenage girl with the rosy cheeks who made her way in a crestfallen manner towards her locker.
So absorbed in her thoughts, and trying to avert her gaze from the giggling girls she was passing, Alex didn't notice the teenage boy who strode out of an adjoining hallway and directly into her path. Her swiftly moving feet carried her directly into him in a collision that sent her sprawling to the floor. Books and papers flew in all directions, and she looked up, bewildered, to meet the gaze of John Bender, the resident criminal. He wore a red and black plaid button down shirt that was thrown open, faded blue jeans that were uneven at the bottoms, a pair of what looked like old hiking boots, and fingerless leather gloves. He scowled down at her none too kindly as she sat staring up at him, obviously unhappy about the event.
"Why don't you watch where you're going?" he snapped, failing to offer his assistance in collecting her scattered belongings. He flicked his unruly, shoulder length hair back out of his face with a quick motion of his head. She scrambled to her knees, reaching around her to snatch up her fallen books and staring at his leather boots.
"I'm sorry," she offered meekly, scooping up the last of her possessions and rising to face him. He was stunningly handsome, even with a frown plastered across his face.
"Yeah well," he said gruffly, clenching and unclenching his gloved hands, "don't let it happen again, you klutz." He turned on a heel and strode down the hall with a dangerous purpose to his step. Or at least what seemed to be. Alex stared after him curiously. She had only been here for a day and she already knew of John Bender. People were always warning each other not to cross the school rebel. He had a reputation for being bad, and mean. She raised an eyebrow slightly as he receded from view, blowing through the double doors at the end of the hall as if they had done something wrong to him. He intrigued her, yet at the same time was quite intimidating. Suddenly aware of numerous sets of curious eyes upon her, she hurried to her locker and stuffed what homework she had into her tiny blue backpack and headed outside, once again absobed in her thoughts, except that this time they involved a certain punk.
The final bell rang, and students began milling out behind her. She took the direction that none of them were traveling in, as to avoid their stares and sniggers. The concrete sidewalk carried her around the corner of the brick building and past three gang bangers sulking in the shadows. One of them let a whistle out as she passed and she quickened her pace, anxious to get away. The bullies took this as their cue and jogged up alongside her, two tall boys on each side and none other than John Bender moving around to step directly into her path, walking backwards as she continued on, head down.brbr
"Hey babe," he said, stopping abruptly and impeding her progress. She halted and looked up at him fearfully. He smiled arragontly, one corner of his mouth lifted in a cocky grin. One of his cronies fingered a lock of her hair and she took a quick step backwards. The tall, lean boy chuckled. The group pressured her against the wall of the building and trapped her there, Bender leaning against the brick with one hand over her shoulder and his face close to hers. His breath stirred her hair.brbr
"This is our turf on this side of the school," the tallest boy warned, trying to sound tough and leaning in much too close for comfort.brbr
"Shut up Eddy," Bender commanded, and the other fell silent. He turned his attention back on Alex. "I think you owe me something for letting you off so easy before," he said, leaning closer, "how 'bout it?" He pointed to his lips to indicate what he meant, puckering them. She opened her mouth to reply and then closed it again, eyeing Eddy and his friend, their gazes hungry.
"Please," she said in a quiet voice, pressed back against the wall as hard as she could, shivering from the presence of the boys at her sides. She was unafraid of John, but his followers had a crazed air about them mixed with a good deal of stupidity. Bender considered her for one silent moment, seeing the intense fear in her eyes, and then turned away abruptly.
"Not worth my time," he said dismissively, motioning for his goons to join him as he walked away. They hesitated, looking disappointed, but caught up quickly with their leader, making cruel faces at her as they moved off. Alex let out the breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. She hurried down the walk at a much quicker pace, heading across the street and away from the school.
