"Touche, D said with a grin; "You got me there." 

"I want to say thank you again for all the times you saved me."

"Now then," "do you want to head back inside and play a game or something." Anything you name, I will beat you on it!" 

"D, I will take that as a challenge! How about a writing challenge?"

"What yuk! I hate writing." 

"Ha, I laughed; I know I've seen your writing." "This game is simple; see how small you can write while still being able to see and read it!" 

I had never had a new mechanical pencil and wanted to test it.

"Okay, what do you want if you beat me?" 

"Me, hum…? How about your pencil?" "I like yours, and it's purple, my favorite color!" "And what do you want if I lose?" 

"I don’t know; I will let it be a surprise." "Okay, I guess I will pick the word. Let's write the word "Guardian." 

"What, why?' 

"I don't know! It was the first word that came to mind. Okay."

As we wrote, the letters got smaller and smaller as we compared the sizes each time to see who was the best. 

Only after barely starting did D say, "You win," because he was out of the lead for his pencil.

A small part of me wanted to know what would be the surprise if he had won. Did he lose on purpose?

"Well then, that purple pencil is now mine. I mocked him. Whahah...!" 

On the last day of summer school, we agreed to meet when school started.

The rest of summer break passed, and the new school year finally arrived.

I didn’t even make it a full day when the same stockier kid that bullied me most of last year—started right up again, as if he had waited all summer to bully me. 

"What was his deal? Was this the only thing he lived for?"

Finally, after 2 hours of him following my every move to all my classes. I finally spun around and yelled at him. 

What D had said was true! When backed into a corner, you will one day defend yourself if need be.

"What's the matter with you?" Why do you always follow me everywhere I go and bully me? It’s a whole new year! Don't you have anything else better to do?

"I wanted to ask you something because I like you and think you are cute." 

"WHAT," I said in disbelief. "So you thought following me around everywhere was a good idea?" 

"I knew you would eventually say something to me, and that would give me a chance to speak."

"Is that so? What is with you? What do you want?" I said in frustration. I already had enough of his bullying in the past, not this. 

"How about this: If you date me," "I will stop following you around as much and be more amicable." 

"Is that what it will take to get you off my back I growled?" I guess it's better than him bullying me, I thought to myself. "Yeah, sure, I will give it a shot." 

"If you don’t like dating, I’ll leave you alone for good." "Let me reintroduce myself to you. Hello, my name is Brent!" 

"I have never dated, so I don’t know what to do or where to start."

"What could it hurt if you don't work out well at least I could get this goon off my back." I could date him for a few days, then break up.

"Don’t worry, I’ll show you what it's like to date a man, he said, "with a crooked smile." 

This guy gave me the creeps. I didn’t trust what he was up to. A couple of days won't hurt, at least, I think. 

As the days went by, nothing happened differently; he ignored me for the most part. I don’t know what I was so afraid of. When we met up, he would hold the door open. Once or twice, he carried my books. It wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be.

When he followed me, I could hear him bragging to all his friends. I didn’t know what that was about. He also liked to call me pet names, which I didn’t understand. 

One day, I visited my father and asked him what one of these pet names meant. He told me no one should call me that. Although (how he meant it) he used it to show off that I was a woman, that he owned me in slang man's terms. The dictionary meaning was a female dog in heat. 

Now I get why he dated me. He was trying to act cool in front of his friends. I had never heard someone say certain words I felt discussed.

I would go to school, give him a piece of my mind, and break up with him. I don’t deserve to be treated with that disrespect. I approached him at the bleachers, and he was there with his friends again, as always. Typical, I thought.

Skylar, his right-hand man, was laughing and looking at me as I approached. He laughed like he knew what I was about to do now. I think I always felt like some pun to a joke deep down inside, but I never got it until now.

Brent's behavior never impressed me; not one spark of interest grew or emerged this whole time.

Looking out the window, darkness overhead the school started to form. It began to rain and thunder. The storm outside looked nasty. Within a few seconds, the rain picked up fast. Pouring down, I could even hear bits of hail clinking off the school's metal tin roof. In the clouds, I thought I had seen dark spirits as well. 

Was my mind playing tricks on me? What was going on?  It should have been a sign to walk away then and there, but I was too stubborn and furious with Brent. I ignored the signs around me. All I cared about was getting this over with.

"Brent, I think it’s time for me to move on. I figured out what is going on around here lately." "I don't like it, nor will I take it." "Besides, you don’t seem to be interested in me anyway, and I don’t appreciate the names you have called me recently.

"I don’t care if it means ownership; as my dad says, no one owns me." "We never clicked anyway, and I am breaking up with you, so this is goodbye." I ended the conversation on that note as I turned and walked away. 

I am done paying attention to him wasting my time. I just wanted to make this quick and continue my life without looking back.

Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulder and spun around, pushing me into the door. 

"No one embarrasses me like that in front of my friends, and no one dumps me; I dump them!" 

"He said," growling with his eyes red and glowing. I felt like I had been here before at this moment. Was this the first time I have been in this situation?

I could see him ball up his fist and draw it back. Tears started welling up in my eyes. I closed my eyes, turned my head, shocked by everything, and frozen in fear, helplessly trying to move. At that point, I was getting ready for the hit.  

WHAM…! It was D. With one knockout punch; he sent Brent flying into the air and on his back. He landed on the cold, wet ground outside. The punch took all his breath away; he was passed out, just lying in a puddle. 

Lightning flashed through the sky, with white light that lit everything up all across the school.

I looked up at D’s face. His eyes went from the familiar olive green to a dark pitch black. I could not even see his pupils. The same way I remember, he came in saving me, as he had done many times before. 

I knew who he was, but he seemed so different from me now. Strangely, I had not seen him for months, but he had changed so much.

He was taller this time, and his muscles were much more significant. Could I have never noticed him or seen him be this tense?

He's never let me see his face like this before. Did he hide his face from me all these times before because of this deathly gaze in his eyes? Did he even know what he looked like?

"D, are you okay?" I asked in a shaky voice. There was too much excitement at the moment, and I could barely talk.