Burn it Down

~Megan's POV~

This was already a nightmare. The teachers who were supposed to care and help you, clearly didn't. At least this one didn't. I had an idea why, but I really wanted that to not be true.

The humiliation of making me introduce myself still made me shake. I hated doing that, and I never had any idea of what to say. Hi I'm Megan, I'm 16 and I like to eat and make music on my computer? However, they probably wouldn't have laughed more than they did anyways.

When these boys, Luke and Tyler offered to let me in their group, I was relieved. I didn't understand though, why people were so mean to them. The things they were saying were beyond ridiculous and I really wanted to know why they were like this. Calling them gay and things like that.

Actually I didn't have to wonder too hard. The boys were pretty. Luke and Tyler were fucking pretty. Luke was the prettier one by far, but Tyler was still very pretty. No man wants to be told they're pretty, but some just are, and I think the pretty boys get questioned on their sexuality more. Especially two pretty boys who are close friends and I could tell these two were very close. I didn't once get the vibe that they were gay. Not even close. If anything they were the straightest ones in here and while I deeply wanted to find some friends, I found myself noticing they were staring at me.

This school was huge and fresh. It still smelled of fresh paint from summer break and I loved the smell of it. The walls were so white and crisps, the desks were even new. As Luke and Tyler stared at me, I found things to occupy my attention on because people staring at me always made me blush and want to cry for some reason. I hoped that would go away this year.

"What kind of music do you like, Megan?" Tyler asked. I think he noticed my discomfort.

"Um," I thought. "I like a lot. I'm not too picky, but I like dubstep, things like that." Dubstep still wasn't huge yet, but it was getting there, mostly thanks to Skrillex, who I thought was okay at best.

"Oh so like Skrillex?" Luke asked. He seemed honestly interested.

"Not quite. He's okay but there's way better stuff out there. I can even make some that I think sounds better."

"You make that on the computer, right?" Tyler asked. I think he was holding his breath for something, and I hoped I had it right.

"Yeah...I'm a bit of a computer geek..." I said, hiding behind my hair, which was a habit now.

The smile on their faces let me know it was the correct thing to say.

"We're both pretty big fans of our computers. We can code and--" I had to cut Luke off.

"I can't do any of that stuff, I guess I mean I am just addicted to being on my computer." I admitted.

He laughed at me. Damn he was pretty. His hair was awkward though. It was almost shaggy, but you could have cut that into something nice. Maybe one day if we stayed friends, he'd let my mom give him a haircut. Tyler's hair was longer and was maybe scene or emo, I couldn't tell the difference between the styles half the time, but it looked good on him.

Luke was a brunette, like me, with the deepest blue eyes ever. The flecks of gold and green in them made me want to stare even though I knew I couldn't. Tyler was a bit more...washed out? His hair was a light brown with maybe a reddish tinge. Someone in his family had red hair, I could tell and his eyes were the color of light denim or the morning sky on a sunny day. Luke was the bulkier of the two, and I could tell he at least tried to work out. He wasn't ripped, he never would be, but he wasn't chubby or too thin and he would be tall as he finished out puberty. Tyler would always be kind of tall and gangly, his arms and legs long and thin as if he had been stretched like a piece of chewed up gum. But they were still pretty and I was still glad I found them and they seemed like they wanted to be friends with me.

I found myself distracted by all the things in my head, by my new surroundings, my new...acquaintances that when the bell rang I didn't even hear it until Luke was shaking me and asking me if I needed him to help me get to the next class.

"Sure." I said and smiled. "Sorry, I'm out of it."

"It's cool." He smiled back. "Where are you headed?"

I pulled my schedule out of my backpack and struggled to read it on the layout the school gave me.

"Applied Geometry, room C326 with Matthews?"

"Sorry man, I'm gonna try to smoke before I head to B building. I'll see ya. Nice to meet you, Megan." Tyler said. He smiled and...bowed a bit?

"See ya man." Luke said. He looked back at me with disbelief. "May I see your schedule?"

I looked at it then handed it to him. He looked at it quickly then smiled again, handing it back.

"Why are you so excited like that?" I asked. I was confused.

"Minus your doubleblock study hall, we're together all day."

"Even lunch?" I asked. That seemed almost convenient.

"Yep." He smiled again and I loved when he did that. His chin was dimpled slightly and it was cute to me. On top of his nice teeth. I found myself turning into a pile of girl goo for Luke Miller and I almost wasn't ashamed of it.

As our stuff was packed up, we were talking as we walked out the door and as we were rounding the corner Luke crashed into me and I felt my head slam against the back of a locker.

I dropped everything, but what I didn't know was what happened to Luke after he crashed into me. They shoved him again and his head hit the corner of the locker. When I looked up as the "jocks" were mocking and laughing at us, Luke had his hand to the side of his face.

"Are you okay?!" I asked. I moved his hand and blood gushed from his eyebrow. "Oh my god, Luke!"

"It's nothing," He said to me, his voice in such a deep tone for a kid maybe 16 years old that it scared me. "Happens all the time."

"You need a nurse! You're bleeding really bad!" I pleaded with him and that's when he agreed to let me come with him to the nurse before I tried to find my own way to the class. I told him I was a big girl and I'd manage.

The nurse was less than kind looking at him. I was completely shocked that she basically opened the wound up making Luke nearly shriek. I was getting traumatized on the first day of school here and I wondered how Luke managed so far.

"Boys will be boys." The nurse laughed. Luke looked at her and I knew what his face was saying and again that worried me. It said that she knew damn well that it wasn't boys will be boys, it was I'm getting the shit kicked out of me you bitch and you're laughing about it.

I decided to wait outside. I wasn't going to leave without him and one of the aide's came out and asked me if I had a hall pass.

"This is my first day." I told her. "Some kids just slammed this guy's head into the locker. We're in the next class together."

"Well if you don't have a hall pass, I have to ask you to get going to your next class." She said, feigning her sincerity.

"Ask away. The answer is no. I just got slammed into a locker with him by some kids and I'm not going without making sure that my friend is going to be okay."

The aide just gave me a look of frustration. "You have got to go to class."

"What did I say?" I crossed my arms and turned to face her. "I'm not leaving him until we can go to class together, and if you really want me to leave call the principal. I haven't met him yet but I'll be glad to tell him that I'll be calling the police to report an assault."

I was confused by the look on the aide's face. It was panic. Something told me she knew about the bullying and was scared about having anyone else involved for whatever reason.

The aide disappeared into the nurse's office and a few minutes later the nurse came out with Luke, except her tone changed.

"Since you insisted on staying, we're going to go ahead and have you walk him back to class to make sure he doesn't have a concussion and fall down or anything."

"Fine." I said, reaching out to take the two hall passes she extended to me. I left with Luke.

That's right bitch. Don't underestimate me.

I hated when people thought I was some dumb kid and didn't know what the fuck I was talking about.

"I'm sorry." I said to Luke, holding onto his arm so that if I felt him get wobbly we could get him sat down as soon as possible.

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong." He said. His eyes were glazed and I didn't know what that meant and I wouldn't for some time.

"This school is awful and it's my first day. How are you dealing with this?" I asked him.

He laughed, a smile cocking one side of his mouth.

"I suppose I'm really not dealing with it, am I?"

His eyes didn't meet mine.