Central Indiana

It was just now lunch for Alexandros at Southport West High School. He brought his own, this time, which contained peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, cashews, a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, some carrots and celery, and a plum. He did not mind what the school provided, sometimes, yet he figured they could do a better job with providing healthier meals, which was part of the reason he typically made his own lunches. Now, if only his brother could be in the same lunch period as him, so he would not have to worry about him.

Usually, Alex ate alone, but this was different, since some of his classmates from English class were comfortable around him to the point where they felt they could sit at the same table with him, despite differences of opinion. They had plenty of questions for him about Christianity, to which he answered calmly, politely, and to the best of his ability. Of course, there was naturally criticism, yet without a hostile tone. Plus, nobody was forcing anything, it was simply stating opinions.

During that conversation, Alexandros spotted a blond-haired girl, who seemed a year younger than him, also appeared a bit down. The 18-year-old's eyes expressed concern for her. This, of course, made his peers worry about him. Once Alex saw the eyes on him from the other guys at the tables, he raised an eyebrow while posing the query, "Why are you guys making such expressions, right now? She seems like she could use some help with something."

Bill, one of the boys at the table, shook his head. "Dude, I'm telling you, that girl is a b****. You're better off not being around her."

James, another guy, chimed in with, "Yeah, man. She's bad news."

Alex merely shrugged. "It is worth a try to at least do something, right?"

With that, Alex walked on over to the table she was staying at, now standing beside her. "Excuse me, but I couldn't help but notice you're kind of upset about something. As he spoke, his eyes expressed a gentleness mixed with concern. "Did something happen, today?"

---

Julian, in his gray-skull tee-shirt and black pants, was walking along the hallway minding his own business. He was always shy and did not feel comfortable in long conversations with anyone he barely knew. Especially since this school had some rather hostile individuals, he did not want to be speaking to the wrong person or making a bad statement. He was just on his way to speech class, something he did average in, when he was all of a sudden whacked on the back of the head and knocked to the ground, his books falling out of his arms at that instant. He could hear the rants from behind loud and clear.

"Your kind's all the same!"
"You only place you belong in is an asylum!"
"Looking for somebody to kill, are you!?"

A shaky Julian stood up and began to protest. "Th-that's not...!"

"You can't fool us with that façade!"

One of the three boys kicked him to the ground, another using his foot to keep him down on his back while the third repeatedly punched him in the face. Julian was not very strong, so there was not anything he could do if he tried to resist. With the beating finally over, he kept his eyes shut while, in his traumatized state, he gathered his words. "P-please... stop... I-I don't... I don't want any trouble!"

"You are trouble, the lot of you!"

"No!" Julian was now in tears as he feared the worst-case scenario, the way he always does. Remaining the rest of the time, he still kept his eyes closed as the person who punched earlier lifted his fist for another round. In the back of mind mind, Julian hoped someone, anyone, would step in to put a stop to it.

Okay, so, Jinxy really hadn't always been a bitch. She also hadn't always been called Jinxy, but she liked it better than her given name, Quinn. Quinn just didn't have that freak factor to it, Jinxy did. It was original, she was the only person in this town with the name, and it matched her. Now for the attitude, she got that from her dad. All through elementary and middle school, she had been one of the nicest girls in school, friends with everyone. Then, the summer between eighth and ninth grade, her father left. That summer, naturally brown hair was bleached blonde, a tongue piercing was added, and she started wearing a whole lot more eyeliner than she had before. Hundreds of dollars in babysitting money was spent on a whole new wardrobe, and she changed her name. Some people thought that it was just a phase, that eventually she would get over losing that important figure in her life, but she didn't.

Today was one of those days where she was exceptionally bitchy- it was her seventeenth birthday. The one day a year that her father still called and wished her a happy birthday, asked how she was doing, and made some excuse to go before she could get too far into the details. She liked to think it was because he thought if he knew about how much he was missing, he might want to come back, but she knew that wasn't true. This was the first time he hadn't called. Though she was trying to pretend it didn't bother her, maybe he would call after school, knowing she would be busy now, maybe in a class or something. Though she had little respect for the teachers, and wouldn't hesitate to pick up her phone in the middle of class if it was him.

Now she was in the lunchroom, sitting at a table by herself, constantly checking her phone so she couldn't miss it if he called. There was an uneaten burger on her plate, though it was unlikely she would have eaten it anyways, school food was disgusting. Her head snapped up at the sound of someone coming towards her, and if looks could kill that boy would be dead already. The kindness of his voice and the gentleness in his eyes made her hate him, and she looked away with a snort of contempt. When he didn't go away, she turned slightly back with a sigh, making a shooing motion with her hand. "Go away."

