chapter 5

We have been standing in this bathroom talking for an hour and I normally don't like wasting time with pointless conversations, but I did not once feel annoyed as Takeru told me about his life. The way he smiled when he spoke of his art made my heart fill with joy. The smell of Roses in early bloom of spring filled the air and it made me feel at ease. I knew what kind of chaos was waiting outside that bathroom door and I just wanted to give him this little bit of peace before allowing the world to try once again to swallow him whole. 

"I saw your uncle talking to the police outside when I sent Twix to the store" I said cautiously standing close to Takeru with my hands in my pockets. His eyes saddened swiftly as he looked at the floor nervously fiddling with his clothes. I watched as the light in his eyes drained and tears began to form. I felt an ache in my heart as if someone was squeezing it. his sadness brings me great pain, but I didn't know what to do or have to save him from what I knew was waiting for him outside.

"He doesn't seem so intimidating; I wouldn't understand why you would be afraid of him" I said realizing I might have been too harsh with my words too late. A tear escaped his eyes and reflexively I wipe his tears away. His skin was smooth like silk, and it felt as if I was struck by lightning once our skin touched. I've never wanted to protect something more.

"I don't want to go out there, he is a lot scarier when he is angry or violent" Takeru said with sadness in his voice.

"He is quite upset, I presume" I said as I shift my weight to the other leg. The more I try to read him the more I become confused. Takeru was more violent and dangerous than his uncle, yet he was terrified of him. It was as if he didn't know he had this strength or that he was 2 different people in one body. Isn't that mental condition? I noticed that Takeru was uncomfortable yet calm which for what I just witnessed I thought he would be losing his mind right now.

"However, there is a way for you to calm him down, even if it is temporarily. This would prevent you from being more humiliated at school" I said studying his porcelain face. 

"There is a way? But how I cant lie to him" Takeru said looking up at me a little panicked. It took me by surprise when he expressed this because how could you not be able to lie to the person who abuses you for no good reason?

"I was always taught not to lie. if I lie and uncle find outs, The punishment will be worse. I cant do it" He said with a trembling voice and sweating suddenly. You could visibly see how terrified he was while he picked at his nails looking at the ground. Knowing that he could possibly be harmed made me furious, but I didn't want to show it. I wanted him to calm down and I wanted to comfort him.

"Calm down, you wont be telling a lie" I said holding his face in my hands looking him in the eyes. His eyes were beautiful, they calmed me and washed my anger away like an ocean on beach. The warmth of the brown in the center reminded me of a warm fall day while the cool ocean was on the outer. It was beautiful. 

"You'll just be distorting the truth. You are the victim, and all you must do is play the role well" I said rubbing the side of his face as he calmed down with just a touch this time around. 

"I suspect your uncle has some kind of sick fondness for you and you will use that fondness to manipulate the situation in your favor" I stated holding him closer keeping my hand on his cheek that had now became warm from him blushing. The longer I admired his face the more I just wanted to kiss him. I wanted to make him feel good and loved, so starting with this I am going to get him out of this and protect him.

"Do you understand?" I asked holding him.

"Uncle is fond of me? Why would think that?" Takeru asked looking worried and unsure.

"Im sure your uncle had more interesting things to do, however he arrived as quickly as possible after receiving a call from the police about you. So judging from the fact he canceled all of his plans and made you his first priority" I said sliding my hands in my pockets again and shifting my weight to the other foot. Takeru looked as if he was lost in thought for a minute and deciding.

"I'll try" He said gripping his pants and fixing his pants.

"No, you will do it. you will always have the upper hand when you learn to play the victim" I said forcing him to look up at me.

"Ryan will play victim; you have to defeat him at his own game" I said hoping that this will work. He looked at me with fondness and blushing. His eyes were wide, and he looked adorable tilting his head slightly.

"If you want power you have to take it" I said leaning in close holding his face softly. I wanted to kiss him right now. It was almost as if I couldn't hold it in anymore, but I must show restraint.

"Do you understand this, Takeru somdura?" I asked softly.

"yes, I'll do it" Takeru said as he relaxed against my hand.

"Good" I said releasing his face regrettably. I stood straight and smiled softly putting my hands in my pockets as I headed for the door. I walked to the door and turned my head slightly to speak to him one more time before I left. 

"Also, Takeru I'm very proud of you" I said happily walking out the door. Twix was watching Takeru's uncle argue with the police causing even more of a scene. He was a heavy-set man with cheap clothes, but they looked cleaner and newer than Takeru's clothes. The way the man's body jiggled and slapped against his clothing made me want to vomit. He was so disgustingly built I pray he not married; I would pity his poor wife. Twix and I walked closer and leaned against the wall and listened as his drunk voice echoed in the halls.

"What do you mean he broke a kid's arm? He so tiny and weak he can barely lift 10 pounds!" Takeru's uncle yelled from the top of his lungs shaking his finger in the officer's face. 

"I'm sorry sir, but it is all on video. We must take him to the station." The officer said stepping back holding his nose. I can imagine what the man smelled like and judging from his face it wasn't good at all.

"I don't give a flying fuck about no video! That could have been faked and you can't even tell if that's Takeru, Plus if you take him who is supposed to pay for dinner tonight? Huh?" He screamed almost falling on his ass that I doubt he would even feel.

"Sir, you look able bodied so that is not a concern of mine. Takeru Somdura must come with us" The officer stated walking away and facing the students. 