As her mind settled she fell to wondering what lay in store for her when she reached her destination. Would it be another dress fitting session, an hour long facial, or good lashing for ruffling her dainty blue outfit? It was a fairly good distance to travel on foot to her house, and she was nearly to her own block when a pair of figures appeared from behind a tall wooden fence and began striding towards her. Her steps faltered. Who were they? And then, as they neared, she recognized them for Eddy and his companion, moving forward with a purpose. Without a second thought, she whirled and ran, and within the next second could hear their own footsteps as they chased after. Her breath dragged in and out of her lungs as she fled, skirt flying behind her. Risking a glance back she could see them gaining on her, maniacal smiles spreading across their faces.
She made it all the way to the end of the concrete. A car horn blared as she was about to step out into the street and she skidded to a halt, hearing the snap of one of her tiny heeled shoes as her foot twisted on the hard surface of the sidewalk. She fell to the ground in that same instant, intense pain shooting up from her ankle to her knee. She had no time to dwell on it. As soon as she collided with the ground, the pair were on top of her, quickly turning her over and forcing her flailing arms down to her sides. Eddy stradled her, pinning her arms with his knees and covering her mouth roughly with one filthy hand as she began to scream. She kicked her good leg out blindly at the other boy who was attempting to grasp her ankle and her skirt at the same time. She heard heard Eddy call him Phil and the sound of desire in his voice when he spoke filled her with terror.
Her eyes were wide with panic and her heart was hammering out of control in her chest as Eddy reached his hand beneath her blouse. She tried to wriggle free, to bite, to knee him in the back, but to no avail. He squeezed her face tightly as she resisted, until she was sure there were bruise marks where his fingers gripped her skin. He brought his other hand out from it's investigation of her lace bra to threaten her with a clenched fist.
"Now be quiet girl," he warned as he removed his palm from her lips. Phil had managed to press her leg to the ground by sitting firmly on her calf and had wrenched her skirt up to reveal her matching underwear. Eddy bent down quickly then, before she could protest any further, and covered her mouth with his own, inserting his tongue rudely between her teeth. She tried to scream. The taste of his kiss, if you could call it that, was of tabacco and pot mixed with whatever else he had ingested in the past few days. She felt like she was going to be sick.
In the next second, as Phil slid his hand up her thigh, she heard a loud wail and her leg was suddenly free of the weighty boy. A second wail echoed from Eddy's mouth as he was lifted from her in one swift movement and thrown to the concrete with force. Blinking away the tears that clouded her amber eyes, Alex looked about in confusion. John Bender stood over her, shaking clenched fists at his gang members who cowered on the ground. Eddy was sporting a quickly growing bruise along his cheekbone and Phil was holding his stomach and rolling on the pavement in agony.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he was yelling, furious, "I let her go you dipshit! Are you trying to destroy my word?!" Both had managed to scramble to their feet and were backing away from the angry teen.
"But Bender," Eddy began, only to be threatened with a quick step in his direction. He cringed.
"But nothing!" Bender retorted, "you disgust me you fucking morons! Get out of here before I pulverize you both!" The pair didn't need a second warning. They both turned and fled, each holding their injured body parts. Alex continued to stare up at her benefactor in shock and pain. After both boys were out of sight he turned toward her, kneeling down beside her.
"Are you O.K?" he asked her, genuine worry tinging his words.
"I don't know," she murmured, moving to a sitting position. She brought her hand up to feel her face. It was sore and aching. The pain emanating from her twisted ankle came back to her attention with a vengeance, but her mind wasn't on her injured limb. The taste of Eddy's tongue was still in her mouth, and the feeling of his finger's still lingered on her body. She began to sob uncontrollably then and Bender was at a loss.
"Um....it's alright," he offered after a moment of simply staring at her, patting her shoulder awkwardly. He sat down on the pavement next to her and encircled her gingerly with an arm. She leaned into his chest without hesitation and cried, disgusted and hurt by what had just happened. He simply held her silently, not knowing what to say to her. He knew pain and he knew abuse, but he couldn't imagine feeling what she was at that moment. She felt dirty and wronged, and ruined for whatever man she might fall in love with. It tore her apart inside. After a few minutes her tears trickled to a stop and she drew back from his embrace, which had evolved to both arms cradling her upper body against himself. He started as she looked into his eyes, her own full of tears, and quickly resumed his bad-ass demeanor, standing so fast as to nearly knock her back and brushing off his long brown overcoat.
