Leila was stunned to find what type of people (if you could call them that..'people') she went to school with. Throughout the day it seemed to be a norm to see the charity cases being pushed, beaten up, humiliated for no apparent reason other than entertainment. There were times were Leila was really tempted to jump in and stop the acts of cruelty which the others were subjected to, but she had long since realized her place.

It seemed the news of Xavier's and Zach's truce seemed to have spread across the whole school and more than ever she constantly found herself being stared at. "I mean...okay she is beautiful..but really what are they thinking? A beggar girl?" she found one of the girls whom she didn't recognize saying, while she was at her locker. "Oh come on ! Puhlease, don't gross me out! You know it's not like that...they just couldn't decide who should own the beggar, since none of them ever had a girl beggar before, but in any case, I couldn't weasel any information out of either of them...seems like they just won't talk ! " she said frustrated, shutting her locker.

She saw Leila looking at her "Hey ! what are you staring at? " she shrieked. Leila took a huge breathe of air, and turned around slowly. Closing her locker, she looked down at her watch, it was five minutes to twelve. Every lunch break she would wait for Justin, who would show up at her locker, and then they would walk together for lunch.

Justin had a happy energy about him, and more than that, he was so insightful for an 8th grader. He knew about the families and businesses of almost all the heirs, and Leila felt like she always learnt new things from him each day. Her day always lightened up when she saw the curly haired small boy, with school shorts walking up to her locker with his enormous file and over large bag.

"Heya Justin ! How were your morning classes today?" she asked him. He smiled running through his curly hair roughly.

"Boring..I'm starved..all I could think about was the buffet lunch!" he said, making Leila giggle. "Well than let's get going for lunch!" she said. It was not long before, they entered the cafeteria, and like always their beggar table was there waiting for them, sometimes they would find their seats sellotaped together, other times they would find toilet paper all around their table.

Leila grew accustomed to it, and was just grateful that she didn't have to witness anymore abuse since the last incident. That was the other thing among the charity cases. There was the unsaid understanding that they never talked of their 'initiations' with each other, in that way, they could at least try to look past the humiliation, and have some decent conversation.

Leila and Justin were deep in conversation, with Leila telling him about her younger brother, who Justin always reminded her of.

"it's a shame he can't come stay with me, but at least my aunt loves kids, and takes good care of him..other than that, I usually get to see him over the holidays.." she said slightly sad, but soon she stopped midway in her speech, she could see Zach's eyes boring into her. She looked worried as she could sense another incident coming along. He was walking with two of his other friends, with something in his hands. The whole cafeteria seemed to also sense something was about to happen, Leila could see Xavier too looking up at them, as usual with no expression on his face.

"Hello little Justy ! Long time pal.." zach said sarcastically. Leila's eyes widened with understanding and fear, today was going to be Justin, and he too seemed to sense it was his turn coming up. He looked down obediently, " Hello Mr. Williams" he said.

If what was coming ahead, wasn't going to be so serious, she would have snorted at the formalities. " It's been a minute....you know I was thinking...when last was it that Justy boy had a haircut?" he said, roughly moving his hands through Justin's hair. No ! Leila thought, feeling like she was going to be sick.

"So me being...well...me...you know Mr.Considerate..thought oh no..why not extend my barbering services to you?" he said smiling wickedly, and to Leila's horror, in his other hand there was an electronic hair clipper.

The whole cafeteria seemed to buzz alive with applause. Although Leila couldn't see Justin's face, she saw small tear drops starting to fall onto the plastic table. She was quiet long enough, but this time she didn't care anymore what happened to her.

She wouldn't just sit quiet, sit obediently, watching them abuse Justin too. With a sickening jolt, Zach turned the hair clipper on which made a loud buzz, the whole cafeteria seemed to freeze, waiting for him to snip Justin's hair. Leila looked up, all around were eager faces, jeers, applause and giggles.

Xavier just stood there, watching the scene, his eyes again dead set on Leila. Just as zach was about to take the hair clipper to Justin's hair, Leila got up. She-just-couldn't. There was a small pause for a mini second, while the cafeteria realized what she had just done. Looking directly into Zach's eyes, searching for a trace of humanity, an ounce of compassion, Leila whispered to him " Zach........please don't do this.." she saw his hand falter, his mad gaze locked in hers.

Suddenly Zach threw the hair clipper hard on to the floor, breaking it into pieces, Leila knew she had gone too far. He walked angrily around the table, placing each hand deliberately across her so that she was trapped with just the plastic table behind her and him in front of her, he pulled her face into his hands, so that she was faced to look into his eyes, which had a slightly maniac hint...

"do you want to make an exchange ? You for Justy boy?" he asked, though the aggression was gone, almost as though he was saying his threat with endearment...amusement. Right than from behind, she saw huge hands grabbing Zach roughly and pulling him away from her aggressively.

However Zach was still staring at Leila, Xavier looked vivid, she couldn't believe his handsome face could contort into something so frightening. Zach retorted by pushing back aggressively too.

"Who do you think you're touching huh?" Zach asked hitting Xavier on the forehead. Xavier touched his forehead where a small blotch of blood was, looking at his hand for a second, he went and gave zach a straight punch in the face. Zach though was ready for him, punching Xavier back 2,3,4,times.

Leila stared at them in horror, "Everyone OUT!" someone shouted, she turned around to see Nico ushering everyone out of the cafeteria. There was more scuffling as Xavier started to punch Zach back now, but this time he was not stopping, with one final sway of his fist, he gave another final punch to Zach who was pushed into one of the cafeteria table, but it seemed as though Xavier was not done with him.

