"Ryan..." Louis slowly said, barely moving from the impact of the fist. "While I usually hate doing this, I just want to say: Thank you."
With that, Louis raised his arm, knocking Ryan's arm away before delivering a swift kick to his gut. Keeping his momentum going, Louis twisted his body and raised his fist, connecting it with Tyler's jaw, who was standing beside Ryan, causing them to fall to the floor, grunting in pain. Louis was sure that he could see some tears as well.
"Holy crap," was the only word Louis heard from Luke's mouth as he stood back and watched.
"Say, Luke," Louis started. "Why don't you help Ryan and Tyler up off the floor like a good boy? They seem to have taken a nasty fall down some stairs."
All Luke could do was nod, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do anything against Louis. He hurriedly moved in and picked his friends from the floor, helping them hobble down the hall.
During the commotion, the students in the hallway stood frozen, stunned at what they just saw and observing Louis. Most of them were used to him dealing with things with his words. But this was new. This was different. Louis turned on his heel and continued his journey to the library. People quickly jumped out of his way, making a path for him down the hall. Louis just kept his head down and ignored them. They looked scared.
They should be scared, Louis thought as he walked by them. His anger was starting to bubble, and he didn't know if it would explode. He could only hope that it didn't.
When Louis finally reached the library, he didn't bother looking for a new book to read, grabbing a random one off the closest shelf, propping it open in front of him as he took a seat.
Twenty minutes into reading what Louis thought was the most boring book on the planet, he heard it.
"Louis Stan, to the principal's office. Louis Stan, to the principal's office."
Louis knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time. He got up from his seat and put back the book and made his way out of the library. As he made his way out, he could see the librarian eyeing him as if he had just ripped a page out of one of his precious books. Louis ignored him.
It didn't take long before he reached the principal's office. As he walked in, the lady at the desk motioned him forwards. The office was small, practically bare, aside from the desk and chair sitting in the middle of the room, which was occupied by a rather large female with black hair pulled into a tight bun. She sneered at Louis as he entered.
"Sit." She motioned to the chair opposite her.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stand," Louis replied with a small smile. He didn't know why he did these things.
"You will follow my orders, Mr Stan."
"Sorry, your majesty." Louis gave a small bow before taking his seat.
"You know why you're here," the principal stated after a moment.
"You want me to start a book club?" Louis asked innocently.
"Don't be coy with me, Louis," she spat.
"I'm just curious, Ms Clarke," Louis said, crossing his legs and sitting up straighter.
"What would you say, if I told you I had three young men come into my office, beaten and bruised, saying that you attacked them?"
"I'd say you were a liar," Louis stated, staring emotionless at Ms Clarke. "I only attacked two them."
"Mr Stan, this is not a joke!" Ms Clarke suddenly rose to her feet. "We do not tolerate bullying in this school!"
"Oh, that's rich," Louis murmured.
"Excuse me?" Ms Clarke spat.
"Oh, nothing," Louis replied with a smile.
"You cannot go around starting fights, Mr Stan."
"You think I started it?" Louis raised his eyebrows.
"Of course you started it!" she yelled. "Look at you!" She gestured to Louis' body, and Louis shot to his feet.
All the anger that was boiling in him was coming up. All the anger from the previous night was coming back, and Louis couldn't stop himself.
"Are you actually kidding me? What, just because I look like, what, a jock? I'm a bully?" Louis spat at Ms Clarke.
He was tired of this. He was always treated like the villain. At school, at home. Everywhere. He was sick of it.
"What I did was in self-defence! It's always been self-defence! But, of course, you don't give a damn, because you can't be bothered doing your Goddamn job properly!"
"Louis—" Ms Clarke started, looking taken aback as Louis towered over her, but he kept going.
"I've been bullied since the day I came here, and God knows how long before that. I've had to put up with people like Jonathan and those three goons every Goddamn day! Pushing, shoving, punching, kicking, insulting. You name it! But nothing has ever been done about it! But, no, wait, the moment I say something, the moment I defend myself after being punched in my Goddamn face, that's when you step in. How rich is that!"
Louis stood on the other side of Ms Clarke's desk, blood pumping around his body and a ringing in his ears.
"Please, Mr Stan, calm down. Let's talk about this." Ms Clarke tried to keep her voice calm and flat, though it wasn't working.
Louis could hear there was a slight fear in it, paired with an anger that was no match for Louis'.
"How about, no. As soon as I come in here, you accuse me. Straight away! Can't you see the Goddamn bruise on my jaw? No. Haven't you seen the way I'm treated around here by students and teachers? No. You don't give a damn! So, you know what? Do what you want. Suspend me. Expel me. I don't care. But I'm going home. If you're going to do something, let me know, if not... I'll be seeing you around."
Louis didn't wait for her to respond and though he was already regretting his words, he grabbed his bag and stormed out of the office, leaving Ms Clarke and the lady at the front desk with shocked expressions on their faces.
