Standing For Him

"Be grateful that we reach here on time," Flora heard Niley. They all had just reached their class and were grabbing their seats now.

"Or else we would have been standing outside in our very first class," Niley uttered, frowning.

"Come on. Look at the positive side. We are here on time. The teacher has not come yet," Flora replied, sitting beside Niley who was sitting between her and Axle.

"Besides, we couldn't just ignore those seniors bullying that innocent boy," a scowl crept on her face as she remembered how badly those students were bullying that boy. She loathed when someone subjugated another person for ill reasons. She was still feeling like beating the shit out of those bullies for troubling that harmless boy.

"Hey, the teacher is here," Axle informed, seeing the teacher entering the class. Every student stood up on their feet to greet their teacher.

"Good morning, everyone. Please join your seats," the professor told everyone after getting in his place. Flora joined her seat like the rest of the other students and looked at her professor. 

"My name is Caleb Lavener. I will be teaching you social sciences for this year," the professor introduced himself. Flora had expected her professors to be old but he was looking quite young, almost in his early 30s.

"So, let's….."

"May I come in, sir?" That voice halted the professor and made the entire class look towards the owner of that voice. Flora's eyes also followed that voice and she saw that boy, Easton, standing at the door. She noticed he was looking extremely nervous.

"You are from this class?" The professor asked him. Looking down, he slowly nodded his head.

"It's your very first day here, so you shouldn't be leaving your first impression like this by coming late," 

Flora caught that the professor's words and his stern tone filled that poor boy with more nervousness.

"I…. I am sorry, professor. I couldn't find my class," he answered, without taking his eyes upward. 

"For that purpose, you should have been searching for your class a bit early," the professor's voice turned a bit more rigid. Flora noticed that boy turning more hysterical in panic and she herself didn't know why she got that urge to stand for him. Probably because she knew why he might have not succeeded in finding his class on time. It was because of those seniors who were bullying him.

"Excuse me, professor," Flora's loud voice resonated in the class, gaining everyone's attention. The professor looked at her.

"Yes," 

"He turned up late for the class because of some of our seniors who had been trying to bully him," she defended him in front of the entire classroom.

"And how do you know that, Ms.?" The professor questioned.

"Because I was present there and I had seen those seniors troubling him for no reason," she answered with no hesitancy. The professor turned towards him, who was also looking at Flora.

"Is it true?" 

He trailed his silver eyes towards the professor and then lowered his gaze.

"Yes, professor," he answered in a low voice. The professor sighed.

"What's your name?" 

"Easton Marzel," he said. The professor darted his eyes back at Flora.

"And your name, Ms.?" 

"Flora Alfanso," Flora answered the professor. 

"After this class, you both will come with me to inform the heads regarding this. The campus authority would take some actions against those senior students," the professor informed. Flora nodded at him whereas he didn't say anything.

"Join your seat, Mr Marzel,"the professor uttered and he, with a nod, entered the class. 

Flora sat on her seat and found him looking for an empty seat to sit.

"Easton," she took his name in a whispering tone, making him look at her.

"Come here," she tapped on the empty seat beside her. He walked towards her and sat beside her.

"Thank you," he said to her. Flora smiled at him in her response. After that, the class began and she gave her full attention towards it.

………….

"Now they will finally learn their lessons," Flora stated, getting out of the dean's office with him. After their class, they both went with their professor Caleb to the dean's office to complain about those seniors. 

"Well done, you both," they heard their professor Caleb who just came out behind them from the office. 

"Thank you so much, professor. If you wouldn't have helped us then we might have not taken any step against it," Flora thanked the professor as it was because of his support and encouragement they both dared to report against those bullies.

"You needed to. In fact, everyone needs to speak against bullying. I am proud that you both voice out against it," he told them, widening her smile.

"And I am sure the authority will look after the matter personally to make sure this would not happen in our campus again," Professor Caleb stated, beaming. They both nodded at him in return.

"Thank you," Flora thanked him again, earning a nod from him and then Professor Caleb left from there.

"Professor Caleb is amazing, right?" Flora uttered, gazing at their professor's retracting figure. 

"He is…." She stopped when she noticed that fear and gloominess on his face. He seemed extremely tense.

"Hey! What happened?" She asked him. Flora saw him sighing heavily.

"We shouldn't have reported against those seniors," he said in his worry-laced voice. Flora's brows wiggled in confusion.

"But why?"she asked him, bewildered.

"I told you I am new here and I don't want any trouble with anyone. What if they would come after us after getting to know that we complained against them and would try to harm us?" 

A scowl formed on her face at his words. She understood his fear but still, his words were not settling well with her. 

"With that fear of getting bullied by them again, we couldn't just let them continue to bully others. That's not right in any way because not standing against wrong somehow means supporting it and we should not support wrong," she lashed out at him. He heaved a sigh.

"But…."

"Shut up and let me speak," she shut him up, angry.

"You are almost twice my height and size, so stop behaving so cowardly and if those seniors would come after you then feel free to put all the blame on my head. I will deal with them. You don't have to get involved in it. Did you understand it?" She raised her voice, completely vexed. He blinked at her, shocked. 

Flora frowned at him. 

"Bye, you chicken head," she spat at him, annoyed, and then turned around to leave. 

She had just taken a step away from him when she felt a callous palm getting wrapped around her wrist a little firmly. She stopped and took back her feet. Turning around, she looked at him only to find his silverish grey eyes peering at her. She would lie if she would say that his eyes were not attractive. In fact, they were more than attractive because they looked the complete opposite of his personality because his personality seemed tender, warm and timid which was the total opposite of his eyes which felt cold, deep and impenetrable. A dangerously striking combination of good and worst.

"Sorry," his voice took her out of her thoughts. Flora blinked at him. She saw him looking down.

"I didn't mean to hurt you,"his eyes remained glued to the floor.

"I just don't want us to get into trouble," 

She breathed out, sharply, understanding her mistake. She couldn't expect everyone to think and behave like her because not everyone's life was like hers and not everyone loved the things she loved.

"I am sorry too," she apologised to him, making him look upward at her face.

"You told me you didn't want to report against them but because of me, you had to do it. I am sorry," guilt washed into her sea-green eyes which didn't go unnoticed by him.

"I can totally understand your concern. Those boys reeked of trouble and they could come after us after this but don't worry…" she paused and he just stared at her.

"If I have called this trouble for us then I will protect us too," he saw a smile forming on her face as she said those words to him.

Beaming, she held his hand in her. 

"If they would come after us then I will beat their asses this time real bad," she spoke and then tangled their arms together in a playful manner. He didn't try to stop her and just stared at her.

Jokingly, Flora intertwined their arms more tightly and looked upward into his silver eyes.

"I will protect you. Just don't leave my side," she told him, grinning.

"Never," that word rolled out of his tongue in his response as he peered down into her sea-green hues. His answer widened her smile.

"Perfect then, let's go from here before we would turn late for our next class," saying that she dragged him with her and he wordlessly let her drag him with her and in her life.