After seeing Dave while walking with Terrin I was so confused. Dave went from being my friend to being my bully to ignoring me completely. 

I had liked him… a lot. Probably more than I realized when we were friends. So, when he joined in with everyone else my heart felt like it had been run over 17 times. Even worse after I punched that nobody for calling me a dog, he stopped saying anything to me. 

I would stare at him and hope to catch him slipping for a conversation, but I didn’t have any luck. I assumed he was just scared of me now for breaking someone’s nose. I don’t know if it hurt more to have him ignore me or insult me. 

Then when I saw him under that tree my brain felt like it was swimming. I wanted to speak to him more than anything, but my stubbornness wouldn’t allow that. If he was going to give me the silent treatment, he would get it back. 

I was keeping a good resolve trying to get Terrin to get away from him. It faltered when he looked up at me. Those eyes. The same ones I had felt safe seeing for months. They reminded me of a calm night sky so full of wonder and misery at the same time. 

What was I thinking? I tried to put an angry face back on, but I could feel the heat in my cheeks and down my neck. 

This place was so special to me and my family. We shared so many memories here. I couldn’t let him become connected to them. They would start to hurt me again. Finally, I spoke up.

“What are you doing here?” I tried to sound angry pulling my gaze to the floor. If I looked in his eyes for any longer, I would dissolve on the spot. I could feel the desperation leaching into my skin from the holes he stared into me.

“I’m allowed to sit where I please”  Dave said still looking at me. That snipped phrase was enough to let my hopes of reconnection die. He really didn’t care about me.

“Let’s leave you in the mud then. Come on Terrin” I simply turned and walked away as

fast as I could. I was trying to stomp out the fluttering in my heart. 

The following week I wouldn’t even try to look at him in class. I tuned everyone and everything out. I barely even noticed Terrin being distracted and figured I could talk to him about it after school Friday. 

He had to stay late to talk to his teacher. I assumed it was trouble with his classmates again. I decided that’s probably what he had been upset about and would let the issue drop since he was in high spirits when he came to pick me up. 

The whole weekend I was still thinking about Dave. Those eyes were going to kill me one day. 

Where did he get off looking like an elf? With mesmerizing eyes, soft hair, nice jawline… snap out of it Tyler. He doesn’t see you as anything but dust under his shoes. Just get

over it. 

Monday I was immediately met with two of the biggest bullies in my class. Mark and

Norman. They wouldn’t allow anyone to use nicknames since “they had their names for a reason”. I thought it was dumb and they were even dumber. 

“Hey freak face” Said Mark smirking down at me. Being in sixth grade I was still pretty short; mark was a good 5 inches taller than me. But had the mental capacity of someone five years younger. 

“Leave me alone or I’ll break your nose to match Normies” I tried to sneak past them and

the grabbed my arm.

“Making threats now Swiss cheese for brains?” Holding me closer to his face. 

            “How about we give you a taste of what we can do in a real fight?” said Norman. He’s a bigger dude than I am with a now crooked nose to match the rest of his bent out of shape personality. “And watch it with the nicknames. My parents gave me that name for a reason Bleach spots.” 

They threw me down. I landed with my elbow behind me. They were now rough and bleeding. I took in a sharp breath and was whipping off the chunks of rock in them when I looked back up at the two trolls glowering at me. To my luck they were just winding up to blast my head into the concrete.