"Are you hurt?" he asked absently, looking up and down the street as if it was a normal question to be asking. His arms were crossed over is chest in an irritated manner.
"Yes," she replied simply, sniffling a bit as she managed to drag herself to a standing position, balancing on one leg. His gaze softened hesitantly as he looked upon her and he allowed his attitude to drop a notch. He sighed an rolled his eyes and then without warning, he bent down and scooped her up in his arms. She encircled his neck with her own limbs reflexively as he lifted her off of the ground.
"Where do you live?" he asked her as he began walking. Comforted by his caring, even though he was trying to hide that fact, she wiped at her wet face. She directed him towards her home and they went along in silence. She watched his face carefully. He seemed uncomfortable with the situation yet only his eyes reflected it, managing to keep the rest of his face a stone mask.
As they neared her house she leaned her head forward and pecked him on the cheek. He looked surprised.
"Why did you do that?" he asked, bewildered.
"Thanks," was all she said, and smiled at him. He couldn't help but grin back despite himself.
At her door she reached forward and knocked and it swung open to reveal a tall, muscular looking woman. Bender simply stared at what should have been a man in disbelief. Alex would have laughed but she didn't think it was such a good idea as she quickly surveyed her mother's dark expression.
"Whats all this?" she demanded in a low voice as soon as she laid eyes upon the scene that presented itself to her.
"I twisted my ankle mother," Alex explained as calmly as she could, "and John brought me home." She used his proper name as to ease the heated anger she could feel radiating from her mentally unstable parent. Alex nodded for Bender to set her down and he did so ever so gently. She would have kissed him once more in genuine thanks, but decided against it as her mother issued her, hopping, into the house and slammed the door. Alex barely managed a look back before Bender's face disappeared from her view.
So absorbed in her thoughts, and trying to avert her gaze from the giggling girls she was passing, Alex didn't notice the teenage boy who strode out of an adjoining hallway and directly into her path. Her swiftly moving feet carried her directly into him in a collision that sent her sprawling to the floor. Books and papers flew in all directions, and she looked up, bewildered, to meet the gaze of John Bender, the resident criminal. He wore a red and black plaid button down shirt that was thrown open, faded blue jeans that were uneven at the bottoms, a pair of what looked like old hiking boots, and fingerless leather gloves. He scowled down at her none too kindly as she sat staring up at him, obviously unhappy about the event.
"Why don't you watch where you're going?" he snapped, failing to offer his assistance in collecting her scattered belongings. He flicked his unruly, shoulder length hair back out of his face with a quick motion of his head. She scrambled to her knees, reaching around her to snatch up her fallen books and staring at his leather boots.
"I'm sorry," she offered meekly, scooping up the last of her possessions and rising to face him. He was stunningly handsome, even with a frown plastered across his face.
"Yeah well," he said gruffly, clenching and unclenching his gloved hands, "don't let it happen again, you klutz." He turned on a heel and strode down the hall with a dangerous purpose to his step. Or at least what seemed to be. Alex stared after him curiously. She had only been here for a day and she already knew of John Bender. People were always warning each other not to cross the school rebel. He had a reputation for being bad, and mean. She raised an eyebrow slightly as he receded from view, blowing through the double doors at the end of the hall as if they had done something wrong to him. He intrigued her, yet at the same time was quite intimidating. Suddenly aware of numerous sets of curious eyes upon her, she hurried to her locker and stuffed what homework she had into her tiny blue backpack and headed outside, once again absobed in her thoughts, except that this time they involved a certain punk.
