"Don't gawk at them, Gabriel. What the fuck? Just keep walking. Come on."

Landon yanked roughly on my arm, leading me away from Rolf, who was throwing some freshman's books out of the school's first floor window.

Of course, there was no teacher in sight. If there were, they would just gently chide Rolf and walk away. Maybe Rolf would get a day of detention, which he'd then take out on the freshman again. That was all. I guessed the teachers just didn't want to get themselves in the mess that was our high school, or perhaps even become a victim themselves.

"Yeah yeah, I know," I muttered under my breath, reluctantly allowing Landon to drag me along across the hallway.

I didn't know the poor kid who had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Rolf, but I felt an aching kind of sympathy for him anyway. I knew what it was like- having your books thrown into the mud (or, in my case, having your tire slashed) and somehow having to explain that to your parents.

Scurrying off without standing up for the freshman left a bad taste in my mouth. A taste only amplified by spotting Asa standing next to his locker. He glanced at the freshman kid, then at me, and I quickly averted my gaze to the floor.

My cheeks burned. I didn't like Asa witnessing me being a little chickenshit.

"Just be glad it's not you this time, alright?" Landon said near my ear.

Landon had a point, too. But I didn't want Rolf simply redirect his bullying ways to the freshmen, just because I could pay Asa for his bodyguard services.

Correction: could barely pay.

Fifty dollars each time was a hefty price and my wallet was starting to feel it. Since Rolf was leaving me alone now, maybe I should only 'hire' Asa two days a week. It'd be best if I spent some time apart from him anyway. At least, until I managed to convince my falls-in-love-with-every-cute-guy heart this particular crush was not a good idea. What he did to me in his house yesterday didn't make that any easier.

I spent my morning classes gathering courage to face Asa and tell him I wanted him at the lunch table less often because my bank account was draining fast.

When I spotted him leaning against a wall near the Chemistry classrooms, predictably all my built-up courage went poof, making place for jitters that felt like ants crawling across my skin. Under my skin when I suddenly noticed Asa's eyelashes were long. Like, really long. It was one of those odd details I'd failed to notice because his cobalt blue eyes usually stole all the attention.

He wasn't looking at me this time, however.

"Hey," I greeted Asa, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Go to the gaming night," Asa greeted me back.

Crap, this was going to be even harder than I thought. He wanted more work.

"I can't go to the gaming night. I can't pay you." I took a deep breath. "Actually, I can't keep paying you to sit with us every day of the week, either. I wanted to suggest twice a week?"

I was never going to get used to Asa's silences, which always took a little too long for comfort. When he did speak, it was even worse.

"I won't charge you for the gaming night."

"What?" My jaw nearly dropped. "I mean, you won't?"

Asa raised his shoulders in a shrug. He looked past me rather than at me. "Rolf is getting on my nerves. Knock him down a notch."

"Excuse me?" I sputtered. "With all due respect, knocking people down a notch is your thing. Not mine."

"You can. In game."

Finally, Asa turned to face me, slowly uncrossing his arms. He looked dead-serious, and I felt like I was about to die. From cardiac arrest.

"No. I'm not going to the game evening, no way," I said, chuckling nervously as Asa kept staring me down without a trace of a smile.

"You want to spend the rest of your time at this school being treated like shit?"

No. Obviously, the answer was no. But was there really any point? Even if Rolf, for some reason, decided me beating him in a game was enough to leave me alone, it still wasn't over.

I looked down at my feet on the dingy hallway floor. "You saw what happened with that boy. If it's not me then it's the freshman in the hallway."

"You're right," Asa said. "The problem won't be fixed. It's the rotten school system which turns a blind eye to guys like Rolf that needs changing."

As he often did, Asa caught me off-guard. I knew he was smart, and I knew he wasn't oblivious to the way our school worked. Still, I somehow hadn't expected him to address it directly.

"Exactly," I muttered. "And I have even less of a chance of taking on an entire system than taking on Rolf."

"And it's like that everywhere," Asa replied without missing a beat. "You can only make sure it's not you getting the short end."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Asa shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Then he stepped away from the wall and started walking.

"Think about it," he said over his shoulder.

I ended up thinking about it all afternoon and evening. While laying sprawled out on my bed, I carefully weighing the pros and cons of showing up at the gaming night and kicking ass.

There was the immense satisfaction of picturing the look on Rolf's face when I beat him again and again and again at what he thought was his own game. He thought wrong.

Then there was the other big if. If it made Rolf leave me alone for the rest of my high school career like Asa suggested, this thing might be worth it. I couldn't change the system and all the teachers involved in it, but I could be completely selfish and make my own life better. Maybe Landon's and Randall's as well.

A knock on my bedroom door made me sit upright. "Yes?"

Mom peeked around the corner, then opened the door. "Gabriel?" Mom smiled in a sweet, understanding way that spelled trouble. "Your dad and I want to talk to you. Can you come downstairs for a moment?"

I suppressed a groan. If I showed too many outward signs of rebellion and annoyance, this 'conversation' was only going to get worse. There would be an added 'we're concerned about your attitude' aspect nobody wanted.

I already had a sneaking suspicion what this was about, and my suspicions were confirmed as soon as my ass landed on the living room couch opposite Dad.

"I finished putting a new tire on your bike," Dad started. "You can ride to school tomorrow again."

I looked down at my clasped hands in my lap. "Thanks dad."

"And there's something else," Mom said. "Please understand we're only trying to help you, Gabe. I know you didn't like it very much, but we want to pick up boxing classes again, rather than us buying you more games. So... you'll be more confident and assertive in school."

Yup, here we go. My parents would forever blame video games for my low social status in school, while it was probably more my personality. It was survival of the fittest out in the jungle, and shy geek wasn't exactly the winner combination.

"And we're calling the school," Dad added. "We want to make an appointment to talk with the parents of this kid who slashed your tire. Rolf, was it?"

"Dad!" I nearly jumped up from the couch, heart suddenly racing. "No. Don't let them call his parents. I--" I paused, chewing on my bottom lip. "Give me a chance to fix it myself, okay?"

Mom and Dad exchanged a glance.

"Just give me a chance to fix it without parents getting involved, okay?" I pleaded. "I swear Rolf isn't going to destroy any of my stuff after today."

Dad rubbed the side of his face, looking tired, while Mom's forehead wrinkled further.

"Okay," Dad finally made the decision. "You're not coming home with flat tires and broken stuff anymore, and we won't call the school. For now."

"Thank you." I breathed a sigh of relief.

They let me off the hook, but Mom and Dad still seemed utterly unconvinced I could handle the situation. Honestly, I didn't blame them. I wasn't sure if I could either, or if my actions would make any difference.

Guess I was going to play, actually play full power, on Friday evening.