Louis was practically running down the empty hallways, making his way towards the exit, trying his best not to think about what he had just done. Just as he was rushing out the door, the bell rang, signalling the end of school, but by the time the other students started exiting the school, Louis was already off the school grounds. Blood was still pounding in his ears when he slowed his walk down, and the ringing wouldn't go away. He felt the need to punch something, though his hand was still aching from hitting Tyler.
He had to deal with enough at home; he didn't need it at school as well. He could deal with the students being asses, but the teachers, the principal? That was beyond a joke.
It wasn't until he slowed his walk down even further that the full, crushing weight of the situation hit him. The words that he had said echoed in his mind. If he were to be expelled from school, he'd have no idea what to do. He wouldn't be able to attend a university, for one thing. And he'd be a let down to the one person he never wanted to let down—his mum.
He stopped walking and leant up against a tree, trying to even out his breathing.
"Crap, crap, crap," he muttered under his breath, before hearing someone call his name.
Louis looked back and saw Sarah running towards him, terrified.
"Louis, oh, my God!" She caught up to where he was standing and pulled him into a hug. "Are you okay? What happened? Oh, that looks bad!" she added when she saw the bruise on Louis' jaw, who flinched as she gently touched it.
"I'm fine," Louis lied before turning away and continuing his walk home.
"I heard you get called up to the office, and I was confused at first, but then I heard some kids talking about how you were going to be suspended or something. What happened?"
Louis looked down at her as she did her little skip walk to keep up with him. She did care about him.
"Some assholes thought I looked like an easier target today, due to the fact I haven't been sleeping." Louis gestured to the bags under his eyes. "They were wrong."
"Louis, I'm so sorry!" Pain filled Sarah's voice. "When you told me that people bullied you, I didn't believe it at first, and I could never have imagined it was this bad!"
"It's okay. It's usually not," Louis responded, somehow finding it in him to smile at Sarah, though he didn't know where it had come from. "It was before high school. I was much smaller and didn't have as much muscle. I used to get beaten almost every day."
Sarah's face scrunched in disgust, but she didn't say anything and waited for Louis to keep talking.
"When high school came around, I had a growth spurt and built a bigger frame, so I was bigger than most people. Even the seniors. You'd think that would stop the bullying, but it didn't. I don't know what it was, or is, about me, but people needed a new kid to pick on, and it just happened to be me... though, it isn't usually so physical. Due to my size. There's still the odd punch and kick, but it's mainly verbal."
Sarah nodded, still not speaking, taking in what Louis was saying. Louis didn't know why he decided to tell Sarah that, but he was happy he did.
"Usually, I'm good with just talking back. You know, being sarcastic and what not. But today, I couldn't be bothered, and things got out of hand..." Louis stopped walking. Sarah followed suit.
"So, what's going to happen?" Sarah asked, sitting down on the bench. Louis sat next to her.
"I don't know," he replied. "I made a mistake, Sarah."
"It wasn't your fault."
"No, it was. And it wasn't just the fight; it's what happened after."
"Louis..." His name left Sarah's mouth slowly.
"I think I'm going to be expelled," Louis was staring at his hands, trying not to blink, because he knew that if he did, tears would most likely fall.
"They won't, Louis. They can't!" Sarah tried to sound positive, but her voice wavered.
She had no idea what Louis had done in the office after the fight. She couldn't be certain.
"I made a mistake," Louis repeated.
"Louis, you're the best student ever. Straight-A's. Sure, you got into a fight and some stuff, but they can't just expel you. Okay? It'll be okay." Sarah wrapped her arms around Louis and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm okay," Louis said. He found himself saying that a lot lately.
'I'm okay'. Louis didn't even know what it felt like to be okay anymore. It had been so long since he remotely felt it. And yet it always seemed to come out of his mouth. To Sam. To Kara. To Sarah. Hell, even to Isaac. It was a lie that he told them. It was a lie he tried to convince himself was the truth ever since he was eleven. Some days he used to believe it. There hasn't been a day like that for a long time.
"Are you sure you're okay, Louis?" Sarah pulled away from the hug and looked up into Louis' eyes.
It was as if she could read his mind.
He stared right back into her eyes and saw that they were filled with so much concern. It hurt Louis. It hurt him to know that what was happening in his life could affect someone like this. It's why he hated opening up. It's why he hated telling people about the situation he was in. They all gave him the same look. Hurt always coated their faces and concern shone in their eyes. It was the same look Kara gave him all those years ago, and the same look Sam gave him almost every day.
Louis didn't want to bring Sarah into this. He didn't want another person to hurt because of him. But he knew that he couldn't stay pieced together anymore. He was slowly breaking, and people were starting to notice. He continued to stare into Sarah's eyes as she waited for an answer, and as a tear made its way out of his own eyes and down his cheek, he gave one.
"No. I'm not."
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