The final bell rang, and students began milling out behind her. She took the direction that none of them were traveling in, as to avoid their stares and sniggers. The concrete sidewalk carried her around the corner of the brick building and past three gang bangers sulking in the shadows. One of them let a whistle out as she passed and she quickened her pace, anxious to get away. The bullies took this as their cue and jogged up alongside her, two tall boys on each side and none other than John Bender moving around to step directly into her path, walking backwards as she continued on, head down.brbr
"Hey babe," he said, stopping abruptly and impeding her progress. She halted and looked up at him fearfully. He smiled arragontly, one corner of his mouth lifted in a cocky grin. One of his cronies fingered a lock of her hair and she took a quick step backwards. The tall, lean boy chuckled. The group pressured her against the wall of the building and trapped her there, Bender leaning against the brick with one hand over her shoulder and his face close to hers. His breath stirred her hair.brbr
"This is our turf on this side of the school," the tallest boy warned, trying to sound tough and leaning in much too close for comfort.brbr
"Shut up Eddy," Bender commanded, and the other fell silent. He turned his attention back on Alex. "I think you owe me something for letting you off so easy before," he said, leaning closer, "how 'bout it?" He pointed to his lips to indicate what he meant, puckering them. She opened her mouth to reply and then closed it again, eyeing Eddy and his friend, their gazes hungry.
"Please," she said in a quiet voice, pressed back against the wall as hard as she could, shivering from the presence of the boys at her sides. She was unafraid of John, but his followers had a crazed air about them mixed with a good deal of stupidity. Bender considered her for one silent moment, seeing the intense fear in her eyes, and then turned away abruptly.
"Not worth my time," he said dismissively, motioning for his goons to join him as he walked away. They hesitated, looking disappointed, but caught up quickly with their leader, making cruel faces at her as they moved off. Alex let out the breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. She hurried down the walk at a much quicker pace, heading across the street and away from the school.
As her mind settled she fell to wondering what lay in store for her when she reached her destination. Would it be another dress fitting session, an hour long facial, or good lashing for ruffling her dainty blue outfit? It was a fairly good distance to travel on foot to her house, and she was nearly to her own block when a pair of figures appeared from behind a tall wooden fence and began striding towards her. Her steps faltered. Who were they? And then, as they neared, she recognized them for Eddy and his companion, moving forward with a purpose. Without a second thought, she whirled and ran, and within the next second could hear their own footsteps as they chased after. Her breath dragged in and out of her lungs as she fled, skirt flying behind her. Risking a glance back she could see them gaining on her, maniacal smiles spreading across their faces.
She made it all the way to the end of the concrete. A car horn blared as she was about to step out into the street and she skidded to a halt, hearing the snap of one of her tiny heeled shoes as her foot twisted on the hard surface of the sidewalk. She fell to the ground in that same instant, intense pain shooting up from her ankle to her knee. She had no time to dwell on it. As soon as she collided with the ground, the pair were on top of her, quickly turning her over and forcing her flailing arms down to her sides. Eddy stradled her, pinning her arms with his knees and covering her mouth roughly with one filthy hand as she began to scream. She kicked her good leg out blindly at the other boy who was attempting to grasp her ankle and her skirt at the same time. She heard heard Eddy call him Phil and the sound of desire in his voice when he spoke filled her with terror.
Her eyes were wide with panic and her heart was hammering out of control in her chest as Eddy reached his hand beneath her blouse. She tried to wriggle free, to bite, to knee him in the back, but to no avail. He squeezed her face tightly as she resisted, until she was sure there were bruise marks where his fingers gripped her skin. He brought his other hand out from it's investigation of her lace bra to threaten her with a clenched fist.
"Now be quiet girl," he warned as he removed his palm from her lips. Phil had managed to press her leg to the ground by sitting firmly on her calf and had wrenched her skirt up to reveal her matching underwear. Eddy bent down quickly then, before she could protest any further, and covered her mouth with his own, inserting his tongue rudely between her teeth. She tried to scream. The taste of his kiss, if you could call it that, was of tabacco and pot mixed with whatever else he had ingested in the past few days. She felt like she was going to be sick.
