Fall on Me

"What are you doing for lunch?" Sam asked as he materialized out of nowhere.

I gasped and nearly dropped my books. I stared up at him, taking my attention away from my locker.

"You scared the shit out of me." I said and went back to fumbling with the lock that I could not managed to open.

I tried to open it three more times with no luck. "Die!"

"Here. Let me." Sam said. "What's your combination?"

"38-24-18." I whispered.

He spun the dial, clearning it, and put in the numbers.

He pulled the lock and it opened easily.

"I give up." I sighed and threw my books in the locker and slammed it shut.

"You didn't answer my question." Sam mumbled.

"Sorry. What was the question?" I asked.

He ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "What are your plans for lunch?"

"I have none, so far. I mean, I don't know where anything is in this town and you're the only person I know." I shrugged.

"Okay. Come on." He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hall way.

"So much pulling." I said but followed him.

"I want you to meet my band!" Sam explained.

"Band?" I asked.

"Yeah. Me and my friends have a band." He said vaguely.

"What are you guys called?" I asked.

"Paradise Fears." He smiled.

"I like, totally love that name." I giggled.

Sam stopped suddenly and I crashed into his back.

"Sorry." He muttered.

I peeked around his shoulder and saw a note taped to the front of what must have been his locker. It said "Faggot" in red letters.

Sam just stared at it, not knowing what to do.

I looked around, to see if the bully had lingered to see if his work had done the trick.

I saw a jock standing with a few other boys, staring our way and laughing out loud.

My temper flared, I couldn't stand bullies.

I grabbed the paper and marched down the hall towards the boys and held the paper up to them, "Your work?"

They all laughed.

One of them piped up. "Well look at the way he dresses. It's true."

"Just because someone dresses a certain way doesn't mean shit about them." I spat, crumpling the paper up and throwing it and the boy.

"Oh, look at the new girl." Another laughed. "She's got balls."

"Yeah. A hell of a lot more than you." I said. "There's nothing funny about trying to tear people down for your own personal gain."

They just snickered.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" I shouted. "Grow the fuck up. Stop being immature twats and learn to respect other people."

The unnamed jock grabbed my arm tightly. "Don't talk to me like that, bitch."

Without a second thought I reached out and dug my sharp nails down his face, four lines started to bleed immediatlely.

He let go and held his face.

I picked skin out from under my nails. "Don't fuck with me, or Sam, or anyone."

I walked back to Sam's locker and leaned against the wall. "You okay?"

"Everyday." He muttered. "Everyday it's something new with them."

I touched his arm lightly, not sure of what to say.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

He shook his head slightly. "Don't be. I bring it on myself."

He slammed his locker shut and jogged down the hall.

I was frozen. What was I supposed to do?

Finally, I took off down the hall, sprinting after him.

I saw him running towards the gym and picked up my pace.

He was about to go into the locker room when I grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"You can talk to me." I whispered.

Sam turned to look at me, tears in his eyes.

"Please talk to me." I said.

He nodded and walked me to the parking lot.

We got in his car and sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Sam, I know how you feel." I began. "I got bullied a lot at my old school. Whether it was for the way I dressed, the music I listened to, my grades, you name it. And I started to listen to what people would say. I started to hate myself more than they ever could. But you can't let yourself get to that point, okay. Never let them define you."

He sighed. "Sometimes it's hard. Especially when it shows up as notes taped to your locker."

"I know." I said. "But, I don't think they'll bother you anymore."

"No but now they'll bother you. Especially since you clawed the shit out of Dirk's face." Sam said.

I smiled. "I can take 'em."

He chuckled. "Thank you for that, by the way. I would never have the balls to stand up to them."

"You're welcome." I winked. "And trust me, that was terrifying. They outweighed me by a total of at least 600 pounds."

Sam laughed. "Just go for the nuts, everytime. Or the face scratch, that worked pretty well."

I giggled. "So, are you better now?"

He looked in my eyes. "Yes. Thank you."

I blushed and looked down.

Sam cleared his throat nervously. "So, uh, you wanna go to my house for lunch?"

"Uh, sure." I said.

Sam started the car and drove me to his house.

"Awe, it's so cute." I said when we got out of the car.

It really was cute. Small, white A-frame house with blue shutters and a blue door. The yard was kept in perfect condition and there was a cute little birdbath in the middle of the yard.

He laughed. "Yeah, my mom puts a lot of work into this."

"I bet." I smiled and he pulled me inside.

He gave me a full tour, showing me bedrooms, bathrooms, guest rooms, family rooms, then finally the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat? We probably have it." He said.

"Um. I dunno." I said.

"How does some cheese Pizza Rolls sound?" He asked and held up a box.

"That sounds great." I giggled and he put them on a plate and stuck them in the microwave.

We sat down and the table, more silence.

"Why are we both so awkward?" I asked.

He muttered something I couldn't quite understand.

"What?"

"Nothing." He blushed.

"Oh, just tell me." I encouraged.

"I was going to say because I get nervous around girls like you." He blurted.

I narrowed my eyes. "Girls like me?"

"Gorgeous." He met my eyes.

It was my turn to blush. "Oh."

Before I could react, Sam leaned in and kissed me.