Snippet #2428895

My intrusive question as to who Briton's attackers were was answered by the man in question, albeit rather reluctantly, or a better way of putting it; angrily. And it wasn't just the way he answered, either, but the actual words he used that hit a little deep. After all, it was true. And the truth does hurt... Briton has never put me on the spot regarding my hidden agenda, nor over anything else for that matter, and yet, here I was forcing everyone's attention onto the poor guy, despite knowing how scopophobic he could often be, as well as prone to embarrassment whenever his life was at the center of conversation. I didn't do it because I enjoy watching him squirm, unlike someone I know who just loves doing that to me... No, I did it because I needed to know who might end up trying to kill him.

"Hm..." That was all my voice could sound. A simple, low "hm" in response to his minor retaliation, which he didn't even choose to follow up on in the end. Before anyone could direct their attention to me, however, Briton surprisingly submitted and gave out the names of his bullies. I wasn't surprised to hear the first name, but Vic Rockford...? I'd never seen nor heard of this guy ever bullying other students, so why was he messing with Briton...? Pushing that thought aside for now, I chose to focus on what was immediately important: there were more than just 3 people messing with Briton... I knew of only 3; one of which was Ryan Chaffon, who I've heard some particularly justifiable rumors about in the halls of our school, and who I have actually witnessed harming others, but it was clear that there were only a couple of physical bullies at most, who were messing with Briton. Any others were likely nothing more than verbal abusers, which can sometimes be even worse than causing someone physical pain, depending on who it is and what is said to them. So that begs the question: just what was it that Vic Rockford did to Briton that could place him at the top of his hate list? It had to be something he found to be worse than physical or verbal abuse... Public humiliation maybe? No, that can't be it... We all would have heard about it by now if that was what happened... Giving my head a slight shake, I discarded the reasoning. It didn't matter what it was that happened; all that mattered was that whatever it was left an apparent mental scar on Briton, and the son of a bitch responsible didn't deserve to get away with it.

My thoughts drifted back to Briton's own question. What was I going to do with this information...? Obviously, whatever it took to get them to leave my friend alone, but if it did come down to opening the doors to the school of hard knocks, I was confident that I could hold my own against either of Vic Rockford or Ryan Chaffon. That being said, I wasn't foolish enough to allow any possible hubris to take root within me, which is why I wouldn't be tackling this alone. There was only one person whom I could trust to back me up with both sound reasoning and stature, and with their fists if absolutely necessary; no matter how much of a passive he was... My eyes locked onto my best friend, Oz, who I was certain would be more than happy to accompany me on a walk so we could discuss this. Hell, he would likely jump at the excuse just to chat with me at all, what with how much of an antisocial ass I've been to him, of all people, over the past year or so...

I was honestly glad that Violet, too, decided to jump in and express her concerns openly to our friend-in-need. If there was one person out of this bunch that Briton could wholly rely on for aid in fending off harassment, it'd be this girl. She was beyond loyal, and has proven how tough she can be more than just a few times. Makes me wanna when I recall how many boys I've seen get their asses kicked on the playground when I was growing up with her. She jumped the gun with a lot of people she thought were bad, but her heart was in the right place for sure, and God help any poor soul she knew to be bad... Even if I were to do nothing on my end to help Briton, as long as he has Vi watching his back, things would work out just fine for him in the end. Of that I was sure. After all, she's never let me down. Not for anything...

Realizing I was remaining entirely silent throughout Briton's information about what happened to him and who caused it, I figured I may as well wrap up my rather simple 'interrogation' of one of my oldest friends. I only stayed so silent because nothing else needed to be said, really, since all I was looking for was a name -- or in this case, name(s). But that was when Amber came back from her bathroom break, appearing fairly giddy over something. Didn't take me long to realize just what it was she was holding in her hand, which she confirmed by announcing it to everyone at the table. Great... So the waiter was coming to the party I didn't want to go to... On top of that, Briton was sending me several dark vibes of obvious anger, which, to be quite honest, made me feel like shit despite my good intentions. It was sort of similar to what I'd imagine feeling from everyone at the table -- as well as Cora who wasn't currently there -- should I ever tell them the truth... It tied knots in my stomach, which had no relation to the nauseating feeling that was still churning within the bottom of my stomach which was the result of the finished milkshake sitting in front of me.

Before I could stop myself, I made a rather annoying sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a click of my tongue... "Tch..." Oops. It was rather loud and obvious as to who it came from, especially since I was also wearing a bit of a grimace. 3 strikes; you're out, kiddo. That was the third time I had mistakenly let my feelings show towards this...waiter business... And I highly doubted that it would be overlooked again. I'm never that lucky... Clearing my throat, I stood up and placed my hands in my pockets. Closing my eyes for a moment before letting out a small sigh, I chose to speak to Briton once more, giving him the response I meant to give a minute ago before Amber threw my mind into a short loop. "Briton, you might be upset with me because I put you on the spot all of the sudden, but I only asked because I was concerned..." I said, pausing for a moment before continuing. "And as for what I'm going to do, well... I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I throw up a small shrug and slide out from the table after placing the money for my beverage on the table, then proceeding to tap Oscar on the shoulder. "Hey, mind taking a walk with me? Seems like the girls are gonna be waist-deep in Narnia once they reach Lacey's closet, and Briton's probably too irked to wanna give me a ride home, so I'd appreciate the company." I finished, giving him a friendly smile.

Whatever the case, I slowly walked over to the door that was just behind the back-end of the seats where our table was located. Pausing, I pull out my watch and check the time as I give Briton another response. "And Briton... I know I don't really have the right to involve myself in your life after being so distant with everyone, but..." I paused, closing my watch with a click as I looked up into his eyes, trying to convey how I truly felt. "Nobody fucks with my friends..." Giving him an affectionate smile that said something along the lines of "Got it?", I then nodded at Violet. "See you at the party, Vi. After all, it appears that I owe you a dance?" Tossing a playful wink in her direction, I waved goodbye to the others, my eyes trained on Amber for a moment out of reflex before leaving the scene. Once outside, I look up and take in the now orange sky; the clouds in the distance were giving off a beautiful pink hue. Taking in a deep breath through my nose as I close my eyes, I let out a lengthy sigh, opening my eyes again with a melancholic smile on my face. Despite taking in the beautiful image above, I just couldn't stop thinking about how bad this night might turn out for me in the end...