He grabbed the nearest chair he could find, in a split second he had grabbed it, making his way towards Zach, who was still trying to catch his breath. Instinctively Leila ran to Zach and stood between Xavier and him.

She was terrified, she didn't know much about the history between the two of them, but she knew one thing, they were not afraid to go past the limit of an ordinary fight...because they were by no means, ordinary teenagers fighting.

Shaking she stood there looking at Xavier, who's frightening expression moved towards Leila "Move..." he said in a deadly whisper. Leila stood her ground, frowning her eyebrows, she shook her head with fake bravado. Xavier, threw the chair forcefully onto the floor. In a heartbeat, he had roughly grabbed her by the wrist, and started dragging her with him, as he walked out of the cafeteria."Stop ! where are you taking me?" she cried at him, but he didn't respond. Before exiting the door, he turned around to Zach and said "This was just the warm up.."

"Good...I'm looking forward to it, at least I won't have to hold back anymore...buddy.." zach finished, while wiping blood from his mouth, but his eyes were fixed on Leila.

Still pulling Leila by her wrists, they went through the outside field, she tried to wrestle her hands out of his grip, but he kept on walking, she slipped on the grass, and tried to use her body weight to halt him, but he aggressively dragged her along the grass, when they reached the end of the field, he stopped turned around and picked her up, she tried to fight him off, throwing her hands roughly at him, her best interpretation of a punch and he just stared at her in surprise.

"let ...me..." Leila took a swing frantically with each word "go..." she said, though it sounded more like a plea than a threat.

"You're going to hurt yourself.." he said to her with mild amusement. Still not letting go of her hand, he continued walking up the corridor. All around the other students were staring at them, she tried again to wrestle her hands out of his grip, but he only held on harder.

He took her down the stairs, where she normally had class with Ms. Judy, walking past class 108, he took her to a room which read "toilets"..aggressively opening the door, "Everybody OUT !" He yelled , to Leila's surprise Pearl came out of one cubicle, she stood there, her expression frozen,

"Xavier..what the heck? What are you doing with this b-" before she could finish, Xavier grabbed her, and shoved her out of the toilet within a split second. Closing the door, he pushed Leila, in front of him with exceeding force to the mirrored wall.

Leila shuddered as her body hit hard upon impact. She stared at the young man in front of her, he looked at her with no expression on his face. He edged closer to her, till she could feel his warm breath on her face, bending his back, with his big hands, he gently moved her face till she couldn't look away from him. He was handsome, obnoxious, arrogant, and most of all violent. She tried to move her face to look away from him, and again he just made his hold on her stronger.

"Tell me...do you stop all fights in that way.." Xavier said. Again his tone of endearment shocked Leila, so he can switch his psycho mode off and on as he wants?

"No..I've never seen a fight in my life.." Leila said.

"So you instinctively want to step in to stop someone...while you clearly have ...no strength?" he said, with mild amusement. Leila blushed, so now he wanted to humiliate her? She knew she was powerless, but that was her nature, she couldn't sit by and watch human beings behaving like animals to each other, to her horror she could feel her eyes watering, but he wouldn't even give her the decency of looking away...as though he wanted to see her cry. Looking up into his cold dead eyes, she took a huge breath.. "yes.." she responded softly.

"But why would you do that? Do you not know how dangerous...... we are...?" Xavier said again in amusement. "Firstly the weak can't defend the weak...and secondly...the weak...can't.... shouldn't ..try to take on the strong....you will only break..." Xavier finished off.

Leila understood the warning in his simple sentence, he told her in no uncertain terms, that they would break her..both emotionally...and probably physically too. Well as for the emotional break down, she was already a mess, with tears streaking down her face, all she wanted to do was run out of this bathroom in which she was trapped.

With his hands still firmly gripping her face, forcing her to look at him, all she could do was close her eyes. His body was less than a millimeter away from hers, his big masculine figure, almost pressing on her. With what courage she could muster, she tried to push him away "Let me go.." she said once again, but that just made him chuckle... "you just demonstrated my point .." he said gently, and with that, backed off the mirror, walked out of the toilet, leaving Leila in shock.

******

Xavier walked out feeling amused. Firstly ever since he can remember, he never had anyone...as in no one ever who stood up against him. When he and his than best friend Zach set up their 'social status order' together, there was almost complete tyranny from their side.

Even when they were in grade 8, they were able to bully the senior beggars, the ones bigger than them..stronger than them. And when he and Zach had their falling out, their fighting used to get really bad...because the two of them just didn't know their limits.

Sometimes the school management would call the police, sometimes his uncle and zach's father would hire personal bodyguards, to stop their fighting. But here she was...a meek girl...painfully shy...small statured...soft...and yet with enough courage, to take them both on...at the same time. From where did she get that courage? And further more...what was he to do now? Should he discipline her...or ....protect her..?

He was not someone who could exercise restraint, and he had to be cautious around her...he remembered how her wrist had zach's finger prints on them, after their first introduction in history class...but what was worse for her...was that both him and zach..were almost the same in that aspect...he feared for her.....Zach couldn't handle Xavier alone..and Xavier himself was not able to handle zach when he got out of control...how was this little lady going to handle them both? Xavier knew Zach like he knew himself, and for both of them..their next target was Leila...the question was did they want to break her..like they did everyone else or did they want to protect her..from each other?