《Our Strange Love》Chapter 9
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"Hey! I need to talk to you!"
Riley was walking home from school when one from a group of three boys—wearing the same school uniform—shouted with an unfriendly grimace.
Was he supposed to know this guy? None of the three looked familiar. Riley took his hands out of his pockets, and without a word, allowed himself to be escorted away by two who he determined were flunkeys for the one that 'needed to talk to him.' He's gonna take a swing at me, I know. But... I can't afford to hit back. He recalled what the police officer had warned. His reputation with the teachers was just that of a lazy student with average grades, but if they decided he was violent... That would open up a can of worms Riley had been methodically trying to keep tightly sealed. Maybe I shouldn't even dodge, and just take it. Then he'll be satisfied and leave me alone?
Riley was led behind a building. Decent benches had been thrown out, stacked against the building's side. They were definitely within the area that marked the shift between Uptown and Midtown. The idiots that lived there were snooty enough to throw out usable benches, but low class enough to toss them out so haphazardly. The building was sandwiched between a side street and a fence blanketed by ivy, so Riley figured there was little chance someone would see them.
When the four of them stopped, Riley's suspicions about what would happen were confirmed. The problem was that the guy had taken a swing towards his face. Unable to risk any visible wounds which could result in the school knowing, Riley dodged by leaning away.
"Haha," Riley laughed nervously, holding up his hands defencelessly. "At least tell me what this is about first."
"I'll let you know after I punch your face in."
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Riley wanted to make a face, disturbed by the guy using such a cliché phrase. 'Grab 'im boys!' he mockingly half expected the guy to say.
"Hold 'im down."
Riley snorted, trying to hold back laughter, causing the other three to pause in surprise. "Sorry," he tried to straighten his expression. "I'll be serious."
"Don't fucking mock me."
Riley was getting irritated. "You bring me back here, spit out some outdated lines, all without telling me why. Aren't I the one being mocked?"
One of the flunkeys piped, "You got almost perfect score on the exams."
The leader snapped at him, "Shut up." He turned to Riley. "You're getting cocky. Let me teach you a lesson." He tried to punch Riley's face again.
"Why always my face?" Riley thought aloud whilst dodging by stepping back. Unfortunately, he met with a counterattack from the legs of a bench. "Ow," Riley rubbed the back of his thigh. He had been blocked from dodging fully, so additionally the guy's fist had slightly met with his chin. Riley tasted blood on his lip. 'Never talk during battle.' How could I forget? He'd bitten his lip himself.
Seeing Riley defenceless, the guy took the chance to jab him in the stomach. Shit, now I hurt in two places. Riley crouched down, holding his stomach. He smiled, "Haha, assist by the bench," he muttered. The guy pushed Riley down into a nearby dirty puddle left over from the rain that morning.
Were these guys so insecure that they had to beat someone up in order to have the highest grades in class? It's not like Riley was a contender for Valedictorian. Hell, salutatorian was probably a far reach for this guy.
Riley got on his knees as the guy grabbed him by the hair to hold his head still and force him to look up. "I can't stand that cocky smile of yours." Amused even by that statement, Riley couldn't help but smirk. Provoked, the guy was obviously planning on giving Riley a full facial punch. "Be careful on the midterms," he warned.
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Oh, so that's it, Riley thought as he prepared to be hit.
"Whoa!" he heard a joyful, excited voice. The guy's grip on his head loosened. "Looks like fun." Riley wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry, he wanted to run away. My knight.
His knight pushed passed the confused students by knocking one off balance and into the other, and then looked down at Riley.
Riley gave a helpless, 'oops-you-caught-me' smile—the same smile he'd given the first time he'd been picked up from the police station.
Eran put his hand on Riley's attacker's hand and twisted or pushed something that forced the teenager to release Riley's hair. The three guys still stood there, obviously confused as to who this peculiar young-looking stranger was.
Eran straightened Riley's hair with his fingers. This is the strangest dream. And if it's not a dream, it's still strange. Riley felt his body getting hot at Eran's gentle touch. It was brief and when Eran finished he gave the sweetest kick to Riley's arm. "Ouch." Now Riley was hurt in three places.
Eran pulled up on Riley's ear.
"Ow ow ow. I'm standing. I'm standing." Eran let go once Riley got shoulder level.
"W-we're," a flunkey stuttered, "We still—"
Eran's glare shut the teen up quickly. "Let's go," he said to Riley, giving him a gentle push forward.
"Don't think you got away with anything!" the leader called after Riley. "Don't—" Eran looked back and coldly glared, but the student gathered his courage and continued. "Riley, we'll really make you regret it next time. Remember what I told you."
Riley, feeling that he should probably leave with Eran as soon as possible, turned away and continued walking in the direction Eran had pushed him. But Eran didn't turn away and continued to look coldly at the insolent student.
Eran walked towards the student and Riley stopped and sighed. The attacker (soon victim) tried to stand his ground. "This is between Riley and us."
