PART 3
Eden
You defend her -5 points
"Hey," you say, as you approach the two of them, "leave her alone." It's incredibly cliche, but what else are you supposed to say? Your words catch both of their attention. Eden looks at you in surprise, and also slight annoyance. Maybe she didn't want your help?
The boy scoffs, eyeing you up and down in obvious distaste. "What, here to save your girlfriend?"
You feel heat creeping up your neck at Eden being referred to as your girlfriend and find yourself floundering for a response, but before your brain can start working properly, the girl in question interrupts. "Both of you shut up!" She whirls around in your direction, jabbing a finger in your face, "I am NOT their girlfriend, then, turning to face the boy, she adds, "and I have zero interest in you, so leave me the fuck alone already." With that, she shoves past the two of you, hair fluttering behind her, and disappears up the stairs.
"Ugh," the boy kicks the wall in a huff. "You know, she's called 'the ice queen' for a reason. She thinks she's better than everyone else here. If she’s giving you attention, it’s because she wants something from you, that’s all." Those are his parting words he spits out, tone venomous, as he stalks off, shoulder unnecessarily shoving into yours as he passes by.
You're left standing alone in the stairwell, staring blankly into space wondering what just happened.
You politely interrupt: +5 points
"Excuse me," you say, as you approach the two of them, "you guys are being awfully loud." Eden raises a brow at you, maybe a bit insulted that you included her in this being loud category, but you continue on. "Is there a problem? Should I get a teacher?" The boy scowls at you, but after a moment, he just huffs and stomps away, apparently deciding this isn't worth getting in trouble.
You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, relieved the situation didn't escalate. You didn't have a plan in mind if things got violent. Your relief is short lived, though, as Eden rounds on you and snaps, "I didn't need your help."
You shrug, and, hoping to appease her, reason "he was talking about me as well." She frowns at that, but can't argue with your logic, so she just purses her lips and relaxes her posture. Seeing an opening, you decide to push a little and ask, "does this happen often?"
She scoffs, but doesn't seem angry about your question. "What? Entitled guys being unable to take no for an answer?" You can't help but cringe at her blunt words. It's obvious that yes, this is a common occurrence. She continues, "People here call me 'the ice queen' because of stuff like this." She looks away from you as she says it, hands clenched at her side. It seems like the title bothers her, even if she won’t admit it.
Without even thinking, you blurt out, "well, I don’t think you’re that cold."
Eden’s eyes widen at that, your response taking her by surprise. “What would you know?” But there is no aggression in her voice, and you think she looks a tiny bit relieved. Straightening out her skirt in a clear attempt at nonchalance, she says, “anyway, we’re going to be late for class.” With that, she heads off in the direction of said class, not bothering to wait for you.
You insult the boy: +10 points
"Maybe she's just not interested in tactless oafs?" The words come out before you can even think them through properly.
Both Eden and the boy direct their attention towards you, Eden looking surprised and the boy furious, his face an interesting shade of red. He looks about ready to explode as he shouts, "what the fuck did you just say!?" He steps towards you threateningly, and you suck in a breath, bracing yourself to get punched. Okay, maybe antagonizing him wasn't the best idea, you definitely can't take this guy in a fight. However, before he can do anything of the sort, Eden steps in between the two of you.
You’d inserted yourself into the situation to try and protect her, yet somehow, Eden is the one protecting you. She says, tone cold as ice, “I suggest you walk away now, or else I might have to start screaming ‘pervert’ and I don’t think you can afford another incident.” The boy glares at the two of you, but hesitates, no doubt trying to decide if it’s worth it to make a scene. Apparently, he decides the answer is no, as, without another word, he turns around and stomps off, grumbling to himself.
Once he's out of sight, Eden whirls around to face you, hands on her hips as she says, "honestly, are you trying to get yourself beat up? I didn't need your help." Honestly, she probably didn't, but still, it's not like you could just standby and watch that.
Hoping to appease her, you shrug and respond, "he was talking about me as well." She frowns at that, but can't argue with your logic, so she just purses her lips and relaxes her posture. Seeing an opening, you decide to push a little and ask, "does this happen often?"
She scoffs, but doesn't seem angry about your question. "What? Entitled guys being unable to take no for an answer?" You can't help but cringe at her blunt words. It's obvious that yes, this is a common occurrence. She continues, "People here call me 'the ice queen' like I think I'm some cold bitch who thinks she's better than them." She looks away from you, hands clenched at her sides, "but it's not like I ever wanted that..." She trails off, tone not quite sad, but rather, resigned. You don't know what to say, so you just remain silent.
Straightening out her skirt, Eden clears her throat and looks at you, "still," and then she grins, the genuine mirth on her face taking you by surprise, "Oaf? I didn't know you had that in you." You grin back sheepishly, hoping she doesn't notice the way your breath catches in your throat as you're entranced by the way her eyes seem to sparkle and her whole face lights up when she smiles.
Glancing at the clock on the hallway wall, Eden sighs, "come on, we're gonna be late for class, and I don't feel like getting in trouble because of that loser. You nod, and together the two of you walk to class together. It's nice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alex
You directly intervene: -5 points
Briskly walking up to the group, you snap, "hey! Leave him alone." They all turn their attention towards you, the group of bullies looking wholly unimpressed, and Alex looking rather flustered.
The guy, seemingly the leader, who has Alex's shirt in his hands glances back and forth from you to Alex, before scoffing, "what, are you here to save the damsel in distress?"
