28 Where do I stand

The rest of the day went on without too much trouble.

Gaby returned to class after the third period once she finally managed to dry herself up, although she now was constantly keeping an eye out to anyone who might want to try playing that prank on her again.

From his conversations with Dorothy, Kurt began to put a few pieces of the puzzle together. The two began to assume that the reason she always carried so many books about poison is probably due to her younger brother who might have gotten injured due to some sort of accident.

Kurt, being someone able to heal any kind of injury with his healing flame, would be more than perfect to help her out. Only problem was, Gaby couldn't stand him, so she would probably never try to ask him for help due to her pride.

So, in order to patch things up for good, he first needed to become closer with her, at least close enough that she would feel comfortable asking him for his aid, since according to Dorothy, he still shouldn't get himself involved if she did not want to, even if someone's life was involved.

[This all feels so needlessly complicated...] he mumbled after processing everything he needed to do.

'Welcome to high school...' Dorothy shrugged.

[Whatever... At least I know now what to do...]

'I hope you do...'

The two of them were walking in the hallways with the rest of the class as it was finally time for combat lessons again. All of the kids were so excited that they even stopped bothering Gaby in order to not spoil the fun of watching another exhilarating fight at the end of a long day of lessons.

A couple of whispers could be heard among the boys and girls along the way.

"I hope this becomes a regular thing!"

"Me too! School is gonna be much more fun if we are to get a fight among the top students every day!"

Kurt just rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. while he prepared for his fight. He didn't want to make the same mistake from before and go in with a hot-headed mindset.

He didn't know what Saramin wanted from him, but he now had a chance to fix things up. Probably his last chance to build some kind of trust between him and Gaby.

But there was one other thing he also needed to take care of before that.

He peeked from the corner of his eye at Trevor who was walking by his side and acting like he was walking towards his funeral, [You sure about that?]

'Prett sure...' Dorothy replied, 'The girl that we talked to just now, Trevor's sister, she was disguised as a boy and was among those kids that ambushed you on the first day. She was the one that was standing next to the exit and suddenly vanished while you were fighting...'

[What does this mean, exactly? Is she with them? Why would she just suddenly approach us? Was she trying to reveal herself to see how we would react?]

'I'm not sure... But something tells me that we shouldn't trust her... Or your little friend.'

Kurt didn't want to believe that. He didn't want to believe that Trevor was hiding something from him and pretending to be his friend, but he had learned since a young age from his mother that danger can lurk anywhere.

Once they reached the gymnasium, the boy turned around and looked his 'friend' straight in his eyes.

"K- Kurt...?" Trevor whispered upon seeing Kurt staring at him so suddenly, "What's wrong?"

The red-haired prince continued to look at him in silence for a moment before making a soft smile, "I just wanna say, I'm glad for you being on my side until now, Trevor!"

"That's... Kind of an odd time to say that but... Thanks?"

"Just want you to know, whatever you choose to do from now on, I'll understand, okay?"

Trevor felt something wasn't right, "What do you mean? Kurt... Kurt, what are you planning to do?"

"Okay, class!!" the gym teacher shouted as she entered the area while clapping her hands, "You know the drill, form your pairs and hit the arenas!"

Saremin suddenly stepped forward to call her attention while holding a wicked grin, "Teacher! Can Kurt and I go first? We agreed to be partners today!"

"Oh! Are you sure about this, Kurt?" the teacher wondered while staring at the boy and thinking about what happened last time.

"Yes, please!" he replied.

"Well... I appreciate your enthusiasm... Okay, kids. Give your best!"

The whole class went quiet while watching Kurt and Saramin entering the middle arena as the two showed completely opposite expressions. Saramin was smiling like a little girl that had just pulled a prank and managed to get away with it, and Kurt who almost looked like someone getting ready for a job interview.

People began to whisper, as usual, wondering who would win, how long would the fight last, if there was some sort of conflict between them, and who would Kurt fight next time.

"Are you ready for this?" Saramin asked while stretching her arms and legs.

"Just one moment..." Kurt asked for before gazing at the crowd, seeing all the students looking at them with anticipation, the teacher, once again busying herself with Dory, Gaby staring blankly at them, probably secretly happy that two people she hated were about to beat each other up, and finally, Trevor, shaking and sweating like he had a knife pointed at his neck.

[Wish me luck, Dorothy...]

'Good luck, kid... Remember that I'll still be here when it's all over!'

Kurt smiled, [That's all I could ask for!]

The boy then began to clear his throat and raised his arm to drive the attention towards him.

"Excuse me! Excuse me, everyone! I have something to say!"

The kids exchanged looks with each other and began to whisper while wondering what he wanted.

Kurt just tried his best to remember how to use the right words at the right situation, just like his brother taught him in his previous life.

"I know that I'm just the new kid here, but I feel that after just one day and a half with you guys, I managed to get a good grasp of how everyone feels and thinks! I've been watching you, listening to you, and interacting with you in order to make my full impression, and I think I arrived at the perfect conclusion!"

The kids continued to look completely lost while waiting for him to finish. Even Saramim who asked him out to fight, was patiently waiting full of curiosity.

"And my conclusion is..." he continued while closing his eyes making the most innocent smile he could, "I freaking hate, every single one of you!!"

Gaby, Trevor, Saramin, and every other student just immediately froze while holding out a 'What!?' expression on their faces.