"Anything that has to do with someone other than me hitting or threatening Riley is my business," Eran retorted in a dangerous monotone. He took a step closer to the teen who reacted by backing up unconsciously. "If you touch him again," Eran glanced at the teen's hand, "I'll break each bone in every single one of your spoiled little fingers. Understand?" The teen said nothing, and Eran repeated himself, demanding consent. "Understand?"
The student tightened his jaw and muttered, "Yes."
Eran gave a heartless smile.
"C-can I go home?"
Eran paused before replying, "Please do."
The teen ran off and his friends, who had been hiding behind the corner in safety, followed.
Riley could hear Eran irritatedly muttering as he came back. He looked at Riley with a little concern. He reached up towards Riley's lip but retracted his hand just as smoothly, before it reached halfway. "Let's go take care of that, and your other wounds."
Riley wanted to object, but the thought that he could be with Eran longer and maybe even be touched triumphed over any reluctance or desire to set boundaries. So he obediently followed Eran, walking a step behind at Eran's side. The scenery looked familiar and Riley quickly realized they were headed to Eran's apartment.
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In Too Deep
She doesn't know his name.She doesn't know where he comes from.She doesn't know anything about him.But she knows she will always find him on her couch passed out from gunshot or stabbing wounds.Like always, she has no choice but to tend to his wounds and save his life. And like always, he leaves without saying goodbye.
8 150Westwood School
Rowen Ashworth and his three closest friends practically run their elite British boarding school. There, the richest of the rich send their children to get the best education and to make good connections. They expect their senior year to be no different from the rest, full of them breaking hearts, throwing parties and playing in their band. On a bar crawl in Nashville, these boys stumble upon Magnolia, singing her heart out. This honky-tonk angel enchants the boys and leads them around for quite the night. Never would they of guessed to see this girl again, let alone at Westwood high. Magnolia Harris, or Nola for short, is content in her life in Nashville. But for her father's job, they need to move to London. There she enrolls in the best school her family can find, money not being any bit of an issue. She does not expect what she finds at all. Will she come to love Westwood or will westwood come to love her?#1 in country#1 in songwriting
8 185The Forest for the Trees
Quinn spun around the balls of her feet, trying to figure out where that wonderful smell was coming from. The scent of rich coffee and vanilla radiated from a single figure, overwhelming her senses and making the she-wolf dizzy. They locked eyes as they both whispered "mate" under their breath. Quinn then bolted in the opposite direction, so afraid of what would happen next. Being the only fat werewolf in the pack, she wanted to relish in the moment. She had a mate and wanted to prolong the inevitable rejection even for just a little while. But would he reject her?
8 124Memoirs of A Healer/Clinical Social Worker: Autobiography of Bruce Whealton
A loving spouse. A healer. How does this person cope with evil villains willing to destroy everything? They convicted the victim... now how does the victim goes on with life as a healer?As the book opens, I was in a psychiatric hospital following a suicide attempt in December 2019. What starts as a simple conversation with another patient changed my life. Most of the rest of the book tells the reader how I got to this point. I experienced profound injustice between 2004 and 2006. By opening with a story about suicide, I want the reader to understand that the injustice was not just something that happened long ago.This book is an account of all the accomplishments and successes that I had in overcoming tremendous odds and challenges. Growing up, I was paralyzed by shyness and lacked social skills, and so the idea of becoming a psychotherapist never occurred to me when I went off to college. I learned that I could overcome those limitations. I wanted to bring that hope and healing to others. Activities like that make life meaningful and bring me joy. The reasons why I was suicidal in 2019 were set in motion in 2000 when a meteor would come crashing down upon the life that I had built leaving me powerless to do anything other than watching everything burn to ashes - the home that I had, the life I had known, the love I had, my career, everything would disappear almost as if it never existed. In that one the year 2000, I could not imagine things could get any worse. But the nightmare would continue for the next few years... culminating in a suicide attempt in 2019. Now, I am connecting with others, building relationships, and finding a reason to live again. I am writing my own story of my life. I will fight against the injustice of the past and offer my gifts to the world. I have so much to offer. I have quite a story to tell. I hope you will help me to move on with my life.
8 128The Boy in Black
Mattie Noelle is a simple girl that only knows of school, dance, and her overbearing mother that keeps her hidden away in the walls of their "perfect" home. She believes she's invisible and that no one could look twice; then comes the captivating boy next door Jaxson Maddox, a disturbed high school senior with a dark look and an equally dark past that stalks Mattie and has an end goal of keeping her all to himself; no matter what it may take. RATED MATUREHighest Ratings thus far:#1 in Stalker#3 in Horror#3 in Bad boy next door#8 MatureAudience
8 173Kakanaru: The pain behind Naruto's mask
Naruto is a boy who has been abused by his village. To reduce the number of beatings he is forced to endure, he pretends to be a happy go lucky dead last idiot. Secretly though, he trains with Kurama to become strong. After he graduates he lets go of his mask, tired of having to pretend to be happy. Kakashi, Naruto's teacher, can't understand why this child is so different from the file. As time passes, Kakashi finds himself growing closer to the boy who's eyes look older than they should.
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