12 Chapter 11 – My Enemy's Friend Is My Friend???

Hunched over outside Eve's class, I took a moment to catch my breath before conspicuously peering through the small window in the door, (on a side note this definitely isn't a skill worth bragging about). Eve was completely alone sat above a desk, that should make things slightly easier I thought whilst quietly strolling in. Taking my seat on the desk beside Eve, the tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife as Eve completely ignored my presence.

"What's going on Eve?" Eve suddenly tensed all the fibres available in her toned physique, wildly kicking her legs back against the desk creating a deafening sound. Taking slow deep breaths Eve turned towards me, her eyes ablaze with an unrecognisably fiery anger causing me to slightly cower backwards. Perhaps my initial presumptions regarding Eve being timid were somewhat misguided.

"Remember that bitch Ronnie?? She and her fucking pathetic friends picked on Mia in the changing room after gym this morning. I'm not in the class, but one of the girls messaged me exactly what happened." Mia is another girl on the student council with Eve, known for being very shy yet impartially friendly. However her tiny frame and non-confrontational attitude makes her an easy target for bullies like Ronnie and her friends.

"What did they do?" My words were softly spoken as I consciously attempted to calm the tension present in the atmosphere, seeing Eve so riled up felt uncomfortably surreal.

"Typical pathetic kid shit....Pushed her over, slapped her around and then took off her.....You know...Underwear." Eve's unbridled outrage instantly reverted towards nervous embarrassment as her cheeks flushed and her nervous words escaped her lips in a distinctly hushed tone....I guess that stuff was still uncomfortable between us siblings.

"Eve.."

"I didn't call you here for criticism Onii, I know I'm the girls Student President and therefore I can't just go and beat the crap out of Ronnie. Furthermore if I say anything to the teachers they'll definitely go after Mia again and there's no way I'm willing to let anything else happen to her!"

Lowering my gaze towards the floor, a deep sigh escaped my lips as I began contemplating a possible solution towards our current dilemma. Come to think of it Eve's outburst isn't as uncharacteristic as I initially thought, she's simply acting in typical fashion placing others before herself. Hurtful memories of days spent selfishly rejecting Eve's advances engulfed my thoughts; Regardless of her purely unselfish offers to provide me company or make exquisite dinners, my pathetic self-absorbed "why-me" attitude clouded my ability to perceive the truth. To be honest I hadn't done anything to deserve the title Onii and simply failed in my duties as an older brother.

"How about talking to Scott?" Scott Taylor was the boys Student Council President and was the male version of Eve in every sense of the word. Captain of both the rugby and football teams, a chiselled physique with model good looks and therefore very popular with the schools females (and others). Though well acquainted with Scott from my football training days, I've never had the pleasure of an actual conversation with him (along with 99.9% of other people I was acquainted with).

"What would talking to Scott do? Not only is Scott good friends with Ronnie and the other girls, but he hates getting involved in these kind of issues."

Setting mine and Scott's vastly opposite social standings aside, in theory our methodologies towards dealing with complicated situations involving people we knew was almost identical; (Though unlike Scott, that was generally my methodology for dealing with almost every situation). Subsequently my recently uncharacteristic social exploits had resulted in the elevated levels of drama I was desperately aiming to avoid. However hand on heart could I say I regretted my improved social interactions, in particular with Rea, Eve and Lucy??? Definitely not!!

"I know Scott well enough so I'll talk to him, hopefully being friends with Ronnie and the other girls will provide us with some unknown insight regarding our current predicament."

Tenderly placing my hand across Eve's shoulder, I silently nodded my head in appreciation before jumping off the table and began marching towards a fated meeting with my old rival. Just prior to exiting the class, I heard two emotionally charged words whispered directly behind me, the familiarity of which filled my long overdue yearning for warmth in my heart:

"Thanks Onii."

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The unwritten hierarchy present within the school dictates that members within the upper echelons (ie Scott Taylor) will only reciprocate your wishes when you've proven your worth. In other words Scott won't help me out of the goodness of his heart, until and unless I provide a viable reason.

Stood alone in the eerily quiet changing rooms with my hand rested apprehensively against the drearily worn lockers, the distinct crimson-red of my Manchester United football jersey catches my eye. Flashes of a so-called supremely naturally talented player known as "Zizou," being forcibly dragged to training every Saturday morning, begins to envelop my thoughts. The alarming pace of my heart reminds me of my deeply entrenched anxiety, however images of tears streaming down my sister's precious cheeks reinforces my unwavering desire.

Strolling nervously towards the school pitch, I realised that the time had come to test that age old adage: Form is temporary but class is permanent.......I hope!!