"I hate how annoying you guys are! I hate how much of a crybaby you all are! I hate that you guys are so lame and pathetic that the mere sight of someone giving her best to actually be a functional member of society, is enough to drive you all to blind jealousy and childish acts of revenge! I feel embarrassed being next to you! Just looking at some of your faces makes me wanna go home and take a three-hour bath!"

Dorothy, who already knew what he was planning to do, just watched calmly while waiting for him to finish, all while Trevor looked like he was going to have a heart attack at any second.

At first, the students were looking at Kurt with curiosity, but with each word he kept spouting, the more their gazes shifted to a piercing glare.

"Every single one of you makes me laugh from just how much of a joke you all are! I feel so sorry for your parents who have to deal with such a waste of space like you guys every day of the week! I can't even remember the last time I didn't want to punch every single one of you in the face from the more I talked with you!

You guys all suck, and I wish you would all just die! So I'm gonna beat up every single one of you and become the number one student of the academy. Cool?" he finished before taking a bow, "Thank you very much!"

Not even a second passed before the entire crowd started to turn against him and began to root for Saramin.

"Screw you, asshole!!! You wanna get killed??"

"Who do you think you are!!?? Freaking newbie!!"

"Kick his ass, Sara!! Show him who's the boss!"

Not all of them were anger though. There was a small number that was just watching while trying to hold their laughter, others that acted like they didn't care, and some who were honestly afraid of him. But the vast majority just wanted to scream and shout and watch him go down.

Among them, was Gaby, who simply had no idea what Kurt was thinking. Every time she saw him, Kurt would just do the last thing she expected him to do, and by this point, she just had no idea what to think of him.

"Seems like you just became public enemy number one!" Saramin mentioned, "Not bad! You must really hate yourself!"

"Well, at least now we can all hate me together as one angry family..." Kurt commented, "Isn't that what school is all about at the end of the day?"

"I wonder..." she replied, "But since we're at it... Why not make things more interesting?"

Kurt tilted his head, "Interesting how?"

The girl with long white hair proceeded to tie it up in a ponytail and aimed her gaze at the students, "Hey everyone!! Who would like a chance to bet the sh*t out of little Kurt over here?"

"Eh...!?" they all gasped.

"Let's make this more fun! What do you say we do a three-on-three duel?"

Kurt widened his eyes. This wasn't part of his plan. He could tell from the look on their faces that they liked the idea of fighting against him by the side of the number two best fighter of the academy.

"Come on, everyone! Raise your hands if you wanna be on my team!!"

More than two-thirds of the students began to roar and raise their arms to join in while throwing insults at the prince.

"How about..." Saramim mumbled while pointing at two boys, "Wesley, and Ronny!"

A pair of kids suddenly approached her side, one was a short but strong-looking lad with spiky hair tied up by a bandana, and a tall but thin boy with glasses with slightly long hair.

Kurt recognized them, the two who were by Saramin's side when she was bullying Gaby.

"I'm shocked..." he commented while rolling his eyes.

"Holy... These three together?"

"I know, right? Just one is bad enough, but taking them on is pretty much suicide!"

"You would have to be crazy to join his team..."

From the way the kids whispered, it seemed like all of them had quite the reputation.

"Now then! Who wants to be on Kurt's side?" she continued.

The crowd instantly went silent. They all knew that whoever joined him would also become rejected by everyone else.

"How about you, Gaby?" Saramin wondered while smiling at the purple-haired girl, "Aren't you dying to get some payback from what happened earlier today?"

Gaby began to glare at her and then glare at Kurt. It was true that she wanted to get some revenge on these three, but she would also have to fight by his side. Would she be willing to, after all the history between them?

"Sure... Let's do it...." she replied while cracking her knuckles.

Kurt couldn't help but smile at the idea of finally working together with her. He almost wanted to thank Saramin for the chance.

"This doesn't change anything between us!" Gaby stated while joining his side.

"I know! Don't worry!" Kurt responded with a smile.

"Well, how about that..." the white-haired girl commented, "But we still need one more ingredient to make our little pie! Who wants to step in?"

Kurt and Gaby looked at the students but none of them were moving a muscle.

"I know you're good, but three on two is still gonna be a pain to deal with..." Kurt mentioned, "I don't suppose you have anyone that we could call for help?"

"What about you?" Gaby wondered, "You probably have more luck at making friends than me..."

"Well... There is one... But..."

"I'm in!"

The entire crowd of students instantly glared at the last person to speak.

Kurt knew that offering to help them out would be the same as killing yourself socially, so the fact he still did it anyway was rather shocking to him.

"I will fight on their team..." Trevor repeated while sensing all the gazes piercing into his skin like a rain of arrows.

"Trevor..." Kurt whispered, "Do you know what you're doing? Everyone will hate you now!"

"But I will still be able to be your friend, right?"

"You would still have been my friend even if you said no..."

"But that wouldn't have been a real friend... Would it?"

Kurt stared at him with an empty expression for a moment and then began to laugh at his recklessness, "I guess not!"

"Hey, you two!" Gaby suddenly interrupted, "You can find a room to make out later! Get ready!"

Now that the two teams were formed, one side consisting of Saramin, Wesley, and Ronny on one side, with Kurt, Gaby, and Trevor on the other, the rest of the students finally began to quiet down and pay attention to the fight that was about to start.

"Boys..." Saramin whispered while raising her right hand and snapping her fingers, "Trash them!"