"Does anyone know where Takeru Somdura is?" The officer asked the students. The students then began to look at one another, asking questions amongst themselves. Suddenly one student looked at me and pointed at me. 

"Jun-Myeon followed Takeru after he ran away crying from the classroom" One student said as the group of students started yelling in agreement. 

"Yea, He lectured us about not stopping Ryan when he started beating on Takeru, but he didn't do anything either! So, tell the officer where you hid Takeru you hypocrite" The second student said proudly. I just chuckled and lifted myself off the wall and walked closer to the group.

"I did lecture you all about how disgusting you all were, You claimed to be good Samaritans but when it came time to prove yourselves you decided to pull out your recorders and watch him suffer and be humiliated and embarrassed, like I said the first time I never claimed to be a Good Samaritan, nor did I claim to be kind nor care." I said looking at the second student who I recognized as Cha Yuri, The class president. 

"You particularly are the class president and took a vow to protect, report, and welcome all students and yet I bet if we check your cell phone right now you would have a recording of you standing there watching him suffer and even laughing at the poor boy. So Cha Yuri I don't believe you have any kind of say about what kind of person I am." I said leaning down toward her as her face flushed in embarrassment. She backed away and kept quiet. 

"Now after I left I did follow him to the restroom to check on him and clean him up because it was obvious he was in pain and having a panic attack which is more than what any of you have done I've been in there for an hour and you have only called the cops 5 minutes ago it took them three minutes to respond along with his uncle showing up in less than 10, which means Ryan laid on the floor for about 50 minutes before somebody called the police to have him taken to the hospital for his arm that was bleeding yet you all want to say that you are kind to your classmates?" I said looking at the group of students and then at the officer. 

"Takeru is still in the restroom calming down and cleaning himself up before he comes out to speak with you. if it's OK, I will bring him out." I asked the officer, sliding my hands back into my pockets.

"That will be fine, you can bring him out when he's calm" The officer replied.

"It's OK I'm right here" Takeru said shyly standing behind me. Everyone around us except for me was surprised that he was there, being that everyone doesn't even acknowledge his existence even when he's the one that everyone is looking for. I sensed him standing behind me about 5 minutes ago. Yet, nobody noticed him walking out the bathroom and towards the group nor did they notice him standing next to me.

"Are you Takeru Somdura?" the officer asked stepping to the side to get a better look at the fragile and trembling Takeru.

"Yes sir, I am Takeru" He replied holding on to the hem of my shirt sliding behind me a little more.

"Do you mind telling me your side of what happened today, or would you prefer to go to the station?" The officer asked calmly, laying his hand on his taser. I shifted my weight to cover him a little more because this cop seemed a little to trigger happy especially since Takeru was frightened in hiding. The officer slowly looked up at me and motioned me to move aside but I stood my ground for I was not going to let him tase Takeru. The boy is so small he might accidentally kill him with a Taser. 

"If you do not move aside, I'll have to arrest you for obstruction of an investigation" the officer said, once again motioning me to move to the side. 

"I would feel more comfortable if you would remove your hands off your weapons being that he is frightened by you and has not threatened you any harm." I said confidently guarding him with my full body, I wasn't allowing any harm to come to him. I just promised him I would protect him, and I plan to keep that promise. The officer stood straight and removed his hand off his Taser and once again asked me to move to the side. I looked behind me to a frightened Takeru who was holding on to the back of my shirt. He looked up at me and I nodded softly to let him know I was going to move to the side just a little bit. He nodded back and I slid to the right just enough to expose him to the officer. 

"I was rushing out of class, and I accidentally bumped into Ryan, Ryan then got upset and started screaming and hitting me. I didn't mean to bump into him or anything I just wanted to make it out of class so that I could make it to my job on time" Takeru said shyly looking down at the ground and twisting my sleeve around his finger. You could obviously see that he was nervous and feeling guilty for what he did to Ryan. 

"So your saying that Ryan hit you first?" The officer asked.

"He started punching me after I told him that I hated him," Takeru said looking at the officer.

"Ryan McLyial Said that you attacked him out of nowhere and he couldn't defend himself" The officer said reading off his notepad. 

"Look at him officer, your half of Ryan size now, does Takeru look like somebody you couldn't fight off if he attacked you?" I said angrily knowing that Ryan had played the victim and lied about the entire situation.

"I mean he does look frail or delicate for a better word, I doubt that he could have taken down Mr.Mclyial" the officer replied writing down on his notepad.

"I remember Ryan punching me in the face and everything going black and then waking up with blood covering my face and clothing. I ran out of the classroom because I was embarrassed and scared. I ended up running to the bathroom where Jun-myeon found me and helped me get cleaned up and calm me down" Takeru said looking up at me and blushing. 

"I checked on him because I was afraid that he was seriously hurt due to his physical condition" I said running my hand through his hair. 

"So, you're saying that Ryan attacked him, and everyone witnessed Takeru defending himself from a much bigger opponent?" The officer Asked putting his notepad away. 

"Exactly I watched the whole thing. Takeru was the victim and everyone he knows it, they recorded it" I said motioning to all the students with their phones out. The officer had asked the group of students to show him the video, but all the students replied with the same answer. That they had deleted the video or that they had not recorded one. Twix then came from behind me and held up his phone.

"I recorded the whole thing, I feel like if the police were called that everyone here would try to protect Ryan, but that's not fair to Takeru when he was the victim" Twix said handing the officer his phone to the officer proudly while the other students just snarled at him in disappointment.