Ignoring his mocking, you grab the wrist of the leader, grip firm as you grit out, “Leave. Him. Alone.” You emphasize each word, tone low and serious. Really, though, it’s all just a show of bravado, as you know there’s no way you could take this guy, let alone the whole group, in a fight.
The leader stares at the two of you, weighing his options, before seemingly deciding that it's not worth the trouble. Shaking you off his wrist, he releases Alex. "Forget it, if you want to take pity on this freak, go ahead." With that, the group takes their leave.
You watch them stalk away, and once you're sure they're gone, you turn to face Alex, intending to ask him if he's okay, only to find that the spot he was standing is empty.
Baffled, you glance around...and catch sight of him disappearing around the corner.
Geez, he moves fast. You consider chasing after him, but decide that would 100% end poorly. Oh well.
You threaten to get a teacher: +5 points
Walking calmly up to the group, you clear your throat loudly, causing them all to turn their attention towards you. Alex looks surprised at your presence, or rather, it's the fact that you're intervening that takes him be surprise. "You-" he starts, then immediately cuts himself off, pressing his lips together tightly.
The guy, seemingly the leader, who has Alex's shirt in his hands glances back and forth from you to Alex, before scoffing, "what? this has nothing to do with you." Undeterred, you cross your arms and raise a brow, posture screaming, try me. "even if it doesn't, I suggest you leave him alone before I get a teacher"
The leader glares at you, but he is clearly weighing his options. After a moment, he releases Alex in a huff, spitting out, "forget it, you're not worth the trouble." With that, the group stalks off.
You watch them leave, and once their out of sight, you turn your attention back to Alex, who is still standing rooted in the same spot staring at you, expression unreadable. Deciding to push it a little, since he hasn't bolted away yet, you ask, "so, what did those guys want with you?"
Alex frowns at that, probably wanting to forget the encounter entirely, but answers. "One of them bumped into me and decided they didn't like the way I looked at them. His tone is flat, completely void of any of the nervousness you've come to associate with him. You want to ask him if this happens often, but you sense doing so would deter him, so you don't. Instead, you say, "how stupid.
His lips twitch upwards, the barest hint of a smile there, "yea," a beat, then, face flushed and voice barely above a whisper, he mumbles, "thanks...for helping me." Before you can even process his words, he's hurrying away, leaving you standing there staring at the spot where he'd just been.
Once you register what just happened, you grin.
Aah, how cute.
You create a distraction: +10 points
As you get closer to the group, you curiously tilt your head in an attempt to make out Alex's expression, and to your surprise, rather than looking scared or nervous, there is a dark scowl on his face. If looks could kill, you're sure his bullies would have combusted on the spot. And wasn't that just interesting? Perhaps, he wasn't nearly as timid as you'd thought.
Breaking yourself out of your musing, you focus on the task at hand as you stop right behind the group. None of them seemed to have noticed you, so you take off your backpack, open it up, and proceed to dump all the contents out, holding back a wince as they loudly clatter to the ground. You were probably going to need a new pair of headphones after this, but still, this is a situation where sacrifices must be made. The others weren't paying attention to you before, but the noise causes all of them to direct their attention towards you.
The guy who grabbed Alex's shirt releases him, but Alex doesn't bolt away as you had been expecting. He stays rooted in the spot, wide, shocked eyes staring directly into your calm gaze. You smile, hoping to reassure him, and then look pointedly at the group of bullies. "I don't suppose any of you would be willing to help me out here?" They shoot you with unimpressed looks, but the situation has been successfully defused, and, apparently having lost interest in Alex, they walk away.
You huff, "how rude." With that, you begin to retrieve your stuff from the floor, cringing when you pick up your headphones. Yep, they were definitely broken.
Out of the corner of your eye, you see Alex kneel down beside, and you watch as he quietly picks up several of your textbooks, avoiding your gaze as he hands them to you. You grin at him even though he can't see it, "thanks!" However, the grin drops from your face when you take the books from his hands and notice that there is blood on his palms. "Are you alright? Your hands..."
"Huh?" He glances down at them, and seems a bit surprised at the sight of the little drops of blood, mouth forming a small O shape as he stares at his hands, seemingly entranced. It's only when you awkwardly clear your throat that seems to remember himself and shakes his head, wiping the blood off on his sweater. "It's fine."
"I see." It's obvious that he hadn't even realized he'd been clenching his fists so hard his nails drew blood, but you decide not to push the matter. Instead, you ask, "so, what did those guys want with you anyway?"
Alex frowns at that, probably wanting to forget the encounter entirely, but answers. "One of them bumped into me and decided they didn't like the way I looked at them.
His tone is flat, and dozens of thoughts race through your mind at that. Primarily, you wonder if he had looked at them with that vicious glare he'd been boring into the floor earlier. But rather than voicing this thought, you simply settle on, "how stupid."
His lips twitch upwards, the barest hint of a smile there, "yea." You want to ask him if this happens often, but you sense doing so would deter him, so you don’t.
The two of you finish picking up your items in silence and once everything is back in your bag, Alex shifts awkwardly fiddling with his bangs as he says, “um, thanks.” His face is flushed as he mumbles out the words, voice barely above a whisper.
Cute.
He doesn’t clarify what he’s thanking you for, but it’s clear he knows your stuff ending up on the floor wasn’t an accident. And you thought you’d been real subtle with it too! Smiling at him, you take a moment to imprint the image of his blushing expression into your memory. “No problem.”
@Events Squad
There is 100% vet close to school
Can't wait to get a -5 
im a woman after Haru's own heart, yes or yes?
