“No, hold on. Keith, was it? My name is Vaughn Finley,” he started, not using his foster parents last name. That wasn’t his name, and they weren’t his parents. “And you’ll want to remember that. Faculty will be asking who to suspend when I break your fucking jaw,” he snapped.
Kieth growled and charged at Vaughn like a bull. Bridget sighed and shook her head, but watched with what seemed like enjoyment.
The rest of the group watched, wondering what would happen. Yano thought of her options. She could run, the safe option, or she could try and fight them while they were distracted. Even though it was the stupid option, she jumped on one of the boys, staying on his back by grabbing onto his neck. He grabbed at Yano’s hands, but she had a tight grip. He rammed into the nearby lockers, trying to get her off, but Yano endured it, it wasn’t too bad.
Vaughn lowered himself slightly, so his body would slam against Kieths stomach. He pushed Kieth back, promptly smashing his fist across Kieth’s eyesocket. This hadn’t been the first time he had gotten into a fight. It had happened in previous schools as well. It even happened in a previous foster family. His previous foster brother told him that he looked a lot like his dad, and that he acted like him to. He ended up breaking his foster brothers arm and brushing his ribs, only stopping when his previous foster parents dragged him off of the other boy. That was before he started taking certain medication for his anger and mental illnesses. That family gave him back to the agency quickly after that.
If you want you can take control of Kieth to keep it going faster :P//
Kieth growled and charged the same way, anger blinding his judgment.
Meanwhile, Yano kicked at the others reaching for her while on the boy’s back. She hit one in the eye and another on the nose. Yano chopped the side of the boy’s neck near his shoulder, remembering looking up how to knock someone out once and watching a video on how to do it. To her surprise, it worked. One of the boys ran at her, not knowing how to fight, but having common sense, she kicked at his crotch, making him writhe in pain.
(I’ll just try and kind of finish that up then lmao)
Vaughn glared sharply, glancing at the girl and what she did before his foot shot up to kick Kieth in the crotch as well. When Kieth fell to his knees, Vaughn’s fist connected with the side of his head, sending him to the ground. His knuckles ached, and he knew he would have bruises later, but it was very much worth it. He got sick of the fighting though, and he grabbed the girl who had been hurt bu the group by the wrist, pulling her away quickly.
Yano was pulled by the boy, Vaughn, she thought his name was, and ran with him. She followed him, limping a bit because of a blow to her leg, but she was able to keep up. She reached for her phone, but found it was missing. Yano sighed, ‘Mom’s gonna kill me,’ she thought.
Chase blushed as he nearly fell on top of Alistair’s lap, scooting away not a few moments afterward. Thankfully, he had set down his food on the table in front of them before he fell, “Y-You’re fine. I- I’m sorry,” Chase tucked himself into the corner of the couch, trying to take up as little space as possible. He sighed, “I- Well, now you know.” Chase needed to find out if Alistair had truly heard the Kemp-Jacob squad’s taunting.
Alistair tilted his head in confusion. "Know what? That those two are douche bags? Trust me, I already knew that," he said with a rueful grin, then his forehead creased with concern. "Are you alright, Chase?"
Chase turned red. He knew he should tell Alistair, but would he hate him afterwards? Alistair didn’t treat him differently for his synesthesia, so he swallowed, “It’s just- another one of the reasons they act like that is because of my sexuality. They like to call me Chase Gay-man.” Chase looked away, wringing his hands again. The moment of truth was here.
"Okay," Alistair said with a shrug. "I can add that to my 'Why those two are d**' list."
“You- Wait, you don’t actually care about that either?” Chase searched Alistair’s face from some kind of trickery or hidden disgust.
"Nope," Alistair replied with a gentle smile at Chase. "I don't think people's sexualities are a big deal. Love who you love and be happy. Why should that be a bad thing?"
“It’s not normal though,” Chase nearly recited what Kemp and Jacob had told him all these years as he continued to wring his hands.
Yano was pulled by the boy, Vaughn, she thought his name was, and ran with him. She followed him, limping a bit because of a blow to her leg, but she was able to keep up. She reached for her phone, but found it was missing. Yano sighed, ‘Mom’s gonna kill me,’ she thought.
Vaughn tugged the girl into the cafeteria. As much as he hated that loud, crowded area, it would be better for the girl. He sat her down at a table before taking a seat as well. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking away for a moment to glance around the cafeteria.
“It’s not normal though,” Chase nearly recited what Kemp and Jacob had told him all these years as he continued to wring his hands.
Alistair shook his head. "I think it is, and I'm not the only one," he said. "Besides, even if it wasn't, 'normal' isn't necessarily good." He smiled at Chase.
Yano nodded. She grabbed her notepad and pencil, writing, Thank you very much! and smiled.
Vaughn gave a small nod, not really smiling, though. He felt more nervous than anything. He didn’t talk to many people because of his mental illness, and he had forgotten to take his medication that morning. “Why were they hurting you?” He asked.
Yano wrote on her pad again, I cant speak, so that’s probably why. It’s happened at every school, so it’s not new. she showed him the message. Yano sighed and rested her head on her hand.
Chase didn’t know what to say as a smile appeared on his face. He jumped over and threw his hands around Alistair as a hug and said, “You are the best friend I’ve ever had!” It was the first time he’d revealed his sexuality and someone thought it was normal, most of the time Jacob and Kemp always set the precedent of it being strange.
Alistair hugged him back. "I'm happy to be your friend, Chase!" he replied. "And if they give you any more crap, let me know."
Chase slowly withdrew, but the smile had turned into beaming. “Thank you, Alistair. Thank you so so so much. I’ve just- I’ve never had a friend that’s been willing to stick up for me like that.” Chase grabbed an apple and started munching on it, “We should probably eat for lunch.”
Yano wrote on her pad again, I cant speak, so that’s probably why. It’s happened at every school, so it’s not new. she showed him the message. Yano sighed and rested her head on her hand.
Vaughn glanced over the writing, his brows raising a tad at that. This girl couldn’t speak? Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was a bit different, then. “I understand,” he said with a nod. “What’s your name?”
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that," Alistair laughed as he grabbed a bag of chips. As he ate, he got up and meandered over to the guitars. Holding the chip bag and one hand and an acoustic guitar in the other, he returned to the couch and sat down.
“Can you play?” Chase asked, looking at the instrument. He’d taken interest in playing when he was a kid, but never actually learned.
"Yeah, my grandpa taught me," Alistair replied, setting down the now empty chip bag. "I come in here and play a lot after school."
He plucked the strings, playing a short melody.
I'd rather be here than home…
The soft melody Alistair played was enamoring. Chase remembered why he wanted to play when he was a kid. The music was so pretty, however short it was. “That’s beautiful!” Chase exclaimed, taking a bite of the sandwich he had picked up. “You could make a job out of that.”
Alistair shook his head, as though to dislodge a thought and grinned at Chase.
"Thanks!" he replied, grabbing his own sandwich. "I'd love for music to be my job, but my aunt and uncle think it's a waste of time."
