3 Chapter 2

«Great…» Haylee said sarcastically in front of the dent on her car. Surely that moving truck must have hit her car while going backwards. Luckily, the damage wasn't that bad. The headlight was still intact.

Haylee opened the door and heard a thud.

Oh no, not again!, she thought praying she was wrong, but for the second time she actually hit her new neighbor. «I'm sorry. really, I don't do it on purpose.»

«Don't worry. I shouldn't have sneaked up on you.» he said in an unexpectedly kind tone. He even smiled at her. «Could you give me a ride to school? I don't have a car and I have no idea where the school is.»

Haylee seemed puzzled but eventually agreed. «Sure no problem. It's the minimum for hitting you, twice.»

They both got into the car and Haylee started the engine. For some reason she felt embarrassed to drive in front of that boy.

The silence was really embarrassing. Haylee nervously squeezed the steering wheel, thinking about what she could possibly say to him… she suddenly remembered he didn't tell her his name.

«Um... we never introduced ourselves... » she began, thinking it was a good way to open a conversation. «I'm Haylee Anderson.»

«Byron. Byron Miller.»

End of conversation.

Haylee's plan had failed miserably. So, she decided to find another topic. «Why did you move here? People usually try to escape from this town.»

«We don't come from out of town. We lived in West Blackbones. We just moved east for my dad. He got a job here.»

«I see... »

Silence again.

Then it was Byron who tried to start a conversation. «Before going to class, could you tell me where the secretariat is?»

«Yup. I will walk you. Today I'm miraculously early.»

«Thank you.»

«I guess you need company even at the cafeteria. You can join me and my friends if you want.»

«Thanks again. As soon as I make some friends, I will no longer disturb you.»

«No problem. And don't think it will be easy to make friends. I don't know how it worked in your school, but bullies are at the top of the hierarchy here and they won't make your life easy.»

«I know how to defend myself.» Byron answered looking out the window.

That's what I used to tell myself, and now they haunt me, Haylee thought. Warning him was useless. The newcomer would be targeted anyway.

They finally arrived.

They got out of the car at the same time.

Haylee led the way for Byron. The secretariat was practically near the entrance.

She stayed with him, while an elderly woman handed him the lesson schedules, just in case maybe they would take some courses together and she would have to walk him.

Just then Percy walked by. He immediately recognized Haylee and greeted her, sparking the amazement of his friends and teammates.

Haylee and Byron turned at the same moment. At first, she seemed surprised, but in the end, she returned his greeting, with a polite smile.

Byron suddenly frowned. He didn't want her to smile at that guy. He quickly took all the paperwork and left the office tugging at Haylee, who was still greeting Percy.

She tried to call her neighbor, but Byron was already off into the hallways.

What is wrong with him?, Haylee thought. He didn't even know where he had to go...

«Is everything alright? He hit you pretty hard… », Percy approached her with a hint of concern. His friends stood there watching the scene, as if they were waiting for their boss's orders.

«Yes, everything ok.»

«That boy is really weird. Is he new?»

«Yeah, he's my new neighbor.»

«So, you felt compelled to be kind... And that's how he thanked you... »

Haylee ignored what Percy had said. She kept looking in the direction where Byron had disappeared.

Percy tried to get her attention. «Do you have math now?»

«Er... yes.»

«We too. We can go together.»

«Ok.» Haylee answered, after a brief moment of hesitation.

She still couldn't figure it out what he was up to. But she had to play along if she wanted to find out and use the situation to her advantage.

Throughout the lesson she kept wondering it.

As Haylee tidied up her things in her backpack, Percy walked over to her. «We have lunch in the stands, at the field, will you join us?»

«I don't know. I have to talk to my friends first.»

«You can bring them too if you want.» said one of Percy's minions, Josh Heaney.

Actually Josh wasn't like the others of the team. He was the kindest one and rarely participated in punitive expeditions. On those occasions he always disappeared. He didn't like violence, but he had to survive in that school. He was on the side of the bad guys, to stay out of trouble.

«Ok.», Haylee smiled – it was obviously a fake one – and left the classroom.

Making the best of a bad situation wasn't one of her favorite activities. But she had to if she wanted to find out what plan these guys had in mind.

Selene and Amy couldn't believe their eyes when they saw her sitting in the stands among all those popular kids. She waved at them and they joined her.

The two friends asked no questions, as Haylee had begged them in their group chat. They just introduced themselves before sitting down and starting to eat with everyone else.

It was different from that morning in the car with Byron. Haylee was able to converse with Percy. But she hadn't let her guard down.

Not far from the group sat Byron alone. With headphones and hair covering part of his face.

He was eating looking straight ahead, never turning to Haylee and the others.

Instead, she stared at him wondering if he was ignoring her on purpose or if he hadn't seen her at all.

Other members of the football team approached Byron. They hit what was left of his lunch, which fell below.

Haylee jumped to her feet. Oh no...

«Hey there newbie, let us welcome you to this school.»

«We came to explain how it works here. Make sure you respect the rules, or you will get hurt.»

Byron didn't answer. One of the three guys hit him right in the nose.

Percy stopped Haylee before she could step in. She glared at him. «If you think I'll stand by and watch, you are very wrong.»

Haylee pushed Percy away and hurried to rescue Byron.

«Leave him alone!» the girl cried. «He wasn't doing anything wrong.»

«I don't need your help.» Byron said through gritted teeth. But Haylee bent down beside him. She tried to wipe the blood from his nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, but he pulled his face away.

«I'll take you to the infirmary. The bleeding isn't stopping.»

«I'm fine, no need.»

«For God's sake, don't throw a tantrum! You're not a child.»

«It seems this girl hasn't learned to be in her place yet.» one of the bullies said.

The three then surrounded Haylee, who was kneeling beside Byron. The boy sensed the danger and immediately stood up, ready to face them. He wouldn't let them hurt her.

Percy stepped forward. «Guys, that's enough. It's no longer fun. Let them go to the infirmary.»

The group dispersed in no time.

Percy helped Haylee up. «Thanks Percy.»

«No problem. I don't want bloodshed. It's not funny that way.» he said, then turned to Byron. «I'm sorry. Those guys go way beyond teasing, I'll try to teach them a lesson.» Percy looked at Josh and Mark Johnson – and they nodded before walking away.

Byron turned ready to walk away but Haylee stopped him, grabbing him by his arm. «Where do you think you're going? I'll take you to the infirmary.»

Haylee dragged Byron to the infirmary. But the nurse was still on her lunch break. So she had to deal with Byron's injuries.

In fact, when he fell, he had also injured an arm, but nothing serious.

They both remained silent.

Byron stared at Haylee while she took care of him. He was looking for a way to apologize, to talk to her. But he couldn't think of anything.

The rays of light, coming from the window, made the hazel color of her eyes almost golden. Byron looked at her spellbound, but looked away as soon as he met her gaze.

Haylee didn't seem embarrassed at all.

The disinfectant burned on Byron's wound, but he tried not to let the pain he was feeling show through.

Haylee immediately noticed his clenched fists and how he was biting his lip. She let out a laugh. «You don't have to be silent. If it hurts you can scream. Those thugs won't see you now.»

«It doesn't hurt.»

«Seeing the way your face is writhing, I think it does. The wound is quite extensive, I'd understand if you wanted to scream, you don't have to hold back.» Haylee said still laughing.

«From how you're laughing, I think if I scream now you would be making fun of me for the rest of my life..»

«Probably.» she laughed again. «You've always been like this... you never liked to show your weaknesses.»

Byron looked at her. «Do we know each other?»

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