Chapter 2

Jack and Harley met Ann and Oliver at the beginning of the stairs. Ann had her black hair braided to the side, adding a trouble-maker gleam to her stormy blue eyes. Her bright green shirt paired with a half-buttoned denim jacket, and pink leggings made her look like she was from the eighties. Even her blue converse were a bright neon, all of which made her pinkish skin stand out more. She was seventeen, one of the younger ones, like Jack. Oliver had brushed his brown hair, but there was still a little poof at the front, which hopefully protected his head if he got into anymore fights. But it also revealed more of his beautiful eyes. One was hazel and the other was blue, both complimenting his Latino skin. Today, he had thrown on a green flannel, paired with blue jeans, and red trainers. He was eighteen, the second oldest, the big brother. Harley was the oldest at nineteen, the big sister. "We should head in before the bell sounds." Oliver warned, and everyone else nodded, going off to find their classes. Jack kept his head down, mainly because he wasn't a people person, and let his sense of direction guide him. He knew this school like the back of his hand now. Luckily, he didn't run into any trouble on his way to ELA. He found his desk, towards the back, and sat in it, staring out the window. And before he knew it class was over. He got up, and shouldered his pack, noticing someone had their eyes on him, and he hurried to his next period, Algebra. But he didn't even make it six inches from the door when someone spoke. "Hey, Jack, I missed you yesterday. Where were you?" Oh, no. It was him! "Uh, y-yeah, I was s-sick over the weekend, A-Alex." Only three stutters. Not bad. Now if he could just work on zero stutters that'd be nice. Alex's group cracked their knuckles. Jack felt terrified, but he glared, not wanting to show it. "You know that doesn't work on me, buddy." He said, disgusted with using the nickname, and turned to smirk at his gang. "We're going to have a little fun, boys." And, before Jack could process what the guy meant, he was being dragged out the door, and behind the building. Why hadn't he just stayed home? It would've been so much better....A hand grabbed his collar, and held him fast against the wall, so his feet were off the ground. "You know, I was thinking we'd go easy on you after last time, twerp." He backhanded so hard, Jack would've thought his jaw broke, and continued. "But seeing as you told on us... Well, I guess we'll make you pay." Before anyone else could touch him, he kicked outward, landing a hit on Alex's groin. He dropped Jack, and crumpled to the ground, curling into the fetal position. His henchmen awaited orders. "What are you waiting for? Killl him!" Uh oh. Jack stood, only to be pushed to the ground, and grabbed by the collar again. He opened his mouth, about to scream for help, when a hand clamped over it, reducing him to muffled moans of pain. A punch landed in his stomach. A kick nestled itself into his side. Another punch landed on his face, sure to give him a black eye. A kick nearly made him puke up his breakfast. And, to top it off, another punch made itself cozy in the middle of his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He curled in on himself, trying to protect from the kicks, when someone shouted "HEY!" Everyone but Jack turned to see who it was, and judging from the scowls, it was either Oliver, like always, or a newcomer. But everything hurt too much for him to look at anything except the grass below him. "Are you Jack's knight in shining armor?" Alex asked, aggravated. Probably pissed, actually. "You always come to his rescue. Pathetic." Oh. So it was Oliver. "Leave. Him. Alone." Alex and his gang laughed. "Or what?" "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." After the sound of grunts, thuds, and blows landing, a strong pair of arms picked Jack up. Usually, he didn't do physical contact, but right now, he needed it, if he wanted to survive. "You don't look so good. That's it, I'm taking your keys, and we're going to the hopsital. No school nurse can heal you better than a doctor." Oliver dug into Jack's pocket, and brought out the keys, sending sparks through Jack. Then, he ran to the pickup, started it, and headed on his way. After that, everything went dark.