---

"Come on guys, that's really the best you can do?" There was a snarky note in his voice when he spoke, the same one that people had come to associate with the name Merlin. Just that paused the fist that was about to bite into the boy, making the jock look up at him. Merlin himself wasn't very strong, but he knew how to play with words to make people angry. His older brother was also on the football team and was practically a god in the school, so he got off easy most of the time. Though no matter how many times his brother told him not to take advantage of it, he did. Often using his sibling's position of QB as a means to order the jocks around a bit.

What do you want, Wizard Boy? The brown haired boy shrugged, still leaning lazily against the lockers. Using the toe of his boot, he nudged at the fist still suspended in mid-air. "Get off of him. Three against one isn't fair." Their 'leader' seemed to be debating whether he wanted to punch the boy beneath him again, switch his anger to Merlin, or keep his position on the football team. Reluctantly he seemed to get up, crowding into his own space and pushing a finger into his chest. One day your brother won't be around to protect you anymore. It was an empty threat, because those boys would be graduating the same year his brother was, and wouldn't be around at school to make anyone's life a living hell.

Most people knew Merlin, either by association- he had a lot of friends -, or by his older brother. He was probably the only openly gay student in the school, which also made him stand out. Stepping away from the lockers, he put his hand out for the boy to help himself up, wincing at the sight of him. "Better get you to the nurse, yeah?" He asked, gently.

Alex could see some hostility in the girl's eyes and hear it in her tone. If he were any other person, he would have walked away right then. It was not in his nature, however. How was he going to respond, though? He did not want to offend her, if he had not already. Thinking about it, though, she could be responding that way because she was one of those other anti-religious folk who do not accept people like him. Then again, the people he was previously talking to did say she was a jerk, plus she did seem stressed about something. Therefore, there could be a number of reasons.

Turning his head to the side so he was not looking at her, Alexandros tried to think of something, then sighed and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

---

Julian heard a voice nearby and looked in the direction of it. Was it not that openly homosexual person whom has an older brother on the football team? Maybe Alex knew more since he was a defensive lineman on the same team. At the moment, though, Julian could only think of what was going to happen next.

He heard the 'leader' ask Merlin, "What do you want, Wizard Boy?"

To which, Merlin shrugged, then told the group that three against one was not fair. The boy could not believe what was going on. His eyes widened at the realization of what Merlin was doing. Once helped up, Julian could not help but hug his rescuer tightly, shouting, "Thank you! Thank you! Nobody besides my brother ever stood up for me in this school!" His eyes were shut while he was in tears, not of sadness, but of joy. Realizing how tightly he was holding him, he let go and looked on in embarrassment. "S-sorry. I-I got carried away." He could not think of anything else to say, so he decided just to walk with Merlin to the nurse's office.

Jinxy sighed, turning back towards the male and fully looking at him for once. Quite quickly she realized he was one of those kids, which didn't exactly change her attitude towards him, but her opinion. It wasn't that she liked Christians, they were sort of assholes, but she didn't like the way they were treated around here either. Sort of silly, actually, since it seemed everywhere else that it was the religious folk judging and bullying everyone else, but around here it was the opposite. Still, no one deserved to be picked on like that, no matter what the reason.

There was no one else sitting at the round table she occupied, so it was quite obvious that he was talking to her, and this had drawn a few peoples attention. It was just sort of known that people didn't bother talking to her, especially on this day. "Listen, the longer you stand there, the more people are going to think you're a freak. Get out of here."

---

Merlin was a bit taken aback when the kid jumped up and hugged him, but he made no move to push him away. Instead he just gently patted the boys back, one arm wrapped around in a return hug as he tried to get his thoughts about him again. No one had ever stuck up for him? It was sort of ridiculous, how some of the people in this school could treat people. Guess that was high school for you though, but it didn't mean he couldn't do something to help about it. No one really deserved that sort of treatment anyways, no matter what.

"Don't worry about it." And that was that, it didn't bother him that Julius had hugged him, touch didn't bother him. "Why were they even picking on you?" Without thinking about it, he reached out and brushed a bit of the blood away, then swiped his tongue over his finger before dropping his hand again.

Alex shrugged at the girl's reasoning on why he should leave. "I'm already considered a freak. Besides, it does not bother me that much, since I'm used to it." He was half tempted to give up, yet it was not in his character to do so. And yet, he struggled for words, at first. Anyone observing could tell he wanted to help her, yet was struggling for something to say in addition to what he already said.

---

Julian looked in Merlin's direction right before feeling a finger touched him where blood was. It was unexpected, and it left him a little flustered, at first, struggling for words. When he calmed down, he stared at the ground and answered the question with, "Oh, the usual reason in this school: it is because of my faith in Christ. People like those three that ganged up on me hate the whole of Christianity, even everyone who claim to practice it, for the actions of people who went against Jesus' commands. They think they are getting back at those zealots by making life miserable for anyone and everyone who claims faith in Christ. I know such bullies are a minority, at least here in the United States, but it's still pretty scary just thinking about it."