In the next second, as Phil slid his hand up her thigh, she heard a loud wail and her leg was suddenly free of the weighty boy. A second wail echoed from Eddy's mouth as he was lifted from her in one swift movement and thrown to the concrete with force. Blinking away the tears that clouded her amber eyes, Alex looked about in confusion. John Bender stood over her, shaking clenched fists at his gang members who cowered on the ground. Eddy was sporting a quickly growing bruise along his cheekbone and Phil was holding his stomach and rolling on the pavement in agony.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he was yelling, furious, "I let her go you dipshit! Are you trying to destroy my word?!" Both had managed to scramble to their feet and were backing away from the angry teen.
"But Bender," Eddy began, only to be threatened with a quick step in his direction. He cringed.
"But nothing!" Bender retorted, "you disgust me you fucking morons! Get out of here before I pulverize you both!" The pair didn't need a second warning. They both turned and fled, each holding their injured body parts. Alex continued to stare up at her benefactor in shock and pain. After both boys were out of sight he turned toward her, kneeling down beside her.
"Are you O.K?" he asked her, genuine worry tinging his words.
"I don't know," she murmured, moving to a sitting position. She brought her hand up to feel her face. It was sore and aching. The pain emanating from her twisted ankle came back to her attention with a vengeance, but her mind wasn't on her injured limb. The taste of Eddy's tongue was still in her mouth, and the feeling of his finger's still lingered on her body. She began to sob uncontrollably then and Bender was at a loss.
"Um....it's alright," he offered after a moment of simply staring at her, patting her shoulder awkwardly. He sat down on the pavement next to her and encircled her gingerly with an arm. She leaned into his chest without hesitation and cried, disgusted and hurt by what had just happened. He simply held her silently, not knowing what to say to her. He knew pain and he knew abuse, but he couldn't imagine feeling what she was at that moment. She felt dirty and wronged, and ruined for whatever man she might fall in love with. It tore her apart inside. After a few minutes her tears trickled to a stop and she drew back from his embrace, which had evolved to both arms cradling her upper body against himself. He started as she looked into his eyes, her own full of tears, and quickly resumed his bad-ass demeanor, standing so fast as to nearly knock her back and brushing off his long brown overcoat.
"Are you hurt?" he asked absently, looking up and down the street as if it was a normal question to be asking. His arms were crossed over is chest in an irritated manner.
"Yes," she replied simply, sniffling a bit as she managed to drag herself to a standing position, balancing on one leg. His gaze softened hesitantly as he looked upon her and he allowed his attitude to drop a notch. He sighed an rolled his eyes and then without warning, he bent down and scooped her up in his arms. She encircled his neck with her own limbs reflexively as he lifted her off of the ground.
"Where do you live?" he asked her as he began walking. Comforted by his caring, even though he was trying to hide that fact, she wiped at her wet face. She directed him towards her home and they went along in silence. She watched his face carefully. He seemed uncomfortable with the situation yet only his eyes reflected it, managing to keep the rest of his face a stone mask.
As they neared her house she leaned her head forward and pecked him on the cheek. He looked surprised.
"Why did you do that?" he asked, bewildered.
"Thanks," was all she said, and smiled at him. He couldn't help but grin back despite himself.
At her door she reached forward and knocked and it swung open to reveal a tall, muscular looking woman. Bender simply stared at what should have been a man in disbelief. Alex would have laughed but she didn't think it was such a good idea as she quickly surveyed her mother's dark expression.
"Whats all this?" she demanded in a low voice as soon as she laid eyes upon the scene that presented itself to her.
"I twisted my ankle mother," Alex explained as calmly as she could, "and John brought me home." She used his proper name as to ease the heated anger she could feel radiating from her mentally unstable parent. Alex nodded for Bender to set her down and he did so ever so gently. She would have kissed him once more in genuine thanks, but decided against it as her mother issued her, hopping, into the house and slammed the door. Alex barely managed a look back before Bender's face disappeared from her view.